AN: Beta Read by Brawn1984 and Starrmastrr.
AN: I do not own RWBY or Red Hood.
Jason woke up that morning in a bed rather than a sleeping bag.
He used his sense of smell to see where he was.
He smelled hints of Ember. 'Oh. That's right. We met with Embers family and they offered us beds for the night.'
The doorknob rattled and Jason went on high alert. He was about to grab a throwing knife when he heard Ember's brothers. They were laughing.
He made sure that he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt before he opened the door to the room he and Violet were sharing.
He heard Ember's brothers' hearts stop when they saw his Prosthetic legs. "What were you guys planning on doing?" He asked.
The two boys hid firecrackers behind their backs.
"Ember was a lot stronger than I gave her credit for." Jason said.
"Will you tell us more about her?" One of her brothers, Ash he thought, asked.
"Where to start?" Jason asked. "Come in and I'll tell you while I exercise."
The two went into the room and sat down while Jason started push-ups.
"Your sister was an interesting person. She always treated everyone like they were her younger sibling."
"That must have gotten annoying." Oak, her other brother, said.
"It did."
"So, what did you do?" Ash asked.
"For the most part Auburn would calm her down when she got like that. The rest of the time she just wanted to be better and worked at it."
"What was the most annoying thing she did?" Oak asked.
"For me. I'd say that the most annoying thing she did was complain when we were on our internship. We were supposed to escort a lady to a dust processing plant and back to her office. Ember decided..."
"Don't you mean Cobalt?" Oak asked.
"What?"
"Cobalt. Her name was Cobalt."
"Yeah. Sorry. She just wanted us to call her Ember because she didn't like being called Cobalt."
"Sounds like her."
"So Cobalt was complaining about the Internship. We had to walk. Or we were sleeping on the ground. Or we didn't have baths."
"Do you not bathe?" Ash asked.
"My brother lived on the streets for three years." Violet said annoyed. "Your sister couldn't last two days." She added a bit of venom to her words.
"Wait." Oak said. "You lived on the streets for three years?"
Jason Stopped doing push-ups, sat up, and rubbed his temples. "Yeah. I try not to tell people that, but Violet has a mind of her own."
"What was it like?" Ash asked.
Violet walked over to them. "Imagine you have to eat rotten or rotting food every day."
Jason could taste rotten potatoes on his tongue and going down his throat and ending up in his stomach.
"Imagine not being able to sleep in a soft warm bed every night."
Jason could feel the paranoia and anxiety of not sleeping the night before.
"Imagine having to fight for your life and your dignity every day."
Jason could feel his muscles stiffen as if he'd been in a fight the night before. He could feel a particularly bad night where he'd lost his dignity and innocence.
"Imagine having to sleep with one eye open."
Jason could feel his eyes scratch from being open so long.
"Then multiply it by ten."
Jason's breathing became quick shallow breaths. "Violet." He said in a shallow breath.
"Think of the two of you and Cobalt walking the street one night when a group of people come up to you and start saying bad things to Cobalt."
"Violet!" Jason said a bit louder. He remembered that night like it was yesterday.
"Think of them beating the two of you up until Cobalt says that she will go with them."
"VIOLET!" Jason yelled running to the window, throwing it open, and puking over the side.
The trio watch as Jason lost everything in his stomach and kept puking until he had nothing left but kept heaving.
Violet rubbed his back. "I'm sorry Jason! I was just trying to get them to understand! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to go that far!"
Oak and Ash left before bringing back water and Saltines.
Cocoa, Mist, and Birch came into the room and saw Jason on his knees heaving out the window while Violet rubbed his back.
"What happened?" Ember's father, Birch, asked.
"I brought up really bad memories and made Jason sick. I'll clean it up.
Cocoa, Ember's mom, walked up to Jason and felt his forehead. "He has a Slight fever. We better get that down. Ash. Go get a bowl with cold water and a towel. Birch. Come help me get him to a bed."
The large man picked Jason up and put him on the bed he'd used the night before.
"Violet." Cocoa asked. "Is there anything we need to know?"
"He may say things. Really scary things. A lot of them will probably be true. Please don't ask him about them when he's better."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"He might fight. If he starts fighting, get out of the way. He's strong. Like really strong."
"Anything else?"
"If his Semblance activates don't be afraid. They are only here to protect him while he's so vulnerable."
"What?" Birch asked.
Three shadow clones came from the shadows and stood around Jason's bed.
"Them." Violet said.
'Hello.' A girl with long blonde hair said. 'What happened to Jason?'
"It was my fault." Violet admitted. "I was telling someone about his time on the street, and he overheard me."
'Violet!' A girl with long black hair that got redder the closer it got to the ends scolded. 'Not only is it bad to talk about someone's past, but it's even worse to talk about them when you know the horrors they have lived.'
"I know big sister Loki." Violet murmured. "But they were asking what living on the street was like."
Loki and Shira rubbed their temples.
'You know very well that Jason doesn't like talking about the past, especially considering his enhanced senses, and even though he doesn't show it. He is very smart. He remembers everything that happened to us on the streets.'
"I'm sorry."
'You should be!' A teenage girl with long black hair that hit her mid back scolded.
'Amber!' Shira snapped. 'Don't go there.'
'What?' Amber asked. 'If she's a threat to dad then she deserves to be treated like one.'
Loki looked at Shira. 'You can take care of her. I'll stay with Jason.'
Shira grabbed Amber and the two disappeared into the shadows.
Loki shrugged. 'Teenagers. You know how it is.'
"Yes." Cocoa said. "Though I'm a bit confused at how Jason knows."
'Jason has had a very difficult life, and... well, let's just say one of the ways he got over that wasn't the healthiest.'
"Here you go mom." Ash said.
"Thank you." Cocoa said kissing his forehead.
While Cocoa put the cold compress on Jason's head the others watched in anticipation.
"I want to thank you and your brother." Birch said to Violet.
"Why's that?" Violet asked.
"Last night you came to us and brought us news of our daughter. It was so late, and you two looked so tired that we asked if we could talk about it today."
"Jason is the one who knows what happened." Violet said.
Birch was about to ask what she meant when Ash brushed up against Jason's right prosthetic which opened.
The 'Dominator', and a dozen throwing knives fell out.
Everyone looked at the floor.
"Sorry about that." Violet said rubbing her arm.
"Why does he have so many weapons?" Birch asked worried.
'His past has made him jaded and paranoid.' Loki said. 'He has multiple weapons to better protect himself and his friends.'
"What causes a person to become like that?"
'A very bad life.'
The next day.
Jason woke up.
"Hey Jason." Violet said. "How are you doing?"
"I feel like shit."
"You had a fever."
"I need a drink."
Violet left to get water. When she came back, she saw Jason sitting on the edge of his bed. "Here." She said handing him the water.
Jason drank the water. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." She said meekly.
"How long was I out?"
"You slept for a day. I'm so sorry Jason. I didn't mean..."
Jason hugged Violet. "I know."
Violet hugged Jason tightly, and started crying.
Jason held her until she stopped crying.
Cocoa walked in a minute later. "Oh. Good, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"I feel like shit..."
"Language." Cocoa scolded.
Jason looked confused for a second. "Sorry. I feel like crap, but I'll survive."
"That's better."
"Is that what having an actual mother is like?" Violet asked.
"I wouldn't know." Jason said. "The closest thing I've had to a mother was Tai. Glynda in a way, but Tai was really the closest thing I've had to a mother considering that he had to become one for Ruby and Yang."
"Who is this Tai person?" Cocoa asked.
"He's sort of my father in a way. He helped raise me after my time on the street, and because he has had to raise two daughters by himself, he had to figure out how to be a mother and a father."
"Did he teach you how to swear?"
"No. That was Qrow, Loki, and Coral."
"Who are they?"
Loki is my sister and Coral is her girlfriend/spouse. Qrow is Tai's brother-in-law, and Uncle to Ruby and Yang. They are also the ones who taught me to get drunk and get into bar fights."
Cocoa looked startled. "Does Cobalt drink with you?"
Jason looked sad for a second before looking at Violet.
Violet got the message and went outside with the other kids.
"What's wrong?" Cocoa asked.
"I have something that you and your husband need to hear."
Cocoas heart dropped. Deep down she knew that Jason was going to tell her terrible news.
Jason, Birch, and Cocoa sat at the kitchen table with a pot of tea in between them.
"What happened to our daughter?" Cocoa asked.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but your daughter died during the Fall of Beacon."
Cocoa leaned into Birch and started crying.
"How did it happen?" Birch asked sadly.
"First let me say that your daughter proved herself a true Huntress. She protected innocents, fought off White Fang members who were going to hurt innocent men, women, and children, and fought off Grimm."
"That didn't answer my question." Birch said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "How did our daughter die?"
"Your daughter saw a very powerful opponent and went to try and stop her."
"Where were you when this happened? When you first arrived here you said that you were Cobalt's Team Leader."
Jason took in a shaky breath. "My Team decided it would be a better idea to split up so we could help more people."
"So... How did she die?"
"She was fighting the woman, Cinder, and Cinder beat her before..." Jason shuddered to a stop. He slowed his breathing. "Cinder... Cinder..."
"What did this Cinder do to my daughter?"
"Your daughter was incinerated by Cinder." Jason cried.
Birch looked horrified.
Cocoa sobbed louder.
Jason felt his body shake with pain, Sadness, and rage.
"Is this Cinder person dead?" Birch asked with sadness behind his words.
"I wish I could say yes." Jason said. "But the truth is that I don't know. I attacked her with every ounce of strength I had and threw her out a window. By all means she should be dead, but she got up after I attacked her."
"Are you so arrogant, that you believe that you are strong enough to kill with just your mere strength?" Birch asked. "Because That would sorely test my patience."
"What would you like me to do to prove my strength is sufficient?" Jason asked.
Birch went upstairs.
"Please do not upset my husband?" Cocoa asked.
Jason tensed. "Does he abuse you and your children?"
"No, no. Nothing like that. He's just a sensitive man."
Jason didn't hear or see any signs that she was lying.
Birch came back and was holding a rock. "This is one of the hardest rocks around here. It is so hard that you have to use a special type of dust to mine it. If you can break this rock, then I will believe that you are not being an arrogant child trying to compensate for a lack of strength."
Jason grabbed the rock and held it in his hand. He concentrated all of his anger and hatred towards Cinder and turned it into strength. He crushed his hand around the rock, and felt it shatter in his hand.
He turned his hand upside down and dropped the dust.
Birch and Cocoa looked shocked.
Jason slammed his mental walls back down before looking back at them.
"I have never seen someone do that with just their bare hands before." Birch said.
"I'm not quite normal anymore." Jason responded.
The three sat in silence for a while.
"I remember when Cobalt was young, she would use her semblance to heal her siblings when they skinned their knees or got hurt." Cocoa said. "She had this blue cape that she would wear when she healed them."
"During the initiation Ember used her Semblance to heal me after she bit through my hand." Jason said.
"How did that happen?"
"For initiation, the headmaster launched us off of a cliff into the Emerald Forest."
"That must have been terrifying."
"It wasn't too bad. Ember had the worst experience of all. She said that she was scared of heights, and she just let her Aura take the hit, and healed herself. She had been stabbed in the back with a stick, and I put my hand in her mouth, and pulled it out. She bit through my hand and healed me."
"Didn't that hurt?" Birch cringed.
"No. I used what I thought was my Semblance to kill the feeling in my hand, so I didn't feel anything."
"What do you mean by 'What you thought was your semblance.'?" Cocoa asked confused. "I thought that each person had a Semblance and could choose to use it or not."
"It's kind of confusing. My Godfather has two Semblances, I have a Semblance, as well as enhanced senses that I can enhance or negate my senses. This can be a blessing or a curse."
"How is that possible?"
"My Godmother asked my Godfather to take her Semblance to keep Remnant safe and transferred her Semblance to my Godfather. I don't know if that's something everyone can do, but I know that my Godfather now has two Semblances, and his new Semblance is devastating."
"What's the new Semblance called?" Birch asked.
"Wrath of the Gods."
"That sounds very dangerous." Cocoa said.
"It can be. Which is why he doesn't use it very much."
"Can you tell us more about Cobalt?"
"One time we got into a food fight."
Cocoa facepalmed. "So that doesn't just go away."
"Pardon?" Jason asked confused.
"Playing with your food."
"Oh." Jason said blushing. "No. I guess not."
The group sat in silence a minute longer.
"Would it..." Cocoa began. "Would it be... With your Semblance you can create shadow duplicates of people. How does that work?"
"So long as I can remember a person, I can create a Shadow clone of them." Jason said making a Shadow Clone of Ember already. "Please know that this will not replace Ember. I had to figure that out the hard way, and I'm still suffering the consequences."
The couple nodded.
Jason solidified the Shadow clone of Ember.
'Hi mom." She spoke. 'Hi Daddy."
The two got up and hugged their daughter.
The moment was bittersweet. They got a chance to see their daughter, but it was just a shadow clone.
After the embrace and the crying, Ember sat down next to Jason.
"Why did you think that you needed to take on that woman?" Birch asked.
"I just wanted to prove to myself that I could be a Huntress."
"So, you went to fight someone who outmatched you?"
"I thought that I could hold her off long enough for Jason to get there to help."
"That's never a good plan." Cocoa said. "Real life isn't like the movies that you..." Her voice cracked. "...used to watch."
"I'm sorry mom."
The group talked for hours, and when they looked at the clock, they saw that it was dinner time.
"Oh no!" Cocoa said. "The kids missed out on lunch, and it's already dinner!"
"Don't worry." Jason said bringing dinner to the table.
"How did you do this?"
"I made a shadow clone to tidy up the house, make sure your kids and Violet got fed, and made dinner." Jason said.
"Thank you, but you didn't have to do that."
"Consider it a thank you for your hospitality."
The family ate as a whole one last time. They laughed, and cried, and enjoyed each other's company until Ember said. "Okay. It's time for me to go."
The family gathered for one last group hug, then individual hugs went around.
Ember looked at Jason. "I just want you to know that I have the upmost respect for you."
"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you." Jason said with tears in his eyes.
"I know that you tried your best, and you avenged me."
Jason grabbed Ember in a hug and whispered. "I will never forget you."
Ember broke from the hug and looked at her family one last time before fading into the shadows.
Jason and Ember's family looked at each other before turning in for the night.
The next morning.
As Jason and Violet headed out the next morning Cocoa handed them a lunch and filled water bottles.
"Thank you." Jason said.
"You're most welcome. Be safe."
"Here." Birch said. "It's a few dust crystals. It's not much, but maybe you will have more use for it than me."
Ash, Mist, and Oak came up.
"We want you to have this." Mist said. "It was Cobalt's cape from when she was younger. She used to wear that when she would use her Semblance to heal us."
Jason folded the cloth and tied it around his arm like Tai.
The symbol was a Cobalt Cross with hammers crossing behind it.
"I will wear it proudly." Jason said.
"We made one for you too." Ash said to Violet, handing her a blue neckerchief with a silver cross, and twin hammers crossing behind it.
"Thanks. "Violet said tying it around her neck.
As Jason and Violet left Jason nudged Violet. "I think he likes you."
"No, he doesn't." Violet said blushing.
Back at the house.
Mist poked Ash. "You like her, don't you?"
"What." Ash said shocked. "No, I don't he said trying to hide his blush.
AN: Jason and Violet talk to Cobalt's family, and Jason has a panic attack that leads to an awkward conversation. Jason tells Cobalt's family what happened and gives them time to say goodbye. They leave the following day in search of Damian's family. What could possibly go wrong? Enjoy.