Gamer4 in. I like infuriating people- that's the only explanation I can think of for how I'm handling this situation. Last episode was... divisive, to say the least, and understandably so. Clearly, the only way to handle it was to take a short break from the Childe Ren universe and... go to another one where Ren is a cowboy. Flawless. In all seriousness, though, this episode has been a long time coming. Anyone still scarred by the last episode, go ahead and read Luckenhaft's review- it honestly made me laugh. In the meantime, back to a universe we've not touched since the second proper episode.
Episode XXV
Live A Live
The Good, the Bad, and the Reckless
Yang brought her fist to a stop an inch or so from the new arrival's face. "The hell are you?"
"MONIKA?!" George gasped, then started grumbling. "Great, now she's here. Crazy, weren't you keeping her in your closet or something?"
"When did Monika even-" Stephen started.
Monika interrupted him. "I'm Monika- I'm his girlfriend!"
"I mean, that's kinda... open to interpretation," Crazy shrugged, gently trying to remove himself from Yang's warpath.
"Well, you can get out of my way anyways," Yang growled, cracking her knuckles. "I owe this bastard a black eye."
"I won't let you hurt him!" Monika stood firm, arms outstretched.
Finally, Ruby stood up, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Come on, Yang, sit down... it's not Crazy's fault what happened in that world. It's..." She glanced over at Ren. "It's not really Ren's fault, either- it's all on Cinder. That version of Cinder, I mean. So let's just... calm down and keep watching, alright?"
Yang looked down, took a deep breath, and finally allowed Ruby to pull her into her seat. "Alright... I gotcha." She glared up at Crazy. "But the next world that Ruby dies in, Hand..."
Crazy bit his lip, then turned to his savior. "I appreciate the save, Monika, but maybe you should get going. I can already hear people raging about another non-RWBY character walking in."
"Ohhh..." Monika pouted. "Can't you replace Stephen? He's barely been saying anything anyways..."
"What the hell?!" Stephen objected.
"Actually, now that I think about it..." George smirked.
"What the hell?!"
"Just kidding, Stephen- like I'd let Monika in for anything," George assured him, directing a glare at the woman in question.
"Yeah... I don't think I can handle both of you being here at the same time," Crazy nodded. "Look, the readers already find me annoying- I'm pretty sure Georgie's the only reason they're still sticking around, I can't just get rid of him."
"Oh, alright..." Monika finally conceded. "I'll go- just remember! I love you!"
"Couldn't forget that if I tried," Crazy assured her as she finally took her leave.
"...The hell?" Nora finally spoke for everyone when she was gone.
"Long story, " George grunted as he returned to his seat. "Loooooooooooooong story. Let's just get to the next world."
"I'd like to get back to the Dark Tower-" Crazy started.
"No." Jaune's voice was very flat.
"But I-"
"No." Weiss agreed.
"Look, if we just-"
"No," Yang snarled.
"Okay, fine!" Crazy threw his hands up in the air. "Look, we can't avoid it forever- it's a very important universe, we have to go back eventually... but for now, fine, we can go to another world. In fact, let's go back to one we've seen before."
"Oh! Oh!" Nora perked up. "The one where Jauney fights aliens? The one where he and Weiss are robots? The one where Blake's a mercenary?"
"Nope, we're going back to the universe where Yang was a fighter," Crazy corrected.
A long, drawn-out silence.
Finally, Ruby smacked her right palm with her left fist. "Oh, yeah, I remember that! She went around challenging all the strongest fighters in Remnant before fighting Ozpin! Then..."
"Then that Odie Oldbright freak challenged me," Yang recalled. "He'd killed all the others, and he wanted a crack at me."
"Well, this story is in the same world," Crazy explained, "but it takes place a couple hundred years earlier."
"...Huh?"
"This one takes place in the wild west of Remnant- starring Ren!"
"Oh, god..." Ren grumbled.
"Oh, god..." George grumbled in near-perfect unison.
"Does he go around dropping sisters into pits?" Yang growled.
"Oh, come on, don't you trust-"
"No," pretty much everyone answered at once.
"...Well, we're doing it anyway, so there!"
Weiss sighed. "I suppose we may as well go along with it for now..."
This particular world began with a lengthy title sequence. Various silhouetted figures appeared, men riding horseback with pistols in hand, chasing each other across a technicolor backdrop.
"Well, I'm liking the music, if anything," Jaune smiled. The others couldn't help agreeing- the flutes and vocals made for a very memorable track.
One of the silhouettes drew close to the camera, green with black hair, against a pink background. The words THE GOOD appeared next to him. The camera swerved a dark figure against a clashing yellow background, along with the title, THE BAD. Finally, the camera focuses on a sky-blue figure against a green background, accompanied by the phrase, and THE RECKLESS.
The figures all disappeared, and the words themselves took center stage:
The Good, the Bad, and the Reckless
"That name sounds... familiar, somehow," Jaune mused.
"I think I've had that feeling a few times myself," Pyrrha agreed.
"Sounds pretty classic," Blake shrugged.
At last, the title sequence closed, and they were met by a blue sky above a rolling desert. Onto screen came a man riding a dappled brown horse. Beneath his wide-brimmed hat was a pair of piercing magenta eyes, and lengthy black hair kept in a ponytail.
"He literally looks exactly the same as in the Dark Tower world," Yang crossed her arms with a glare.
"Nah, there're differences," Nora denied. "He doesn't have the pink streak in his hair here, he's wearing that weird poncho thing-"
"Serape," Ren put in.
"That weird poncho thing," Nora insisted, "instead of his coat from that world, and he's a lot younger. Among other things."
"...I still can't tell if that's creepy or not," Ruby whispered.
Up ahead of him was a small white house made of stone. Out front was a small well upon which his eyes fell. He steered his horse over to it, dismounted and began lowering the bucket.
Before it touched the water, he heard the sound of commotion from inside the house- something breaking, followed by a scream. His eyes raised up, maintaining their calm as the door flew open, and a young boy came flying out, sobbing, followed by a large man with a lengthy, reptilian tail, who delivered another kick to the boy even as he lay on the ground. "Shut yer trap, you little brat!"
Ren quickly took in the situation- the boy on the ground, the man above, and the couple from inside the house, looking on but likely powerless to do anything about it- the snake-tailed man wore a gun over his shoulder.
He brought the bucket up and poured the contents into a canteen before taking a long, cool drink.
"That bastard," Yang growled.
"C'mon, Renny, do something!" Nora whimpered.
Ren circled the well, stowing his canteen and crossing the short distance to the man and child.
"Teach you to talk back to me, you filthy pig!" the man was hissing, delivering punch upon punch to the crying boy. "I know what you think when you look at me- I know-"
Ren reached out and seized the man's arm- he looked at the new arrival with momentary surprise.
"Good afternoon," Ren greeted, before delivering a strong right cross to the man's face, sending him sprawling into the dirt.
The boy and his parents looked on, awestruck. The boy met his eyes.
"Go to your parents, boy," Ren ordered gently- the boy wasted no time complying.
"Yahoo!" Nora cheered. "Now this is the Renny I know!"
"I certainly feel more comfortable around this iteration," Weiss nodded her agreement.
"I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop," Yang growled, arms crossed.
The man on the ground glared up, quickly scrabbling for his gun, but was unable to reach it before Ren had his out, pointing at the faunus's forehead. "Now..." He spoke as calmly as ever, but there was an unmistakable fire in his eyes that said he was very close to pulling the trigger. "I like to consider myself a man who's very slow to anger, but if there's any easy way to get under my skin, it's beating up a kid less than half your size. Perhaps you should take a walk, before this gets any worse than it has to be."
"Like you understand anything," the man snarled. "You don't know what kind of people those are... filthy creatures. Scum like them deserves to die!"
He reached for his gun- with a bang, it flew from his hand.
Ren recocked his gun. "I was aiming for your head- I seem to have missed and hit your gun instead. Perhaps you should take that walk before my aim improves."
Ruby whispered conspiratorially, "I think he hit exactly what he was aiming at..."
Yang gave a chuckle in spite of herself.
Slowly, shakily, Mr. Rattlesnake rose to his feet. "Odachi will hear about this... Angel Eyes will hear about you, Mr. High-and-Mighty... and he will rain justice upon thee."
"I await it eagerly," Ren bowed.
"He is one cool customer," Blake couldn't help smiling.
As the man ran away, Ren slowly turned to the family, placing his hat over his chest. The screen freeze-framed, and introductory text appeared:
Lie Ren
'The Sunrise Kid'
The Good
"Sunrise Kid?" Jaune wondered.
"I suppose it makes a certain amount of sense," Ren pondered. "Anima is often referred to as the Land of the Rising Sun."
"But 'Kid?'" Weiss considered. "Another reference to 'childe?'"
"No, no, no," Blake shook her head. "That's a common name in western fiction. The Riviera Kid, Billy the Kid... not sure what it has to do with actual age, but it's nothing to do with 'childe.'"
With his hat over his chest, Ren sank into a bow for the family. "Cry pardon if I've caused trouble," he apologized. "I only came for some water, y'see."
"No, no trouble," the man shook his head. "Thank you for saving my child."
"Life is precious, sir, every life- particularly those of children." Ren returned his hat to his head and tipped it. "I ought to be on my way now-"
"Oh, please, won't you stay for supper?" the woman asked beseechingly.
Ren hesitated, glancing behind himself, seemingly weighing something. "...Very well, I think I can spare some time for such."
The camera cut inside, where Ren took a seat at the table, upon which sat a stew the audience couldn't recognize. As the family and their guest ate, Ren asked, "So, what happened between you and the snake out there?"
"He's part of a new gang terrorizing these parts," the woman informed him. "The Outriders, they call themselves."
"And their leader... Angel Eyes, I presume?"
"So we've heard, but never seen," the man shook his head.
"'Angel Eyes?'" Pyrrha pondered. "That seems an odd name for an outlaw."
Ren took a bite of his stew. "Is there a town nearby?"
"Truth or Consequences," the man answered promptly. "About a day's ride thataway." He pointed to the west.
"Hmmm... then that's where I'll be to next," Ren decided. "Thank you for the food, but now I really must be-"
He was cut off by a sharp knocking at the door. The father glanced up, visibly surprised, but got up to answer nonetheless.
On the other side was another man- dressed in a black coat and hat at odds with his jeans. He entered, a cigarette clenched between his teeth, glancing pointedly in Ren's direction as he swept off his hat, revealing a mop of untidy dark blue hair.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Blake groaned.
The introductory text wasted no time confirming her fears:
Sky Lark
The Mad Dog of Vale
The Reckless
"Great, Team CRDL's back," Yang groaned. "Exactly what we needed."
"The Reckless... not the Bad?" Ruby pondered.
"I mean, I guess Lark was always the lesser of four evils," Pyrrha shrugged.
Sky smirked as his eyes fell on Ren. "Why, why, Sunrise Kid... ain't you a sight for sore eyes?"
Ren produced a pipe and lit it up. "Lark. I suppose you're to be congratulated- you're getting faster every time."
"Sounds like they have a history," Blake quirked a brow.
"Sounds like Lark's been chasing him," Nora growled, cracking her knuckles.
"Not that he seems overly concerned about it," Ren pointed out quietly.
Ren casually rose from his seat. "Let's take this outside... these people have nothing to do with this."
Sky stood back and gave an exaggerated bow, permitting Ren to step outside, where he quickly spied the black horse upon which Sky had been riding.
The family looked on nervously as Ren turned to face Sky, who'd followed him close behind. "Ah, Kid... how many times have we found ourselves in this situation?" Sky maintained his smirk as he returned his hat to his head. "We've always had a fated destiny, you and I. Almost seems a shame to put an end to it... almost."
Ren tilted his head and gave an offhand shrug, no emotion showing in his eyes.
"So he is trying to kill Ren!" Nora glared.
"But Ren still doesn't seem upset," Jaune noted. "He was furious at that other guy, but Sky? He's got that 'Oh, boy, here we go again' look."
Nora looked closely. "Hey, yeah! That's the look he gets whenever I get my hands on soda!"
Ren winced at the many painful memories.
"Now... draw!"
Sky had his gun out in a second- but Ren had his out in less. A crack rent the air, and Sky's gun went flying out of his hand.
"Argh! Fuck!" Sky cursed as he held his hand. He glared back at Ren. "Always the gun- why don't you ever kill me?!"
Ren offered no reply as he hopped onto his own horse.
"No- not again- I ain't lettin' you-"
Sky had just saddled his own horse when Ren's gun rang out again. Sky's reins were severed in an instant, and his horse reared up, tossing him back onto the ground before tearing away in a panic.
"Goddammit!" Sky wasn't smirking anymore. "Sunrise!"
Ren's mouth twitched ever so slightly at the corners as he reared his horse and turned around, taking off in the direction of the town the family had indicated.
"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "Way to knock him down a peg!"
"What about the family?" Weiss fretted. "He's leaving Sky alone with them?"
"I don't think he really takes Sky seriously as a threat," Blake posited. "It seems like he's really only focused on Ren- he doesn't have time for a random family."
"I mean, he is the 'Reckless,' not 'The Bad,'" Ruby pointed out hopefully.
The screen cut ahead to late afternoon as Ren sauntered into the town of Truth or Consequences. It was the quintessential sleepy western town, a small square surrounding a well, a saloon the largest building in the area, and, to his eye, the only building inhabited at the moment.
He tied up his horse at a hitching dock nearby, then moved to the saloon's batwing doors, opening them up and stepping in.
There had been a three-man band playing nearby- they paused when they spied Ren stepping into the building, eyes wide.
Ren ignored them, and all the other eyes on him as he stepped passed the four men playing poker at one of the tables, focused only on the large man behind the counter.
"This is so cliche," Blake muttered.
"You say cliche, I say classic!" Ruby pouted.
Ren took a seat on the customer's side of the counter, glancing at a nearby wanted poster with another of those small lip-corner-twitches.
Wanted:
Sunrise Kid
Reward:
3000 Lien
"Wanted?!" Ruby gasped. "But... but I thought he was the Good!"
"I suppose that doesn't preclude him having some skeletons in his closet," Ren speculated.
Their memories of the other other Ren nagging at them, they tensed, watching closely.
Fortunately, nobody seemed to have made the connection as of yet. He turned to the bartender- a large, barrel-chested man with black hair and sideburns. There was something feline in his eyes, and looking down, Ren thought he could spy where claws would emerge from his fingers.
"Heeeey... ain't that the bookshop owner?" Ruby wondered.
"Tukson, I think his name is," Blake nodded. "Haven't seen him around in a while.
"Finest you've got, if it does ya," Ren tipped his hat slightly.
Tukson nodded, turning to begin preparing the drink, when an outraged scream came from the doorway. The batwing doors began swinging again as Mr. Rattlesnake himself came bursting in, fury in his eyes.
"Oh, boy..." Jaune groaned.
"This can only end well," Blake muttered.
"You're the bastard from before!" he screamed. "You... now you're here, takin' my seat? Get out of my town!"
"So this is your town now, is it? That's news to me."
The audience jumped at the sound of the voice. "Oh- that's Coco!" Ruby smiled. "We haven't seen her since the one where we were all locked in Beacon!"
"Wait- Trigger Happy Havoc?" Stephen asked, caught off guard.
"Yeah, that's the one!"
Crazy glanced at Stephen and George- they did a quick huddle while the universe continued.
Coco stood at the top of a short flight of rickety steps, glaring down at Mr. Rattlesnake. She was wearing the height of fashion, as ever- except, of course, she was currently wearing the height of fashion as it was understood in the wild west.
"And what's this I'm hearin' about that bein' your seat?" she continued. "Last I remember was kickin' you out, you screamin' bout how you shouldn't haveta pay!"
For a moment, it seemed as though Mr. Rattlesnake would start screaming again- instead, a lecherous grin crossed his face. "Well, well, well, Ms. Adele, ain't you lookin' hotter than a cathouse on nickel night?"
"Yang, what's a cathouse?" Ruby asked. "A house where you can buy cats? Oh, can I go to one!"
"I don't recommend it," Blake shook her head.
Yang, who was able to guess from context what 'cathouse' meant, agreed. "Yeah... let's just go on."
Coco descended the stairs. As she did, the four men playing poker seemed to shrink away from the furious glare she directed at them.
"Coco..." Tukson whispered warningly.
"I don't wanna hear it," Coco shook her head. She turned on the poker-players. "And you four! What, are those toys hangin' from your hips?!"
Each of the men looked down in shame, despite the gun each of them wore.
"Marston!" She shouted, pointing at one of them. "Chambers! Jones! Hunter! Are your names the only good things about you?!"
"I... don't recognize any of those names," Jaune admitted.
"Neither do I," Blake agreed. "Then again, given their unwillingness to fight, maybe that's a good thing."
"Perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to judge," Pyrrha offered. "We haven't seen Angel Eyes or the rest of the Outriders yet, after all."
Mr. Rattlesnake maintained that grin as he approached Coco, tilting her up to face him. "Oh, I like 'em fiery... c'mon, Coco, be my girl..."
The next sound was that of Coco smacking him across the face.
"Ohhh! Ohhhh! Where are you at?! Where are you at?!" Nora cried, blaring some airhorns she'd found in a basket nearby.
"I never thought I'd be nostalgic for Lark," Blake muttered.
Mr. Rattlesnake took a startled step back. His grin turned to a glare. "You... how dare you... you scum!"
"Leave her alone!"
Yet another new voice rang through the saloon, as a young boy with tanned skin and dark hair burst in and barreled his way into Mr. Rattlesnake.
"Adrian!" Coco seemed legitimately caught off guard.
"Adrian?" Pyrrha pondered.
"Hmmm..." Jaune put a hand to his chin. "I don't know anyone by that name- yet, but I think Sapphron- my big sister- said she was planning on naming her kid Adrian, if she ever has one."
"That kid is adorable!" Yang crooned. By her side, Weiss seemed to have similar sentiments, though she didn't say as much out loud.
"Oh, look," Mr. Rattlesnake returned to his smirk. "If it ain't the son of the yeller sheriff." And before all and God, he grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck and turned, carelessly tossing him...
Right into Ren.
"Okay, he's really gone too far this time," Yang growled, cracking her knuckles.
"Get in line," Weiss grimaced, really wishing she had Myrtenaster with her.
Ren, for his part, didn't move at all, providing enough cushion for Adrian to walk away relatively unhurt. Slowly, he turned to look at the aggressor, tilting his hat upward.
Mr. Rattlesnake glared. "Oh, right... I forgot about you."
Ren rose to his feet. "I think that's about enough, don't you? Perhaps my instructions from before weren't entirely clear, so allow me to repeat them in a manner I believe you'll understand: get lost."
"Oh, yeah, Renny to the rescue again!" Nora whooped.
"You cheated before, like the chickenshit you are," Mr. Rattlesnake growled. "This time, I'll-"
He reached for his gun, but before he could even point it, it had, once again, been blown out of his hand.
Ren pointed the gun directly at his forehead. "Now... I'll be honest, I don't think I've reloaded since our last encounter. How many shots have I fired since then? Four? Five? Maybe I'm pointing an empty gun at you right now- but being that this is one of the most powerful handguns in the west, I'd recommend asking yourself one question- 'Do I feel lucky?' Well... do you?"
Yang threw back her head and laughed. "Bad. Ass."
Mr. Rattlesnake backed away, glaring. "I'll fix you... Angel Eyes is comin', and he'll fix all of you!"
He turned and ran away, out the batwing doors, giving Ren time to check his revolver- sure enough, it was empty. He busied himself reloading.
"Good thing that bluff paid off," Blake muttered.
A ringing silence fell around him, finally breaking just as he returned his gun to his holster. "You... and here, I thought you were with the Outriders..." Tukson almost whispered.
Coco was grinning. "Nice to see there are some real men out there."
"That was so cool!" Adrian beamed, stars in his eyes. "You drove him off with an empty gun!"
Before anyone else could speak, still another voice filled the silence- belonging to a dark-skinned woman with hair and eyes to match. She wore a badge in the shape of a star just over her left breast "Alright, what's going on over here, then?"
Coco groaned and rolled her eyes, while Adrian's eyes filled with tears as he took the woman in. "Late to the scene... as usual," Coco muttered.
"Ma!" Adrian directed a wet, angry glare at her. "Where were you- we all needed you, but just like always... you... you damn hard case!"
"Ma?" Jaune repeated. "Oh... that must be Terra... she's Sapphron's wife. Haven't met her myself yet."
"And she's the sheriff?" Weiss pieced together.
"Not a particularly effective one, by the sounds of it," Blake muttered.
Terra looked up at Tukson. "Outrider?"
Tukson nodded mutely.
Terra knelt down at her son's side. "Well, of course I want them gone, son, but you know what will happen if we actually stand up to-"
"So, what?" Coco stepped forward with a glare. "We just keep going on like this? Letting the Outriders bleed this town dry forever? Why does Adrian have more guts than everyone else in this damn saloon together?!"
"Not quite," Tukson spoke up. He stepped around the counter, pointing to Ren. "Sheriff, this man... you should have seen what he did to that guy!"
Ren, for his part, was just loading up his pipe again when the doors swung open still another time, and a familiar voice rang out. "Well, if you're fixin' to hedge your bets on the Kid, you might wanna wait a second longer."
"Oh, good," Weiss groaned. "Sky is back."
So he was- Sky Lark strode into the room, smirk in place as he immediately crossed to face Ren. "Don't think I'm gonna forgive you for that, Kid," he said warningly. "Took me three hours to chase down my mount."
Ren took a pull on his pipe and said nothing.
Sky turned to the rest of the crowd. "This here is the Sunrise Kid, wanted dead or alive, with a bounty of three thousand lien on his head! A bounty... I aim to collect."
"Well, at least we know why he's chasing me now," Ren sighed.
"I don't believe it! What could Renny have possibly done for a three thousand lien bounty?!" Nora demanded.
Ren remained silent as the numerous patrons of the bar slowly looked from him to the wanted poster he'd noticed earlier. Wanted... dead or alive... three thousand lien, just as Sky had said.
"But... no!" Adrian's eyes grew wide. "He's not a bad man, Ma, I can tell! That's not you, is it, Mister?"
He rushed to Ren, pulling at his pants and looking imploringly up at him. "That can't be you, right?"
Ren removed the pipe from his mouth, and met the boy's eyes steadily. "...I'm afraid what he's saying is true."
"No!"
Heedless of his earlier anger towards her, he rushed to his mother's side and hid his face in her leg.
"Oh..." Everyone's hearts were aching for the kid, but Yang and Weiss seemed the most heavily affected.
"So, the Kid can't stand up to a kid," Sky scoffed.
Ren turned his gaze towards his aggressor. "This is between you and me, Lark."
"Took the words out of my fuckin' mouth," Sky crossed his arms. "Come on... let's settle this."
Ren bowed his head, tucking his gun in his belt and following Sky out of the door.
"Sheriff! Say something!" Coco demanded in exasperation. "Our greatest hopes are about to kill each other!"
Terra glanced at them, but moved to Tukson and ordered a drink instead.
"Do they really have to do this now?!" Weiss cried. "Now?!"
"Sky's the Reckless- and a douchebag regardless of universe, it would seem," Blake pointed out. "I'm sure Ren would be more reasonable, but he can't exactly just let Lark kill him, can he?"
Ren and Sky walked out into the town's main road, then turned to face each other.
"Five steps?" Sky asked, almost cordially.
"Sounds good to me," Ren agreed almost offhandedly.
"Huh?" Ruby wondered, finger at her chin.
"Classic gun duel," Blake chimed in. "They turn around, walk five steps, turn around again and... only one is left standing."
"Sky's gonna cheat," Jaune stated.
"Almost certainly," Weiss sniffed.
The two stared each other down for nearly a solid minute before turning.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Four.
On the fifth step, they both turned, drew their guns, and fired- but not at each other. Instead, they turned ninety degrees and gunned down the Outriders who'd been waiting to ambush the duel's winner.
"Huh... you were sayin'?" Nora asked. Not smugly- she seemed just as surprised as everyone else.
"Tch... pain in the ass..." Sky muttered as he refilled his empty chamber, even as Ren did the same.
The spectators- everyone save Tukson and Terra had come out to watch- allowed their jaws to drop to the ground. "They... saw that?" Adrian was the first to pick his jaw up, breaking into a beaming smile. "They are heroes!"
"Idunno about 'heroes,'" Coco smirked, "But I'd sure like to see the Outriders try pushin' them around."
Terra and Tukson stepped out of the bar just in time to see Coco officially extending her offer. "Well, what do you boys say? Feel like lendin' us your guns?"
Sky chuckled. "Well, whaddya say, Sunrise? Looks like we can't have our duel 'til these pains are outta the way."
Ren nodded. "We'll help you."
"Who knew he could be reasonable?" Jaune pondered.
Ren motioned towards the saloon. "Back to the bar. If we're going to do this, we'll need to discuss strategy."
One by one, everyone obeyed. In the midst, Adrian leapt up at his mother, snatching the badge from her chest. She took a befuddled step backward. "Adrian!"
Ignoring her, Adrian returned to Ren. "Take this- my ma... she ain't fit to wear it!"
Ren threw an apologetic glance at Terra, who shook her head. "Take it. He's right... I've done nothing to earn that badge."
Ren furrowed his brow, but attached the badge nonetheless.
"That's... actually kinda heartbreaking," Jaune noted sadly.
"Is this what Terra's like in our world?" Pyrrha asked.
"I mean, I haven't met her, but I sure hope not..."
On the inside of the saloon, the band went back to their music, while Ren stood next to the counter. "Alright, who here knows the most about the Outriders?"
"That'd be Tukson," Terra piped up. "He used to ride with 'em."
"Say true?" Ren asked, turning to quirk his brow at the bartender.
"Aye, and say thankya," Tukson agreed. "Angel Eyes rides with humans and faunus alike- he has a sort of charisma to him, but don't let that fool ya- he's a monster in human shape."
"He must have a powerful force of personality, to gather humans and faunus together like that... especially at the time," Weiss mused.
Blake bit her lip and remained silent.
"When that snake gets back, what'll his play be?"
"He'll be in town soon as dawn breaks," Tukson predicted. "He'll be lookin' for you two in particular. He don't tolerate dissent. The things I've seen..." He trailed off, biting his lip. "There was this woman... Cinder Fall, I believe her name was... she tried to take over the Outriders for herself. He caught her, took her to his house and he... he tortured her. We could all hear the screams... he had a band play to drown it out. I was playin' the fiddle, and when I... when I realized what I was doin'... I knew I couldn't stay with him no longer."
"Oh, my..." Pyrrha placed her hands over mouth. "That man's... inhuman!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's terrible," George agreed offhandedly. "Crazy, you happen to have the tapes of that happening?"
"You know from where he hails?" Ren asked.
"Nah," Tukson shook his head. "Earliest I've heard is that he was part of General Lagune's forces durin' the battle at Fort Castle."
"Way I heard, there weren't no survivors of that skirmish," Sky butted in, his brow furrowed.
"They say Angel Eyes was the only one," Tukson volleyed.
"That's... not possible," Weiss stated. "At least, not by our world..."
"Why not?" Jaune asked.
"Well," Blake stepped in, "there was one survivor of Lagune's forces from that battle, but they... well..." she trailed off, looking markedly uncomfortable.
"They say after he believes he survived in order to bring true justice to Remnant. That's why they call him Angel Eyes- all who stand before him will be judged by the might of an angel."
"He's built up... quite the mythology around himself, it seems," Pyrrha noted.
Ren leaned forward, meeting his gaze steadily. "Do you know his actual name?"
Tukson glanced around, looking uncomfortable himself. "...Dio. His real name is O. Dio. Nobody's rightly figured out what the O is for."
"Welp, there goes that," Nora threw her hands up in the air. "We don't know anybody named Dio!"
"Don't we?" Pyrrha asked quietly.
"Whaddya mean, P-Money?" Yang asked. "'Course we don't!"
"Not from our world, maybe, but... Yang, do you remember the name of the man you fought at the end of your episode?"
"Sure I do! I just said it earlier! Odie... Oldbright..."
"O. Dio...ldbright," Pyrrha sounded out.
"Well, that's... that's gotta be a coincidence, right?" Ruby rubbed at her head. "I mean, Yang's episode had to be a couple hundred years ahead of this one."
"Maybe," Pyrrha shrugged, nibbling at a nail. "Maybe not..."
Ren ceased his line of questioning, turning to listen in on Sky talking to Terra.
"-and in our business, that's called 'putting your eggs in one basket.' Generally understood as a bad idea," he was saying.
"I understand," Terra replied. "Well... there are two main entrances into town. Perhaps if we laid down some traps... I doubt we could get 'em all, but if we could thin the herd a bit, it could even the odds..."
"Sounds like a plan ," Ren agreed. "Sky, with me. Let's go around town, see if we can't dig up some materials for trap building."
"What's our timeframe lookin' like?" Sky demanded.
"I'd say we've got eight hours," Terra supplied.
"We'll have to hurry," Ren decided.
"Hmm... yes, I suppose that's a fair strategy," Weiss agreed.
Ren and Sky spent the first few hours of their time limit going around to the buildings in town, of which there were startlingly few, and grabbing anything they deemed trapworthy. Sky broke into a grin when he discovered a copious amount of oil, which he began loading into bottles. "Never underestimate the power of a molotov cocktail, my friend," he said in response to Ren's raised brow.
Rope, shovels, and, to Ren's own surprise, a bundle of dynamite.
Finally, they returned to the bar. "Alright, we've got the makings of some traps here," Ren announced. "I want some of you to go set 'em up." He started with the men still sitting around the poker table. "Marston- Chambers- Hunter- Jones. Take these." He provided them with shovels. "Dig nice big holes at the town's entrances, and cover 'em up with somethin' flimsy. Understand?"
The men nodded and went to do as they were told.
Ren turned to the band who'd been playing when he'd first entered the tavern. "Surprised to see you boys stickin' 'round. What should I call you?"
"I'm Pancho!" one introduced.
"I'm Pincho!" the middle man tipped his hat.
"Tomas Jefferson," spoke the third.
"What... what kind of names are those?" Weiss asked, befuddled.
"That's what I wanna know," George agreed, side-eyeing Crazy, who was busying himself drinking a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew.
All the better to hide my face with...
Ren produced the rope and tossed it to them. "Find a place you're comfortable pulling that across the street. We'll need you out there when they come- you should be able to trip up their horses."
"Si, senor," Pancho agreed, leading his comrades out the door.
He turned to find Coco standing there. "I don't suppose you've got a job for little old me?"
Ren produced the dynamite and handed it to her. "You know this town better'n I do. Find where this will do the most damage to them, and the least damage to us. After that, meet up with Lark- he's makin' as many molotovs as he can. I wouldn't say no to you throwin' a couple of those when they get here."
Coco smirked as she accepted the explosives and headed out the door.
"I mean, it's not the most airtight plan," Jaune admitted, "but... with only eight hours head-start..."
Finally, he turned to Terra and Adrian. "Adrian, I want you to stay in here, understand?"
Adrian didn't look happy, but nodded his assent.
"Terra, you stay here and defend the saloon if anything happens to Lark and me," Ren ordered. "If the time comes for you to earn back your badge... do it."
Terra found herself unable to meet his eyes.
"And Tukson... pour me a drink."
Tukson blinked, even as he got his glasses ready. "Are you certain?"
"Not too much, of course," Ren agreed, "but just enough."
As he sat down and was finally poured the drink that was all he'd wanted from this town in the first place, Adrian came up to him, looking up wide-eyed. "Do you... have any stories to tell?"
"Oh, boy, here we go," Yang groaned. "How many sisters has this guy dropped into pits, huh?"
"I don't think he has," Ruby shook her head.
Ren smiled indulgently at the kid. "Well, sure I do. I suppose I can pass the time tellin' one or two of 'em." He took a drink, finishing off the glass in one go. "This must've been two or three years ago, now, I rode into a town right at the edge of Mistral. It was controlled by two families- the Hoshidos and the Nohrs. Hoshios were a group of human traders dealing mostly in guns, the Nohrs a family o' faunus mostly dealin' in liquor. They had the town right under their thumbs, and there I was, riding into the middle of it. Like in this town, the first place I went into was the tavern..."
Outside, the sun began to peek over the horizon, then to climb up into the sky.
"Aw, I wanted to hear the rest of that story," Ruby pouted.
"If it's anything like the other Ren's stories, I'm fine not hearing such things," Weiss crossed her arms.
The camera returned to the saloon, where Ren was concluding a story with, "-and, much like our friend with the snake tail, she was not feeling lucky. Fortunate for me, as, once again, my gun was empty. If there's any moral to this, I suppose it's that I really should make sure my gun is loaded at all times."
Before he could say anything else, Sky opened the doors and stepped in. "Kid... it's time."
On the outside, the screen showed two clouds of dust marking two large crowds riding horseback. One crowd entered from the west, the other from the east.
The eastern gang was wiped out in its entirety, the first half falling into the holes Ren had ordered, and what remained tripping over the rope held by the band.
From the west, an entire hoard was wiped out by the dynamite, placed and detonated by Coco. A great many more were wiped out by her follow-up molotove, leaving only two riders approaching the saloon in the town's center.
One of them was Mr. Rattlesnake, who, at the direction of the other, made to circle around the building's back.
The other was a tall man in black pants, shirt, and coat- all he needed was a bible, and he'd be a perfect mockery of the average preacher of the day. He wore a sleek black hat atop his head, beneath which was a mop of untidy hair, so filthy its true color was impossible to determine. His upper lip was adorned by a moustache, and just above that was a pair of crystal blue eyes that would, indeed, be considered rather angelic, if they weren't so filled with anger as he directed his gaze at the saloon.
The screen froze, and his introductory text appeared.
O. Dio
'Angel Eyes'
The Bad
"He sure looks like a villain," Jaune agreed.
"It's in his face," Ruby agreed. "And... his eyes... those eyes..."
A shudder passed over the group, thinking of the sheer, bottomless hatred contained within those eyes.
"Sunrise!" he bellowed. "Nice tricks, but I'm still standing! Now get out here before I kill every last man, woman and child in there!"
"Yes," Blake agreed with what Pyrrha had said several minutes ago. "He's inhuman."
Inside the tavern, Ren and Sky looked at each other. "Time's come," Sky gave a sideways smirk, twirling his gun. "Let's go out there and get us a good look at those 'angel eyes' of his."
"You'll come back, right?" Adrian asked, eyes wide with worry.
Ren smiled down at him. "Two minutes. Battles are fought in two minutes that go down in history for years to come."
Adrian nodded, stepping back and watching as Ren and Sky walked out into the street.
Angel Eyes took them both in with a glance. "Hmm... there weren't supposed to be two of you..."
"Sorry to disappoint," Sky gave a sarcastic bow.
"A bounty hunter, is it?" Angel Eyes kept his gaze fixed on him. "I've got no bounty on my head... not like that Kid does."
Sky tilted his head. "What are you trying to say?"
Angel Eyes reached into his pocket and pulled out a large fistful of lien. "Do the smart thing, Mad Dog of Vale... turn your gun on this bastard here. You get to take him into the authorities and claim his bounty, and I'll pay you a second time over."
"Oh, God, here we go," Blake groaned. "Here's where it happens... he's going to betray Ren."
Ren and Sky looked at each other. Sky glanced from the money to Ren. "Seems a fair deal, pard... I just wanted to have our duel."
For a long moment, Ren, Sky, and Dio gazed at each other. They walked out into the street, moving apart, forming the points of a triangle.
And then, the staredown began.
"Mistralian stand-off," Pyrrha noted, watching closely.
"If he actually betrays Renny..." Nora growled.
From their points on the triangle, they watched each other, eyes flicking between each of their opponents. Ren fixed his gaze on Sky, and Angel Eyes slowly began creeping his hand towards his gun.
Ren turned his gaze back to him, and just as slowly, the hand retreated.
"Ugh, now things are boring!" Yang complained.
"If you could focus, you'd see just how much is happening right now," Blake chided. "If you follow their eyes and body language-"
"BORING!"
Meanwhile, in the back of the saloon, Mr. Rattlesnake had creeped in through a window, and was coming up on the people watching the standoff with bated breath.
He reached out and grabbed hold of Adrian, who began screaming.
"I'm not letting you get away this time, you rotten little shit!" he hissed.
Terra turned, saw her son in danger, and without a second thought, her hand descended to her hip. Her gun rose, and in the next second, Mr. Rattlesnake had fallen to the ground, a new hole between his empty eyes.
The sound of Terra's gunshot seemed to be a signal to the men outside. In less than a second, they'd all drawn their guns, and two shots rang out- from Ren and from Sky.
Two bullet wounds appeared on Angel Eyes's body- one in his heart, the other in his head.
Those would-be angelic eyes of his has only the briefest of seconds to widen in shock and fury before he'd fallen to the ground, motionless.
Sky smirked as he twirled and reholstered his gun. "Anyone who thinks he can control the Mad Dog with a fistful of lien... he doesn't know anything about the Mad Dog."
"Quite," Ren nodded, tipping his hat and holstering his own gun.
"Damn..." Nora's eyes were wide. "He was right- over in two minutes."
The doors to the saloon flew open, and the townspeople poured out.
"He... he's dead!" Terra gaped at the body lying in her street. "He... wait... what the..."
Ren turned and saw what was throwing her off. At first, there didn't seem to be anything unusual about Dio's body. However, now, it was becoming somehow difficult to look at directly, like trying to stare into the sun.
And then, as if a glamour was being lifted, he could look directly at the corpse again- except it was no longer the corpse of a man, but of a horse, lying dead in the dirt of Truth or Consequences.
"He's a horse now!" Nora yelped.
"Yes, that statement is true, care to go on?" Ren nodded- his way of expressing that he was just as surprised as she was.
"I mean... that's what I was saying earlier," Blake forced out through her own bewilderment. "The only survivor on the human side from the Battle of Fort Castle was a single horse. I didn't think that would actually be... I mean... I didn't expect this!"
"A horse..." Tukson seemed to be following Blake's line of logic. "That almost makes sense. It's as if that horse was possessed by the hatred of all the humans that died there..."
"I suppose this is the part where I say something like, 'There is more in Heaven or on Remnant than is dreamt of in our wildest imaginations,'" Ren suggested, producing his pipe and filling it up.
"I think that's the closest we're gonna get to him admitting he has no idea what's going on," Nora guessed.
"Well, I'm no philosopher," Sky grunted. "I suppose this is my cue to get outta town."
Ren glanced over to him as he lit his pipe. "Our duel?"
"Ah, there'll be plenty of opportunities yet," Sky waved aside as he crossed over to the tavern's hitching rail, leaping atop his black steed. "I'm gettin' outta here before you turn into a horse, too."
Ren raised his hand as he saw Sky off into the distance.
"That was... surprisingly decent of him," Blake noted, shocked.
"Different universe, of course," Weiss pointed out, somewhat uncharitably.
Ren watched him go, then moved to saddle up himself.
"Going so soon?" Coco asked.
"I never stay in one place too long- it just causes problems," Ren shook his head. He momentarily turned to Terra, removing his sheriff's badge. "It's about time I handed this back over to ya."
"Keep it," Terra shook her head, looking down at Adrian, close at her side since she had saved him from Mr. Rattlesnake. "I feel like I've earned my keep, badge or no."
Ren shrugged, tucking the badge in his pocket before swinging up onto his horse.
"Almost feel bad, in a way," Coco noted. "All the help you've given us, and we can't pay you a red cent in return."
"You've done enough," Ren shook his head. He glanced off into the desert sun. "Life having meaning... every life. That's a way of thinkin' I thought had disappeared from the world, but it hasn't. It's still alive, in little towns like this. That's worth protectin'."
With that, he let out a cry, signaling his horse to take off across the hardpan.
"That... Ren, that was beautiful!" Nora cried, blowing her nose into a handkerchief (provided to her by Ren himself) with a resounding 'HONK!'
"Glad you think so," Crazy muttered, a trace of bitterness in his voice.
Terra glanced to the others. "I finally remembered... why he's wanted. He placed the bounty on himself."
"He what?" Coco asked in a brilliant double-take.
"His legend spread across Remnant- the fastest gun in the west. One day, a gang decided to take him on for that noteriety... they slaughtered the entire town he was stayin' in. He thought he'd as good as killed 'em himself- he placed the bounty on his head and set off into the desert, lookin' for a place to die."
"Couldn't get through it without one dark story, huh?" Jaune asked, crossing his arms and glaring at Crazy, who was slinking off to hide behind George.
They continued to watch as Ren rode off. He was a speck in the distance when he was accosted, once again, by Sky.
He didn't seem upset- if anything, he was almost laughing as he stowed his pipe away again. "I thought the duel was off."
"Changed my mind," Sky smirked, hand over his gun. "Thought we'd give 'em their happy ending, at least."
"Ohhh... youuuuuu..." Nora growled.
Ren turned to him. "Alright, then. Have it your way."
Sky grinned. "I'm really gonna miss our little altercations, but that's how things are." He reached for his gun, but Ren outdrew him, blowing it out of his hand, then severing the reins again. His black horse reared back, throwing him to the ground, before taking off once more.
"The fucking reins again!" Sky roared as he struggled back to his feet. "Why don't you just kill me?!"
Ren smirked, touching his hat, then turned and took off into the sunrise.
"Things change as much as they stay the same," Pyrrha laughed.
"I hope he feels better now," Adrian whispered.
Terra smiled down at him. "I think he might just. That legend's over... time for a new one to take its place." Looking up and watching as Sky took off in pursuit of his horse, she continued: "The Sunrise Kid rode across the desert, and the Mad Dog followed."
George crossed his arms. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"
Crazy was now using Stephen as a human shield.
"You... dammit, Snurise!" Sky was still screaming. "Damn you, you son of a b-"
He was cut off by a freeze-frame and the return of the flutes that had played the opening music, coming back for an encore. The words The Reckless appeared right next to him.
The camera cut to the horse-that-had-been Dio, with the words, The Bad.
And finally, it returned to Ren, riding off into the sunrise that was his namesake, alongside the words, The Good.
The screen faded to black alongside the encore of music.
"Okay, I'll admit... I like that Ren a lot more than the other one," Yang decided. "Sorry for getting so angry at you before, Ren- I know it's another world."
"No apology necessary," Ren shook his head.
"But you say we're gonna have to go back to that world eventually? The Dark Tower one?" Ruby asked nervously.
"Yes," Crazy said firmly. "I think it may be the most important universe we have to go over. It might just be omni-important- I'm pulling out the omni for this."
"Next time?" Jaune asked, looking rather nervous himself.
"...No. I need to go back to another universe- something's come to my attention," Crazy shook his head. "We gotta take another look at that Trigger Happy Havoc world... something's wrong with it, I think."
XXXX
So, yeah, that's the plan. Until such a time as I prove to be a lying bastard and do some other world I haven't even alluded to before. I really do need to get back to Live A Live... but no matter what happens next, until it does, remember: I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together. Gamer4 out.