Sorry it took so long but here's a new chapter
It was 2 days after the dock fight and it was now announced that it was now a semester break for a couple of weeks. Everyone was now in the cafeteria and eating breakfast as the groups of friends began asking what they were going to be doing for the semester break at 8:30 in the morning.
"So, any plans for the semester break?" Nora asked her friends while eating her pancakes.
"No, I'm going to stay here for winter break with you guys." Jaune replied since all of Team JNPR was staying together.
"I'm going to the book store tomorrow! Ninjas of Love: Part 2 comes out!" Blake said excitingly, but immediately started to cower under Ruby's glare since she found her part 1 book and then read it which resulted in Ruby hitting her with the said book and saying that it was "Filth FILTH". Blake ended up with a concussion. Talk about "throwing the big book at you" or what ever that quote was.
"I don't understand how you can read that kind of stuff." Weiss added, secretly loving the Ninjas of Love series as she loved the sex parts and the image of the naked male protagonist and his length whose size its like a katana and of course the sex scenes in the chapters.
"You weren't complaining when I caught you reading it." Blake replied, amused by the Ice Queen's prudish attitude and naughty side.
"I was doing research!" Weiss exclaimed, blushing so hard since she was caught red handed.
"Right... "Research..." Got it..." Rex added sarcastically.
"Well.... me Ruby had thought about going back to Patch to see our dad, me and ruby did think about something else for the trip." Yang stated making everyone stop as they turned their attention on her.
Yang then turned to Rex, who was sitting next to her. Rex saw she was gazing at him so he asked "what."
Yang took a deep breath as she then said "Rex, would you like to come home with us for the break."
Rex was surprised by this as was everyone else.
"Why are you asking me" asked Rex.
"Well we thought that since you've been through a lot, that we would take you on sort of a vacation. We are just concerned about you and we want you to be ok, so we thought bringing you to your home was a good thing to get your mind off of everything. Plus it'll get you away from all of the paparazzi here" she stated as everyone looked around and caught some of the students gazing at them, but probably more towards Rex. Since his battle somehow ended up on the news, he had been crowded by many people in awe at his fight at the docks. Normally, he would be happy at this but with this not being his world, he kept fearing that making himself known would cause more problems for him.
Rex internally groaned as he said "Yea. You have a point."
"Are you sure that's a good idea to bring Rex. What if your dad does not accept him. Didn't you say he can be protective?" Pyrrha asked.
"Relax, Pyrrha, he'll love Rex. Everyone loves him." Ruby replied confidently.
"She has a good point." Ren added since all the facts are true.
'Well not everyone' thought Rex as he knew some of the students here were scared of him and he knew some were calling him a freak. Word tends to spread quick around these parts.
"Right. Well when does the airship leave" Jaune asked, pointing towards the airships flying towards Beacon.
"It doesn't leave until 6, so we have time until we leave" said Yang.
"Yea, but we still haven't packed" said Ruby.
Yang then realized that they hadn't packed their stuff so she said "You're right, we still need to gather the rest of our stuff." Yang agreed, getting up and walking towards their dorm to pack their bags for their Semester Break along with Ruby and Rex to pack their bags.
Timeskip
Patch
Xiao Long-Rose Family Home
3 hours after 6 o'clock...
Through Ruby and Yang's offer, Rex decided to spend his break with them at their home in Patch, a large island to the west of Vale. Since it was almost the end of spring and working its way into summer, this would be a good chance to have some fun and try and get Rex's mind off his problems.
It took an hour for the airship to land in the city of Vale, another hour for our hero and his teammates to board a ship to Patch, and another hour on motorcycles: Bumblebee and the Rex Rider, to drive to a house on the island, making it ten o'clock as the three arrived at a house.
Their house was a two story log cabin with a metal roof in dull red as its interior features wooden walls and floorboards throughout the house itself.
"We're here!" Yang said in a song voice as she parked her ride as Rex put away his Rex Rider as Ruby got off.
The three of them began walked to the front door of the place that they will stay for two weeks during their break.
"Ahh. Home sweet home. Still hasn't changed a bit" Yang stated.
"Seems more like a summer home than a home" said Rex.
"Yea, we get that sometimes" said Ruby as she skipped to the door.
"Is your dad here" said Rex, while hiding his nervousness.
"He should be sleeping in since it is a Saturday." Ruby replied.
The three made it to the door and then began to walk inside the place.
As the three walked inside, Rex saw that they were standing in the living room. The center of the living room is dominated by a light green rug, with a dark green couch and matching chair and a wooden coffee table centered in the rug. Between the couch and chair is an end table with a lamp on it, and at the other end of the couch is Zwei's dog bed.
At the end of the rug is a wooden TV stand with a holographic projector lying on top of it and a potted plant at one end. On the wall behind the TV stand is a doorway leading to the kitchen, a large portrait depicting a night scene, and a shelving unit containing numerous books.
To the left of the couch is a large brick fireplace with small pictures on the mantle and a large landscape featured above the grate. To the right of the couch is a corner staircase leading upstairs, with the door to a cabinet and a pair of small landscape pictures underneath. A low bookshelf and another green rug lie along the wall at the end of staircase, topped by another lamp. A trio of landscapes are vertically stacked on the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
Behind the couch is the front door. A barrel is tucked in the corner of this wall, next to the fireplace. There are at least three windows in the room, all hung with matching green curtains.
"Dad, we're home!" Ruby shouted for their dad as she and Yang were happy to be home.
"In the kitchen." a male voice shouted, presumably their dad.
"Okay, we also brought someone you would love to meet." Yang added, as she turned to look at Rex as she saw that he was feeling nervous since he was about to meet her and Ruby's overprotective father who also loves to tell puns just like Yang.
Rex walked into the living room and saw a photo frame of 4 people in it, sitting on a table by the window. He looked at the picture in front of him. The picture he was looking at has four people in their twenties. People he didn't see before.
The person on the far left was almost a spitting image of their silver eye team leader. She had the same silver eyes, fair complexion, and gradating black-into-red hair. In the only image of her, her face is partially obscured and her hair is longer than Ruby's. She appeared to be the shortest. He noticed that the woman wore a white cloak and Rex assumed that this silver eye woman could be that girl's mother since he saw that Ruby wore a red cloak and had silver eyes too, along with the same hair style.
Next, was a man with blonde hair that has two stands sticking out from the top and blue eyes. He wore brown cargo pants with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a orange bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. For armor, he wears a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove, all on his right arm.
The next person was another woman. She was a fair-skinned young girl with red eyes and ravenous black hair with red highlights, her hair loosely down in a ponytail, tied by a red shawl, with the ends resembling curved black feathers. Her complexion is significantly lighter. She wears a shallow cut black and red dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. She wears black fingerless gloves. An object that looks to be made from feathers hangs from the right side of her skirt. She also wears detached solid black leggings. Under her leggings she wears black boots, which have red high heels and soles. In the photo she appears to be holding her personal weapon just like Qrow in the photo, which appears to be a sword sheathed in it's scabbard with a rotary chamber filled with different types of Dust Blades.
And then there was the last person in the photo. The figure had black, spiky hair, red eyes, and a slight stubble along his jawline. He wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, a red tattered cloak, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He also wears a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant. And he also had a giant sword, hanging over his shoulders.
He looked at the two and figured that one of them was their dad.
Ruby and Yang decided to enter the kitchen as Rex continued to look at the photo.
Their kitchen was a large room that also doubles as the dining area. It is accessible by an doorway leading from the living room. On the wall to the immediate right of the door is a shelving unit containing various books and another doorway, with a small landscape painting tucked away in the corner. A shovel can be seen leaning against this wall as well.
In front of the archway is a large yellow rug, a mid-sized wooden dining table decorated by a matching yellow table runner and green bowl containing various fruits, and a pair of chairs with green cushion. A landscape decorates the wall next to a large window behind the chairs on the wall opposite the archway, with cream curtains, next to a door leading outside. A coat rack is attached to the wall on the other side of the door with two coats hanging from the hooks.
The far end of the room contains numerous benches which wrap around the outer two walls. A large stove sits in the middle of the benches on side and a sink occupies the center of the other side. Both are directly beneath a window, though only the stove window is curtained. The wall behind the sink is decorated with a brick-style splash back and also supports five overhead cabinets. A drying rack sits on the right side of the sink. A large refrigerator is tucked in the corner against the wall opposite the sink.
In the kitchen, stood a man with blond hair that has two small strands sticking out from the top and blue eyes which look lilac in the old Team STRQ photo. His facial hair consists of a soul patch and a small stubble along his jawline. On his right arm is a tattoo similar to a heart. His hair was once a bright shade of gold, but in his older age it has notably grayed somewhat, still blond, but just far more wears brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. For armor, he wears a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove, all on his right arm.
This is Taiyang Xiao Long, the father of Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, the former member of Team STRQ along with Qrow and Raven Branwen, and now currently a professional Huntman and teacher of Signal Academy on Patch.
"Dad!" the two-half-sisters shouted as they run up to him and hug him.
"Hey girls! It's so nice to see you two again! Did you bring your team?" Taiyang greeted with a smile, giving his daughters a hug.
"Well just one of them. He's the one I kept telling you about." Ruby replied with a smile, making her father tense at that word.
"Excuse me for one moment." Taiyang stated going to his room.
Rex then lifted his head up as he thought "I have this sudden feeling of dread?" he thought nervously as he was sweating.
Yang came walking back into the room and saw Rex was looking at a photo. She walked over and saw which one he was looking at. She didn't show it but seeing that photo made her feel sad on the inside. Soon they heard stomping.
Taiyang did come back, but instead of welcoming him with open arms, he brought out a double barrel shotgun and a dog.
The dog is a male black-headed tricolor Pembroke Welsh Corgi with gray eyes. Like some Pembroke Welsh Corgis, he has a bobbed tail which is nowhere near the length that would indicate him as being a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. He wears a red collar with a gold pendant bearing a vertical black bone and two black dots on either side and possibly containing his owner's information.
This is Zwei, Ruby and Yang's adorable pet dog.
"Step away from my daughters and nothing will happen..." Taiyang stated, pointing the gun at the boy who held up his hands in fear with the dog growling at him.
"Um, ok. You said he was protective but you didn't say this protective" said Rex to Yang as he still held up his hands.
"Dad. What are you doing" said Yang.
"Girls. Get behind me" yelled their father.
"But why. We brought him here for our break" Said Ruby.
"I don't care. He's a danger to us all. So he's leaving" said Taiyang as he began walking forward, emphasizing him to walk back out the door.
"Dad. Why are you doing this. He's not a bad person. I told you about this in our messages" said ruby as she tried to corporate with her dad.
"Even if that may be true, he could still bring villains here for his powers. Maybe even grim. I'm sorry but even if he is your teammate, I won't risk your lives for letting him stay here" said Tai as he kept walking forward. But then in an instant, Yang ran forward as she could and nabbed the gun while Ruby stood in front of Rex with her arms stretched out. Yang then did the same with her.
"Dad. He's not a bad guy. He doesn't bring evil where ever he goes, he's a good guy. He's our teammates. Even if you don't trust him, trust us because we trust him" said Yang.
'Oh you had to go and say that' thought Rex in regret.
Tai just fumbled around with his words as he didn't know what to say to them but then he mustered up his courage and said "Fine, but if the White Fang show up, or something else, he's out of there" said Tai as he turned around and walked back to the kitchen.
The air seemed to calm down as the gang heard a bark and Ruby walked over to her favorite dog.
"Hey, Zwei! How you been, boy?" Ruby asked her pet, who responded with a lick to her face.
Zwei then trotted over to Yang as she petted him, but she scolded him for growing at Rex like that as he held his head down in shame with his ears folded down as he apologized to her with a snuggle and lick to her face.
As soon as he was done with that, he obeyed Yang's orders to apologize to Rex.
Following his mistress's orders, he first trotted up to Rex, as he picked Zwei up, as Zwei gave him a lick on the face in apology as the boy petted his head in reply, earning a happy bark from him.
Once Rex put Zwei down, he then looked back over to the girls and asked "What the heck was that" as he pointed with his hand to the kitchen.
"He's very protective. I guess he must've saw you on the news and got a bad feeling. Give it time and he'll warm up to you" said Yang.
"Well at least Zwei likes Rex, and I know dad will like him too." Ruby stated.
"Well its night time. We should probably get some sleep" said Yang as she stretched her arms out.
"Right. So do you have an extra room" asked Rex.
"Yea. Its upstairs. I'll show you" said Yang as she began walking up the stairs. Rex grabbed his bags and began walking up the stairs, following Yang. He then followed her down a hallway upstairs and then she opened a door, which he guessed was where he was staying at. He looked inside and saw that it was a typical room. One window, a bed, and a dresser in the corner. No pictures on the wall or anything fancy in it.
"Right. Here's the room. Bathroom is right down the hall if you need it. I'm going to bed" said Yang as she turned to leave until she stopped and turned back to Rex, with a sultry smile as she said "Unless you want to join me in my bed, handsome."
"Out" said Rex in an annoyed tone as he pointed out the door.
Yang just giggled as she said "Calm down. I'm just teasing you. Night Rex" as she walked to her room. Before Rex could close up for the night, he was greeted by a sudden blur, which turned out to be Ruby, smiling, while holding a plate of cookies.
"I forgot you haven't tried my mom's famous cookies. Here try one" said Ruby as she held the plate close to Rex's face.
"Ok.Ok. Just back up, Red. I'll try one" said Rex.
He reached down and grabbed a cookie then took a bite out of it. Soon his eyes widen in surprise. They were awesome.
Ruby looked at him with anticipation as she asked "Well how are they" to which Rex just replied by yanking the plate away from her in a quick fashion then closed the door behind him.
Ruby looked down at her hands where he plate was then grumbled as she then banged on the door saying "Hey. Don't hog them all. I made them for both of us."
The door then opened and Rex gave the plate back to Ruby and then closed the door.
"Hey" complained Ruby then Rex spoke from behind the door.
"You've had plenty of years to have your moms delicious cookies. I just tried them today. Don't complain about something I haven't had while you've had your whole life to eat them" muffled Rex from behind the door.
Ruby tried to think of a counterattack but she had nothing to say in her defense. She did have them her whole life. She guessed that he did deserve them. She began walking to her room until she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned to see her dad coming towards her as he asked "Whats going on. I heard banging and shouts coming from up here."
"Oh that. Me and Rex were just having an argument" but just as she said that, Tai ran over to her, while grabbing her shoulders and said "What did he do. Did he hit you. Did do anything to you at all..." but then Ruby just stepped away and said
"No. It was just a small argument about mom's cookies. What is with you dad. You just met him. Why are you acting like this to him" asked Ruby in a frustrated and confused way.
Tai sighed as he rubbed his hands across his face in struggle as he then said "Its just... its.....I... *Sigh* I saw the news cast about him" said Tai. Ruby gave slight gasp but before she could say anything, Tai said "And I saw him fighting the White Fang with those powers of his. And it worries me. I've never seen a kid with powers like that. Worst of all, I saw you there too. And you got hurt too" which made Ruby worry even more.
Tai then held onto Ruby's shoulders while looking at her in the eye and said "Sweetheart. I'm just scared if more criminals see what your friend can do, they'll come here for him and put you in danger, and other people might show up" as he mumbled the last few words then said in his normal voice "I'm just worried for you is all" as Tai hung his head down.
But then Ruby came up and hugged him as she said "It's sweet that you worry but you don't have to worry about criminals because if they do, Rex'll be there to knock out their lights."
This made Tai's eyes widen in surprise at how much his own daughter seemed to have faith in him. He gave a slight chuckle as he said "You have that much faith in the boy."
"Yes I do. Yang too" said Ruby as she nodded against his chest in agreement. Tai released his daughter as he said "Its not a guarantee but I'll try and accept him. But my whole rule about bad guys showing up still applies" said Tai in a silly strict sort of manner.
Ruby just laughed at her dads antics and told him good night as she went to her room. Tai turned around to head downstairs but not before staring at Rex's door and just looked at it in thought. 'You better protect them' thought Tai as he walked down stairs.
Rex's Room
They might not have know but Rex was listening to the whole thing. He could understand their dad's concern so he knew he had to show him that he can be trusted. He changed into his nighttime clothes and then went to bed. He then saw that the moon light shining through the window so Rex decided to close it up but before he could he saw the moon, and his stomach sank. That wasn't his moon. His moon wasn't broken. He then let out a sigh as he began thinking.
'Ok. Paradox told me that this Salem person is in charge of the grimm and that she has better regeneration powers than me. And if I'm going to defeat her, he said I would need the meta-nanites to stop her. But can I really bring them back. Even if I can, they're way too powerful. Can I honestly hurt or kill someone, even if they've plagued a world. I don't know. Ugh, this hurts my brain. What do I do' thought Rex as he soon gave up his thinking and shut the curtains to block out the light. He got into bed and tried to fall asleep.
Then a few minutes later, before he could fall asleep, Rex heard some tapping on the window. He grumbled as he sat up and could see a faint outline of what he guessed was a bird. He got up from the bed and moved the blinds.
Sure enough, there was a bird sitting on the window sill. He got a closer look and saw the bird better.
'A raven' he thought.
Well whatever the bird was it was making noise and Rex wasn't going to get any sleep this way.
Rex opened the window and then shooed the bird away with his hands while also saying "Shoo. Shoo. Am-scra ird-ba" then the raven flew into the room as Rex ducked down and said "Bird in the apartment. Bird in the apartment" as he got up and saw the bird was now on the bed as Rex shouted "NOOOOOO"
He then ran over to the bed and then shooed the bird until it flew out of the window. He then shut the window and blinds in a very angry way. He then climbed back into bed in a huffy manner. "Stupid bird. Well, at least it wasn't a bunny. Would've broke the whole house to get that thing away" mumbled Rex as he was about to go to sleep, the door swung open everyone in the house came running.
"What is it. What's wrong" said Yang, worryingly.
"Yea, we heard you screaming "Nooo'. Whats wrong" asked Ruby.
"Oh. Sorry to wake you. A raven was pecking at my window and was annoying me. I tried shooing it away but it flew in on the bed and I didn't want it to poop on it so I screamed no. But I managed to get it out of here" said Rex.
Hearing this, Tai raised an eyebrow and said "A Raven you said."
"Yea. Don't worry. I got it out of here" said Rex.
"Sorry to have woken you guys up. Nothing happened here" said Rex. Everyone then said their goodbyes and went back to bed.
'So first impressions. Not off to a good start for me. I come here to relax and I get a shotgun aimed at me. Well, I've had worse greetings' he thought. 'He may resent me but I hope that he does understand that I can keep them safe. Well, I guess that's a dad for you' as Rex then drifted off to sleep.
Outside
The raven flew away from the house and flew close down to the tree then swooped down behind the trunk of the tree...... and then from the other side popped out the same woman from Glenn.
"Hmm. He seems to be very young for a boy who took down a lot of airships. That power. I felt it. There's something wonderful about him. And those powers are just so fascinating."
She then pulled up her scroll and looked through some records she got about the teammates at Beacon. She scrolled through them until she found his face. She then looked through the profile, only to find nothing of use.
"No info about where he lives. His family. Not even birthday" as she then looked towards the house again in ponder as she then said "So a boy of mystery. Hmm. I do like a good hunt. Well, whoever you are, Rex Salazar, you will be mine. And you will help me stop the evils in this world. Starting with Ozpin" as the women unsheathed her sword then made a red Portal and stepped right through as it disappeared from sight.
The next morning
Rex and the girls were eating pancakes downstairs while Tai was doing the dishes. When they finished, Rex then asked "So what are we going to be doing today. Then Ruby gasped as she ran over to Rex, grabbed his arm and then dragged him to the couch.
"Ooo. I've got so many games I want to show.Oo like this one, and this one...." chanted Ruby as she began digging her way through her game pile. Rex just giggled at how silly she was acting as Ruby slapped a game controller in his lap as they sat on the floor, while Yang sat on the couch behind them, as they began playing games.
Living Room
3 hours later...
The gang had been playing games for 3 hours, constantly swapping back and froth between each other, and soon it was getting close to lunch time and three friends. They had meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Rex tried it and internally commented that he meatloaf was a little chewy and the potato ratio was off. They soon had finished their lunch and Yang had asked Rex about sparring with her. Rex agreed as he knew she would keep pestering him until he cracked. He made it out to some grassy fields away from the house as Yang began to stretch.
"You ready" asked Rex.
"You know it" said Yang, feeling pumped up. She finished her stretching as she looked at Rex with determination.
"Ready"
"Set
"GO" they said in unison.
Yang fired two shots from her gauntlets which made her flew towards Rex. He saw her coming and formed his Punk busters and jumped high into the air. Yang saw him flying so she fired more shots and flew after him. When she got close, she fired a couple of shots towards Rex but then he formed his block his party and blocked shots.
The two then began to fall down and Yang saw an opportunity. Her eyes then changed to Red and then threw a powerful punch at Rex, which made him fall down faster. He saw he was gettin close to the ground. He formed his busters again and landed on the ground with a thud. he then jumped back as he knew Yang was just above him.
Yang landed on the ground and saw Rex was at a distance again. Rex then formed his slam cannon and then took a bite out of the ground and then fired three shots at her. Yang charged toward the shots and then blasted her way through the shots and just as she destroyed the third shot, she then saw Rex had spun round and just as he did, he formed his left punk buster and gave her a good kick and caused her to go flying.
Yang flew and then fell to the ground. She grunted as she got up and saw Rex was charging at her. She got up and then fired two shots to try and fly past him but as she was air born, she felt something around her leg and caught a glimpse of Rex's whip around her leg. He then pulled the whip and yanked Yang back and then pulled it down which made her hit the ground with a grunt, as dust blew up from the impact.
Rex deactivated his whip but just as he did that, he heard Yang yell and then she came out of the dust with her hair a-flame and her eyes were red. Rex knew he was in trouble so he formed his Smack hands just as Yang began to unleash a fury barrage of punches. Rex didn't have time to stand his ground so her punches broke his hands and made him fall down.
As he looked up, he saw Yang had jumped up, with an arm cocked back, but before she could hit him, Rex lifted his right leg and formed his buster again and kicked her back. Yang had her aura up and hit the ground with a thud. She tired to stand up as Rex was now standing up like her.
They looked at each other in determination until they began to laugh at each other.
"So. Can you keep going" asked Rex with a cocky attitude behind those words.
"Heh. I'm just getting started" said Yang in a tone that said 'Im not done till I say I'm done'
Rex just chuckled as he looked at Yang then formed his wings and flew towards her at high speeds, which Yang blasted herself away to avoid him. He then fired the wires out of his wings and managed hit Yang. But she shook off and fired a shot at his wings, which broke the left wing and made Rex crash. He stumbled to get up as he turned around and saw Yang running towards him but then he formed his fun-chucks and swung and hit Yang, causing her to slide to the side.
From a distance
"Okay, that's pretty impressive..." Taiyang said as he and Ruby were watching from a far at the two teammates fighting each other. He admittedly didn't believe in powers such as his and even though he saw him fighting on the news, he still thought it was crazy about how a boy could have powers like those. He then tried to recompose himself from the powers that the boy demonstrated as he honestly admit that they could defeat any professional Huntsmen and Huntresses along with the students who are in training.
"I know right. It's so cool. And don't forget dad. He can handle himself and he can keep us safe" Ruby said, trying to reassure her dad. They then saw that they were using more power in their punches so they decided to go back to the house, so they wouldn't get mixed up in their fight.
Timeskip
Yang and Rex began walking back to the house, covered in bruises and cuts from their fight. They might've gone on more than they should've and been more forceful in their punches. When they got home, they cleaned up, ate supper and went to bed
It was now nighttime and the girls and Rex were sleeping in their rooms. Everything was quite in the house, quieter than a mouse. But while the gang was sleeping inside, the same masked woman from last night walked up to the house.
'Now's the time to strike!' the masked woman thought, picking the lock on the door until it finally clicked.
She opened the door quietly, seeing that it was dark in the room. She quietly closed the door and began to look up the steps.
A dark smirk formed underneath her Grimm mask, signifying that no one would be able to stop her from claiming her prize that will help improve her "family": the Branwen Tribe. And, will stop Salem in her own way.
'Perfect! This will be done in and out!' she thought as she began walking up the steps but as she began to move over to her target, a light suddenly switched on.
She gasped at the light and there at the top of the stairs was her own brother, Qrow Branwen, holding his weapon over his shoulders. He had graying black, spiky hair, faded pink eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. Along with a red, tattered cloak, he wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants and black dress shoes.
"Wha- QROW?!" she said seeing her own brother standing before her.
"Hey there, Raven. Last time I checked, this wasn't your house anymore" said Qrow smugly.
But then she heard footsteps and out stepped her ex-husband, Taiyang who had a looked of anger, confusion, and pain, while holding his shotgun in his hands.
"Raven, what are you doing here?!" Taiyang demanded, pointing his Shotgun at his ex-wife as she was completely unfazed by the threat, her Grimm Mask concealing her expression.
"Hello, Tai. How long has it been? 12-13 years since we last spoke?" Raven asked not seeing anyone as a real threat here.
"The last time was at Summer's funeral. Now what are you doing here?!" Taiyang demanded for the second time, still pointing his shotgun at her.
"I'm taking our daughter's boyfriend to my tribe and we'll finally put an end to Salem." Raven explained.
"First of all, they're not dating. Two, no way I would let her date him. And third, that's not going to happen! You're not taking him anywhere" said Tai.
"Are you going to stop me?" Raven retorted to Tai before she felt a familiar cold blade at her neck and a voice that she recognized.
Her own twin brother, Qrow Branwen, who now had a cold look on his face directed at her that would give Winter and Weiss's Schnee's a run for their money.
"No, but I will." Qrow added coldly, pointing his single-edge greatsword at his twin sister, making sure that she won't go anywhere.
"Raven, did you know some interesting has happened" Qrow said with a smirk.
"And what's that?" Raven asked, confident that she'll be walking out with a new weapon that will make her tribe stronger than before.
She received her answer in the form of a long moving whip which wrapped around her and threw her across the room and hitting the wall.
Raven got up and turned to see the boy she had been looking for was now glaring at her.
"You getting your butt handed to ya by a kid" said Qrow with a chuckle.
Raven glared at Qrow but then turned back to Rex. She was shocked that the boy she had been looking for was facing her now. She then gained a smirk as she said "Ah good. You're up. Now I am asking you to come with me, dear boy" said Raven in confidence.
"Yea, ain't happening" said Rex. This made Raven grunt in frustration. But she let go of that expression as she asked "And why not."
"Simply, I don't go to places with strangers" said Rex, bluntly, which made Qrow chuckle a little.
Raven groaned as she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to her face, well her grim mask, and then shouted "You will come with me and you will join my tribe. Your powers can be useful in my cause to kill Salem" said Raven in a threatening manner. The moment Rex heard her say Salem's name, he knew that things were more difficult for him than now. The fact that she knew who Salem was made Rex feel a bit scared.
Rex just sighed as he said "Ok fine. If it'll get you off of me, I'll go with you" said Rex in annoyance. Raven and the others were shocked by this. Raven was shocked that he agreed so quickly. She should be happy he accepted but it seemed to suspicious so she asked him,
"How do I know you're not lying."
"Cause so far you've had a better greeting than him over there" said Rex as he pointed at Tai.
"First time I get here, he greets me with that shotgun and threatened to kill me for being with his daughters. So why would I want to stay here" said Rex, nonchalantly.
Raven was surprised by this and then looked at Tai with a disapproving look as she said "For shame, Tai. A guest comes to your house and you greet him with a gun" in a displeased tone.
"It was only because I feared that he would attract unwanted attention. Case in point" said Tai as he pointed at Raven. Raven just rolled her eyes as she then smirked and said "Well you should've been more nice. Now you've driven away your guest. For shame" teased Raven as she then opened a red portal and Rex eyes widen a little at the display and saw Raven gesturing her arm towards the portal, emphasizing him to go through it.
Rex was about to step forward but then he said "Oh. I know we just met and everything but there is one thing you should know about me."
"And what's that" asked Raven.
"I'm not good at following directions" said Rex he then pulled his arm back and the swung it towards Raven as he formed his smack hand and then sent Raven right through the Red portal and it soon disappeared.
He deactivated his Smack hand then turned back to the other two.
He wanted to see who else knew about Salem since Raven just mentioned her so he decided to ask "What was she talking about. Me joining her. And who's Salem." He was taking a risky move but he had to find out any info about Salem if he could.
The two former team members looked at each other and Tai gave Qrow a face that said that he would tell him. He then gestured Rex to take a seat. Rex did so as did Qrow and Tai.
"Raven wants you to join her Tribe because of your power. She wants to either have you with her to stop Salem or she wants to steal your powers and use them to kill Salem. She was probably trying to kidnap you but good thing Qrow and I stopped her." Tai explained.
"But who was she. You guys acted like you knew her. And who is Salem" Hearing this made the two grimace at that question. Rex could see he must've touched a nerve. But then Tai said
"She's his twin sister" as he pointed to Qrow and then said "And......my ex-wife."
"Ex-wife" said Rex.
"*Sigh* If you want to understand what has happened, buckle up. Its a long story so I'll try and shorten it" said Tai as he went to grab the picture Rex had seen before and gave it to him.
"That was me and Qrow when we first went to Beacon, along with those other two, Summer and Raven. Team STRQ was our team name and the lady of the left is Summer and the other girl is Raven, the one that attacked us here, sort of" said Tai. Rex looked at the photo and nodded at what he was saying.
"It was there that I met Raven. She was the love of my life. And Qrow's sister. When we graduated we became official Huntsman and Huntresses. But I was so in love with Raven that I wanted to settle down with her. Soon she became pregnant with Yang."
Hearing this made Rex's eyes widen as Tai continued saying " I decided to retire as a huntsman and become a teacher here in Patch. Qrow and Summer would continue to be official Huntsmen, When I became a retired Huntsmen, I began to start a family with Raven, here in Patch. We got married and soon Yang was born" but then Tai stopped as his face began to drop as he then said,
"However, when Raven gave birth to Yang, she left us in order to start leading a group of people, that she and Qrow came from in the continent of Anima, The Branwen Tribe. As a result, I went into a depression, but soon things began to change when Summer tried to help me get over it and soon we started dating and then we got married and had Ruby" and his face dropped again.
"But, that soon came to an end when she never returned and was believed to be killed in action. I was heart broken again, though I continued to raise my two daughters along with Qrow as he is the maternal uncle of Raven's daughter, my daughter, and became honorary uncle of Ruby" Tai said, as he finished explaining Team STRQ's origin story to the young Evo.
"Wow, that was a happy, but yet sad story," Rex said with sympathy in his voice.
"Yea," Tai agreed with a sad tone, while Qrow shed a lone tear from his eye as he too remembers Summer's disappearance. "But, with some advice from Qrow, I had to learn to keep moving forward and not let the loss of my second wife consume me." Rex now understood of why Huntsmen and Huntresses defend the world of Remnant, their job is to make the world a better place, and some of them had to learn to keep moving forward in order to move on with their life.
"I see" said Rex. "So if Raven went back to the tribe, and she says that she wants me to help her stop Salem, then who is Salem" asked Rex again. He wanted to make sure the Paradox wasn't lying. Since Raven had mentioned Salem and about killing her then he needed more evidence about her.
This just made Tai feel a bit more sad and just sat up and said "You'll have to ask Qrow about that. I can't" as he walked up the steps.
"Don't let that bother you kid. He's just been through some things and the girls" said Qrow, as he pulled out a flask and took a drink. He then put it away as he then sighed as he looked at Rex and said "I'm not just suppose to tell this to anyone but since Raven has targeted you, its probably best that you have a better understanding why" said Qrow as his voice now changed to a grim one.
"Now what I'm about to tell is top secret. Don't go telling about this to anyone. Not even Yang and Ruby" said Qrow.
'Well I already am' thought Rex.
Rex leaned forward in his seat as he then said "Those creatures of grimm were created by an evil woman who has plagued this world with her evil magic, and goes by the name of Salem. From what I've learned, its cause of her that this world is messed up. She is as old as the world itself and she plans to rule this world but she hasn't done anything yet. That's about all I know about her, other than the fact that she's crazy strong. She has powers no one would even believe of. I've never seen her but I pray that I don't" said Qrow as he stood up and began walking towards the door.
"So keep an eye open at night. Raven might come back for you" said Qrow as he grabbed his weapon and headed out the door.
As he left, Rex was alone with his thoughts.
"So I guess that confirms it more. Salem does exist and she is incredibly strong. So then where is she. Will she pop out of nowhere and attack or what" said Rex. All of this info was racking his brain. So much so, he just gave up and went to bed.
Branwen Tribe
Vernal, Raven's second in command, was sitting in the tribe's chief tent, waiting for Raven to bring home this so called Metal boy. Vernal was a young woman with tan-colored skin, short brown hair and icy blue eyes. She had a tattoo of a bird rising from flowers on her left arm. She wore a light brown vest with dark brown panels on the top and a dark brown buckled strap on the back, over a torn white shirt that was partially unbuttoned revealing what appeared to be a black bra, alongside a collar that appears to be slightly turned up behind her neck.
She also wore maroon-colored jeans with the right side rolled up to her thigh revealing the dark pink lining alongside a brown belt with a pouch attached to the right side. She also wore dark brown calf guards with one having a garter styled strap that went under her rolled-up pant leg. She wore a pair of beige and dark brown lace-up boots with folded over sides, showing over the white lining accompanied by a pair of maroon socks that partially covered her calf guards.
She wore dark brown gloves of different sizes, with the right being fingerless and wrist length with large cuff whilst the other was elbow length and covered with a dark brown vambrace. Lastly, she wore a narrow dark brown chocker strap around her neck.
Admittedly, Vernal didn't believe in what Raven had told her about the boy when she returned from her trip to Mount Glenn. She thought it sounded to far fetched. But when she saw the boy Raven was talking about on the news, she was just as curious about the boy as he leader was.
She was getting impatient for her to return but then a red portal opened up and Vernal stood up waiting for Raven to come through. But instead of Raven walking through a portal, she came flying through a portal and ended up crashing into Vernal and both of them went flying out of the tent, causing several of the other members of the tribe to look at what two members flying out of the tent.
Raven and Vernal groaned in pain as a few of the men rushed to their leaders aid.
"Are you all right, boss" asked one of the men as he held out his hand to help Raven. She swatted the hand away and said "I'm fine. Just ran into some grimm on my journey and soon became a swarm. Nothing I couldn't handle" lied Raven as she stood up and helped Vernal up.
"Are you ok, Raven" asked Vernal. Raven looked at her then looked around at everyone looking at them. She then leaned closer to her and said "Not here" to which Vernal understood.
Raven then looked back at everyone and said "Back to work" she ordered to which they obliged and left the two alone. They then walked back to the tent. Raven took off her mask, to where anyone could see her face.
"What happened" asked Vernal, concerned that her leader was met with something tough to fight since she went flying through the portal.
Raven grumbled as she said "I thought I had the kid but he lied to me and punched me through the portal" as she held her head in frustration.
"I see. The boy with the powers to grow metal out of his body" asked Vernal.
"The very same. Seems my brother and ex-husband knew I was going to be there. Guess I should've taken him the first night I was there" said Raven as she began making tea.
"Why did you go there twice" asked Vernal.
"Because I wanted to know who exactly would be there in that house if I did sneak in and kidnap him. I wanted to make sure no one that I couldn't handle would be there. That, and I forgot to bring the knock out gas so I couldn't just take him that night. He would've destroyed me" said Raven as the tea kettle began to boil.
"So what exactly happened" asked Vernal.
Raven sighed as she poured a cup for her and her partner as she then said "I snuck into the house to try and bring the boy here. But I was greeted by my traitorous brother and ex-husband, both with weapons aimed at me. They wouldn't be a problem for me but that boy was up and managed to catch me by surprise" said Raven as she looked at her mask and weapon in grimace. How she could be so caught of guard was beyond her. She continued saying
"Then just as I thought I had him in our hands, I opened a portal then he said "Oh and there is one thing you should know about me. So I asked him what. Then he told me "I lie a lot" and then he formed one of his builds and punched me, sending me through the portal and into you" finished Raven as she finished her tea.
Vernal now understood what had happened. The boy that was suppose to be their salvation to ending this whole thing, rejected Raven's offer and punched her in the face.
"So what now" she asked.
Raven closed her eyes in thought as she began thinking about what to do know. She then opened her eyes as she said "He may reject me now, but I know that he will soon join us soon. It's just going to take some time before he realizes that he should've joined me from the beginning" said Raven as her eyes began to glow a brighter red from her usual red eyes.
Next morning
"I hate bad hair days." Yang said to herself, trying to get the knots out of her hair only to let out a yell of frustration.
"Are you okay, Yang?" Rex asked as he kept hearing her cries of anger.
"No, it's just that how can I fix this mess! My hair has knots!" Yang yelled in reply.
"Do you need help. I can try to fix it." Rex offered, causing Yang to stare at him in disbelief.
"I'll try to comb the knots out of your hair. Any products you might use in it , you're on your own with that one" said Rex.
After a minute of thinking, Yang sighed as there is nothing she can do.
She was really protective of her hair but she also didn't want to hurt him. Plus, she is still banned from the good hairdressers in Vale due to her anger of her hair being touched.
But she then thought that maybe this would be a good chance to bond with him. Maybe even tease him a little.
"Alright, Rex. But please be careful, I happen to be very protective of my hair..." Yang replied wanting to get this over with but was secretly planning something evil.
Rex walked in and grabbed a brush and then began working on combing the knots out, only for her Yang to tense up and instantly elbow him in the face, send him out of the bathroom.
"OW, why did you hit me?" Rex asked holding his nose as his nanties began to heal him.
"Sorry, Rex! That was just my instincts." Yang explained, knowing her instincts of someone touching her hair.
"Sheesh. You're already making me regret stopping by" said Rex as his nose felt better.
"I'm sorry. But there is something I want know" asked Yang.
"What's that" asked Rex.
"Why are you doing this. Normally, you dodge my flirty attempts but now you're combing my hair. What's going on" as she know sounded concerned.
Rex sighed as he stopped and decided that he didn't want to tell Yang that her mom was after him. He feared that that might make Yang suspicious of him and might make her feel sad that her own mom would rather come after him than spend a moment with her own daughter.
"I'm doing this cause I figured it would be a good time to talk to you about..... your family. I heard from your dad about what happened" said Rex as Yang's eyes widened as she then sighed.She knew this might happen so she turned back to the mirror.
"When did he tell you" asked Yang.
Rex knew he had to lie again so he said "I was thirsty last night so I went to get a drink and found your dad in their sitting in a chair, looking at a picture. He then began telling me that he was sorry about the hostile welcoming but he had his reasons for doing so. He then told me about how your family came to be. How he met your mom, how she left, how he met the woman you actually call mom and how she disappeared. And how everything fell apart. It was there that he told me that he was worried that since my powers ended up on the news that I would attract attention to unwanted guests so he wanted me away from her cause he's scared of losing the only two people he's cared for the most" said Rex.
Hearing this made Yang feel sad as tears began to fall down her cheek.
Rex saw this and said "Hey. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I just wanted to know why your dad gave me that kind of welcome" as he was trying to be sincere.
Yang wiped her tears and said "No its ok. You wanted to know and I guess it would be ok, seeing as your my teammate and everything" said Yang.
Rex then went back on fixing her hair, hoping that it would calm her down.
Rex then started separating a few strands and gently using his fingers to undo any tangle and knot. Yang, however, normally would tense up and punch anyone who dares mess with her hair, but the more he kept trying to be helpful, the less anger she felt inside of her as she was being calmed down.
"I'm sorry that I made you feel down. But how do you feel, Yang?" Rex asked.
Yang could tell he was trying to be considerate and she admired him for that but she couldn't help but tease him, considering what he was doing as she then said"It feels so good, Hot Stuff... You're really good with your hands..." Yang replied, giving him her teasing smile as he blushed so hard, that it could match up to Ruby's cloak.
He then quickly resumed fixing her hair, carefully undoing all the knots as Yang started relaxing more as it was all being done in a very careful and nice way. In fact, it started to feel good to have Rex tread his fingers on her hair. It took some time, but he was able to completely remove all the knots and tangles without pulling her hair even once, and without breaking one strand.
"Again, I just saw the photo and thought I'd ask. I didn't mean to make you sad" said rex.
"Rex, it's fine. I'm not mad" said Yang but then she got and idea and smirked as she grabbed a bottle of cream and said "Here. Trying massaging this into my scalp. Makes my hair more soft" said Yang. Rex was reluctant but he knew this might make her feel better. He sighed in annoyance as he said
"Fine" as he grabbed some cream and massaged it on her head, with his hands, massaging her scalp on the process. That, for some reason, made Yang blush as it felt incredibly good. It was both gentle and caring, and relaxing. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time someone touched her in a way that pleasured her so much.
"Are you alright, Yang? You're ironically, really Ruby Rose red?" Rex asked, making himself laugh at his own pun as it made Yang more self-conscious.
"Nothing! Just feeling a little hot here. Open a window! Yang replied.
"Better not, at least till I finish. I don't want the wind to mess with your hair. It's really nice hair, you know, all silky and curly. I can see now why you are so protective of it." Rex said.
"You really seem like you know what you're doing" Yang replied.
"Not really no. I'm just making this up as I go along." Rex said, as Yang started to squirm a little as he worked on her hair, because he was making the experience really pleasurable.
"Am I hurting you?" the Evo asked as he stopped momentarily.
"N-No!" the Blonde Brawler murmured a little, receiving a nod in reply he continued while he smiled at her in amusement of her reactions. If he didn't knew better, it was almost like she was...
"Now it's time to brush it." Rex affirmed, grabbing a soft brush and started brushing her hair. Yang was now suppressing her voice as she squirmed more, because every time his fingers touched her ears and neck, and the gentle movement on her hair just made her feel so good that she was almost asking him to stop.
"Now the final touch... and done." Rex stated as he finished fixing Yang's hair.
Yang finally breathed and calmed down as he stopped working on her hair and handed her a hand mirror.
She took a look at the mirror and gasped in shock.
Her hair was more than fixed. It was perfect. It looked more shiny now.
"Man, you're good" thanked Yang as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Yea sure, but don't go thinking I'm doing it again. I don't want another attack just for fixing hair" Rex replied, making Yang grumble in annoyance.
Before the two could say anything, Ruby came down in her pajamas as she entered the bathroom, her eyes widening of what she had just witnessed.
She saw Rex touching Yang's hair without getting killed and to top it all off, her hair was more shiny now.
"OH MY OUM! REX TOUCHED AND STYLED YANG'S HAIR AND HE'S NOT DEAD!" Ruby shouted making, Taiyang come down into the bathroom and witness the whole entire thing in front of them.
"He has done the impossible." Tai shouted.
"The world is coming to an end!" Taiyang shouted in a overdramatic tone, much to the amusement of Rex, but to the annoyance of Yang.
"I'm not that bad." Yang replied as her blonde hair was perfectly brushed and shining gold.
Everyone just continued to stare at her, before they all got on there knees and started to beg in front of the Human EVO.
"How did you do it?! Please tell us the secret!" the two begged in unison.
"I don't know" said Rex as he walked past them and headed down stairs.
It was a crazy life Rex had stumbled into but it seemed to be one he was enjoying. He knew he had his work cut out for him but he knew he could try and get the job done. It wasn't going to be easy but hey, that's the life of a hero.