Gamer4 in. I... wasn't planning on this. I can honestly and sincerely say as I appear before you now that another immediate episode of this universe was not my intention when writing the last one. However, events have transpired- a series of terrible, awful, no good, very bad events that I doubt I'll recover from for a while- but part of that process, I believe, is throwing myself into the universe burning in my mind more than any other- which, if last episode wasn't indication enough, is this one. I hope anyone looking forward to something else can forgive me, but I... I need this right now. Hopefully, things will return to normal next episode. Until then, I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: This episode is dedicated to the Sister Hand's loyal dog, Suki, who, as of two days ago, was taken from us by a rogue coyote. This episode is also dedicated to any of you who have ever lost an animal companion- perhaps it sounds silly, but to us, it very much is not.
Episode XXII
Childe Ren to the Dark Tower Came
The Test
"Well, at least things are improving somewhat," Pyrrha commented. "They've crossed the desert, they have more water, and they can actually see Cinder now..."
"But enough about all that," George piped up. "At long last, it's time for my-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! (Yeah yeah yeah!) Rock city boy! (Rock city boy!)"
George turned a half-lidded gaze to Crazy, who was sheepishly pulling out his phone again. "I really should silence this thing, huh...?"
He put it up to his ear. "Yello?"
Within milliseconds, his face fell- his smile disappeared, and his eyes widened, becoming somehow... hollow. "...Come again?"
Listening closely, the others thought they could hear crying coming from the other end.
"Wait, wait, slow down... what happened?... Uh-huh... no, that... that's terrible... yeah, I'm on my way."
He hung up and rose to his feet. "I... I need to go."
"What's going on?" Ruby asked, sensing the despair that had suddenly descended upon their host.
Crazy looked around, gathering his friends into a huddle. The guests saw Stephen and George's faces shift as well, taking on very concerned looks. Finally, Crazy turned back to them. "I... need to go be with the Sister Hand. Georgie, you're in charge."
"Got it," George nodded dutifully.
"Tell her we're there for you guys if you need us, okay?" Stephen offered.
Crazy responded with a wan smile. "Thanks, guys..."
He rushed to the back door and was gone.
"What was all that about?" Weiss asked, worry clear in her voice.
"Nothing to do with you guys," George assured them. "It's... something personal."
"Taking the day off to comfort his sister about something? I can respect that," Yang guessed- even her voice was rather subdued.
"Something like that," George nodded. "Now, I was going to show you one of my universes, but the whole idea was to have Crazy oversee it with me, so... instead, how about we keep going with this one?"
"More cowboy Ren?" Nora asked, sounding uncertain how to feel about this.
"More cowboy Ren," George nodded. "Er... remember, Stephen and I haven't gone through this universe ourselves, so we won't be able to answer any questions, okay?"
"Yeah... we got it," Jaune nodded. "You alright with this, Ren?"
"It sounds like the Hand's determined to get through it all eventually- may as well be now," Ren shrugged.
"Thank you for your understanding," George nodded before firing up the screen once more.
Ren was the first to awaken the next morning- he made a quick trip to the river to refill their waterskins before returning to find Ruby stirring gently from her own sleep. "Are you feeling better this morning?" he asked.
"A little," she answered as she pulled herself to her feet.
Ren provided her with some jerky from his bag. "Here. Eat. Last night was trying- you'll need all the strength you can muster."
Ruby nodded and ate.
"Renny really showed that demon who's boss!" Nora declared proudly.
"He'd better, trying to put its grubby claws on my sister..." Yang snarled.
Ruby ate quickly as they set off through the sparse woodland towards the mountains, where they began to climb up a narrow path.
As they went, Ruby reflected on the previous night. "So, Ren? Last night, you said something about... touching my silver eyes? What was that about?"
"THANK YOU!" George burst out. "Dear God, thank you!"
"Huh?" Ruby asked, nearly jumping out of her skin.
"My guess is, he's glad it took you one night to ask about the whole silver-eyes thing in this world," Stephen guessed. "Instead of... er..."
"Three seasons, and she wasn't even the one to bring it up? Yes," George agreed.
"...I don't follow," Ruby admitted.
"Long story," Stephen supplied. "Kinda ties into that whole 'your future selves are mockeries' thing we were talking about way back when."
"You do plan on telling us more about that, don't you?" Jaune crossed his arms, looking unusually severe.
"I promise," George nodded. "We just need the Hand to get on board..."
Ren chuckled. "You misremember- your silver eyes are a mark of the touch. An unusual ability- I've not seen one with it since Neptune. His eyes would flash silver when he reached out with the touch, though they did not hold that color at all times."
"But... what is it?" Ruby asked.
Ren seemed to think long and hard before answering. "In the simplest terms, I suppose, the touch is the ability of your ka to reach out and touch another's."
"My what now?" Ruby asked, nonplussed.
"Her what to what now?" Yang asked- she wasn't certain where this was going, and even less certain that she was going to like it.
"Ka is a word with many meanings," Ren reflected. "When I speak of your ka, I speak of what the manni-folk call the soul. Your essence, if you will- that which makes you, you. Those strong in the touch can reach out and contact the souls of others."
"I've never done anything like that!" Ruby insisted, wide-eyed.
"You haven't?" Ren asked, quirking a brow. "You've never known when others were upset without them having to say so? Never felt strongly that another was lying to you, without any clear sign as to why?"
Ruby opened her mouth, hesitated, then closed it.
"I mean, I'm sure there are ways to explain that without saying 'psychic powers,'" Weiss submitted.
"I'd say, not with Rubes," Yang smirked, ruffling her pouting sister's hair.
"Of course, that is not the limit of what can be done with the touch. If Neptune were here, he'd likely be able to explain more thoroughly- I can only explain what I saw him do with the power."
Soon, they found themselves climbing an almost vertical slope, forcing them to keep speech to a minimum.
"Still, sounds like a pretty handy power," Jaune speculated. "Sure you can't do anything like that, Rubes?"
"Nope," Ruby shook her head. "I've... I got nothin'."
The sun climbed in the sky as they climbed the mountain, sometimes nearly straight up, sometimes following a distinct path. As they ascended higher and higher, Ruby found herself humming a song she distantly remembered from her past life in Vytal. Ren glanced behind him. "That song..."
"One of Yang's favorites," Ruby recalled with a fond smile. "I think she used it to sing me to sleep sometimes..."
She thought for another second, then began to sing.
"He was born in the summer of his twenty-seventh year,
Coming home to a place he'd never been before.
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again-
You might say he found a key for every door..."
"That's a pretty song," Pyrrha smiled.
"Nice voice, too!" Nora beamed. "You got some pipes on ya, Ruby!"
Ruby blushed and pulled her hood up.
"When he first came to the mountains, his life was far away,
On the road and hanging by a song.
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care-
It keeps changing fast and it doesn't last for long-
"But the Colorado rocky mountain high!
I've seen it raining fire in the sky!
Shadow from the starlight, softer than a lullaby!
Rocky mountain high...
Rocky... mountain... high..."
She trailed off, suddenly looking troubled.
"Colorado?" Ren asked, hardly looking back. "Another kingdom of your world?"
"Good question," Ren agreed with his other. "I've certainly heard of no such place."
"It's in our world," George answered. "Though... hard telling why it's in a song Ruby's singing..."
When Ruby didn't answer, Ren turned to see the troubled, almost frightened look on her face. "Is something wrong?"
"I... I remember hearing that song... before..." Ruby looked up, and her face paled. Ren turned to find their way forward- their path led directly into a chasm- a gap in the mountain's rock opening like a set of jaws.
"No, no, nononono!" Ruby held her head. "I should have known! That song... there was a faunus across the street, playing that song when... when..."
She didn't finish the sentence, but Ren hardly needed her to.
"Wait, someone was playing that song when... when she died?" Jaune had to pause to brace himself against those words, and they still felt strange.
"Now that I think of it, I think I remember hearing something like that," Weiss recalled.
"But so what?" Yang asked. "What does that have to do with what's going on now?"
Ren looked rather troubled himself. "There was? Are you certain?"
"I'm sure." Ruby slowly looked up at the entrance to what seemed to be a series of tunnels, winding beneath the mountains. "We... I can't go in there... that's what the demon in the circle was telling me! If I go in there, I'll... I won't come back out!"
The audience's hearts dropped. "What... what do I mean?" Ruby asked nervously.
"Your other seems convinced that if she goes into those caves, she'll die there," Weiss summed up. "But why? Because of a song...?"
Ren glanced between the two. "Ruby... we must. This is the only way forward."
"I know- I know that!" Ruby squeaked. "But... I can't! I don't wanna die again!"
Nobody spoke- they were dealing with their aching hearts, watching a young girl go frantic at the idea of approaching death- for the second time, no less.
Ren bent down and took her hands in his. "I won't let you," he said. "I promise, so long as I'm here, I won't let you die."
Ruby looked into his eyes, gave a small gulp, and looked back at the cavernous entrance. She looked back and forth a few times before finally closing her eyes and nodding.
Ren stood and looked behind them. A small smile crossed his face- he turned her around and pointed. "See yon desert?"
Ruby opened her eyes, and looked across the vast expanse of the desert they had crossed- from this perspective, it looked... not tiny, but manageable, far from the infinite plane it had seemed when they were in the middle. She thought she could even see the waystation where she'd awoken, and, if she squinted hard enough, the town of which Ren had told her.
"Give it time, and we will look upon these caves with much the same feeling," Ren assured her. "Soon, we will have dealt with the Woman in Red... and we will be on our way to the Tower."
Ruby gulped, then looked back to him. "Promise?"
Ren gave a faint smile, extending his pinky for her before she could offer. "I swear."
Ruby took his pinky with hers, then, after steeling herself a little further, allowed him to lead her into the yawning mouth of the caverns.
"You're still so sweet, Renny," Nora clung eagerly to his side.
Ren didn't respond- despite the display, he could feel a sinking in his chest. Something still felt very wrong here.
The moment they stepped in, a curtain of darkness fell over them. Ruby pulled as close to him as she could. Ren took the lead, feeling along the walls.
"Don't you have anything to give us some light?" Ruby squeaked.
"I'd not risk it if I did," Ren answered in a low voice. "There are old, foul things in the deep places of the world."
Ruby let out a terrified noise somewhat reminiscent of a deflating balloon.
"Way to keep her comforted," Yang crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed.
"Would you rather he lied to her and put her guard down?" Blake challenged.
Yang sighed, but said nothing more.
As they continued, an idea occurred to Ruby. "You said you had another story- something about your manhood test... can you tell me?"
Ren pondered a moment. "I suppose it could do good to hear that story here," he reflected. "Very well- stay near. I don't wish to raise my voice higher than necessary."
A few of the viewers tensed. "Er... another story?" Jaune asked. "Not to sound rude, but... it's not like they tend to be the happiest in the world..."
"Then again, he did say this one is more triumphant," Blake reflected. "Maybe this one won't be so bad."
She reached out and knocked on the wooden tabletop in front of her.
Ren continued. "First, you must understand the manner in which the test works. There is no set time that a student must take the test- it is entirely at their discretion. We may volunteer as soon as we enter our first class, should we wish, though to do so would be obviously foolhardy."
"Ya think?" Nora snorted.
"Like waltzing up to Calamity Ganon the second you get off the plateau," George nodded.
"Conversely, a student may wait as long as they need to attempt the test- though understandably, others tend to lose hope when the student enters their thirties. The only rule is that the test may be taken but once. Should the student pass, they become a full-fledged apprentice gunslinger- they leave the courtyard to the east, and receive their first irons. Should they fail, they are sent west, never to return to the castle. Many leave Kuroyuri altogether, and may never be seen again."
"Harsh," Jaune shuddered at the idea of losing his right to train as a hunter after a single botched test.
"It's a harsh world," Blake reminded them. "The way he tells it, it was already on the verge of ending- er, moving on- even before the kingdom fell."
"Before myself, my father was the youngest to pass his test- he was sixteen," Ren continued. "I never considered doing mine earlier- at least, not until that day..."
He paused.
"I was a fool. I fell into the trap laid for me by my father's advisor, Lady Marquis. We thought she was a holy woman, but she was a fraud- power-mad, dangerous. In league with the Good Man, though I have reason to suspect she was no more loyal to him than to us. It is with her that the story starts..."
"Marquis... Marquis..." Ruby pondered. "I don't know anyone like that."
"Maybe we'll see her, and it'll give us a clue," Weiss suggested.
Once more, the camera returned to the castle of Kuroyuri- the sun blinding after the darkness of the caves. Ren, only a year or two older than when he and Sun had witnessed Perry's execution, was walking through the castle towards his own room, intent on taking advantage of his momentary free-time- something growing increasingly rare in these latter days.
He was distracted when a door nearby opened, and a woman stepped out- tall, in a dark cloak that perfectly matched her hair, which fell around amber eyes. "Ah, little Lie Ren," she greeted in a horribly oily voice. "Step in, step in... I have something to show you I think you'll find... interesting."
"Wha- that's Cinder again!" Pyrrha gaped.
So it was- she looked different in a few ways- she seemed a little taller than what they were accustomed to seeing, her red dress had been traded for the aforementioned black cloak, and her hair seemed... slicker, as if she'd filled it with oils, but it was most definitely her.
"The same woman in red..." Blake muttered.
"I wonder if Ren knows that the woman he's chasing is the same woman who betrayed his father?" Weiss pondered.
"Unlikely," Ren shook his head. "He'd have mentioned it if he did."
Ren eyed her up, but did as she asked, stepping closer to the door and peering into the room, where his heart stopped.
The audience all gasped. Yang quickly put her hands over Ruby's eyes, and Nora quickly placed her arms on Ren's shoulders- his fists had clenched, and his teeth were grinding uncharacteristically.
"That bitch..." Blake growled. "That bitch..."
What Ren saw on the other side of the door was his mother, An Ren, ravaged- her clothes ripped harshly away, scratches and cuts all along her body. She stared blankly at her son, as if failing to register that it was him standing before her. "Lie..."
"What... what is this?" From the sound of his voice, shaking and furious, he wasn't taking it much better than the audience. "What the hell is this?"
"Nothign to be concerned about, boy," came the voice of Lady Marquis, placing a hand on his shoulder. "As you can see, your mother and I are having quite a fun time. Would you like to hear how long this has been going on for? Would you like me to describe our sessions in greater detail for you?"
"I can't forgive her," Pyrrha growled. "No matter what, I can't forgive her."
"I..."
"Perhaps not," Cinder decided. "I think you've seen enough."
"Lie..." An whispered miserably as she watched her son forcibly pushed from the room. "Lie... don't do anything rash-"
"I'm sure he won't. Good day."
Then the door was shut in his face.
Yang finally released her hands from Ruby's eyes. For once, Ruby didn't seem indignant over the sudden coverage. "What... what was that?"
"I can only imagine how I'd react to such a thing," Weiss whispered. "And him..."
For a long, long moment, Ren stood still, gazing at the door. Slowly, an unsettling smile creeped its way onto his face. It wasn't a very convincing smile, not to the audience, nor, they thought, to himself.
"Why is he... smiling?" Nora asked uneasily.
"Because he doesn't know what else to do," Blake guessed. "I don't blame him."
Slowly, still wearing that off-putting grin, Ren turned and set off through the castle, descending the steps at every opportunity.
"Oh, Ren, I was looking for ya- Ren? What's going on?"
He passed by Sun without even acknowledging him, continuing right on his way. Sun looked perplexed and not a little unnerved by his friend's strange behavior- he set off, struggling to keep pace with him. "Ren, what is it? What happened?"
Ren maintained his pace until he'd left the castle altogether, entering the grounds, where he made his way to a small cabin, one of several standing side-by-side at the castle's edge. The awful, fake smile finally dropped as he practically kicked the door open.
"What's all this, then?"
On the other side was none other than Glynda Goodwitch, who seemed to be rising from a nap of her own, just putting her glasses on so she could better see who had just kicked in her door.
"Oh... now I get it," Jaune whispered. "That's why he's doing it so... so early..."
"That's foolhardy!" Weiss objected. "He's letting Cinder lead him directly into a trap!"
"The worst part is, he probably knows it's a trap," Blake put in. "He just... doesn't care."
"Ren?" Goodwitch seemed surprised when she identified her intruder. "You'd best have a damn good reason for entering without-"
Before she could speak any further, Ren had removed one of his gloves and tossed it to the ground, holding her gaze as steadily as he could. "Lady Goodwitch, I challenge you."
Sun's jaw dropped. Goodwitch's didn't, but there was definitely visible surprise on her face as her eyes flicked from Ren to Sun, taking in the monkey faunus's shock- clearly, he'd had no more idea than she as to why Ren had come down here. "What's happened, child?" she asked. "I know you have more brains in your head than to challenge me at the age of fourteen simply for the glory of it. For what reason to you seek to throw away your future?"
"How does he even begin to explain... that?" Pyrrha pondered.
"I certainly hope he tells her something-" Weiss started.
"My reasons are my own," Ren stated. "Will you answer me?"
Weiss smacked her face into her palm.
Goodwitch took in the situation for nearly another minute before answering. "So be it. You have one hour to prepare. Choose your weapon and meet me in the courtyard. There... your fate will be determined."
Ren nodded and turned, just in time to feel a hand on his shoulder. It was Goodwitch's. She looked at him with surprisingly soft eyes. "Please... don't do this."
Ren didn't respond this time, shaking her hand off and stepping out, back towards the castle.
"She knows what a bad idea this is," Blake reflected. "She's probably seen more than her fair share of students trying to take her on early, wanting to be the best, put their name down in history... and getting sent west for it."
"I don't want that to happen to Renny!" Nora cried, chewing her nails.
"We know it doesn't," Jaune pointed out. "He's a gunslinger in the present, right? He must beat her."
The screen cut to the castle aviary- Ren entered with Sun and now Neptune at his heels. "Neptune, talk some sense into him, he listens to you!" Sun was saying.
"Does he?" Neptune asked skeptically. "I don't know about that..."
"More likely you than me! If we don't do something, this idiot's gonna get kicked out of the castle!"
"That won't happen," Ren stated firmly. "I won't let it."
"I hope you're not counting on Goodwitch going easy on you," Neptune crossed his arms. "I don't need the touch to know that's not going to happen."
"Of course it's not," Ren agreed. "Listen... go to the courtyard and wait for me. I'll be there. On my word, I will not be going west today."
Sun and Neptune exchanged looks of defeat before finally leaving the aviary.
"Huh- Ren never really struck me as the hard-headed type," Yang mused.
"Then again, given what he just saw..." Blake reminded her.
Ren extended his arm. "Trico! To me!"
From above swooped his loyal hawk, mounting on his arm. He looked significantly older than when they'd first seen him, and there was something weary in the look he directed at his master as he ran his fingers through his feathers.
"You've always been loyal, haven't you?" Ren asked of the bird. "We've had a lot of good times together, you and I... I'm afraid this is our last day, though. We're going out to fight, and I fear only one of us will return."
"Oh, no..." Ruby whimpered as she realized faintly what was about to happen.
"Stay with me a while," Ren whispered. "Let us hold palaver, as we once did... for we likely won't have another chance."
"Puh-whadda-what now?" Yang asked.
"Prolonged discussion or conference," Weiss sighed. "Move on."
The camera returned as Ren stepped into the courtyard. In the center stood Goodwitch, riding crop exchanged for a staff three feet in length. Sun and Neptune were there- as was what seemed like half the castle, turning up either to cheer him on or jeer at the dinh's son who got an inflated head and thought he could skirt the test. Ren had no time for either- all his attention was for his opponent.
"Wait, 'dinh?'" Weiss asked. "I don't know that one."
"Neither do I," George admitted. "From context, I'm guessing... someone important."
"A leader of some kind?" Jaune guessed. "I mean, Ren said that Mar-er, Cinder was his advisor specifically."
Goodwitch met his gaze steadily. "Have you come here for a serious purpose, boy?"
"I have come for a serious purpose," Ren called back.
"Do you come to me as an outcast of your father's house?"
"I have so come."
"Have you brought your chosen weapon?"
"So I have."
"Produce it."
Ren raised his arm and whistled. From the skies above, Trico dove and deftly alighted, gazing into the eyes of his master's teacher.
"He's using a hawk as his weapon?" Weiss gaped.
"I can't tell if that's insane or brilliant," Jaune muttered.
Stephen smirked. "You'd be surprised how often those traits coincide."
George rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Stephen, you're out of your element..."
For a long moment, Goodwitch stood silent, stunned. Finally, she seemed to close her eyes, as if in resignation. "Will you have at me, boy?"
"I will."
"In whose name?"
"The name of my father, Li Ren of Kuroyuri, of the line of Oum."
Goodwitch held his gaze. She spoke quieter- her next words were not of ceremony, not for the crowd, but purely for the student and his teacher. "I have no cause to order you, so I beg instead- cry off. Cry off, wait another few years."
Ren raised his arm and stood ready.
Goodwitch sighed. "Very well... begin."
It all hinged on this first moment- he had placed all his faith in Trico, for whom he'd cared near since they were both new to the world. Goodwitch may not see the bond that could form between man and beast, but Ren felt it. Goodwitch likely felt that in this moment, Trico would take off into the sky, refuse to take part in this foolish brawl. Ren, however, held faith that the bird would see this through to the end.
Nobody talked- everybody was watching with bated breath.
"Trico, GO!"
Trico took off like a bullet- the first bullet Ren ever fired- streaking across the ground towards Goodwitch's face. Goodwitch screamed as the talons sliced and blood flew.
The stadium went wild. "First blood!" Sun cried, a beaming grin crossing his face as he realized his friend may not be as doomed as he'd imagined. "First blood to my brother!"
"Wait, Sun's your brother, Ren?" Ruby asked, surprised.
"Sworn brother, I'd imagine," Blake rolled her eyes. "'Brother from another mother,' I think I've heard."
"I'd imagine that's the case, yes," Ren nodded.
Trico continued to thrash about, doing all the damage he could to Goodwitch's face. The woman was caught off balance, struggling to beat the bird off with her staff. Ren, of course, was not content to stand still and watch- he leapt upon his chance- what would likely be his only chance, rushing forward, eyes cold and focused. In one rush, he managed to topple Goodwitch to the ground.
Before he could celebrate, Goodwitch at last struck- not at him, but at her own head, casting away fear of harming herself. With three strikes, Trico fell to the ground, battered and broken, wing at an odd angle.
"Birdie, no!" Ruby wailed.
Goodwitch wasn't looking much better- the entire left side of her face had become a twisted mass of flesh, down to the bulging blind eye.
"Oh, my..." Pyrrha gasped, suddenly conscious of just how much they were protected from by their auras.
Ren seized his chance, kicking her sharply in the temple. Used upon any normal woman, this would have ended the battle then and there.
Goodwitch was not a normal woman. Her face went momentarily slack, then she reached out and seized Ren by the ankle. Combined with his own effort to leap back, he collapsed to the ground. He heard a gasp rise from those in the crowd who were supporting him.
"Ren, no!" That was Scarlet David, he of the red hand. He hadn't seen him standing with Sun and Neptune, as he usually did, but clearly, he was there.
Before Ren could rise, he found himself looking up at Goodwitch, staff in hand. "What I do now... brings me no pleasure," she assured him grimly as she raised her weapon to deal the finishing blow.
"Renny!" Nora wailed.
Ren reached out, more from desperation than anything else at this point, and felt something scratch his hand. He looked and saw Trico, battered, broken, but very much alive, twisting against the ground. He did the last thing he could. He reached, scooped up the bird, and threw him at his assailant. "Trico! Fly! Kill!"
Another cry from Goodwitch as Trico resumed his work. She struggled to ignore it, going for Ren rather than focusing on her own pain- Ren had to roll aside to dodge her foot as she brought it down. Her hands had loosened and dropped the staff as she raised her fists in an effort to force the hawk away. One talon was attacking her ear- the other resuming its assault on her face. Blood spurted freely until at last, Goodwitch forced it off with three heavy blows. The first broke the bird's back. The second, its neck. The third finally dislodged it and sent it flying across the ground.
"I don't know who to feel more sorry for," Jaune admitted. "Goodwitch for getting that roughed up, or the bird for..."
He let the words linger in the air.
Finally free of her avian assailant, Goodwitch turned towards Ren- and was met with a staff to the face, sending her back to the ground. Ren placed a foot upon her chest, holding her in place as he held up the staff that was his prize. "Yield... or die."
The crowd, both on-screen and off, went silent. Against all possible odds, Ren had done it. He had passed his trial of manhood at the unheard-of age of fourteen.
Goodwitch glared up at him with her good eye... then smiled. "I yield... gunslinger. I yield smiling. You have remembered the face of your father and all those who came before him. You have performed a miracle."
"The key, milady," Ren said calmly. "You hold the key to the barracks where my guns are kept. I need it."
"Your guns, hmm?" Goodwitch gave a harsh laugh- in her current state, she was incapable of much more. "Is your need so great? Aye, I see that it is. I still say your need has made you stupid, but... here you are, the victor. How long did it take you to train the bird?"
"I did not. I befriended him. The key."
Goodwitch reached down, fumbling with her belt before finally raising a key on a ring, which Ren accepted with grace.
"I'm going to sleep now," Goodwitch mumbled. "I don't believe I'll awaken for a while. Before I do, there is more I must say. I cannot teach you, not now that you have bested me, two years younger than your father, no less... but I can offer my counsel."
Ren hesitated. "I will hear it gladly."
Goodwitch beckoned him close, then whispered, "Wait."
"Pardon?"
"Huh?" Nora asked, tilting her head. "What does she mean 'wait?' Kinda late for that, isn't it?"
"You have performed the stuff of legends today, gunslinger... let that legend go before you. Let it grow. Let it grow as you do, until hair darkens your face. In such time, words may enchant even an enchanter, do you kennit?"
Ren paused, caught momentarily off guard... then nodded. "Aye, I believe I kennit very well."
"And will you heed my counsel?"
Ren paused for a long moment. "I will bury my hawk tonight. Afterwards, I will go to the brothels in town to claim my greater reward. And then... I believe I will."
"Okay, at least he's not rushing against Cinder right away," Weiss breathed heavily, before freezing. "Wait..."
She, along with many others, looked sideways at Nora, who's eyes were twitching.
"...Brothels?"
Goodwitch smiled, then slept. As she had predicted, it would be a week before she awoke, and many more before she truly recovered.
Before Ren could do anything else, he'd been swarmed by his friends- Sun, Neptune, and Scarlet. "Congratulations!" Sun called, thumping him on the back. "Hail the conquering hero!"
"You accomplished a great deed today," Neptune agreed with a smile.
Scarlet said nothing- he rarely did. He settled for a smile and a quiet nod.
Ren settled for a silent smile and nod of his own. "Assemble a litter, get Goodwitch to the nurse. She will require some care."
"I'd damn well say so," Sun beamed. His smile faltered a bit when he saw Ren's eyes falling upon Trico, who now lay, still and quiet upon the ground. "Will you... be alright?"
Ren nodded. "Aye... I will be. Go."
As everyone began to filter out, Ren scooped up the remains of his friend, running his fingers through the feathers one last time. "You were loyal to the end, my friend... I am sorry that your life must be the price, but if you must go, I do not regret seeing you go out in a blaze of glory."
"Birdy..." Ruby sniffed sadly.
"It's like he said," Weiss pointed out, placing an arm around her partner. "That bird was on the verge of death as was. But now his name will go down in legend- everyone in the future will remember him just as Ren does."
Ruby sniffed and gave a wan smile in response.
True to his word, he spent the remainder of the day burying Trico and performing several funerary rites for the bird who had been his closest companion.
As night fell, he did indeed go into town, where a lady of one brothel performed the final step in making him a man.
"Okay, that does it! Hold me back!" Nora snarled, throwing her hands back so that the others could keep her in place, which they did. "Back off, bitches! He's mine! Miiiiiiine!"
"I don't think he's met you yet," George offered.
"Indeed, I think we've established by now that this Ren is quite different from me," Ren agreed.
"I just wanna know how much of that part of the story he told to Ruby," Yang growled, cracking her knuckles.
"Whaddya mean?" Ruby asked, tilting her head. "What even is a brothel?"
Silence fell, and everyone quickly returned to their seats, some blushing more heavily than others.
The screen returned to darkness, where Ruby was asking much the same question. "Final step? What final step?"
They could hear, if not see, Ren chuckling. "Perhaps I'll tell that part of the story at a later time."
Ruby hesitated, then asked, "So did you do what Ms. Goodwitch said? Wait before you tried taking on Lady Marquis?"
"In the end, I had little choice in the matter," Ren confided. "My father found me the next day, and, fearing what retribution might be brought upon me for my success, sent me on a mission to Austin, a town far in the west. Not a true mission of any great import, you ken, but something to keep me away from Marquis and her wrath."
"So, in a way, he ended up going west anyways," Blake pondered. "Makes you think..."
"I mean, not really," Nora shook her head. "He just sent him there as a place to hide, din't he?"
Blake sighed. "Never mind..."
"That, however," Ren continued. "Is a story for another day. I believe I've found something."
There was a loud clunk and clang of machinery, and suddenly, Ruby found herself nearly blinded as a series of lights flickered on- old, ancient bulbs the likes of which she'd never seen before, casting a very dim light- the assault on her eyes was only due to the absence of any light at all up to this point.
None of this was what caught her attention, however. "Wow..."
She'd been keeping close to Ren, using him as her only guide- she hadn't sensed the tunnel opening out into this great, underground place- it looked almost like a mall from her world, buried beneath rock and several thousand years after the apocalypse. Several small buildings with what must have been neon signs eons ago gave her such an impression. And there were bodies- countless bodies wearing the tattered remains of what had once been much more modern clothing than any she'd seen or heard of in this world thus far.
She approached one such corpse, sitting, mummified in a chair near a tunnel leading out of this vast underground chamber. He wore the tattered remains of what seemed like a security guard uniform. She prodded at his face, which promptly turned to dust.
"Eep!" came a squeak from roughly half the viewers.
"Not my type of place, I gotta say," Yang wrinkled her nose.
"Remnants of the old people," Ren whispered as though they had intruded upon hallowed ground- which, for all Ruby knew, may very well be the case. "They say they developed technology the likes of which the world had never before seen, but were struck down when they stood at their highest, struck down by their own pride."
"What happened here?"
"Of that, I have no knowledge," Ren shook his head. "However, I do see the route that will carry us onward."
He pointed, and Ruby turned to see a handcart sitting in the chamber's center, positioned on a set of rails traveling from this point, down a nearby tunnel and on into the unknown.
"Sweet! Now they can really get moving!" Yang grinned, smashing her knuckles together.
"I wouldn't be so quick to celebrate," Blake shook her head. "Cinder must have been through here before, right? Why would she just leave a handcart for them that would clearly help them catch up to her?"
Yang faltered. "Well... because... obviously..."
"'Beware the man who fakes a limp,'" Ren quoted, crossing his arms. After a moment of thought, he added, "Or woman, in this case, I suppose."
Ruby followed Ren onto the cart, where the gunslinger gave an experimental tug on the handle. It took a great deal of effort to force it down, to which the cart responded by moving a foot or so. Ren hesitated momentarily, then pulled it back up, producing another foot or two of thrust. Now that it had been moved once, it was proving simpler. "When we get going, do you think you'll be able to help pump?"
Ruby sized it up, and gave an experimental pull of her own. "I... I think so."
"Good." Ren began pumping in earnest, sending them down the tunnel, where the lights kept going on old wires, humming loudly as the illuminated the long tunnels and the rails. "I sense a long journey ahead of us yet- let us hope that we can pass unnoticed."
Which, for the following three days, they did.
The screen flickered out just as the door opened, and Crazy reappeared, still looking rather solemn. "You alright there, Crazy?" George asked.
"No... but I guess I will be," Crazy sighed heavily. "Looks like you watched the next part of Childe Ren, huh?"
"Yep," George nodded.
"Well, with that done, we've waited long enough," Crazy forced a smile. "Time to give someone else the spotlight!"
"Thank God," Ren muttered to himself.
"Are we going back to Jaune-Jaune?" Nora asked eagerly.
"Nah, it's about time we gave someone the spotlight who hasn't had it yet," Crazy decided. He turned to Team RWBY, pointing at them individually. "Eenie, meenie, miney... you."
He had finished pointing directly at Blake's face.
XXXX
Always nice to have something to look forward to. Georgie's been waiting a while for this one- I'm essentially ghost-writing the next episode on his behalf. Until then, I bid you to go to whatever animals you've formed bonds with and give them all the love they deserve. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Apologies for being a little down this episode, I'll pull myself back together before the next. Until then, long days and pleasant nights, may it do ya fine. Gamer4 out.