"The Catalyst" : A Yang Xiao Long AU! #RWBYWATTYS

Vol.2 / Chapter 7 : "Popsin, The Caretaker"

-3 Days Later-

"So you're telling me....." Rei breathed, unbelieving what he was hearing.

"I'm sorry, Rei. It's true..." Blake replied disappointedly.

"Yang has another boyfriend?" Rei scoffed, then walked out of the dorm in an angry yet somehow not angry fashion.

"Another?" Blake whispered to herself. Ruby, who had been "sleeping" during this on her high bunk suddenly began talking.

"This has happened a lot. Yang has had 4 other boyfriends before. Rei is used to it." Ruby rolled onto her side, trying to sleep.

"No. No he's not." Blake replied.

----

Rei sat alone, atop the same tree Pyrrha had found him earlier. The sun has set hours ago, but Rei found the starry skies to be..... calming. His reasoning was that underneath the Galaxy's eyes, underneath the glowing stars and the bright colors of offset galaxies, his mind could become lost and his body could become numb. He stared longingly at the beautiful scenery above him, trying to lose himself in the sky as he always had before.

But then why? Why wasn't he losing himself in the galaxies, why was he still on Remnant with his pain?

"Rei?" Blake quietly asked as she climbed next to him.

"Hey, Blake...." Rei replied quietly.

"You really love her, don't you?" Blake asked after a long silence between them.

"You don't even know." Blake scanned her mind, trying to find a phrase that would lighten up the situation.

"If it makes anything better, he's not that good looking." Blake smiled lightly, turning her head to face him. She was expecting a smile, maybe a smirk. Heck, even a reaction would have been accepted.

But his attitude didn't change.

"Hey Blake.... Can you tell the team something for me?" Rei asked.

"Of course." Blake responded quickly.

"I'll be gone. Not like last time, only for a day. Just tell them that."

"Can I tell them where?" Blake was shocked to find that Rei was suddenly emitting a black aura surrounded by red energy. Why was he doing that? Was his anger becoming too much for him? Was his spirit finally broken?

"I know you're there. Come out. Now." Rei demanded, facing the shadow that had crept up on them.

"Who are you?" Rei demanded once again. The shadowed figure suddenly walked out, into the light the street lamp created.

"Popsin?" Rei exclaimed.

"Greetings, Master Rei. It has been quite a while." The tall man replied. He was bald, with a jagged scar going down his left cheek. His uniform was that of a traditional Schnee servant, consisting of a black suit with a white undershirt and a colored red tie. There was another thing that stood out.

He had silver eyes.

"Who's Pospin?" Blake asked, turning her head o face Rei once again.

"Popsin raised me in place of Warren." Rei replied simply.

"What are you doing here?" Rei asked.

"It is my understanding you are going to leave yet again. I merely came by to greet you. The House has missed you, Master Rei. It's just not quite the same without you." Popsin replied, a sad look in his eye.

"My, you've grown. I remember when you were just a timid young boy, scared of his own shadow. And now, you're ready to fight the whole world. Just like your mother was." Rei's fist clenched at the mention of his mother.

"Warren put you up to this, didn't he? Trying to get me to return willingly?" Pops in shook his head in response.

"No sir. I did this without even consulting Master Warren. The whole house misses you, Master Rei."

"I'm not your master anymore. Warren disowned me."

"Master Rei. There is one thing you aren't getting : To disobey Master Warren means treason. Coming to talk to you was against his orders." Rei suddenly understood.

"You quit your job." Popsin nodded.

"I've always awaited your return, Master Rei. To leave the House and be at your side. Your mother wanted me to, and this was her order."

"So what else did she say?"

"That when the time was right, you would finally know."

"Know what?" Rei exclaimed.

"Crystal Schnee is alive."