Hey guys, I just want to apologize for taking so long to finally upload for this year - it's taken 10 months and I truly do feel bad.
I don't really have an excuse in all honesty. I just lost track of time. I could say that I'm busy with life, or that the issues with FFNet earlier in the year made it harder - but the main reason was just that I didn't feel like it for a while.
So I apologize to anyone who was waiting for too long. I will try to make sure to take less time and be more consistent, but again - I cannot make an outright promise, especially since I may end up feeling the same months down the line (sadly).
But enough apologies! I'll start making up for it now, not just with this chapter - but with the next one too - because I'm dropping two chapters at once this time!
As you can see with this chapter name, I'm focusing on the Pixar Film Up! For me, it's kinda funny, since the original chapter for this was an alert chapter to new chapters called "NEW CHAPTERS ARE UP", and now I'm doing Up.
I am going to be doing the backstory of Carl - which is one of the saddest scenes in modern cinema. I've also cheated a bit on how I am having a RWBY character in the film, hopefully that's okay with everybody though, especially when it's explained.
Anyways, enough rambling from me - enjoy the chapter!
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.
Go Have A New One! (UP)
Note: The transcript is based on a script for UP I found online. The script doesn't always match what's in the movie, so keep that in mind if there are any differences. I did rewatch scenes and add some descriptors however, so I think it should be fine. The transcript is from imsdb DOT com.
"Wait, what about Adam?" Ilia asked.
"Don't worry, he's fine. He'll be back later. He might miss this one, but in all honesty, with all that's on his mind, I think giving him a breather for a bit is fine." Chrono pointed out. [1]
Ilia was still unsure about this, but ultimately nodded her head and decided to trust Chrono's judgment.
"So what thought-provoking video are you gonna show us this time?" Pyrrha asked, after the issue regarding Adam was settled.
The others looked at her.
"Well, we just watched a bunch of comedic videos a short while ago, so I doubt Chrono will show us another one yet again!" She defended.
"True…and if Taurus is supposedly having a lot on his mind right now, I wouldn't be surprised if this next viewing does more of the same for others." Oobleck said, continuing on the Invincible Girl's point. I wonder who else is actually close to changing their mindset, similar to how Taurus has?
With the others seeing Pyrrha's point, they all looked to Chrono for an answer.
The host had a knowing grin on his face, even with the mask blocking his mouth. "Oh, just a look at married life."
A lot of the hunters in training immediately groaned. Even some of the adults joined in.
"Aw, seriously!"
"Well this is gonna be boring…"
"No deaths again, then? Nooooo!"
"Tyrian, enough with the screaming…"
Chrono saw the response and smiled to himself. If only they knew. I'll get some tissues prepared for the inevitable.
"Alright, enough guys! I'm starting the video!"
The screen springs to life as a 1930's newsreel begins to run. A motion picture then starts to play as the narrator of the film begins to speak.
"Movietown News presents...Spotlight on Adventure!" The newsreel announcer said.
The screen then changes from the titles to show the mysterious South American jungle - specifically, a massive waterfall that cascades down a gigantic, flat-topped mountain.
"So it's a period piece. Oh how very interesting!" Penny exclaimed.
Winter nodded in agreement.
Both Salem and Ozpin began to compare how the footage looked to the early days of recording, back in the time leading up to The Great War.
This brings back some memories..Ozpin thought.
Seems slightly primitive to the early reels of our world…Salem pondered.
"What you are now witnessing is footage never before seen by civilized humanity: a lost world in South America! Lurking in the shadow of majestic Paradise Falls, it sports plants and animals undiscovered by science." The announcer continues before posing a question. "Who would dare set foot on this inhospitable summit?"
The screen then changes again to show a gallery of portraits, with the spotlight centered on a particular painted portrait of a young adventurer. The announcer then reveals his identity. "Why, our subject today: Charles Muntz!"
"Explorers? I thought this was about married people?" Neptune asked, confused.
"Hey Nep?"
"Yeah, Sun?"
"There's this thing called watching. When you do it, it begins to answer the questions you have. So maybe we should, you know, watch so we can see how it relates to what Chrono said. You get it?" Sun replied, though it was clear he was being sarcastic.
Neptune was not amused. Ignoring the chuckles around him, he responded.
"Ha ha. So funny…"
A massive dirigible is then shown descending on an airfield by the screen as the announcer introduces Muntz. "The beloved explorer lands his dirigible, the "Spirit of Adventure," in New Hampshire this week, completing a year long expedition to the lost world!"
The screen then begins to get smaller and smaller as the camera goes further back to show the perspectives of the people within a modest, small-town theater.
"This lighter-than-air craft was designed by Muntz himself, and is longer than 22 Prohibition paddy-wagons placed end to end."
Out of everybody watching, it is clear that no one is more enthralled by the film than 8 year old Carl Fredricksen, as he stares with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, listening to the announcer's narration. Carl is even wearing a leather flight helmet and goggles - just like his idol on the silver screen.
"Well that's awesome," Yang said, as she thought back to her own motorcycle, Bumblebee. Of course her baby was more sleek and cool, but she could appreciate anybody who could build a vehicle as big as Muntz's was.
She then saw Carl Fredricksen's expression, and let out a chuckle. "Rubes! He looks like you when you first heard one of mom's stories!"
Ruby looked at Carl's expression, and immediately understood. The stars in his eyes, the focus he had. It was clear that Muntz was set to become his hero, just like how Summer Rose was her's.
Ruby let out a smile. "Yeah…I guess he does!"
Jaune smiled at the boy's expression. He remembered how watching a film about huntsmen when he was 11 ultimately convinced him to become one. Not that telling that to his family helped…
Russel saw how Carl looked and realized something about him. "Oh wow…Cardin, he looks just like you as a kid!"
Cardin rolled his eyes in amusement. "Why? Because he has brown hair and similar eyes to me?"
"Don't forget the round and pudgy face too!" He replied, as the other two members of Team CRDL snickered.
"Tch. Assholes…" he muttered, before lightly elbowing Russel. Soon however, his scowl quickly turned into a smile and he joined in on the chuckle.s
"And here comes the adventurer now!" The newsreel footage has changed to show Muntz descending down the gangplank to the delight of the crowd, with his dogs trailing him.
"Never apart from his faithful dogs, Muntz conceived the craft for canine comfort! It's a veritable floating palace in the sky, complete with doggie bath and mechanical canine walker!"
The screen then shows an opulent dining room that also had two dogs nearby. One dog is going through mechanized bath time, while a second is wearing an electrode helmet and running on a treadmill.
"And Jiminy Cricket, do the locals consider Muntz the bee's knees! And how!"
Ruby and Yang looked at each other.
"Can I make those for Zwei-"
"He said the thing! Like you!"
"Eh?" Ruby said, confused. She thought that Yang was gonna mention the cool contraptions that Muntz made!
"The bee's knees!" Yang clarified.
Ruby immediately remembered, and blushed.
Tai looked at his daughters in amusement.
The footage then shows how Muntz has managed to earn such a reputation. Cameras flash as Muntz stands strong and strikes his signature "thumbs up" stance, before finally saying his iconic catchphrase: "Adventure is out there!"
Seeing it in the theater, Young Carl returns the thumbs up.
"So cool!" Nora said.
Pyrrha agreed, but felt the need to mention something. "The thumbs up is a bit uninspired tho…"
"Well, I like it - it's a classic!"
"You know what, I agree Jaune!" Pyrrha replied to her partner.
"But what has Muntz brought back this time?"
The footage changes yet again to show Muntz speaking to a crowded auditorium, on stage beside a curtained object. "Gentlemen, I give you: the Monster of Paradise Falls!" He announces, as he pulls away the drape to reveal a gigantic bird skeleton.
"Ooh!" The crowd exclaims in excitement.
In the theater, Carl leans forward with his eyes bulging and mouth wide open, also being just as excited as the crowd in the footage. "And golly, what a swell monster this is!" The announcer adds on.
"An archeologist as well as an explorer! Of course!" Oobleck said, immediately excited at the introduction of one of the social sciences in the viewing.
As he went on a tangent, Glynda immediately noticed something off about the skeleton.
It seems…off….she thought. Her eyes narrowed.
However, such emotions are quickly flipped on its head, as skeptical scientists are then shown analyzing the bones.
"But what's this? Scientists cry foul! The National Explorers Society accuses Muntz of fabricating the skeleton!" The announcer empathetic narrates.
"No!" Carl cries out, as he slams his hand on the arm of the chair he was sitting on.
The film then shows Muntz's portrait being removed from the previous wall of paintings that contained other famous explorers. Muntz is then shown standing rigid as his "Explorer's Society" badge is ceremoniously ripped from his jacket by another man. What has happened is clear.
"The organization strips Muntz of his membership!"
Carl gasps in shock.
"That's the deal with heroes, kid. Sometimes they're frauds!" Mercury said.
Hazel grunted in agreement. He thought back to his original hero. How he excelled at being a huntsman with just a cane. How he failed to stop Mountain Glenn. Never meet you heroes…they'll just let you down…
However, that was not the end of Muntz's story. The explorer is then shown standing next to his dirigible at an airfield. He empathetically addresses the crowd.
"Humiliated, Muntz vows a return to Paradise Falls and promises to capture the beast... alive!"
Muntz then mirrored what the announcer said. "I promise to capture the beast...alive!"
In the theater, Carl smiles with relief upon hearing this.
"And I will not come back until I do!" Muntz continued. The crowd in the footage cheers in response. Muntz is then shown giving his signature thumbs up from the cockpit as the dirigible goes off to begin its mission.
"And so the explorer is off to clear his name. Bon voyage Charles Muntz, and good luck capturing the Monster of Paradise Falls!"
As the film ends, Carl looks on whilst smiling, thinking that he just witnessed a miracle.
"How though?" Glynda quietly asked herself.
"Hmm?" Ozpin questioned, looking towards his deputy.
Nothing…it's just, he clearly fabricated the skeleton, and now he's choosing to go out there when it's clear he can't just fake it again? He's gonna end up looking for years." She explained.
Ozpin just shrugged. "Sometimes pride compels people to do stupid things to prove people wrong. Even if it's their downfall."
Watts sneezed.
The screen then dissolves to show Carl, still wearing his helmet and goggles, playing about in his small town neighborhood, running along the sidewalk and mimicking the sound of an airplane. Carl is "flying" his blue balloon (which has "The Spirit of Adventure" hand-written on it) as he runs along the sidewalk. Adventurous music begins to play in the background.
"Aw! So cute!" Coco cooed.
"Yeah… remember playing as a kid and imagining stuff," Velvet said.
She turned to Fox and whispered quietly. The quiet member of Team CFVY was confused by this, as they could just use his semblance since it doesn't harm and was not disabled, but obliged. It must be personal I guess.
"I imagined myself as a fighter who liberated faunus and stopped racism. I guess you can imagine what stopped that dream…" she whispered, in a bitter tone.
Fox hummed in understanding. "I imagined how it would be to be able to see."
Velvet was shocked. "Oh. Um…"
Fox spoke up again to dispel the awkwardness. "It's fine," he said with a chuckle. "Besides, being able to see so I can watch these, um, films, has been amazing."
Velvet smiled. "I'm glad to hear that!"
The announcer is heard yet again, as he narrates Carl's thoughts and imagination. "Here's Charles Muntz piloting his famous dirigible!" They state.
"He hurdles Pike's Peak!"
Carl jumps over a small rock.
"He hurdles the Grand Canyon!"
Carl jumps over a crack in the sidewalk.
"He hurdles Mount Everest!"
Carl jumps over a tree stump…and smacks into it instead. Not deterred however, Carl gets up and goes to the side.
"He...goes around Mount Everest! Is there nothing he cannot do?"
Everybody chuckled at Carl's imagination, and the announcer's commentary.
Qrow, meanwhile, realized something that he could mention about Tai.
Tai, seeing this, spoke up to stop him, eyes widened.
"Qrow, don't you dare-!"
"Ah! I just remember you doing commentary whilst fighting Raven! When it looked like you were gonna win, you said…what was it again?" He said, fumbling.
Raven responded, mimicking her ex-husband. "And the crowd is going crazy! Taiyang Xiao Long, the best fighter in Team STRQ is about to do the unthinkable! He's about to beat Raven Branwen and then go on a da-"
Qrow's eyes widened as both siblings pointed at each other.
"And before he finished, you beat him in one swing! Hahaha!"
"And before he finished, I beat him with one swing!"
Tai grumbled as the two siblings laughed at his past misfortune. "That taught me not to get caught up in my imagination during fights…"
"Yes, as Muntz himself says: "Adventure is-" The music, and the announcer goes quiet, as Carl is startled and stops running.
"Adventure is out there!" A voice exclaims, finishing what the announcer was going to say.
Upon hearing the voice, two pairs of eyes immediately widened.
Ren was shocked to hear that voice. It was several years since he last heard it, but he remembered that voice like it was yesterday. How could he forget? He looked at the person next to him.
Nora's eyes widened as she heard her voice from back when she was a child. Memories began to flood back as she remembered how shy and dependent she was on Ren. It's old me….but she sounds confident like ME me…well this is a trip.
Nora held her head.
Jaune saw the two's reactions, and spoke up.
"Do you guys know that voice?" He asked.
"It's Nora back when she was young." Ren answered.
"That's wonderful!" Pyrrha exclaimed. She patted Nora's back. "That's three members of Team JNPR!"
However, the three then noticed how silent Nora was.
"Hey, Nora, you okay?" Jaune asked.
After a few seconds of continued silence and holding her head, she looked at Jaune to respond. "Oh! Um…yeah! I just…it's just kinda crazy you know…"
"True.." Pyrrha admitted. "I bet Ruby and Yang's uncle was shocked when he saw a younger version of himself as well. Twice in fact!"
Nora immediately latched on that explanation. "Yeah! Exactly!"
Ren's eyes narrowed.
Now no longer playing, Carl looks to where the voice came from. He sees a dilapidated house, windows boarded up and lawn overgrown with weeds. The weather vane atop the house then turns, pulled by ropes. The voice is then heard again from inside the structure.
"Look out! Mount Rushmore! Hard to starboard. Must get the Spirit of Adventure over Mount Rushmore…"
Carl walks toward the voice, and sees that the front door, broken and somewhat blocking the way, has words written on it.
"SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE"
"Oh, so it's someone else playing as well!"
"Hold together old girl. How're my dogs doing? Ruff ruff!" The voice continues, before it begins to mimic the barking of dogs.
Carl squeezes through the broken door and heads into the foyer of the house. He follows the voice toward the living room.
"All engines ahead are full! Let's take her up to 26,000 feet! Rudders eighteen degrees towards the south."
Carl then rounds the corner to see an eight year old girl, with her mussy red hair barely visible beneath her flight helmet and goggles. Bare footed, her overalls are patched and dirty. The old house has been transformed into a make-believe dirigible cockpit. The girl is steering a make-shift wheel made from a rusty old bicycle.
"So that's how the old, er, younger Nora looked! That's cool!" Jaune said.
Yang then overheard and responded. "WAIT, THAT'S NORA?!" She exclaimed loudly enough for the rest of the audience to hear.
Nora's eyes widened. The rest of the cinema now knew how her childhood self looked. There were various responses.
"A bit scruffy and dirty, but she is playing. I guess that's expected." Weiss said as she inspected the attire of young Nora.
"Huh. Well I guess you aren't the only one whose younger self appeared now!" Taiyang said to Qrow.
"Hm. Of course you'd be just as loud and full of life as a child too, Nora." Yatsuhashi said, as the other hunters-in-training, minus Ren, voiced their agreement.
However, Ren noticed the slight flinch in Nora's demeanor. They mean well…but she was nothing like that…
He grabbed Nora's hand and squeezed. She looked back at him, shocked, before nodding as an acknowledgement of thanks.
"It's a beautiful day, winds out of the east at ten knots. Visibility…unlimited!" She states happily. "Enter the weather in the logbook!" She then commands, pointing towards the right. In response, the girl's navigator (her hamster) skitters in its cage.
"Oh! There's something down there! I will bring it back for science." The girl declares as she looks forward again.
Wanting to see whatever is down there, the girl then uses two tied-together Coke bottles as binoculars to get a better look. "Awwww, it's a puppy!"
"Sounds just like you as a kid when you saw puppies too, Yang!" Taiyang said.
"Dad! Stop embarrassing me!"
"Hey! That's what Ruby usually says! Don't say it to me either!"
"Dad! Stop embarrassing me!"
"See?"
Qrow chuckled at the family antics.
Carl then gets distracted by the Muntz newspaper clippings taped to the wall. He looks at them with a gaping mouth. Meanwhile, the girl is continuing to play around.
"Ah! No time! A storm! Lightning! Hail!" She states.
Carl then turns around to look back at the girl, but is startled to see that the girl has popped up in front of Carl.
"What are you doing!?" She exclaims.
"Ahh!" Ruby exclaimed, as she got jumpscared.
Roman laughed at the younger huntress getting startled. "Oh come on, Red! How are you gonna train to be a huntress, and get scared by a little girl!"
Neo smirked at Roman and signed something to him.
Roman's face immediately morphed and he began to sputter. "I do not!"
Neo silently laughed.
"It was that one particular film! That doesn't mean I'm scared of horror movies!"
"Ahh!" Carl screams. The shock has resulted in him also letting go of his balloon. It floats through a broken part of the ceiling and disappears.
The girl has also begun to circle around Carl accusingly.
"Don't you know this is an exclusive club? Only explorers get in here. Not just any kid off the street with a helmet and a pair of goggles. Do you think you got what it takes? Well, do you?!"
Carl stammers as he struggles to say an answer.
"Alright, you're in. Welcome aboard!" The girl then says with a smile. She offers her hand. Carl looks down, embarrassed.
"Yep, she's just like Nora, alright…" Jaune said with a nervous chuckle.
Pyrrha smiled at her partner's reaction. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah, probably. That's just how Nora was when I asked for her to train me as well." He let out a shiver. She got all intense about how the training was, then accepted anyway without me responding! My arms were sore for days!
"What's wrong? Can't you talk?" The girl asks, smile dropping from her face
Carl is frozen. In response, the girl softens. "Hey, I don't bite."
She then takes off her helmet. Her hair frizzes out in all directions.
Carl is shocked at this. However, the girl doesn't seem to notice as she removes a homemade grape soda cap pin from her shirt and pins it on Carl.
"You and me, we're in a club now."
Ironwood let out a smile at that. It's nice to see the younger generation forge bonds. He looked over to the students and his smile dropped as he became worried. It's a shame that such bonds will have to be tested so soon and so early however…
Carl smiles in response. He has made a friend. The girl grins in response. She then looks up. "I saw where your balloon went. Come on, let's go get it!" She then gestures for Carl to follow her as she runs ahead. Carl watches her stride out of the room.
The girl then pops back in quickly, to introduce herself.
"My name's Ellie!"
She grabs his hand. Carl blushes as she pulls him out of the room.
"I guess we can call her that instead of young Nora now." Blake stated.
Yang nodded in agreement.
"I'm just surprised it fits the color rule! So many other worlds we've seen don't fit it!" Weiss said, focusing on the name.
At the same time, many noticed Carl's blush and realized something.
"Aw! He has a crush! So cute!"
"Ah, young love!"
"I bet-"
"Don't make it weird, Merc…"
As he heard the others, Neptune began to think of something. Wait a second…
Now upstairs, both Carl and Ellie look across the attic. Between them the floor has collapsed, save one rickety beam. However, right across the beam is the balloon.
"There it is!" Ellie states. Carl gulps in fear.
"Well, go ahead!" Ellie says to encourage Carl. She pushes him out onto the beam.
When Carl looks back, Ellie smiles back at him. "Go on!"
In response, Carl steels his courage. He puts on his goggles, starts to go forward, and then falls through the floor.
Carl screams before a thud is heard. Ellie looks down in shock.
An ambulance with its siren blaring (and with Carl inside of it of course), is then seen driving across the neighborhood.
Most in the audience couldn't resist letting out some chuckles or snorts of amusement.
Neptune rolled his eyes as he grinned. "So obvious…"
"Hey man, sometimes the funniest tropes are the most common ones!" Sun pointed out.
Tyrian's loud laughs soon ruined the atmosphere! "Yes! Injuries! Hopefully the child fell hard and got grievous injuries! HAHAHA!"
"This guy…you're clearly just doing a bit, enough is enough man!" Mercury exclaimed in annoyance.
Cinder sighed. "I…don't think he is…" He's just that insane and irritating.
Now night-time, the scene changes to show a house with a single light on upstairs.
That single light is actually coming from the bedroom of Carl. He is in bed, reading a book with a flashlight, and with his arm in a cast.
Into the room then floats Carl's lost blue balloon on a stick. When the stick hits Carl's book, the boy jumps back in fright.
"Ahh! Ow…" He screams before, letting out a yelp of pain, as he accidentally moved his cast
A head then pops up from outside the open window. It's Ellie. "Hey kid!" She exclaims loudly.
Carl screams again in response, this time hitting himself in the face with the cast. "AHHH! Ow!"
"Maybe it's not the past idea to surprise an injured person like that," Taiyang said as many in the cinema chuckled at Ellie's idea of popping by Carl's place.
Ellie then climbs through the window and enters Carl's room. She is holding a book in her hand. "I thought you might need a little cheerin' up. So, I got somethin' to show ya!"
The two kids then hunker underneath a blanket tent with Carl's flashlight. Ellie then whispers to the boy, in a secretive fashion.
"I am about to let you see something I have never shown to another human being. Ever. In my life."
Carl's eyes widen in alarm.
"You'll have to swear you will not tell anyone," she continues.
Carl nods.
"Cross your heart. Do it!"
Carl crosses.
"Oh! I just had a piphany!" Neptune exclaimed, voicing out his thoughts.
"It's actually called epiphany…" Sage replied.
"Uh, no. This is THE-piphany! Ellie and Carl, we're gonna see them grow up and get married!" Neptune explained. [2]
Sun thought of it and decided that it made sense.
"Well how about that! You watched and now you got your answer!" He said to his best friend.
Satisfied, Ellie then unveils..
"My Adventure Book!" She exclaims.
Said adventure book is a reused photo album with the words "My Adventure Book" written across it. She opens it to a photo of Charles Muntz.
Ruby felt a swirl of emotions within her as she saw the book. Like mom's, she thought, as she remembered how her mother would keep photos of her exploits as a huntress and show them off as she told her and Yang stories.
She looked down to the huntress emblem on her belt, fiddling with it as she recalled simpler times.
"You know him!" She states. Carl gasps at the photo, before agreeing excitedly in response.
"Charles Muntz, explorer. When I get big, I'm going where he's going: South America!" She then moves Charles Muntz' photo out of the way to show a page to a map of South America..
"It's like America! But South."
Ghira and Kali chuckled at Ellie's simple explanation.
"I guess Menagerie is just Vacuo, but south!" Ghira said, trying to repeat what was said.
Kali let out a small chuckle and responded. "...I don't think that how it works, but you got the spirit, dear!"
"Wanna know where I'm gonna live?" She continued.
Ellie then turns to another page in her book to show a ripped book page of a large waterfall. A small hand-drawn picture of Ellie's clubhouse is glued to the top.
"Paradise Falls, a land lost in time." She states, repeating what is said on the ripped page. "I ripped this right out of a library book!" Ellie then tells Carl with a grin.
Carl gasps in horror at the revelation. Ellie doesn't notice as she looks down to her book again.
Weiss gasped in horror as well. "Not the books, those are invaluable materials for our education!"
"Oh come on, Weiss, she's just a-" Yang tried to say but Weiss has already left her seat.
"Nora!" Weiss said, as she pointed a finger to said girl. She narrowed her eyes. "Don't do that again!"
Nora sputtered for a few seconds before replying. "B-But I've never done that ever!"
Weiss raised an eyebrow, disbelieving.
"I swear!"
"I can attest to that being true Weiss," Ren said, coming to his partner's rescue, he had a placating smile on her face.
Weiss stayed silent for a few seconds, ruminating over Ren's response. Afterwards, she nodded and went back to her seat. When she saw the expressions on her partner's face, she was confused.
"What? You wouldn't be mad if something tore apart a weapon haphazardly?"
Ruby snorted. "True, but I also assumed Blake would've been the angry one here!"
Weiss scoffed. "Maybe if it was smut…"
Blake rolled her eyes, as Yang chuckled.
I'm gonna move my clubhouse there, and park it right next to the falls!" She continues, as she points a finger to the torn page.
"Who knows what lives up there? And once I get there…"
Ellie then flips through her book again, revealing a page marked, "STUFF I'M GOING TO DO".
She then shows how the rest of the pages after it are blank. Why?
"Well, I'm saving these pages for all the adventures I'm gonna have! Only... I just don't know how I'm gonna get to Paradise Falls." She concludes with a frown. She closes the book, disappointed.
However, Carl then has a thought. He looks at his toy dirigible. Ellie sees that Carl is looking at, and has an epiphany.
"That's it! You can take us there in a blimp! Swear you'll take us. Cross your heart! Cross it! Cross your heart!"
Carl does.
Ellie grins. "Good! You promised." The girl then gives Carl a serious look. "No backing out!"
In response, Carl shakes his head frantically as if to say "of course not!"
Roman shaked his head. "You got caught in a trap, kid! Move away, and don't make promises like that again!"
Neo chuckled at Roman's antics.
Afterwards, Ellie closes her book and gets up. "Well, see you tomorrow kid! Bye!"
Ellie then goes to the window and hops out.
"Adventure is out there!" She states while outside the window before going out. A second later though, she pops back in.
"You know, you don't talk very much. I like you!" She states to Carl before hopping out once again.
With Ellie now having left, Carl looks out the window after her in amazement, his face blushing red. He rests his head on his balloon.
"Wow…." he says in a wondrous tone.
The balloon then pops.
"Oh…somebody's in love~" Yang said in a teasing tone.
*FLASH*
"Ah!" Velvet said, before rubbing her eyes.
"I guess now you know how others feel, Bun! Coco joked, as she too rubbed her eyes.
The scene changes to show a camera inside a church taking a photo. It is a photo of a new wedding couple: Carl and Ellie, who are now both 19.
With the photo now taken, she jumps at him and gives him a big kiss.
After the kiss, the newly-wed couple look at Ellie's side of the church, which has erupted like wild frontiersmen. A gunshot is fired in the air. Ellie waves at them.
Then, both of them look at Carl's side, all of them in black, who clap politely - like rigid puritans. Carl waves at them too.
Much of the audience were confused, especially Nora and Ren.
"Wait, why doesn't Ellie look like me?" She asked.
"Because only the actress for your younger self was in this film. The actress who has your exact likeness is not in this film. Besides, it's common for the actors and actresses of the young and older version of characters to be different." Chrono explained.
"Oh…it's still kinda weird though…" Nora said, as she sat down, satisfied with the answer.
The others were also sated by the host's response, and went back to watch too.
"Well now that we know, it turns out the married life is being seen now! Happy, Nep!" Sun asked.
"Yep!"
"Still though, getting married like that? That's pretty quick!" Jaune said.
"Sometimes, it's love at first sight for people," Pyrrha defended.
Both Carl and Ellie, with the husband carrying his wife in a bridal carry, then head to a familiar dilapidated house. Next to the house is a "SOLD" sign. The couple have bought the very same house where they met as kids.
The couple then get to work immediately. Still in their wedding clothes, Ellie begins to saw wood whilst Carl hammers. Music begins to play as their married life has begun.
The scene then changes to show the two pushing chairs into place side by side in the living room, as the house has finally begun to look complete.
The finishing touches are then put on the front lawn as Ellie finishes painting "Carl & Ellie" on their mailbox. Carl leans in to admire her work but leaves a messy paint handprint on the mailbox. Oh well. In response, Ellie just adds her handprint as well. They smile.
"They bought the house where they met as kids…that's so romantic!" Kali said, glad to see some more romance. She clasped hands with Ghira.
The couple then look at Ellie's drawing of her clubhouse, and see that their house now matches the colorful design from her childhood Adventure Book.
With their house now built, the two run up a hillside together. Ellie gets to the top quickly and smirks playfully at Carl, who is struggling to get up.
When Carl does get up, they then lie side by side on a picnic blanket. Ellie describes the clouds. He then watches as a cloud transforms into a turtle.
Carl closes his eyes and smiles. He's lucky to be with her.
"Ah…cloud watching…" Taiyang said, as he remembered doing the same with Summer. It was always so relaxing…
The scene then changes to show Ellie emerging from a building dressed in her work uniform, with a parrot on her arm. She goes up to Carl, who is tending to his new balloon cart and work uniform. Both of them have gotten jobs at their local zoo.
As Carl is admiring the parrot, the balloons lift his cart off the ground. When he turns around and sees it, Carl jumps up to catch it. Ellie giggles in response.
"So they got jobs that are similar to their dreams, that's awesome!" Ruby said.
"I guess if you can't achieve your dreams one way, you can always do it another way." Weiss added.
"True, and getting money from that job could mean that they could eventually get to South America in time too!" Yang pointed out.
Jaune overheard Team RWBY's conversation and frowned a bit. Could I have done the same thing too, instead of faking my way to Beacon? He looked at his team. Perhaps. But then I wouldn't have met them. And both Carl and Ellie are happy with each other. Would I have been as happy without the rest of my team?
With a new house and fulfilling jobs, both Ellie and Carl are clearly content. Back at their home, Carl and Ellie sit side by side in their chairs, reading. Without even looking up from their books, they hold hands. Both have smiles on their faces.
Again at their picnic spot, they watch the clouds. This time, Ellie sees an elephant with wings. Carl gives it a try and points out a baby. Ellie lights up, excited. She then begins to see all the clouds as babies! Carl is stunned, but smiles.
"Looks like somebody has baby fever." Pyrrha noted.
"Baby fever? How?" Penny asked.
"It's just a saying, Penny. It means that Ellie really wants to have a baby."
"Oh, I see. Sensational!"
Now filled with baby fever, the couple begin to make a room for their child, inside their home. Ellie finishes painting a wall mural of a stork carrying a bundle in its beak. Carl hangs a dirigible above the crib.
However, the screen pans to the right and the music quickly becomes sad, as the couple are now at a doctor. Carl touches Ellie's shoulder as the doctor explains something tragic; Ellie cannot have a baby. Ellie drops her head in her hands and begins to cry.
The audience saw what occurred and were shocked. They did not expect such a twist in the idyllic lives of Ellie and Carl to happen just like that.
"Oh no…"
"Wait, what happened?"
"But they painted such a nice room!"
"So she can't have kids? That's such a shame."
"Well, that's life sometimes…"
"I know this is sad but…they couldn't have checked first before painting a room."
"Well they had baby fever, man! Also, not the time Nep…"
Now back at their home, Carl looks out the window. He sees Ellie sitting alone under a tree, the wind in her hair and her eyes closed. She is devastated by the news.
Carl then joins Ellie, and he leans down to hand her the Adventure Book. Upon seeing it, she smiles in realization. Carl has managed to cheer Ellie up. The music begins to pick up again after this.
"Aw, that's nice." Yang said.
Both Ozpin and Salem saw the touching scene and immediately recalled the same distant memory.
It's like what happened after the first miscarriage…the former couple thought. Salem touched her abdomen. Ozpin looked away and let out a quiet sigh.
He was inconsolable for weeks. He always wanted a child…she thought.
She took care of me then…and she got the idea that we could be parents to humanity instead…he remembered. Of course, they eventually did have daughters, but the seed was planted. Their goal of parenting humanity set the course for their conflict.
Salem scowled at the thought, whilst Ozpin just shook his head.
The scene shifts, as Ellie paints a mural of their house atop Paradise Falls over the mantle - reminiscent of a page in her Adventure Book. Carl organizes a compass, map, binoculars, and native bird figurine beneath the painting. It's their shrine to Adventure.
When it's completed, they smile at each other. It's a job well done.
With the shrine done, Carl then sets a jar on a table, with the words "PARADISE FALLS" written on it. Ellie then drops in a few coins. It is clear that these are meant to be savings towards a trip to South America.
Ellie then looks at Carl and crosses her heart with a smile. Carl then crosses his, with a grin on his face. He remembers their promise.
"Nice callback." Qrow noted.
"Make sense, it WAS their childhood dream." Tai added.
Time goes on as the jar slowly fills, with both Carl and Ellie tossing in spare change throughout the weeks, months, and years.
However, life happens.
Their car blows a tire. Needing money, the two stand by the jar, reluctant. However, Carl ultimately breaks the jar. A new tire is needed after all.
The scene then shifts, Carl is in the hospital with a broken leg, Ellie standing beside him. The couple look at each other knowingly. The jar is seen being broken yet again.
"And that's life for ya!" Roman exclaimed.
The married life, to be exact! Neo signed.
A while after this, a storm rages around the house. A tree falls because of this, crushing the roof. The jar is seen being broken yet again, the savings needed.
"Oh come on…what are the odds of that!" Ruby said.
"Statistically? A huge amount, since their house was surrounded by trees!" Penny answered unhelpfully.
Despite these setbacks, the two continue to live life. Heading out to their jobs, Carl struggles to tie his tie. In response, Ellie helps out. Afterwards, they smile at each other, and they walk out the front door arm in arm.
The same thing happens again years later. Ellie tieS Carl's tie yet again as they rush out the door, smiles on their faces.
Finally, throughout the years, this continues. Ellie straightens Carl's ties - whether it be stylish 1950's ties, wide 60's ties, or even paisley 70's ties.
Eventually, the two settle on a simple bow-tie. With the bow-tie on, the camera then shows that the couple have aged tremendously throughout the year - now being more elderly adults then a young couple. Time has flown by.
"Huh. Didn't expect a timeskip." Sky said.
"It makes sense though, it was a montage after all." Dove mentioned.
Despite this, the two still smile at themselves by the front door. Their love is still as strong as ever. Ellie even gives Carl a passionate kiss on the check, which Carl accepts with a happy laugh. They look at each other in the mirror before heading out. They're content.
The scene then changes to show that they still work happily side by side at the zoo. Carl's cart lifts off the ground. He casually leans an elbow on it - he has gotten used to the balloons.
Cinder frowned at the couple. I don't get it…they have no power, no ambition…how can somebody live like that? Is love really that good enough?! She thought, being unable to comprehend the type of life that Carl and Ellie had.
She thought back to Rhodes, how she saw him as a father figure. She felt like everything was okay when he was teaching her. How in the end he betrayed her. She stifled a growl.
After one particular day, both Carl and Ellie dance together in the evening candlelight. The Paradise Fall Jar can be seen sitting off to the side, now dusty and forgotten.
Carl is then shown cleaning the inside of the house window. Ellie is seen cleaning the outside of the same window. They see each other, and smile, pleasantly surprised that they were working on the same window.
As they continue cleaning, Carl begins to vacuums the Adventure Shrine on the mantle. Carl smiles at a photo of Ellie as a child, wearing her flight helmet and goggles. However, this makes him look up at the mural of their house at Paradise Falls. His smile then fades.
Behind him, Ellie sweeps the floor, and Carl begins to realize; their dream has gone unfulfilled.
"They didn't get the chance to go on that adventure." Winter noted.
"True, but sometimes, being with the people you love is adventure enough." Ironwood replied.
However, Carl has an idea, as a smile returns to his face.
Carl heads to a travel agency and manages to secure himself two tickets to South America. It's finally going to happen - the couple's dream is going to be realized.
"Perhaps sir, but it seems that they can get their cake and eat it too," Winter replied with a slight smirk.
Ironwood chuckled at the reply.
The next time the couple head to their hillside for cloud watching, Carl hurries excitedly up the hill. He has hidden the airline tickets in a picnic basket, hoping to surprise Ellie.
However, behind him, Ellie falters and falls. The music shifts again.
Winter's smirk faded. I spoke too soon…
The rest of the theater, especially the students, were more vocal.
"NO!"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!"
"THAT'S JUST CRUEL!"
The most quiet reaction however, was Ren.
Nora felt a hand grab hers and tighten. She looked towards the person who grabbed.
"...Ren?" she said. Her partner had widened eyes, and he looked the most alarmed at what was happening.
She tries to get up but falls again. Something is wrong.
He runs to her.
"Ren, it's okay," Nora said quietly. She squeezed Ren's hand in response, and her partner finally looked at her.
"I…you're right. I just thought of you being…" Ren couldn't finish his sentence.
"I know." Nora took her hand and instead decided to hug Ren. She let his head rest on her shoulder, as he tried to calm down Ren. "It's okay, Renny, I'm here."
"...Thanks."
The scene shifts again. Ellie is now lying in a hospital bed, her health failing. She looks through her Adventure Book.
Into the hospital room then floats Carl's old blue balloon on a stick. When the stick hits Ellie's book, she looks up and sees Carl by the door. He smiles and walks to her bedside.
Even if it wasn't her actor, the thought of it being her, and dying like that was still surreal to Nora. As she saw Ellie reminisce on memories before her impending death, she began to feel wetness on her shoulder. She tightened her hug.
Soon, Jaune and Pyrrha got closer to her and Ren to show their support.
Ellie lifts a hand to him as he comes close. Then, she pushes her Adventure Book toward him. She lovingly caresses his cheek and then adjusts his tie. In response, he smiles, takes her hand, and kisses her on the forehead.
Now back at the church where he and Ellie got married, Carl sits alone, next to a huge bouquet of balloons. It is clear what has happened. Ellie is gone.
"Damn…" Ruby said.
Most of the audience remained silent and saddened at the sudden switch of events. There was one predominant thought: how did it come to this?
"...And that's life for ya." Blake said robotically, repeating Roman's statement, before sighing.
Said thief didn't respond back.
As Carl gets up, the scene shifts one final time to show him walking back into his home, holding a single blue balloon.
The screen goes to black. The music, and Carl and Ellie's married life, ends on a sad and somber note.
"That can't be it…" Kali said. Tears were threatening to flow out of her eyes, as she was being hugged by her husband. Both of them were thinking the same thing: one day, the same thing was going to happen to us.
I guess it's a good thing that I left Tai. Because I would NOT want to feel that in the end…Raven felt a pang of guilt hit her.
Most of the audience just remained silent, trying to process their emotions as the ending hit them in an unexpected way.
Eventually, someone spoke up.
"So what's next, Chrono?" Oobleck asked. He was starting to get a bit tired of seeing his students having crises over the inevitability of old age and death.
"What do you mean? The viewing isn't over."
Oobleck was confused. What does he mean by that?
The screen springs back to life.
The inside of Carl and Ellie's house can be seen. It looks dilapidated, just how it was originally before - before Carl and Ellie meet.
Many eyes immediately looked back to the screen, surprised by the fact that it began to play again.
Ah, I see now. Oobleck thought.
"Woah…what happened to the place?" Sun asked.
"Depression I guess? He must've lost the will to clean it." Coco surmised.
"That's a damn shame."
The door then opens and Carl steps into the house. He's back in his home for the first time in days. He looks around the house with a tired and despondent expression.
He enters the living room and sees that both his and Ellie's things are strewn across the floor, a mess.
"My heart…" Jaune muttered.
"That was their home…seeing everything so broken…it's just…" Pyrrha couldn't describe how she felt.
Seeing Ellie's chair, he immediately goes to it and puts it upright again. Then, he sets the lamp upright, slides the table into position, and does many other things to ensure that the living room is clean again. Finally, he sets his own chair upright, and pushes both chairs back into their place.
Carl then takes a seat, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. He exhales.
It's quiet. Carl is all alone.
"The place looks so dull and dead compared to earlier." Ruby pointed out.
Blake thought of a quote she saw in a book, and recited it out loud. "Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there any more." [3]
"An apt statement for this, Ms Belladonna." Glynda replied.
The old man then opens his eyes, and surveys the room. It's a dark place right now. Carl looks back to Ellie's chair with a melancholic expression.
He then looks to the other side and sees that the Adventure Book is resting on a table near him. He opens it and puts Ellie's ripped page and drawing back.
Carl then looks through the pages, remembering the newspaper clippings and old photographs, the dreams of young Ellie. The music, which ended on a sad note before, returns, still quiet however.
Eventually, he turns to the page marked "STUFF I'M GOING TO DO".
Carl sighs and looks up, tears welling up in his eyes. He managed to bring the house to the falls, but Ellie never made it.
"She never got the chance to fill it out…" Velvet uttered in a sad tone.
"Some dreams go unfulfilled sadly." Ozpin mentioned. I would know…
Carl then begins to close the book. But as he does, Carl sees something he hadn't before.
The blank pages at the end are no longer blank.
Ozpin's eyes widened at seeing the page. I spoke too soon.
Gasps filled the cinema, as they realized that Ellie had filled out the page.
"What? But what stuff did she do? She didn't achieve her dream!" Weiss exclaimed.
Winter thought back to earlier. "She was with Carl. That was adventure enough."
Weiss went quiet at that. Enough? She thought. She remembered her dream of becoming the leader of the SDC and redeeming the Schnee family name. At first she thought that it would be easy to do after she became a huntress, since she could follow in her grandfather's footsteps - adventuring and achieving his dream of the SDC. However, she soon realized that such a thing might not be possible. She still knew nothing about running a company, and she has started to see that many will still hate her no matter what.
The heiress looked towards her team. Towards Ruby, who has started to become a great leader. Towards Blake, who had every reason to hate her family, but accepted her nonetheless. Towards Yang, who was the strongest of them all. She smiled. Perhaps my dream is impossible, but my team's adventure is good enough for me.
Curious, Carl turns the pages and sees what Ellie had added to the previously blank pages.
The first thing he sees is the wedding photo of the two of them. The music begins to pick up.
"So the stuff she did was the married life…" Neptune pointed out.
Upon seeing the photo, Carl's eyes widen. He is shocked. He turns the page to see more photos.
A photo of them on a picnic.
A photo of them celebrating birthdays.
More and more after that…it's a bunch of photos of their ordinary life together, the ups and downs. The highs and lows.
As he sees them, Carl's face warms. The room begins to feel warmer too. He smiles, as happy tears begin to well up in his eyes.
Ren, who had been quietly trying to hold back tears, couldn't hold it in anymore. He let out a sob as he hugged Nora tighter.
Nora was shocked at this, but reciprocated. However, she became even more shocked when she heard what Ren had to say.
"Nora…let's get out of here after the viewing."
Carl realizes it now. Ellie lived the life she wanted: she saw adventure in everyday life.
Finally, Carl finds the final photo in the book. It's a photo of the two of them sitting side by side, together, in their chairs. Beneath it, Ellie has written:
"THANKS FOR THE ADVENTURE - NOW GO HAVE A NEW ONE! LOVE, ELLIE."
Carl smiles. He looks ahead. He sees the room he's in and it doesn't seem so dark anymore.
"And now the place looks more like how it did before…" Ruby said with a smile.
He then looks over to Ellie's empty chair. On the arm is the grape soda cap pin. Carl picks it up, and while still looking at Ellie's chair, he crosses his heart.
He had a great adventure with Ellie. The greatest, in fact. But now, it's time for a new one.
The screen turned to black.
Sun wiped away a tear on his left eye as he stood up and clapped. "Yeah! That was great! I haven't felt this emotional in a bit!"
"Yeah! That was awesome!" Neptune added on.
"What could've been…" Taiyang uttered sadly.
Qrow patted his back. "Hey, who knows? Maybe you'll have a chance for another adventure!"
"With Raven sure, but…"
"Oh, right…"
"If I die before you…promise me you'll continue to live life to the fullest," Kali said to Ghira. "Promise me!"
Ghira smiled. "Only if you do the same. Have new adventures as well!"
And so, as the rest of the audience began to discuss the story of Carl and Ellie, Ren and Nora decided to go out.
They swiftly got out of the way of the Bull Faunus who was returning to the cinema, and made their way to one of the rooms that appeared during the break.
The bull faunus was initially surprised to see the two hunters go past him, but then simply shrugged and opened the door.
As he entered the theater, he saw the theater already talking about what they watched. He heard mentions of a Carl and an Ellie. I wonder what the film was about…he thought.
Eventually, his eye found Blake.
He let out a deep breath and went to walk to her team. However, one of the team members caught his eye. The blonde one. He began to feel a bit of trepidation, as each of the other members began to look at him warily, especially Blake and the Schnee. The blonde one and the small one had their eyes narrowed on him however.
Adam stood still for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, he let out a sigh and walked back to his seat instead. If only I can find a way to talk to her alone...though I doubt it'll be easy.
"So…whaddya want to talk about?" Nora asked awkwardly. It was weird to be back in a copy of her dorm room. She didn't have a chance to look as during the first break, she and Ren went to one of the gyms.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The silence continued for a bit, as Ren was clearly pondering what to say.
Nora felt her stomach churn and roll as she anxiously waited for what her partner was gonna say. She looked up at him and saw his eyes were looking and rimmed with red. From the crying…she thought. She looked downwards again.
After what seemed like hours, Ren let out a sigh. "You know, I never been really good at talking, so I'm just gonna say it."
Nora's head perked up.
"After seeing that…I've realized that I've been taking you for granted, and for that, I'm sorry…." he stated.
"...What?" Nora responded, quietly, more out of shock than out of her own volition.
"I know this seems sudden, but seeing how Carl was so appreciative of all of Ellie's quirks made me think of all the times I've been annoyed lately by you, and it's not right." Ren looked down. "I've been a bad partner to you."
Nora stayed quiet for a bit, before answering back. "It's okay."
Ren smiled at that. "So…you wanna head back?"
Nora sighed. "Not yet. I also want to say something."
"Oh?"
"I…" Nora stopped, before steeling herself and just saying it. Her cheeks went red and she closed her eys. Embarrassment, here I come…
"I love you, Lie Ren!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Nora pushed through the burning sensation on her face and opened her eyes to see what Ren was thinking.
His eyes were widened, like he didn't expect that. "You…love me?"
"I always have…" she admitted, as her face somehow went redder.
"Oh. I see."
Nora couldn't take it anymore. "I-...we should just head ba-"
"I love you too."
"...Really?"
"Yes. Since always as well."
Nora shook her head. "No, you don't mean that…you're just repeating-"
"I do!" He exclaimed. "How could I not?"
"How could- all I do is smash things with a hammer and talk about pancakes!"
"And I love that! All of that! Everybody about you, it's amazing!"
Nora looked away and sighed in frustration.
"You put everything you have in what you do. You support everyone around you. You dive headfirst into anything in our path. And you're so brave!" He continued.
Nora's eyes widened at that last remark. She remembered Kuroyuri.
We have to be brave!
"I…"
"I just love that about-" Ren was interrupted by a pair of lips crashing into his. After a second of shock, he melted into it.
However, just as quickly as it came, the kiss was finished.
Ren saw Nora chuckle before she spoke up. "All this time…I thought you were the brave one, always leading us and stuff. You really think I'm brave?"
"Of course."
"But that's only because of you. What you told me." She mentioned, as she brought out a wooden hammer.
Ren gasped. "I forgot about that…" [4]
"That's why I have Magnhild. You've always inspired me, Ren. To be strong…to be brave as well."
"Well, it's the same for me."
Nora chuckled a second time. "All this time and I never knew…I've been so stupid."
Ren went to Nora and leaned on her. "Well, you haven't been the only one, remember?"
"True. Dummy."
They stayed there for a moment, holding hands.
"So…we good?"
"Yeah, Nora. We good." He went to give his partner a peck on the cheek. Then he whispered to her ear. "Together-together too!"
Nora gave a loud laugh at that. "Alright then mister! Come on, let's go back."
Ren gave a smile at that. "Lead the way!"
As they made it back, the couple opened the door and saw that most of the other people were getting ready to watch the next video. They went back to their seats, holding hands.
Jaune and Pyrrha noticed it immediately. Nora and Ren could tell, with the blonde's wide grin and the redhead's bright smile.
"Together-together now, huh?"
"Yep! It's official, Fearless Leader!"
As he saw that Ren and Nora have now returned, the host began to speak, making the audience stop their conversations.
"Alright! It's nice to finally see everybody back here! Now if you're all done, it's time for the next viewing!" Chrono announced.
And that's it for Up! I'll be honest, when I was watching the scenes necessary for this chapter - I had to replay it more times than needed since I'd actually begin to tear up as well. It's just so emotional! Also, I actually think that the second scene - the one where Carl sees that Ellie put in new photos is actually a lot more emotional than the original montage - I found myself crying harder there - even when I originally watched it. It's just so beautiful.
And also, Ren and Nora are in a relationship now! I decided to bring up something I saw when I wrote both of them during my chapters - I noticed that Ren would seem to sigh or be annoyed at Nora's antics, and I realized that Nora could end up being hurt by that - so I contrasted that with Carl being accepting of Ellie's antics as a kid. Of course, Ren is more accepting in the show than in my story - it's just something that I wrote unknowingly and so I wanted to remedy that, and use it as a way for them to develop in this story. I hope it was okay for you guys! It might've been a bit janky, mostly since I'm not fully familiar with Ren and Nora compared to the others - and because it's been a while since I saw their personalities in episodes.
I'm also shocked by how long this chapter ended up becoming. Just over 10k words is a bit crazy, since I thought this would only end up being about 6K words!
[1] - I know I said in the last chapter that Adam would be back for this chapter, but that was before I chose UP lol.
[2] - I hope people know where that epiphany joke is from!
[3] - It's a quote from one of Robin Hobb's books.
[4] - I know Ren remembered it in a flashback about Kuroyuri, but I reckoned that he would've not really thought about it until he was directly reminded by being in the settlement during Volume 4.
BTW: No reviews answered for this chapter, since this one was released with the next one - so all the reviews I've answered since the last chapter are there.
See you guys!
NEXT CHAPTER: We Loved, Once and True (RDR2)