RWBY: Tale of Two Roses

Chapter 5: Soaring

Early in the morning, the four set out for Beacon. They had reason to believe that some extremist faction of the White Fang was setting up camp in the dilapidated industrial district warehouses. Aries has his weapon secured to his leg. They patrol the harbor when they spot the White Fang waiting at the docks, armed to the teeth. Aries' hand starts to shake and he holds it still. He takes a deep breath and focuses on the task at hand. Ruby notices but out of politeness keeps it to herself. The schnee ship comes in and the man in the bowler cap steps to the front of the White Fang members. "I recognize him." Ruby murmurs quietly.

The White Fang members open fire at the ship, causing several breaches in the hull. The three leap from the shadows and start to take on the white fang head-to-head. Aries focuses on the ship and manages to keep it above water while dockworkers work on getting the crew off the ship. Meanwhile, Ruby and Summer cover Aries. The last of the workers get off and Aries releases the vessel. He pulls his weapon from his leg and it forms into a scythe. The head folds out and back to form a pair of fins. Aries stands on top and it levitates into the air. The bottom pops out to reveal a pair of AR turrets. He dive bombs a huge group of white fang and fill their backs with lead as they try to rush Ruby from behind. "Got your back." He soars over and Continues to strafe until a dark figure yanks him off his glider and he crashes to the ground. "Ah that hurt." Aries groans. His scythe circles round and opens fire at the shady attacker. He pulls the object from his ankle and jumps back on.

More and more White Fang start to arrive. "We need to pull out!" Summer says over the radio.

"No we can take 'em!" Ruby insists. Aries looks over the city and sees three large airships headed their way. "Ruby! We need to go!" Aries insists. He dives down and suppresses the thugs rushing Ruby. "Run, now!" Ruby lets out a frustrated groan then runs off with Summer. Aries tails close behind on his scythe. "Well, that got intense." Aries says in a joking tone.

"Did the people get off the ship?" Summer asks

"I held up the ship just long enough for everyone to make it off. But, unfortunately, I think they had agents in the water who went after the dust."

"Well it's obvious that our opposition are even stronger than I initially anticipated. You two need to train." They nod and head toward the house.

The group are staying in a house that belongs to one of Summer's old contacts. He gave them free reign of the property as long as they are staying in Vale. There they make a miraculous discovery...

...Aries is a fantastic cook! "It tastes so good!" Ruby gushes

"So full of flavor!" Summer shouts

"Oh, c'mon. It's just an old family recipe." Ruby grabs his sleeve. "Can I join your family?" Aries blushes and Summer chokes on the food trying to hold back a laugh. Summer swallows and continues to try and hold back the laugh. "What?" Ruby says innocently.

"I-I can always just give you the recipe, Ruby. It's no big deal." Ruby smiles and returns to her food. Aries starts to eat it then grins. "Y'know. We haven't had this since..." He stops short and puts his fork down. "I-I need to use the restroom. He walks up the stairs and shuts himself in the bathroom. Summer and Ruby both notice the odd behavior. Summer stands up from her plate and walks up the stairs. She gently knocks on the door. "Aries, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah I'm fine." Aries says trying to reassure her. "Aries, you can talk to us." Aries unlocks the door and steps into the hall. Summer sees the red around his eyes. Aries looks over and sees Ruby at the top of the stairs. He looks down as to hide his face. "You told me that if I needed someone to listen, you'd be there. Now it's my turn." Summer nods and walks back down the stairs. Aries sits against the wall and Ruby joins him. "We haven't had that since my older brother left."

"Older brother?"

"Long story, guess I still miss him. Haven't seen him in ages."

"Why did he leave?"

"Why does anyone leave home, he had a dream, and he's pursuing it." Ruby nods and pats him on the leg. "C'mon, let's go enjoy the yummy food. Your brother wouldn't want it to go to waste, would he?" Aries grins and shakes his head. "To be honest, if you didn't eat fast around him then you wouldn't eat. Swear that boy had a bottomless stomach." Ruby laughs and Aries stands up. He holds out his hand helps Ruby to her feet. They start down the stairs and see Qrow talking to Summer. They huddle at the top of the stairs as to not interrupt.

"I really missed you." Qrow says with a smile.

"I missed you, too." they share a hug and just stand in the embrace. "Qrow."

"Yeah?"

"Why does Ruby call you "Uncle Qrow.""

"After you died, I felt I needed to watch over her in your absence. But she'd already accepted Tai as her dad. I didn't want her to feel everyone had walked out on her so I let her think Tai was her dad and I took the role of uncle." Summer shoves away from him. "So you continued to lie and run away from her?" Ruby is surprised by this and Aries can see the shock on her face. "How about we go flying?" Aries quickly suggests. He takes her by the hand and pulls her down the hall to a window. "Do you trust me?" Ruby looks back down the hall toward the garbled yelling then back at Aries. "Yes." Aries smiles and opens the window. He levitates his scythe just outside the window and stands on it. He takes Ruby's hand and helps her on. "I'll hold you on. But hang onto me. It'll be hard to concentrate if you're moving around. Ruby nods and holds onto Aries. They head into the sky as Summer and Qrow continue to argue below.

"What was I supposed to do? "Hey Ruby, sorry your mom died. By the way, I'm really your dad!"

"You could have told her the truth!"

"She'd already had her world turned upside down when you died, I couldn't confuse her any more." Summer goes to retort but sees the genuine regret in his eyes. She wraps her arms around him and he wraps his around her. "Qrow, promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"That one day, you'll come home and the three of us can be a family."

"I promise Summer. One day we can be a family again."

Aries can tell that something is bothering Ruby. "Are you alright?"

"What do you think she meant, "You're still lying and running away from her." Did she mean..."

"I don't know Ruby. Who was he, anyway?"

"That was my Uncle Qrow."

"I think my parents used to tell me about..."

"Can we change the subject please?" Aries goes silent. "How high can you fly on this thing?"

"I don't know. I've always stayed below the cloud line." Ruby holds him tighter and he tilts the scythe back and they fly higher into the sky. They eventually go above the clouds and are stunned by the sight. The cloudy sky is bathed in a pale blue light. "It's, beautiful." Ruby says awe struck. Aries is merely speechless. "Wanna head back?"

"Yeah, Mom might start to get worried." They fly back to the window and Aries levitates Ruby in the floats in behind her. He folds his scythe up and attaches it to his leg holster. Ruby and Aries recount how amazing it was as they head downstairs to see Qrown and Summer with their arms crossed, glaring at them. "Mr. Branwen, if you'd like I could make you a plate." Aries offers, trying to diffuse the situation. He tries to sneak into the kitchen but Qrow catches him by the collar and tosses him back in front of them. "Where did you two go?"

"Well, we heard you two starting to argue so we decided to give you some space. To get away, we flew around on his scythe." Qrow gets a confused look and looks to Summer for clarification. Aries pulls his scythe put and it folds out into its flight configuration and levitates it. "Sorry if we worried you. We just didn't want to be in the middle of it. Aries says apologetically. Summer nods and Aries folds up his scythe and re-holsters it. "I'm gonna go ahead and make a plate for Mr. Branwen." He walks into the kitchen and prepares a dish for Qrow. The four sit down and finish their meal, which has started to get cold. They each head to a room and lay down for the night