Author's note: Hello everyone! Sorry for the random hiatus, I was very busy. But I'm back to writing once again and I once again thank you for your patience! Anyway, without further ado, the next chapter of Run on Caffeine!

Run on Caffeine Chapter 15:
Shot Down By the Mirror
The next day, team SODA was making their way out of Oobleck's class, their last class of the day. They all walked down the hallway together until halfway through, Pepper stopped and looked out one of the windows. Sprite, Fanta, and Aquafina all stopped as well and looked out one of the windows. They all see a very large Atlesian airship accompanied by several other airships flying towards Beacon Academy.
"What's the Atlas's air fleet doing here?" Pepper wondered.
"Maybe it's Atlas flexing or something?" Aquafina suggested.
"Probably Ironwood likes taking work with him wherever he goes. From what I heard, the Vytal festival is being hosted in the kingdom of Vale this year. So business about that perhaps?" Sprite proposed.
"Whatever it is, don't think we should think about it too much. Let's get some lunch," Fanta resumed walking. The rest of team SODA would shortly follow Fanta to the mess hall and decide to ignore it for now.
Meanwhile, Ironwood and Huckleberry both walk off the airship as soon as it is docked. Both of them wasted no time and immediately made way for Ozpin's office. They went inside the building and used the elevator. When they reached their destination, Huckleberry was the first to exit the elevator. Ironwood would follow suit.
Ozpin was looking out onto the Kingdom of Vale with his back turn to Huckleberry and Ironwood. He would slowly turn around to reveal he had his hands on his chin. "Hello, Huckleberry, I was expecting you might show up sooner or later."
"Oh, so you were smart enough to expect me to come in, but not smart enough to tell a father that his kid has been found?" Huckleberry crossed his arms. "What the hell, Ozpin? I trusted you."
"Huckleberry, it's none of my business what happens between you and your family." Ozpin stated. "However, I will say I am simply upholding a promise I made."
"Oh? Who would that be? My Wife?" Huckleberry asked, sounding a bit patronizing. Huckleberry was in full parenting mode.
"She said she wanted her child to achieve his dream of helping people and being the hope they could look to. A Hero if you will," Ozpin explained. He would lean back and sit upright.
"Bullshit, I know she would want you to tell her husband if her son was lost and was found. Also she would want you to inform said husband where he was." Huckleberry slammed his fist into Ozpin's desk and made a hole.
Ozpin didn't react whatsoever to his outburst. He sighed softly. "Huckleberry…please understand, I was going to inform you when the time was right."
"And that should have been the very second you found him!" Huckleberry aggressively yanked his hand out of the desk causing an even larger hole. "I must ask, when in the hell were you going to inform me? Huh? Ozpin?! Answer me!"
Ozpin didn't respond immediately. He remained silent and took a minute to think. "Honestly, I don't know when that might have been nor how long. Although thinking I could bring your son into Beacon and not you finding out this soon, was a mistake on my part."
Meanwhile, Ironwood remained silent and stood to the side and watched this whole ordeal go down. He eventually stepped up and placed his hand on Huckleberry's shoulder. "I think it doesn't matter now, does it? I think the best you can do now is at least tell him where RedJed is."
Ozpin nodded. "Indeed, maybe this was fortune, smiling upon us." Oz looked at Huckleberry. "I'm sorry for keeping a secret for this long, however, your son does need you now more than ever."
Huckleberry looked over at Ironwood and sighed but smiled a little. "Can't say I'm surprised, I'm sure he feels as much pain as I felt." He then looked over at Ozpin. "If not more than I did, I can't begin to imagine trying to fight that emotional battle alone. Especially as young as he was, I luckily had my teammates and Raspberry to help me through this. So where's his dorm?"
Ozpin took out his scroll and sent him the dorm room location. "Here, good luck Huckleberry. This will not be an easy challenge to face."
"True, but something that has been long overdue." And with that Huckleberry nodded his head before he went back into the elevator.
Ironwood sighed and glanced over at Ozpin. "Ozpin, did you really promise Cherry to do all this? To train him and not tell Huckleberry? Surely she didn't predict nor even think any of this could happen."
"Cherry is a very strange and complicated woman. No, she didn't exactly tell me not to tell Huckleberry." Ozpin admitted as he turned around in his chair. "She did tell me to help her son become the best he could be. However, it was my own decision to not tell him because I needed to be sure about something."
"About what?" Ironwood asked.
"It's not easy, facing one's own past, and well, I needed to make sure he was ready to do so." Ozpin turned his chair back around. "I saw the pain in his eyes, the hurt he felt and the way he locked up upon even a mention of his mother. I wanted to slowly tackle that matter over the course of time. And hopefully, he would be ready to deal with said past. Fate is a cruel mistress as well as time, neither of which likes to play along with people. Honestly, I was hoping Pepper would be the one to tell his father where he was."
"That didn't happen, did it?" Ironwood asked as he put his arms behind his back. "Now, you have shaken up Huckleberry's trust in you and now his son pays the price. You and I both know what potential RedJed has. You've seen a taste of it at the docks. Not even that, you trained Cherry and you saw what she could do."
"Indeed, I have done that and heard the reports." Ozpin confirmed.
"And that same potential could very well be your undoing, if you aren't careful." Ironwood explained. "I rather not see you be on the other end of that."
"I am aware of such risks," Ozpin sighed. "All too well in fact. But, regardless, I will do my best to not only regain Huckleberry's trust as well as put Pepper on the right path."
"I hope you are right, old friend," Ironwood nodded. "Now then, shall we discuss details of the Vytal festival?"
About an hour later, Team SODA finished up their lunch and traveled back to their dorm. They turn the corner of the hall of many rooms and continue their walk.
"Ya know, I think we should go bowling together," Pepper suggested.
"Bowling? Really? Why bowling specifically?" Aquafina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Probably because he missed getting his butt kicked," Sprite joked as she giggled.
"Very funny, Sprite, anyway, I wanted to go cause I haven't gone in a while." Pepper answered.
"I'm down to bowl, haven't done it before. I think doing it as a team might be fun." Fanta said as she had her hands behind her head.
"Hm, yeah I love to as well. I'm a bit rusty, nevertheless, it should still be a good time." Aquafina smirked.
The whole team laughed together and smiled at each other. The laughter wouldn't last long as Sprite and Pepper both stopped laughing and abruptly halted their movement. Fanta and Aquafina laughed a bit longer before they noticed Pepper and Sprite had stopped altogether. Fanta and Aquafina both stopped and looked back at Pepper and Sprite. They noticed they were just staring blankly down the hallway at something.
"What are you two even looking at?" Fanta asked as she and Aquafina turned to see. The whole group were looking at an older gentleman standing next to their dorm room. Everyone didn't say anything for a solid minute before Pepper spoke up.
"D-Dad?! I-Is that you?!" Pepper utterly flabbergasted.
"Yup, it's me Kiddo, good to see you.." Huckleberry choked up and instantly teared up upon not only seeing his son, but just hearing his voice was enough to warm his heart. The indescribable joy he felt was through the roof. It made all those years searching worth it. Every second, minute and day of looking finally paid off in this very moment. He suddenly bolted and wrapped his arms around Pepper. He wept into his son's shoulder, meanwhile, Pepper was caught off guard. He didn't immediately return the hug. Mostly because he wasn't sure how to feel about this. "...I missed you so much…I'm so happy to see you're alright.."
"...I missed you too dad…" Pepper awkwardly patted Huckleberry's back. "So how did you.."
"It doesn't matter right now," Huckleberry pulled away from the hug. "I wanna sit down and catch up…Oh," he looked behind Pepper. "Sprite? Is that you?"
"Hi, Mister Pepper." Sprite waved slowly. "Good to see you again."
"Mister Pepper? That's his dad?" Fanta asked, tilting her head and scratching it.
"Huh, this is quite the surprise," Aquafina nodded his head. "Hello sir, I'm Aquafina. This is Fanta, we are your son's teammates if you couldn't already guess."
"I mean I figured that much, not saying my son can't make friends, but he's always had a hard time. No offense kiddo," Huckleberry cackles with laughter.
"Really dad?" Pepper sighed and shook his head.
"Give him more credit than that!" Aquafina defended Pepper.
"Kidding of course, It seems like he's gotten better at socializing." Huckleberry smiled and was proud of Pepper.
"Aw…Thanks dad," Pepper rubbed the back of his head.
"You're welcome," Huckleberry replied, but then he sighed deeply. "I would like to speak with you alone if you three don't mind." He looked over at Fanta, Sprite and Aquafina. The three showed some concern about Pepper but Pepper hand waved it.
"It's alright guys, I can handle it." Pepper assured the others. "You guys helped with that. I will be fine."
"...If you are sure, come on guys." Sprite motioned them to turn around and head back. Aquafina didn't waste any time following Sprite, on the other hand, Fanta wasn't exactly gung-ho about leaving Pepper to face this alone. Fanta stared at Pepper with big old puppy eyes.
"I will be fine, Fanta." Pepper walked over to Fanta and placed his hands on her shoulders. "No need to give me those eyes, alright?" He spoke in a gentle manner.
Fanta looked down thinking before looking back up at Pepper. "Okay, I trust you." She nodded then made her exit. Pepper smiled and nodded a moment before he made eye contact with his father.
"My team's dorm should be a good place to talk." Pepper suggested.
Huckleberry nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Both of them put the plan in motion and made their way to the dorm. Pepper unlocked the door then they went inside. Pepper sat down on his bed and Huckleberry sat down in Fanta's bed across from Pepper. They awkwardly sat in silence for some time until Huckleberry spoke. "...Any luck finding your mother?"
"...None, although I'm sure you already know I ran into Strawberry, huh?" Pepper asked.
Huckleberry nodded. "I'm guessing that was the only thing you discovered?"
"...Yeah," Pepper sighed deeply. "Better than nothing, well, I did see her once. At the docks, before I faced Strawberry. Er I thought I saw her anyway, she didn't respond. Just kept going forward…" He choked up and tears fell down onto his lap.
"...Yeah, sounds like her alright. When she has an objective in mind, she is dead set on it." Huckleberry nodded and proceeded to drink some water from his water bottle. It was silent for a moment until Huckleberry breathed in and exhaled. "...What happened on that day? The day everyone left?" He dared to ask.
Pepper's body shivered briefly from Huckleberry asking the question. He somewhat expected the question to be asked at some point, however Pepper didn't think it would have been this soon. Although he supposed he shouldn't have assumed. "...A lot happened, it happened so fast…" He looked down at the floor as the memories began flooding his mind.
6 years ago,The Kingdom of Atlas, the day of the incident. Pepper was walking down the stairs after hearing quite the commotion. He headed towards the living room only to find it in a mess. The table, couch, and several other things strewed about. He then saw the front door was swung wide open. He went out the door to find Cherry and Strawberry standing in the street. It was nothing but the two of them in fact. No one had come out to watch nor even look out at the window. Just Cherry with her hand outstretched with desperation in her eyes and Strawberry staring back with nothing but disdain and anger.
"Mom?" Pepper called out sounding confused. There was no response from Cherry, the only thing that happened next was the both of them suddenly took off. "Mom! Mom! Where are you going?!" He put on his metal suit and attempted to chase after the both of them. He would keep up for some time but quickly lost track.
"...I saw them briefly when I was chasing them…" Pepper sniffed as tears hit the floor. "I still don't understand why she left or even why Strawberry left… Er fully anyway, mom never did explain anything…Just pushed the subject to the side whenever I asked about it…" He looked up at Huckleberry while tears ran down his face. "Did mother ever speak to you about what happened? On the mission they went on?"
"If it makes you feel any better, no she was just as tight lip about it with me." Huckleberry sighed before grabbing his water bottle and drinking some of it. "Tried asking Raisin, no answer from her, not even Raspberry or, hell, even Strawberry when she was in the hospital, just snapped at me and told me everything was fine."
Pepper raised his hands and flopped them onto his lap out of frustration. "Great, 6 years later and both of us know crap!" He slammed his fist onto the bed. "...I just want my.."
"I know son, me and you both," Huckleberry cut Pepper off. He then sat up and brought him into a loving and warm hug. Pepper panicked and yelped before he returned the hug. The hug lasted quite a while. Huckleberry, in this time, patted and comforted Pepper while rocking side to side. Pepper cried into Huckleberry's shoulder. "It's okay kiddo. It's alright..Just let it all out.." Both of them broke the hug off and let go of one other. Pepper wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Thanks Dad, I really needed that." Pepper smiled as he adjusted his hat.
"No problem kiddo, besides, I think we both needed that." Huckleberry cleared his throat. "Sorry to start things off so.. Ya know..somber."
"No need to apologize, this was long overdue." Pepper reassured his father. "I've…bottled up these emotions for long enough." He instantly tensed up and grabbed his arm. He took a deep breath to relax himself then he let go of his arm. "My team has been helping me learn to open up."
"Yeah…Glad to hear buddy, Love you son." Huckleberry smiled as he shed a tear.
"Love you too dad." Pepper smiled warmly and chuckled. "So, what have you been up to, dad?"
"Ya know…" Huckleberry rubbed the back of his head. "Functioning, doing huntsman work, looking for clues about you or your mother, etc."
"Oh, not much huh?" Pepper sighed deeply. "Fair enough, for me I have just been working at a weapon's shop and as of recently, well, here…I don't have to explain more do I?"
"No, I think that's plenty." Huckleberry nodded. "Although I better start looking for somewhere to stay for a while."
"I have an apartment you could stay at," Pepper suggested. "I'm not talking about here, of course, talking about the place I've been staying at before Beacon."
"That weapon shop job pays that well?" Huckleberry sounded a bit surprised. "That's my kid for ya. Yeah that could work, thanks kiddo."
"The least I could do dad," Pepper tipped his hat. "...It's good to see you…and thanks for…not being angry with me…"
"Son," Huckleberry slowly placed his hand on Pepper's shoulder. "I couldn't be mad even if I tried. I would do the same thing you did all those years ago. As much pain it brought seeing my whole family be torn apart, regardless, I'm just happy to see you are okay."
"Right back at cha, dad." Pepper sniffed as tears formed in his eyes. "I'll make sure we get mom back and be a family again…I promise."
"..." Huckleberry didn't respond right away, just sighed. He took a second to take it all in, seeing his kid and everything that has happened up to this point. "I know you will, son. Nothing stops you or your mother from getting to your goals. Hell, it scares me at points with how determined you two can be." Soon after Huckleberry spoke, Aquafina, Sprite and Fanta came trembling into the dorm and onto the floor when the open door suddenly opened. Huckleberry and Pepper both turned to look to see his teammates had piled upon one another.
"Seriously guys? Couldn't help yourselves and had to be nosey?" Pepper sassed his teammates in a bit of a joking manner.
"Shut up!" Sprite replied as they all got up and off each other. "We are just happy to see you made progress! Okay?! Can't we be happy for you?!"
"Yeah, is that illegal too?" Fanta asked sarcastically with her hands on her hips bent forward. Her tail stood straight up.
"We should all go bowling together! To celebrate a father and son reunion once more!" Aquafina cheerly announced.
"Hell yeah! Bowling I am down to kick my son's ass and show him how long he has to go to get to my level." Huckleberry smirked and Pepper crossed his arms and squinted his eyes at him. "But first, I probably should get settled in before I do anything. You kids done with classes?"
"Yes sir, we could go to my place and get you all situated." Pepper answered.
"Hm…Odd, I thought it would be the other way round. Ya know, getting you all set for School and stuff. You really have grown up. For better or worse, I hope to see the kind of man you'll be." Huckleberry thought out loud.
"Yeah…strange how things have…played out. Anyway, you ready?" Pepper asked.
"I'm ready, see you three later." Huckleberry turned to the others before he and Pepper left the dorm room. They took an airship down to downtown Vale and they trekked over to Pepper's apartment.