Here's the second chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it!
I DO NOT OWN RWBY OR ANY OF THE SOURCES THAT I WILL HAVE THE CHARACTERS REACT TO. That being said, all of that is implied since it's fanfiction.
Here is the link to the video source by the way: www dot youtube dot com then watch?v=HX3RK9k2dKY
We Loved, Once and True (RDR2)
"For this one, we're actually going to return to a previous world that we've watched!"
"Really? Which one?" Nora exclaimed, excited to see which characters she could see once again. Ever since her talk with Ren, she has gotten back some pep in her step.
"We're going back to the world of Cowboys!"
"...Oh my gosh! I forgot about that world! We're gonna see Arthur again!" Nora said, with stars in her eyes.
Ren smiled, remembering that his girlfriend had the same reaction when they first watched Arthur Morgan's adventure.
As the new couple and the hunters-in-training voiced their curiosity and excitement upon potentially seeing Arthur Morgan again, one particular person in the cinema narrowed their eyes in thought.
That's the world where I was corrupt…Ozpin pondered. I wonder if I shall appear again.
"Alright! Time to begin the show!" Chrono stated as he began the viewing.
The screen springs forth to life.
A rough-looking man appears, walking throughout a large camp in the mid-afternoon. It is Arthur Morgan.
Coco noticed how different Arthur looked compared to last time, whistling in appreciation. "Wow, he cleaned up nicely!"
"True, but he doesn't look that much like a Cowboy now," Velvet noted.
"Yeah, where's the hat?" Sun asked.
"No need for it! It'd mess up his hair!" Neptune mentioned.
"That's understandable of course." Yang added on.
Compared to the last time he was seen, he now has longer and neater hair, and is no longer wearing a hat. His beard has also appeared to have gotten longer. His attire is also different - Arthur now wears a red and black vest, a long white dress shirt, black pants and boots. The brown gloves, black bandana on his neck, brown belt, and satchel complete the look.
Watts looked at the name with his name and nodded in approval. Nice vest this time…
"Hmm..I just realized that Arthur is at a different camp" Weiss mentioned.
"Oh yeah! I guess they moved!" Ruby noted.
"So this is the next part of his journey then, it seems." Ren concluded. [1]
Arthur finally completes his walk throughout the camp as he arrives at his destination; his own camp. He takes a seat on the bed and closes his eyes, letting out a sigh of contentment. After a few seconds, he opens his eyes again and looks around this personal camp.
His eyes focus on an object that wasn't there before. It's a letter.
He picks it up and begins to read it. After a few seconds, Arthur's eyes narrow and his face begins to look conflicted. When he is finished reading, he closes the letter, and gets up. He has to go somewhere.
"Damn, that letter must've mentioned something serious…" Qrow deduced.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Tai replied.
"It's gotta be, right?"
"Yep."
"Yep."
"What is it?" Ruby asked the two.
Qrow grinned. "He's gotta go see about a girl!" [2]
As he walks throughout the camp once again, a woman's voice can be heard - it is the person who sent the letter.
Dear Arthur,
I've written this letter a hundred times or more and I cannot get it right.
It's me. You know it's me from the bad handwriting.
I know I said when last we spoke and I was going off to get married, that we would not speak again.
"Oh wow, we're actually gonna hear the letter!" Tai mentioned.
After hearing the first few sentences, the Xiao Long patriarch looked back to Qrow and grinned.
The dusty old crow grinned back. Seems like we're right!
I know I said a lot of things and I meant them, I suppose, at the time, but I am not so proud as to not speak to people who care for me, or cared for me.
I've been in Valentine for a couple of months. I had some bad luck and, well, it's a long story and not an interesting one, but I am here for now.
I saw a couple of the girls, or whatever the polite term for them is, that ran with you and your associates in town and I heard tell of a man who sounded like you.
I would love to see you again, if you could spare me a little bit of your time. I'm renting a room at Chadwick Farm, just north of Valentine.
Yours, Mary Linton
"Ooooohhh~!" Some of the huntsmen-in-training, and some actual huntsmen (Qrow and Tai) sounded out in response to the contents of the letter.
"Go get her, Morgan!" Russel shouted out, with cheers from his team.
Hearing them, Cinder rolled her eyes at the juvenile behavior. Teenagers..
Finally at the area where his horse is, Arthur gets on. He has to go to Chadwick Farm. "Let's go, girl," he says to his steed. The horse begins to trot away from the camp and out towards Valentine.
As the camp grows further away in the distance, Arthur and his horse go along the path surrounded by grass and many trees. The vast greenery is beautiful.
Raven saw the area where Arthur was riding and noticed something. First it was swamplands, and now it's forests…this place where Morgan…reminds me of home…the bandit thought in her head as she recalled the areas in Mistral where she traveled with the tribe. Where she traveled with Qrow.
Eventually, Arthur sees the path headed to Valentine, with other horses and come carriages headed to and from the town as well.
In a short bit, Arthur will be seeing Mary. It should be simple enough. However, something unexpected then happens.
As Arthur is riding past a carriage, one of the carriage's horses accidentally veers towards the direction of Arthur's horse, and a crash occurs.
The impact is sudden, and Arthur is flung off his horse. In a wild display, the gunslinger ends up flipping twice in the air before falling on his back.
"Agh!" He exclaims when he hits the ground. After a few seconds, Arthur gets up and glares at the carriage, which is already driving away. Fortunately, his horse is fine and has gotten up.
"You okay, girl?" He asks as he pats the horse. When the horse makes a sound in response, Arthur nods and gets back on. "Let's go, girl," he states again.
Many eyes widened in shock, not expecting such a mishap to be included in the viewing. Eventually, one of the hunters-in-training said what was on the mind of everybody in the theater.
"Pfft! What was that?" Jaune said before laughing.
"Why would that be included?"
"Hahahaha! What the hell?"
"Wait…who's fault was that?"
"Gotta be the carriage guy, right?"
"Nah, it's Arthur!"
"Hey, don't blame him - he's cool!"
"He might be cool but he's not a good horse rider evidently!"
Throughout, Ruby decided to ask Chrono about it. "If this is meant to be like a TV show, why would this be included?" She questioned.
"It might be a TV show, but the events are real - so this did in fact happen. Also, this scene is like how in some shows, an unscripted event is kept in because it's funny!"
"But the horses were hurt!"
"Well they didn't die…"
"I guess…" Ruby conceded with a pout as she sat back down.
Valentine is not far now.
Arthur heads into Valentine, and the town appears to be very quaint and small. The roads are dirt, with a Sheriff and a Saloon. It is a typical western settlement.
The gunslinger's fast arrival doesn't go unnoticed however.
"What's the rush for!" An angry man shouts at Arthur, as he is startled by the fast galloping of Arthur's horse.
Roman let out a sardonic chuckle at that exchange. "It's like how people are when we were making getaways back then, huh?" He mentioned to Neo.
Neo nodded back with a smile.
"Ah, the good old days…" Before SHE came…
Arthur ignores the man however, as he finally arrives at Mary's temporary abode, just on the outskirts of town.
Getting off his horse, Arthur slowly walks up to the front door, seemingly apprehensive at seeing his old lover again for the first time in forever. After a second or two though, he knocks on the front door.
As he does, he turns around and leans on the railing on the porch as he waits for the door to open.
"Man, I wonder what Mary looks like…" Dove thought out loud.
"I bet she's a total babe!" Sky replied.
"No way man! This is set in the past and she's as old as Arthur - I bet she looks ugly as fu-"
"Alright guys, enough." Cardin said with a roll of his eyes.
"Aw come on man! What do you think?" Russel said, insisting on an answer.
"Man I don't know! I wasn't thinking about it!" Cardin exclaimed.
"Well think about it now!"
Cardin sputtered for a bit before finally letting out an answer. "I guess…she's a 6/10?"
"So in between Dove and Sky, that's fair."
"Boo! Don't choose the middle ground next time! Bitc-"
"I'm beating your ass the next time we train, Bronzewing!"
"Hah!"
The door opens. Arthur turns around and immediately puts his hands and arms up. The lady by the door has a gun.
"Yes?" The woman asks.
Arthur is immediately placating with his hands, gesturing that he means no harm. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you ma'am." He replies.
Putting his hands down, he continues. "Er, um. Is…Is Mrs Linton in?" He asks.
Upon hearing the purpose of the gunslinger's visit, the woman puts down her gun. "I'll go see," she states, as she closes the door. Her voice can still be heard, however, from outside the house.
"Damn, tough response." Sun mentioned, seeing the lady's gun.
"Gotta be safe though, he might've been an outlaw after all." Neptune pointed out.
The two looked at each with a grin before chuckling.
Blake rolled her eyes at their antics, before smiling as well.
"Mrs Linton! A caller for you." She says.
Hearing that, Arthur nervously walks around before the door opens again.
This time, it's Mary. The recognition on her face upon seeing the gunslinger makes it obvious.
"Hello, Arthur." Mary begins, before going out and closing the door behind her.
"Mary," Arthur replies. "I, erm…"
"I heard you and your friends were around, I…" Mary states.
"Okay…" Arthur responds. "Where's what his name?" He asks, talking about Mary's wife.
Mary looks down. "Died."
"He died?! You have your chance, Arthur!" Mercury exclaimed.
"Hey! That's so inappropriate!" Weiss said.
"Well, love doesn't discriminate!" [3]
"And plus, if she did a letter, then surely that means she still has feelings for him!"
Weiss huffed but did not respond.
Arthur looks down too. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, me too." Arthur looks back up.
"Happened a while ago," Mary says as she looks at Arthur. "Pneumonia."
"Bad Business."
"Sure."
So far, the reunion is awkward.
"Ah man…don't you hate it when you get awkward with an ex?" Neptune said to Sun.
The monkey faunus rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "I still remember when Stella asked if you finally learned how to dance!"
"Yeah, well…"
Deciding to go forward, Arthur decides to continue on. "So uh…"
Mary looks at Arthur, waiting for him to finish.
"Well, y-y-ou've been," Arthur clears his throat. "You've been made a widow, and come here looking for me, is that it?"
Mary's eyes widen. "No! Ain't like that, Arthur."
"Oh, okay…" It's clear that Arthur is sad at hearing that.
Another awkward silence.
Mercury burst out laughing. "Holy shit he actually asked! HAHAHAHA!"
"Wow, straight to the point for him, huh?" Qrow mentioned.
"I mean…he is a straight shooter!" Taiyang added.
Yang laughed whilst Ruby rolled her eyes. Qrow just stuck in-between. It IS a decent pun for once…
This time, Mary pushes the conversation forward. "I…" she lets out a sigh before continuing, "My family. I need your help." She states.
Arthur narrows his eyes, a look of indignance beginning to appear on his face. "You mean the family that always looked on me? You want me to help them?"
"Not to be mean to Arthur, but…." Velvet started.
"He IS an Outlaw." Coco finished.
"Exactly!"
"...But I guess it also makes sense for Arthur to not want to help then." Yatsuhashi added.
"Oh yeah that's true."
"Good point!"
Mary clarified. "It's my little brother, Jamie."
The gunslinger let out a sigh. "Well, I always did like Jamie…" he said as he turned around. He let out a small mirthless laugh. Of course it had to be one family member he didn't dislike. Well…
"...at least compared to the rest of them." He leans back against the railing.
Mary goes up to the railing as well to stand next to Arthur. "He's broken daddy's heart."
Arthur lets out a chuckle. "Daddy has a heart?" He jokes.
"Of course the ex-boyfriend doesn't like the father!" Russel joked.
"Don't make me beg you, Arthur!" She says as she turns to look at the gunslinger, her voice having a pleading tone.
Arthur isn't having it however. He looks at his former lover as well. "My money, my life, me…" He points to himself, "...I wasn't good enough!" He looks away.
"Sometimes the outlaw life isn't for everyone, Morgan!" Roman mentioned.
"I'm sorry." Mary blurts out. "We need your help real bad. Little Jamie's joined the Chelonians! That strange religious order."
Arthur turns back to Mary, his eyes blinking in astonishment at the news. After a second, he just shrugs. "Good for him!"
"They're quite mad, Arthur! They'll kill him! You're the only person he'd listen to."
Oobleck perked up upon hearing that there was a cult mentioned. "I wonder how that cult would work! Usually most cults in Remnant's history have been focused on destruction and worshiping the grimm - with members being forced to sacrifice their lives to destroy humanity…"
Cardin heard his teacher. "Huh…that kinda sounds like the Wh-"
"Mr Winchester, I advise that you don't finish that sentence, especially with your biases…"
Cardin closed his mouth. I mean…they DO have Grimm masks…
This just makes Arthur more frustrated however. "So…I'm too rough to marry into your family, but it's okay to ask me to help in saving your family?"
"I'm sorry…" Mary responds, genuinely sounding ashamed. However, her shame is not stronger than her desperation to make sure Jamie is safe. "I understand if you don't wanna help me, but…"
Something else is also stronger. "But I think of you often."
"So IT IS like that, then! Aha!" Mercury exclaimed.
"...Why are you so invested in this?" Emerald asked, amused.
"I actually don't know…I just am!"
Arthur just shakes his head sadly. "A long time ago now…"
"I'm begging you, Arthur."
"I say let Jamie live Jamie's life, and not the nightmare that his daddy dreamed up for him." Arthur says.
The gunslinger begins to walk away, but Mary immediately responds. "Jamie's SO innocent, Arthur."
Arthur lets out a sigh.
"Please…Arthur." She begs one last time. "Will you help me?"
"You guys think he will help?" Ruby asked her team.
"She probably shouldn't…" Blake answered.
"Agreed, it seems that she is using her, and it's still Jamie's choice at the end of the day." Weiss added on.
"I think that he will, to be honest. Otherwise, what's the point of this viewing?" Yang pointed out however.
"..."
"...well, when you put it like that…" Weiss replied.
Arthur looks out to the front yard as he contemplates. After a bit, he lets out another sigh. "Where is he?"
Mary, not having expected him to accept, goes forward to him urgently, with her eyes widened in surprise. "Somewhere out near Carmody Dell! I think. The rancher out there said he'd seen him around the Cumberland Forest area."
Cumberland Forest then…Arthur looks out again, it seems that he is immediately having second thoughts. However, Mary presses on.
"I just want him back, Arthur. If you find him, bring him to me at the station."
Arthur finally decides to leave. "I'll see what I can do," he responds, as he begins to walk away.
"Man, Arthur's such a good guy! He spared that one dude before, and now he's helping out Mary!" Jaune pointed out.
"I mean..he also roughed up some people too…" Pyrrha mentioned.
"Eh…that's water under the bridge!" Nora replied.
Ren laughed at his girlfriend's response.
From over the railing, Mary makes one final statement.
"I'll owe you."
Arthur looks back, still walking.
"You already owe me."
As he heads back to his horse, he shakes his head in annoyance. He gets back on his steed and heads out to find Jamie.
"Woohoo! More horse riding!" Yang exclaimed.
"Hopefully he doesn't hurt his horse again…" Ruby muttered.
The screen changes to show that some time has passed. It is now cloudy and it seems that evening is approaching soon.
Inside of Cumberland Forest, which is full of trees and peaks, a lone man on a horse can be seen traversing its roads.
Despite the time that has passed, Arthur still has a look of determination on his face. He is focused on finding Jamie. He looks up a mountain in the forest, and decides to go up there.
"Hyah!" He states that he pushes his horse to go upwards.
"So why is he going up the mountain, exactly?" Jaune asked.
"There was smoke coming from the top of it, it's most likely a camp," Pyrrha answered.
"Ah ok."
After a few moments of heading up, Arthur begins to hear some chatter. His eyes widen as he realizes that this has to be the Chelonians. Who else would be up in the mountains right now?
He urges his horse to gallop faster up the mountain.
The voices soon became clearer to understand, and Arthur urged his horse to slow down. He has decided that he is going to up the rest of the way, only a short length now.
As Arthur trudges up to the summit of the mountain, his horse following quietly, the gunslinger listens in on the Chelonians.
"And what is Chelonianism?" A voice says. "No less than the recent rediscovery of theology!"
"How interesting! No talks of destruction?"
"I don't think they're that type of cult, Bart…" Goodwitch said.
Arthur is close enough to see the person who said that. It appears to be a preacher who is giving a sermon to the rest of the people in the camp. Said preacher lets out a chuckle at his statement.
The gunslinger now decides to make himself known. "Gentlemen!"
In response, all of the Chelonians look at him and fearfully gather together.
"Shell of safety…"
"Shell of safety…"
"Shell of safety…"
They bunch up together, with the preacher in the front, standing tall. Arthur can now see their clothing. They are all white robes, with a turtle on the front.
"...Turtles?" Winter asked, flabbergasted.
"Chelonia is the biological term order which unites all turtles in the Animal Kingdom." Chrono explained. [4]
"Hmmm, that's interesting to know," the older Schnee conceded, "but that doesn't change my main point of confusion…"
"And what point is that, Friend Winter?" Penny asked.
"...wh-why a turtle?!"
"Can I speak to the boy?" Arthur asks, regarding Jamie.
Said boy looks at Arthur, and he immediately recognizes the gunslinger.
"...Arthur?!" He exclaims in bewilderment.
"Hello son. Your sister is very worried."
"Wait a second…" Cinder just realized.
However, Emerald spoke up first. "MERCURY?!"
"I'M IN A CULT?" The assassin exclaimed.
Roman laughed upon seeing him in the turtle outfit. "So that's why you're so invested with Mary! She's YOUR sister!"
Mercury remained silent whilst the thief was laughing, but he was not amused.
Before Jamie can respond however, the preacher speaks up. "The boy has chosen a path, sir. The path to truth."
"Well…his sister just wants to speak with him." Arthur explains.
Jamie begins to stand straighter. "Arthur," Jamie starts as he walks forward before being stopped by the other Chelonians, who don't want him to leave the shell of safety. Regardless, Jamie continues to speak. "I've chosen a path!"
The preacher nods in response, and gestures towards Jamie. "The boy has chosen a path, he's chosen safety!" The preacher then gestures to Arthur.
"What path have you chosen, sir?" He questions.
Looking at the preacher, Arthur lets out a scoff. However, when he decides to think of an answer, the gunslinger is slumped. "...I'm…I'm still searching, I guess."
"That's a good point in all honesty…" Ozpin admitted.
"What do you mean, Oz?"
"Well, he's kinda like you, Qrow! He's a good guy but he's also an outlaw - and yet we're not seeing him do outright criminal things - in fact, he has tended to help people - so with that in mind, what path has he truly chosen - the path of criminality? Or a path towards redemption?"
Despite the lack of an answer, the preacher just nods affirmingly. "We are all searching. Chelonianism is about searching!"
Ozpin chuckled. With such affirmation from the preacher, I can see why young Jamie joined the cult.
The preacher then poses a second question to Arthur. "What do we search for, do you think?"
"I don't know…safety? Safety, and um, meaning?"
The preacher then looks towards the rest of his group. There seems to be an unspoken conversation being had. The preacher then looks back at Arthur, with a smile.
"Well it seems that Arthur broke the ice" Weiss commented.
"Broke the shell, actually!"
Weiss groaned. "Must you be so bothersome with your puns?"
Yang chuckled in response. "Heh heh!"
"Jamie knows the truth," he states finally, gesturing back to Jamie, "but of course, you can speak with him." The answer has satisfied the Chelonians.
Arthur smiles. "Exactly!" He gestures towards the preacher. "And if your teachings are so great, what harm can I do?"
The preacher nods in response.
The audience chuckled to Arthur's response. It was clear they liked the character.
Arthur then goes to Jamie with a hand out. However, Jamie walks back.
"I'm…" the boy begins, "I'm not…", Jamie then begins to run away towards one of the camp horses. "I'm not coming with you Arthur!"
"Just come speak with Mary, then make up your mind!" Arthur shouts out in response. However, Jamie has gotten on his horse and has begun to leave.
Growling in frustration, Arthur runs towards his horse and gets on to begin chasing Jamie.
"Damn, I guess he doesn't want to see his family?" Jaune pointed out.
Emerald overheard and smirked at the assassin. "That doesn't sound too surprising, after all - Merc here has huge daddy iss-"
"Shut it!" Mercury growled.
Racing down the mountain, Jamie looks behind him to see the gunslinger right on his tail. "Leave me alone, Arthur! I didn't ask for your help! You just came out of nowhere!"
Jamie then urges his horse to gallop faster down the mountain. Arthur notices the gap between them widening.
"Damn it, we got to do this the hard way?" Arthur shouts out in response. He gets out a lasso from his belt and proceeds to throw it near Jamie. The intent is clear, he's trying to catch him, literally!
The boy sees this and panics. Despite a carriage coming through the nearby road, Jamie and his horse rush through the path, almost colliding with the carriage driver.
"Sorry!" He shouts out to the driver.
Arthur sees the near collision and moves out of the way. However, when he gets back on the track - the gap is even wider. The gunslinger growls in exasperation.
"Come on, girl. Git!" He says, as his steed begins to gallop at her highest speed.
With great skill and speed, Arthur is able to catch up in half a minute.
"Huh, I guess Arthur is still pretty good at horse-riding, even after that earlier mess-up!" Blake pointed out.
"Jamie's better tho, he didn't run into a carriage like he did!"
"Ruby, why are you still so focused on that?"
"Because the horses got hurt, Blake! I thought you'd feel the same - since you're, uh, you kno-"
"You really wanna finish that sentence?" Blake asked with narrowed eyes.
Ruby realized what she was about to say, and her eyes widened. She looked down, ashamed. "Sorry…"
"They're just using you! Telling you what you want to hear!" The gunslinger shouts out, when he's finally nearby.
"What the hell do you know about it, Arthur?" Jamie retorts, defending his fellow Chelonians.
Ozpin thought back to what Arthur's mentor said to him in the previous viewing. I think Arthur knows a LOT about it, in all honesty…
The chase continues on, going away from Cumberland Forest and going out to the Grasslands of New Hanover.
"Just stop and let's talk about this!" Arthur exclaims.
"I was just doing fine by myself!" Jamie responds.
Another lasso comes near the boy. He yelps in alarm and dodges it. Barely.
In reaction, Jamie veers off the path and goes through the grass.
"Man, horse riding and lassoing looks SO hard! How do they do it?" Jaune asked, so amazed by it.
"A lot of time and skill! I'm sure cowboys feel the same way about us!"
Jaune nodded at Pyrrha's reply but his eyes betrayed his true thoughts. Yeah, maybe they feel like that about YOU guys, not me...
Arthur follows. "For chrissakes, Jamie! Just hold up a minute!"
"This is none of your damn business!"
The two then go towards a narrow and almost barren creek.
Arthur abandons the lasso, and instead tries to reason with him once again. "Come on, you ain't stupid. You can see this is crazy!"
Jamie can't believe what he's hearing from an outlaw. "You're the crazy one!"
"Yeah…" Arthur mutters to himself.
"Wait, he's actually aware? Hahahahaha!" Cardin exclaimed with laughter.
"I mean…you kinda have to be if you're a criminal," Russel mentioned.
"Yeah, otherwise you'd be kinda dumb!" Dove finished.
Since his first attempt didn't work, Arthur tries to appeal to Jamie again by mentioning his family. "Come on, Jamie! Your sister's just worried about you!"
Jamie growls in frustration. "I don't have to answer to you!" He answers back.
The boy and horse eventually lead Arthur near a ranch. Jamie goes through a crack in the fence, where a rancher is working to fix it.
"Whoa! You little jackass!" The rancher shouts out as Jamie goes through it. "Sorry mister!" He shouts right back at him.
Arthur goes through the crack as well, much to the rancher's chagrin.
"Damn, poor farm guy." Nora said.
"So what are you gonna do, Jamie? Live the rest of your life in the mountains, with those people?" The gunslinger questions.
"THEY'RE MY FRIENDS!"
"That's kinda sad…"
Seeing no option left, Jamie resorts to threats. "If you don't leave me alone, I'll shoot you. I swear it!"
Arthur just shrugs it off however. "What are you talking about? You ain't no killer!"
This angers Jamie. "You don't know who I am!"
Both Cinder and Emerald chuckled at Arthur saying that the boy with Mercury's face, Jamie, isn't a killer.
However, Mercury's eyes widened as he was mentally brought back to his childhood.
Little shit…you want this pain to stop, you know what to do! But you won't do it, huh? Because you're not a man! You're no fucking killer, Merc!
Mercury growled. Jamie's right…he doesn't know who I am…
The boy then happens upon a farmer leading his group of cattle through the road. Jamie gets out a revolver and shoots into the sky. "Move! Move!" He shouts, as the cattle begins to scatter. He moves forward through the chaos.
"What the hell!" The farmer yells, outraged.
Arthur is undeterred and simply goes through the road, not running into a single cow or bovine.
"Why do they keep messing up farmers' jobs?!" Nora exclaimed.
Jamie looks behind him and sees Arthur still on his tail. Feeling more desperate due to this, he sees one last opportunity as he passes by a train track before the train can come through. As the train is passing by, Jamie gets off his horse. Arthur sees the action and gets off too, waiting on the other side of the tracks.
"Please Arthur, I'm a man!" Jamie explains, begging for Arthur to leave him alone. "I've found something; a calling!"
"You're just a kid; you're making a big mistake!" Arthur retorts, shouting over the noise of the train.
"I'm not taking advice from you," Jamie declares. "You're an outlaw! You leave me alone, they're good people!"
As the train leaves, the gunslinger finally sees Jamie. He's holding the gun. "I'm warning you, Arthur Morgan!"
However, Jamie can't handle the firearm. The gun goes off. Jamie's horse flees.
"Oh no…." Qrow said.
"A young volatile kid with a gun in his hand, feeling trapped? This won't end good…" Taiyang muttered.
Jamie can't outran Arthur. "Leave me alone!" He utters, regardless.
Arthur puts up a hand to placate Jamie holding a dangerous weapon. "Please, kid…put that gun down."
"NO! I warned you Arthur! I'm…I'm gonna…" Jamie holds the gun, with tears welling up in his eyes, "I DON'T WANNA LIVE ANYMORE!"
Most of the theater went quiet upon seeing how quickly the situation became serious, however - if seeing the sight of a young man declaring his intention to end his life could be summed up in a single phrase, Sun was able to do just that.
"Oh shit…" he uttered.
"Kid! Just calm down-"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Jamie shouts one last time, before he begins to put the gun to his head.
"Arthur do something!"
"Shit, what can he do?"
"Oh no….I can't watch…"
As others were tensing up or starting to look away at a potential suicide, Mercury couldn't get his eyes off the screen. Heh…to think that I felt like this before…before I finally got Pops…
However, Arthur's eyes begin to focus - and the world turns gold. The gunslinger has activated his dead-eye mode.
Time slows down. Arthur gets out his revolver. He shoots. The bullet comes out. The world goes back to normal.
It hits Jamie's revolver, knocking the weapon out of his hand.
Jamie looks at the gun, clattering on the ground. He is shocked at what just happened.
The audience went ballistic.
"WHAT THE FU-"
"HE HAS A SEMBLANCE?"
"SLOWING DOWN TIME, THAT'S INSANE!"
"HOLY SHI-"
Mercury immediately felt sick. That's just like mine…[5]
"Chrono, is that truly a semblance?" Ozpin asked the host.
"No, it's just a visual technique to show how good of a marksman Mr Morgan is."
"Ah, I see now. But why are you saying it quietly?"
"Because the reactions of everyone thinking it's a semblance is amusing to me."
He looks back at the gunslinger, now walking towards him.
"Now calm down!" Arthur exclaims.
Arthur goes to pick up the gun, and speaks to Jamie once again, this time in a softer tone. "Let's go see your sister." He gestures to his horse.
Jamie stays still for a second. He looks to be on the verge of tears. After a second, he finally hugs Arthur. "Okay…" he says softly. "Okay…" He says a second time, through sniffles.
The older man is shocked, but eventually chuckles and reciprocates the hug, patting the younger boy's back. He's truly glad to see Jamie again.
"It's okay, kid."
Taiyang smiled at the sight. "He's a good guy."
"Arthur?" Qrow asked.
"Yep, and if his father is truly that bad - then it means that Arthur might have even been a better father in the short time they knew each other."
Mercury overhead the two huntsmen and it made him go deep into thought. What if he met someone like Arthur, before he lost his semblance? Before Cinder?
He shook his head. No point in what-ifs…I'm meant to be here…
Jamie eventually composes himself. "Have I been a terrible fool, Arthur?"
The gunslinger chooses to be honest. He breaks the hug and leads Jamie to his horse. "I don't know. I don't know enough about it," He decides to give Jamie his revolver back. "But one thing I do know…there ain't no shame in looking for a better world."
"Damn straight!" Yang said, as the rest of Team RWBY, and the other hunters-in-training cheered.
Roman sneered at the gunslinger's response to Mercury. I'm not surprised though, he probably learned that from that Dutch man.
Meanwhile, Mercury quickly pondered Arthur's words before shutting down such thoughts. No…NO! No point, a better world isn't possible when it's full of such…assholes…
Jamie smiles, and Arthur gets on his horse before helping the boy on.
"I missed you, Arthur. Are you and Mary sweet on one another again?"
"Oh no…" the gunslinger replies with a sigh. "That's all a long time ago, son."
"Aw…" Nora said with a pout.
The two continue on the road to Valentine, and decide to catch up.
"Well, this wasn't how I thought today would turn out," Jamie admits.
Arthur lets out a chuckle in response. "It's been a long time, Jamie Gillis. You were a kid last time I saw you! And didn't try to kill yourself…"
"You know…you taught me how to ride a horse." Jamie reminds the gunslinger.
"Too well, apparently," Arthur quips. "Chelonia, though? Really, you'd fall for that?"
"They were very nice to me! They're decent!" Jamie defends himself.
"I'm sure. Please tell me you didn't give them any money."
"Of course I did. They rely on charitable donations."
The gunslinger lets out a groan in response. "Jesus…Jamie, come on!"
"I just wanted to believe that there might be something good coming my way one day!" Jamie responds. "I guess that's dead in the water…"
"With the turtles."
"Shut up!"
Yang chuckled at Arthur's last remark. "Man, this guy is so cool!"
Blake smiled at Yang's remark. "You know, he actually reminds of this one character in-"
"Ew! I don't want to hear about some guy in Ninjas of Love!"
"He's NOT from there! He's a cowboy, not a ninja!" The cat faunus huffed.
"I'm sure…"
Blake growled in anger.
The conversation lulls there for a moment, before Jamie continues.
"All father kept telling me was 'you won't amount to anything!', 'you're not enough of a man!', I had to get away! I couldn't take it any more!"
"Forgive me," Arthur begins, "but your father's a bully and a coward, don't listen to him."
"Hey, don't talk about him like that!"
"What do you want me to say, Jamie? He's a good father? A nice man?"
"He won't be happy I saw you…" Jamie mutters.
"Please send him my worst regards. Anyways, here we are!"
"Wow, that was a quick ride!" Sun mentioned.
"I mean, Jamie did ride all the way from the mountain, to the outskirts…you could see it in the background." Neptune pointed it.
Sun chuckled. "Of course YOU noticed."
The two have finally arrived at the station in Valentine.
"She must be waiting inside!" Arthur states, as they get off the horse and walk to the station.
The two enter the station, and hear a voice from the right.
"Jamie!"
It's Mary. She was sitting in the corner, with luggage by her side. She opens her arms for a hug, and her brother immediately runs towards her, reciprocating the action.
Arthur watches on.
"Aw…siblings reunited!" Yang said as she hugged Ruby.
"YANGGGGG!"
Taiyang chuckled at the sight.
"Cmon, Weiss! Go hug YOUR sister!"
"We will hug at our own time! Thank you very much!" Weiss replied hotly.
"Come home, please…Father's been very sad." Mary explains.
Jamie lets out a scoff in response. "Father wouldn't know sadness if it died in his bed…but I'll come home, for you."
Mary is touched. "My boy…my sweet boy…"
The two siblings hear the train. It has arrived.
"Their father might suck, but at least they have each other!" Jaune pointed out.
Weiss and Winter looked at each other knowingly.
…I guess I should've hugged like Yang said, Weiss thought to herself.
"Come on," Mary begins as he picks up a bag, and Jamie goes to pick up the rest of the luggage.
As Jamie is doing so, Mary goes to Arthur to speak to him.
"Oh Arthur, thank you!" She puts out a hand. "Thank you."
Arthur doesn't give a handshake, but he does take Mary's bag from her. "It's good to see you, Mary."
"And you, Arthur…" She sees that Jamie has the luggage, and gestures for him to go ahead. She looks back at her former lover. "And you."
"Man…they really can't get back together?" Sun said.
"It's an outlaw and a citizen, man. It's hard to make it work!" Neptune replied.
"I can attest to that!" Roman added.
Me too…Raven thought to herself.
The two siblings begin to go on the train, Arthur following closely behind.
As Jamie gets on, Mary is helped onto the train by Arthur, just like how a gentleman would. He takes her hand as she gets on the stairs, and he gives her back the bag.
Before Mary enters the carriage, she stops, contemplating on what to say.
"I've…you're…"
Arthur looks at her, waiting for her to say what she needs to say.
Mary lets out a sigh. "Oh, you'll never change…" she admits, "I know that."
Arthur nods sadly.
With the last word spoken, Mary gets on the train, and the gunslinger watches it leave the station.
"Well, I guess that's that then…" Neptune said, his point being validated.
Arthur then goes to sit down, and writes in his journal. His thoughts and words can be heard. As he is writing, he sometimes pauses to look at the town of Valentine.
"I feel like…the luckiest man alive and…I feel like a fool."
Taiyang chuckled. "That's love for you!"
"That woman confuses me and plays me for a fiddle like no one else alive."
When he is finished writing, Arthur lets out an exhale and stands up to leave the town. His finishing thoughts can be heard.
"I trust I will not make a godawful fool of myself once more, but…somehow, I imagine I shall."
The screen goes to black.
"Well that was a fun viewing, if a bit stressful towards the end!" Penny concluded.
"I assume you found it boring, huh, Callows? No bloodshed towards the end after all," Watts surmised.
"I am all for suffering, but suicide? That is distasteful, even for me…"
"Really?" Watts was surprised.
"Of course! Death should only come at the hands of another! Dying by yourself, or through silly things like disease or old age is just SUCH a waste!"
"Now THAT makes more sense from you…"
As the others were talking about their own thoughts from the viewing - the students talking about their admiration for Arthur, the teachers talking about issues regarding family and morality, and the villains talking about Mercury's father issues - two people remained silent - not having really paid attention to the viewing. Their focus was on something else.
"...Ilia, I need to ask you a favor." Adam started.
"Oh?"
"I…" Adam continued. "I fear that I've been a fool."
Ilia's eyes widened. Does he mean-?
"I think that Blake has been right."
The chameleon faunus remained silent, as he gestured for Adam to continue.
"And I want to apologize and try to make things right. Unfortunately, I believe that such a thing is impossible right now."
"I see…but what do I have to do with this?"
"I know that you've been in love with Blake for years now." Adam admitted, bluntly.
Ilia went bright red at this and looked down.
"There's no need to be ashamed, you never mentioned it and tried to make a fuss while Blake and I were together. If anything, I'm thankful for it - if Blake knew, things would've gotten very awkward."
Seeing that Ilia was still embarrassed, Adam continued on.
"That's why, if you want of course, I would not mind you sitting away from and trying to be closer to Blake."
Ilia looked towards the seating where Team RWBY were discussing the viewing and saw a seat in the row behind them - empty.
I could go there…
"But why?" She asked.
"This whole White Fang thing is about to end in all honesty, especially since I see things more differently now. So there is no need for us to stick together based on our roles. That being said…the main reason is because…"
"Because…?"
"I just…I just want you, when the time is right, to tell Blake something for me."
"What is it?"
"Just that I'm sorry, and that she's right. She doesn't need to forgive me, or even believe him. I just want her to know.
"I see." Ilia nodded. "Okay."
Adam looked like he released a breath he was holding for so long. "Thank you, Ilia."
As Ilia left her seat to try and go to the vacant one near Team RWBY, Adam remained in his seat - alone, but content.
After a few more moments, Chrono finally spoke up.
"Alright, I'm glad you guys like Arthur so much! With that in mind, I want to go even further back in history!"
"So we're going to a time before Cowboys?" Nora asked.
"Correct!"
"Well, what came before the Cowboys?" Jaune questioned.
"The Revolution!"
All of the faunus perked up at that word, after all it was integral to their modern history.
However, one faunus heard it and felt annoyed.
Of course…Adam thought.
That's for it now! I decided to revisit a story that I covered, and I chose RDR2! I mostly chose it due to the fact that missions that are long enough can also be standalone, therefore not requiring too much context. Some other pieces of work, like even an episode of a single anime can be too long to write down, or require more context for the audience to understand, especially if said audience isn't aware of it - like the people of RWBY!
I also want to let you guys know that I've had some ideas for stories - and one of them I've actually begun to make a full chapter-by-chapter plan for (it's a RWBY/Arcane Crossover based on God of War and Dune - I'll explain more in the future if anybody finds it interesting). It's been going well but it seems like it'll be a very long story. I've written up the plans for 30 chapters and I've only just ended the first act of the story lol. As for other stories, I'm planning a bunch of stuff - from Avatar (ATLA) due to the Live Action giving me some inspiration (even if I thought it wasn't all that good), to even a RWBY One-Shot that is Rule 63!
However, I want some input from you guys. I've kinda been torn between writing a relatively short story (20 chapters or so lol) for either a Batman or Spider-Man Crossover. For the Batman Crossover, I want to put Bruce Wayne in the city of Piltover/Zaun (like in League of Legends and Arcane). For the Spider-Man Crossover, I want to put Peter Parker (or someone else, if you guys think so) in Night City (so a Cyberpunk Crossover). I'd love it if you guys could help me make a decision between one of those two! I'm currently leaning towards the Batman Crossover a bit more since I'm kind of envisioning Robert Pattinson's Batman in that world, whilst I cannot think of a specific Spider-Man iteration that can fit Night City so far.
That being said, as it was made obvious by the ending, the next chapter is gonna be a focus on Hamiton! I chose it because I haven't done a musical reaction yet - and I absolutely love the musical! I'm still leaning towards stage directions and descriptions - or just having the lyrics, and then describing what the RWBY characters see in their actual reactions - so we'll see where we are when that chapter comes out - hopefully next week!
[1] - Funnily enough, it's not lol. This takes place before the Saint Denis Mayor part of RDR2, for those who don't know because they didn't play the game.
[2] - If you know where that's from, you're a real one! If you don't then don't worry, it's not your fault.
[3] - …Between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes! And we keep loving anyway! We laugh and we cry and we break, and we make our mistakes! And if there's a reason I'm by her side when so many have tried, then I'm willing to wait for it! I'm willing to wait for it! (IT'S HAMILTON TIME NEXT WEEK! WOOHOO)
[4] - I actually learned that while searching up the order for this chapter lol. The more you know!
[5] - My headcanon - Mercury had a similar semblance and he used it all the time to try and beat his father, which is why Marcus Black called it a crutch.
AND NOW TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS/SUGGESTIONS FROM REVIEWS:
Shogun lord poke burst: I totally understand what you mean, man! That Kirby vid was surprisingly moving!
EndriRigs: Coincidentally, I've actually been planning on doing Dr Who, especially since I saw the new episodes with David Tennant's return and Ncuti Gatwa. I kinda wanted to do Yang as the new companion Ruby, who has issues with luck - since I could relate that to Qrow and of course, Ruby. But Ozpin as The Doctor is a logical choice too - especially since regeneration is a bit similar to what Ozpin goes through. Thanks for the suggestion!
The Hat Of The Hats: Yes, you did in fact get a shoutout! I loved your chapter with the RWBY Characters reacting to WW2. Those reactions in the other reaction fics were always a fun read too. And I understand what you mean with Caleb. That game show video and the small-talk ones were also very funny.
keybladelight: Unfortunately, I am not a Fate fan. Sorry about that. However, if you can tell me a really good fanfic to read that crosses over with RWBY, I could give it a try! That's why I did with the Kirby chapter - I never watched that video, or was a big fan of Kirby.
Come To Jesus: Don't worry, I'll probably do a second chapter of White Sheep. I did just do a second mission of RD2 after all - so coming back to other works can be expected! The White Sheep chapter I did ended up getting me a lot of reviews too! I was pretty shocked lol.
A Guest: Drakengard 3's opening huh? I'll give it a watch and if I find it cool, I'll consider it. Thanks for the suggestion!
wearedeadpool : As you can see with my responses to other reviews, yes I do in fact take requests. You don't need to PM me about it, my guy! Just tell me and I'll read it! Eventually at least, alerts are broken on this site again smh.
See you guys!
NEXT CHAPTER: His Story…(HAMILTON)