Gamer4 in. I wanted to actually do a FNAF episode this time, out of respect to our boy Scott Cawthon. As an aspiring creator myself, I really respect and admire what Mr. Cawthon has accomplished over the years with the Five Nights at Freddy's series, and given certain circumstances, I wanted to do something to show my support for the big guy. But here's the thing- I'm a total normie when it comes to the actual games. I've played them all, but only finished the first. I suck at them, I haven't gone through any of the side material, and overall, that's not the type of person who should be doing a story for FNAF. So, here's my respect for Scotty C up here. I stand with him, but as far as writing a FNAF story goes, FNAFing should be left to the FNAFers. I hope you understand. Let's begin.
Episode XXI
Childe Ren to the Dark Tower Came
Memories of Kuroyuri
Before Crazy could say anything further, however, his phone started ringing "The rusty chains of prison moons are shattered by the-"
Crazy sighed, flipping his hood down and answering quickly. "Yello!"
He started off smiling, but it disappeared quickly. "No... noooo, they didn't- him? Why? Oh, Existence... yes. Yes, I understand..."
Everyone turned to stare at George and Stephen, who only shrugged as if to say, What, you think we know more than you do?
"Yes, I will. This, too, must be the will of the Dark Tower. El Psy Kong..."
He broke off, staring at the corner of the room, drawing everyone else's eyes to a strange man in a lab coat, taller than even Crazy, a bit of scruff on his face.
"...Hello?" Crazy greeted, nonplussed.
The man stepped forward, looking frustrated as he wrenched the phone from Crazy's hand. "Dokuji no kyatchifurezu, soshiki no sukamu o shutoku suru," he grunted as he turned and rushed out the nearby door, immediately disappearing from sight.
"...The hell was that?" Yang asked.
"I, uh... don't know," Crazy admitted, wide-eyed. "Anyways, change of plans- Zero's Game will have to wait! We need to go back to the world of the Dark Tower!"
"The one where Renny's a cowboy?" Nora asked. "But... that one's sad!"
"It's important!" Crazy insisted. "I daresay it might be the most important universe we have to observe here!"
"Wait, wait, waitwaitwait!" George interjected. "I thought we were doing FNAF- I even went and got us our costumes under the impression we were going to do FNAF!"
He produced three masks- one of Freddy, one of Chica, and one of the Puppet.
"Oh- I changed my mind."
George groaned. "You, Crazy, are the reason I have a smoking problem."
"Honestly, I'm fine as long as I don't have to wear that stupid chicken mask," Stephen put in.
"So, where were we with that one?" Ruby pondered, cupping her chin with her hand. "Let's see... Ren was going across the desert, he picked me up, and he told me that story about the town, right?"
"That's as I recall, as well," Ren agreed.
"You were chasing that Cinder woman," Yang put in, growling and smashing her knuckles together. "I still remember what she did in this world- you catch her, you'd better knock out her teeth."
"We still don't really know why he's chasing her," Blake pointed out.
"Well, I suppose we'll find out in due course," Weiss contemplated. "Roll the tape."
Crazy gave an exaggerated bow, to which Weiss rolled her eyes, and the screen roared to life once more.
Neither Ren nor Ruby knew for certain how long they spent in the desert- it may have been days, weeks, or even a solid month before the mountains on the other side finally peeked into view. And at the mountains' roots... trees.
Ruby beamed as she took in even the sparse, dead-looking trees they came upon first- they indicated so much more. After so long, they were nearly at the desert's edge.
"We made it!" she grinned cheerily at her companion. "We made it!"
"Alright, you two!" Yang grinned, thumping her sister on the back. "I was hoping we didn't have to stare at this desert for too much longer!"
"Yes... as did she," Ren agreed pointing towards the mountains. Ruby looked, and gulped when she spied it- a small figure, hardly more than a fleck from this distance, dashing its way up the mountains.
"Cinder," Weiss glowered at the figure of the woman who'd killed Ruby and set Ren up for so much despair. She was the only one to speak, but was hardly alone in her sentiments.
"What are you going to do when you catch her?" Ruby asked, unable to keep the nerves out of her voice.
"That," Ren stated, "depends on her."
With that, he ushered Ruby forwards, towards where the trees grew denser.
"I still don't get it," Nora pondered. "What's he going after her for? I thought he was going for revenge, since she messed everything up, but..."
"His motives are... complex," Crazy smirked, slipping on a pair of round sunglasses. George rolled his eyes and smacked him upside the head.
Their march continued until the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, when Ruby's ears suddenly pricked up. She broke into a smile, then a dash. Ren, who'd already heard what she was hearing now a full minute ago, smiled and matched her pace, finally locating her burying her head in a stream. "Water!" she cried, ducking her head beneath once again. "Water- oh, it feels so good!"
"Water at last," Pyrrha smiled. "They truly have conquered the desert.
Ren glanced around, taking in the sinking sun. "Let's camp here tonight. I can think of far worse places than by a stream."
"I'm not gonna complain!" Ruby beamed as she finally abandoned the stream and returned to his side.
Ren nodded, gathering together some of the drygrass that still persisted. He produced some flint and steel from his pouch and began scraping. "Spark-a-dark, where's my sire?" he said. "Will I lay me? Will I stay me? Bless this camp with fire."
Ruby smiled as the sparks set the grass aflame.
"Is that a thing where you come from?" Jaune couldn't help asking.
"I can't say that it is," Ren denied. "Different worlds, different customs, I suppose."
Ren leaned back, producing a pipe and some tobacco to fill it.
"No, Renny! No smoking!" Nora cried.
"Don't worry, Nora, I don't," Ren assured her.
"You sure?" George looked a little put out that he wouldn't be making a smoking buddy.
As he lit up, he glanced to his side to see Ruby looking at him, wide-eyed, almost imploring. "Yes?"
"Can you tell me a story?" she asked. "Yang always used to tell me stories before bed. I haven't really felt up to it since we left the station, but..." She trailed off, looking hopeful.
"I'm not sure I want to hear another story, after the last one," Blake commented.
"Oh, come on, they can't all be like that!" Nora declared bracingly.
Ren let out a low chuckle. "And what story would you hear, Ruby, daughter of Vytal?"
Ruby tilted her head. "Daughter of... Vytal?"
"We established you lived in Vytal City in this world," Weiss pointed out. "Likely, that's a common naming convention in Ren's."
"Well..." Ruby pondered for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "I know! You heard about where I'm from- what about you?"
A wince went through the audience. "I have a feeling that's still a sore spot for him," Pyrrha guessed.
Ren, however, gave a fond, nostalgic smile. "You'd hear about the green land of Kuroyuri, hmm?"
"Kuroyuri... that was the name?" Ruby repeated, tasting the name, feeling it in her mouth.
"The golden country, constructed, so they say, by Oum himself."
"Oum- you mean Monty Oum?" Ruby asked, eyes wide.
"You say true, I say thank ya," Ren nodded.
"There's another odd turn of phrase," Blake noted. "I'm getting the feeling we're going to hear a lot of those before this is over.
"You ken the great Oum?" Ren asked, taking a long drag from his pipe.
"I mean, we have legends about him back home- Yang told me some of them," Ruby recalled. "I never thought they were really real though."
She turned her gaze back to him. "What's Kuroyuri like?"
Ren leaned back against a tree, his gaze turned towards the sky. "Golden Country," he whispered. "The land of plenty- endless rolling fields under a swift sunrise. In the center... the grand castle, from which Oum brought order to a world of chaos, justice to the unjust, and hope to those who had fallen to despair. A shining beacon, glowing across all the world."
A muted silence fell- more than a few people were glancing at Ren, who looked rather uncomfortable.
Ruby's eyes sparkled. "Will we ever go there?"
Ren's face fell. "No... no, I don't believe we will. Kuroyuri is no more... it has been claimed by dark creatures, creatures of grimm. The world has moved on, so they say, and even Kuroyuri has moved on with it."
Ruby gentle moved closer- Ren made no move to push her away. "What happened?" she asked.
"War," he answered simply. "From the west rose Adam Taurus- the Good Man, as he called himself."
Blake visibly tensed.
"Hey," Yang spoke up. "That's the guy-"
"Yes," Blake cut her off. "That's the guy."
"Some 'good man,'" Weiss snorted. "A common tactic, I suppose- just say that everything you're doing is for the greater good, and you can justify anything."
"Preach, sister, preach," Crazy muttered, but quickly hid behind a can of soda when George turned to him, fingers drumming.
"At first," Ren recalled, "nobody seemed to take him seriously- just a bandit with a fancier way of speaking. By the time we realized how dangerous he truly was, it was far too late. The last great war of In-World had begun."
"And... Kuroyuri lost?" Ruby asked hesitantly.
"Everybody lost," Ren corrected. "Adam died... his army, the White Fang died... Kuroyuri died. The world moved on, and left us all behind. There were only two survivors of that final battle- myself..."
Understanding sparkled in Ruby's eyes. "And her. The woman in red."
Ren nodded solemnly.
"The only survivor..." Ruby whispered sadly.
Ren remained stonily silent- Nora was clinging to him like a lifeline, even if, in this case, she was the lifeline herself.
"Is that why you're chasing her?" Ruby asked. "For revenge?"
"We're long past revenge," Ren shook his head. "No... I seek the Dark Tower. Nothing more, nothing less."
"You mentioned that before," Ruby recalled. "The Dark Tower... what is the Dark Tower?"
Suddenly, the audience perked up. "Are we finally going to get some answers?" Weiss asked for all of them.
Ren's lips quirked upward. "You ask a very complicated question. I suppose, in essence, the Dark Tower is... the all. It is the center of all things- the bolt that holds all our worlds together."
"...What?" Jaune asked, glancing at the others. He was very thankful when they seemed just as stupefied as he was.
"I... I don't understand," Ruby admitted.
"Perhaps there will be time for me to explain more thoroughly later," Ren decided. "In the meantime... you wished to hear a story of my childhood?"
For a moment, it seemed Ruby wished to press him on the subject of the Tower, but at last, she fell back, nodding.
Ren paused, inhaling some more smoke and blowing it out in the shape of a ring. "Very well. To begin with, you must understand the role of the gunslingers. We were the arms of Kuroyuri- its great defenders and diplomats, the greatest soldiers in its army. From when we are very young, we are trained for the responsibility of the guns we must soon carry. My comrades and I learned from two primary teachers- when it came to books, there was no finer teacher than Bartholomew Oobleck. In combat, however, our mistress was Lady Glynda Goodwitch."
"Goodwitch and Oobleck, huh?" Yang pondered. "I don't think we've even seen them before."
"So those were the only teachers there?" Jaune pondered.
"My guess is Kuroyuri was a smaller kingdom than Vale," Pyrrha put in. "This world seems to have fewer people in general. Maybe two teachers is all they needed."
"However, my greatest teacher was ever my father, Li Ren."
Crazy cleared his throat. "Er... Ren? If this is getting too difficult, we can go ahead and-"
"No," Ren shook his head. "Keep going... I'll see it through."
He leaned his head against Nora's, who motioned for them to continue.
"So... tonight, I'll tell you the story of a lesson he taught me, two years before Kuroyuri fell."
The camera panned up to the moon, which was replaced by the sun before it panned down again, this time focusing on a courtyard in which five people stood- one woman and four boys.
"There's Goodwitch," Yang snapped her fingers.
"And Sun," Blake added, then, almost as an afterthought, "and his team."
"Only two of them," Pyrrha corrected, looking closely. "Neptune, and... Scarlet, I believe his name is?"
"So Renny's part of their team in this world?" Nora pouted.
"I doubt this world has the same team set-ups that Beacon does, Nora," Ren shook his head.
Goodwitch stood before the four boys, her arms folded behind her back, riding crop clutched in hand. She gazed down at the boys, each of whom stood with an arm outstretched- upon each rested a hawk, bound to their arms by a short leash and harness. She eyed each of them severely as she slowly crosed the yard to a wooden pedestal upon which sat a cage containing four doves.
For a long moment, they stood there, like a stand-off in the stories of which Ren was so fond.
"I... don't get it," Ruby scratched at her head. "What kind of class is this?"
Pyrrha took everything in quickly. "Speed," she determined. "She's testing their speed."
"Whaddya-"
Before Ruby could even finish her question,
Goodwitch swung open the cage, releasing the doves. The hawks immediately moved to take off- Ren, Neptune, and Scarlet quickly detached their harnesses, but Sun's movements were just too slow, causing his hawk to do a sort of awkward dance as it struggled to stay airborn in the extra second or so that it took for Sun to finish the detachment process.
Soon, three of the doves had been captured- the fourth made good its escape.
"They're training to use guns," Pyrrha reminded them. "They need to be fast with their hands."
"I guess that explains Ren's work with his guns last time," Yang nodded.
"Poor birdies," Ruby sniffed.
Goodwitch took it all in, watching as the hawks returned to their bearers. Ren gently stroked his hawk's feathers- the hawk closed its eyes, as if in enjoyment.
"David, Vasilias, you're dismissed," she barked. "Ren, Wukong, stay where you are."
Neptune and Scarlet gave sympathetic looks to their friends as they turned and left the courtyard. Sun winced, scratching at the back of his neck as Goodwitch closed in. "Uh-oh..."
"Uh-oh indeed, Wukong," Goodwitch hissed as she stood before him. "I'm sure that's what you'd say if Adam Taurus were to break into this courtyard right now, laying siege to our great kingdom. As you reached out towards the puddle of jelly that was once Mr. Ren's face. 'Uh-oh.'"
Jaune cringed. "Geez, I thought our Goodwitch was rough."
"Sorry-" Sun started, but Goodwitch cut him off- by striking him with her riding crop. "Ow!"
"Use the high speech," she demanded. "If you must seek grace, seek it in the tongue of the kingdom for which better men and women than you will ever be have fought and died."
"Yeah," Yang muttered. "Suddenly really glad for the one we have.
Sun bowed his head. "I cry your pardon, sai. I have forgotten the face of my father."
"That's something Ren was talking about, too," Blake pondered. "'Forgotten the face of my father...'"
"Based on context..." Ren pondered.
"It means, 'I done screwed up?'" Nora finished.
"A little more complex than that, but I guess you've got the gist," Crazy shrugged.
"Recite to me the Gunslinger's creed," Goodwitch ordered.
Sun glanced around, making eye contact with Ren, who simple gave an offhanded shrug. He took a deep breath. "I do not aim with my hand- he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I do not shoot with my hand- he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father." A slight smirk crossed his face. "I shoot with my tail- ah!"
Once again, Goodwitch had struck him with the crop. He raised a hand to his face and felt blood.
"There's far worse waiting for you beyond these walls if you can't take this seriously, Wukong," Goodwitch said severely. "Again. From the beginning."
"She has a point, though," Blake reflected. "This world's dangerous- I suppose from her perspective, it's better to cause them some pain now, if it spares their life in the future."
For a moment, it looked as though Sun might argue- his eyes fell on the crop, and he seemed to think better of it. He took a deep breath.
"I do not aim with my hand- he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I do not shoot with my hand- he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father- I shoot with my mind. I do not kill with my gun- he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart."
Goodwitch nodded, seeming satisfied, then turned around. "As for you, Ren," she began, as Sun took advantage of her back being turned to stick his tongue out at her. "You seem to be very fond of that hawk, don't you?"
Ren tore his eyes away from Sun's antics to nod at his teacher. "Yes, ma'am. He's my friend."
"He's your tool, and don't forget it," Goodwitch shot back, arms crossed. "Compassion is all well and good in peacetime, but on the battlefield, there must be no friends- only those who are your targets, and those who aren't."
Ren glanced around, as if uncertain what to say in return. "I... cry your pardon, sai."
"As of now, you've done nothing worth my pardon," Goodwitch sighed. "For now, you remain the fastest of your class- in hand and mind, I believe. Certainly faster than your comrade's tongue." She turned back to Sun. "Don't think I missed that, Wukong."
"She saw that?!" Ruby squeaked. "But... her back was turned!"
"How-" Sun stammered.
"A gunslinger's greatest advantage is to see everything in a single glance," Goodwitch stated. "Even in the eyes of another."
Ren blinked- even he seemed caught off guard.
"She... saw him in the reflection... of my eyes," Ren said slowly.
"Man, no wonder these gunslingers are so notorious," Yang blinked. "They really don't screw around."
"To bed, both of you," Goodwitch ordered. "Wukong- you fast until tomorrow."
"He... fast?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
Weiss gave an exaggerated sigh. "She's telling him not to eat."
"Oh."
Again, Sun looked as though he'd like to object, but his eyes flicked to the crop, and he bowed his head. "I thank you for your pardon, sai."
"Hmm... you've wisened up a bit already," Goodwitch noted before taking her own leave.
The second he was certain she was out of earshot, Sun muttered, "Bitch."
"The world is a greater bitch still," Ren pointed out, once again stroking his hawk's feathers. "We suffer the lesser bitch now, that we may stand a chance against the greater when our time comes."
Yang laughed. "That's some... great insight there, Ren!" she chortled.
"Huh... not used to hearing Renny swear," Nora tilted her head. "I don't think he's ever done it before!"
"I guess," Sun shrugged. "So, what now?"
"Turn in Trico and Jingo at the aviary, for starters," Ren suggested, motioning to his own hawk and Sun's respectively. "After that, I believe I'll take our teacher's advice and turn in."
"What, you don't wanna eat?" Sun asked, surprised.
"Not hungry," Ren shook his head offhandedly- even as his stomach immediately let loose with a sharp growl.
"Aaawwww, he's standing with his friend!" Nora fawned. "Renny, that's so sweet!"
"...Thanks, Nora."
Sun laughed at his friend's show of bravado. "You can lie to me, but not to your stomach," he chuckled, crossing his arms. "But you know what? I bet Perry could set us up with a little somethin'-somethin'!"
"Perry?" Blake asked, ears pricking.
"Someone you know?" Weiss asked.
"Not exactly... I'd heard the name around the White Fang, but I don't think I ever actually met him," Blake recalled.
Ren tilted his head in surprise. "I don't know whether to call you brave, or a fool," he noted. "You know what will happen if Goodwitch finds out, don't you?"
"She won't find out," Sun assured him. "I've done it plenty before, and Perry's never turned on me yet- besides, he and Goodwitch don't even get along!"
Ren might find it easier to reject Sun's proposal if he didn't also have a history of sneaking extra food from Kuroyuri's favorite cook when he thought he could get away with it. "Very well," he decided. "As long as you recognize that if we get caught, it won't be my head on the chopping block."
"Of course not," Sun laughed. "Come on, before it gets dark!"
"Wow, Lil' Ren's such a rebel!" Nora beamed.
"...'Lil'... Ren?" Ren repeated, nonplussed.
"Everything's cuter if you put 'Lil' in front of it!" Nora explained. "Lil Ren, Lil Rubes, Lil Blakey-"
"Fat Man and Lil Boy," Crazy threw into the ring.
It meant nothing to the guests, but Stephen and George slowly turned to stare at him. "...The hell is wrong with you?" George asked.
The scene cut to the two friends in what definitely seemed like a kitchen, speaking to a tall, rotund faunus with a platypus tail. "Oh, children," he greeted when he noticed their approach. "What can I do for you tonight?"
"We just finished up with the Witch," Sun began. "We thought you might have some leftovers from our father's supper."
Perry crossed his arms and gave a small smile. "I'm guessing, if you're coming to me, she's told you not to eat tonight."
"I'm hurt that you would accuse me of such wrongdoing!" Sun raised a hand to his chest as though his heart had been pierced.
"Yes, you say true, we say thank you," Ren rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.
"Looks like Sun hasn't changed all that much," Blake rolled her own eyes with a small smile.
"Well," Perry whispered, beckoning them closer, "as long as we're keeping this secret from the witch, I do have a couple leftover pieces of strawberry pie."
"St-strawberry... pie?" Ruby repeated, eyes immediately lighting up.
"I'll see if I can get some next time I'm at work!" Crazy quickly moved to shut down that potential explosion.
Sun's eyes widened- it was better than he'd dared to hope for. "Say true?"
"I say true," Perry nodded, turning and foraging for a moment before turning with two slices on two plates. "Just keep this a secret from the Witch, understand? Don't get me in trouble."
"Of course not, sai," Sun nodded, tapping his throat three times with his right hand.
"Say thank you," Ren nodded.
"Wait, shouldn't they be saying thank you?" Ruby asked.
"I think if we stop to pause every time they use a turn of phrase we don't understand, we'll never see the end of this world," Ren submitted. "Perhaps it's better to just accept it for now."
Those last words of Perry's would linger in Ren's head for years to come- Don't get me in trouble.
"Uh-oh," Blake whispered. "I just... got a bad feeling..."
"Funny, so did I," Weiss agreed.
Sun and Ren retreated to a remote corner of the castle to consume their prizes. "Told ya Perry's good for it," Sun grinned as he stained his teeth red.
"I've known," Ren pointed out. "All of Kuroyuri's children know."
Perry was, indeed, beloved by the children of Kuroyuri for several gestures identical to the one he'd shown them. There was a kind soul lurking within the faunus's body that attracted many to him- though he didn't necessarily get along with Goodwitch, they seemed a far cry from hating each other, as well.
Blake had every single one of her fingers crossed against the sinking feeling in her stomach.
Ren looked up. "Quiet," he suddenly whispered, putting a hand to his ear. "Who's that?"
Sun followed his gesture, and his eyes widened.
The two circled around a nearby corner just in time to catch sight of two others walking by. One, they knew- it was Perry. The other, they did not know so well- a strange woman with long, crimson hair, matching her blood-red eyes. There was a cruel look in those eyes, an aura surrounding her that they didn't like, not at all. Ren would later suspect that it was that awful aura that drove them to hide, even within the walls of this castle, which should be their greatest sanctuary.
She was dressed oddly, in a cardigan and a skirt that hardly reached her knees- something nearly unheard of in In-world. Around her neck was a strange article of clothing that Ruby would later identify as a tie- which was entirely unheard of in In-world. It was split into two clean colors- black on one side, white on the other. Two pins pierced her cardigan, just below her left breast- one of an odd, smiling face, the other of a blue bird in silhouette.
"Who's that woman?" Ruby asked, completely nonplussed.
George was shrugging, clearly as out of the loop as they were on this one- it was, in fact, Stephen who was taking this time to direct a look of incredulity in Crazy's direction. Crazy, for his part, was making a show of looking anywhere that wasn't one of his guests.
Her voice was high and unpleasant. "-going to need an answer soon. I'm leaving tonight, and the Good Man doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Blake's breath caught- she was hardly the only one.
"Wait... but the Good Man... he's..." Pyrrha fumbled, horror entering into her eyes.
"Balls to your 'Good Man,' Perry scoffed, looking very unhappy to be in this woman's presence. "I've seen his like before, and I expect to see plenty like him in the future. His words are different, but the meaning's all the same."
"I understand," the woman nodded in a voice dripping with faux sympathy. "Despair's despair's despair, no matter who it's coming from, hmm?" A grin spread across her face- a grin that sent chills down the spines of the watching boys. "But the Good Man will come either way, my friend. How much bloodshed he brings with him... now that, you can change."
Perry leaned against a wall, looking anywhere but into those bloody eyes. "...If I do this... he'll spare the children?"
"Just call him the Pied Piper of Kuroyuri," the woman nodded with a laugh.
"...I don't understand you."
"Just an inside joke, nevermind," the woman brushed aside. "So, tell me, Perry... when the moon grows full, where will you be?"
"In the market, waiting to receive the Good Man's package."
"And what will you do with it?"
"Prepare a feast for the gunslingers of Kuroyuri."
The woman practically pranced on the spot. "Dear Mr. Li Ren raises a toast to Kuroyuri and her history, and just like that, the castle falls- so despairful!" For a moment, she embraced herself.
The audience seemed very perturbed. "Okay... I think I can forgive Perry," Nora whispered. "He doesn't seem to really wanna do this, but that woman, she's... she's..."
"One hundred percent buttfuck insane?" Stephen guessed. "Yeah, heard that."
The woman finally released herself and made eye contact with Perry. "So, you in?"
"If it will save the children... I will do as you ask."
"Wonderful!" the woman bowed extravagantly. "Welcome aboard!" She extended a hand. "Ask not what the Good Man can do for you..."
Perry eyed the hand with distaste for nearly a full minute before finally accepting. "Ask what you can do for the Good Man," he almost whispered.
Whatever further conversation passed between the two, neither Ren nor Sun heard- they were too busy staring at each other with their jaws on the ground.
"That must be... a thoroughly unpleasant experience," Pyrrha shivered.
"It is," Weiss whispered, recalling similar moments from her own childhood. "It is."
"What happened next?" came Ruby's voice.
"We did the only thing we felt we could," came the older Ren's narrative voice. "We reported to our fathers."
The scene shifted again, to Ren entering what the audience immediately recognized as his father's office. His father was a tall man, his hair very familiar to those who knew how his son would look in the future, with a long ponytail, kept under a wide-brimmed hat. What truly set him apart was the scar over one eye, and the pointed beard and moustache.
Ren was looking uncomfortable again, but before Crazy could even offer, he'd motioned to continue.
Li Ren peaked over his steepled fingers at his son as he stepped in. "Lie," he greeted. "I assume you know why I've summoned you here today?"
"Perry," Lie nodded. "This is about... Perry."
Li nodded. "Through your efforts, his treachery was discovered. It was, of course, by chance that you overheard him conversing with an agent of the Good Man, but perhaps that was the will of ka at work."
"I suppose... it may have been," Lie agreed.
"Ka?" Jaune asked. "Wait, what's ka?"
"Shortest, simplest answer?" Crazy asked. "Destiny. Fate. Will of God. What have you."
"I... see."
Li leaned forward. "We understand how you and your friend stumbled upon this conspiracy, but what I want to know, Lie, is why you reported it."
"Wha- what kind of stupid question is that?!" Yang asked, truly taken aback. "What, did you not want him to save your life?!"
"I don't think that's what he's getting at," Ren shook his head. "There's something else here... speaking from personal experience, my father never asked me questions like that unless he thought he knew the answer already."
The Ren on screen, however, seemed just as surprised as Yang. "Why? He... if we hadn't, the kingdom would have fallen- all of its gunslingers would have been poisoned-"
"That's as may be," Li interrupted, raising his hand for silence. "But that's not what I asked. Lie, I asked why you, personally, turned Perry in."
For a long time, Ren looked into his father's eyes, piercing into his very soul. He couldn't lie to those eyes- it was foolish to try. Foolishness only matched by trying to lie to himself.
"I hate him," Ren choked out. "I heard what he wanted to do, and I... it scared me, but more than that, it made me angry. He betrayed us- you... he betrayed me. And I hate him for it."
Li nodded- this was clearly the answer he'd been looking for.
"Oh, Ren..." Nora sobbed, pulling him close.
"It would be foolish of me to expect otherwise. You are still young, after all, and expecting otherwise would be expecting something of you I hardly expect of many adults," Li reflected. "For the normal people of Kuroyuri, such an answer may suffice... but to be a true gunslinger, one must feel the weight of life."
"...Sir?"
"I think I get what he's talking about," Jaune guessed, scratching at his head.
"Yeah... I guess I do, too," Yang nodded, shifting somewhat uncomfortably.
"You mean... Perry-"
"Don't misunderstand me, son," Li cut him off sharply. "Perry will receive his due punishment. He is to be executed before sundown tomorrow."
"I... I see," Ren nodded.
"Furthermore, I would like you and your friend to attend."
Ren was caught off guard, but said nothing.
"Wait, you want your son to see something like that?!" Pyrrha asked, aghast.
"I believe I follow his line of thought," Ren speculated. "Just watch."
"You are the ones who turned him in. You must see the end result of your decision."
"Was I wrong to?"
From others, the question may have come across as sarcastic, but not from Ren. He truly wanted to know if he'd done something wrong- something that had angered his father.
"You have done what you have done, whether it was wrong or not," Li shook his head. "Life has weight to it, Lie... every life. Perry committed a terrible crime, as you said. You prevented the deaths of many... but I would have you understand the weight of the life you sacrificed to do so, right or wrong."
"I... I understand, sir."
"I doubt that very much. But you will. You must."
"Another harsh lesson," Pyrrha agreed. "I suppose he must have understood it- he did refer to his father as his greatest teacher."
The scene shifted again, now showing Sun and Ren walking into a square- in the center, a set of gallows had been erected, upon which stood a tall, slightly dark-skinned woman with much lighter hair. She had a small smile on her lips as Perry was led up to the gallows, bag over his head.
Ren looked around, taking it all in- the woman's smirk, Perry's bowed head, and worst of all, the cruel, jeering hoards that had come to witness the cook's execution. Whatever weight there was to life, this crowd didn't seem to feel it- all around were looks only of savage satisfaction and almost orgasmic pleasure at watching the traitor pay his due.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Ren thought that, even slouched over with a bag on his head, Perry was showing far more dignity than any of the screaming banshees that reveled at the idea of his life being forfeit. It made him sick to his stomach. He looked to see Sun not feeling much better.
"It's... disgusting..." Pyrrha looked a little like she might vomit herself.
With much flourish, the woman ripped off the bag, revealing a pale, haggard face beneath. "Perry McElroy, you have been brought here today to bear out your sentence. Do you have any last words?"
Perry looked up, a momentary fierceness in his eyes. "You ask me if I have any last words, Hill? You, who like so many others in this kingdom, cower behind the name of Oum as you commit one atrocity after another in the name of stopping the Good Man? You, who carry forth the Red Queen's will just as surely as the Good Man does? You, who-"
"I thought you'd repent a little as you stood upon the gallows," Hill interrupted, directing her most withering glare at him. "I can see now that scum never changes."
The crowd roared and jeered as Perry said his piece, and cheered and whooped when Hill interrupted. And Ren's thought from earlier resurfaced. Not just dignity- there was far more humanity in the eyes of the man about to hang for high treason than in any one of those stomping and whooping in anticipation of the moment his feet stopped twitching.
"By the power vested in me by the people of Kuroyuri," Hill waved her hand around theatrically, "I hereby sentence you to hang by the neck until dead. May the Existence have mercy on your soul."
Perry's eyes roved the crowds, before finally falling on Ren and Sun. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but before could, the lever was pulled, and the ground disappeared from beneath him.
If there was any mercy to be had, it was that he didn't seem to suffer. His drop was accompanied by a loud crack, marking the instant he departed from this world and entered the clearing.
Ruby bit her lip, holding on tightly to her sister, who didn't look much better. Weiss was paler than usual, Blake's hands were clenching and unclenching. Nora's arms were tight around Ren, whose hands were balled into fists. Jaune and Pyrrha each clung tightly to the other.
The cheering reached a fever pitch, but Ren tuned it all out. He and Sun remained where they were, even as everyone else cleared out. Slowly, Ren stepped down from the stands, moving towards the gallows.
"Ren?" Sun asked. "Ren, what're you doing?!"
Ren ignored him, mounting the steps and walking up to the empty shell that had once been every child's favorite cook in Kuroyuri. Sun reluctantly followed behind.
For a long moment, Ren gazed into those empty eyes, eyes that had glowed at him only a few days ago as he cheekily ordered the two boys not to get him into trouble.
Trouble finds us all, I suppose, he thought. Trouble finds us all...
Ren found himself turning absently to Sun. "I've seen enough. Let's go."
Sun certainly had no arguments."
"To see that all... as a child..." Pyrrha whispered.
"It's an important lesson," Ren muttered. "I see why he... why father would want me to learn it. Especially in a world like this."
At last, the camera cut back to Ren and Ruby's camp in the sparse woodland at the desert's edge. "So... that's the story?" Ruby asked.
"As it is," Ren nodded.
Ruby glanced around. "I was kinda hoping for a... cheerier story."
"Cheery stories are thin on the ground in this world, though I won't lie and say I know none," Ren admitted. "When you asked for a story of my childhood, that was the first to come to mind."
"Guess it kinda left an impression on him," Jaune guessed.
"No surprise there," Yang scoffed.
"Perhaps, one day, I'll tell you the story of my trial of manhood," Ren reflected. "I'm not certain if you'd call it 'cheery,' but it is, at the very least, more triumphant than any I've told you thus far- and nobody died for it."
"Yeah, that sounds better," Ruby nodded emphatically.
Ren smiled, finally returning his pipe to his bag. "But it will have to wait. We must rest while we can. Tomorrow, we resume our pursuit. We're so close, I can almost smell her."
"Right," Ruby nodded, laying down against another tree. "G'night."
"Is that it?" Jaune asked as the screen faded out.
"Not quite!" Crazy shook his head as it started back in.
It was still dark when Ren awoke, but it didn't take him long to realize why he had. Looking around, he immediately found something missing- the girl he'd been traveling with. "Ruby?" He instantly leapt to his feet. "Ruby?!"
"Oh, what could have happened?" Ruby asked, whimpering. "I wouldn't just go off on my own, would I?"
Ren looked around, eyes and ears wide open for the slightest trace-
There. He picked out a direction, and after ensuring he had his guns with him, set off in hot pursuit.
At last, he located her- standing at the edge of a circle of stones. In the center was what he could only describe as a rift, through which a cloud of darkness was pouring. He could faintly make out a red light, but that was all.
"Ruby! Hearken to me!" he called.
Ruby turned listlessly, her silver eyes dazed and unfocused. "I heard Yang... she's calling to me..."
Ren stepped forward. "That isn't your sister, Ruby. We've set up camp near a speaking-ring- I should have noticed, I should have heard it. Whatever voices you hear, block them out- return to me."
The audience had several questions, but were too busy biting their nails to ask any of them.
"Yang?" Ruby asked in that same dazed voice. "I hear you, Yang... I'm coming..."
"That's not me, Rubes!" Yang cried.
Ren was loath to do it, but he had little other choice- he rushed forward, gun out, and smacked Ruby over the head with the butt. She collapsed to the ground at the edge of the ring, leaving Ren alone with the thing within.
"Owwwww..." Ruby groaned. "I guess I get why he did it, but still..."
Ren moved to the ring's center, eyes cold as they met the thing in the center as directly as he could. "You stand before Lie Ren, the last gunslinger of the line of Oum. If you have business in this world, you will take it up with me."
A cackling voice filled the circle. "Line of Oum... you deceive yourself, gunslinger. The line of Oum is broken... but that is not all. You turn away from the truth at every opportunity... you fear the truth more than any other..."
"If you truly know me, you know how unwise it is to stand in my way," Ren glared with no signs of trepidation whatsoever. "If you have something to say, say it, then be on your way."
"Oh, but I have so much to say, gunslinger... should I tell you of the man upon whom rides a baboon? Should I tell you of the two-who-are-one? Or would you like to know what your girl truly saw before she died?"
"Leave the girl out of this," Ren ordered.
"I did not bring the girl into this, gunslinger... and it is not by my hand that she will perish. That honor, as I think you know, will belong to-"
Ren reached into the rift with one hand. His fingers wrapped around something, and he forced out a humanoid shape cloaked in shadow. The voice screeched as it suddenly seemed to realize it was outplayed. "No... impossible! The line was broken!"
Ren raised a gun up to the thing's head and pulled the trigger. A loud screech later, and all the shadows within the ring had disappeared.
"Not quite."
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Nora cheered. "That's my Renny, kicking butt and taking names! Mess with his friends? I don't think so!"
Ren immediately turned to Ruby, lifting her up and carrying her back to the clearing, where he leaned her up against the tree she'd been resting against. He reached into his bag and produced some rudimentary bandages that he gingerly wrapped around her head. Perhaps she didn't need them, but it was better to be safe now than sorry later.
Soon enough, she awoke. "Urrrghh... what happened?"
Ren met her gaze. "You have the touch, child. Silver eyes... I should have noticed earlier."
"The... touch?" Ruby asked, confused.
Ren glanced away. "I'll explain in the morning. We set up camp near a speaking-ring- a thin place where the spirits from beyond our realm make contact. This, too, I should have sensed. My negligence placed you in danger. I cry your pardon."
Ruby thought long and hard, but shook her head. "I don't remember anything."
"Perhaps that's just as well," Ren decided. "Here, I'll relight the campfire- let's get some more sleep."
Ruby suddenly started, sitting up and reaching out. "Can I... can I try?"
Ren met her eyes, firm and determined to be of use to him. He let out a small smile. "'Mother, may I?' 'Yes, you may.'"
He extended the flint and steel to her.
"Oh, that's so cuuuuuute!" It was Yang's turn to cutegasm over her sister, and she took it with relish.
"Yang! Yang! Choking!"
Ruby knelt over what remained of their campfire from the previous night. She took a deep breath, and looked up at Ren, almost sheepishly- as if searching for approval.
"Spark-a-dark, where's my sire? Will I lay me? Will I stay me? Bless this camp with fire."
She struck, and soon, the fire had returned. She maintained her gaze, looking uncertain.
Ren smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well-remembered," he whispered. "Try to get some sleep- I sense a long day approaching."
Ruby beamed at the praise, nodding emphatically. Soon enough, they had both returned to a dreamless slumber.
XXXX
Not what anyone was expecting, I'm sure. I have plans for this world- I'm liable to revisit it more often from here on out. Not every chapter- learned my lesson on that one. Maybe. I already know what next episode is- of course, I said that before, and look what happened. You know what? Just... expect no consistency from me. At all. You'll just be disappointed. But next episode is actually Georgie's pick, so to see what he's been waiting for since well before this story even began, be sure to stick around. Long days and pleasant nights, may it do you fine- Gamer4 out.