Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Co-authored with ToxicExotic

Parents

It's okay, Ruby, she said to herself nervously as she approached the tent, anxiously tapping her fingers together. They're probably done already.

Who was she kidding? It had only been four hours. That wasn't even as many hours as years since the faunus girl had last seen her parents, there was likely still plenty of things for them to talk about. And if she had her way, then she would leave them to talk without interruption. However, much to her dismay, Saber had ordered her to update Blake's dad on progress with the cart and to inform the chieftain that he was awake. It was not something Ruby was especially happy about, but she had promised Ozpin that they would follow every order the man gave.

However, as she approached, she heard something that made her stop. The unmistakable sound of someone crying was coming from the tent, and Ruby was able to place that sound anywhere. She hated hearing it almost a week ago, and she hated it just as much now. Hated hearing how much pain her girlfriend was in, but at least she was finally getting it all out. She had already punished herself enough, and was doing everything she could to make things right.

Sadly though, Blake didn't feel the same, and no matter what Ruby tried to tell her, the girl wouldn't change her mind. Ruby hoped that the girl's parents would be able to convince her that she didn't deserve to be punished anymore, but from the sounds of it they weren't having much luck either. So with a sad, she reached out and went to slowly pull aside the tarp that covered the entrance.

Before she could though, she felt a presence to her left beside the tent and turned to see who it was, only to be met with nothing. The area was empty, but she could definitely feel something watching her. It took a second, but she suddenly realised that it was the same feeling she'd had that morning and wondered if the girl with the invisibility semblance was lurking around again.

Unfortunately, she wasn't anywhere near as good as Blake or Fox with sensing aura so knew she would be unable to locate the girl, though she supposed that was a good thing. After all, she was probably hiding for a reason. So simply giving the empty space a smile, just as she had done that morning, she turned back to the tent and carefully lifted aside the flap.

"Uhh… Mr B-Belladonna." She asked, not looking inside just yet. "S-Sorry for interrupt-"

"You may enter, Miss Rose." His kind voice replied.

Once again wishing that she didn't have to interrupt the precious family time of her girlfriend, Ruby took a deep breath and shook away the nerves. Sticking her head through the canvas, she was greeted by the Belladonna family sitting around the map table. While Ghira looked as he always did, though slightly more tired, his wife looked uncomfortable. Her amber eyes that were so like Blake were filled with shame as she looked on her daughter. Blake however was much worse.

Not only were her eyes painfully red, she was shaking and sniffling, her hands wrapped tightly into balls as she stared down at them seemingly refusing to meet anybody's gaze. Once again, Ruby felt a wave of sympathy rush through her. She knew how hard it must be for the girl to face her parents again and explain herself, and wanted nothing more than to give her a hug and tell her everything was going to be okay. But she wasn't sure it was right for her to be there any longer than she needed to be.

"How can I help, Miss Rose?" Ghira said, standing up and pouring more tea for his wife and daughter.

"Oh!" Starting slightly, she looked away from her girlfriend and back up at the man. "Umm… Saber told me to tell you that he is awake and ready to discuss tomorrow's journey. He also wanted me to tell you that the cart is almost ready. My sister is just finishing up the brakes and then we can put it together."

"Good, good." The man nodded and pushed one of the drinks towards Blake. "I thank you and your team for the help with this. Leaving our supplies behind would have been detrimental."

"It's fine." Ruby nodded sheepishly, glancing down at her girlfriend again and seeing her look away from the cup. "We're happy to help Blake's family. But I should get ba-"

"Actually." Kali interrupted, and pulled her own drink towards herself. "Would you be so kind as to stay?"

"Oh. Umm… I'm not sure that would be a good idea."

"Please?" The woman said, her voice becoming more firm. "You are clearly someone our daughter is comfortable around, and this has been a very trying day for her. A familiar face may help her with this final part."

Still unsure as amber eyes locked onto hers, Ruby glanced sideways at her girlfriend in search of permission. After all, this way Blake's reunion, and she didn't want to intrude. After a couple of seconds however, the girl gave an almost imperceptible nod, and Ruby quickly pulled a nearby stool over to sit beside her.

"Fetch the girl another glass, Dear." The woman said to her husband, turning back to Blake as the man got up and walked over to a chest on the other side of the tent. "Now, you were saying something about a farm?"

Realising exactly what part of Blake's past the girl was reliving, Ruby instantly reached out and took her girlfriend's hand underneath the table. For almost a minute it was unresponsive, but as Ghira returned with the aforementioned glass and filled it up, Ruby felt the hand turn and latch onto hers with a grip so tight that she activated her aura to dull the pain.

For the next thirty minutes, Ruby sat there in silence as Blake told the story that had been written in the diary. Unlike the diary however, Ruby felt quite a bit more uncomfortable. The words on the page had felt so distant, so unsure that the weight of what had happened had felt lessened. Listening to Blake however, it was clear just how painful a memory that day was for her. Though she told it without pause, it almost felt like she was trying to get it all out without throwing up. With each new sentence the girl's hand would grip hers tighter, and the shaking would increase even more.

Unfortunately, Ruby could do nothing more than hold her hands. Though she wanted to embrace the girl and tell her that everything would be okay, so didn't want to potentially invite a different conversation into the room. Nor did she want to interrupt and cause Blake to spend even longer telling a story that she hated. So while it wasn't much she held onto her girlfriend's hand and repeatedly squeezed back to make sure Blake understood she wasn't alone.

Eventually though, the girl reached the end of her story, though it had definitely not ended as she expected. Blake had never told them about the train heist she'd been a part of, nor that Adam had been there when she left. As she told them about cutting the cart free, of watching him fade into distance, Ruby could hear the fear in her voice. She couldn't imagine how it must have felt to leave couldn't imagine how it would feel to leave an entire life behind. Even if it was a life she hated.

"That is…" Ghira let out a sad sigh and swirled his tea around. "... quite a story. I know it wasn't easy, but thank you for being honest with us."

The mentally anguished girl merely sniffled and gave a small nod.

"This is all our fault." Kali mumbled, tracing a part of the map with her finger. "We should have stopped you. Should have brought you back home where you belonged."

"Now now, Dear." Ghira said in a soothing voice, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. "It wouldn't have been right for us to force our views on her. Everyone should be free to find their own path, not confined to follow the paths of those that came before."

"I know, Dear." The woman breathed with uncertainty in her voice. "But everything that happened…"

"Was part of a journey that Blake chose." He said with regret in his voice. "What happened is regrettable, but just as her mind led her to darkness, her heart led her to light." He turned away from his wife and gave his daughter a proud look. "That kind of journey breeds experience that cannot be taught. It must be lived."

Ruby couldn't help but scowl at that. Though she knew it definitely wasn't her place to be questioning how people raised their kids, she had always believed that parents were supposed to keep their kids from harm, to keep them from making mistakes that would haunt them forever. So to hear Ghira talk about how it was a good thing that Blake was left to find her own path irked her a little.

"And if she didn't?"

The words slipped out before she could stop them, and she felt her face heat up as ever eyed turned to look at her. Thankfully, neither Kali nor Ghira seemed angry; though Blake did look surprised.

"We had the utmost confidence that she would." Ghira smiled. "I know our methods may seem strange, Miss Rose, maybe even a little callous; but choosing one's own path has always been encouraged in the Belladonna family. While we do offer guidance and knowledge as best we can, the actions we chose must always be our own."

That still didn't sound right to Ruby. "I… I disagree."

"As is your right." The man said with a kind smile.

Though the man didn't seem angry, Ruby chose not to reply out of worry that might change. However, she was beginning to see what Blake had meant the night before when she had called her parents passive.

"So where did you go after that, Dear." Kali said, breaking the momentary silence and pulling the focus back to Blake.

Glancing back over to her girlfriend Ruby caught her eyes, and for a moment she thought she saw gratitude in them. Before she could be sure though, the girl turned back to the table and took a shuddering breath.

"Back to a previous camp." Blake replied quietly, lifting her tea with shaky hands and taking a sip. "I'd hidden some stuff there when I started having doubts. Then I travelled a little. Nowhere in particular… just village to village, before ending up at Beacon. It seemed like the best place to start making things right."

"And things have been good at Beacon?" Kali asked curiously.

Out the corner of her eye, Ruby saw Blake give her a small look and offered a smile in return. Even as the girl gave her mom a nod, Ruby felt pride and happiness rush through her and a warmth took ahold of her cheeks.

"I love it there. I have friends, and I feel… safe."

"And we love having her there." Ruby said, raising a hand to pick up her tea, forgetting that she was still holding Blake's.

Almost instantly, Kali's eyes fell to them and then darted back and forth between them. Knowing that she was likely blushing already, she dropped her hand back underneath the table. Unfortunately, the woman's eyes had already widened and filled realisation.

"Oh… I see." She said, a flicker of a smile appearing in the corner of her mouth.

"See what, Dear?" Ghira said, seemingly having noticed nothing.

"A discussion for another time." The woman smiled, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm just glad you had friends at Beacon that could help you deal with this."

"Yes." Ghira agreed with his wife. "But you could have called us too. We've never been angry about that day, or held it against you in any way."

"I th-thought you would." Blake's ears were flat against her head. "The things I s-said…"

"You were right to say." Kali said and took her daughter's hand which had been gripping the cup. "We don't deny that our approach to peace and unity is more passive than some would like, but it is our view on the world. We never expected it to be yours too, and always understood that you might think differently. Yes, the things you said hurt, but they were how you felt and we can't be angry at you for expressing yourself."

Now that was definitely something Ruby could agree with. In truth, it was something she wished Blake did more of herself. Though the girl had definitely become more expressive in recent months, there were still quite a few occasions where she remained aloof and reserved. Especially regarding her hobbies and interests. However, on the rare occasion that she did talk about them she would always do so with a wide smile that Ruby hoped she would one day see all the time.

"Kali is right." The man said in a sad tone. "We would have reached out ourselves, but we were unsure whether your feelings about us had changed. Or… well… how to even do so."

"You didn't see her in the Vytal Tournament?" Ruby asked curiously, since the event had been televised all over Remnant.

"CCT reception is rather limited in Menagerie, dear." Kali said with a smile. "The nearest support tower is on a small island between Mistral and Menagerie and is frequently down due to the tide, so what little access we have it reserved for our press and official contact with Mistral."

"That's not fair." She replied immediately.

She knew from what Velvet had said about Menagerie having to rely on Mistral huntsman that Menagerie didn't have many of the things that they took for granted, but the CCT towers were supposed to unite the world. For a whole continent to have barely any access to what had become an integral part of communication definitely wasn't right. How were they supposed to call for help when needed if their tower didn't even work properly?

"It's unfortunate and something we are working to change." Ghira nodded. "Though having a tower would also present some more issues, such as the buzzing they produce and the fact that they would attract more Grimm to the town."

"Now is not the time to lecture her on the ongoings of home, dear."

"You're right." He hummed and took a sip of his drink and returned his attention to his daughter. "The important thing right now is that we have learned that both of our beliefs were wrong. With that understanding, our family can be whole again."

"I…" Blake took a deep breath and nodded at her parents. "I'd like that."

"Good." Ghira smiled, reaching out to take her hand. "And I do understand how much these things must weigh on your mind, Blake, but believe me when I say that it is a good thing. It means you are remorseful for your actions; however you cannot let that remorse consume you. Use it, understand it, and let it show you where you went wrong so that you can choose differently in the future."

"I know." Blake muttered into her tea. "But… What about being punished? After all I did… how can I just be free like this? How is that fair?"

Ruby watched Ghira and Kali exchange a look of uncertainty.

"Fair?" Kali asked with a slight frown. "You think it would be more fair for you to sit in a jail cell than to make amends by training to save the world?"

"I…" Blake shook her head and a tear rolled down her cheek. Throwing caution to the wind, Ruby let go of the girl's hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I d-don't know."

"Well, it is your choice to make." Blake's dad pet her hand gently. "But think of how many people you have helped just last night by choosing Beacon, and how many more you could help by continuing."

"They're right, Blake." Ruby said in a comforting voice. "You did some bad things, but jail is a place for criminals; and you're not one anymore. You want to help people now, and you can't do that in prison. You've already helped Patch by killing the Hellk, and L'vynda by helping with the funeral."

Blake didn't respond straight away. Instead she continued to stare at her tea, the brown liquid reflecting the conflict in her amber eyes. Though Ruby knew she couldn't relate to everything Blake was going through, she knew what it was like to be filled with self doubt. She had been herself after all when starting Beacon, especially when her plan against the Hellk had failed, but with the help of her friends bringing her grades up and helping her to become a better leader, she'd learned how to deal with those doubts.

Eventually though, the girl let out a small sigh and pushed her drink away.

"I need to think." She grumbled. "May I be excused?"

"Of course, dear." Kali smiled. "We should probably talk to Saber anyway before it gets too late."

Giving them all a nod, the girl stood up from the table and walked towards the exit. With a final look back at them that was filled with uncertainty, she left. While Ruby wanted to go after her, she knew her girlfriend wished to be left alone with her thoughts.

"I'll get him for you." Ruby said, also wanting to leave the tent and avoid an awkward situation. "I should check on Yang too."

"Thank you." Kali smiled at her. "And I hope we get to talk some more soon, Ruby."

Her eyes widened slightly at the knowing smile on Kali's face, and she felt her cheek warm as she gave a nod. "M-Me too, Miss… Uhhh, Kali."

Receiving a nod from the woman, Ruby gave them both a wave and walked out of the tent. Just like she suspected, Blake was already gone, and she left out a low groan.

She really wasn't sure what to make of Blake's parents. While they certainly seemed like good people who cared for their daughter, the fact that they would allow Blake to make such a mistake without trying to pull her back irked her. With how much pain it had caused, she couldn't help but believe that their parenting was wrong and more than a little negligent.

But what was she to know? She wasn't a parent, and her dad had not exactly been the most strict person ever. Even Yang, who had been very overprotective, had at least allowed her to make her own choice and become a Huntress, an extremely deadly job. But even still, they would have never let her get involved with people like the White Fang. So, unsure what to think, she shook her head and made her way over to the cart to help Yang. Maybe fiddling with some wires would help clear her mind.

Slumping down against a tree a few meters away from camp, Blake let out a gross sniffle and wiped her eyes. Despite it having been plentiful in the last year, especially in the last few weeks, she still really hated crying. It felt weak, and stupid, and very rarely made her feel better. However, after spending five hours recounting all of the atrocities she had committed and still having her parents welcome her back with open arms, she was having a lot of trouble making them stop.

She had definitely not enjoyed telling the stories of her raids, nor of the gruelling training that she had undergone at the camps, but there was also a sense of relief that had come with talking about it. Having spent a year internalizing everything, of never confident in anyone the full truth of what she had done and holding that shame close to her chest, to finally tell someone felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulder. She was no longer dealing with it alone, and with how supportive they had been, Blake knew she could now turn to her parents or Ruby in the future. Though, that still didn't solve the feeling of feeling like she deserved more punishment for her actions.

While she knew they were right about her contributing more at Beacon than she would in jail, Beacon still allowed her to be happy. Ruby, Yang, Weiss, even JNPR; they were all people that gave her moments where she could forget what she had done. Where the faces of the people she'd hurt no longer haunted her. How was that right to those she had hurt that she was allowed to live out her punishment in a place that made her happy?

However even as she thought about how leaving Beacon would mean leaving her team, or how to be unhappy in her punishment would mean no longer being with Ruby, Blake felt her desire for punishment falter. She considered it quite ironic. Despite having run away from so much in her life, and even having a semblance that allowed her to do so easier, she had finally found somewhere that she never wanted to leave. Not only for herself, but because she knew how much it would hurt the people she loved.

"So this-" Blake started slightly and jumped to her feet. "-at happened to you."

She recognised that voice. "Ilia?"

Craning her head to look in the trees where she had heard the voice, Blake tried her best to spot her friend. Unfortunately, her camouflaging skills seemed to have improved since the last time they'd seen each other, and even with her night vision helping her she was unable to spot the girl among the foliage.

"So you do remember me?" The girl said again, her voice coming from a different part of the forest.

Guilt rushed through her and forced her reply to be quiet. "Of course I do."

"Well you have a funny way of showing it!"

Spinning around to where the bitter voice came from, she was yet again met with nothing but an empty treetop. Not particularly in the mood for a drawn out argument, she activated her aura and extended it out in search of her friends. However, to her surprise, she felt nothing. Nor did she hear breathing or footsteps when focusing her hearing.

"No goodbye, no note; nothing!" The girl's voice spat angrily. "I woke up and you were gone. Do you know how that feels?"

"I…" Blake let her gaze fall to the floor. "I'm sorry."

Still unable to feel any other presence than her own, Blake let out a quiet sigh and shut her eyes. It was an old trick, one they hadn't used in years, but she hoped the girl would remember.

"But you would have stopped me."

A few seconds passed in silence, but Blake eventually felt an aura spark to life in front of her. Opening her eyes, she still couldn't see anything, she could finally hear the girl's soft breathing coming from a nearby tree.

"From throwing away everything we had worked so hard for? Equality. Justice… our friendship?"

Before her eyes, the bark of the tree swirled like a whirlpool, quickly becoming a vibrant red. Small spots turned a bright yellow, and a golden trail ran down the tree to reveal Ilia's hair. Being up close for the first time in a year, Blake could tell the girl had grown. Not by much, but she was at least taller than Weiss now.

"The last time we talked you were heading off on a mission." The girl growled, her fists clenched at her side. "But when Adam came back alone, he refused to tell me what happened; only that you were gone. I woke up every morning for weeks thinking you were dead because nobody would tell me what happened! Because my only friend couldn't be bothered to say goodbye!"

"I…" Blake's eye fell to the ground again as she saw blue begin to creep its way across Ilia's skin. "I didn't mean for that. I just needed out Ilia. I couldn't do it anymore. The fighting, the ambushes, the raids… everything we di-"

"Was for the cause!" The girl snapped, the blue immediately vanishing. "Was to make lives for the faunus better!"

"It wasn't though." She shook her head. "You haven't seen it inside the kingdom's Ilia. Everything the White Fang is doing is just making life harder for us. You're just spreading mistrust."

"What I'm doing is only what was done to us." The girl snarled. "Or has being friends with a Schnee made you forget all that."

Lifting her head to look at her former friend, she saw a cruel look in the girl's eyes. She knew how Ilia felt about Schnees, and knew the reasoning for it; but she wasn't about to let the girl target Weiss.

"Weiss is nothing like her dad." She said firmly and took a step forward. "If you even so much as touch he-"

"You'll do what?" Ilia mimicked her with a sneer. "Hurt me? You've already done that."

For almost a minute, the two stared at each other. Blake had never liked Ilia's eyes being yellow as it showed the worst part of her friend, showed all the things she was capable of. However, unlike the past where she would try to gently relax her and turn it back to the cool grey, Blake needed the girl to know she was serious. So, as Ilia let out a snort of derision and made an attempt to walk past her, she reached out and caught the girl's arm in a vice grip.

"I mean it, Ilia." She said in a low voice, hearing footsteps heading their way. "I'm sorry about how I left, but I still consider you a friend; and as my friend, I'm asking you to leave her alone. Please."

Ilia's eyes shifted between a myriad of colors, a clear sign that she was conflicted.

"You would defend her?" She said, the anger gone and replaced with hurt. "After everything her family took from me?"

"Yes."

Their eyes met again, and Blake tried her best to silently plead with her friend. Thankfully though, after a few seconds, the girl's eyes turned green, which Blake knew to be jealousy, as she let out a sad sigh as she tore her arm free.

"Fine." She mumbled and finally pushed past her. However, the smaller girl only made it a few feet before stopping and turning around. "But for the record, I wouldn't have stopped you."

Without another word, the girl walked away towards camp, and Blake was left feeling even worse than when the conversation had begun. She hated that she had hurt her friend so much, and just like everything else she'd screwed up, she had no idea how to fix it. So instead, she simply returned to her position by the tree and pulled her knees up to her chest, determined to stay hidden until her team came to find her.

Raalm's Note

Hello there everyone.

So you are probably a little curious why we chose to go with Ruby as the main POV for the talk regarding Blake's past. We chose to do that because we thought it would be cool to show Ruby seeing how painful the moment was for Blake, but also because we didn't want ya'll to get annoyed at how moody Blake has been lately. Obviously that is part of her arc right now, but there is always a point where something becomes tiring and we wanted to avoid that.

There was also a little bit of Ilia there, so I hope you enjoyed that :D

Anyway, that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 57 - On The Road Again will be up on the 25th.