Ron’s Journey Through Remnant

As Team RWBY left the room, Gaster quietly poured himself another cup of coffee. His movements were calm and precise as he began to bandage Adrian's wounds, the young Faunus still unconscious. He handed a cup of coffee to Maple, who, after drinking it, drifted off into a deep sleep.

The black fox, who had been calmly reading a book in Gaster's lab, grinned mischievously as Gaster placed Ron beside it. In response, the fox's form shimmered, slowly transforming back into Ron's tail and settling comfortably onto his back.

Gaster watched the transformation in silence before he glanced out the window. His expression darkened with resolve. He reached for a knife, the sharp gleam of the blade reflecting his deep thoughts. Taking a seat near his lab, he muttered softly to himself.

[Gaster]: I've made my choice. Forgive me, Ron, Adrian, Maple... for what I'm about to do.

[A couple of days later]

The room was bustling with activity as Team RWBY and Team GRAM worked together to decorate. As usual, Gaster and Weiss found themselves locked in another one of their endless arguments, their bickering filling the air.

[Gaster]: I told you, we don't need your fancy tablecloth, Miss Ice Queen!

[Weiss]: Oh really, Mister 'I want glowing neon lights everywhere'?

Gaster shot Weiss an exasperated look while pointing to a set of neon lights he was clearly proud of, glowing faintly in the corner of the room. Meanwhile, Weiss crossed her arms, refusing to back down, her aristocratic demeanor clashing with Gaster's chaotic energy.

As Gaster and Weiss continued their bickering, Yang and Adrian exchanged knowing glances, both doing their best not to burst out laughing at the chaotic energy unfolding before them.

[Yang]: Honestly, it's like watching a married couple,

she whispered to Blake, who smirked in return.

[Blake]: They do this at every event. Actually, now that you mention it, they remind me of my father and mother when they argue. She paused for a moment before turning to Adrian. Adrian, remind me again how you convinced me to come to this.

Adrian, still sporting half his face covered in bandages from their last chaotic encounter, smiled slyly, sipping his coffee before responding.

[Adrian]: It took some time, but hey, I got you here, didn't I? Now, allow me to end this little quarrel.

With a mischievous grin, he called out loudly.

[Adrian]: Hey, lovebirds! Take your flirting to the room, please!

The room fell silent for a moment as both Gaster and Weiss stopped mid-sentence, turning toward Adrian with incredulous expressions.

[Gaster/Weiss]: We are not flirting!

They shouted in unison before glaring at each other.

[Gaster/Weiss]: Don't copy me!

[Gaster/Weiss]: You humm!

Yang and Adrian were doing their best to hold back their laughter, faces turning red from the effort. Blake, amused by the spectacle, joined Ruby and the others in finishing up the decorations, her focus now back on the task at hand.

[Maple]: So Ruby you finally got better.

[Ruby]: Yes, think for the worry Maple,... Also, I have to ask if Ron and Adrian are okay since that day Adrian has been wearing that bandage and Ron started to look dull he used to joke sometimes and help Gaster with everything but now he looks emotionless. 

Maple glanced at Ruby, her expression softening as she spoke.

[Maple]: I'm glad you're doing better, Ruby... She hesitated for a moment, her gaze drifting toward Adrian, who was still wearing the bandages. But yeah, you're right. Ron's been really quiet since that day, and Adrian... well, he's still recovering, but there's something off.

Ruby furrowed her brow, concerned.

[Ruby]: It's strange. Adrian never stays quiet this long, and Ron used to be so lively... always cracking jokes with Gaster. Now it's like he's... distant, almost like he's lost something.

Maple nodded, clearly troubled.

[Maple]: I tried talking to them, but Ron's been shutting everyone out. He even avoids looking at himself in the mirror, and... she paused, lowering her voice, ...Adrian's been more feral, like he's struggling to keep something inside.

Ruby's eyes widened in worry as she put her hand on Maple's shoulder.

[Ruby]: Do you think Gaster knows? I mean, he's been acting normal... well, as normal as Gaster can be.

[Maple]: Maybe. Gaster always notices more than he lets on... but he hasn't said anything. It's like he's keeping something to himself, too.

As Maple and Ruby spoke quietly about Ron and Adrian, their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a loud crash. Yang, who had been moving decorations around, accidentally dropped a giant speaker directly on Maple.

[Yang]: Sorry!

Maple groaned beneath the heavy speaker but managed a weak thumbs-up, her face pressed against the floor.

[Later, at the Dorm...]

Adrian quietly returned to the dorm, His movements were sluggish, almost weary, as he entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. The sound of a match striking echoed as he lit a cigar, taking a deep, long drag, the ember glowing faintly in the dim light.

With the smoke around him, he began to unwind the bandages from his face. Layer by layer, he revealed his skin, which was now scarred in ways it had never been before. Once the final strip of bandage was removed, Adrian hesitated before looking up at his reflection in the cracked bathroom mirror.

His face, once familiar, now bore signs of his transformation. One of his eyes had turned dark, with a piercing golden pupil that gleamed eerily against the dim light. His once sleek, black hair had become shaggy and brown, thickening in patches that resembled fur. His ears, formerly those of a cat, had changed—one of them now unmistakably resembled a wolf's.

Adrian's reflection stared back at him, mocking and distorted in the fractured glass. He could barely recognize himself anymore. With a sudden surge of rage, he clenched his fists and slammed them into the mirror, {CRASH}, over and over again. Shards of glass splintered and fell as blood splattered across the sink and floor. His knuckles were torn open, revealing the white of bone beneath the flesh.

When he finally stopped, he was panting, his hands dripping with blood. His reflection is now broken into pieces, distorted in the shattered fragments of the mirror. Adrian stared down at the wreckage of what he'd become.

[Adrian]: I will never be like you, he whispered to his reflection,

his voice trembling with rage and sorrow.

[Adrian]: No matter what I am... I am Adrian Caffeinated... not Adrian Lupus. I am the son of Michael, not the son of Shepard!

His voice broke as he said those final words, and he collapsed to the floor, clutching his head in his bloodied hands. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood on his fingers. The room seemed to close in around him, the walls suffocating as memories flashed through his mind—memories of who he used to be, of what had been taken from him.

He lit another cigar, the smoke now thick with his despair, as he stumbled out of the bathroom. His fists still ached, but he ignored the pain, wrapping his hands hastily in fresh bandages. He left the room behind, not caring about the blood or the broken mirror.

Out on the balcony, Adrian sank to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him. The cool night air brushed against his skin, a stark contrast to the storm raging inside him. He dropped the cigar and slammed his fist against the ground, again and again, as sobs wracked his body.

[Adrian]: I'm not him... I'm not like him... I'm not...

he repeated to himself, but with each slam of his fist, the words felt emptier, more hollow.

[Somewhere in Vale]

Ron sat in a shadowy alleyway, a cigarette lazily hanging from his lips while a half-empty bottle rested in his other hand. His head was throbbing, his thoughts muddled and heavy. One hand clutched his forehead as if trying to piece together fragments of memories that constantly eluded him.

[Ron]: Why can't I remember you? Black wings... hair, eyes, and an expressionless face... just like me. And a girl with sky-blue hair... such a beautiful voice. She smiled all the time, but... those knives...

He paused, his mind struggling to assemble the puzzle. Why can't I remember... any of you?

Suddenly overwhelmed, Ron slammed his head into the brick wall beside him, the force so strong that cracks spider-webbed across the surface. He pulled back, panting, feeling the weight of confusion and desperation wrap tightly around him. He had to make sense of these fragments, these fleeting images in his mind that felt so real yet were slipping away.

His gaze landed on a broken mirror discarded in a nearby trash can. He reached for it, pulling the jagged piece from the pile of rubbish. As he held it in front of him, the reflection of his masked, hooded face stared back at him—a face that, even now, felt alien.

With a trembling hand, Ron removed his mask and hood, revealing the scars beneath. His eyes, or rather where his eyes once were, appeared hollow, dark, and lifeless. Countless scars and wounds marred his face—marks of battles long forgotten, wounds that should've healed but remained, haunting his reflection.

For a moment, he let himself cry, let the anguish pour out in choked sobs, his fists tightening around the mirror until the glass cut into his skin.

Then, suddenly, the sobbing stopped.

His expression shifted, becoming blank as if a switch had been flipped inside his mind. His body straightened, and he looked at the broken mirror in his hand with cold, detached curiosity. It was as though he had forgotten the pain, the reflection, everything.

[Ron]: Why am I here? Wasn't I helping with the preparations? Well, no time to waste.

Without a second thought, Ron dropped the mirror, his footsteps slow but steady as he walked back toward Beacon Academy. Everything that had just transpired—the pain, the memories, the broken reflection—was gone. Locked away, as if some unseen force wouldn't let him remember the agony or the truth about who he was... or who he had once been.

[Chapter end]