[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!

Radian, Gallia, Vale
Six years after Salem's Defeat
- - -

Emerald Arc stood over the crib in the softly lit nursery, one hand resting on the rail as she gazed down at their daughter. Baby Amethyst slept peacefully, tiny fists curled near her cheeks, rosebud mouth pursed in dreams. She was so precious, so sweet, so impossibly cute that sometimes Emerald's chest ached just looking at her.

And yet, tonight, the ache had twisted into something darker. A fleeting, horrifying impulse had flashed through her mind. A vision of her little girl going out the window into the dark night... By her own hand.

Tears slipped silently down Emerald's cheeks as she stared at the innocent little face, wondering where that came from.

A happy ending... I don't...

The front door opened and closed with a familiar quiet click. Jaune's voice drifted through the house, low and careful so as not to wake the baby. "Em, I'm back."

He hung his coat by the door and padded through the rooms until he found her. The sight of his wife crying softly over their daughter's crib made his heart clench, though it wasn't the first time he'd come home to this.

Without a word, he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling the back of her mint-green hair. She stiffened for a moment, then melted into him.

"J-Jaune…" she whispered, voice thick.

He held her tighter. "What's wrong?"

Emerald bowed her head, shoulders shaking. "I… I'm sorry…"

A sob broke free. "I just… for a moment… when I looked at her…? I wanted to throw her out the window!" The confession tumbled out in a horrified rush. "I… I'm still a monster… even after everything…!"

Jaune's arms didn't loosen. He turned her gently until she faced him, cupping her tear-streaked cheek and guiding her eyes to his.

"A monster?" He gave a soft, fond huff. "You're no monster." His thumb stroked her skin tenderly. "A monster wouldn't have hesitated. A monster would not cry over what they thought. Monsters don't feel remorse, and they certainly don't regret." He rested his forehead against hers. "So no—you are Emerald Arc. My wife, my love, my greatest treasure, and the mother of our child. You found your way back from being lost. You redeemed yourself. You became a hero the world will always be grateful for."

A watery laugh escaped her through the tears. "You… you always have to sound so… so corny?"

Jaune's smile widened, warmth lighting his tired blue eyes. "I'm a knight, a doctor, and—according to reliable sources—the world's greatest thief. I think I'm allowed to be a little corny."

Emerald sniffed, indignation cutting through the sadness. "Hey! I'm the world's greatest thief, thank you very much."

He looked away with exaggerated thoughtfulness, then turned back with a Cheshire grin. "Eh, I don't know about that. I did manage to steal your heart, didn't I? Pretty sure that makes me the better thief."

"You… you dork," she muttered, but she was laughing now, soft and genuine.

Jaune simply held her closer, resting his head atop hers as they stood in the quiet nursery. Amethyst slept on, undisturbed.

After a long moment, Emerald murmured against his chest, "…I stole your heart first, idiot."

He chuckled. "You can't steal what was already yours, Em. No matter how many times you say otherwise."

She flushed, burying her face in his shirt. "You… ugh. Why do you frustrate me so much? I was sad and depressed and you just… interrupt me…"

"If I can't get my wife out of a funk, then I'm clearly not doing my job right," he teased gently.

Emerald leaned into him with a quiet sigh. "…Part of me still doesn't think I deserve any of this. A happy ending. I keep waiting for something to take it all away."

Jaune nodded slowly, gaze distant for a moment. "Waiting for the other shoe to drop. I get it."

She licked her lips, eyes drifting back to the crib. "When I look at her… I want to kill anything that tries to hurt her." A pause. "Is… is that normal?"

"Yeah," he said without hesitation. "I'd say so. Just thinking about someone trying makes me want to bury them so deep not even tree roots would remember them."

"Good," she whispered. "Good."

She reached into the crib and gently stroked Amethyst's soft cheek. The baby whined faintly, then settled again under her mother's touch.

"She's so beautiful," Emerald breathed.

Jaune's smile softened as he watched them both. "Gets it from her mother."

Emerald snorted, but leaned in to nuzzle his jaw. Then, quieter: "…Take me to bed."

She pressed a tender kiss to his cheek.

"Of course," he murmured, brushing his lips against her forehead before scooping her up in a bridal carry. She wrapped her arms around his neck without protest as he carried her down the hall to their bedroom.

The room was humble, but warm—filled with wedding gifts they hadn't had the heart to pack away, and walls covered in photographs: Amethyst's first days, the two of them exhausted and glowing in the hospital, family portraits with Jaune's sprawling clan and the friends who had become chosen family.

Jaune whistled appreciatively as he stepped inside. "You know, looking at all this again, I'm starting to worry we'll run out of wall space for the rest of the kids."

Emerald arched a brow, lightly scolding. "Hm? Rest of the kids? You're already planning on more?"

He flushed, glancing away. "W-well—I mean, given my family's track record, I wouldn't be surprised if we somehow beat my parents."

"And when exactly were you going to ask me?" she pressed, but the familiar sly smirk tugged at her lips.

Jaune's embarrassment melted into a sly grin of his own. "Yes, but you never know. These things do just… happen."

Emerald paused, expression softening. She took a slow breath. "Jaune… I grew up all alone. I don't want that for Amethyst."

His cheeks colored deeper, but his eyes were steady and warm. "Then we'd better make sure she never has to feel that way, shouldn't we?"

She smiled—small, hopeful, real. Then her gaze flicked down to her post-baby body in the simple T-shirt and jeans. "Though… um… I know I'm… chubbier than I was—"

Jaune cut her off gently. "I'm gonna stop you right there, Em. If you think a few extra curves are going to turn me away, you must be mistaking me for someone else." His hand slid to her thigh and gave a playful squeeze. "Newsflash—I'm very into that."

Emerald's breath hitched, a slow, heated smile spreading across her face as she pulled him down toward the bed.

- - -

Written with RedDragonEmpress's help.

After the meal, May and Jaune walked out of the restaurant. The sun had set and the stars and moon were shining overhead as the sun slowly slipped behind the mountains. They held hands, walking together along the street. They wandered into a nearby park, May shivering a bit. Jaune, concerned, looked at her and made to remove his jacket. She shook her head and smiled warmly back at him.

"This… This was great," she murmured. "I-I'm really happy right now."

"So am I," Jaune admitted. He sighed softly, as May looked at him in concern.

"Are you all right, Jaune?"

"Just…" He shook his head. "Just tired, I guess. Like I can't be scared or nervous, so… I'm just tired. Not because of you!" He added quickly, holding up his hands. "Not you. Just…"

May slowly nodded, smiling gently.

"I know what you mean," she said softly. "This was fun though. I-I've never had fun like this before."

"Yeah," Jaune smiled warmly. "It's a good tired."

A mugger popped up, brandishing a knife.

"Hey! Hand over your money and nobody gets hurt!" He growled.

The two teens passed by him. The thief blinked.

"Huh?"

"And well, even with all this craziness," May chirped, "I'm glad of everything. Still… Ten children?!"

"HEY!" The thief shouted, running after them. He got in front of them again, "Give me your damn money!"

"My mom had eight," Jaune reminded her, absent mindedly handing the thief a few lien, "She's just fine."

"True," May hummed, "And she became a doctor too! That's really impressive!"

"She did cheat with her Semblance a bit," Jaune said.

The thief, outraged, ran up in front of the couple and waved his knife under their noses.

"HEY! Are you not getting this?! If you don't give me all of your money, I'm going to stab you!"

"Hm? Oh, do you need more money?" May asked, concerned. "You poor man! You're so dirty and thin! You must need some food!"

"I don't need food! I need to rob you both!" The thief snarled. He thrust his knife at Jaune's chest… And Jaune caught it in his bare hand. He tightened his fist, and the blade snapped in half. He let his hand open, the blade falling and clattering on the sidewalk.

The thief blinked. His mind slowly put the dots together, far, far too late.

Oh, they're Hunters in training… From Beac-

May's fist impacted the side of his head, and he stopped thinking entirely as he slammed into the grass, out cold. May scowled down at him.

"That's no reason to try to stab someone! In Vacuo you need to declare a duel first at least!" She sniffed. "So rude!"

"Uh, yeah," Jaune nodded. May flushed.

"Oh um… Did you want to knock him out? I'm sorry…"

"No! No, that's fine," Jaune said quickly. "Honestly, it's been a while since someone tried to mug me. Now that my Aura's unlocked, it's like, I don't even notice it."

Maybe that said something about his ability to register threats? Was he getting better or worse? Honestly though, someone without Aura trying to mug people in Vale was probably more of a danger to himself than anyone else.

"I know right?" May said with a smile. "Despite everything… That part of our lives is pretty amazing."

"It is," Jaune agreed with a nod. He squeezed her hand tightly. She beamed, blushing brightly. She leaned in, trembling a bit, trying to keep her eyes on his.

"May?" Jaune asked softly. May shook her head rapidly and pulled back.

"S-Sorry," she mumbles, "I'm… I'm trying to… I'm trying to…!"

"Hey, it's okay," Jaune said quietly. "I mean… I'm pretty freaked out too."

May looked up from under the brim of her hat.

"Am… Am I… Am I not attractive?" May asked gently. "I-I mean… When Winter kissed you and all, I… Um…"

Jaune shook his head. He leaned in, reaching up to cup her chin. May's face turned an even brighter red.

"No! No… May, I swear," he whispered, "You're absolutely gorgeous. I just… I'm afraid of starting this war up all over again."

May slowly nodded.

"I… I get that," she murmured. "It's all very complicated. But I… I don't think we have much of a choice. And…" She looked determined, and leaned in, "And I… I-I want everyone to win… But I want to really win…!"

"Win?" Jaune murmured… As May leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Her warmth flowed into him, and his arms went around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Winter's kiss was more experienced, strategic, almost machine like in its power and efficiency-Not in a bad way though! Just very aggressive, like a soldier staking her claim. May's was inexperienced, gentle, and shy, but sweet. Jaune held his hand up to cup her cheek, and she leaned in. The warmth was so comforting, and so electrifying...

Jaune's Scroll went off with a loud, fast paced tune from a Fuujin anime series he loved. He pulled back from the kiss and winced, as May jumped back and tried to hide in her hat again. He sighed, and pulled out his Scroll. His eyes widened a bit at the ID name, and he opened it up.

"Professor Goodwitch-I mean, um, Glynda? What is it?"

Glynda heaved a soft sigh.

"It's actually policy to contact the parents of students who severely misbehave," Glynda said. Jaune frowned.

"Oh? Uh, I guess that makes sense… So… Um… Who misbehaved? And how?"

"All of them, save for Mister Arc-Sarkara," Glynda said. Jaune's eyes widened in disbelief.

"And… What did they do?" Jaune asked slowly.

"Blew up Mount Glenn," Glynda stated, sounding exasperated. Jaune blinked several times.

"… Even Dorothy was in on it?"

"She helped cover for the others," Glynda stated flatly. "We're gathering everyone in the headmaster's office."

Jaune sighed.

"I'll be there soon," he said, looking regretfully at May. She was still blushing and shy, but she nodded.

"Thank you," Glynda said quietly. "See you soon."

The call ended. Jaune looked over at May and shrugged.

"Sorry."

"I suppose that's, um, how it is to be a parent," May admitted, her eyes lightly glowing. She shook her head. "August! You can come out now!"

August dropped down from a tree, sighing heavily. He stood up and held his hands up.

"Sorry Mom, Dad," he apologized, "But you know… I wanted to make sure everything went well."

"I get it," Jaune said, only slightly annoyed. "Still, did you know anything about Mount Glenn?"

"Not about Theodore's plan to blow it up!" August said quickly. May and Jaune stared at him intently. He coughed. "I probably shouldn't have said that. Or that Grandpa and Grandma are watching us too!"

Arjun and Saia emerged from behind a tree behind Jaune and May. Jaune flushed as May turned bright red.

"M-Mother! Father!" May squeaked.

"Now now, we're just keeping an eye on you," Arjun said kindly, holding up his hands with a small grin. Saia nodded.

"Just to keep you safe," she added.

"And you didn't interfere with the mugger because?" Jaune posed. Saia shrugged.

"Violence can help bring couples together. Worked for Isabel and Nick, after all!"

"And us," Arjun chuckled.

May blushed brightly.

"I… I guess I can't argue with that," she mumbled. Jaune sighed.

"Let's get back to Beacon."

"Quickly," August emphasized.

"And where's Penny?" Jaune asked, scanning around.

Arjun's eyes glowed as he swept around.

"Ah. She's distracted," he observed.

"By what?"

- - -

On the rooftop overlooking the park, Penny Polendinia was looking through coding by a certain Schnee heir. She sighed happily.

"So sublime, the way he writes his functions," she shook her head. "Maybe I could let him look at my basecode? At some point..."

"PENNY!" Jaune bellowed.

Penny yelped. She looked down at the park. She flew down, landing nearby Jaune with a smile.

"Salutations friends! Apologies: Did I miss anything?" She looked down at the unconscious mugger. "Who is that?"

"Never you mind," Arjun chuckled. "Let's get back to Beacon, shall we?"

Penny hummed thoughtfully, but nodded.

"If you say so!"

Evernight Castle, The Grimmlands



- - -



Arthur Watts generally considered himself quite focused, calm, and rational. That others with inferior intellects disagreed was of no matter: He knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. He knew what was real and what was unreal. He was a scientist for God's sake, not some nattering philosopher!



So what if he had faked his death? Through his false death, his true life had begun. One free of ethical restraints or budgetary meetings! Free to pursue his art!



Yet even he had found a need for some like minded conversation to ease his nerves from time to time. And while Victor Merlot wasn't quite on his intellectual level (though he was polite enough not to rib him over it too much), he was certainly superior company to the other dregs in this shadowy enterprise.



And it seemed Merlot also valued the company of a fellow scientific genius. So they had come together for tea in one of the castle's many libraries, looking out upon the marvelous desolation of the Grimmlands. Fee Clochett, his lab assistant, fluttered about on her wings as she replaced books and filed things. She was a sweet girl, blonde with a pixie cut, dressed in greens and golds. Her insect-like wings caught the faint light from the windows, as she flitted about like a butterfly pollinating.



She flew down low and dropped some volumes into both their laps in a single pass. Merlot picked it up and glanced through it. He smiled through his gray whiskers.



"Ah, thank you dear! This will be most helpful," he said. The blonde Faunus beamed and bowed.



"Of course Doctor! Do you two need anything else?"



"Not at the moment Fee, thank you," Watts said, short but not unkind. She turned and flew out of the library, the double doors shut behind her. "Honestly, if I'd had her for my grad student I could have gotten a lot more done."



"Absolutely," Merlot chuckled, sipping his tea. "How did she come into Salem's service?"



Watts grinned.



"The usual: She was jealous of a girl her crush-Peter I think? Piers?-was enamored with. She murdered her, she was found out, she went on the run, and Salem picked her up. She was hoping to become an engineering support Huntress, but, well, there went those plans."



"Typical story, really," Merlot said with a nod, "She gathers the lost and the outcast to her."



"Who else would want to change the world? And be willing to push the boundaries necessary to do it?" Watts queried, putting more honey in his cup, "Honestly, she should have been the one chosen for the Vale mission, not Fall."



Merlot hummed, sipping his tea.



"You think so? Iridescent would have been my first choice. She's not as scientifically inclined but she was always very helpful to me when I was setting up. And she ripped the hearts out of my test subjects so neatly!"



Watts nodded, smirking a bit.



"She was quite good at that, yes. Never hesitated to dispatch a test subject, or get me supplies. Fee is far more organized but Iri's enthusiasm is endearing." He snorted. "Far better than that arrogant little brat Fall. Always going on and on about how she desires power, how she will be supreme."



Merlot snickered.



"And that dress? Acting like some femme fatale from an old movie!"



Both scientists laughed.



"One wonders why our Queen puts up with her," Watts sighed, pouring himself a fresh pot, "Or puts her on this vital mission. She only got half the Maiden powers after all."



"Mm," Merlot nodded, "Sloppy, sloppy. Typical of her, really. I'm still rather new at this... Taking over the world thing, but this Fall seems so overbearing. Trying too hard. Unhappy childhood?"



"One she blames for all her mistakes," Watts sniffed, "Naturally."



"Naturally," Merlot rolls his eyes, "I had a wonderful relationship with my parents until they died! Regrettable, that. I devoted my life to trying to make their lives better and they'll never know."



"Unusually altruistic for one in the service of a Dark Queen," Watts observed wryly. Merlot chuckled.



"Well, what has she promised you?"



"To allow me to explore and learn science, to unlock the mysteries of the universe in ways I was never permitted to before," Watts said eagerly, "An entire world, nay, a universe to explore and experiment with!"



"Well, what is the use of that knowledge if it can't be put to good use?" Merlot asked. "After all, what good is it to be the greatest scientist in history if there is no history? No one to remember or speak of your name in the same sentence as Sir Jacob Fig, Adelbert Spengler, or Edmund Falconer?"



"That last one is a bit suspect," Watts sniffed, "His work on Falconer Radiation is intriguing but we've never detected it. That and his work never became widely known until he got stuck in that wheelchair."



"But you see my point, yes?" Merlot pressed, "What good is being the greatest scientific genius in existence if there is no one to appreciate it? Or people to use your discoveries to feed more data back into future experiments?"



Watts paused. He tapped his chin.



"You may have a point there," he allowed. "That said, harnessing the Grimm for the good of mankind seems counterproductive to Our Queen's goals."



"Our Queen's goals are nebulous, perhaps," Merlot allowed himself, "But think of it! A true merging of man and Grimm, just like her! A society where Death is abolished! Where no one grows old, sick, or dies! Where the Grimm are our servants!" Merlot sighed happily, his eyes glowing with an almost childlike delight. "Wouldn't it be beautiful? A world where flesh is perfected by bound shadows? Magic is unraveled as a science and applied to all!"



Watts chuckled, leaning back in his chair.



"You don't think small, do you?"



"Of course not. Why else would I be here?" Merlot said. "I respect your work too, Watts, but flesh, machine and shadow all coming together! Imagine what we could accomplish? Enough to challenge the gods themselves!"



"If any are still around," Watts snorted. He nodded. "It is an intriguing enterprise. I do believe I see why our Queen selected you."



"And I you, Arthur," Merlot said with a respectful nod.



He made a face.



"Yet leaving the Vale operation in Fall's hands..."



"Pfft. Please," Watts snorted, "Ultimately her entire plan hinges on my work. She is just a puppet, a guinea pig who will push the button for the treat. The only real obstacles are her ego. As long as she follows what we've laid out for her, it will succeed."



"Hopefully," Merlot hummed. Watts raised an eyebrow.



"You have concerns?"



Merlot looked around, scanning the room with his artificial eye. He then leaned in closer to Watts, speaking softly.



"My old sources in Vale speak of some unusual things happening," he said, "At Beacon. The Chieftains of Menagerie, Willow Schnee, the King and Queen of Pandu, General Ironwood himself... And an incredible medical professional: Doctor Isabel Arc."



"Indeed?" Watts asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've heard of her skills in neonatal regeneration therapies."



"As have I! Even used some of her work in my studies!" Merlot laughed. "Met her at a seminar once. Brilliant woman! Eight children!"



"She used her own children as test subjects?" Watts guessed. Merlot nodded.



"Why else would she have so many? Her husband was bored to tears at the convention. Made up some excuse about having to jump out a window! What she sees in him, I'll never know." He shook his head. "Nevertheless, it seems unusual for all of those people to be gathered in the same place."



"True," Watts nodded, "But tactical decisions are not really my forte. Our Queen is no doubt aware. Fall will have to adapt. I've heard she's called in The Four Generals through Lionheart."



"Then she's taking this seriously," Merlot hummed. He frowned. "Why are they called the Four Generals, anyway? They've never worked together before."



"Lionheart's fascination with Mistralian mythology, I believe," Watts huffed, "He was always such a pansy-"



A Scryer Grimm dropped down from the ceiling, and projected an image of Salem herself. She scrutinized the two scientists with a queenly expression.



"Gentlemen, I have some work for you both," she said.



"Your Majesty," they both intoned respectfully. Merlot asked more first:



"What is thy bidding?"



Suck up, Watts thought dryly. Salem looked over at Watts.



"My dear Arthur... How long would it take you to create a new cybervirus to take down Atlas and the CCTnet?"



Watts nearly dropped his tea. He stared up at Salem in disbelief.



"At-At least a full year, Your Majesty. Why?"



"Tell me, gentlemen," Salem said seriously, "What do you know about time travel?"



Merlot and Watts exchanged looks. Both of confusion, then realization... Then grins.



"Less than I should," Watts admitted.



"But we're willing and eager to learn!" Merlot gushed.



Salem smirked.



"I thought you might..."

"Alright, now Xander can step away from the book, and Petra can pick it up," Weena instructed as she took notes and observed through a computer's screen, watching the experiment happening in the same room right behind her through a camera instead of her own eyes.

The camera was something she had cobbled together early in the day with her son's input. Its function? To separate her observations from causality anomalies, allowing her to observe things shifting in real time... Real time? Real time. Allowing her to observe things shifting in real time instead of painstaking looking through recordings or asking Moses to point things out after they happened. The notes she was making while watching the experiments through the camera weren't changing when the child participating in the experiment changed; while the notes she took without watching through the camera changed to match the child actively participating in the experiment.

It rankled her sensibilities to make a piece of equipment she didn't fully understand the functions and limitations of a central part of her experiments. At the moment she understood 85% of the what, 52% of the how, and perhaps 15% of the why when it came to the camera's capabilities. Or perhaps one of her current operating assumptions was off, which would decrease those estimates substantially.

In short she didn't know why or how the camera she put together worked; just that it did so long as she layered lenses carved with astronomical runes from a forgotten civilization in the right order, ran power from the right mixture of dust through circuits shaped like the seasonal symbols of another forgotten civilization in the proper sequence, all while compiling things with a program that had been set up to use a numbering scheme that alternated between base twelve and base sixty that had been devised by a third forgotten civilization. For best results muter 'as it is written, so shall it be' in three different sacred languages before hitting the power button.

She was skipping decades of learning and progress to stand atop scaffolding of unknown construction, not knowing what steps could be taken without unbalancing the whole thing.

Not ideal.

But it is what it is. If she was going to get any kind of results within a useful timeframe it's what she'd have to do.

She just hoped she wasn't souring her future research when she finally had a chance to step back and figure out the first principles of what was actually going on under the hood.

Petra picked the book up. Weena watched reality change in acknowledgment of that action.

"The first edition reprint of The Girl Who Fell Through The Wold has become noticeably thicker," Weena narrated aloud as she wrote down another note. "I'm currently estimating around two hundred and fifty additional pages... From what Moses can recall this is the second longest version of the story, we will confirm if the version from Julian's timeline is the actual longest once Julian comes down for testing. Petra, could you show us the cover of the book and describe the illustration for the people that will read the transcription of this experiment?"

"Yes Doctor Nebogipfel," Petra nodded as she turned the book in her hands towards the camera. "The cover art features Alyx when she first arrived in the Ever After looking up to the Great Tree in the distance, the eyes of either the Jabberwalker or the Curious Cat are background elements in the sky."

"And after the cover image, what would you say is the most famous illustration in the book, the one that that's seen the most recreations and homages?" Weena asked.

"Probably the twin illustrations that share the title Alyx's Disgrace," Petra flipped through the pages and showed off the two illustrations found in the middle of the book, "Within the first illustration Alyx spies upon The Rusted Knight and The Wise Lion to learn what secret words they whisper that accompany the secret handshakes they greet each other with after being apart. In the second Alyx shares what she learned with the Curious Cat, who in turn shares the secret with everyone else which leads to The Rusted Knight and The Wise Lion becoming grievously wounded and dooming an entire acre of the Ever After to a watery grave. This is the turning point of the book's narrative, as Alyx is no longer able to pretend her actions have no real consequences. She spends the next few chapters nursing The Rusted Knight and Wise Lion back to health, and the rest of the book looking for some way to make up for her sin."

"Thank you for the synopsis Petra," Weena brought a thoughtful hand to her chin before making another note. It was a fascinating thing, knowing that if she hadn't watched this through the camera the synopsis would have been unnecessary. Without the camera running interference her memories would have shifted beneath her feet to match up with Petra's version of the story.

With the camera acting as a filter that shifting wasn't happening, the children's existence wasn't asserting their timeline as the correct one upon her personal part of reality.

This was making comparing and contrasting the timelines significantly easier. It wasn't clear yet what relevant data she'd find by comparing and contrasting the different timelines, but more data was more data and she was sure she'd find something helpful.

Back when they got the camera up and running and confirmed it worked the way Moses thought it would part of Weena had wondered if she could use it to figure out which, if any, of the eleven timelines were the original timeline. After all if the filter kept her memories from changing to match the child she was speaking with then her memory should reflect the timeline everyone was currently experiencing, and from there it'd be a simple matter of seeing which child's version of the story lined up with her own memories of The Girl Who Fell Through The World...

Weena abandoned that line of thought very quickly for reasons she was trying not to think about. She could remember watching the animated adaptation of the story dozens of times with her siblings growing up. She could remember editing a character study one of her high-school friends had written about Alyx for their literature class. She could remember a tremendous argument she had with her college literature professor about the finer details of Alyx's character arc. She regularly listened to the soundtracks of three different musicals based off of the original book.

Suffice to say Weena was quite familiar with The Girl Who Fell Through The World and she could converse with a truly obsessive fan of the work without feeling out of her depth. And yet..

...And yet...

...And yet...

...And yet as Weena looked through the camera she could only recall the story in its' broadest possible strokes. She knew the story was about a girl named Alyx, who was frequently menaced by a monster known as the Jabberwalker, had a complicated relationship with a being known as the Curious Cat, and that a man known as the Rusted Knight acted as Alex's guardian and guide through the strange land she had found herself in. Weena couldn't recall any details more specific than those.

Beyond the story itself? She knew that the Rusted Knight was the codifier of the pop-culture's current understanding of the classic hero, with several later writers admitting they took direct inspiration from the Rusted Knight as they crafted the protagonists of their own stories.

That was it.

She ought to know more. She remembered knowing more. She could distinctly recall an airship ride to a conference in Atlas form only a month ago where she had discussed the differences between the original book and its various adaptations in depth with her fellow passengers. She remembered having so much to say and learning a lot in turn. She remembered sharing some of the things she had learned with one of her sisters only a week ago, and yet she could not recall a single word she had said in that conversation nor a single idea that had been shared.

It was like there was a The Girl Who Fell Through The World shaped hole in her memory, with its edges clearly highlighting everything that was absent.

The implications... concerning.

And so she tried not to think about them too hard while she was still gathering data. Perhaps some new piece to the puzzle would provide context that could make the whole thing less alarming, and she'd feel rather silly for agonizing over nothing.

Yes. Best to avoid jumping to conclusions before she had all the facts.

And so Weena took plenty of notes as Petra continued to explain the themes and messages of the story as she knew it, every single detail large or small jotted down in Weena's shorthand for later scrutiny. Soon Petra's spiel drew to a close, and Weena placed her pen down with a frown.

"That's as far as we can go with the book until the others finally show up," Weena turned away from the screen to look at the children properly. "Do any of you have suggestions for other materials we can use to study this phenomenon?"

"The Nectar Dew series?" Dorothy suggested.

"Never heard of it," Leandra interjected as she pulled out her scroll and typed in a search, "And a quick search isn't pulling anything up."

"What?" Dorothy pulled out her own scroll and quickly pulled up her own search engine, "Here it is, by Karolyn Ceene."

"Weird," Leandra looked from her own scroll to Dorothy's. They were using the same search engine, and had both typed in Nectar Dew.

"Alright, that's something to look into later," Weena looked to Moses, who made a note Weena could trust wouldn't change without using the camera as a filter. "Any other suggestions?"

"How about newspapers?" Leander stepped forward from where he had been learning against the wall, "We all have grandparents who were in the news more than once; we could look up some important events they were involved in, see if the press had the same things to say about them in each timeline."

"That's not a bad idea," Weena smiled encouragingly. "It should be easy to get our hands on physical copies of all the major publications. Anything else?"

"Well, we should probably compare our grandmothers' filmographies," Xander looked to Petra with a contemplative crease in his brow. "I mean The Girl Who Fell Through The World has more radical differences between our two timelines than I was expecting; with changes that big that far back..."

"It'd be more surprising if their filmographies were consistent between our two timelines," Petra surmised with her own contemplative brow crease. "Tell me, in your timeline is Roaring Lion Swooping Wyvern the first film they co-starred in?"

"It is," Xander confirmed before asking his own question, "What about Way Of The Mantis? I know they were competing for the lead role in that one."

"My grandmother got the lead in my timeline, did she get it in yours?" Petra answered then inquired.

"No, my grandmother got the lead in my timeline," Xander brought his hand to his chin in thought. "I know they were both in The Red Gun, does that sound right to you?"

"The Red Gun," Petra muttered as she wracked her brain for a moment. "The Red Gun... I think that was a working title for a sword and sorcery film they were both in; The Sands Of Sorrow. Does that line up with your's?"

"No, The Red Gun of my timeline was a murder mystery," Xander shook his head.

"I see..." Petra looked down in thought, "In any case when we do find things that line up we're going to have to make sure they're actually the same movie instead of different films that just so happen to share the same title."

"This is going to take us the rest of our day, isn't it?" Xander observed.

"Probably," Petra agreed before looking to Weena. "We'll try to have something ready for you sometime tomorrow, Doctor Nebogipfel."

"Thank you, every bit could help," Weena gave Petra an appreciative smile. Her scroll ringed before she could go on, and so she pulled it out and answered via video chat, holding the camera a little too close to her face as the screen showed her a familiar face. "Hey Ozpin, what do you need?"

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything important," Ozpin apologized, "But could you give me a headcount of the children that are with you?"

"Right, I have Moses," Weena began, "Dorothy, Xander, Petra, Leander and Leandra. The rest are supposed to be showing up any minute now. They said something about a milk run they needed to take care of first, so they went off to take care of that while I started the experiment with everyone that's here."

Weena glanced to the kids and noticed that everyone except for her son were shifting about somewhat uncomfortably. Strange.

"I see," Ozpin sighed. "Well the fallout of that 'milk run' is something the whole Arc family needs to discuss, so could you send them to my office when you don't need them for the experiment anymore?"

"Well I've gotten as far as I can get today with these five, I'll bring them up right now," Weena stood up from her chair. "Just send the rest down when you finish your discussion."

"Thank you," Ozpin gave her a small smile. "Though I should warn you this discussion might take a while. You should get yourself something to eat while you're waiting for the rest of them."

The airship ride to Beacon was pretty short-Though Saia protested at Arjun's piloting.

"We're not flying through an air battle, you can follow the speed limit!"

"The speed limit is for people who aren't ace pilots!"

All the while Jaune was glad he'd taken his anti-air sickness pills. And that May was holding his hand in the backseats.

Finally, they arrived back at Beacon, and made their way to the Headmaster's office. The elevator ride was fairly short, and even before the doors opened, he could hear yelling. The doors slid open and the sound was clear as he, Arjun, Saia, May, August, and Penny entered into the large clockwork filled office.

"-How could you be so irresponsible-So reckless-!"

Glynda was scolding the children fervently as she stood in front of the desk. All of his future children were sitting in chairs in front of the Deputy Headmistress as she ranted, her face flushed. Blake stood behind her twins, frowning deeply and resting her hands on their shoulders-Leander and Leander grinned nervously, torn between pride and fear. Yang and Ruby stood behind Xia and Julian, all four glaring back at Glynda. Winter stood nearby Glynda, looking incensed, while Dorothy looked guilty and Theodore looked bored. Nicholas stood at attention, trying not to look irritated or scared, while Weiss shot him a look of pure disbelief.

Xander was cringing next to his disappointed looking mother, while Petra was solemn and Arslan tense. Ash and Ashley were grinning defiantly, though they winced when they saw Jaune. Amethyst was trying to shrink into the background, while Emerald held her shoulders and glared back.

Kali and Ghira, both looking somewhat bemused, stood behind Ozpin's desk with the Headmaster, General Ironwood, Doctor Nebogipfel and his parents. Isabel was scowling as though she was holding in her own blistering diatribe, Ironwood and Ozpin were stoic, the Doctor looked concerned and Nick grinned and waved.

"Hey son! Hey guys!"

"DAD/FATHER/PAPA/JAUNE!" Chorused his children and potential future wives. Jaune felt his heart thumping so hard it threatened to leap out of his chest. Still, seeing the situation, he forced himself to stay calm. He cleared his throat and walked up, May alongside.

"So… What happened?" He asked.

Winter glared at their son.

"Theodore? Would you like to tell your father what you did?"

"Certainly!" Theodore said cheerfully, standing up with a bright grin, "Basically, the White Fang and Cinder were going to send a train full of Dust bombs along the old Mount Glenn underground railroad. It seems this happens in almost every timeline, except for Amethyst's."

"M-My mom prevented it," Amethyst mumbled.

"And it went off like a wet firecracker in ours because Mom was holding back," Ash added. Glynda's glare barely made her shrink back, and she glared right back.

"Okay," Jaune said, "And you did what?"

Theodore grinned.

"Well, I had Leander and Leandra teleport in to pull the alarm to get everyone outside," he said.

"Mount Glenn's been restored in our timeline," Leander stated, scowling a bit at Glynda, "It was easy to find the old systems."

"And get all the White Fang members out and to a safe distance with a false poison gas and radiation alarm!" Leandra added.

"Once that was done," Theodore said, "I had them teleport back to Beacon to cover for myself, Xia, Julian, Ash and Ashley. I got the Aura boost from you, got more Aura power from Xia via Ash and Ashley, and fired off Empty Purple-"

"Combining your Glyphs together," Jaune said, for the benefit of anyone who wasn't aware. Theodore nodded.

"Exactly! And Julian added a blast of Silver Eyed Energy to it to clear out any Grimm around the area! Which leaves us with no threat and nearly a hundred White Fang prisoners, alive, for intel and for Uncle Ghira and Aunt Kali to bring home as political leverage against the pro-White Fang elements in Menagerie!"

"And has changed the timeline completely!" Glynda growled. "For all you know you could have ensured one of you gets erased!"

"If it didn't happen when we had a massive brawl," Petra pointed out, "In public no less, it probably won't happen under these circumstances."

Everyone looked at Weena. She sighed and adjusted her glasses.

"She's... Probably right? But everything is in flux, so it was still risky."

"Risky is the best word I can say!" Winter raged. "You did it without any authorization! You didn't tell anyone! What if something had gone wrong?!"

"It was a calculated risk," Theodore defended himself, "But it paid off. Sure, now the bad guys have to come up with a new plan-But their options are more limited. After all," he looked to Jaune, "You told me that one of your biggest problems in the future was Ozpin not being proactive enough."

"Did I?" Jaune asked.

"How do we know that for certain?!" Glynda demanded. Winter turned a glare on Glynda.

"I don't like the insinuation that he's lying, Professor Goodwitch," she stated firmly.

"He already admitted to getting the other children to all lie with him!" Glynda shot back, holding her ground.

"No, I didn't have them lie," Theodore said, "I just had them obfuscate and not tell you what we were doing."

"That's still a lie of omission," Arslan pointed out. Petra winced.

"I will do penance for it, Mother," Petra said quietly.

"You'd better."

"You're an officer in the Atlasian military!" Winter resumed her rant, "How could you be so reckless, disregard the regulations-?!"

"I learned it from you and Dad, actually," Theodore replied calmly. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission is what saved the world! I saw a threat, and we took it out! Now it's neutralized and things are better!"

"Possibly," Nicholas pointed out, "But we also don't know if it's changed the timeline for the better or worse."

"I think we left that question behind a long time ago," Emerald snorted. "Besides, it got the job done."

"You don't know what job has been done!" Winter growled. "We don't know the consequences!"

"We don't know the consequences for anything we do!" Emerald shot back.

"Yeah!" Ruby added, "And I think doing good things even though you don't know the consequences is better than sitting around doing nothing!"

Isabel opened her mouth to speak, but Nick rested a hand on her forearm. She glared furiously at him and they had an argument with their eyes and sign language. General Ironwood, ever calm, looked over at Ghira and Kali, before his eyes went back to Theodore.

"I'll admit this is a massive boon for our intelligence services," he said. "And our relations with Menagerie."

"If you release them all to us," Ghira stated firmly. Ironwood scowled.

"Many of them do have warrants for their arrest in Atlas-"

"And they will have warrants for their arrest issued by Menagerie," Kali smoothly interjected, "And will be tried in Menagerie. And I assure you, they will receive no special treatment."

The cat-like smile on her face, her fangs exposed, suggested nothing good for the prisoners. Jaune felt a bit of sympathy for them.

"Punishing your subordinate for such a successful operation seems wrong, don't you think?" Ghira added. Winter flushed and scowled at her son.

"That it was successful doesn't change the fact you were reckless, insubordinate, disrespectful-!"

"Mother," Theodore said, his voice quiet, "If you had the chance to fix things in the past, wouldn't you take it? To save lives?"

He tried not to look towards Isabel and Nick. Jaune saw it, and tensed. His mother and father ceased their silent argument, both looking stricken. Ironwood's frown deepened. The tension of the room increased. Winter gave her son a small, sad smile.

"Yes, I would," Winter said, more gently this time, "And I understand your desire. I respect that part. I'm not angry about your desire to do good, and yes, this went well." Her frown returned. "But doing it this way, the inconvenient reckless way-That's very dangerous! What if we'd lost one of you?"

"Nah, we'd win," Theodore said confidently, grinning softly. He looked over at Jaune. "Right Dad?"

Jaune worked his lower jaw. Winter scoffed.

"That attitude isn't helping."

"No," Ironwood spoke. "While I do want my officers to take initiative, Captain Schnee, I would have preferred that you brought this to me first."

"Yeah," Julian interjected, "But you might have said no!"

Jaune felt his wives staring intently at him, along with his kids. He took a deep breath.

Well… You said you'd take responsibility, Jaune Arc, he thought to himself, maybe it's time you did.

"He might have also said yes," Jaune pointed out. "You could have tried to convince him first."

Theodore stared at him. Ironwood nodded.

"I was hoping to launch an operation to deal with Mount Glenn anyway. We could have worked together." He raised an eyebrow.

"You instead did it yourself without any input from us, and conspired with your siblings to hide it. So if the operation had gone awry, you could have been outnumbered and outgunned."

"You might not have to worry about anything, Theodore," Jaune pointed out, "But a lot of people do. Your siblings included. I don't… I don't want to lose any of you."

The words were so natural. The thought of losing any of his future kids settled on his heart as heavily as a Goliath Grimm. It must have come through his voice and face as Theodore looked shaken. He slowly nodded.

"You're right," he said quietly. "Maybe I… Went a little overboard. It was my idea."

"It was our idea," Nicholas pointed out. Theodore shook his head.

"Yeah, but I'm the captain so I take responsibility."

"I did coordinate our cover," Nicholas said sharply.

"And I'm the eldest, so I take the blame!" Theodore insisted.

"Come on!" Ashley scoffed. "We're all in this together!"

"Agreed," Petra intoned.

"Still, it turned out well. This time," Ghira rumbled, "You should take that into account when disciplining a child."

"And it's clear who his role model is," Arjun observed dryly. "And his role models, too." He gave a significant glance to Isabel and Nick. Isabel flushed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she muttered, "Overthrowing a tyrannical government under an internationally sanctioned task force is hardly the same thing!"

"A sanction we received after the fact," Saia added with a wry look at Arjun, Nick and Isabel. Nick nodded as Isabel muttered some more.

"True," she admitted.

"Also it was really cool and it helped a lot of people!" Nick said cheerfully. He then looked a bit down. "But it also nearly got us all killed… So yeah! Punishment is good!"

"Though it must fit the crime," Kali said softly, "Or he won't learn anything. Save to be angry with himself."

Blake flushed. Ozpin looked to Jaune.

"Well Jaune, Winter? You are the parents. What do you say for punishment?"

Winter frowned, her confidence lowered.

"I… Is it appropriate for us to…?" Winter looked at Ironwood. The general shook his head.

"I believe in this case, his parents will be deferred to," Ironwood stated. "That and I have no need for more paperwork."

Jaune stared at his son. Theodore stared back, fidgeting. Jaune slowly nodded.

"I think you should be confined to Beacon, except in case of emergency, for the rest of the week," he said, "Train hard with your grandparents. And write an essay on what you did wrong. I mean…" He flushed. "You're a little big for spanking." He looked over at Winter, who nodded.

"That sounds fair," she agreed.

Theodore nodded.

"That works…" He opened a Glyph and pulled out a stack of papers. He handed it to Winter with a grin.

"Essay done," he said.

"Wha-That doesn't count!" Winter flustered.

"No offense Mom, Dad, but you're a little predictable," Theodore pointed out. Winter glared. She looked to Nick and Isabel.

"We are going to train you into the ground young man!" She growled. "If you want to act like you're invincible, we'll make you invincible!"

"Yes Mother," Theodore said quickly. Jaune looked at the rest of the kids and scowled.

"You're not off the hook either," he said, "Essays on what you did wrong too, and extra training!"

"Yours can be super short," Yang muttered to Xia. She grinned.

"No they can't!" Weiss cried.

"Yes they can," Blake said defensively.

"Of course the ex-terrorist would agree with such-such anti-social behavior!" Weiss huffed.

"Says the girl who's also been an illegal vigilante with us," Yang pointed out. Weiss blushed.

"Sh-Shut up!"

"I barely did anything," Amethyst pouted.

"Same," Dorothy sighed.

"Well, that's a little disappointing," Emerald observed.

"You have no idea," Glynda grumbled.

"Heck, I did the most," Xander said, "I disabled the monitoring devices."

"Xander!" Pyrrha gasped. Xander coughed.

"Well I did!"

May flushed, and gave her son a stern look. He shrugged.

"I mean… I did tell you what was going on… After it went down-"

"Snitches get stitches!" Leandra shouted.

The meeting devolved into bedlam. Jaune sighed.

Things were only going to get more complicated.

Still, his kids and his future brides shot him approving looks from time to time amidst the bickering. So maybe it wasn't going to be all bad.

Maybe he wasn't such a terrible dad… Or would be… Or was…?

Meanwhile, Doctor Nebogipfel and Ozpin were having a quiet conversation. He couldn't hear them, but they both looked a bit tense.

Well… It wasn't his concern for now.

"You okay?" May murmured to him.

"Just… Really wanna go to bed," he murmured back. "Want to join me?"

May fainted, her face red, and a smile on her face. Jaune caught her around her waist, and looked up at his brides. All glaring. Winter especially.

"Ah… I can explain…!"