So, I've started another RWBY story... At least I feel somewhat confident with this one. A prime reason why being that this is the longest chapter I've ever written, with over 8,000 words compared to my usual two to five thousand.
Enjoy reading, I'll be getting started on chapter 2.
Chapter 1: The Story Begins
"...One-ninety-eight...One-ninety-nine...Two hundred...Two hundred and one..." He counted the water drops dripping from the ceiling, it's not like there was much else to do in his cell.
"Oi!" The guard yelled. "Shut up!"
He just smiled at the reaction. He stood up and stretched, popping his back in the process. He walked over to the puddle that the water droplets formed and scooped some of the water up with his hand, he brought his hands to his lips and drank the water. It was dirty and tasted as such. The guard gagged at this action.
"Can't you wait for your meal? You'll kill yourself drinking that." The guard informed the prisoner.
"My meal?" The prisoner asked, his voice dry despite the drink he just had. "And when is that getting here? A year from now? Two?" He continued with the questions. "I've already been here for two years when my sentence was only supposed to be one."
"That was before you murdered another prisoner." The guard reminded.
"He was a murderer. An eye for an eye, a life for a life." The prisoner defended with a playful smirk.
"He already had the death sentence, you could have just left him alone."
"And risk him getting broken out?" The prisoner asked in exaggerated shock. "I think not." He scoffed.
"Yes... well now you're on death row yourself. I hope you're happy." The guard sighed.
"Oh, I won't be getting my head lopped off. I can guarantee that." The prisoner smiled confidently.
"What do you mean?" The guard asked.
"Oh, you'll find out soon... very soon... very, veeeery soon." The prisoner replied as he played with his, long, messy, chocolate brown hair, he brushed the blonde highlights out of his vision. "Have you ever heard of the Death Clock?"
"You mean the curse? The one that brands its victims with an insignia and counts down to their death? Who hasn't heard of it?" The guard asked while eyeing the prisoner with suspicion.
"Good, good." The prisoner nodded. "Then you know what to tell everyone when they ask you how I disappeared." He smiled.
"What do you-" The guard started his question, but cut himself off when he saw a bright light erupt from the floor.
The prisoner let out a small laugh. "Looks like my time is up." He said as he moved a part of his tattered shirt to show his Death Clock, it had completed its rotation. Now he was to be claimed by death. And he embraced it.
"Damn!" The guard yelled as he hurriedly flicked through the keys on his key ring.
"Don't bother. I'll be gone before you open that door." The prisoner smirked as his waist was enveloped by the floor. "Be sure to tell your boss that I hate him." The prisoner's neck was gone by this point, but he still looked confident. He wasn't scared of certain death, that made him scary in his own right.
The guard finally managed to open the door, but all that remained of the prisoner was his forehead at this point and even that was barely visible. "Damn it!" The guard screamed as he tried to grab the prisoner's hair. But he was too late, the prisoner had been completely swallowed by the floor at this point. The light died down, leaving the guard alone in the moonlight.
The man slowly opened his forest green eyes. He looked around. Darkness, that's all there was. He let out a laugh, a laugh that slowly grew into a cackle. Though the cackle quickly turned into a cough mixed with a laugh, his throat was still dry.
"So this is what death looks like." The man commented as his cough died down. "Where's the red carpet? I was expecting a welcoming committee at least."
Then he saw a light. He moved towards it... No, he was forced towards it. The light grew brighter and brighter. Then he felt something touch him, two things. And from where on his body he could feel those two things he could tell he was being cradled. He was seventeen and around five foot eleven, he didn't know if he had grown while in his cell, and yet someone was cradling him as if he was a newborn. That's when he heard it, the sentence that would flip everything upside down.
"Congratulations, it's a boy."
Thorn Nightingale. It had been three years since that name was thrust upon him. Not that he minded, Nightingale had been his surname in his previous life. Ah, that was something that he still hadn't fully wrapped his head around. He had been reborn. He had been a nonsensical genius before, but even to him rebirth sounded crazy. Which he believed meant he was crazy. And that was where the world had made a mistake, he loved being crazy.
But that didn't mean he would show it, not until he was a bit older anyway.
He was also amazed that he looked the same as he had before.
'Thorn' was the son of an apparently prestigious family; he could tell that from the manor he lived in. He had heard snippets of conversations between his parents about Huntsmen and Huntresses, which seemed to be what they were. It explained why he was left with a Nanny every so often. He didn't mind though.
What he did mind was his 'birthmark', it was the same design as his Death Clock had upon completing its full rotation. The 'birthmark' looked like a tribal image of a rose with thorns spreading all over the place. That had been the mark of his contract, his burden, his curse, his life. And it was in the same place as before, the left side of his chest.
This was something he would have to investigate.
At age five, 'Thorn' started to take an interest in Hunters and Huntresses. He also took an interest in their weapons and other tools, namely Dust. Dust fascinated him, there had been nothing like it in his world. This meant one thing to him. He had to experiment with it. Whenever he could, 'Thorn' would swipe some Dust from his mother and experiment with it. He quickly taught himself about the different types of Dust, fire, water, wind, lightning, he also learnt about secondary Dust types when he accidentally made an icicle during an experiment with water and air dust. That icicle just so happened to smash through the wall he was facing.
Yeah, that caught his parent's attention.
A few months later, 'Thorn' found himself waiting in the dining room. He didn't know why, he had just been told to. He stared at the clock on the purple wall, when he thought about it most of the house and its decorations were purple. He had learnt from his studies into this worlds history that colour was seen as something important after The Great War. He humoured himself with thoughts of dressing in purple, the idea made him giggle.
"Well, it seems that someone is in a good mood." A male voice pointed out, it wasn't his fathers. 'Thorn' looked over at the stranger. He wore a dark green suit and carried a coffee mug, the mug, surprisingly, didn't hit against the man's glasses. The grey mop of hair resting on his head gave away the man's age.
"I suppose I am." The should be five year old replied. The old man sat on the other end of the dining table, hazel eyes met forest eyes.
"May I ask why?" The old man asked.
"It only just dawned on me that the majority of this manor is purple, shades of it anyway." The child responded without breaking eye contact. They were scanning each other, trying to figure the other out before they were figured out. 'Thorn' quickly realised that he had lost, the older man's eyes were unreadable. He'd been in these kinds of situations before, 'Thorn' realised that and smirked. He waited a few more seconds for the old man to continue scanning him.
"Find what you're looking for?" 'Thorn' asked with a smile. The old man shook his head.
"No, but I did find something else."
"Oh? Do tell?" 'Thorn' prompted.
"There is wisdom in your eyes, wisdom vastly beyond your years." The man stated.
"I wouldn't say seventeen years is 'vastly beyond' five, but I will admit it isn't an amount of knowledge I should have." The brunette admitted. "Then again, at seventeen I had the wisdom of some of the best scientists and scholars." He boasted.
"I see, so you were a prodigy." The old man stated, 'Thorn' was surprised that it wasn't a question.
"'Were' implies that I'm not anymore, but I still am." The five year old corrected.
"So you're not going to hide it from me? The fact that this isn't your first life?" The man questioned.
"There's no point in hiding what you already know." 'Thorn' sighed. "Though I do wonder how you knew."
"I suppose that will remain a mystery." The old man smiled as he drank from his coffee mug.
"That's fine by me, so long as no one else finds out." The child stated.
"Very well, I will respect your wish." The old man nodded. "Now then, I have more than one reason for visiting you today." He admitted.
"I see. But before we continue... I believe introductions are in order?" The five year old asked. "I would love to know who I'm talking to."
"Of course. I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon academy." Ozpin introduced himself.
"Beacon? That place trains Hunters and Huntresses, there are similar academies in Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo." 'Thorn' remembered. "It's an honour to be visited by one such as yourself." He said with a slight bow. "Anyway, I am Thorn Nightingale." Thorn introduced himself. "In my previous life I was known as Albert Nightingale: The Nonsensical Genius." He added.
"I see, well it is nice to meet you Mr. Nightingale." Ozpin replied, putting his hand out for a handshake.
"Likewise Oz. Is it okay if I call you that? I'm going to anyway." Thorn asked and answered as he shook Ozpin's hand.
"I suppose it's fine, there are others that refer to me that way." Ozpin chuckled. "Anyway, the other reason I'm here is to offer you a place at Signal academy."
"Signal?" Thorn questioned, he searched his brain for information on the place. "Oh, the primary combat academy. The one on Patch, just off the coast of Vale."
"The very same." Ozpin confirmed.
"You're offering a five year old a place at a combat academy?" The five year old in question asked, smiling from ear to ear.
"We will, of course, have to wait until you are thirteen, that is the age requirement." The older man informed the child.
"Eight years... Alright, I can occupy myself for eight years." Thorn nodded as he began making a few plans.
"Then we have a deal." Ozpin stated with a smile. "I will see you again in eight years Mr. Nightingale."
At the age of seven Thorn unlocked his aura, and with it his semblance. He wasn't surprised by what his semblance was, he was shaken.
"Rose Garden..." Thorn muttered as he stared at the monster that had loomed over him his entire life.
The monster took the shape of a woman, that much was obvious from the curves. However, the beings body itself was made up of thorn covered vines. The beast's legs were covered in roses, the roses were packed together so closely that they made the beast look like it was wearing boots up to its knees. Its left arm had one big rose on the end of it, that rose could bloom and become a shield. The monsters right arm was just a bunch of vines woven together; these vines could be used as a whip or as a sword depending on the situation. The things head was a giant rose, Thorn shuddered as he remembered the first, which was also the last, time it bloomed. He had never wanted to see this burden again, but here it was.
"So I'm still cursed." The seven year stated emotionlessly as he placed his hand over the left side of his chest, the side with his Death Clock.
Social gatherings, or parties to use the layman term, were something that Thorn had difficulty wrapping his head around. Why would people choose to waste time talking with each other over doing something productive? It was mind boggling.
Currently, the Nightingale family was attending a party held by the Schnee Dust Company, a company that produced, imported and exported Dust. The Nightingale's had received a written invitation to the party and decided to attend.
Well, Thorn's parents had decided to attend, he was dragged along. His father had said something about it being "a good way to meet other children and make friends."
That was another thing that Thorn couldn't understand, friends. Why would you become so acquainted with someone to the point you would be considered friends if all they would do is divert your attention from your priorities? They were counterproductive, and yet he was being encouraged to make some. It just didn't make sense.
The older Nightingale's were currently speaking to Jacques Schnee, the current head of the Schnee family. Thorn didn't like him immediately, he was almost certain it was because of the moustache. Ignoring the adult's conversation, Thorn's attention was currently being diverted by the two girls in front of him. They were obviously sisters, that much was certain, though there was a small age gap between. Thorn assumed the sisters were likely seven or eight years apart, the older of the two definitely had to be a teen and the younger one seemed to be Thorn's age. The boy found himself being stared at and staring back in return.
"...Now then, allow me to introduce my daughter's." Jacques motioned to his eldest daughter first. "This is my eldest daughter, Winter." The old man introduced as the older girl stepped forward.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Winter greeted with a curtsy.
"And this is my youngest daughter, Weiss." Jacques motioned to the now named Weiss and she stepped forward.
"It is a pleasure." Weiss greeted with a copy of her sisters curtsy.
"It's lovely to meet you both." Thorn's mother said with a small giggle. "This is our son-" Thorn cut his mother off by stepping forward, getting onto one knee, placing his hand over his heart and lowering his head.
"I am Thorn Nightingale, it is a great honour to meet members of such a prestigious family." Thorn introduced whilst becoming the epitome of formality. He would eventually succeed his parents and become the head of the family; having connections to the Schnee family would be beneficial in the long run.
"What a polite young man." Jacques commented as Thorn stood up.
"I do not deserve such a compliment." Thorn replied calmly. Jacques turned his attention back to the older Nightingale's.
"Why don't we continue talking while checking on the other guests? I'm sure a number of them would love to meet two of the most renowned hunters." Jacques suggested. "Winter, why don't you and Weiss keep our younger guest here entertained." The old man urged.
"Of course, father." Winter replied as she took Weiss's hand and began to walk off, Thorn following not too far behind.
The trio walked for a short while and Winter eventually lead them to a bedroom. Thorn figured it was the girls' bedroom since there two separate beds on opposing sides of the room. The boy's attention was diverted by the two big windows, both offering a beautiful view of the shattered moon. Thorn found himself standing at one of the windows, staring at the moon as its light cascaded around him. He felt something tugging at his heartstrings, drawing out once forgotten emotions.
"It's surprising how different something you see on a regular basis can look with a change of scenery." Thorn muttered off-handedly.
"Is it?" Winter questioned as she walked over to the boy.
"Yeah, it is. It stirs up all kinds of emotions and feelings, happiness, fascination, wonder, sadness..." Thorn trailed off as he thought about his previous life. How many times had he looked up at the moon? How many times had it fascinated him? When did it cease to? When had he decided such things were irrelevant?
"Are you okay?" Weiss asked, bringing Thorn back to his senses.
"Yes." Thorn replied simply. "Sorry, I was just thinking about a lot of different things." He apologised as he smiled childishly.
The trio talked about a variety of subjects, from daily habits to opinions of recent events. Most of the opinion based topics would be discussed solely between Winter and Thorn since most of the topics ended up confusing Weiss. Eventually they breached a topic that Thorn always enjoyed talking about. Huntsmen.
"I plan to become a Huntsman one day." Thorn stated.
"Why?" Weiss asked.
"Simple, I want to." The brunette shrugged. "And I won't let anyone tell me I can't." He added as he looked towards the ceiling, missing the look of amazement on Weiss's face and the impressed one on Winter's. After a few moments of silence they went back to their small talk, and Thorn had to admit that he actually had fun talking to the sisters.
Eventually Thorn's parents collected him and they returned home. Thorn let out a yawn and struggled to keep his eyes open, he kept forgetting that he had the stamina of a child now. Sleep soon overtook him and he slept through the ride home and into the next day.
It was at eight years old that it happened. While practicing controlling Rose Garden, Thorn lost control. His parents tried to help him... tried and failed. Rose Gardens whip took Thorn's father's head clean off his shoulders, while his mother got thrown into the wall by the shield before being cut into ribbons by the sword. With its thirst for blood sated for now, Rose Garden disappeared. Leaving an eight year old Thorn to blankly stumble towards the nearest place that could help.
It rained on the day of the funeral, it always rains at funerals. Pathetic fallacy made sure of that, but there was one person that wasn't affected. Thorn watched on emotionlessly as his parents caskets were lowered into their graves. He didn't have the right to cry, not that he would have cried for a pair of strangers anyway.
After the funeral ended Thorn waited, it would have been strange if he left first. To keep up the appearance of a child he would wait until he was the only person left, then he would return home, put on his smile, and carry on like normal.
Apparently fate, or coincidence as Thorn would call it, had other ideas.
"Hey, kid." A male voice called out. Thorn turned to see a black haired man with red eyes standing under an umbrella, the flask at the man's hip didn't go unnoticed. The man walked over to Thorn and made sure the umbrella protected him from the rain. Thorn looked up at the man, his soaked hair clinging to the front of his face as he did so.
"We're going back to your place so you can pack; apparently Oz wants you to live with me and my relatives." The man stated.
"Ah, so you're one of the other people that calls him Oz." The child realised with a small smile. "Very well then, let's get going. I can't stand wearing these sopping wet clothes." The eight year old turned around and began to head home for what would likely be the last time for a while, he planned to return at some point. Everything had been left to him after all.
"Kid." The black haired man stated.
"The name's Thorn." He corrected with a smirk as his pace remained unchanging.
"A child smiling at their parent's funeral... now I've seen it all." The man sighed as he took a sip from his flask.
"Tai! Summer! I'm back!" Qrow, as Thorn had learnt the man's name was, called out as he closed the door to the house behind him.
"Alright, just give us a sec!" A male voice, that Thorn assumed belong to 'Tai', called back. Soon after, a man, a woman, two young girls and a dog emerged from what seemed to be the kitchen. All four sets of eyes landed on Thorn.
"Is this him?" The woman, presumably Summer, asked.
"Yep, this is Thorn Nightingale. From this day on he's under our care." Qrow confirmed.
"Hello." Thorn greeted emotionlessly, earning concerned stares from 'Tai' and Summer. Summer walked forward and crouched down in front of him, she looked him in the eyes. This lasted for a short while, Summer stared into Thorn's dark eyes, while he stared into her bright ones. He could feel the warmth that radiated from her, it was enough to start melting his ice coated heart.
Then she hugged him.
This action caused Thorn to go into a panic. The last time he had been hugged was in his previous life, and he had been stabbed by the hugger. That was when he had learnt to never trust even the most gentle looking people.
"Welcome to the family." She stated. Thorn's panic died down immediately, he was confused now.
"Wha- But... I'm a stran-" The boy began before Summer cut him off.
"Nope." She stated while popping the 'p'. "If you live under this roof then you're part of the family." Summer explained. Thorn looked around desperately, his eyes eventually landed on 'Tai'.
"She has a point kid." Was all the man said, even the two girls nodded in agreement. Thorn gaped, any words of protest got caught in his throat and came out as small whines.
After being properly introduced to the Xiao-Long-Rose family, which consisted of: Taiyang Xiao-Long, Summer Rose, Yang Xiao-Long, Ruby Rose and Zwei. Thorn was resting in the room he would be staying in. He finally let recent events catch up to him and let out a long sigh. Eight years old and he was already a murderer, he chuckled dryly at that fact. The child looked over at his suitcase and decided to go through it, he pulled out books and clothes before finally reaching what he wanted. His parents' weapons, he had been allowed to keep them for some reason.
Thorn picked up his mother's dual pistols. The pistols used custom made Dust cartridges that changed what the ammunition did depending on the type of Dust used. Thorn had discovered that, unlike most weapons in this world, the pistols had no second function. They were just regular pistols.
Thorn placed the pistols on his bed before looking over his father's weapon. Six swords, katanas specifically, that had an interesting way of working. The katanas were designed so that three of them would fit together at the handle to make a three bladed sword, both three bladed swords could be connected at the pommel to make one six-bladed, double-edged sword. Thorn considered it to be highly impractical, he couldn't fathom how it could be used effectively.
Thorn placed the swords on his bed and sat in its centre. He took his time to examine the weapons, figuring out how each piece worked. He wanted to take them apart and study what was inside, but lacked the tools to do so. After examining every inch of the weapons he could, Thorn placed them back in his suitcase.
Changing into his pyjamas, Thorn got under the covers of his bed and went to sleep.
It had been two months since Thorn had effectively been adopted and things were going well. Taiyang and Summer treated him like a son, Qrow also acted as a father figure whenever he was around, and Yang and Ruby treated him like a brother. Thorn actually felt like he had a family, which annoyed him. He didn't like having a family, having a family only hindered him. Sadly, as much as he wanted to deny it, Thorn felt some form of a familial bond with them. No matter how much he tried to push them away, they just kept approaching him. And he still couldn't understand why, this point aggravated him. And that aggravation prompted Rose Garden to try and break free again, causing Thorn a more severe than the last headache with every try.
"Thorn? Are you okay up there?" Summer asked as she looked up at a pensive Thorn. The brunette shook his head as he was brought out of his stupor, he looked down from his perch on a tree branch.
"Yeah... I'm fine." He replied while waving dismissively, he got up and prepared to jump down.
"Are you sure?" The woman questioned.
"Yes." The child responded with a noticeable amount of aggravation behind his voice.
"You can tell me if there's something wrong." Summer pushed, Thorn finally snapped.
"I can tell you if there's something wrong, can I?" The boy mockingly asked. "Fine. You wanna know what's wrong!?" He yelled. "You and your family, that's what's wrong! I'm a complete stranger, but you welcomed me into your own home as if I was your son. You treat me with kindness and I can't for the life of me understand why!" Thorn ranted, slamming his foot down on the branch a couple of times.
Summer looked at him with a shocked expression. Thorn was usually quiet, but only because he had bottled up his feelings this entire time. She decided it would be for the best to let him let his feelings out.
"I mean, when I first arrived, you said: 'welcome to the family'. How am I family? I'm not related to any of you! But you still continue treat me like your child. Why? Is it out of pity? Do I look like some sad child? Or do you get something out of it? Is that it? Does looking after me get you what you want? 'Cause if not, then I seriously can't understand why you continue treat me with kindness." Thorn finally stopped when he ran out of breath. Slamming his foot down one last time, he missed the branch. His body fell forward and he felt his hand slip off the tree, he began falling towards the ground.
"Thorn!" Summer yelled in surprise, she ran forward to catch him.
The boy closed his eyes, he knew she wouldn't make it in time. He was going to die for the second time, and his only regret was that this death wouldn't be as flashy as the last one. Then something he thought would never happen again happened, Rose Garden helped him. The first time Rose Garden had helped him was in his previous life, he was in a tight spot and Rose Garden gave him partial control over some of its powers.
This time, a giant rose bloomed out of the ground, right where Thorn was going to land. He landed on the rose and opened his eyes, he was still alive. Though he wouldn't be for much longer if the bear hug he received from Summer was any indication.
"I'm so glad you're okay." She sobbed.
"Er... ah... Yeah, I'm okay." Thorn confirmed, more for himself than for Summer. He found himself hugging Summer in return, not because he was scared, but because he wanted to reassure her that he was okay.
Then he realised it. Summer and her family weren't nice to him out of pity or because they got something out of it, they were nice to him because they were nice people. He felt horrible, he had lashed out at one of the people that had been unconditionally nice to him.
"I'm sorry." Thorn apologised, he repeated this apology for as long as Summer continued to hug him. Eventually, they broke off from their hug.
"Your eyes." Summer gasped as she noticed a certain change in Thorns appearance. His irises had turned red and the pupils were white and slitted.
"Huh? Oh, right. They change when I use my semblance." The boy explained. It wasn't a lie, his eyes changed whenever he used Rose Garden's power, voluntarily or involuntarily.
"You already know your semblance?" Summer questioned.
"Yeah... and I have my aura unlocked as well." Thorn admitted. He took a second to think something over. His aura would've protected him from the fall wouldn't it? Or would it not have? Is that why Rose Garden helped? Did it know he would've died otherwise? He had too many questions and no answers.
"I see..." Summer trailed off, she looked like she was deep in thought for a while, then she smiled at the child in front of her. "Anyway, that's enough excitement for now." The woman beamed. "Why don't we go home now?" It wasn't a question, it was a cleverly masked order.
It was raining, and every fibre of Thorn's being was telling that something bad was going to happen. And sadly, he was right. He knew he was as soon as Taiyang and Qrow walked through the door, without Summer. Watching the two soaked figures, Thorn closed the book he had been reading and fetched a couple of towels.
"Thanks kid." Qrow thanked dryly as he took the towels from Thorn's hands and passed one to Taiyang. "Why don't you go to bed now?" the man suggested.
Thorn pretended not to hear him as he started making some tea, he started boiling water in the kettle and continued with the preparations. He took two mugs from one cupboard and a couple of tea bags from another, he put the tea bags in the mugs and the mugs on a tray. He poured the boiled water into the mugs once it was done and added some milk, he got out a spoon and stirred both drinks. He quickly washed the spoon and took the drinks out to the two adults, he placed the tray on the coffee table in front of them.
Thorn picked up his book and headed for the stairs, he looked back as he put his foot on the first step.
"I'm sorry for your loss." The child apologised before heading to his room.
A few days later the funeral was held. The only attendees were the Xiao-Long-Rose family, Qrow and Thorn. Taiyang, Yang and Ruby were huddled together in front of the memorial. An epitaph reading "Summer Rose – Thus Kindly, I Scatter" was inscribed on the stone slab. Qrow and Thorn stood at the trees before the path back to the house.
"You gonna smile this time kid?" Qrow asked with an arched eyebrow as he looked at Thorn, said child looked back with a neutral expression.
"Quite the contrary, actually. I feel like crying right now." Was his response.
"And yet you're not." The older man pointed out.
"Because I can't." The eight year old stated.
"You can't?" Qrow questioned.
"My tears... were just one of the many things I lost..." Thorn trailed off as he placed his hand over the left side of his chest. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "I truly do bring tragedy wherever I go." Thorn felt something grasp his shoulder, he looked up to see Qrow giving him a sad smile.
"This isn't your fault, Thorn." The black haired man comforted, using Thorn's name for once. The child's face grew sadder and sadder, until he eventually broke out into tears.
"It seems you found something." Qrow said while ruffling Thorn's hair.
"Yeah." He agreed through the sobs, he dried his eyes and looked up. 'Summer, I'll look after Ruby and Yang for you. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to them.' Thorn promised mentally.
It had been a week since the funeral. Thorn was checking in on Ruby and Yang before going to bed, he was heading to Ruby's room first when he noticed the door was open slightly. He picked up his pace and opened the door fully, he looked around the room. Ruby was nowhere to be seen. Hoping she was just sleeping with her sister, Thorn rushed to check Yang's room. Neither of them were there. Thorn dashed about the house, hoping to find some trace of the sisters. Quickly checking outside, Thorn noticed that the red wagon that normally sits in front of the house was missing.
"No... No, no, no." Thorn repeated as he ran upstairs. "Of all the nights for Tai and Qrow to leave us by ourselves." He muttered as he dashed into his room, he hurriedly opened his suitcase and threw everything out. Thorn picked up his mother's pistols, loaded a random cartridge into each of them and stuffed a few spare cartridges into his pockets. The child hastily ran out the door and into the woods, hoping to find some trace of the girls.
It had to have been about an hour since Yang had loaded her sister into the red wagon and gone searching for her mother, Raven. It was dark, and the dead trees made everything seem sinister. Finally, Yang found what she was looking for, the cabin her mother was supposedly staying in. Then she heard it, snarling, followed by howling, a lot of howling. Then they appeared.
Beowolves.
A pack of the Grimm surrounded the two girls. They began to inch closer, but stopped when a gunshot resounded through the area. One of the Grimm evaporated into nothingness and a small figure walked towards the sisters.
It was Thorn, but his eyes had changed. As he continued forward he growled, he stopped next to Yang and turned to address the Beowolves.
"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" The small boy roared. Yang recoiled at the level of volume that came out of the usually quiet boy's mouth.
The Grimm growled and roared back. One of them charged forward, it drew its paw back to take a swing at the boy. Thorn smirked and fired a shot from both guns at the Beowolf, the shots collided and blew the Grimm to smithereens.
"Yang, get in the wagon. Cover your sister and whatever you do, make as little noise as possible." Thorn commanded evenly.
"But-" Yang started.
"Don't argue with me!" The boy snapped, he cast a glance back and saw Yang covering Ruby in the wagon. Thorn looked over the pack of Beowolves and grinned sadistically.
Two Beowolves ran forwards, one lunged at the boy while the other kept charging. Thorn considered dodging backwards, but that could put Ruby and Yang in danger. He would need to stay near the wagon at all times. Thorn aimed one gun each at the Beowolves, firing two shots at both of them. The shots collided, but only managed to stun the Grimm. Suddenly, everything became a blur, Thorn found himself flying through the air. He felt his back collide with a tree and fell to the ground. The boy quickly looked for his guns, they were out of reach. Then he noticed the Grimm closing in on the wagon and the girls.
They were going to die.
That single thought ran through Thorn's mind. And it pissed him off greatly. Stumbling to his feet, the boy took in a deep breath.
"I believe I told you..." He started, feeling a surge of power in his body. "TO STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" Thorn roared again as the power that had swelled up in his body exploded out of him.
Small sections of the ground started to shake. Then the wagon was swallowed up by a hollow and see through rosebud. Afterwards, giant stems coated in thorns shot out from the ground, skewering most of the Grimm. As the Beowolves evaporated, the stems receded back into the ground.
Thorn quickly picked up his guns and aimed at one of the remaining Beowolves, he couldn't aim steadily. His vision began to falter. He wouldn't be able to continue fighting now. Thorn had one last idea, one final hope. He shakily aimed one of the guns at the sky and fired. The remaining Grimm focused on him, they stalked past the rosebud and towards Thorn. The rosebud submerged into the ground, leaving the wagon unguarded, as Thorn fell to his knees. He looked up at one of the approaching Beowolves. The last thing he saw was its head fly off and a scythe.
"About time... you drunkard." Thorn smiled faintly as he blacked out.
Thorn woke up in his bed, he slowly sat up. His breath was shaky and he still felt tired. Using Rose Garden's power while he was still this young was a bad idea, especially since there was the risk of Rose Garden going berserk again. Then again, that risk was always there, and always would be if they couldn't come to an agreement. Bad thing was, the two couldn't agree on anything. Rose Garden only helped when it wanted to, Thorn had to forcibly use the power otherwise.
"Ah, you're up." Qrow's voice stated. Thorn looked over at the man who, as usual, was drinking from his flask.
"How much of an alcoholic are you?" Thorn asked bluntly.
"You go on a small power trip that leaves you unconscious, and that's the first thing you have to say?" Qrow asked in return while pointing at Thorn with his flask.
"It wouldn't be the first time." The boy shrugged with an amused smile on his face.
"It wouldn't be the first time you've gone on a power trip? Or it wouldn't be the first time you've asked something ridiculous after waking up?" The drunkard questioned.
"Both." Thorn stated amusedly.
"You're one weird kid, you know that?" Qrow stated bluntly.
"I've been called worse." Thorn admitted with a shrug. Qrow was about to say something, but Taiyang cut him off as he walked into the room.
"Qrow, is he awake yet?" Taiyang asked before noticing the boy was awake and sitting upright. The man immediately hugged the boy.
"Gyagh." Thorn choked at the force behind the gesture, he wasn't sure if Taiyang was happy that he was okay or trying to kill him for letting Yang and Ruby get into danger.
"Tai, you might want to let him go." Qrow suggested as he watched Thorn's face slowly fade to blue.
"Huh? Oh!" Was Taiyang's reaction as he let the boy go, only now realising how much force he had put into the hug. "Sorry. I was just glad to see you up after a week of resting." He apologised. Before he could say anything in response, Thorn was tackled from his bed, taking most of the bed sheet with him.
"You're okay!" Yang yelled. Thorn sat up to find Yang and Ruby hugging him.
"What is with this family and hugging?" The boy asked with a flustered blush on his face, this got a laugh out of everyone present. The two girls let go of Thorn and stood up, then they pulled him to his feet and Ruby started to pull him out of the room.
"Come on, come on. We have something to show you." The younger girl prompted enthusiastically.
"Easy there Ruby, I'd like to get changed first." Thorn laughed as he realised he was still in the same clothes he had worn the day he passed out.
After his statement, the others left his room so he could change. After changing the lower half of his outfit, Thorn took his shirt off and picked up a new one. He had put it on and was about to button it up, but then he looked in the mirror. The pitch black Death Clock stood out against his pale skin, Thorn placed his hand over it before slowly tracing the circle with his index finger.
"Rose Garden..." The boy whispered. He thought back on all the times he had used the monsters power. What had been the point of it all? He found that question floating about in his mind along with one other. Why did he protect Ruby and Yang? Sure, he had mentally promised he would at the funeral, but why had he made that promise? Why did he want protect lives instead of taking them? He was more used to the latter than the former. So, why? Why did he feel compelled to protect people in this life.
That's when he realised it. This life, it wasn't originally his.
"You're still in here, aren't you Thorn? At least, in some capacity." Albert sighed as a tingly feeling rose in his chest. "I'll take that as a yes." Albert nodded as the feeling died down. "Well, I'm glad you've had a positive impact on me. It's nice to care about others for once." The reborn teen admitted. "Anyway, I'd better hurry up. They are waiting for Thorn down there. You're okay with me living your life right?" Albert asked. He took the lack of a response as a sign that what had remained of Thorn was content with him living his life.
"Thanks." Thorn thanked as he buttoned up his shirt and left the room.
As he headed down the stairs, Thorn noticed that no one was in the living room. He picked up a bit of noise in the kitchen, Zwei's occasional barking to be specific. As he entered the kitchen, Thorn was greeted with party poppers and blowers. He backed into a wall in surprise, he placed his hand over his heart. It was beating incredibly quickly.
"Ha! You should see the look on your face!" Yang laughed as she walked over to Thorn.
"What is all this?" Thorn asked as he steadied his breathing.
"It's a party, idiot." Yang explained as she jokingly punched Thorn in shoulder.
"I see... What's the occasion?" Thorn questioned, he was confused as to why they would be celebrating anything considering everything that had happened recently.
"You are!" Ruby exclaimed with a childish smile, a party blower hanging from her mouth.
"I... Wha...?" Thorn found himself getting more and more confused.
"We're celebrating you, kid." Qrow explained, clearing up a bit of Thorn's confusion. "Specifically, your bravery." Thorn nodded as he finally understood, at least to a better degree than before, what was going on.
Thorn looked over everything that was set up. There was cake, party games and a few gifts, it looked more like a birthday party than anything else. The boy let out a few tears before of happiness before joining the celebration.
After a while, Thorn found himself forced to sit down on the couch. The three presents that had been on the kitchen table were now on the coffee table in front of him. He had been told to open them, but he was having a difficult time with deciding which one to open first. The one on the left was apparently from Ozpin, Thorn couldn't fathom why, the one in the middle was from the Xiao-Long-Rose family, and the one on the right was from Qrow. Eventually, he picked the gift from Qrow up and began to unwrap it, then he opened the small box and pulled out a flask.
"Qrow!" Taiyang yelled.
"What?" Qrow asked in response, playing innocent.
Thorn uncapped the flask and sniffed what was inside. It smelled familiar, incredibly so, but Thorn couldn't quite put his finger on it. He tuned out Taiyang's rant at Qrow and thought about it. It took a little while, but Thorn finally figured it out after taking a sip.
"Lemonade..." He uttered mindlessly, then the rest of the taste kicked in. "Grape lemonade." He corrected himself as he looked over at Qrow and Taiyang. Qrow put his hands up in defence.
"People like grapes." He stated with a smile, getting a laugh out of the children in the room and a sigh from Taiyang.
Thorn put the cap back on the flask and placed the flask on the coffee table, then he moved onto Ozpin's gift. He repeated the unwrapping and unboxing process and eventually pulled out a black scroll. When Thorn thought about it, Taiyang and Qrow also had black scrolls. Speaking of Qrow, he had an agitated look on his face, though he replaced it with a half-hearted smile when he noticed Thorn looking. Looking at it closely, the scroll actually had a few differences to the adult's scrolls.
Thorn's scroll had a red rose on the back with green vines coated in thorns spreading out from it, the vines even wrapped around to the front. He also noticed that the usually gold button in the centre was silver with a gold circle.
Thorn was tempted to open the scroll and fiddle with it, but he still had one more gift to get through. Placing the scroll next to the flask, Thorn picked up the present from Taiyang, Yang and Ruby. It was the heaviest of the gifts, but even then it was considerably light. Once again repeating the unwrapping and unboxing process, Thorn was surprised to find a white and gold... briefcase?
"It's a Dust case." Taiyang explained. "I noticed that the pistols you were using required dust, so I figured it would be best to get you one of these now." He elaborated.
Thorn smiled at the man and ran his hand over the Dust case, he stopped and focused on the insignia in the middle of the case. It was a nightingale with thorns surrounding and covering it, the entire insignia was purple.
"Did Ozpin help with designing this?" Thorn asked as he pointed at the insignia specifically. Taiyang looked confused for a second, but gave his answer with a smile.
"Yeah, he said you'd like it, so I had it added. Though I don't understand why he made it purple." Taiyang admitted. Thorn chuckled as he brushed his thumb over the insignia.
"Because it's the first thing we talked about." The boy reminisced, he thought back to his first, and so far only, conversation with Ozpin.
The rest of the day was spent having fun.
Thorn was sitting on his bed, personalised scroll in hand. He pressed the silver and gold button in the centre and pulled the two sections apart vertically to reveal the screen. The scroll booted up and went to the usual screen Thorn had seen from his parent's scrolls. He meticulously looked through everything and finally found something that stood out to him.
"A.S.H – A.I. Specialised Helper."
Thorn tapped the application, it opened up and started initialising. After the bar reached one hundred percent, a notification popped up.
"Please use the provided earpiece."
Thorn didn't recall seeing an earpiece in the box earlier. He looked through the box again and took out the bit the scroll had been resting in, he found the earpiece sitting at the bottom of the box.
"Smart man." Thorn muttered as he placed the earpiece in his ear. "'Kay, what now?" He asked himself. The notification hadn't disappeared from the scroll yet. "I guess I have to turn on the earpiece." The boy realised as he ran his index finger down the earpiece, he stopped at what felt like a button and pushed it. The notification on the scroll disappeared and the app closed automatically.
"Hello?" A female voice called out. "Are you there Master Thorn?" The voice asked.
"Er... Yeah, I'm here. Are you A.S.H?" Thorn asked in return.
"Yes. I am A.S.H, your A.I. Specialised Helper. Professor Ozpin had me implemented into your scroll so that I can assist you when needs be." A.S.H explained.
"I see. So what can you do exactly?" The boy questioned, interested as to why he would need an A.I. assistant.
"I can operate your scroll by myself. By which, I mean: I can play any messages you receive straight to your earpiece, make and accept calls and search for and read any files on your scroll or any device your scroll is connected to. I can also play any music you download, but that's not as practical as my other functions." A.S.H explained excitedly, apparently she got excited from talking about her own functions. She was either a narcissist or a technology enthusiast, Thorn prayed it was the latter.
"Got it. Is that all?" Thorn asked, he wanted to know just how much A.S.H could do.
"Well as you can tell, I can talk to you. And as I am an independent A.I., I can offer you my opinion on a subject should you wish for a second opinion." A.S.H expanded on her prior explanation.
"Okay, but why were you given to me?" The boy questioned. He had been gifted a capable and independent A.I., but he realised the peculiarity of that scenario. Why would he be given what could only be a valuable piece of technology without being expected to give something in return? That was when he came to a realisation.
He owed Ozpin two favours. One for having the Xiao-Long-Rose family take him in, he also owed them for that one, and now another for being given an expensive piece of equipment.
"The full details have not been disclosed to me, but Ozpin did hint that he has plans for you." A.S.H admitted. "When he spoke to the researcher who implemented me into the scroll, they referred to you as 'Bishop'." The A.I. added.
"'Bishop'" Thorn repeated. "A man entrusted with authority and oversight..." The eight year old thought about the significance of the name, he had to hold back his laughter as he thought about what the future might hold for him with that name.
"Master Thorn? Are you okay?" A.S.H asked, concerned by the sudden laughter.
"I'm fine A.S.H, just fine." Thorn assured. "Ozpin... Just what do you have planned for me?" The foresty eyed boy posed the question as if the man would suddenly appear and give him the answer. Knowing that such a development would not occur, Thorn turned off the earpiece and scroll and finally went to bed.