Hey guys and girls, I'm back with another update that I hope you'll enjoy but before we begin I just want to pay my respects to Kobe Bryant and his daughter who tragically lost their lives. I hope the two of them are at peace and in our Lord's loving embrace and are shooting hoops in Heaven's court. R.I.P.
Chapter 13: Family Stay's Together
"Wow, that's a lot to take in" said Taiyang after his daughter's explained that they were currently watching an alternate universe involving their friend and teammate. If it wasn't for the fact that Qrow and the professors as well as the mysterious being were there to confirm it, he probably would not have believed it.
"I know it sounds unbelievable but trust me dad, everything we see here is very real" said Ruby.
After remaining silent for a moment, "I believe you all and I'm grateful for you for allowing me to experience this with my family" sincerely said Tai to Ethan who nodded to the man as he was hugged by his two daughters.
"Ok, now that you're all caught up we can resume the viewing" and with a snap the dark screen came to life.
(on screen)
After refusing to kill his opponent, Roman took matters into his own hands and mercilessly shot the defenceless fighter much to Ren's shock and horror.
He was then subdued with a new collar and taken back to the hideout where he was currently being punished for disobeying a direct order.
"I decide when there's no more killing! Me! The master commands and the dog obeys!" screamed Roman as he viciously punched Ren in the face before drawing his gun and pointing it at the boy's face.
"I will kill you!" he threatened.
"Put him to bed" he ordered his men, who tossed Ren into his cage which knocked the boy out as bounced down the stairs while the thugs walked away without remorse.
(0ff screen)
Taiyang was shaking in anger as witnessed the cruel treatment of the young man who did nothing to deserve it. If any of his daughters were to experience even just a fraction of that type cruelty, there would not be a place on Remnant that would protect the one responsible from his wrath, he already lost two important people in his life and he would be dammed if he allowed his children to be lost without a fight and by the gods he would fight with everything he had.
"Even though you explained his circumstances, I can't believe what I just saw. That is not how you treat another person!" exclaimed Tai in anger while clenching his fists so hard if it were not for aura his palms would surely be bleeding.
He glanced in Ren's direction and saw the boy was being hugged by his orange haired teammate, no doubt just as upset as he was after seeing the young man be abused inn such a manner. His shaking fists were then grabbed by his daughters who offered their own form of comfort and who was he to deny any of it.
"Thanks girls, I really needed that" he gratefully said.
"No problem dad, were all in this together."
"Yeah, no matter what happens we'll always be there for each other."
"They're right Tai, no matter what" said Qrow seriously without even taking a sip from his flask.
Smiling at his family, Tai could not have asked for more in his life. He pulled his daughters close and returned to watching the screen.
(on screen)
(At Ozpin and Nora's apartment)
The two occupants were sitting at the dinner table but nothing was being eaten. They were simply to overcome with worry and sadness to eat anything.
"Why'd he leave?" asked Nora softly.
"Maybe he some things to do" replied Ozpin without conviction in his voice.
"But I thought he was happy here" said the orange haired girl while glancing at the empty seat at the table.
"Well, sweetie, sometimes being happy isn't enough. Sometime, people have to go back and fix the things that made them unhappy before they were happy" explained Ozpin in hope of providing a bit of comfort for his step-daughter who was clearly hurt by Ren's sudden disappearance.
"But I could help him" she softly said while fighting back tears.
"I know" was Ozpin's only reply.
(at Roman's hideout)
It was nearly midnight with a thunderstorm brewing in the air. In his 'room' Ren was laying on his bed feeling nothing but sadness as he thought of Nora and Ozpin, what where they doing now that he suddenly vanished from their lives. Shaking those unhappy thoughts from his head, he picked up the old children spelling book and began paging through it.
As he was going through the pages something fell from the back of the book. Picking it up, Ren found it was a torn picture that looked familiar, he examined it further and recognised the bottom of the photo as himself with someone who he assumed to be his mother but the picture was too torn to be sure.
He then got an idea and climbed to the top of his cage and as quietly as he could, slid open the hatch.
(off screen)
"I wonder what Mr Lie has planned" said Glynda with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Everyone turned to her and she elaborated, "He's taking a big risk leaving the confines of the cage like that. If he is caught by Roman or one of his henchmen, who knows what punishment they will inflict on him."
Nodding in her direction Winter said "I agree with you that he is taking a big risk but he clearly feels the reward will be worth the risk. Otherwise he wouldn't be sneaking around with Roman Torchwick around."
"I just hope he finds what he's looking for and fast, so he can leave that awful place and return to his real family" said Jaune with Nora and Pyrrha agreeing whole heartedly.
"If it has anything to do with our mother, then we'll take any risk, no matter what it is" said Ren with determination.
(on screen)
After climbing out of the cage, Ren walked to Roman's desk and found all the photos he found of the prostitutes the crime boss slept with and started dumbing them on the desk. Ren quickly examined each photo as fast as he could before he finally found the one he was looking for.
The photo in his hand showed a beautiful woman with long brown hair smiling softly at the camera. Ren fell backwards into the desk chair as he stared at the woman who no doubt was his mother. His emotions were all over the place but before he could even start to cry he heard Roman return with another prostitute on his arm. Ren quickly switched off the lamp and turned chair around just as Roman and the woman got to the desk.
The two were giggling wildly and Roman started to tear the woman's clothes off but before he could go any further he noticed all the photo's sprawled on his desk. Blinking in confusion he turned on the lamp, only for Ren to turn the chair around and scream in anger.
"You lied to me!" he thundered at Roman who jumped in surprise while the woman ran off.
Getting his wits back, Roman thundered back, "What are you doing in my fucking chair, you little retard!?" but was grabbed by his neck brace by an angry Ren who shoved the photo in his face.
(off screen)
"Swear!" shouted Ruby while pointing at the screen in a dramatic fashion.
"Ruby we went over this, they can't hear you and even if they could there's no way for them to put money in your swear jar" said Yang while their father just chuckled at the childishness of his youngest daughter.
"It's the thought that counts" countered Ruby before sticking her tongue out in defiance.
Rolling her eyes at their partners childish behaviour, Blake and Weiss just continued to watch the screen with interest at the revelation that Roman knew Ren's mother even though he denied it when he was questioned by the collard boy earlier, why did he hide it and was he hiding more secrets?
(on screen)
"You lied to me!" screamed Ren again before gesturing to the photo in his hand.
"This is my mother. You knew my mother!" he said with betrayal, anger and sadness in his voice.
After regaining his composure but still in winced in pain while being in Ren's grip, Roman explained, "She was a whore. Do you know what a whore is Ren? Money for sex. Like the girls I bring here, I did everything I could to help her…" he trailed off. "I liked your mum. She understood me, if there'd be anybody really special, it would have been her." Said Roman who for the first time, seemed to show genuine sympathy and sadness towards Ren.
Ren let go of Roman who rubbed his neck to get rid of some of the pain before continuing his explanation, "When your mother died, I felt I owed it to her to raise you. To protect you. Look her picture is here" said Roman after rummaging through the photos and picked up one that showed a younger Roman with his arm around Ren's mother as they smiled at the camera.
"Look…I'm sorry I lied to you Ren. It was out of love" Roman said with sadness and regret in his voice.
The emotions were now a whirlwind inside Ren as he listened to his 'master' seemingly pour his heart out and reveal his hidden secret. Yes, his mother was dead but there was still something bothering him, Roman said she died but did not say how she died. Why would he keep that hidden if he was coming clean now? Ren's train of thought was cut off by Roman who roughly grabbed the boy's hair and forced him to look into his eyes that now held none of his previous sadness in his eyes but instead his usual cruel self was in place.
"Now, let's go make up some of that money that you lost for me the other night" he said before viciously dragging him outside and shoving him inside the car with Lefty and the three of them drove off into the night.
(off screen)
The students were all feeling a mixture of emotion at the revelation that Roman knew Ren's mother all along. The professors however were feeling something different as they knew from one of the earlier viewings, after the on screen Ren had a flashback of his mother being murdered and Roman was most likely the one responsible they were told not to reveal it to the students.
Ren had already figured out the woman in the flashback/memory was his mother and she was most likely shot, if the sound he heard was any indication but he still did not know who killed her. But with this new revelation on screen he had a suspicion of who was responsible but decided to watch and see before jumping to any conclusions.
"I can't believe he knew all this time; why would he not tell Ren he knew who his mother was?" questioned Ruby.
"He probably wanted to make sure he had absolute control of Ren, and I suspect he's still hiding something, something big" explained Weiss.
"Like what? What else could he be hiding?" asked Yang.
"I don't know, I guess we'll have to wait and see"
(on screen)
Roman, Lefty and Ren were no driving through town to resume collecting debts from people who owed Roman and the crime boss was currently talking to Ren who was silent as a mouse.
"You know, Ren, sometimes in families you need a little tragedy just to bring everybody back together"
Before he could continue, Lefty decided to butt in.
"Absolutely, boss. Y'know, it's like me and my brother back home. We used to go down to the beach every…"
"Excuse me! Like where's the manners? I'm talking!" said a very displeased Roman.
"I'm just validating boss!"
"Did I ask for a validation?"
"No, but thought, y'know…"
"Will you shut your yap! Great now I've lost my train of thought. What was I saying?" Roman asked Ren who answered for the first time in a while.
"Families"
"Right, right, yeah" agreed Roman.
"They should be together" continued Ren.
Nodding at Ren "Exactly. Families should be together." Said Roman.
"No matter what" finished Ren.
"No matter what" agreed Roman again, not noticing Ren's face change from sadness to determination.
Quick as lightning, Ren reached over and grabbed the steering wheel and pulled to the left causing the car to start swerving dangerously.
"Ren! What the fuck are you doing?" screamed Lefty as he struggled to control the vehicle with Ren moving the wheel in a different direction.
"Slow down!" screamed Roman desperately but before Lefty could hit the brakes, he was bitten on his hand by Ren which distracted him long enough for the car to collide with another parked vehicle, which flipped their car in the air and made them land on the roof before coming to a stop.
The car was completely totalled and the only movement came from Ren who painfully crawled out of the window with a new cut on his forehead which was bleeding profusely. He removed the new collar from his neck and without a second thought ran off to his true family, leaving the unmoving forms of Roman and Lefty in the wreckage of the what once was a car.
(Oz and Nora's apartment)
(bang)
(bang)
(bang)
Ozpin was just about to get ready for bed when he heard loud banging from the front door. Getting up from the couch, he was joined by Nora who opened the door to reveal a wet and bleeding Ren who was shivering uncontrollably.
"My mother, she was a whore" was all he said to the occupants who could only stare in shock at the young man who suddenly vanished, only to reappear on their doorstep.
Without saying anything, Nora pulled Ren into the apartment and after closing the door, gave him the biggest and tightest hug of his life.
"Please don't leave like that again" she sobbed into his chest.
Ren, unsure of what to do next, wrapped his arms around the girl and softly said, "I promise, I won't leave you."
Ozpin simply smiled at the scene and decided to question Ren later after the two teens calmed down and Ren's wounds were treated.
(screen darkens)
Every occupant of the theatre was smiling in happiness as they watched the reunion. Blake was especially affected as she thought of her parents and how she left on bad terms to join the White Fang only for her eyes to be opened to the true nature of the once peaceful organisation.
"Would they even talk to me if I called? They probably hate me; I know I would" she said to herself while her cat ears dropped in sadness and regret with tears threatening to fall.
Noticing her partners distress, Yang moved over and pulled the cat faunus into a one armed hug, "You ok Blake? Cause you know I got your back no matter what."
Wiping her eyes, "Thanks Yang, but I don't think you can help with this one, it's my parents, the last time I saw them I called them cowards and ran off to join the White Fang. When we got sent home for Christmas, I didn't go home I just hid away because I'm to cowardly to face them again! They probably hate me and I wouldn't blame them. I'm the coward not them" she finished, finally bursting into tears and clung to Yang who held her tight and stroked her hair gently to avoid hurting her ears.
The rest of team RWBY and JNPR could only look on in sadness and sympathy at their distressed friend who was being comforted by Yang.
Suddenly Taiyang got up from his seat and walked over to the duo. Placing his hand on Blake's shoulder got her attention as she stared at the father of her two teammates.
"Let me tell you something I learned from being a parent Blake, no matter what your children do, whether it upsets us, makes disappointed or even angry we will never ever hate our children. We will always love and forgive them because we know what it's like to be in their shoes, we've made mistakes when we were young and even as adults we still make mistakes, you just have to learn from the mistakes you made and learn to live with them and eventually forgive yourself. I guarantee if you were to call your parents right know to ask for forgiveness, they would do it without a second thought, so no more tears ok" he finished with Blake now looking at the older man with appreciation and gratefulness.
"You should listen to dad, he gives awesome advice, even though he can be a bit of dork sometimes" said Yang with a smile.
Blake nodded in appreciation and finally noticed the position Yang and her were in. Blushing brightly, Blake quickly removed herself from the blonde brawler's arms, much to Yang's amusement.
Suddenly grinning up a storm Yang teased, "What's wrong Blakey? Didn't you enjoy being in my arms and resting your head on my chest? I you wanted to cuddle all you had to do was ask, I don't mind." She finished with a shit eating grin on her face.
"I-I don- I mean I-I" stuttered Blake as Yang's teasing caused all sorts of scenarios to go through her head and with a final thought of her and Yang on a bed together caused steam to erupt from her ears and made pass out with a goofy smile on her face.
"HAHAHAH I guess she can't handle all of me yet" laughed Yang as she helped he partner sit more comfortably while Tai could only shake his head at his daughters behaviour.
"Now look what you did you blonde barbarian, have you no shame!?" angrily exclaimed Weiss.
"Nope" replied Yang while popping the p.
"Quite amusing, aren't they?" asked Ethan as flashed in next to the professors and watched the two teams joke and laugh with each other.
"Yes, they are and they're supposed to be the future protectors of Remnant" said Glynda.
"Oh but they will be, trust me I see great things in their future but also many hardships that they will need to overcome. For now, however let them enjoy themselves while their innocence is still intact, after all the innocence of a child is one of the most precious things in the world and they should keep theirs for as long as possible" explained their host with pride but also sadness in his voice.
("I hope when this as all over, you'll all be victorious") thought Ethan to himself as he thought of the looming threat in the future.
"I'm sure they will conquer all obstacles that will stand in their way" said Winter confidently as she watched her sister interact with her team and friends, while they may seem a bit unorthodox it was clear Weiss was thriving with her teammates and was genuinely happy and that's all Winter could ask for.
"I agree; I see great things in the future for our students" said Ozpin while sipping his coffee that never seemed to end.
"Indeed, now you're all free to recuperate while I gather energy for the next scene, so please enjoy the refreshments and facilities."
With his piece said, Ethan once again vanished, leaving everyone to their own devices.
Blake however moved to the back of the theatre to organise her thoughts when suddenly Ethan appeared in front of her holding a scroll that was pitch black in colour.
"This a special scroll thatcan contact anyone from this theatre, I know still feel undeserving of forgiveness but I advise you to give yourself and your parents a chance."
Handing her the scroll Ethan vanished and Blake stared at the device in her hands for what felt like forever. Finally, she took a deep breath and activated the scroll and called the number of her family's home.
"Hello?" came the voice of a woman who answered.
Fighting back tears, Blake answered, "Hey mom"
END.
Authors note: Well another chapter is done and dusted and I apologise if it seems short but classes are killing me. I'll try my best to make them longer, I know you guys enjoy the story (I hope you do) and I don't want to let you all down. On another note I caught up with RWBY this week and MY…GOD, is all I can say at the moment. I won't spoil it for those that haven't seen chapter 12 yet but if you have then you know which scene made my jaw drop.
Sadly, the hatedome reared its ugly head again with death threats towards CRWBY for what happened in the episode and all I can say is WTF is wrong people today?! I thought we were bigger than this but I was clearly wrong since people lost their $#& and harassed the creators and writers for a single episode.
I'm not gonna go into much details but I'm just gonna say I hope there will be a time where everyone can peacefully express their opinions without resorting to death threats and other forms of violence.
No that my mini rant is done, I can only hope you enjoyed the chapter and still enjoy this story, I'll keep this story going thanks to all of you. See you next time. Ja Ne!
