556Very late upload due to trouble with the site but still on a Saturday in my timezone!
"Pass the salt." "Ooh, give me an extra bit of pudding!" "Hey! Don't think coming back from the dead gives you a free pass to stealing my food!"
Crue jerked his hand back, narrowly avoiding the for Nora stabbed down into the table. The Valkyrie made a deliberate showing of tearing into the sausage while making deliberate eye contact with Crue.
The Faunus couldn't help but laugh at the action. "Damn, no zombie privileges for me." He turned back to his own food, making sure no one else stole any of his. He found it amazing that he had unintentionally made a Full Irish breakfast with the food available.
"Hey, Crue." Ruby piped up, catching his attention over the clinking of cutlery. "Is the food in Remnant any different to the food from Earth?" There was a pause in the noise as everyone awaited the answer.
Crue had a soft frown as he stared down at his plate, thinking about the question. "Your bananas are weirdly spicy," He said after a moment's thought.
"What? No they're not." A few people immediately disagreed with him.
"Well they're spicier than mine, I don't know what to tell ya." He shrugged, figuring there might have been some differences in how the plants were grown.
Everyone looked to one another in confusion. "I wonder if there's some stuff here you can't eat, or that you can but we can't." Jaune wondered aloud.
"I'd like to say we can test it but, that might actually kill quicker than the fuckin' Author did." Crue chuckled, before seeing everyone's concerned expressions.
"What?" He asked, brow furrowed in confusion.
"Could you perhaps, not, joke about dying? Please?" Pyrrha requested politely. Crue blinked in surprise, before looking around at everyone. They shared a similar, uncomfortable expression at his words.
Crue let out a soft sigh and nodded. "Right. I'll stop, it's just, joking is how I deal with it. So, I might make a few more accidentally. If I do just give me a pinch or something and I'll-eow! Neo!" Crue jumped in his seat, his knees hitting the table as he rubbed his rear.
Several people laughed as Neo bat her eyes innocently. Crue gave a roll of his own eyes as he sat back down, making a pinching motion threateningly towards her. A doorbell rang out, distracting everyone before the front door could be heard opening and a loud amount of conversation.
Coming around the corner was a tired looking Oscar, followed by a rowdy group of four boys. As soon as Crue laid eyes on Sun, he immediately pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Sun!" He exclaimed, causing the boy to stiffen as the rest of his Team stepped out of the crossfire. "Bananas! Spicy, yes or no?"
Sun blinked in confusion, looking at the rest of the table for an explanation. When none was given, he shrugged his shoulders and rolled with it, his tail flicking back and forth. "As the resident expert in bananas, they aren't spicy."
"Well, fuck. I might be slightly allergic to your guys' bananas." Crue was glad he hadn't found out he was allergic to anything else the hard way. "I never said anything cause, I thought it was normal and I would've been found out."
"I think if we found out you're from another world, because of bananas, you'd deserve it." Sage smiled as he sat down at the table, everyone shuffling round to make room for the five newcomers. Crue watched Oscar sit down in between Jaune and Yang, bags under his eyes as he reached for a kettle in the middle of the table.
"Wait, so if you're allergic to Remnant bananas because you're not from Remnant," Neptune began. "Does that mean your body is different to ours in other ways?"
"I... guess?" Crue replied. "I mean, short of opening me up and comparing me to someone else, I don't think there's a way to check."
"Actually, are you sure your body is your body?" Blake asked, causing everyone to look at her in confusion. "You said in your world you were a Human, but now you're a Faunus."
"Ah here, don't give me a fuckin' existential question like that first thing in the morning." Crue groaned, bringing a hand up to press against the side of his head.
Blake began to apologise, but Crue waved her off. "You're grand, not like I didn't wonder that myself." He sighed, leaning back as he stared at the ceiling. "I'm like, eighty per cent sure my body is mine. It was just changed, not recreated."
"How can you be sure?" Blake pressed.
"That would be thanks to this." He untucked his shirt on the right side, and pointed towards a very faded looking scar.
"You, hurt yourself?" Pyrrha asked unsurely.
"What? No, it's a surgery scar from when I got my appendix out." Crue explained. "It sucked cause I was like, six, and I had to miss Halloween because of it."
"I understood nothing of what you just said." Scarlet stated, everyone murmuring in agreement. Crue's jaw dropped in shock. He knew they didn't have Halloween, but to hear they didn't have a whole organ that he did.
"You don't have fucking appendixes-dices WHATEVER THE FUCKIN' PLURAL IS!" Crue shouted in disbelief, his eyes wide as he looked around the table.
"An appendix is something to do with a book, right?" Jaune asked, looking between Ren and Blake for confirmation. They nodded as Crue did the same.
"I mean, yeah, it's also that, but it can be two things!" He felt a migraine coming on. "I mean, I guess it makes sense you might not have them. No one's really sure what it's good for anyway." Crue sighed.
"You have an organ and you don't even know what it does?" Weiss's eyes were wide, pressing a finger against where Crue's scar had been on her own body.
"I had one. I had to get it removed cause it burst. And think it was meant to help filter poisons or something, help with your gut health? I don't know, I didn't take biology." He shrugged, shoving his shirt back into his jeans.
While everyone was busy checking their own stomachs, Crue turned his attention to Oscar, wanting to see if Ozpin was at the wheel. He wasn't, judging from the blissful expression on the boy's face. Crue smirked, knowing the pot was filled with tea rather than coffee.
"Ok, so we figured out what an appendix is, what's the other thing you said? Hello-ween?" Yang asked.
"Halloween." Crue clarified. "It's a holiday. You go out during the evening in fancy dress and go door to door asking for sweets."
"That sounds amazing!" Nora and Ruby said as one, causing the group to chuckle. "When is it?!"
"October Thirty First." Crue answered, as Ruby gasped.
"My birthday is a holiday in another world?!" Her silver eyes sparkled. "And such a cool one! What other holidays did you have?"
"Well, there were different ones all around the world. But in Ireland there was, Halloween," He held up a thumb. "Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Lent- Lent wasn't really a holiday now that I think about it."
"And one that I fear to mention in presence of Nora, Pancake Tuesday." As soon as he said it, Nora's hands had grabbed him by his shirt and brought his face incredibly close to her own.
"YOU HAD A HOLIDAY JUST FOR CELEBRATING PANCAKES?!" She yelled, shaking the Faunus as his blue and gold eyes crossed.
"Ki-i-i-n-n-da." Crue managed to get out as Nora finally stopped shaking. "It wasn't a worldwide thing, but it was a common thing in quite a few countries."
"I was born in the wrong world!" Nora threw her hands up in despair, crumpling to a heap on the table as loud, hopefully fake, sobs shook her body.
Ren reached out without taking his eyes off his food to rub a hand along her back. "Why is it specifically a Tuesday?" Scarlet asked.
"Cause it comes before Ash Wednesday." Crue answered with a smirk. "But actually it's cause it's always 47 days before Easter Sunday, which is a whole 'nother thing entirely."
"How do you have so many holidays?" Sun asked, picking at a sausage.
"Because we have so many different countries, religions, cultures." Crue listed off. "The world is a melting pot. Or, maybe pressure cooker is a better word for it."
Those at the table recalled how Crue said there were around 200 different countries on Earth, and could scarcely imagine how something like that would translate to Remnant.
"Earth is weird," Ruby said succinctly, and everyone agreed with her. Crue included.
"Yeah, it is. But it's ho-well I guess it isn't home now." He stopped himself, frowning slightly as he drummed a tattoo onto his thigh. "Yeah, it's weird as fuck. And that's just what it was like when I was there. It was a lot crazier in the past."
Crue rubbed his hands together, ready to explain dinosaurs in detail to his captive audience, before Oscar spoke up. "Actually, speaking of the past…" He piped up, causing everyone to turn to the boy.
"Ozpin's ready to talk to you." He informed him, before frowning as he rolled his eyes. "But, he wants you to be drinking something so he can watch you spit it out in shock- that's absolutely why you want him to drink something!"
Oscar scowled skyward, as Crue rolled his eyes. "Sure. Can someone pass the pot?" He requested. A short moment later Crue had a mug of tea before him. He took a long sip and sighed in satisfaction, before looking to Oscar.
"Right, what is it about my name that has Ozpin of all people freaking out?" He asked, bringing the mug to his lips. He clocked Ozpin switching in as Oscar's body sat up straighter in his seat, and a smile that definitely didn't belong to the boy appear on his face.
"The reason I let you into Beacon was because I fought with a Darragh Faolán during the Great War."
Crue felt the liquid in his mouth begin to exit rapidly, but he slammed his lips closed, his face turning red as he tried not to waste any tea. Ozpin watched him with a satisfied smirk, and Crue just knew it was to get back at him for making him spit out his coffee the day before.
A vein popped in Crue's neck as he slammed a fist down on the table several times and swallowed, a gasping breath following. He inhaled desperately, before levelling Ozpin with a glare that was only accentuated by his golden eye.
"Explain," He said through a raspy cough.
"Did you really think I would let a stranger who appeared out of nowhere into my school for no reason?" Ozpin asked, sipping from his mug, before his face contorted in disgust having forgot it was tea and not coffee.
"Yes." "Absolutely." "Without question." Several people answered, Crue included.
Ozpin rolled his eyes. "As I explained yesterday, I reincarnate and have lived for many hundreds of years. I lived and fought through the great war, alongside a man from Hibernia known as Darragh Faolán." He explained, setting down the mug and pushing it away as though it was poison.
Crue's eyes were wide as he stared at Ozpin, everyone else glancing between the two. "So, Crue can time travel?" Sun stated unsuredly.
"Do I look like a fuckin' DeLorean to you?!" Crue snapped, before turning his attention back to Ozpin. "This is my first time on Remnant, I've never fought in a damn war and I sure as Hell can't time travel."
"What are the chances this is just someone with the same name?" Blake tried. "This was during the Great War, so the Era of Colour and the way we named people hadn't happened yet."
"Yeah. I mean there's a Ruby Rose on Earth, maybe there's just another guy with my name here?" Crue hoped, before noticing Ruby's eyes suddenly shine with interest. "She's an actress. Starred in a prison drama, I think. Looked absolutely nothing like you."
"Wow…" Ruby let out a gasp of wonder.
"That is entirely possible." Ozpin accepted Blake and Crue's questions. "But, the Darragh Faolán I fought with was also a Wolf Faunus, wore an eyepatch and cursed like a sailor. Sound familiar?"
Everyone stared at Crue, who looked just as shocked as everyone else. "My name just incurs that across dimensions?" He suggested weakly.
"And his Semblance let him turn into a monstrous wolf." Ozpin finished, looking as though he would like nothing more than to end his words with a long sip of coffee for dramatic effect.
Crue's head slammed down into the table, followed by a muffled scream as he grabbed his head with both hands. "How the fuck do I end up in the Great War?!" His head shot right back up as he glared at Ozpin.
The man in a child's body had the audacity to shrug. "I do not know. You certainly didn't tell me you were from the future, or the present, rather."
"Well of course not. If that is me I wouldn't have said anything, there are rules to this shit." Crue sat up straight with a scowl, feeling a headache coming on.
"You said you can't time travel yet you know the rules to it?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You guys have the concept of time travel," Crue said with a nod to Sun. "Don't you have movies and stuff about it? And how if you do something small in the past like stepping on a butterfly you'll have disastrous consequences."
"The Butterfly Effect." Jaune realised, eyes widening. "You told us about that after we were attacked by Raven." A few people winced at the sound of a fork being bent. "Sorry…" He apologised to Yang, her robotic hand dropping the warped cutlery on the table with a sigh.
"It's fine," She said, her eyes remaining violet. "But there are some movies about time travel. Going back in time is something everyone's thought of at some point." Yang's eyes met Crue's as her metallic fingers beat a rhythm on the table.
Crue nodded in thanks, making a mental note to give her a hug after breakfast. "Yeah, honestly it was a huge worry for me when I first got here. I was glad I showed up after the Teams had been made, I don't know what I would've done if I had fucked that up."
His words caused a few glances amongst themselves, wondering how different the Teams might have ended up if Crue had been a part of them. "But, I can't think of a way that I could go further back in time."
"Are there any time travelling Semblances?" Neptune wondered aloud. Several people immediately responded with a negative.
"No, in all the time I've been alive there has been nothing of the sort." Ozpin answered. "The closest I've ever witnessed was someone who believed he could freeze time, himself included. But it turned out his Semblance put his brain into overdrive, making his thoughts literally go a mile a minute. Very annoying man to play chess with."
"Semblance's are theorised to have an upper limit of ability. Travelling through time is beyond what the Soul can manage," Blake said.
"It'd be way too overpowered." Crue gave his own reasons. "The only time travel-adjacent Semblance I can think of is Weiss'." He looked to the Heiress. "You know your one that lets you speed someone up?"
"I know the glyph I can make, yes." Weiss nodded with an amused smile. "And it is only ever speeding someone up. Winter once told me about a Schnee who tried to use it to turn back time, and it did not go well."
"Ok, so we're all in agreement there's no way to travel back in time with a Semblance, so how the fuck does Crue end up in the Great War?" Instead of answering Ruby's question, everyone save Jaune, Ren and Nora, stared at the young reaper in shock.
"What?" She asked, blinking innocently.
"Oh yeah you guys haven't seen sweary Ruby." Nora smirked, having long gotten used to the foul language coming from the not-so-foul girl. Silver eyes suddenly shrunk as Ruby realised what she had said, attempting to slide beneath the table and hide from the stairs.
She was stopped by Yang grabbing her by the hood of her cloak and dragging her back to face the music. "Ignoring the fact you've had way too much of an influence on her vocabulary…" She side-eyed Crue, who gave an awkward chuckle.
"She does have a point, if Semblances can't send you back, there's only one other option…" Her face crinkled as several people groaned. "Magic."
"I only learned about Magic yesterday and I'm already sick of it." Sun complained, several people agreeing with the statement.
"Can one of the Relics send people back in ti-me?" Crue's voice suddenly went up a pitch as his eyes widened. A vein began to bulge in his neck as his face slowly turned red, everyone looking at the Faunus in caution.
"Neo," He said shortly, causing the girl to look up in confusion. "Can you…" He made a gesture of rotating his hands around his head.
Pink and brown eyes widened as she mimicked the gesture in shock. "No, I don't want you to break my neck- well…" He paused, looking as though he was genuinely considering it. He shook his head, face still bright red.
"Bubble." He requested simply. Neo made an 'o' with her mouth, before clicking her fingers and using her Semblance to form a fishbowl like bubble around Crue's head.
Crue mouthed the word 'thanks' before his words became immediately less decipherable and a string of curses that would leave sailors blushing erupted from his mouth. The bubble around his head slowly began to fog up, and Neo began to lean away from him, one eye squinting as she pressed against Blake.
She caught Ruby's eyes and made several gestures in succession. "She can hear what he's saying cause it's her Semblance and-hey! What'd you call me?!" Ruby suddenly exclaimed, glaring at Neo.
Neo paused, staring down at her hands in confusion. She then mouthed her own curse word and signed once more. "Oh, you just repeated what he said by accident." She squinted at Neo. "Well, I sure hope you wouldn't call me a glowing cu-"
"Ruby if you finish that word I'm telling Dad."
"No please!"
Eventually, Crue waved a hand and gave a thumbs up. Neo dispelled the bubble, Crue's face appearing with a 'pop' and a loud gasp. "Thank you. I would've used the helmet normally but that's currently in an abyss."
"Sorry." "It's fine." Crue waved off Yang's apology with a sigh. "I just, I had to scream. This is some Bootstrap bullshit. I just got back to you all, and now I'm going to end up back in the Great War?"
He watched as Neo laid a hand on his, and desperately wished she had sat on the other side of him. "So, you're just accepting it?" Blake asked, her face contorted in a grimace.
"I have to. Time travel is something you can't mess with." Crue bored a hole into the table with his gaze, chewing the inside of his cheek.
"That hasn't stopped you before." He looked up to see Pyrrha staring at him, her emerald eyes filled with determination. "You went against what was supposed to happen when you saved me. Who's to say you can't do it again?"
"This isn't Destiny. This is time. It's, it's different." Crue attempted to explain.
"It seems like you're the only one who thinks he has to go through with it," Weiss said with a gentle expression.
"But The Author said-" "The Author also said you died." Ren reminded him. "And yet, here you are."
"Don't give up on yourself just yet, Crue. We haven't." Nora place a hand on his shoulder and dragged him towards her for a side hug.
The Faunus let himself be squished by Nora as he sighed and his eyes found the table. "You guys are way too good at giving motivational speeches, you know that?"
"Practice." A few said as one amongst laughter.
Crue shook his head and managed to smile, before looking at Ozpin. "Don't tell me anything else about this." He instructed. "I don't want to know anything, cause that might change how I act if I do end up back there. I don't even want to know if I live or die."
"Well, that works because I can't remember," Ozpin said with a smile, though the words caused Crue to grimace as his shoulders slumped. "Apologies, I realise how that sounds. But my memory is not perfect, and while I can remember names and faces, the fates of those I considered my friends are something I try to forget. You lose a lot of friends being an immortal."
He paused, the atmosphere of the room taking a dip as Ozpin drank from his mug. "Blech!" He suddenly spat it out, glaring down at the liquid. "I forgot it was tea."
Someone snorted, and it was enough to break the dam and cause everyone to laugh. Crue brought up his hand to palm his socket and wipe away any tears that had spilled from laughter or otherwise.
"So, did you let Crue into Beacon because you knew it was the same Crue you fought with during the war?" Sage asked.
"Gods no." Ozpin shook his head, pushing his mug to the other side of the table. "I thought he was descended from him, they looked similar enough. Though, I think his hair was shorter."
"Ok cool, so I just never cut my hair again and I won't go back in time. Problem solved." Crue dusted his hands together and grew a smile.
"Is that how time travel works?" Jaune asked, his hand idly going to his own hair.
"It is if I want to keep my sanity." Crue answered. "This is all new to me too, you know. Or did you think time travel was a normal thing on Earth?"
"Based on how much you know about it…" Sage began, bringing a hand to cup his chin as Crue levelled him with an unamused stare.
"If I were able to travel though time do you think I'd go back to when people were at war killing each other? Not a chance in Hell. I'd go back to the Jurassic and look at dinosaurs." He folded his arms across his chest with a nod.
"What are dinosaurs again?" Ruby asked. Crue gained a wide, feral smile as he took in a breath.
"They're-" "CAW CAW~" Everyone jumped, looking around for where the noise came from.
"Ugh. Yeah. Yeah. We'll be there soon. Bye." A groan sounded out from the doorway to the living room, and a few people had to crane their neck to see Qrow enter with a stumble. "Guess what kiddos."
He managed a smirk despite the bags under his eyes. "You get to give witness statements!"
…
Back in Haven, outside in the quad, Crue stood well away from the police officers as they talked to Qrow, RWY and JNPR. As they had been a part of the attack from the start, they gave their statements first.
The rest of them, being Crue, Neo, Blake, Oscar and SSSN, were left waiting for their turn and chatting amongst themselves. "I thought you were there from the beginning." Crue asked, looking down at the young farm boy.
"Well, I was, but Qrow and Ozpin both agree someone of my age, uh, shouldn't have been there in the first place. So, if anyone asks I'm just a poor kid who got roped into this." Oscar paused, an amused expression on his face. "So not too far from the truth really."
Crue nodded, still unsure as to what to make of the kid. "How old are you anyway? Cause you look about Ruby's age."
"I'm fourteen."
Crue blinked once, staring down at the boy, the term much too suitable now, and made a mental note in his head. "Must protecc." He gave Oscar a light pat on the shoulder, pushing him a little closer to himself.
"You really got the short end of the stick, huh," He said with a smirk, as Oscar nodded with a smile and a sigh. "I mean, getting stuck with Ozpin is one thing, but having to drink coffee?"
"I know right!" Oscar suddenly exclaimed, catching the rest of the groups attention. "It's always coffee, coffee, coffee! This entire trip I haven't gotten to drink any tea until this morning! And tea is better than coffee any-ow!"
Crue let out a full body laugh as he bent over, clutching his sides. "Oh that's amazing. Of all the heads to wind up in, you get the one who knows tea is better."
"Crue, I thought I had enough of your sullying of coffee while I was still Headmaster." Ozpin wore an unamused frown as he stared at Crue. The Faunus wiped a tear from his eye as he stood up straight, looking down at the former headmaster.
That fact alone only made his smile grow. "Yeah, bet you wish I stayed dead, huh."
"Please, I would never think something like that out loud." Ozpin responded, putting both hands on his cane and meeting his eyes with a small smirk.
Crue rolled his own eye, having put the eyepatch back on to journey outdoors. Those he cared about knew about his Golden Eye, but he wasn't exactly rushing to share it with the world. He doubted Golden Eyes were well known for being dangerous, as Silver Eyes weren't known for being saviours.
But any eye with black sclera would probably make someone think twice. Before he could make another joke at Ozpin and coffee's expense, he felt a pair of hands grab his arm and drag him away with a yelp.
He craned his neck to see Neo and Blake had grabbed him, though Blake had grabbed his left arm so he couldn't feel it. "Uh, should I be worried?" He asked, having to focus on not tripping up while his legs pedalled backward.
"I want you to-" Neo clicked her fingers several times to get Blake's attention, amber eyes rolling as she amended her statement. "We want you to meet someone." Before Crue could ask who, they came to a stop and righted Crue before spinning him around.
Before Crue was four people, one he recognised and three he had never seen before. That being said, he could take a wild guess who the man and woman with black hair and amber eyes were. "Crue, these are my parents. Kali and Ghira."
Crue nodded numbly, thinking how he should try and make a good impression but also realising he had never had to worry about something like that before. "Hello. I'm Crue. Nice to meet you." He held out a hand towards the massive mountain of a man, his movements oddly stiff.
Ghira shook it with a gruff nod, clearly experiencing the same 'need to be polite for introductions' that Crue was. A firm handshake later, Crue turned the hand towards Kali, only for the woman to step forward and bring him into the warmest hug he had ever experienced.
"Oh. So that's what it feels like." His one eye was wide as his arm, left extended under Kali's, went slack and fell to his side. It took a monumental force of will to not let any tears spill from his eye. The hug ended much too quickly for Crue's liking and he immediately missed the warmth as Kali pulled back with a kind smile.
"It's very nice to meet you, Crue." She stepped back, holding her hands before a long black dress. "And very good to see that you're alive and well."
"Like-ehem-Likewise." Crue coughed away what was stuck in his throat, managing to catch Neo's eye. She smiled, knowing exactly what it was Crue was going through and having experienced the same.
"It's a curious thing to see a man back from the dead." Ghira rumbled, raising an eyebrow at Crue. "Though, I suppose that's not the first time it's happened." His amber eyes looked to the side, and Crue followed his gaze, finding Sienna with a hand on her hip and an unamused expression.
"I was only dead for two weeks, tops. He's been dead for months," She said with a nod towards Crue.
"Aw you stole my back from the dead thunder." Crue complained.
"Weeks versus months." Sienna repeated, before turning to address Kali and Ghira. "We already met. He and the Humans helped me." She looked over Crue's shoulder, seeing SSSN talking amongst themselves.
"I'm guessing the Faunus must be Sun." The name had floated around while they were on their journey to Haven.
"Huh? Oh, yeah Sun's cool. He's the Leader. I thought you would've met him, seeing as he was also on Menagerie." Crue wondered aloud.
"I was neck deep in paperwork and conspiracies to overthrow me. Didn't really have time for a meet and greet." She crossed her arms and nodded to the other man Crue didn't recognise. A dusty silver coat and large hat that looked better suited to a spaghetti western gave a nod to Crue.
"I'm guessing you're Vaus?" He asked.
"That'ssss correct." The man took off his hat, showing a set of unblinking slit eyes. "I've heard tell of your exploitssss, Crue Cullen."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that." Crue looked round, seeing several other Faunus standing at the edge of the quad, staring at him and whispering. "Why is everyone staring at me like… that?"
"You're quite popular among Faunus, you know." Kali answered with a smile, fishing into her pocket and taking out a tiny piece of plastic. It looked like an acrylic keycharm, except it had Crue on it, swinging his hurl.
When the piece rotated around, the other side held the same image only sans his glasses. Crue's eye twitched.
"I'm the Faunus Che Geuvera." He groaned into his hands. The adults all looked at one another strangely, wondering what he meant. Neo and Blake shared a glance behind him, assuming it was something from his world.
"Wait." He brought his head out of his hands and stared at Blake and Neo accusingly. Neither met his gaze and kept their eyes staring forward. He squinted at them, turning back around. "If someone asks me to sign something I'm going to scream."
"I would recommend keeping your distance then, a lot of Faunus brought pieces for 'good luck'." Ghira chuckled deeply. To Crue's horror, he could see a few of them wearing similar sunglasses that he wore during his time at Beacon.
"Still, it's nice to finally meet Blake's 'brother'." Kali giggled as Blake turned red, Crue rounding on her with a wide eye and wider smile. She didn't disagree, instead nodding while being unable to meet Crue's eye.
Crue didn't even try to hide how full his heart felt at that, reaching out and snagging Blake to bringing her into a hug before she could try to escape. Blake groaned in embarrassment but hugged back all the same.
The sound of Kali snapping a picture was enough to have Blake try and push him off. He let her go and she turned to face any direction that wasn't her parents. Crue chuckled at her actions.
"Can you send me that." He whispered not so discreetly to Kali. She nodded almost immediately, looking much too pleased at the request. Blake turned back round to glare at him, but there wasn't any heat to it.
"Seeing as she called you her brother-" "Daaad!" "-am I to assume you see Blake as a sister?" Ghira asked, standing a bit taller as he puffed out his chest.
"Uh, yeah." Crue nodded in confusion. "Hope that's not a problem."
"You're not going to ask permission?" Ghira's words had everyone staring at him oddly. Crue himself was no different, a frown forming on his face. He let out a breath through his nose as stood tall as he could.
"Not to be rude, but I will always, see Blake as my sister. Permission or not." His blue eye bored into Ghira's, and to his surprise, the larger man smiled.
He reached out and clapped Crue on the shoulder with a toothy smile. "Good man."
"Oh. Fatherly approval. Haven't had that in a decade." Crue blinked as Ghira's hand suddenly left his shoulder due to Kali reaching up and grabbing her husbands ear.
"You had me worried with all that 'permission' talk," Kali said, smiling sweetly despite the intense look on her face. Everyone else wisely took a step away as Ghira tried to justify his actions.
"So..." Crue turned his attention to Sienna. "What happened after I jumped out?"
"You mean after you jumped out of a speeding Bullhead without a parachute?" She clarified, as Crue ignored the stares that Neo and Blake were giving him.
"Yeah, that." He nodded, trying his best not to falter.
"The rest of the boys jumped out to protect their leader, and I tried to make Adam Atlas Cheese." She explained with a wave.
"Atlas Che- she means Swiss fucking god damn it." Crue sighed mentally, but smiled at the threat to Adam's life.
"Unfortunately, the Bullhead didn't have that much ammo. Vaus managed to get a few licks in, but had to pull out once Adam made it clear he was more interested in running away than fighting." Her ears flicked to the side, a scowl on her face that was shared by those around her.
"So what'll you do now? The White Fang don't seem to be eager to continue." Blake asked, trying not to sound too pleased about that last part.
She hadn't tried very hard judging from Sienna's stare. Regardless, she answered. "Return to Menagerie. Atone for my crimes," She said with a roll of her eyes. "As far as the world is concerned, Sienna Khan has been arrested and is facing trial in Menagerie."
"Bet Atlas will love that." Crue smirked.
"Atlas can choke on snow for all I care." She sighed. "Regardless, I will never be able to step foot outside Menagerie again. I'll be working alongside your father to bring the White Fang back to less violent means."
She gained a small smirk as her amber eyes focused on Crue's ears. "Maybe we should rename ourselves as 'The Wolf Pack' in your honour."
The sound of Crue nearly throwing up as he cringed was enough of an answer that it had them all laughing. They were interuppted by someone calling out to them. "Hey! It's your turn!" The three turned, seeing Qrow waving at them while standing next to several police officers.
The three grimaced, none of them particularily looking forward to talking to them. "Neo's mute, I'm dead, and Blake, you don't speak English." Crue joked, getting a snort from his girlfriend.
"What's 'English'?" Blake asked with a curious eyebrow.
"I don't think I've ever heard a more beautiful question." Crue wiped away a tear as he stared skyward. Blake and Neo glanced at each other, before shrugging. The three turned back to face the Faunus.
"Well, I doubt you'll be heading back to Menagerie anytime soon, so we'll probably have another chance to talk," Crue said, curious to hear more about what had happened in Menagerie.
"Oh absolutely." Kali agreed, stepping forward alongside Ghira, whose ear looked rather red. "We need to hear about everything Blake got up during Beacon." Her daughter suddenly stiffened and turned a shade paler.
Crue smirked at Blake's reaction. "Oh I think that can be arranged." He nodded happily despite Blake's panicked looks between him and her mother.
Before any stories could be spilled, Blake grabbed Crue and began to drag him away from her family. Crue let himself be dragged, waving at them all as Neo followed with an amused smile.
Crue eventually dug his heels in and righted himself, pulling against Blake and walking alongside her instead of being dragged. "They were nice," Crue said.
Blake threw a flat look his way. "I'm glad you think so. Just wait until they badger you about your love life and everything that happened in Beacon." She shuddered in horror as Crue rolled his eye.
"I mean, I think I'm set in that regard." He looked to Neo as he said it, the smaller girl throwing a wink his way. She then waved a hand back to where they had been, before bringing her hands back in front of herself and poking a finger rapidly through a hole made between her other finger and thumb.
"Oh, Sienna and Vaus?" He asked, Neo nodding in confirmation. "Oh yeah, totally. I mean, if they weren't already they sure as Hell are now." His words caused Blake to scoff.
"Just because two people stand next to each other doesn't mean they're... involved," She said.
"How many of your books involve a bodyguard and their mark suddenly becoming a lot closer?" Crue asked, knowing the answer already thanks to his time with Vermillion.
Blake paused in consideration, staring off into the distance. "Point taken."
Crue chuckled, but the smile fell as the Mistral police approached. There were two, both wearing a long brown coat with golden buttons and a brown and gold beret. Their eyes lingered on Blake and Crue's ears, before snapping down to meet their eyes.
"I understand you were the one who apprehended Lionheart," The male officer said, looking at Crue.
"Yeah, he was out of Aura so I just..." He slammed a fist into his palm. "And tied him up before dragging his ass back to the main hall. He was getting ready to leave so I was able to sneak up on him."
The officer nodded, writing something down in a notepad as his partner continued the questioning. "And yourselves?" She asked.
"We came in with the Faunus to stop the White Fang." Blake answered. "Shouldn't there be cameras around here that you can check?"
"There should be." The female officer nodded. "But they were all deactivated prior to the attack. By Lionheart himself, we'd assume."
Crue and Blake murmured in acceptance, realising it made sense. "Now, we've got a few more questions if you don't mind." They told them.
Even though Neo hadn't answered any questions yet, the three sighed silently as they forsaw a rather tedious process.
...
"Hey, uh, has anyone seen Crue?"
Jaune's question caught the groups attention. RWBY, the rest of JNPR, as well as Oscar and Neo, looked at him oddly. They were all still within Haven, having long finished their interviews and statements, but wanted to hang around and talk.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked, looking around the quad they were in. She couldn't spot the Faunus anywhere, and neither could anyone else now that Jaune mentioned it.
"Well, I was talking to him about maybe sparring when we have the chance." Jaune explained. "Cause I said he's been a better fighter than I was even when he just got here over a year ago."
"Now, Jaune that's not-" "Pyrrha, I apprecaite it but, c'mon. You know I wasn't the best." He smiled at his partner, who sighed and nodded.
"But then Neptune asked me something and I got distracted and when I turned back Crue was gone." Jaune held his hands out in confusion.
"That's... worrying," Weiss said slowly, before taking out her Scroll. She tapped on it a few times, before scowling. "His Scroll is turned off, he's not showing up on the allied Aura meters either."
Everyone checked their own Scrolls out of habit, realising what Weiss said was true. "Should we be worried?" Oscar asked, surprsing everyone. "I mean, he can't have gone far and he can take care of himself, right?"
"Of course he can." Ren stated. "But that doesn't stop our concern for our friend." There was a murmured agreement.
"Anyone have any ideas as to where he might be?" Nora asked. A few people looked to Neo expectantly, the girl bringing a fist to her mouth as she thought.
She punched her fist against her palm twice and blew a large amount of air upward. "Somewhere Crue could blow off some steam?" Blake interpreted.
"There is a training area that has some combat droids, he might have gone there."Pyrrha spoke up, knowing the grounds of Haven better than anyone else.
"I mean it's better than nothing," Weiss said, as Neo quickly stood before Pyrrha expectantly. The spartan blinked in surprise, before nodding and gesturing to follow as she made her way towards a building a ways off from the Grand Hall.
"Should we follow?" Jaune looked round. "I kinda want to make sure he's alright, if it was something I said." He had a worried frown on his face.
"Crowding him if he's upset is the worst thing to do." Yang stated. "If he's just blowing off steam, then we can talk to him after."
"Unless he's not."
The rest of the group looked to Ruby, who's brow was creased in concern. "Ruby? Do you know something?" Weiss asked.
"I, I might." Her silver eyes hardened. "Something that Crue told me way back in Beacon. But, I think Yang was right about crowding him." She looked up apologetically.
"You want to talk to him yourself?" Her sister knew immediately where Ruby was going with her words.
Ruby nodded with a determined look on her face. "Well, we won't stop you. But, someone might want to go grab Pyrrha and Neo." Blake suggested.
Instead of waiting to see who lost that draw, Ruby disappeared in a burst of flower petals, one of two destinations in her mind. Using her Semblance, Ruby quickly got out of sight of her friends, traversing up one of the tiered pagoda buildings.
It was the tallest building around save for the CCT Towers, but they were out in the open where anyone could easily be seen walking up them. Which would be an odd concept normally, but not in regards to Crue.
Ruby reappeared at the roof of the dorm building, finding a small patio garden atop it. It was a nice place, but Ruby didn't have time to appreciate it. Her eyes immediately locked onto the figure across from her, sitting on a railing and facing away from her.
She had to squint, as the figure was facing the currently setting Sun. Ruby held a hand above her eyes as she approached quietly. She watched as Crue's ears twitched, one of them flicking back upon hearing her footsteps.
He made no effort to move though, and Ruby said nothing as she joined him, sitting next to him on the railing and laying her head on his shoulder as they both watched the sunset. They remained quiet for some time, before eventually, Crue spoke.
"I've been here over a year."
The simple statement had Crue's fists clenching, Ruby's eyes widening as she lifted her head off his shoulder to look at him properly.
"I never realised how fast time was moving. As soon as I got here I just, I always had something to focus on. Getting through the forest. Through Beacon, stopping Cinder. And then I failed, and I had to focus on getting back to all of you."
"I never stopped to actually... process everything." His body began to shake, as Ruby reached out to grab his arm and hold on tight.
"Everyone I've ever known is gone. The world I knew is gone. My home is gone." His voice wavered, as he held back tears, looking out into the endless sky. "That's not even my Sun."
Ruby looked out towards setting Sun, and held Crue tighter. "I can't imagine what that feels like," She said. "You were taken here against your will, to somewhere you didn't even think was real. How did you stay so strong? How did you hide it all for so long?"
"I had to." Crue answered. "I had to be strong. It was just me, just me against everything Cinder, Salem and The Author threw at me. I was on my own."
"Well, you're not now." Ruby stated it so firmly Crue had to blink in surprise, turning to face her properly. "You might think you're alone Crue, but you're not. Not by a long shot. Everyone was worried about you when Jaune said he couldn't find out. We all care about you."
"And even if Remnant isn't your home, we'll do our best to make it feel like it is. I..." Ruby hesitated, biting her lip as she mustered up the courage she needed.
"I love you, Crue." Ruby had released his arm and was now wrapping her arms around him entirely, her silver eyes watering as she looked up at him. "You're my brother and I love you and I just, I know I can't replace your actual sisters but-"
Ruby's words were cut off by Crue hugging her back tightly. "You're not replacing anything, Ruby." He stated, and though Ruby couldn't see his face, she knew there were tears running down his cheeks.
"As soon as I got here I thought I was the unluckiest bastard across two worlds, but, the truth is that, I'm the opposite." He leaned back, allowing Ruby to see his face.
Despite the tears flowing, Crue had a smile on his face. "I've been so lucky, to have friends like you."
His words had Ruby crying as well as she rubbed at them and couldn't help but let a small giggle escape. "Why does this stuff always end with the both of us crying?"
"Cause we're both dealing with way too much and stupidly emotional?" Crue offered, his body going slack as he turned back to watch the Sun dip below the horizon.
"Yeah," Ruby sniffled, shimmying on the rail and letting her head rest on Crue's shoulder once more as he maneuvered his arm to keep a safe hand on her side.
"That sounds about right."
I don't think I've ever teared up writing before but for some reason Ruby and Crue's conversation really got to me. Despite the fact I was the one writing it. It was weird. I hope that last part didn't come out of nowhere, but you have to admit it was a long time coming. I'll have to write down an actual timeline to help explain things, but yeah Crue has been in Remnant for nearly a year and a half now, this realisation was inevitable.
And speaking of inevitable, Crue finally finds out what Ozpin's problem with his name is. Time travel with an immortal in your party is an interesting thing to dance around with, but I hope I managed it. Still need to leave some suspense ;)
Though speaking of suspense, I have an important update.
I'm going to be pausing the story for a bit, it's not stopping by any means, but because this is such a good place to end Crue's Volume 5, and the fact there's 40 Chapters now, I'm going to wait until I have several chapters written to upload the next chapter, and hopefully we'll be able to go back to the weekly update!
This is by no means the end, just a break between volumes.
Anyway, that's about everything, I hope you liked this chapter, let me know if you did, and as always...
Until Next Time
-Friday