RWBY: Moon Reflection

Qrow's fingers tightened around the empty flask, his knuckles white as he let it drop to the floor. His face covered with one hand, he exhaled sharply, trying to steady himself as the weight of the memories pressed down on him.

"He awakened his semblance right after saving Yang and Ruby," he said quietly, his voice hoarse. "I remember how he was acting—strange, almost like a completely different person. It was the only time I've ever seen him seem scared, worried about something." He sighed, lowering his hand and looking at the group around him. "That's when it all started."

Ruby and Yang exchanged a glance, absorbing Qrow's words. Yang's lips pressed together in thought, while Ruby's brows furrowed, her youthful face reflecting confusion and concern. Pyrrha and the others sat silently, as if waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to fall into place.

"He went back to normal right after Tai explained aura and semblance to him," Qrow continued. "He showed us the mark that day too. I think that's when he decided… he would hide his semblance. He'd keep it locked away, never letting anyone know about it." His voice cracked slightly, as if the memory was still fresh.

Qrow leaned back slightly, his expression heavy. "His semblance description, the one we were given... it matched that day perfectly. Every need, every problem he encountered, was answered by his semblance. The way he worked. The way he lived."

He looked at each of them, his eyes solemn. "Yang lied to him, so his semblance gave him the ability to see through lies. He couldn't watch over Yang and Ruby all the time, so his semblance gave him more eyes—literally more eyes, more awareness. He was almost too late, so it made him faster. He ran until he collapsed, so his semblance made him stronger, helped him keep moving. His body was breaking from overexertion, so his semblance gave him a more durable body. The knife broke in his hand, so his semblance gave him a stronger weapon. He was far away, so his semblance gave him the ability to attack from a distance. And when he was dying… when he was dying, it rejected death, made him indestructible—because he still had a promise to fulfill."

Silence hung in the room, the weight of Qrow's words settling heavily on each of them. Yang's eyes widened, and Ruby's lips parted in disbelief, but neither of them spoke. The pieces were coming together in a way they hadn't fully understood before.

Qrow rubbed his eyes and continued, "He saw his semblance as a manifestation of everything ugly about himself, taken to its extreme. That's why he showed us the mark—so he could hide the rest. His interest in art and music was his way of compensating for the ugliness he felt inside. He called himself a demon in that form… he stopped considering himself human."

The group exchanged uneasy glances, recalling the time Crimson had spoken about himself. During battle, he referred to himself as something other than human, and later, he explicitly described himself as a demon. The weight of those words now took on a deeper, more tragic meaning.

Qrow leaned forward, his eyes growing distant as he remembered those dark days. "His semblance wasn't just to make him survive. It was to fulfill something bigger than himself. A promise to someone he loved and hated all at once." He paused, his voice tightening with emotion. "He said he admired this person. Hated their choices. It's also why he refused to be a huntsman... He didn't want to be like Summer. He didn't want to become like her, and yet, in a twisted way, he was trying to protect his family in the same way she did. But he couldn't. And that was his greatest failure."

Qrow sighed deeply, his expression haunted. "I think he eventually came to understand that Summer wasn't entirely wrong in what she did. That there were forces out there that could hurt her family. He was angry at himself for hating her for all those years. He regretted that."

At this, Ozpin, who had been quiet throughout the whole discussion, finally spoke, his voice calm but filled with an understanding that resonated through the room.

"That explains a lot," Ozpin said thoughtfully. "His behavior, the increased violence, the cruelty we saw in Crimson's actions… He saw the White Fang and Salem's group as a violation of his promise, as a threat to his family. They attacked, they hurt his sister. That's why he decided to attack Menagerie, to take the fight to them, to erase the threat. He was angry, and that anger consumed him."

Qrow nodded, his eyes dark. "Salem's pawns, they made a mistake. It seems they showed him a twisted version of Summer—what she stood for, what she believed in. Crimson saw that, and everything he had been hiding for so long... all the pain, all the negativity, everything he has been bottling up... it came rushing out. It destroyed them and everything around him."

The room was still, each person absorbed in the weight of Qrow's words. No one dared to speak, but they could all feel the gravity of what had just been revealed.

"Crimson," Qrow continued, his voice growing heavier, "he saw himself as the better version of Summer—or maybe the better version of everyone. He believed he could rise above negative emotions, that he didn't feel them the way others did. He thought he was different, but in the end, he was wrong. He couldn't protect his family. His semblance, with all the might it provided him, couldn't be used as he considered it a break to his promise, he viewed it as too disgusting and even insulting to Summer's memory. And that's when he... he broke." Qrow stopped, clenching his fists, his jaw tight. "He cried after transforming. Because he thought he failed. He believed he had failed his promise. His convictions were crumbling."

Weiss, who had been silent up until now, spoke up, her voice trembling slightly but firm. "Do you remember what he said about monsters in Port's class?" Her words cut through the silence, drawing the attention of the group. "I've never forgotten his answer. The worst monster he spoke of, the one he thought was the scariest... it was himself. He sees himself as a monster. He was devoured by his own darkness."

The room went deathly quiet. The weight of Weiss's words hung in the air, each of them feeling the truth of it. Everything about Crimson, his actions, his demeanor, his fears—they all made sense now.

Ruby looked down tearing, her heart aching as she thought about Crimson's struggles. Yang was beside her, her gaze distant, trying to make sense of everything. Ren, Pyrrha, and even Qrow seemed lost in thought, each of them absorbing the profound understanding that had been revealed.

"Somehow that also explains his hatred and anger toward Yang's mom," Blake added, pausing for a moment to let her words settle in. "He viewed her as Summer—leaving her family behind. But instead of protecting and caring for them, she was selfish... even harmful. While Summer died, she lived, but she didn't deserve to. His last words to her were to make amends while she still could because Summer couldn't"

Her words added to the heaviness of the moment. The truth hung in the air like a thick fog, each of them processing the painful understanding of Crimson's complex emotions.

Ruby, tears streaming down her face, spoke next. "After the attack on Beacon, we went with Crimson to check on the state of his school. That's where we met his friend, Cyan, who was devastated by the destruction and loss of life. Crimson... he spoke cruelly to Cyan—intentionally—to make Cyan hate him. He explained later that hating others is easier than hating yourself. When you hate others, you can forget the pain, but when you hate yourself, the pain never goes away. He spoke from his own experience, and we... we were blind to it, even though we'd been by his side all the time."

With each explanation they uncovered, the group's mood grew heavier. They began to reevaluate every action and word from Crimson, realizing that everything he had done or said carried a deeper meaning they had failed to see before.

Pyrrha lowered her head, reflecting on everything she had heard. "To make it even harder for him, he perceives the world differently than we do. It explains why he always feels so distant—he sees things we can't. He mentioned being able to see the 'transparent world' in that form. Whatever that means, he could see Professor Ozpin's soul inside Oscar and even realized that your semblance is always active, Qrow."

Qrow tensed at that, his eyes narrowing slightly. Ruby and Yang, as if remembering something, looked at him with a sudden shift in their expressions. They exchanged a glance before both turned to Qrow, their eyes filled with questions.

"What was the lie you and Dad were keeping that Crimson spoke of?" Yang asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

Qrow's gaze flickered to the floor, and a guilty expression crossed his face. He turned away from their questioning looks, feeling the weight of the truth press down on him. The silence stretched painfully, and the room held its breath.

Qrow sighed deeply, rubbing his face with his hands as he finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "You two aren't half-sisters. You're cousins. I'm Ruby and Crimson's father, not Tai."

A stunned silence filled the room, each person frozen in shock. Ruby's eyes widened in disbelief, and Yang's mouth fell open, both of them unable to process the revelation. Even Ozpin, who had been so composed through the entire conversation, looked taken aback.

Ruby stood up, her voice cracking with emotion. "How could you hide that from us?!" she cried, her hands trembling as she looked at Qrow.

Qrow lowered his head, his expression heavy with guilt. "Raven walked out on Tai and Yang. It broke Tai—left him sad and unsure of himself. He didn't feel confident raising Yang on his own. And I... because of my semblance, I couldn't stay around—it was too dangerous. So we made an agreement: Summer would be the mother, and Tai would be the father for you three. That way, you could have a normal family as you grew up. We planned to tell you the truth once you were older, but then Summer died. Tai and I were afraid it would only bring you more pain. But now... Crimson knows."

The weight of the revelations hung heavily in the air, and the group sat in silence, each of them processing the understanding they reached. And for Qrow, the burden of the secret he had kept for so long had finally been revealed.