[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posting this from the Spacebattles thread

Glimpses Into Another Time: Liaris Freese

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The Continent of Anima. 1 Year After The Fall of Beacon.

Clang.

Clang, Clang.

Clang .

In the outskirts of Fushiguro Village, a song of swords rang out in the cold night. Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, was training with her team leader and... boyfriend Jaune Arc.

Even after all this time, after all the suffering they have been through, calling Jauen her 'boyfriend' still lit her soul aflame.

Which is why it pained her to see him pushing himself as hard as he currently was.

"RRRAGH!!" Jaune roared, throwing the full weight of his new sword towards her. Pyrrha blocked with Akouo and softened the blow with Polarity. He was getting better. His use of Aura Sensing was getting far more precise every time they sparred. His sight may have been gone, but Jaune still proved he had what it takes to be a hero. How far he was willing to go to help anyone who needed it.

Jaune's sword then began to glow, releasing a blast of lightning dust, sending Pyrrha back. His new sword (Which he still had yet to name) was a very interesting element to their sessions. Ruby called it her second-best masterpiece: a railgun/bastard sword with a cycling Dust chamber in the crossguard. It could also mechshift into a spear, a design choice Jaune had apparently insisted upon. Pyrrha knew why he chose it. It was an homage to her: his champion, his mentor, his beloved.

She still felt guilty that his old sword, Crocea Mors, had been destroyed in the first place. During their fight with Cinder, she had disintegrated the ancestral blade, the flames hot enough to permanently blind Jaune. If it hadn't been for Ruby and her uncle, they might have been killed.

They had recovered in Jaune's hometown of Radian. His father and uncle had taught him what he needed to know about Aura Sensing and Aura Sight, much to Isabel's dismay. Jaune said he needed to prepare if he were to continue being a Hunter. Ruby and Yang had decided that they were going to cross Anima to go to Mistral in the off chance that Cinder might attack Haven Academy.

Jaune's sword had shifted into its spear form and he began a series of thrusts. He was aiming for her legs! Pyrrha began to weave between each thrust, blocking any stray strike. What didn't help was his Semblance. Aura Amp was amplifying his speed, make it far more difficult her to keep up. She felt her mouth shift into a smile. The only person to ever put her on the back foot was Arslan Altan, but Jaune might actually be the first person to defeat her.

Pyrrha still remembered the fight they had about joining Ruby and Yang on their journey to Haven Academy. She was prepared to leave with Ren and Nora until they had caught him sneaking out before them.

"Jaune, I'm sorry but you're not going with us. It's too-"

"No. Don't tell me it's 'too dangerous'. Tell me what you're really thinking, Pyrrha!," Jaune snapped. "It's because I'm blind. I told you, I can pull my weight just like the rest of you!"

"Jaune, please. You're not fully recovered," Pyrrha pleaded, "You can meet up with us at Haven once you've fully recovered! I don't want you getting hurt!"

"GODSDAMMIT PYRRHA!! I'M NOT MADE OUT OF GLASS!!" Jaune screamed.

"DON'T TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME, JAUNE!!," Pyrrha roared back, tears welling in her eyes, "I ALMOST LOST YOU AT BEACON AND I REFUSE TO LOOSE YOU AGAIN!!"

They had shared a few more harsh words, and eventually, Jaune did end up joining the group. They didn't talk to each other the first two weeks until Yang had dragged the two of them away from camp to let them sort things out. Tears were shed that night. So were words the two desperately needed to share.

"I... I don't regret it for a second," Jaune said "If it meant saving you, to be with for the rest of my life, I'd loose my sight all over again."

Pyrrha snuggled closer, resting her head against his chest. Her cheeks began to redden.

"Promise me, Jaune. Promise me you'll never make me cry like that ever again." Pyrrha whispered.

"I give you my word, Pyrrha. And an Arc never goes back on their word." Jaune replied.

Jaune switched his spear back into its sword form and unleashed another arc of lightning dust towards Pyrrha. She successfully dodges, but the moment she lands, her foot had been caught in ice. She looks to see Jaune had thrust his sword into the ground. He must have done that the moment she recognized the lightning attack! That was rather sneaky of him.

But Pyrrha was still the Invincible Girl. She hurled Akouo towards Jaune, who anticipated this, smacked the shield out of his way. Until his sword was yanked out of his hands by Pyrrha's Polarity, landing right into the ice covering her leg. Before he could lunge to reclaim his weapon, Akouo was pulled back, striking Jaune in the back of the head. As he landed on his back, Pyrrha freed herself from her leg from its icy prison with the Fire Dust in Jaune's sword. Charging towards her opponent, she shifted Milo into its rifle form and aimed it straight at Jaune. A smug smirk ghosted her face.

"Yield." She said. Jaune groans in defeat. He then began to pick himself up off the ground.

"You cheated," Jaune whined "You can't just snatch my sword out my hand like that! I thought we fighting by tournament rules!"

"I decided to mix it up tonight," Pyrrha says coyly "Besides, Yang fights dirty too, but you never complain when you spar with her."

"That's because I know she's going fight dirty." Jaune says dryly.

"Still, you were so close this time. The last time I was on the defensive was back in Sanctum. You should be proud of the progress we've made!" Pyrrha states proudly. She wasn't going to let him downplay his progress, especially now. Jaune's growth as a Huntsman was always impressive but now it was even more monstrous. His brain was like a sponge, any information or knowledge that was given to him, his brain would soak it in. "Plus, your handling of Aura Sensing and Aura Sight is improving. In fact, I think you might actually become an expert in both in a few years. Maybe even less."

Jaune began to rub the back of his head (It's so cute when he does that!) "Well, geez. When you put it like that, I guess I can't be that bad. But I still need to catch up to the rest of you."

He retrieved his sword and gave it a once over. He wasn't exactly a weapons expert like Ruby, but even he could tell this thing was impressive.

"So, how is it?" Pyrrha asks.

"I still need to get used to its weight. And the spear form. Everything else is fine," Jaune says, staring at it longingly "But... I still miss it. Crocea Mors. I still can't believe it got destroyed. Man, Mom was pissed."

That was a severe understatement. She had told him that if he weren't in a such critical state, she would've killed him. Even his Dad was disappointed. Until he found out that his new weapon was going to be a railgun sword.

"Have you decided on a name?" Pyrrha asks.

"Actually, I have," Jaune replies with a smile "I... I thought of you when I came up with it."

"Oh? How romantic." Pyrrha laughs

"I'm not calling it 'Pyrrha 2' if that's what you're thinking," Jaune turns to face Pyrrha, "When we weren't talking to each other at the beginning of our trip, I felt... I felt like a part of me was gone. Even if we were only a few feet away from each other. It felt as if you were out of reach."

Pyrrha felt a twinge of sadness. She didn't like being reminded of those first two weeks. She had fallen back into her old "apologize for everything" habit after they made up.

"I think that's when I realized that... I want to be by your side," Jaune continued. His eyes, even though his vision was gone, had a fire in them that only Pyrrha could see. "I never want to be away from you if I can't help it."

"Jaune, we're to young to get married." Pyrrha giggled.

Jaune's face began to turn red. "That's not what I-- Wait, you want...," Jaune then cleared his throat, mentally putting a pin on that conversation, "A-anyway, what I meant to say is: Yes, I finally have a name for my sword. I think it's pretty cool."

"Well, don't keep me waiting. What is it?" Pyrrha prys.

"Liaris Freese," Jaune states. "I figured I'd give it a symbolic name, y'know. It means 'Wholehearted Longing'. Because that's how I feel with you." Jaune's face began to blush. So did Pyrrha's.

She stared at him. She knew she could be easily swooned by Jaune's actions, but this was certainly one of her favorite ones so far!

"I-I know. It's pretty cheesy but--" Jaune didn't even get to finish his sentence. Pyrrha stopped him with a deep, passionate kiss. Putting all of her love into it. Jaune leaned into it, returning the amount of affection she was giving.

When they broke the kiss, Pyrrha pressed her forehead against his. "I love you, Jaune Arc. I'll never stop loving you. Nikos' word."

"Now you're stealing my 'Name Sworn Promises' thing?," Jaune asks, "Besides, shouldn't I be the one who says that?"

"Not today," Pyrrha says, taking his hand in hers, "Now let's go. We still have a long journey ahead of us."

"You want to go one more round? I'm not tired yet." Jaune asks. His drive to improve was rising up once again.

"Fine," Pyrrha sighs, getting into her fighting stance, "But you have to cook breakfast tomorrow. As much as I enjoy cookies and pancakes, I don't want to get to the point of craving them 24/7."

"You got it." Jaune says. He gets into his stance and waits. Pyrrha then makes the first move, changing shield first.

And so, the song of swords continued to sing in the night.

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[AndrewJTalon]

"Mrs. Nikos, We're on our final approach and will be landing in about five minutes," Orestes Nemes announced from the pilot's chair.

"Thank you Orestes," Athena put away her book and pulled out a compact mirror. She held it up so it framed her face perfectly and she stared intently into her own eyes. She took a deep breath to center herself and began her most important preparation for the day:

"The stage is waiting, and the audience thirsts for adventure," Athena whispered aloud. "Who am I? I could be anybody. I, I could be an airship captain who just returned from a mighty voyage to discover her daughter eloped in her absence! Or I could be a lone huntress! Battling Grimm in the rainforest until I receive a letter telling me I've become a grandmother and my family needs me at home! Or perhaps I'm a countess, fearful that her daughter has been deceived by her suitor! Yes. And if Pyrrha's love story needs a villain... I'll be the greatest villain the world has-"

"Mrs. Nikos!" Orestes interrupted the retired movie star's train of thought as the airship came to a complete stop on the landing pad. "I believe your daughter needs your genuine feelings right now, not another lived performance!"

"If she needs me in that role I'll play it Orestes," Athena objected. "I've always played the role Pyrrha's needed to push her story forward: the fact that's placed me in the role of antagonist more often than it's placed me in the role of loving support is a regretful necessity I made peace with long ago."

"You made peace with it far too quickly if you ask me." Orestes looked his employer in the eye as he continued, "Just remember that if you're the villain in your daughter's story you'll be the villain in your grandchild's story. I know you don't want that, so I need you to look inside your heart and ask yourself if playing any role besides the supportive mother is actually necessary or just something you want to do."

The two of them stared at each other unblinking for an uncomfortable amount of time. Eventually, Athena looked away first.

"It's always been necessary," the actress tried to justify. "I've taught Pyrrha more about how the world works through lived experience than I could have with heart-to-heart conversations."

"I'm not sure sure that's true ma'am," Orestes replied as he got out of his seat and started to collect his employer's luggage.

"You could just hold my hand to tell if I'm being genuine or not." Athena offered.

"My Semblance works based off of what someone BELIEVES to be true," Orestes clarified not for the first time. "That isn't always going to line up with reality. But it has given me a lot of perspective on what reality is for a person. Your reality is that your daughter needs you to be honest and sincere about your feelings: Not you playing a role."

Athena sighed and dropped her next protest. While Orestes hadn't been in her employ for long but he was one of the few people who had seen her real self since she had split with her husband all those years ago. Normally when a servant started getting that close she fired and replaced them as her budget for trust was quite small, but Orestes' had proven himself worthy of that trust before she had gotten the chance to fire him and now he was too valuable to let go. His pushback against her ideas was annoying but had been valuable on more than one occasion, so she would put off choosing a role to play until she had a better measure of her daughter's paramour.

She closed her eyes in concentration and when she opened them she in one of her more generic personas: the high society woman that men hesitate to approach. This mask would do until she was with her daughter.

She exited the private airship with graceful poise and a purposeful stride, Orestes following with the luggage that shouldn't be left behind in a private vehicle for any reason no matter how safe a parking place may be.

The long term parking for private airships ran parallel to the more short term landing strips of commercial airships, with the path leading to the school proper situated between them. The hatch for her airship just so happened to be facing away from that path so Athena strode around her airship like the diva she currently embodied, only for her steps to slow as she saw the airship that had landed next to hers...

That was one of the Schnee family's custom airships. The persona Athena was currently embodying wouldn't pass up a chance to speak with fellow members of high society like the Schnees. A delay keeping her from Pyrrha then. Athena closed her eyes and forced her annoyance down: breaking character wouldn't help Pyrrha at all.

The Schnee airship opened its' doors and Willow Schnee gracefully descended the access ramp like butter sliding over warm bread. Following slightly behind the Schnee matriarch on her left was her son Whitley, who was scowling as much as his dignity allowed. Athena could also see a butler wrangling some luggage behind them in the airship.

"Mrs. Schnee!" Athena greeted the matriarch of the world's richest family, "What a pleasant surprise!"

Willow gaped at the retired actress for a moment before she returned the greeting in kind, "Athena Nikos? My goodness, you haven't aged a day! How long has it been? Ten, twelve years?"

"Twelve," Athena answered, "It's been twelve years since the Martha Wayland Charity Gala, I see you've-"

"ATHENA! DARLING!" A loud and joyous voice shouted, and Athena's smile became strained and too polite as she recognized who that voice belonged to. The redhead turned just in time to be bear-hugged by the woman who had called out, and Athena felt the joints in her back pop as she was lifted off the ground. "IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!"

"Hello Basara," Athena wheezed with her smile becoming more and more plastic by the second. Basara put Athena back on the ground and let go of her fellow retired actress, stepping back to get a good look at the redhead.

"You look fantastic!" The dark-skinned woman gushed as her husband Logos stepped up beside her. "I see you're doing much better without the ponce than the ponce is doing without you, his latest batch of infomercials isn't even that good."

Athena blinked owlishly as her façade crumbled and she stared at Basara like the other woman had grown a second head. "I, I thought you liked Peleus..." She eventually managed.

"We did," Logos admitted with a frown, "And when we heard about your separation in the news it was a bit of a shock to us. But you were never a frivolous woman, so we knew you must have had good reasons for separating from him. You also have a high tolerance for fools and idiots, so Peleus had to have done something monumentally stupid for you to have demanded a separation."

"I, well, he did..." Athena stammered as she cast her eyes about for a way out of this conversation. From the look Orestes was giving her she could tell that he thought this was a beneficial interaction she needed to go through. And so Athena locked eyes with Willow and sent a silent plea for help.

A plea the Schnee matriarch was willing to answer as she strode forward and interjected herself into the conversation, "Excuse me, you're Basara Altan right? Winner of best actress four years in a row?"

"That is me," Basara confirmed in a slightly put out tone.

"I'm a HUGE fan or your work!" Willow gushed with all the enthusiasm of a teenage girl with front row seats for her favorite singer's concert. "Your soliloquy in Maple Lake brings me to tears every time I watch it, and I've watched The Lost Princess on my birthday every year since it was released! I can't believe we've never met before! I mean the whole reason I went to the Azurite Gala was because you were supposed to be there! Why weren't you?"

"Well my husband and I were invited," Basara shrugged as she accepted that this was the conversation she was having now, "But we were quietly uninvited about a week before the Gala happened."

"Why would you get uninvited?" Willow asked in surprise.

"The host was worried his mother would cause a scene after she found out my roaring in The Last Mile wasn't dubbed," Basara explained.

"Oh?" Willow blinked in confusion for a moment as she worked through the odd-seeming statement, but it didn't take her long to put things together, "Oh. Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that happened."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Basara looked Willow in the eye, "You aren't the one who insulted us."

Logos nodded in agreement with his wife before he rumbled out a question, "If it's not too much to ask what business brings you here Mrs. Schnee? It's still a bit early for the Vytal Festival."

"We're here because my sisters mamboed sideways with a man and are dealing with the consequences," Whitley sourly interjected. Willow gasped at her son's brazen disregard for his sisters' privacy while a scandalized look grew across her face. Athena closed her eyes and grit her teeth. Willow pulled her out of a social situation she didn't want to deal with, she was obligated to return the favor.

"I'm here for a similar reason," Athena explained in a commiserating voice. "My daughter has gotten a child from her team leader, Jaune Arc."

For some reason Willow froze at that pronouncement. Whitley's face grew more sour. Basara and Logos looked to each other with raised eyebrows, and then Basara said something that shook Athena's core:

"What an interesting coincidence," Basara's voice was surprisingly nonjudgmental considering the subject matter, "We are also here because of a child our daughter had with Jaune Arc."

"Oh dear," Willow murmured as she looked between Athena and the Altans, "Both my daughters are also with a Jaune Arc. Are we all speaking about the same Jaune Arc? Messy blond hair? Blue eyes? Son of an absolute hunk?"

"Excuse us," a new feminine voice interjected, "Are you talking about Jaune Arc?"

Athena's head snapped in the direction of the new voice to see Ghira and Kali Belladonna, rulers of the sovereign territory of Menagerie approached them with cautious smiles.

"We are," Logos confirmed, "My wife and I are here to help with the granddaughter Jaune Arc is responsible for."

"I see we're here with a common purpose then," Ghira observed. "I didn't expect to meet any of the other parents so soon after landing."

"Wait wait wait," The world was shifting beneath Athena's feet. She pointed to Basara and Logos, "Your daughter has a child with Jaune Arc." She pointed to Willow, "Both of your daughters have children with Jaune Arc." She turned her finger to Ghira and Kali, "And your daughter has a child with Jaune Arc."

"Twins actually," Kali corrected. Athena didn't notice.

"And my Pyrrha has a child with Jaune Arc!" Athena's voice rose an octave. "How many women has Jaune Arc been with!?!?"

Ghira and Kali gave each other a look and mutually agreed it was best to rip off the band-aid instead of dragging it out. "The number we were given was eleven."

"Eleven!!!" Athena croaked. She felt her stomach drop. Orestes was right: her never-ending role-play style of teaching Pyrrha hadn't worked! Her daughter had fallen in with an insatiable playboy! She should have had honest heart to heart conversations with Pyrrha like Orestes said she should have!

Athena fainted, and Orestes was there to catch her before she went down.

The redheaded actress wasn't out for long. She opened her eyes to see everyone present gathered around and looking down at her with concern as Orestes supported her.

"This is all my fault," the words spilled from Athena's lips as Orestes helped her stand again. "I've failed as a mother and left my daughter helpless to the charms of a rake!"

"Glynda assured me Jaune Arc is a good man," Orestes patted Athena on the shoulder, "The situation might not be what you're thinking."

"If what we were told is true then the situation is definitely not what you're thinking," Logos rumbled.

"Yes," Basara continued for her husband, "We were told our granddaughter is here due to time travel. I would not be surprised if it's the same for all of you as well."

"Time Travel?" Whitley scoffed, "And you believed that?"

Uncertain looks went around the group, and a lively debate about the plausibility of time travel kicked off.

With everyone so distracted it should come as no surprise that no one noticed the large corvid land on an extra tall lamppost a few dozen yards away.

Nobody noticed its' intense stare, or the calculating gleam in its' eyes...

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From Spacebattles Thread

Glimpses Into Another Time: Heir To The Throne And The Boy Left Alone

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Arc-Schnee Manor, Atlas. 5 Years After The Defeat of Salem

"Son". "Brother". "Fearless Leader". "Deadlast". "Friend". "Fool". "Rusted Knight". "Hero".

In his short career as a Huntsman, Jaune Arc was called many things. Currently, however, the one he was still coming to terms with was "Father".

He was sitting in the gazebo in Willow's garden watching the sunrise, holding his son, Nicholas, in his arms. As a farmboy, Jaune had always been an early riser and it looked like he passed that down to his son. At least, that's what he wants to think. Nicholas looked more like Weiss than him, so he was kind of hoping that his habits passed down to his son. But his Mom and Saphron insisted that's not how babies work.

"Bwah" Nicholas snaps Jaune out of his thoughts.

"Heh. Yeah, you're right. It's too early to me to be stressing out." Jaune chuckles. He began to feed Nicholas his baby food. It wasn't any of the expensive stuff Weiss insists they buy. It was a family recipe his Mom taught him. He also didn't want to trouble Mr. Klein so early in the morning. Or Willow, Gods know busy she's been in these past few years and deserves a couple of hours of sleep.

Ever since Ruby and Oscar defeated Salem, everyone in Remnant had one objective in mind: Rebuild. Winter, who had taken General Ironwood's spot in the Council, and the remaining members of Atlas' Council decided it would be best if Mantle and Atlas were no longer divided by the sky. It should've taken them years to rebuild Atlas from the ground up, but the Staff of Creation had made things relatively easier. Then, Willow decided the SDC needed a fresh start and restarted the Dust mines. She even went down and mined with her works on some occasions. Weiss, meanwhile, worked together with Blake to establish relations between the SDC and Menagerie. Her and the rest of Team RWBY go on missions the 2nd week of each month.

Weiss... Part of him still can't believe she said 'Yes' when he proposed to her. Hell, he's still surprised she agreed to go out with him way back in their Beacon days. But she did say 'Yes'...

And then she immediately got embarrassed after squealing like a little girl and said "It took you long enough, you dolt". You won't hear Jaune complain. A win's a win.

His sister Tangy started laughing when she heard the news. She said they were just like Mom and Dad...

Jaune looked towards the fountain in the garden. A statue of a man Jaune knew would've laughed his ass off if he saw him and Weiss getting married.

It was during the evacuation to Vacuo when his father Nick died. Jaune had been fighting Neo after she targeted Weiss. He could still remember that smug look on the henchwoman's face after she slashed his, giving him his scar over his right eye. But it was all a trick to get him away from Penny so Cinder could kill her and take the power of the Winter Maiden. Then his father had rushed in at the last second, sending Penny towards him and Weiss and taking the hit for her, but at a heavy cost. In that moment, time slowed for Jaune. His Dad was pierced through the chest by Cinder.

"What a pity. I guess being a fool runs in your family. Doesn't it, Jaune." Cinder said, coldly.

Nick slowly turned his head towards Jaune and simply said, "It's not over yet. They won't give up."

He set Blónt Joyeúx to its overdrive setting and threw it at the bridge the trio was standing on, causing it to collapse. Whether or not he knew about the Ever After's existence was a question Jaune would never get to ask. The only thing he saw before he fell was the life leaving his Dad's eyes and a smile on spreading across his face.

To this day, Jaune still blames himself for his death. No matter how much his Mom assures him, it was his fault Dad isn't here to see his grandson. It's his fault Mom has to go home to an empty house after work. His Dad died because he was too weak. Just like Pyrrha. It was all--

"Darling?"

---------------------------------------------------

"Daughter". "Sister". "Heiress". "Brat". "Snow Angel". "Bossy". "Friend". "Ice Queen". "Hero".

Weiss Schnee was called many things growing up. But the one she wore currently and proudly was "Mother".

How could she not? Her wonderful, caring dork of a husband blessed her with such a beautiful and spirited baby boy. A baby boy who would've woken her up if not for Jaune's tentative nature. He liked to keep himself busy around the manor.

Part of her feels like he's overworking himself on purpose. Unlike Jaune, Weiss wasn't oblivious to her surroundings. She knew her husband better than he knew himself.

Isabel, her mother-in-law, had referred to it as 'Survivors Guilt' and if she had to guess, it all started at the Fall of Beacon. When their friend Pyrrha died. During the Journey to Mistral, he spent most nights training obsessively. Ruby and the others were starting to get concerned until Weiss had intervened.

"Jaune. You're going to run yourself ragged at this rate. You need to stop pushing yourself like this," Weiss says. She pulled Jaune into a warm hug. "Please. Take it easy on yourself. Pyrrha wouldn't want this."

It made her feel a little rotten for invoking Pyrrha's name, but she needed to get her point across and she wasn't going to pull her punches. It worked. Jaune had started taking better care of himself. If Pyrrha had seen him at the Battle of Haven, she would've been proud. But it seemed the universe enjoyed watching her beloved suffer. His parents had met up with them in Argus, having been requested to go to Atlas by her mother for her family's yearly physicals. When Salem had caused the Fall of Atlas, his father, Nicholas, had sacrificed himself to save them. And being separated by time in the Ever After had worsened his trauma.

When they had defeated Salem, Jaune told her that he was going to step away from being a Hunter. A decision that she supported without a second thought. She knows how much pain her husband is in. But after everything he's done for her, she's willing to let him lean on her as long as he needs.

Weiss walked around the manor until she spotted Jaune with Nicholas in the gazebo... It appears Jaune is feeding him that "homemade" baby food again. Honestly, what was the point of purchasing all that baby food if he was just going to mash a bunch of bread and bananas together in a pot of milk?

As she approached, Weiss noticed that Jaune had been staring at the statue again.

"Darling?" Weiss says.

Jaune noticed her at the corner of his eye and looked towards her, as if he just snapped out of a trance

"Oh. Good morning, Weiss," Jaune greets her, giving another spoonful of baby food to Nicholas. "We were just enjoying the sunrise together."

"Jaune, you know we have perfectly good baby food in the kitchen. You don't need to feed Nicholas this mush."

"Hey, I ate this "mush" as a baby I turned out fine. Besides, who feeds a baby fish-flavored baby food anyway?"

Elsewhere, beyond the fields we know, Blake sneezes.

"I'm convinced that mush is what made you so dense in the first place," Weiss knew there was something on his mind. "You were staring at the statue again."

"I... I was just wondering if my Dad was as scared as I am now when I was born," Jaune looked down at Nicholas. He had fallen asleep again. "What if... What if I make a mistake? What if--"

"It's very presumptuous of you to think that you're taking this on by yourself," Weiss says, haughtily. She began to scoot closer to him "I'm here if you need someone to lean on. After all, you've saved my life plenty of times. As your wife, I owe you this much."

"Weiss, you don't--"

"Jaune, you've gone above and beyond for me going as far back as our days at Beacon," Oh, she was using her serious voice "It only makes sense that I put in just as much effort."

The two sat there for some time. Simply staring at their sleeping son. Weiss spoke first.

"Do you know when I realized that I was in love with you?"

"Uhhh..."

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"I... don't think you actually told me."

"Well then, allow me to enlighten you. It was when you told me take control of my life."

Now he remembers. It was a few days after the Fall of Beacon. Her father, Jacques, had come to essentially kidnap her. He used her position as heiress to strong-arm her to leave with him. When he tried forcing Weiss to break up with him...

Jaune punched Jacques with the all the rage he had. He was trying to grieve for Pyrrha but he was so angry. He needed to hit something and Jacques graciously volunteer. He then told Weiss

"Are you going to let this twig of a man hold your life hostage, Weiss!! It's your life, not his!!"

Those words meant everything to her. Weiss threw away her title as heiress that day. She decided to take hold of her destiny with her own hands and joined her friends and her boyfriend.

"Don't you dare doubt my love for you, Jaune Arc," Weiss kisses him. He felt her reassurance in that kiss. "Now then, let's go inside and have a proper family breakfast."

"Oh, come on, Weiss. Nicholas likes this stuff," Jaune protests "Don't knock it till you try it."

"Not on life, Mister. I'm not touching that slop, thank you very much."

As the couple walked back inside, Weiss thought back to a conversation she had with Blake. She had mentioned how she and Jaune were mirrors of each other and how it was destiny that had brought them together. She found herself struggling to disagree with Blake's assessment day after day. Meanwhile, Jaune was thinking about how proud his Dad is of him and how he'll try his hardest to honor his sacrifice.

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[AndrewJTalon]

Glimpses Into Another Time: New Life



- - -



Arc-En-Ciel Hospital, Radian, Vale. Five Years After the Defeat of Salem



Cinder Arc slowly opened her eyes. Her Aura, so weak before, was thrumming through her tired body. Muscles were repaired and ligaments restored. Yet despite the power flowing through her, she was filled with a weariness and exhaustion that her long sleep hadn't cured.



She stirred and looked around the hospital room. It was one of many in the Arc-En-Ciel castle hospital: Warm wooden panels covering up cool granite walls, the high tech monitoring systems and holoviewers alongside old fashioned tapestries from the castle's long history.



None of that really mattered to her as much as the two tiny forms in the incubator nearby, or the sleeping blond man in the chair next to them.



"Good morning."



Cinder started and looked at the doorway. Nick Arc, her father-in-law, smiled broadly at her. He had doffed his usual armor in favor of a white shirt, a blue flannel button up shirt over it, and tan jeans with his work boots. He walked in silently, quite a feat for the seven foot tall man, as he set a pile of gifts and cards on a nearby table.



"Morning," she murmured. Her gaze turned back to the incubator unit. "Are they-?"



"Well, let's see," Nick rumbled softly. "Can you stand up?"



Cinder tried, but she grimaced as her muscles protested. Nick chuckled, and offered a strong arm built like the trunk of a mighty oak. She accepted it, and he helped her out onto the floor with his arm around her waist. Slowly, he guided her up to Jaune. He was snoring softly, his cheeks covered in fuzz, a blue duster wrapped around him like a blanket. She glanced at Nick, who smiled.



"He hasn't left since you passed out. About twelve hours ago," he said softly.



She reached out and brushed her fingertips over Jaune's face. He smiled softly in his sleep, and she felt weak in her knees for different reasons.



"Are they okay?" She asked again, her eyes turning to the incubator. She pressed a hand against the glass and stared intently through it. Twin babies, a boy and a girl: So small they were nearly lost in the mass of monitoring and life support equipment attached to them. Both had scrunched up faces, resembling prunes. One twitched and fussed, while the other lay very still. Her heart pounded as she stared intently at the still one.



"The Aura treatment worked," Nick said gently, a fond smile on his face as he looked down at his grandchildren, "It looks scary, I know, but they're going to be fine. Izzy's just very thorough when it comes to her grandkids."



Cinder sniffled.



"They shouldn't have been premature," she whispered, "I-I didn't... What did I...?"



"Nothing. This isn't your fault, Cinder," Nick murmured, squeezing her waist. Cinder bowed her head.



"You don't know that... All the... All the horrible things I've done to myself," she whispered, "All the surgery and magic and..."



Tears began to pour from her eyes.



When she'd learned she was pregnant, she had been elated and terrified in equal measure. Jaune had the same reaction, whooping for joy just before he fainted. Ever since she'd fallen in love with this idiot, there had been a part of her that had hoped... Had prayed... That she could give him children.



Yet another part had been just as frightened that she'd lose them. It would be a fitting punishment for a woman who had taken so much life, to be denied the ability to bring it into the world.



She sobbed quietly when the active one slowed and went still, only the breathing tubes telling her the baby was still alive.



Nick was silent as she cried, just holding her. His eyes looked over at his own son, still sleeping.



"Jaune was premature, too," Nick said quietly. "He was in a lot worse shape than your twins. Izzy had to invent new healing techniques just to keep him alive, all the while she was recovering from her labor. Me? I... I felt worse than useless. All I could do was stand there and watch my baby boy fight for his life, my wife do everything she could to keep him alive. I... I wondered if..."



She looked up at the big man. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to be calm.



"A few times, I wondered if I was going to have to go back to the farmhouse and tell the girls that they weren't getting a little brother," he said quietly. He looked over at Cinder.



"Isabel blamed herself. It's what she does you know? It took a long time for her to realize it wasn't anything she did. And it's going to take time for you to realize the same..."



The still one closest to her stirred again. Cinder stared, and rested a hand on the glass over the baby. It flailed a bit, before pressing its chubby fist up against the glass. It's twin, perhaps acting out of some instinct or early Aura sense, reached out and did the same.



"But you will realize it," Nick said softly. "Seeing your children grow up healthy and strong is a great motivator."



Cinder sniffled again. The tears poured down her cheeks. But a smile was on her face, as she stared down at her babies. She pressed her other hand down over their fists.



"Do you need anything else?" Nick asked quietly. Cinder planted her feet firmly on the floor. She looked back up at her father in law and shook her head.



"N-No... Thank you," she whispered.



Nick smiled, and squeezed her in a one armed hug.



"That's what family is for," he murmured. He looked over at his son with a tender look. "You should wake him up soon. He needs some food."



Cinder laughed softly through her tears.



"Idiot would get himself killed if not for me," she whispered.



"Heh. Izzy said the same thing," Nick beamed at her.



- - -



Just a bit of drama from the Cinder Timeline.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Two airships manufactured in the sub-kingdom of Pandu landed around the same time not too far away from one another. They were of different models; a smaller one designed for complicated maneuvers in remote locations and a larger one built for luxury and comfort while cruising along well-established airways. From the smaller of the two airships emerged Nicholas "Nick" Arc and his brother in arms Arjun Sarkara. From the larger ship came their wives Isabel and Saia. The two pairs converged in the space between the airships, with Nick scooping up his wife into a hug while laughing in excitement. Isabel hugged back, though her own hug was tenser and her expression anxious.

"Grandparents eleven times over!" Nick grinned as he pulled back from the hug. "Our son is winning at life!"

"Winning?" Isabel smacked Nick's arm, "Our boy's about to have more responsibility placed onto his shoulders than he can imagine! And that's if everyone agrees to play nice! There could be lawsuits! A public smear campaign! A hundred other nightmares you can't stab or shoot your way out of could be barreling down on our son at this very moment!"

"Well, he could always crash on our couch if he has to flee the country," Arjun half-seriously joked.

"Now isn't a good time to joke about such things dear," Saia admonished before a small smirk graced her lips, "Though we do have a nice couch."

"We do? Good. That's why I made you Queen, you know all about such things," Arjun said with a gentle smile for his wife.

Isabel closed her eyes and took a calming breath. She had gotten a LOT of practice keeping calm with her team back in school, after all. "Let's just find our son and talk with the headmaster before we're accosted by angry parents."

"NICHOLAS ARC YOU SON OF A BITCH!" All four of them flinched from the intensity of the bellowing voice that was approaching. They all turned to face the caller, and a snarl escaped Nick's throat.

"TAIYANG XIAO LONG YOU RAT BASTARD!" Nick yelled back. The two blond men of different heights aggressively strode toward each other with raised hands ready for an open-palm strike. Those hands came together with enough force to produce the sound of a small thunderclap and clasped each other in an arm wrestling position. The two men then tried to push the other's hand out of position, savage grins were mirrored on their faces as laughter escaped both of their lips.

Sauntering up from behind Taiyang was the familiar, if significantly messier from the last time they saw him, Qrow Branwen. The dark-haired scythe wielder took a sip from a flask he stored in a shirt pocket before nodding in their direction, "'Sup?"

Tension left Isabel's shoulders with the recognition that she was dealing with old friends instead of irate parents. "Qrow, Tai, it's good to see you again," She greeted the pair.

"It's good to see all of you too," Qrow replied as Nick and Tai's impromptu arm-wrestling match ended in a draw. "It's been quite a while."

"It has," Arjun agreed right before the passage of time hit him. "Was the wedding really the last time we were all together as a group?"

"It was," Tai affirmed with melancholy in his voice. "We still use the coffee machine you guys got us."

"We're sorry we couldn't attend the funeral," Saia bowed her head with a look of shame.

"You guys had a lot on your plate then," Tai excused, "What with that gang boss trying to sneak back into the country."

"That may be true," Arjun allowed, "Yet we still regret the fact we weren't able to honor Summer's memory with you. We placed a statue of her in the Hall of Heroes, but it felt hollow without those who were closest to her."

"You mean the Hall of Heroes in the royal palace?" Qrow asked. When Arjun and Saia nodded Qrow let out a low whistle, "That's one hell of an honor; I remember hearing a report in the news that your Hall of Heroes is almost out of room."

"Yes," a small smile grew on Arjun's face, "Adding any more statues will require a remodel of that wing of the palace. Some of our advisors were upset that we used some of our last remaining space to honor a foreigner that never stepped foot in Pandu, but Summer deserved it."

"That's, that's," Taiyang sniffed and wiped away a tear that threatened to spill from the corner of his eye, "Thank you. I'll have to make time to come and see it."

Nick placed a hand on Tai's shoulder and rumbled, "We're sorry the funeral was the last time we spoke with you."

"That's not your fault," Tai shrugged. "You guys live on the other side of the country, and I was enough of a mess after everything that we would have fallen out of contact even if you lived down the road."

"We still could have found some excuse to swing by and check up on you," Isabel objected. "Both of our jobs are flexible enough for that."

"Well," Qrow smirked, "If you really want to make it up to us you can tell your son that Tai's officially his favorite in-law."

Isabel's eyes darted back and fourth between Qrow and Tai before she buried her face in her hands with a groan, mentally kicking herself for not entertaining the possibility that Tai's kids could be among those her son had shacked up with. "Yang or Ruby?" She asked from behind her hands.

"Yes," Tai smiled.

"BOTH OF THEM?!?" Isabel's head whipped up with wide eyes.

"Yep," Tai popped the p as his smile morphed into a grin. "So I'm morally obligated to give your boy a hard time, but I think we can skip that if he marries my girls first."

"Breaker above," Isabel moaned, "Why?"

"Hey, it's not my fault your son inherited his father's harem powers," Tai replied slightly put out by Isabel's reaction.

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked with confusion on his face, "I'm married to the only woman I've ever dated. How could Jaune have inherited harem powers from me?"

"You can't tell me you never noticed how many girls were gunning for you?" Tai elaborated. "I mean beyond Isabel you had Mombi, Glynda, Snezana, that weird tiger faunus girl, and that was just at Beacon. I'm pretty sure that Schnee lady you played bodyguard for had the hots for you, and the whole reason Vermilion Pullet gave you a fifty percent discount on all her baked goods was because she was trying to reach your heart through your stomach."

"But I only dated and married one girl," Nick insisted. "That makes me as monogamous as possible. You're the person who married more than one woman, doesn't' that mean you had harem powers?"

"I was in a love triangle," Tai explained. "If you check with your local bookstore they'll tell you that isn't considered a harem story unless the guy marries both girls at the same time. You my friend were part of a love octagon; and that's considered a harem story even if only one girl gets with the guy."

"Oh, I see," Nick grinned, "You're trying to pin this on me because my son's gone beyond your greatest accomplishment of knowing the touch of two different women!"

"What! No!" Tai squawked before trying to give Nick a noogie, something the taller man easily avoided while laughing.

"I must admit I'm confused as to why both of you are avoiding the harem accusations," Arjun observed. "I was under the impression that Vale's laws allows for bigamy under a wide variety of circumstances. You would think more people would embrace the convenience those laws provide." The royal archer then noticed the side eyed expression his wife was giving him and so he hastily added: "Though the strict monogamy of Pandu's laws is something I'm personally quite happy with."

Saia rolled her eyes before kissing her husband on the cheek.

Isabel heaved a mighty sigh before she muttered to herself, "Alright. I'm going to be related to Taiyang now. That's fine. Tai isn't a stranger who'll try to take advantage of Jaune." Her face then contorted with self recrimination, "Oh! Where did I go wrong? Jaune's now the fourth child of mine to run away from home to find their destiny elsewhere! And do they talk to me and tell me what their doing? No! I only find out what they're up to after they get themselves into trouble like this! Trouble they could have avoided if they just stuck to the morals I tried to teach them! But no! They just put their morals aside in their quest to find themselves and then I have to help untangle the knot! Was I too hard on them? Not hard enough?"

"Well," Qrow interjected, "You're batting 50/50 right now, so I wouldn't say you're doing everything wrong."

Isabel turned her gaze to the dark haired man. "Thank you Qrow, for reminding me why I've never gone to you for a sympathetic ear."

"What's wrong with what I said?" Qrow asked without really expecting an answer.

"Isabel, I doubt the situation is as dire as you probably think it is," Arjun reasoned. "Jaune isn't the type to go after frivolous women. Their parents are probably decent folk like Taiyang and we'll all be able to find the best path forward together. Really the biggest obstacle is going to be the expense of raising so many children, yet if all of our families contribute I'm certain we'll be able to afford not just the current batch of children but any future children Jaune and his girls decide to have."

"Wait, you're including yourself among the families who are going to chip in?" Isabel asked.

"Well of course," Arjun smiled, "Jaune is my godson after all! It's only fitting we provide all the help we can."

"Of course it will be easier for us to access royal funds if it's a family expense," Saia picked up where her husband left off, "So if one of your daughters married our son everything will go more smoothly."

"Oh not this again," Isabel groused as the royal couple chuckled.

As his laughter came to an end Arjun cast his eyes about to look at the things his aura sensing ability had already told him were there. It was a simple wisdom to confirm what his more esoteric senses were telling him with his more mundane senses, it had let him catch oddities that turned out to be assassins on more that one occasion. Cardboard boxes weren't supposed to have human souls in them after all...

...and neither were birds.

Arjun kept the large corvid in the corner of his eye, watching it land on a particularly large lamppost where it had a good view of most of the airfield. It was staring at a small gathering of people a good distance away with the gleam of malice in its' eye. That in and of itself might not have been odd, corvids were smart enough to hold grudges after all, but this corvid felt like it had the soul of a human woman. Something was up.

Not wanting to draw the bird's attention, Arjun began to move his hands in the old sign language Team SANI had devised for stealthier missions. Saia noticed right away, they still used it to hold private conversations in the middle of court after all. Isabel and Nick proved they weren't that rusty either as Isabel was instantly alert and Nick stopped roughhousing with Tai. The three of them were soon keeping their eyes on the bird like Arjun was.

Taiyang and Qrow had never been taught the sign language Team SANI used, but they were still quick on the uptake and noticed the sudden change in their friend's dispositions. The two of them looked in the general direction the rest were looking in and saw the bird as well. The two of them tensed, and Qrow reached for his weapon.

"Shit." Qrow cursed as he looked at the raven. Then the raven jumped into the air, "SHIT!"

Qrow shot forward and Isabel felt her eyes bug out as her friend's shape changed before her eye, the dark haired man becoming a crow in more than just name, his aura infused wings pushing him forward faster than human legs could.

"What in the-" Saia began as Taiyang shot off after his teammate, fortunately he shouted an explanation as he went:

"THAT RAVEN'S RAVEN!"

Isabel's semblance Total Body Control gave her access to many abilities most would consider to be unnatural. Altering her own brain chemistry was one of them. The Arc matriarch altered her perception of time in an effort to analyze the rapidly changing events in front of her. The raven was indeed turning into Raven, who was drawing her blade and descending on a curved trajectory towards a group of important looking people. In spite of their speed Taiyang and Qrow wouldn't get there before Raven had the chance to stab someone. She knew what she needed to do. As the normal perception of time returned the command was already leaving her lips:

"NICK! THROW ME!"

There was no hesitation on her husband's part, and she was sent hurtling through the air at speeds something as non-aerodynamic as a woman shouldn't be able to achieve. Within a few heartbeats she was past Tai and Qrow, landing roughly on her feet between the group of important looking people and Raven, who's blade pierced through Isabel's aura and flesh.

The instant the blade touched her she shifted all of the vital organs and blood vessels out of its path through her flesh. As it came out her other side she grew a sheath of bone around it from her ribs, pinning it in place within her.

"Hello again Raven," Isabel growled, "Still a crazy bitch I see."

Isabel punched Raven using all the might she could muster with the blade keeping her from putting her whole body into the motion. It was still enough to knock the black-haired woman back as she was forced to let go of her sword.

Raven stumbled for a moment, and in that moment Taiyang was on Isabel's right and Qrow was on Isabel's left fully human again with his weapon drawn. Three to one with reinforcements literally seconds away and Raven without her weapon.

Isabel liked those odds.

"Isabel, Tai, Brother," Raven hissed. "This was going to be a stab and run, maybe grabbing a hostage or two on the way out." The black haired woman stretched our her empty hand and Isabel felt her eyes bug out again as a mass of rebar literally tore itself out of the tarmac and then shaped itself into a new sword that Raven grabbed out of the air. "Now? Now this needs to be a massacre with no witnesses."

The odds were not quite as Isabel liked.

For a moment something that vaguely resembled regret flashed across Raven's face before her countenance hardened, "Sorry you're about to be collateral Tai, Qrow."

She pointed her blade towards them, and lunged...

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From Spacebattles

Glimpses Into Another Time: Incompleto Sin Tí

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Belladonna Household, Kuo Kuana, Menagerie. 2 Year After The Defeat of Salem.

Blake Belladonna was trained to be as level-headed as she could be in any given situation. It was an essential part of her training during her days in the White Fang. But she also had a habit of making impulsive decisions.

Take, for instance, when she proposed to her soon-to-be husband Jaune Arc. She knew he was in love with her, so the idea of marriage seemed like it was on the horizon. She also knew that he was a hopeless romantic, so he was going to make some big romantic gesture with plenty of intricate planning. So she decided to speed up the process. Besides, Jaune had already done so many big romantic gestures during their journey to save the world. In Blake's eyes, it was her turn.

Her timing, unfortunately, couldn't have been worse.

It was just before they entered the Arc Family Home in Radian. She had popped the question and hoped that Jaune would be so awestruck that he would immediately say 'Yes'...

However, she underestimated the Arc Sisters ability to hear despite not being Faunus and began teasing the two of them the rest of the day. Jaune did end up saying yes, only after recovering from the harsh teasing he got from his sisters.

That was a year ago and Blake would say that she's grown a bit since then. But she's still Blake Belladonna. The quiet, brooding member of Team RWBY. She was still prone to going into deep thoughts about her past mistakes. Sitting in the living room of her family home in Menagerie brought up memories of when her and Jaune had come to investigate the White Fang's involvement at the Fall of Beacon. Memories of how Adam returned as a cyborg after Jaune had pushed him into an oncoming train. Memories of...

"JAUNE!!" Blake screamed. They had found him locked in the prison within the White Fang's stronghold. Adam... Adam had tortured Jaune. Simply for the "crime" of being in love with her. The right side of his face had a cut near his mouth. It was nasty. And when it healed, his right side of his smile was jagged. Right over his heart was a brand of the White Fang's insignia. There were lashes on his back and arms. His Aura couldn't heal all of them.

"Hey, Pretty Lady... I knew... You'd come." Jaune said before slipping into unconsciousness. How could he be acting so casually!

Adam had shifted all of his haterd for humanity towards Jaune. His deluded mind had saw him as some sort of rival for Blake's heart. And it had all come to an end at Argus.

Blake thought she could take him on alone. Until Adam had broken her Aura had slashed at her chest, leaving an X shaped scar. When he arrived, Jaune had released an overloaded Aura Slash the second Adam had slashed with Moonslice, causing an explosion. With their Auras completely shattered and bodies weakened from battle fatigue, they stared each other down. Breathing heavily, waiting for the other to make a move.

"Is this human really worth it, Blake!? Is *HE* worth throwing away everything the White Fang built!?" Adam tried one last attempt to get through to her.

"You'll never understand, Adam." Blake wished she had more to say. But in truth, there was no words left between them. Not anymore.

Adam snarled. "If you're willing to lower yourself to this monkey's lev--"

"Save the high and mighty crap for when you're dead." Jaune said calmly, his intentions clear as he readied his stance. Adam's eye narrowed and did the same. A silence built between the two swordsman once again.

"I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD FROM YOUR SHOULDERS!!" Adam roared as he charged towards Jaune. But it was in vain. His blade was parried and in a single thrust, Jaune killed him.

Blake took a sip of her tea and sighed. She shouldn't be reminiscing about the past. Right now, she had something else to be worried about. In 2 days, she and Jaune are going to get married and she started feeling extremely sick. At first, she thought it was bad fish, but...

Let's just say her impulsive decisions aren't just limited to the battlefield.

Her ears perked up. A familiar set of footsteps was approaching the front door.

"Blake! I'm back!" Jaune said as he entered. Blake began to pour herself another cup of tea and downed it just as fast. She was more nervous than she thought, huh.

"How was it today?" She asked. Ever since Jaune moved to Menagerie with her, he was helping her parents' mission to get Menagerie recognized as Remnant's Fifth Kingdom. They started by exterminating all of the heavily Grimm infested areas.

"I am happy to report that the entire Northern region is 100% Grimm free!" Jaune said, approaching her with a victorious grin. He was really such a dork. But his look contradicted his attitude. His armor was covered in grime from the many, many Grimm he killed. Her past self would've said something like 'He looked just like the Rusted Knight' if not for the fact that he literally *IS* the Rusted Knight.

His new sword, Knightshade, hang from his belt. The fight with Adam had left his family sword, Crocea Mors, broken. So he took Adam's Wilt and created a new weapon from both swords: a katana with a bronze blade. However, Blake had re-train him. Jaune's old fighting style was incompatible with Knightshade.

"With that out of the way, we should be able to focus on the Western region," Jaune began to unhook Knightshade from his hip and pour himself a cup of tea. "My parents called. They said they should be coming here in about 5 hours. Have you heard anything from Ruby and the others?"

Blake mentally prepared herself. She was going to start with how Ruby and the others were going to come tomorrow. Then she was going to build up to the important news. Her mouth, however, had other ideas.

"Jaune, I'm pregnant."

Thunk

Jaune dropped his sword and his jaw.

"Are... Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want to double check when your mom shows up but I think I am." Blake says. Jaune then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a great big hug.

"I'M GONNA BE A DAD!!" Jaune hollered. He began to twirl Blake around.

"J-Jaune! I get that you're happy, but please put me down," Blake pleaded. "My parents can probably hear you!"

"Sorry. I'm just-- I can't believe this is happening!" Jaune began to let her down. He had a big smile on his face. "Should... Should we think of names? Maybe I can start saving up some Lien for--"

"I think I want to get married first, Jaune," Blake said dryly. A small smile began to form on her face as well. "We have plenty of time to think about names."

"You're being very calm about this." But what Jaune didn't know was deep down, Blake was scared. How could she not be scared. She was going to be a mother! And their wedding was in 2 days! She's more surprised Jaune isn't freaking out too!

"Truthfully, I'm just trying to stay as calm as possible," Blake admits. "Aren't you scared, Jaune?"

Jaune sits down on the couch and thinks. He was always good at giving Blake an honest answer. She said she always loved his honesty.

"Well... Yeah, I am. But... I think it's pretty natural. I mean, I'm gonna be a Dad. We're gonna have a family. Why wouldn't I be scared," Jaune started. "But I'm not alone. I have you Blake. You complete me." Blake sat beside him as he continued. "Let's try to take this one step at a time."

They kissed. This one felt different than all the other times they kissed. There was different emotions behind it. Reassurance. Hope. Love. So much love.

"I love you, Jaune." Blake says, breaking the kiss. She pressed her forehead against his. 'This might go a lot better than I thought' Blake thinks to herself.

"You do know you can't eat tuna when you're pregnant, right?"

"What?" Blake said blankly

"Yeah, Saph told me that too much fish might be bad for the baby."
...
...
...

This is going to be a lot harder than she thought.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The title translates to "Incomplete Without You". I figured, since this timeline's Jaune is Blake's voice of reason, it would fit perfectly.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Glimpses Into Another Time: Many Partings

- - -
Maharaja Palace, Kingdom of Pandu, Southern Mistral, Animus: One Month after the Defeat of Salem

- - -

Crown Princess Maia Sarkara, also known as May Zedong, stared at the beautiful woman in the mirror before her. She was dressed in a pure white sari, inlaid with gold and Ice Dust, and necklaces that dripped with pearls and gems. A simple headscarf went over her dark red hair, white silk with embroidered sapphires. Her makeup was flawless, red lipstick, blush, and a single red dot in the center of her forehead.

The sheer amount of wealth on her was staggering to the girl who thought she was the orphaned child of two nobodies in Vacuo. The fine quarters she sat in were done in marble and seawood, and opened out onto a balcony that gave her a beautiful view of Pandu City itself. The spiraling, almost organic architecture done mostly in tans with pointed-dumpling like rooftops, cut by dozens of canals with bridges and tropical trees lining the thoroughfares and roads.

She sat as the maids did their finishing touches on her, adjusting her clothing ties or adding more mascara. They both wore red and blue saris, and as soon as they were done they stepped back expectantly. May stood up, giving herself a once over in the mirror again.

"Are you pleased, Your Highness?" The maids asked together. May nodded stiffly.

"Yes. Thank you," she said with a small nod. She didn't want to ruin any of their work. "Um, can you... I need to be alone, please?"

The maids smiled and bowed.

"Of course, Your Majesty," they spoke in unison, before they turned and walked out the door. They slid it shut behind them. May waited a moment or two, before she slid back down on the circular couch she'd been sitting patiently on all this time. She sighed, and resisted the urge to grab at her hair and groan.

"Hey May."

May jumped. She looked at the balcony, where a familiar blond was sitting on the railing. He smiled warmly at her, despite the scars on his face and chin.

"Jaune!" She cried in joy and alarm. She rushed over to him, only just remembering to lift up her skirts, and then hugged him tightly. She pulled back with a scowl.

"You should still be in bed," she admonished him, "You almost died to that assassin-"

"I know," Jaune sighed, "My mom and Ruby are gonna give me hell. But..." He took her hands in his, "I had to see you before... Y-You know... The coronation, and all."

May sighed and nodded slowly.

"Y-Yeah," she managed. Jaune looked at her in concern.

"You okay?"

An exasperated look was his first response.

"You almost died and you're asking if I'm okay?"

Jaune shrugged.

"Yeah."

May worried her lower lip. She'd have to fix her lipstick.

"I just... Um... Well..."

She sighed deeply.

"I'm terrified," she admitted.

"Why?" Jaune asked with a smile, "Uncle Arjun and Aunt Saia wouldn't hand you the throne if they didn't think you could do it! Hell, if not for you, we wouldn't have gotten all the Kingdoms to unite against Salem and-"

"I know! I know..." Maya shut her eyes, "I just... I did what I could as Crown Princess. Now? Now I'm... I'm gonna be Queen. I'm going to have to lead my country, and-and this alliance and..."

She shook her head. She pressed her face lightly against his chest.

"I'm scared I'll screw everything up," she mumbled, "I didn't even know I was a princess until a few years ago... We won the war but the nobility is already skeptical of me, despite everything... I... What if I ruin everything we did?"

Jaune hugged her back tightly, and made soothing circles on her back.

"Anyone in your position is afraid of ruining everything. You'd have to be crazy to not be scared," Jaune said soothingly, "But I know you can do it, May. Besides... You've always been so scared, but you still did what was needed. That's real courage... Being scared and still doing what needs to be done."

May blushed, and smiled warmly up at him.

"I... Thank you, Jaune," she murmured.

Jaune nodded slowly. May held onto him. The silence stretched on. Jaune coughed.

"Uh... I um... I had better get to the main courtyard," he managed.

"R-Right," May said with a faint nod.

He slowly, reluctantly, pulled away. He hesitated a moment, before he turned and jumped off the balcony. May watched him go with a small, longing sigh.

"You know, you should have kissed him."

"Eep!" May jumped. She turned back. Her father, Arjun Sarkara, smirked a bit. Despite having only one leg and one arm left from the final battle, the older man had still snuck into the bedroom on a walking stick without detection.

She pouted at her father.

"He... I mean..." She sighed. "I'm going to be the Queen, Father. I... I don't know if I can or should..."

Arjun laughed. He limped over to his daughter, and patted her on the shoulder.

"Sweetie," he said gently, "Your mother was my maid."

"You were the King! You could do anything!" May insisted. "I... I have to think about the future!"

Arjun sighed and shook his head. He squeezed her shoulder.

"Honestly May... It's a brand new world. Free of the menace of Salem. Yes, you have responsibilities. Very big ones... But they won't be worth anything if you aren't happy."

May bowed her head again. Arjun smiled softly, and tilted her chin up.

"And all any father wants for their daughter is that they be happy," he said softly. He shrugged. "Besides... He's one of the heroes who helped saved the world. What fool would oppose you marrying him?"

"... Me, I guess," May sighed. She then smiled at her father, and then hugged him.

"Thank you, Father..."

"No, thank you," Arjun chuckled, hugging her tightly, "Now I'll get to hang out with Nick all I like in my retirement."

"Father!"

- - -

The Maharaja Palace's main courtyard was on the second level of the palace. A beautiful rooftop garden, filled with trees and crisscrossed with marble tiled paths. In the center was a great fountain, where a statue of Shiva, the first King of Pandu, stood solemnly.

Hundreds of people were gathered in the great courtyard, all around the statue. In front of it stood Oscar Pine, the new host of the wizard Ozma. Before him knelt May, and in his hands was an ornate crown and headdress. It radiated outward, like a crown of golden stars, as he lowered it onto May's head. Satisfied with its placement, May looked up to the wizard with a nervous smile. He smiled back, then looked out at the large crowd of dignitaries, warriors, and normal citizens from across Remnant. His eyes lingered on Dr. Weena Nebogipfel, who gave him a warm smile back. He cleared his throat.

"Now come the days of the Queen of Pandu!" He boomed, his voice carrying out across the courtyard. He turned his warm smile back onto May.

"May they be blessed."

May stood up slowly. She took a deep breath, nodded, and then turned to face the crowd. Oscar moved off to the side, giving her the full spotlight of attention.

"This day does not belong to any one person," she spoke, "Man or Faunus, we have all stood on the brink of destruction, united... And we have triumphed. Let us all stay united and work together to rebuild this world... So that all may share in the days of peace."

Applause followed. From General Ironwood's polite but genuine applause, to Chieftainess Kali's tearfilled smile. May walked through the crowds, smiling, waving, shaking hands and accepting gracious bows...

Until she came across her dearest friends in the whole world. Jaune, Nora, Ren, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Nolan, Roy, and Brawnz. They were a riot of emotions, from Roy and Nolan's manly sobbing, to Yang's happy grin, to Ruby's tearfilled beam and Jaune's gentle smile.

They all made to bow... But May laughed and shook her head.

"My friends... You bow to no one."

She dropped down and bowed her head to them. She sensed every other person in the courtyard do the same. Ruby tittered nervously. Nora waved. Ren remained stoic as ever, holding Nora's hand. Yang and Blake looked a bit embarrassed. Roy and Brawnz tried to look macho, while Nolan tried to look cool. Weiss bore it with a stoic expression.

Jaune... Knelt before her. She stood up, and shook her head.

"Jaune... I said you bow to no one."

Jaune laughed nervously, and held up a small velvet box. Her eyes widened.

"I-I know... I'm not bowing. I'm... I'm asking..." He looked up into her eyes, determined.

"I'm asking the woman I love to marry me... So um... Will you?"

May yanked him up and kissed him, absolutely ruining her lipstick. But as she heard cheers and whoops... She found her usual nervousness gone.

In its place was nothing but joy... And hope for the future.

- - -

Obviously a reference to "Return of the King" but hey, I was in an LOTR kind of mood.

Sift Green

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Raven didn't expect her first lunge to land a killing blow. Not while Qrow was right there ready to block her first strike with Harbinger in its' sword form. Tai also possessed good enough reflexes to try dodging her strikes and move within her guard, so the fact he was unarmed wasn't what put him at a disadvantage in this fight. Isabel was similar to Tai with the added bonus that even a solid hit wouldn't guarantee real damage to her body or aura, as evidenced by the sword that was now harmlessly imbedded in her body. Raven mentally cursed the fact that she hadn't had the opportunity to restock Omen's dust blades before this job, for if she had Isabel's stunt could have taken her out of the fight. That said all three of them were opponents that she would have to take seriously in a one on one fight so facing all three of them without using the power of the Maiden was foolish, especially since the odds of Isabel being here without her husband Nick was low, meaning Raven only had a few moments before this became a four verses one.

In times past poetic duelists would compare fights to strategic games like chess, with the fighters planning out their moves multiple steps ahead of their opponent. Real fights are messier than chess, and the farther away you get from the formally regulated one on one duel the messier the fight is going to be. With the chaotic way things shift in the heat of the moment a step-by-step plan would never work, but broad ideas can often get the job done.

Idea/Plan A was simple: acquire a human shield to reduce the angles her opponents could use to attack her. With that goal in mind she angled her first lunge in Qrow's direction and used his deflection of her strike to move around the trio opposing her. As a result of the first clash of their blades, she had repositioned herself so that Qrow was between her, Tai and Isabel, and with the second clash of their blades she was in a position where she could grab one of the Schnee's.

And so with the third clash of blades Raven leapt away from her brother and spun through the air, fully intending to slide around Willow Schnee and grab the Atasian woman from behind. That didn't happen, for the mountain of a man known as Nick Arc landed between Raven and her target and caught her magically shaped odachi in a bind with his ridiculous railgun sword.

"Hi Wills!" Nick called back to Willow as he forced Raven back a step, the Atasian woman blushing deeply at the nickname. With that avenue closed off to her Raven leaped towards the redheaded actress Athena Nikos. Tai was already there flaring his aura and activating his semblance to give him the strength and reflexes to bat aside her blade.

Bat aside her blade he did, before lunging forward to grab Raven around the neck. Raven barely limbo-ducked under his grab, feeling the heat of his burning aura scrape against her nose. Yet while his hand missed, his knee didn't; it connected with her chin imparting enough force to send Raven sprawling on the ground.

Raven might have laid there prone if it wasn't for the power of the Maiden. She flexed her mystical might and made the ground beneath her erupt, launching herself into the air and away from her ex-husband. Twisting around in search of another potential hostage Raven found herself disappointed; the wealthy civilians were all making a hasty yet well-organized retreat thanks to the efforts of their hired help, with Athena wailing dramatically as her butler/bodyguard carted her off in a fireman carry. The Belladonnas were standing protectively between her and the others, moving backward at speed to keep an eye on her as they withdrew from the battlefield. Excellent. Raven just needed to slightly alter her landing trajectory and...

A railgun round from Nick's blade boomed through the air right in front of her, only missing her by a few inches. Despite the miss, the sheer force it exuded and the thunderclap it produced as it tore through the air made her aura flare in defense and forced her to adjust her fall away from the potential hostages. As soon as her feet hit the ground Qrow was there doing his best to take her head off with Harbinger. Raven ducked under his swing and thrust forward with her own blade, only for him to rotate around her thrust and try to hit her with the spin. She back-stepped from Qrow's attack only for Nick to suddenly be on her left swinging his sword up from a low guard that cut a furrow in the ground, spraying gravel towards her face even as his blade threatened to bisect her.

She blocked his blade with her own even as she ducked beneath Qrow's next strike. For the next ten seconds, the three sword wielders were locked in a deadly dance that pushed Raven to the natural limits of her flexibility, forcing her to rely on the unnatural limits the Spring Maiden's power provided her. As the space the three of them occupied became a whirlwind of sharpened metal Raven knew two facts: her human shield plan was kaput and her targets were getting away.

Time for a new plan.

Nick and Qrow suddenly jumped back disrupting Raven's rhythm and causing her to overextend. This left her vulnerable to Isabell rushing in from behind with a leg sweep while Taiyang charged forward and hit her with a clothesline. Raven hit the ground hard but kept her momentum going to create distance between herself and her opponents. As a result, she sprung to her feet a few yards away from her foes and regarded them with a baleful eye.

Qrow shifted Harbinger into its' scythe mode. Taiyang flared his aura to greater heights, his eyes glowing red while his hair wavered like flame and small sparks of electricity crackled across his skin. Nick held his sword with one hand in a middle guard as he used his free hand to load it with lightning dust ammo. Isabel grabbed the sword she was impaled with and pulled it from her body like she was drawing it from its' natural sheath.

To top it all off they were between her and her targets, who were still getting away. It was time for Idea/Plan B: divide and conquer.

Taiyang and Qrow made a good duo. Isabel and Nick made a good duo. That didn't mean they were a good quartet. Teams STRQ and SANI might have worked closely together on multiple different occasions, but they were still very different teams with very different game plans. Qrow and Tai would want to zig while Nick and Isabel would want to zag. She just needed to get them to a zig-zag moment and use the resulting confusion to destroy them.

"Raven!" Tai called out, "This is your only chance! Stand Down!"

Allowing her actions to speak for her Raven stretched out her empty hand towards a nearby airship and flexed the powers of the Maiden once more, ripping out a stretch of metal that flew to her hand and shaped itself into a second sword. The instant her fingers wrapped around it she shot forward towards the quartet swinging her blades in wide arcs.

One blade deflected Qrow's scythe strike. The other forced Nick to block. Isabel tried to stab with her stolen sword, and to answer that Raven tapped into the Maiden's power and blew a stream of flame from her mouth. Raven found the look of surprise on Isabel's face when those flames melted the sword to slag quite amusing. It was less amusing when Isabel flicked some of that slag onto Raven's face.

The burning slag was just enough of a distraction that Raven didn't notice Tai's punch before it landed squarely in her sternum, knocking her back a good yard or two and putting her on the defensive as Qrow and Nick rushed forward with whirling blades.

She blocked a strike from Qrow and ducked under a swing from Nick... Why was Nick only swinging? The man had only fired a single railgun round several moments ago to get her out of the air. The bearded swordsman had passed up other opportunities to shoot at her, and he only did something like that if he was concerned about collateral. They were fighting in a mostly open airfield with heavily insured airships and the civilians were safely behind him; the man should be shooting at her like a maniac.

She leaped over another swing from Qrow, twisted around another thrust from Nick, ducked under a hunk of rubble thrown by Isabel, and blocked a kick from Tai as she wracked her brain to find a reason for that oddity. As she swung her blades in a manner that forced Nick and Tai to leap back Raven glanced beyond their little skirmish further afield to the still retreating forms of her targets.

It was at that moment she saw it: a hail of arrows tipped with ice dust landing on the tarmac between the fight and the fleeing civilians. The dust in the arrows reacted at the moment of impact, and within the blink of an eye a tall and thick wall of ice separated the battle from her prey.

Raven limbo ducked beneath Qrows next swing and took the opportunity to look at what was going on behind her. Her eyes then confirmed her suspicions: Arjun Sarkara stood there a decent distance off, firing dust tipped arrows in carefully calculated arcs to create a perimeter around the battlefield. Slightly behind him was his wife Saia, who was actively channeling her semblance to create the orbs she could infuse with dust. Saia was already sat upon a large orb infused with gravity dust that would allow her to zip around the battlefield with ease.

At that moment several unpleasant realizations raced through Raven's mind. She wasn't fighting two half teams used to radically different methodologies. She was fighting the entirety of Team SANI with Qrow and Taiyang acting in support. That meant the two of them would defer to the completed team when it was time to choose between zigging or zagging, and the moment she was looking to take advantage of wasn't going to happen.

Nick wasn't firing his railgun sword because he didn't want to destroy the walls Arjun was making. Walls meant to cut off her paths of retreat and to make it easier for the quartet she was actively fighting to herd her into a kill box where Saia could blast her with a fully charged dust infused laser beam!

Idea/Plan B was dead, and Raven was at a fork in the road. Either she created a portal to Vernal and retreated, or she moved on to Idea/Plan C: Harnessing the full power of the Spring Maiden to bulldoze everything around her and hope she could kill her targets before The Wizard sensed her presence and came out to confront her in person.

Plan C was workable. Raven grit her teeth and committed.

She slammed a foot into the ground and channeled the power of the Maiden into the action, making the solid earth roll like a wave of the sea. Surprised by this Nick and Isabel were caught off balance just long enough for Raven to make a break from the scrimmage before shooting off like an antelope with Tai and Qrow in hot pursuit. Beyond sending a wall of flame in their direction she ignored the pair, her most immediate priority was now Saia.

The woman was a glass canon. Insanely powerful and dangerous at a distance but easily dealt with up close. The problem most of Saia's foes faced was actually getting to her. Her gravity Dust-infused orb allowed her to fly beyond the reach of any grounded foe, while her husband's bow and arrows would shoot down anyone who could follow her into the air. Insurmountable challenges to the common man, trivialities to a Maiden like Raven.

She picked up speed and threw more flames behind her to slow her pursuers down. Kicking off the ground and pulling on the Maiden's power Raven shed the shackles of gravity and lifted into the air with good speed. Even at this distance, she could see the looks of surprise on Arjun and Saia's faces on top of how they tried to react. Saia was already in the air rising rapidly on her gravity dust-infused orb and the Queen of Pandu increased the speed of her ascent in the hopes of gaining more distance, yet her concentration on charging more dust-infused orbs did not stop.

Arjun redirected his aim, firing arrows directly at Raven in the hopes of slowing the dark haired woman down. The speed and power of these arrows would have felled some of the world's mightiest Nevermores with singular hits, but Raven was pulling on the full power of the Maiden now. Her eyes were now sharper than any eagle's, her reflexes faster than sound and her mind moved at a speed that took full advantage of those facts. She deflected the first two fire dust arrows with her swords, tilted her head out of the way of the lighting dust arrow that followed, and then she shaped her offhand sword into a spear and threw it at Arjun.

The King of Pandu stepped to the side and caught the spear as it passed him before flipping it around and firing back at her as if it were just an oversized arrow. Rather than let it reach her Raven let mystical lighting loose from her hand and knocked the projectile off course. Then a railgun round narrowly missed on her left, fired from Nick's sword, and an engine block narrowly missed her on her right, hurled into the air with Isabel's monstrous strength.

The projectiles were going to be a problem if she wanted to reach Saia before the Queen finished charging up her attack. Raven needed to find a way to weave through the intensifying anti-air fire from below and she needed that solution fast. Another railgun round narrowly missed. Another boulder narrowly dodged. Another volley of arrows deflected with her sword. Now how should she...

...The anti-air fire abruptly stopped, just in time for the crow that had flown above Raven to change back into Qrow and hit her with a gravity-assisted scythe strike.

Raven felt her aura dip for a brief moment before the vast reserves of the Spring Maiden replenished the loss, and she only lost a minimal amount of altitude from the hit. She then managed to deflect Qrow's next strike with her blade, and then the next one, and the next one. For a moment Raven found herself honestly impressed as her brother used shotgun shots from Harbinger to both keep himself in the air and spin himself around for another slash with his scythe.

How was he keeping this up? Each shotgun blast was like him pushing off of solid air to keep himself aloft, but he couldn't manipulate the air like that...

She could. With a wave of her free hand a powerful gust blew Qrow away from his intended trajectory, and with her brother gone Raven kept the gust going.

She spun the air around her faster and faster. Arjun's arrows and Isabel's improvised projectiles were now naturally deflected away from her as the people on the ground opened fire again. The wind wasn't fast enough to deflect Nick's railgun, but in a few moments it wouldn't matter. With a grand gesture the swirling air continued to pick up speed and started to reach down to the ground below and the sky above. Dust and debris were lifted from the ground below, while the clouds above gathered and were pulled down to touch the ground.

Raven was now the eye of a category one tornado. Still the winds spun faster. Category two. Raven turned her focus to Team SANI's flying member. Category three. Raven moved forward, the tornado moving with her. Category four. Queen Saia was pulled into it. Category five.

To Saia's credit, the Queen did not lose her seat on her gravity dust orb, and the rest of the orbs she was charging were still with her. The noblewoman balefully glared at the bandit queen as the two of them circled about in the tornado's inner vortex, completely cut off from anyone who could interfere. Raven smirked and flexed her hand, considering what kind of magic she should use to neutralize the woman across from her.

That smirk was replaced by panic as Saia brought her last fully charged orb into place and fired.

The beam the dust-infused orbs shot out was a blinding mix of all common kinds of dust. The raw power of the beam was enough to turn mountains into plateaus, and Team SANI had used it to slay many ancient Grimm in the past. The strength of the now self sustaining tornado meant Raven couldn't dodge in any direction, and opening a portal would just result in her destination getting flattened with her. With a spike of true fear coursing through her heart Raven pushed as much raw magic from her hands as she could and put that magic between herself and her impending doom.

Saia's beam impacted against the raw magic of the Spring Maiden, and to Raven's relief, it held the giant death beam back about a foot away from her. Yet it was too close. Way too close. Raven pushed with her magic. She pushed back with all she had. Within seconds her impromptu magic barrier was turned into a beam of her own, and as she pushed more and more of herself into it her beam pushed Saia's back.

First a yard. Then two. Then three. Then their beams were meeting at the center of the vortex that was spinning them. Then Raven's beam crossed the midpoint, and Saia face contorted in concentration as she tried to push more power into her beam.

It was no use! A savage grin split Raven's face. The power of the Spring Maiden would outlast the Queen of Pandu's aura reserves and the woman would die here alone because nobody could interfere with the strength of the tornado! Once that was done Raven would-

An impossibility occurred. Taiyang was just suddenly there with his aura burning brighter than she had ever seen it burn. His hair shimmered like flame and lighting danced across his body while his eyes blazed red. He grabbed her wrist and hooked his legs around hers, pulling himself behind her and grappling the two of them into a full nelson.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Raven screeched as she tried to maintain her beam with Tai pressed against her back doing his best to point her hands away from Saia, "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!?!?"

"WE'RE GRANDPARENTS NOW!" Taiyang yelled back, "SO I GUESS I WANNA DO SOMETHING CRAZY!"

"WE'RE GRAND-WHAT?!?" and that was all the distraction Tai needed to headbutt Raven, breaking her concentration and completely dissipating her bream.

Saia's giant death beam slammed into Raven while Tai did his best to hide behind her. The raw elemental effects of over a dozen different kinds of dust battered against Raven's aura and sent her reserves plummeting lower and lower. The two of them were pushed back by the raw power of the beam and the two of them were sent hurtling out of the tornado. As the two of them tumbled through the air Raven found herself unable to resist her ex-husband flipping her around and rode her to the ground like a bobsled. Raven's back hit the ground and she left a wide furrow in the dirt all while Tai did his best to steer her towards something she couldn't see. Then the two of them came to an abrupt stop as Raven's head collided into the bottom stair of Beacon's main entrance.

The last thing Raven saw before she drifted into unconsciousness was her ex-husband getting off of her and Professor Ozpin rushing down the stairs in some kind of hurry.

--------------------

Nick knelt there with his sword stuck in the ground as an anchor, his wife clinging to him on his right and his brother in arms Arjun clamped onto his left. Nick was immovable, keeping the other two from being picked up by the raging winds of the vortex that swirled in place at the center of Beacon's airfield. A determined grimace was on his face as he wracked his brains for a way to fight a tornado.

It was then that he saw Headmaster Ozpin running up from the corner of his eye. The grey haired man clad in green raised his staff and yelled words in a language Nick had never heard before in an unhinged chant while moving his free hand in absurd gestures that were honestly indescribable. As Oz finished his sentence he pointed his staff at the tornado and struck it with a beam of emerald light.

Just like that the tornado was gone. The skies were clear and all the debris the tornado had picked up were just sitting there on the ground.

Saia and her gravity dust infused orb were also on the ground. The Queen got off her orb on shaky legs before slowly sinking down to her knees and throwing up. Arjun ran from Nick's side to his wife.

Isabel and Nick slowly got up and turned to the Professor.

"Ozpin." Isabel began, "What. The. Hell."

The headmaster sighed and adjusted his glasses, "I'm a reincarnating Wizard older than civilization itself, and Raven has a chunk of what used to be my magic. If you're willing to help me secure her I'll be willing to explain more once we're away from any potential eavesdroppers."

At that point Qrow stumbled up to them and a smile graced Ozpin's face.

"Oh good," Oz addressed his agent, "Qrow, if you could gather the other VIPs and lead them to an appropriate waiting room while we lock up your sister I would appreciate it."

"Sure, I could manage that," Qrow shrugged as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his flask and took a drink.

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From the SpaceBattles Thread.

Glimpses Into Another Time: Bloom

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Atlas Academy, Above The City Of Mantle. 2 Years After the Fall of Beacon.


Atlas Academy is the most technologically advanced Kingdoms. That was one of the many things Ruby Rose learned during her short time at Beacon. Of course, she kinda already knew that. They had to be if they were able to build something as advanced as Penny. But, boy howdy, were they underselling it.

When Penny showed her the workshop her father ran, it was an engineer's dream. But seeing the one's in the Academy's? It was like stepping into an engineer's holy land! There were mechshift frames! And Dust adapters! And doohickys she'd never even heard of! And--

"OW!" Ruby squeaked. She lost focus... Again. She had been working on a special project and it required her full attention. But it was so hard to focus what with all the cool stuff around her.

"Well, the plating doesn't look welded incorrectly. Thank goodness," she began to inspect the project, her engineering eye giving her work a once over. "Hmm... The palm paneling looks good. Shell eject is smooth. SMG attachment could use a little more work but overall; She's complete! Jaune's gonna love this!!"

"I'm gonna love what?" Suddenly, her boyfriend, Jaune Arc, was behind her, as if she summoned him.

"Only my grea... My SECOND greatest creation!!" Ruby proudly exclaimed. While this was probably one of her best works, nothing was ever going to beat Crescent Rose.

"Is it that new weapon you said you'd make for me," Jaune guessed. "I already told; I'm getting used to fighting with pistol you gave me."

"That's just a peashooter! Besides, you'll think twice once you see it!" Ruby countered. She moved aside to show Jaune. "TA-DA!! IT'S YOUR NEW PROSTHETIC ARM!!"

Jaune looked in awe. It looked like a knight's gauntlet but it had a flair to it that can only be described as 'Ruby'. He knew she was a tech wiz, but being able to make a prosthetic with only the bare minimum of knowledge on how they work from Penny? It solidified her status as a prodigy.

Ever since he lost his arm after that fight with Tyrion, Jaune has been using a cheap prosthetic provided by Leo Lionhart. He's pretty sure it might be on its last legs.

"Can I try it out?" Jaune asked.

"Go ahead," Ruby encouraged. She began to help Jaune detach his old arm. "I call it 'The Iron Claw'. I still need to apply the paint, but it should be good to go. BUT! I should warn you, this is a little heavier than the old one."

Click

'Heavy' was a bit of an overstatement. It weighed about it as much as his old sword. Actually, now that he looks at it...

"I used what was left of your sword and for some parts. I hope you don't mind." Ruby admitted.

"Not at all. It turned out great," Jaune flexed his fingers. Until his palm opened up, revealing a barrel within. "Uh, Ruby? What's this?"

"I'M GLAD YOU ASKED!," Ruby shouted, excited to talk about her favorite hobby. "I built a miniaturized artillery Dust cannon and put it in your arm! And don't worry about the recoil! I put a stabilizer in the elbow! Plus, Penny said that your strong to handle it!"

Jaune flexed his fingers again and the cannon tucked itself away. He then closed his hand into a fist.

"Groovy."

"You're such a dork." Ruby snorted.

"Oh, come on. It looks like the metal arm from Legion of Darkness. I had to make that reference," Jaune defended himself. Though, it actually looked more like the Rusted Knight's arm from The Rusted Knight and The Red Reaper. Maybe she used that as a reference. "Besides, didn't you say that was part of my charm?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. She knew darn well that Jaune didn't have any charm. She was the one who asked him out! If anything she was the one had who charm...

Ok, so maybe she was super nervous when she asked him out, but who isn't! She had never like-liked a boy before! That was new territory for her! Her only saving grace was Jaune being just as nervous as her.

"I also made you this," Ruby pointed towards another workbench. "It's a railgun sword! I call it 'Crocea Mors II'! It's not done yet but I was thinking--"

Jaune watched as Ruby gushed about her newest 'baby'. She always looks so cute when she gets so passionate about weapons specs. The way her eyes shine, her smile gets wider, her energy gets higher.

"Jaune? You're staring at me. Do I have grease on my face?" Ruby snapped him back to reality.

"No. I was just admiring you when you're in your element," Jaune teased. "You look cute when you're passionate."

Ruby began to blush. Since when did he start acting like a smooth operator!?

"Speaking of sweet things," Jaune reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a small bag. "One of the mothers in Mantle baked me some cookies! I saved you some."

"You did tell them you have a girlfriend, right?" Ruby asked. When Jaune had brought them food provided from one of those moms, Yang had slipped the idea into her head that a guy like Jaune was like catnip to those lonely moms. She told Ruby that she needs to 'assert her dominance' and go with him on his next escort job.

"I did. But I don't think they believe me." Jaune grabbed a cookie and took a bite. "Maybe you should come with me tomorrow. I'm sure the kids will love you."

"That's a great idea! Plus, after we drop off those kids, we can go see a movie." Ruby started getting excited once again.

"Sounds like a date," Jaune walked up to Ruby. "I know things have been... hectic. But, it feels good to have some breathing room. I promise, I'll try to make our date the best it can be."

"You don't have to try so hard, Jaune. As long as we're together, I'll have fun no matter what we do," Ruby paused. She wanted to say these next words when he joined her on her mission to save the world, but she never found the right time. But right here? Right now? This was the perfect time. "I love you, Jaune."

It was Jaune's turn to blush. He inched closer to his girlfriend. "I... I love you too, Ruby." He never felt this way about a girl before. But deep down, he knew that Ruby was the one. Call him cheesy or old fashioned, but that's just how his heart works. He was kind of like his Dad in that way.

Jaune leaned down. And Ruby stood up on her tippy toes. Their lips connecting in a tender, loving kiss. Why the heck does he keep getting taller!

A notification chime went off on both of their scrolls. Ruby took hers out and was greeted to Penny's voice.

"Friend Ruby! Friend Jaune! There's Grimm activity in Mantle! Sector 8!"

"We're on our way, Penny!" Ruby replied. She rushed over to Crescent Rose, while Jaune grads Crocea Mors II.

"Wait, Jaune. It's not done!" Ruby was still trying to figure out how to make the railgun function work. If only Jaune's Dad let her take his apart!

"It doesn't matter. As long as it can slice and stab things, it should be good for now," Jaune says with determination. He then lifts his cannon hand. "Besides, I'm packing heat."

Ugh. If Yang heard that... No. Even she would think that was terrible!

"Let's go, Vomit Boy!"

"Right behind you, Crater Face!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I based Jaune's metal arm on Gut's iron arm from Berserk

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Glimpses into Another Time: Spring

- - -

Northern Solitas, Mantle/Atlas, Five Years after Salem's Defeat

- - -

There were many days Winter Arc nee Schnee asked herself why she had opted to take her mentor's old job. Granted, he had been grooming her for the role: He had said she was always his first choice for a successor. That trust in her had inspired her to new heights, to push herself harder and further than she knew she was capable of.

Yet the sheer amount of time and stress it imposed on her life was horrendous. Honestly, sometimes she wondered why her father had wanted so much power in the first place. There was the intoxication of it at times, but mostly it was just a massive headache.

"We're touching down now, General," Harriet Bree reported from the pilot's chair of the Bullhead. Winter nodded, trying not to look anxious. She was already late, after all.

Yet it meant so much to him... To her.

Finally, the Bullhead landed with a gentle rocking motion. Winter released her harness as the rear hatch opened up. Elm looked up with a smile.

"It's fine, General. He's not gonna be upset," she consoled her superior officer, "Especially not with the news you have-"

"Thanks, but I'll deal with that myself," Winter said, leaping out of the Bullhead and landing on the tundra grass.

It was a misconception that Solitas was covered in ice year around. While it was a harsh continent, no doubt, it did have seasons. They were at the height of spring, and the snow was melting across the continent. Green grass grew even north of Mantle, speckled with tundra flowers and the occasional pine tree. This area in particular was on a hill overlooking the rebuilt Mantle. On top of it was a marble wall, encircling a great garden kept warm year round with Fire and Lightning Dust.

Winter hurried up the hill, through the arched gateway into the garden. Her eyes scanned through the gardens, past so many familiar statues. Each was life sized, depicting so many people... So many who had made the ultimate sacrifice for Atlas. For Remnant.

For them all.

Her feet took her down a familiar marble pathway, deep into the memorial garden. Her eyes locked onto two statues near the center. A marble path lay between them, and their poses were night and day. Fitting, in a way, given how different the two people being honored were.

One was of a curvaceous, beautiful woman. She was sitting on a marble bench, a kindly smile on her stone face despite the fatigue in her eyes. Her hands rested in her lap, yet there was a certain tension to the woman: As though her statue would spring into action to help at a moment's notice.

The other was of a tall, grave man in his Atlasian military coat. A beard was on his face, along with deep lines born of worry and burdens taken on. His face was grave and determined. He stood at military attention, ever vigilant and ever unbowed.

Between these statues, Jaune Arc, her husband, sat with their four month old son in his arms. She heard him speaking as she approached.

"... And she just tossed your granddad out the window! She was so fed up with him and his tractor! Of course, so was I. But I didn't want to laugh at Dad. Not unless he was laughing. She appreciated that, and only grounded me for a week..."

Jaune looked up as their baby fussed. He smiled warmly.

"Hey Winter."

"Hey," she said, walking up to him. He stood up, and pulled her into a deep kiss. The baby whined, and tried to wiggle between them. Jaune laughed a little as he broke the kiss, and playfully scowled at their son.

"Come on, Theodore. You get most of her attention," he scolded, "Can't I have some?"

Theo mewled, unrepentant. Winter laughed, her heart immediately lighter. She pulled her son into her arms, and he cuddled against her.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she apologized, "Queen Maia's proposals are causing a massive uproar in the Council, and the authorizations for the fleet rebuild are a nightmare..."

Jaune hugged her more tightly, and smiled.

"It's okay. I wasn't going to do the important bits until you were here," he said kindly. Winter nodded. They both turned to the statue of the kindly smiling woman.

Jaune took a deep breath.

"Mom? This is Winter. She... You knew she was my girlfriend before..."

He trailed off. Winter knew exactly where his mind went: A dark day.

Her hand reached up to rest on his chest. Despite the surgeries, the scars would never fade. Not that it mattered, given that underneath his clothes was a black and silver artificial heart right in the center of his chest.

Cinder Fall had torn out his heart, and left him to die while laughing. Winter had jumped in to protect him... To avenge him. Isabel, Jaune's mother, had leaped in and done emergency surgery right then and there. Penny had yanked out some spare components, and Isabel had fashioned an artificial heart and gotten it into Jaune just in time for his Aura to heal him.

It had cost her almost all of her Aura to do it... But she'd saved him.

And then Cinder Fall had put five arrows through her chest.

Winter could still see the horror and grief on Jaune's face. She still saw the shock, then grim acceptance on Isabel Arc's face.

She still remembered Cinder's laugh... A laugh cut short as Isabel threw herself at the Maiden, and fought her back with her dying strength.

She still remembered the look of desperate love Isabel had shot back, just before the bridge broke underneath them... And her final words.

"I love you, son. Don't give up. Please."

Jaune sucked in another deep breath. Winter rubbed a gentle circle over his chest. He nodded slowly.

"She's... She's my wife now," Jaune explained. "And this is Theodore James, our son."

Jaune turned his son's head towards the statue. The four month old stared, almost enraptured, as his father continued to talk.

"That's your grandmother, Theo. Her name was Isabel. And she was one of the bravest people who ever lived."

Theodore was quiet, his wide blue eyes staring intently at the statue. Jaune smiled.

"Anyway... W-We're doing well," he said, "Everyone's rebuilding. Weiss met this nice Dust prospector named Miguel, and they hit it off. Whitley, Winter and Weiss' little brother? He's dating Ruby, who is doing great. Ren and Nora are on their second baby. Yang is off exploring Remnant with Pyrrha. We hear from them sometimes. Blake and Sun are married, expecting kids in Menagerie. Tanya and Mercury are having kids, Lilac and Primo are doing great. The Twins are still raising hell. Saphron and Terra moved to Vale for the rebuilding. Aqua and Kazuma are on baby... Six I think? Orchid and Penny are great friends... Or so they say."

He chuckled a bit... Before he became more somber.

"Dad... Dad's doing okay. He kind of threw himself into work, but Uncle Arjun is with him. Helping him. He and Aunt Saia retired, and Maia is Queen of Pandu now. They're having fun."

Jaune sighed quietly.

"I really wish you could see everything we've done," he said quietly, "I... I want to think you'd be proud of us... Proud of me."

Silence fell for a bit. The wind made the sunflowers around Isabel's statue wave a bit. A small smile came onto Winter's face.

"I think she would be," Winter said with a nod.

Jaune nodded back. They then turned to the statue of the grave man behind them. It was Winter's turn, and she also steeled herself.

"Hello sir. I... I've been doing the best I can in your position," she said. She shook her head. "It's been hectic. I get away whenever I can. I'm... I'm trying to avoid becoming a workaholic. Jaune helps me with that."

She affectionately bumped her head against Jaune's. He smiled. Winter smiled back faintly, then turned back to the statue. She held up Theodore.

"This is my son, Theodore James. We... I know you weren't the most sentimental kind of man, but... I hope you approve. He's very healthy and very active."

Theodore whined a bit, but focused on the big statue. He reached out his hands to grasp. Jaune chuckled.

"I... I didn't know him as well. But he was a good man. A brave man. He... Like your grandma, he died to save everyone," Jaune said softly.

Again Winter's mind went back to that terrible day. How the General had given her command before he fought his way right into the heart of Salem's Leviathan. How he had fought her himself, all alone... All in a desperate attempt to distract her, to buy time for the evacuation.

He had been knocked down, battered, broken... Yet he just kept getting back up to try again and again. Until finally, he couldn't move any longer. The Grimm Queen had stood over him, contemptuous. The view from his body cam still remained in her memory, burned there like a brand.

Yet even at the end... He had never backed down. Never pleaded for mercy. She could imagine the grim expression on his face as Salem killed him. The stubborn nobility...

They hugged Theodore between them. Winter sucked in a breath.

"It's... I know you don't understand right now, Theo," she said to her son, "But one day, you will. You'll understand how wonderful these people were. How terrible it is that they're not here... And how much we owe to them."

Winter smiled almost shyly at Jaune. Jaune nodded back, his own smile sad but hopeful.

"And next year," she said, "We'll bring you... And your new sibling to see them, too."

Jaune gaped. Winter smiled shyly, and shrugged.

"Surprise?"

Jaune grinned, hugged his wife and son, and spun them around with a happy laugh. Theo giggled in joy, and Winter echoed the sound. Jaune set them down, and kissed his wife deeply.

"Mmm... It's a great one," Jaune said earnestly. Winter laughed.

"Absolutely... The best kind!"

"So um... How-?"

"One month," Winter said, smiling knowingly, "It looks healthy, and... And if it's a girl?" She looked over at Isabel. "I'd like to name her after your mother."

Jaune beamed and tightened the hug. Theo whined a bit more, waving his chubby arms around.

"I think she'd like that..."

The small family paid some final respects, before turning and heading for the exit. It was a sad, solemn place... But as Theodore laughed innocently, it was also a place of hope.

Winter prayed it would remain so... Yet steeled her resolve to do all she could to keep it that way.

It was what her mother-in-law and the General would have wanted.

She was sure of it.

- - -

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From the SpaceBattles Thread

Glimpses Into Another Time: The Rusted Knight and The Wise Lion.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Jungle Acre, The Ever After. 2 Years After The Fall of Beacon. (Or 13 Years Before The Fall of Beacon.)

Impossible.

That was the only word that Arslan Altan could use to describe the current predicament she and her boyfriend, Jaune Arc, were in. The Ever After, the magical wonderland from the fairy tale 'The Rusted Knight and The Wise Lion' was real.

It all began when they were evacuating the citizens of Atlas to the Kingdom of Vacuo. Cinder Fall had attacked their teams in an attempt to kill Penny, the Winter Maiden. While they were successful in stopping her plan, Cinder had blasted Team RWBY, Jaune and Arslan into the dark miasma below the bridges.

When they awoke, Arslan and Jaune began to survey their surroundings until Jaune had picked a clock out of a tree. The clock began to reverse the flow of time, sending them into the Ever After's past. With no way of reversing the clocks effects, their only plan was to wait until the others arrived.

Currently, Arslan sat on the porch of the house she and Jaune had built. She had been using the breathing technique taught to her by the Temple. She seemed to be doing that a lot these days. According to the makeshift calendar she made, it has been 7 years since they were flung backwards in time. However, it was starting to feel useless as the days go by. Time in the Ever After didn't make sense. That was made very apparent when a year ago, they met Alyx, the protagonist of 'The Girl Who Fell Through The World', and her brother, Lewis. That story was written during the Great War, so either the clock had sent them 200 years into the past or the Ever After was simply beyond the concept of time. Every day that passes by, she hopes that it's the latter.

"Wise Lion! Oh, Wise Lion!" Jaune called out. Another shocking revelation in the Ever After. One that all of her learnings at the Temple had never prepared her for: She and Jaune were The Rusted Knight and The Wise Lion. Which made things a bit more confusing. Were they always destined to come to the Ever After? It was something she and Jaune had been reflecting on these few years. There wasn't much things to do but reflect.

Arslan opened her eyes and sighed. "You know, that's still hard to get used to."

"Yeah? How do you think I feel?" Jaune says. Despite his sunny disposition, Jaune was frustrated. This stupid place has been testing his patience for the last 7 years. Especially that damn Cat. But right now, he needed to be patient. Their friends should come here...

Eventually.

"What troubles you, Jaune?" Arslan asks. She had learned what Jaune's tells even before falling into the Ever After. He was surprisingly hard to read at times.

"That obvious, huh?"

Arslan nods in response. Jaune then sighs.

"Everything, I guess. I'm starting to look more like my Dad," Jaune chuckled at that. The resemblance was actually uncanny. Arslan mentally agreed. She was starting to look like her mother in her film 'The Argus Experiment'. "My leg is in desperate need of a tune-up. The roof needs to be fixed--"

"Jaune," Arslan stops him. Oh, she was using her "I am not in the mood for Yang's teasing" voice. "You can tell me if you're feeling frustrated. I know I don't show it, but I'm also feeling a bit stir crazy."

Arslan pats the empty spot next to her, inviting Jaune to sit next to her. He obliges and takes a deep breath.
From where they were sitting, they could see the sun begin to set... Well, the sun was actually going in reverse. But the moon was coming out... Nothing here made any damn sense.

"I miss them," Arslan began to speak. "My team. My family. Our friends. Just as much as you do, Jaune."

"How are you so calm?" Jaune asks.

"You're here," Arslan then rested her head on Jaune's shoulder. "You are my anchor. And I am yours. Never forget that."

She took Jaune's hand in her own. "Don't let the quirks of this place get to you. Or that Cat." There was a particular venom when Arslan said that last part.

"He's getting to you too, huh?" Jaune asks worried.

"He vexes me when you're off in the markets. I think he's getting desperate." The Cat's curiosity has been well documented in the book, but after becoming acquainted with it, the Cat was more unhinged. "It's not like we can do anything, although I suspect that it'll try to make it's move when team RWBY arrives."

"Let's focus on some else," Jaune decided to switch topics. Maybe try to bring their spirits up. "What's the first thing you want to do once we get back to Remnant?"

Arslan pondered for a moment. There were plenty of things she wanted to do: Give her team a great big hug, eat a proper meal (The food in the Ever After left much to be desired), have her long-awaited rematch with Pyrrha. But, truthfully, what Arslam wanted most was:

"I want to see if I can call my family. I... I know they are worried about me." Arslan says wistfully. She hoped that General Ironwood's sacrifice to reconnect Remnant was no in vain. "What about you, Jaune?"

This was it. This was his moment.

"I want to marry you." Jaune says with conviction.

"What!?" Arslan looked at him. Jaune looked back, a small on his face.

"Arslan Altan," Jaune continued. "We've been dating for roughly 9 years. In 7 of those years, I've given it a lot of thought; Once we find a way home, after we save the world, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Arslan began to blush. All of her stoic aura was gone in an instant.

"Y-You don't have to give me an answer now or anything," Jaune began to blush too. "I just wanted to say that--"

"Yes," Arslan answered. "Although, you would have to get my mother's blessing first."

Jaune smiled. A real smile. One he hasn't done in years. "You got yourself a deal."

The two sealed their pact with a kiss.

"Let's head inside," Jaune yawns. It's been a long day. "I have to feed Juniper."

"You go on ahead," Arslan said warmly. "I have to pray."

Jaune nods. This was something Arslan did daily as a way to ground herself if she lost her way here in the Ever After.

Arslan held her hands together and prayed to the Table Breaker, asking him to watch over their friends and to guide them all back to Remnant.

And while she was never asked for anything personal in her life, Arslan's prayer ended with her asking the Table Breaker for a selfish request: To make sure Jaune keeps his promise to her.

She had something to look forward to.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I didn't watch all of Vol. 9. Only some bits and pieces. So, I had to do a little bit of research on the Ever After and how long Jaune was stuck in the Ever After and now I'm pretty sure I have an aneurysm.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Sunrise on a Sunday is normally a quiet time for Beacon, as only the most dedicated to certain routines pass up the chance to sleep in under normal circumstances.



These are not normal circumstances. As such a group of women who would normally be using their day of rest to… Well… rest, gathered in a small and intimate courtyard known as the Lynessa Garden to discuss the matter that concerned them all.



The nine of them sat around a circular stone table that had been placed in the center of a gazebo built with an excellent view of the reflecting pond that captured the symmetry of the carefully planted trees. As a gentle breeze rustled the leaves the nine women regarded one another with cautious eyes, all of them quiet as the morning light slowly grew. Eventually the silence was broken by the eldest of the gathered women.



"I believe we've waited long enough for Arslan," Glynda began with a frown. "Someone will need to inform her about the decisions made in her absence."



"I'll talk with her," Pyrrha volunteered as she looked towards the garden's entrance once more. The redheaded spartan knit her brow as she tried to fathom the chocolate skinned nun's truancy. Had Arslan not gotten the message? Was she still asleep? Did she get lost on her way to this garden? Was she trying to seduce Jaune-NO! No, she couldn't think that way about her (recently discovered) oldest friend/rival!



Regardless of the reason the meeting would go on without her.



"Thank you Ms. Nikos." Glynda nodded her appreciation to the redhead before she continued, "Ladies, I don't need to lecture you on how serious this situation is. We know definitely that the choices we're making right now are going to have profound impacts on the future. All of us have reasons to seize this moment to make our own personal futures happen. However, the fact that we are in this situation means that none of our futures are set in stone, and the actions we might take to make our futures happen could prevent them from happening altogether."



Light and groggy murmuring of reluctant agreement rippled through the air. Ruby was still rubbing sleep from her eyes. Blake was subtly pinching her own thighs to keep herself focused. Emerald had deliberately crossed her legs in a manner she found uncomfortable to keep herself form dozing. The failed late night meeting with Jaune most of them had attempted had disrupted their sleep cycle enough that even the morning people among them were having a hard time shaking off the last vestiges of dreamland.



Glynda sighed heavily as she went on, "And so In the interest of reducing the risk to all of our known futures we need to lay down some ground rules. First is something I hope we can all agree on: no more violence. Division at this point simply means that none of our futures can happen, so we need to find a way to work together if we're going to make any of our futures happen."



"How could we possibly work together?" Weiss objected, "All of our futures are mutually exclusive." Hushed grumbles of agreement came from the other young women.



"Well to start we shouldn't be trying to sabotage one another," Glynda answered as she glanced around the table to look all the younger women in the eye, "Because if we try to get in each other's way we'll all lose, and none of us want that outcome. That's half of the reason why we need this meeting: to brainstorm ways we can move forward without actively stepping on each other's toes. For instance, is there a way to guarantee we all spend an equal amount of time with Jaune Arc so we all have the same chance to bond with him?"



A brief moment of contemplation was spent before Winter spoke up, "I don't think that's possible from a logistical standpoint. The standard workload of a school week makes it impossible for the girls who aren't already in close proximity to Jaune to increase the amount of time they can spend with him; meaning the girls who are normally in close proximity to him would have to keep their distance to make that work. I also can't see anyone agreeing to reduce their time to the small allotment it would take to make things fair, as it would be based off of the amount of time you can realistically spend with a student, Glynda."



"It would be based off of me, not you?" Glynda raised an eyebrow at Winter.



"I've been given direct orders to make myself a part of Jaune's life," Winter somehow managed to sit up straighter. "As a result General Ironwood has reduced my duties to the minimum possible. The bulk of my days will be my own until this crisis has been resolved, and I fully intend to speed that time with Jaune Arc."



Most of the other women at the table glowered at Winter's stated intentions, with her younger sister becoming particularly agitated.



"You. You! You," Weiss sputtered with growing anger, "You're turning dating Jaune into your full time JOB! How is that fair!"



"What else am I supposed to do? One does not simply refuse orders to date a cute boy!" Winter met her sister's accusation head on, "Of course I'm going to do everything to support my son's future! Just as I expect you to support yours! Our only other option would be to figure out which child comes from the best possible future and then we agree to support them for the greater good! Is anyone here willing to do that?"



Silence hung over the garden as Winter's question echoed in the minds of those present. Looks of defiance and guilt mixed across many faces as all of them knew how they would answer.



"The future my twins showed me is almost utopian," Blake began with a trembling voice. "All the world's at peace, the Grimm are in retreat, the barriers between humankind and faunusdom are practically gone." She began to physically shake as she continued, "If someone else has a better future than theirs, I might be able to consider it for the sake of the greater good, but I don't think I'd be able to follow through. I… I won't betray my family. Not again."



"August's future is just as wonderful," May asserted with a strength she hadn't felt before the words left her mouth. "The world's truly united in a singular grand alliance that's reclaiming the world from the Grimm, and the criminal underbelly of society is the smallest it's ever been." The unexpected confidence that had compelled her to speak started to peter out, but she managed to keep speaking, "Th-that being said I don't think any of our children came from a genuinely bad timeline, so appeals to something like the greater good aren't really valid here and shouldn't influence our reasons for getting close to Jaune."



With the specter of The Greater Good dismissed from the discussion the girls were free to voice their real convictions, and Pyrrha seized upon the opportunity with gusto.



"I've been in love with Jaune since the day we first met," The Invincible Girl staked her claim, "Long before any of you looked his way."



"That doesn't matter," Yang scowled at the redheaded spartan. "For one thing we aren't playing by 'I saw him first' rules, and if we were then I saw him before you did and thought he was cute. Heck, when I saw how light he was on his feet I thought about taking him to a club for dancing! Only reason I didn't scoop him up back then was because I knew you and Ruby were sweet on him and I was willing to let you shoot your shot first!"



"Was this before or after he threw up on your boots?" Weiss asked sardonically.



The blonde boxer shifted her scowl to the heiress and sneered, "You do know the way you treated Jaune is the reason the whole school calls you Ice Queen, right? The whole school's gonna call you tsundere now since you changed your tune at the drop of a hat."



"At least I'm being honest with myself now," Weiss grit her teeth. "And while I admit the circumstances that helped me come around are exceptional, what about you? Would you have held off on admitting you liked him until Pyrrha or Ruby married him? Leaving you with only a cat to go home to?"



Blake felt offended and wasn't entirely sure why.



Yang cracked her knuckles and shifted in her seat, threatening to get up. "You're treading on thin ice, Weiss."



"Don't you threaten my sister," Winter's eyes narrowed as she also shifted in her seat.



"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS TRAITOR!" Weiss snapped while pointing dramatically at her sister.



"Tra-tra-Traitor?" Winter recoiled as if she had been struck. "How am I a traitor?"



"You, you," Weiss sputtered as she tried to articulate why she was upset with her sister. While the root of the issue didn't find words another problem did. "You didn't even meet Jaune properly until yesterday! Why are you diving into this headfirst?"



"He's a good man that cares and is willing to put the work in, what other reasons do I need?" Winter answered. "You don't seem confused by the thief going all in on Jaune," She gestured in Emerald's direction, "And she was part of a conspiracy that could have killed him not even twenty-four hours ago! Why aren't you being suspicious of her? She could still be part of that conspiracy for all we know!"



Emerald slammed both of her hands on the table and stood with passion in her voice, "Jaune Arc has shown me more genuine kindness and common decency over the last day than anyone I've ever met in my life! Don't you dare insinuate that my interest in him isn't real." Emerald glared fire in Winter's direction before realizing that all eyes were upon her. She shrank back into her seat under the collective glares of all those present, but the rage in her eyes remained.



"Al-Alright," May spoke up again with a shaky voice that was supposed to be calming. She hoped she was leading the conversation to less confrontational waters. "So we can all say that we all gain something precious from our future relationship with Jaune. Before all this I had no family, no direction, no goals beyond simple survival. Now? Now I have all the things I lacked and it's all thanks to him. We know the future is good, it would be a shame if we tore each other apart before we get there."



"We know the futures our children came from are good, but we don't really know how time travel works." Pyrrha pointed out. "Destiny might be in our hands right now and pliable to our wills. Destiny might have already slipped through our fingers and is unbendable. There are too many unknowns. But what I do know is that Jaune is the first person I've formed a real connection with since I won my first tournament; and after spending my whole life denying my own desires for the sake of my mother, my career, and my sponsors I know I can't deny what my heart wants any longer. I won't go out of my way to try and erase any of your futures... but if destiny is in our hands right now I will bend it towards my future with Jaune."



The other women tensed at Pyrrha's declaration.



"Not if I bend you over it first," Yang growled.



And with that the dam burst and all the aggression that had slowly built up on the back burner spilled forth in a cacophony of incomprehensible noise. Yang and Pyrrha yelled at each other making threatening gestures with their fists. Blake hissed at Emerald while Weiss shouted at Winter, who answered in hurt and confused rejoinders. Glynda's calls for order went unheeded, while May shrank in on herself at a loss.



Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. The diminutive reaper thought about the conversations she had with her son the day before about some of the secrets of their silver eyes, how they could produce a light that could harm the Grimm while being harmless to everything else...



...Well, technically harmless.



She focused her aura and her feelings and built more and more energy behind her eyelids in the way Julian had showed her. As the arguments around her reached a fever pitch and threatened to become physical, Ruby Rose stood with the grace of a leader and opened her eyes and mouth in unison.



"QUIET!" Her voice carried as her eyes flashed with the intensity of a silver sun. Though the flash only lasted a second or two it's brightness forced everyone else at the table to shut their own eyes and wince lest they be temporarily blinded, and even then they were blinking away nonexistent spots from their vision. Silence reigned. Satisfied that her first ever Silver Flare had given her everyone's undivided attention Ruby began with the unvarnished truth:



"Jaune would be disappointed if he was here," And Ruby's own disappointment was evident in her voice. "Especially since this is the time where we need to be united the most. Cinder is still out there, and she's undoubtedly told her boss Salem about everything that's happened here. A great and ancient evil now knows that time travel is possible through Moses' semblance, and if she's anything like the stories Julian knows about her, then she has regrets of her own that she'd want to erase. That means she's going to come here at some point to try and take Moses' power, and if she succeeds she'll erase the world as we know it. It isn't just our futures on the line. Everyone's future is on the line as long as Moses can't get back to his time."



Ruby turned and began to circle the table as she continued talking, trying not to outwardly fidget at their intense stares.



"So none of us are going to fight over Jaune. Not just because Professor Ozpin forbade any more fighting, but-but because we can't afford to while Salem is still a threat. Until that threat is gone all we can do is follow Ozpin's orders to get along with our kids, get along with each other's kids, and until we can figure something better out we'll just have to share our time with Jaune and our kids."



She returned to her seat and sat down with a commanding presence, though inside she felt scared enough to throw up.



"No more fighting," Ruby reiterated, "And-And we all share. You got it?"



There was a lot of staring at Ruby, before shamed murmurs of agreement came from the others sitting at the table.



"I can't hear you!" Ruby glared as her eyes glowed again.



"We got it," the other girls replied slightly out of sync.



"Very well said Miss Rose," Glynda commended her student.



Ruby blushed deeply. May actually gave her a warm, relieved smile. Pyrrha did too, after a bit of contemplation. Weiss shared a rare look of respect with her, as Blake nodded in agreement. Yang grinned in some pride, though it was mixed with a stuck out tongue in true sibling-like fashion. Something Ruby returned with a relieved smile. Emerald nodded obediently, perhaps out of instinct. She was used to following someone's orders, after all. Winter assessed her with a poker face. The quiet stretched on.



Everyone looked around, not quite looking each other in the eyes as they all mulled over Ruby's words. Silence filled the garden as none of them knew what to say after that.



Fortunately, before things could become too awkward one of the doorways to the garden opened up. Everyone turned to see who had arrived, and they saw with a small amount of surprise and shock Jaune and Arslan walking side by side with all of Jaune's children and Penny following close behind.



"Oh good, you're all here," Jaune smiled cautiously at them, "That makes this easier. Arslan and I are taking the kids to church after breakfast. Do any of you want to come along?"



Glances were quickly shared around the table. Ruby answered for the group with a bright though nervous smile.



"Yeah we'd love to come with you guys!"



"Great," Jaune's smile became relieved. "Ren and Nora spent the last hour whipping up a breakfast for all of us, so let's not dawdle and test Nora's patience; she's already drinking syrup."



The nine women got up from the table and exited the gazebo, mingling with their children as they made their way to the dining hall. They were halfway there when Ruby suddenly grabbed Yang's shoulder in a panicked vice grip.



"What is it?" Yang whispered to her sister.



"Yang, I just realized something terrible."



"What?"



Ruby looked at her sister with wide eyes, "I left my Sunday dress back home in Patch!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Coco Adel loved to sleep in, but certainly not every day. A creative mind like hers was a restless one, and as a result her sleep schedule was all over the place. Managing this and training her team, homework, and combat training was a challenge: But Coco Adel thrived on challenges. It made her who she was.

Her team was understanding of this, at least. It helped that Fox too was a bit of a nightowl: Being blind meant he had a different idea of a sleep cycle than most people. Yatsuhashi had grown up in a life of quiet meditation, training and contemplation, and so his serenity let him roll with the punches. Velvet was an energetic, nervous little thing but she was able to keep up-She and Coco had been friends since middle school, after all.

So it was that Coco Adel and her team were all more or less awake and more or less conscious that Sunday morning. Coco was already drinking her cappuccino from the custom machine her mother had sent her. Yatsuhashi was meditating on the floor nearby. Fox was reading something via Braille. Velvet was fretting, though that was nothing new.

"You know," Coco said, "You're going to tell us what happened at the mall eventually."

"N-No I won't!" Velvet protested, shaking her head as she tried to eat her oatmeal with mixed fruit, "It's not that big a deal!"

"Oh? It isn't?" Coco asked with a smirk.

"Um, well..." Velvet mumbled something. "I uh... I met someone. For... A few hours. A little... Social outing."

"A date?" Coco asked with a grin. "Why, who with?"

"It wasn't a date!" Velvet protested with a huff, "J-Just... You know... An outing! F-For fun!"

"Who with?" Coco asked, leaning forward over the breakfast table. Velvet flushed and looked at the walls and ceiling with great intensity.

"I uh... Just... Someone we know. No big deal it wasn't any-!"

"It was Cardin Winchester," Fox deadpanned. Velvet blushed.

"FOX! WHY?!"

"I was winding her up, damnit!" Coco protested.

"You made me wear spandex," Fox stated flatly.

"But you looked so good in it!" Coco countered.

"I have to take your word for that," Fox continued, "It was itchy and unpleasant."

"Oh fine," Coco scoffed. She looked over at Velvet with a shrug.

"You can't blame us for keeping an eye on you, given he is a bully."

"Was! Was!" Velvet protested. "And if you spied on our date, you know he was a good guy the whole time!"

"True," Coco said, waiting for Velvet to take a sip of juice. Velvet stared at her. Coco stared back. Velvet slowly sipped the juice.

"Though you certainly were quite bad when you kissed him like that."

Velvet spewed her juice out and coughed. She glared at Coco who smirked.

"COCO!"

Coco laughed, and scooted around to hug her best friend.

"There there, Bun-Bun. We were just having some fun," she consoled her. "And keeping an eye on you. Well, ear in Fox's case."

"Haven't heard that one before," Fox muttered. Yatsuhashi turned a concerned look towards Velvet.

"He really isn't hurting you? Or blackmailing you? Or using a mind control semblance?"

"No! Of course not! You and Fox would be able to tell!" Velvet insisted. "So would Coco!"

"I don't have a mental Semblance," Coco deadpanned.

"No, but you're super nosy and obsessed with controlling my life," Velvet said in slight irritation. Coco sniffed.

"It is not being 'nosy' or 'obsessed with controlling your life'. It is 'being informed' and 'making sure you're doing well.'" She sighed. "And if you really think he's reformed-"

"He's doing better! Really!" Velvet insisted.

"And if you actually like him, then we won't stand in your way," Fox stated, flipping the page on his book. Velvet went bright red.

"I-I DIDN'T SAY I DID!"

Yatsuhashi allowed himself a rare smile, and resumed his meditation.

"You did kiss him though," Coco observed, now much more relaxed. She grinned devilishly. "You kiss everyone you like with tongue? Can I get some sugar, Bun-Bun?"

"UGH! Why do I tell you things?" Velvet moaned, sitting down and putting her head in her hands. Coco patted her best friend on the shoulder.

"Because we're your friends, and all the weirdness in our lives should be shared," she chuckled. She hummed.

"Though of course, if he tries anything bad, we'll kill him."

"Yup," Fox intoned, reading his book.

"Without mercy," Yatsuhashi added.

Velvet scowled.

"I could kill him if I wanted to!" She pouted.

"Yes yes, Bun-Bun," Coco said, patting her on the shoulder, "But thank you for the juicy bit of gossip."

She got some more cappuccino and hummed as she sipped it.

"Speaking of, shame the party got canceled. What happened? All we saw when we got back was the wrecked courtyard. The Scroll network has been down since we got here, too. Come on guys! You're my Gossip Gerties!"

"I hate it when she calls us that," Yatsuhashi muttered. Velvet and Fox nodded. Coco turned her formidable glare onto Yatsuhashi. The big Mistralian swordsman winced, then cleared his throat.

"Amaranthe from Team BALT saw Pyrrha Nikos, Arslan Altan, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao-Long, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Emerald Sustrai and Cinder Fall all fighting with a bunch of transfer students in the courtyard before she had to run. Apparently Arslan declared something about... Jaune Arc?"

"Oh?" Coco asked, leaning forward in interest.

"I um, I also heard they all got called into meetings with the Headmaster," Velvet volunteered, "And after that they kind of kept to themselves."

Coco hummed.

"So... A giant battle royale with several suitors for Jaune Arc?"

"There were a few boys involved, too," Yatsuhashi added. Coco giggled.

"Even better! Oh, this is great! I can't wait to find out more!"

"It won't be easy with the network still having issues," Fox pointed out.

"Not like a ready source of information is going to drop by-" Yatsuhashi added... Before there was a knock at the door.

Coco raised an eyebrow at Yatsuhashi. The big swordsman stared back.

"It could just be a coincidence," he offered.

Coco turned and walked to the door. She opened it. There stood Ruby Rose, looking very anxious indeed.

"Coco!" She cried. "I need a sexy dress to get Jaune's attention, ASAP! Before anyone else gets the same idea!"

Coco slowly looked back over at Yatsuhashi with a smug grin. Fox facepalmed. Velvet flushed and gaped.

"... I must use this power responsibly," he muttered, shutting his eyes tightly as he tried to resume meditation.

"Of course, Ruby! Why don't you tell me all about it~?" Coco asked with a cheshire cat grin.

- - -

Jaune, his children, his potential future wives, and Penny all stood at the Bullhead pad. He grimaced as he looked at the airship he was going to ride with his... His family, really. He rubbed his stomach.

"Here," Nicholas said, handing over a bottle of pills, "These work great."

"Oh, you get airsick too huh?" Jaune asked. Nicholas grimaced.

"I mean... Sometimes? If it's a big airship, I'm fine. The small ones just make me throw up."

"Oh man, that happened to me too!" Leander said.

"Heh, you told me you first met Mom when you were airsick," Xia chuckled, "So uh, hey! It's not all bad, right?"

"You ruined her boots," Blake deadpanned. Jaune flushed. Yang laughed and boldly scooted up to pat Jaune on the back.

"Sorry about giving you hell over that."

"Sorry about your boots," Jaune admitted. "Uh, I mean, I could replace them?"

"Oh?" Yang asked, leaning in, "That'd be great! We could go off to this place I know-"

"We're going to the church service and then returning," Glynda stated firmly. "We can work out any 'trips' later."

Many scowls were directed at Glynda. Jaune sweated a bit.

Geez. Before all this I would have begged for one girl's attention. Now all this? Jaune shook his head. No no no, come on. They're all still your friends... Or becoming friends. We're gonna sort this out. Nobody's gonna act crazy. Not after the fight.

"We will be late if we don't get moving soon," Arslan said, looking around, "Where is Ruby Rose?"

"Here! Sorry I'm late!"

Ruby appeared in a burst of petals in front of Jaune. She grinned as his jaw dropped.

"Needed to get my Sunday best~!" She said, posing in a very elaborate red and black gothic lolita dress. The hem was high to show off her cute legs, the neckline low, the corset tight, and she had an umbrella to complete the ensemble.

Jaune blushed deeply.

Oh geez... Yup. Ruby is definitely a girl. No doubt about it now...

"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked.

Jaune's female companions had varying levels of disappointment, disgust, and (in Yang's case) scandal.

"RUBY!" Yang squawked.

"After that speech and everything," Emerald growled.

"Honestly?" May sighed.

"Hypocrite!" Weiss shouted.

Ruby flushed.

"Wh-What?! I'm just dressing up! I'm not going back on our agreement!"

"Friend Ruby, I believe you are 'lying'," Penny said, "Though it is much harder to tell than with I due to my autonomous response-Which is perfectly normal as I am a normal girl!"

"I'm not lying! I wore stuff like this for church all the time on Patch!" Ruby further lied.

Julian covered his face in mortification over his mother as Xia grimaced in disgust at her aunt. Theodore raised an eyebrow. Nicholas looked anywhere but directly at her with a blush on his pale cheeks, an action Xander copied. Amethyst was scandalized. Petra covered her face. Dorothy giggled a bit, but stopped when her mother glared at her. Ash and Ashley rolled their eyes. August sighed, and Leandra and Leander... Took pictures?

"Hey!" Blake cried.

"But she's so cute like this!" Leandra protested.

Blake hummed and looked Ruby over.

"True."

Yang took a deep breath, her eyes glowing red. When she spoke, her voice was even but promised doom. She had not had to mother Ruby in a while, but meeting Xia had brought that part of her back to the forefront.

Mom!Yang was in charge.

"Ruby? Go back and change. You have two minutes."

Ruby scowled.

"But Yang-"

"GO CHANGE!"

Ruby stomped her boots and huffed.

"Fine!"

Jaune rubbed his temples and sighed.

Well. Guess I can see the future. Because things are definitely going to get more complicated...

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From the SpaceBattles thread.

Childhood Memories: Dragon Dance

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dragon's Fist Dojo, Radian, Vale. Xia Arc-Xiao-Long. Age: 15.

Combat gloves? Check.

Gauntlets? Check.

Badass battle jacket? Check.

Hair tied into a cute as hell ponytail? Double check.

Yup. She was ready.

Xia Arc-Xiao-Long, the Blonde Bruiser of Signal Academy, was finally ready to take her on. To push past her limits and finally--

"You're gonna lose again." A voice interrupted her train of thought. She turned to see two troublemakers. One was a boy, the other a girl. The boy looked very smug for his age, while the girl shrunk under Xia's gaze.

"Yin! Pyrrha! You two are supposed to be watching the others!" Xia reprimanded her younger brother and sister.

"Grandpa said it was ok." Yin immediately rebuked.

"Grandpa, huh?," Xia raised an eyebrow. Yin was too good of a liar to be trusted, so she interrogated the one she knew wouldn't lie to her. "Pyrrha, who said it was ok for you two to spy on me and Mom's private spar? Grandpa Nick or Grandpa Tai?"

Pyrrha began to tug on the hem of her dress. "Oh... um..," She saw her brother put a finger to his lips, the universal sign to stay quiet. But when she looked back at her older sister's intense stare, she folded like a house of cards. "It was actually Grunkle Qrow." The jig was up.

"Grunkle Qrow!" Xia shouted. What the hell! She didn't even know he was in town!

"I don't see what the problem is," Yin crossed his arms. "We never get to see you and Mom go all out!"

"You never get to see us fight because we go all out. It's too dangerous for the two of you to be here," Xia snapped back. Sparring with Mom (Or Dad for that matter) always ended up with a giant crater or a half the dojo's roof getting blown off. "I swear, that crotchety old--," But before Xia can finish cursing her Grunkle Qrow, the dojo doors slid open.

"What's all this fighting about?" Standing at an impressive 6 feet was their mother: the legendary Golden Dragon, Yang Arc-Xiao-Long. And beside her, standing an even more impressive 6 foot 10 was their father, Dr. Jaune Arc.

"Mom! Dad! W-We were just--." Before Pyrrha could explain, a idea formed in Yin's head.

"Xia said that we could watch you guys fight," Yin lied as easily as he breathed. "She said if we want to become Hunters like you, we have to see what the real deal is like!"

"Aw, trying to inspire your siblings, Xia?," Yang gushed. She's so proud of her little Firecracker. Meanwhile, Xia seethed. She's so getting back at Yin for this. "You two just stay with your Dad, ok? Xia, get on the mat. We'll start on your mark."

As the family troop entered the dojo, they gazed at one of the wall. Adorned with pictures of Jaune and Yang in different stages of their life. One had Yang and Jaune standing proudly in front of the newly built Dragon's Fist Dojo. Another showcased the couple in New Kuroyuri, alongside their Aunties Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Nora and Uncle Ren. Weiss carried the then 2-year-old Xia her lap, gushing at how cute she looked. Ruby, Nora, and Yang were laughing as 1-year-old Yin tugged on one of Blake's ears. Jaune and Ren were off to the side eating cake, deep in a conversation she was too young to remember. Another had Xia, 13 at the time, standing victorious at the 15th Nikos Tournament, with her fist raised in the air.

But there were two things on that wall that always caught Xia's attention: One was a red sash, framed in a handmade frame, with a plaque that say 'In Memoriam. Pyrrha Nikos'. The other was kind of hard not to notice: Resting above the pictures was a massive white and gold sword. It was her father's weapon, the mighty Dragonslayer.

She heard from Aunt Ruby that after the Beacon incident, Mom had tried to make Dad a new sword. But because she knew next to nothing about sword-smithing, Aunt Ruby had to step in to salvage it.

As Xia stepped on the mat, Yang smiled proudly her daughter. She was like the best. It was like the best parts of her and Jaune had combined into one person. Although, that could be said about all her babies. Xia just had the age advantage. Maybe today she'll finally beat her.

Off to the side, Jaune was on stand by with his medical kit, Yin and Pyrrha standing behind him. He knew his Semblance was more than enough to heal their injuries, but he became a bit of a worrywort. Ever since Raven tried to steal Xia away from them, inadvertently unlocking her Semblance, Jaune became a bit overprotective. Part of him didn't want her to be a Huntress, finally understanding his mother's reluctance. But that didn't mean he agreed with it. He chose to support Xia, a choice he still hasn't regretted.

As she readied Combattre L'or, Xia took her stance and flared her Aura. Yang did the same, Ember Celica shifting into its gauntlet form. The heat from their Auras felt like a small star was forming in the dojo. The screen on the one of the walls had two Aura meters displayed, one for Yang and the other for Xia. Both at 100%.

"First one to reach 0 Aura loses." Yang grinned. "Or if one of us taps out. You ready, Firecracker?"

"Hell yeah." Xia grinned back.

"You've got this, Xia!" Jaune cheered.

And in an instant, Xia charged forward, her fist ready to strike. Yang dodged, only to kicked in the side. Xia had predicted this, her experience from their previous fights kicking in (Heh, nice one). Yang was sent back a few steps, recovering enough to dodge Xia's next kick. Using Ember Celica to boost her dodge, she created some distance between her and Xia.

But that strategy wouldn't last for long. Xia's Semblance, Super, had Jaune's Aura boosting attribute. Meaning she could enhance her own speed and pump the brakes on any hit and run tactics she could apply. It also seemed like after 38 fights, Xia is using her head. She memorized her fighting style and adjusted to it, even throwing her off by incorporating kicks. She was also pretty sure Xia was copying moves from that comic book she reads. What was it called again? Outstanding Arachni-Lad?

Wait... Something's off.

Why isn't she using her gauntlets? Right now she's only using Aura enhanced punches and kicks. Yang swore she saw Xia loading up her gauntlets with ammo. Unless...

Yang smirked. 'So that's your plan, Xia.'

Xia thought she had the upper hand in this fight, until Yang activated her Semblance. The heat in the room increasing significantly. This is different. She's using Burn at Level 2!

Xia's plan was to overload her Mom's Semblance before she unleashes Level 2. She must've caught on...

All according to plan!

Xia smirked. All that practice with Dad and Grandpa Tai was finally gonna pay off!

She maneuvered herself towards Yang. Mother and daughter now face-to-face. Xia clenched both of her fists and unleashed a volley of punches, increasing her speed with each punch. Yang, unable to move, realizes she's backed into a corner. She keeps her arms up to block the torrent of fisticuffs.

"So this your plan," Yang grits her teeth. She looked over at the Aura meter. While she was at 20, Xia's was at 25 and dropping fast. "Make me use up my Semblance before I can get a hit in?! It's smart, but you'll waste your Aura by the time mine is tapped out!"

"Not if I use this!" Xia shouts back, her Aura flared. The wooden floorboards cracked from the sheer pressure. It felt like the dojo... No, the entire Arc homestead started to shake. Sparks of electricity were coming off her and her Aura was now a shimmering gold. Xia's Aura meter bounced back to 58 percent.

"This is Super... Level 2!" Xia roared. And so, she pressed on with her assault! Another flurry of punches were sent towards Yang, accompanied by Combattre L'or's shotgun blasts.

Yang's Aura dropped to 12 percent. This is bad. This Super Level 2 is strong, but Yang could tell Xia didn't have much practice with it. All she had to do was make an opening for herself to counter one of Xia's hits and use Level 3...

But if she tries to move, Xia could take advantage and trip her up. But if she does nothing then...

This was Xia's plan. Put her Mom in an impossible situation. One where all she can do is defend herself. If tries to move or counter attack, she'll leave herself open. If doesn't, Xia will bombard her with everything she's got!

Yang, realizing the no-win situation her daughter put her in, sighs. "That's a slick move. I forfeit!"

Xia stops, panting in exhaustion. "Really?"

"Yup. You win." Yang says, trying to catch her breath.

"Holy crap. I DID IT!" Xia bounced with excitement. "I FINALLY BEAT YO--"

Before she got to finish celebrating, she fell to the floor.

Yang signaled to her husband. Jaune grabbed his medical kit, then turned towards the other spectators.

"Yin. Pyrrha. Head back to the house and get Grannie. Ok? "

"Is Xia gonna be ok?" Pyrrha asks, worried about her sister's well-being.

"She'll be fine. I just let her know we're going to be a little late for dinner," Jaune says. He then turns to Yin. "Oh, and Yin? Tell Grannie you won't be having any dessert because you listened to Grunkle Qrow again."

Yin held his head down.

"Yes, sir."

The two then proceed to head to the house. Jaune knelt down, using the Aura Scanner from the medical kit to check Xia's condition.

"Is she ok," Yang asks. Kneeling down beside Jaune. "I think she might have overused her Semblance."

"She'll be fine," Jaune smiled. "Nothing my Semblance can't fix. But right now, she needs to rest."

Jaune took Xia and Yang's hands and began to flood their Auras with his. The bruises on the two healed rapidly.

"One hell of a kid we raised, huh Vomit Boy?" Yang snuggled closer to him.

"Yeah," Jaune began to reminisce. "You remember what she told Raven after we saved her?"

"MY MOMMY AND DADDY AREN'T WEAK," a 9-year-old Xia shouted at Raven. "THEY'RE SUPER STRONG!"
"Xia. Please," Raven began to plead with the little girl. "These two will hold you back! Family will always hold you back! I will show you true strength!"
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Xia's Aura began to unleash itself. "YOU'RE JUST SOME STUPID OLD LADY! MY FAMILY IS MY STRENGTH!"
"How can I forget," Yang smiled warmly. "Pretty sure Raven's mind broke after being told off a child."

The couple shared a laugh.

The laughter died down when Xia began to stir.

"Alright," Jaune heaved. Lifting Xia in a princess carry. "Let's get her inside. Pretty sure my Dad's making meatloaf tonight."

"Oh good. I'm starting." Yang started. The two made their way to the house. The laughs from their big family could be heard from outside.

The smell of her Grandpa's cooking began to wake the exhausted Xia.

A smile formed on her face.

Today was the best day ever.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I feel like Xia's drive to push past her limits stems from wanting to face Raven again and kick her ass for kidnapping her.
For maximum enjoyment of the Yang vs Xia fight, listen to the instrumental version of "Super" by Brandon Yates.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A Quiet Sunday 2

- - -

Jaune relaxed against the Bullhead bulkhead, smiling a bit as he sat on the bench. Arslan was on one side of him, while Emerald was on the other. Yang and Ruby were across the passenger compartment, Ruby still pouting a bit. May lingered near them with Pyrrha, sitting on the bench. Weiss and Blake were squabbling again nearby, while their various kids all watched with varying levels of exasperation or amusement. Winter stood nearby Penny and Glynda ahead, closer to the cockpit.

"It was nice going to church again, I guess," Yang commented.

Emerald shrugged.

"I've only been there to uh... Rob them. Or for free food," she admitted.

"I found it fascinating!" Penny chirped, "How about you, Friend Ruby?"

"It was kind of boring, though the singing part was fun!" Ruby enthused.

Arslan nodded.

"Shepherd Trenton does have a tendency to ramble," she admitted, "But he does have great insights."

"It's been a long time since I had a Sunday off," Glynda said, clearing her throat a bit. Winter nodded.

"S-Same," she said.

"I do not believe in the same way," Pyrrha admitted, "But I did like the sense of fellowship."

Weiss broke off her argument with Blake and sighed. She stalked over, standing in front of Jaune. Blake was only a step behind, still scowling at her.

"Church back in Atlas was just an excuse for my father to look good," Weiss sniffed, "So... This wasn't all bad."

"If you could stop making business connections for five minutes," Blake snorted.

"You couldn't shut up about Faunus and religion!" Weiss shot back.

"We did have to pull you away twice, Blake," Yang grinned, "Guess we shouldn't have let the cat out of the bag, huh?"

"Ugh," Ruby and Blake groaned. Penny laughed.

"Ahahaha! Because she is a Cat Faunus! Hilarious!"

Everyone stared at Penny for a bit. Jaune sighed.

"Yeah that is kind of funny," he said, though he looked carefully at Blake. She flushed, and shook her head.

"It... I'm fine, really," she assured them, "I know I have a tendency to be... Uh..."

"Thin-skinned?" Weiss snorted.

"Look who's talking!" Blake growled.

"Wow, it's like we didn't even go back in time," Theodore observed. Winter scowled.

"Theodore!"

"Well I'm not wrong!" Theodore insisted. All the other kids nodded or avoiding looking at their parents.

"He really isn't," Leander said.

"You guys just seem to fight for fun," Leandra stated, "I thought that's how you made friends. Boy was my face red after I argued with half my class."

"Same," Nicholas moaned.

Jaune had a laugh. A few others did too. His eyes rested on May, who had not stopped looking pensive and nervous since they set out.

"Hey, May? You okay?" Jaune asked kindly.

Pyrrha hesitated, before she squeezed the shorter girl's shoulder. May took a deep breath.

"I-I'm fine," she mumbled, "I'm just... Uh... I mean the service was nice! My parents... Adopted parents, I guess... Practiced the Pandu religion but um, I did go to a few Tablebreaker churches... Mainly for the free food."

"It's about your parents, huh?" Emerald asked, though not unkindly. May flushed, and nodded. She snorted and leaned back.

"Hey, at least you still have some."

"Speak for yourself," Weiss muttered.

"You have nothing to worry about, May," Glynda said in a gentler tone than usual, "Arjun and Saia went to Beacon with me. I know their characters. They are wonderful people."

"They do love my family, me, and their son very much," Jaune further encouraged her, getting up to stand across from her with a warm smile. "My dad told me how devastated they were to lose you. I know they'll love you."

May winced.

"I... I did name my son after the man who kidnapped me," she mumbled. August walked over to his mother and shook his head.

"Grandpa Arjun understood. The guy wasn't a monster. I mean, yeah, he took you away but he did try to raise you and loved you," August said kindly. "You have a great relationship with them in my time!"

"This is going to be pretty awkward for all of us," Yang sighed, "But hey. Least your parents are good people, right?"

"R-Right," May mumbled. Ruby beamed and bumped her happily.

"And hey! You're a princess now! Isn't that neat?"

May looked far more frightened than she had before. Ruby winced as the sniper girl began to mutter under her breath.

"Um, whoops?"

"It's all right," Glynda said kindly, "You will all meet your parents, and we'll sort this all out in a calm, rational manner."

Pyrrha winced. Jaune looked over at the redhead. Arslan also looked concerned. Pyrrha sighed.

"Y-Yeah... Sure," she muttered.

"What about your parents, Miss Goodwitch?" Jaune asked, trying to distract from Pyrrha's reluctance, "Um, I mean, I'll do my best-"

"You needn't worry about it," Glynda said calmly, "They died in a Grimm attack when I graduated Beacon."

Much wincing occurred. Jaune walked up to Glynda and hesitated before he extended an arm to rest on her bicep comfortingly.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. Glynda nodded.

"I've... Had time to process and grieve, but thank you," she said. Winter nodded in sympathy.

"It will... Be difficult. More for some than others," she said carefully, "But I'm... I'm confident we will resolve everything."

"If Mother even bothers to show up," Weiss grumbled.

"She will arrive today, she said so herself," Glynda said calmly.

Winter and Weiss wore identical grimaces at this. Jaune shook his head, and Ruby stood by him.

"Like Winter said, I'm confident we'll resolve everything," he said with a smile. He looked at his many children. "Right?"

"Well," Xia mumbled, rubbing the back of her head, "Uh, I mean, mostly? Though I think Aunt Ruby is still kind of pining for you in my timeline, Dad."

"I am?!" Ruby gasped.

"She is?" Yang growled.

"And you're still single and just wandering around in mine," Julian volunteered. "I like your cats though! They're friendly!"

"Urk!" Yang gasped.

Blake looked extremely smug. Theodore hummed.

"Really? In my timeline Auntie Blake was cheating on Uncle Sun and Aunt Yang and it caused a huge scandal."

"Ack!" Blake cried. Yang glared at the cat Faunus. Weiss smirked at her.

"Weird," Amethyst hummed, "Auntie Weiss keeps visiting our house in skimpier and skimpier clothing. You're super annoyed with it, Mom."

"I would never!" Weiss cried, her cheeks red. Emerald shot her a glare. Arslan sighed.

Well, at least her daughter wasn't stirring things up-

"Oh yeah? Auntie Pyrrha does the same thing!" Petra observed with a hint of mischief in her eyes, "Like, constantly. Even follows Dad into the bathroom sometimes!"

Arslan sighed in mild annoyance as Pyrrha went bright red.

"Yeah, same here," Ash smirked. The Invincible Girl squeaked.

"All the time, it's kind of getting weird," Theodore threw out, as Pyrrha looked faint.

"GUYS!" Xander cried, red-cheeked and scandalized.

Jaune groaned.

"Okay, enough of that!" He barked.

"Honestly, act your age!" Glynda added.

"We kind of are," Ash pointed out.

"Yeah," Ashley smirked, "And we're not students so what are you gonna do?"

"I'll ground you," Jaune growled. "All of you."

"For what? We could be telling the truth, ya know!" Julian protested. Jaune's glare intensified. The children all winced.

"Sorry," they muttered in a confused chorus.

Jaune noticed that a lot of warm looks were being directed at him from his future wives. He did his best to not pay them any mind. He was just doing what his dad had done on many occasions. Wasn't anything special.

"That's better," Jaune said with a nod. He looked over at Penny. "When are we gonna get back to Beacon, Penny?"

The gynoid beamed.

"We will arrive in five minutes, twenty seven seconds! However, we are being redirected to an auxiliary landing pad as there has been a massive incident at the main pads!"

"What kind of incident?" Glynda demanded, as the air of joviality fell away and everyone got serious. Penny tilted her head.

"Some kind of attack-"

"Take us to the site of the attack immediately!" Winter barked to the pilot. The pilot winced.

"Er, ma'am, we've been told to-"

"The directions are overridden by my authority and hers," Glynda stated firmly, "Get us there!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Do you think our parents are involved?" Weiss asked worriedly.

"Come on Weisscream," Yang snorted, "What are the odds of that?"

- - -

They touched down and emerged onto the wrecked airship field. Several firefighting Bullheads were putting out fires with hoses, while several students and staff rushed about.

Near the center of this chaos, Jaune tensed. A familiar tall blonde man with a beard and gigantic sword cheerfully and loudly talked with Headmaster Ozpin, while an equally familiar shorter blonde woman in a green dress, labcoat, stockings, and glasses argued more seriously next to him. Several other people were around them. All of whom turned and looked over at the group emerging from the Bullhead.

"Pyrrha!"

"Mother, Orestes," Pyrrha returned, just before a redheaded woman in a red dress practically tackled her. It did nothing to the much stronger Pyrrha, but the dead eyed look in her eyes was not faked at all. A dark haired man with gray streaks in his hair and a black suit walked up, smoking in some exasperation as Pyrrha's mother cried out dramatically.

"MY PRECIOUS BABY! WHERE DID I GO WRONG?!" She wailed.

Pyrrha didn't even bother with a smile, she just looked exhausted. Xander gave her a nervous but encouraging smile.

"There there...?"

"BLAKE!"

"BLAKE!"

Blake cringed nervously as a tall panther Faunus man with dark clothing and beard hugged her on one side, and an attractive older black cat Faunus woman in black robes hugged her on the other.

"You're pregnant! It's wonderful!" Kali cried happily.

"Where's Jaune Arc?! I'm going to beat him senseless!" Ghira growled. "And then find me Adam! I'll rip HIM apart!"

"Uh, h-hey, Mom and Dad," she managed.

Weiss looked smug... Before her own mother, butler, and little brother approached. Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat.

"H-Hello Mother, Klein, Whitley," she managed. Winter stood by her, a bit awkwardly. Willow actually smiled.

"It's good to see you well... I can't tell you how... Um... Confused I am. Though pleasantly." She looked over at Jaune with a blush.

"The spitting image of his father," she sighed.

"Mother?!" Winter and Weiss asked in disbelief. Whitley raised an eyebrow as Klein chuckled.

"Congratulations on actually fornicating, I've heard that can be difficult for you two."

"WHITLEY!" Winter, Weiss, Willow and Klein all shouted. The white haired boy winced.

"Wow, boy Weiss is kind of cute," Ruby observed.

"In a femboy sort of way," Emerald added.

Whitley flushed.

"I AM NOT A FEMBOY!" He protested angrily.

A tall blond man in brown vest and shorts ran up and hugged Yang and Ruby, while a dark haired man with a giant sword walked up to Jaune.

"Yang! Ruby! At last, you've fulfilled my dreams!" Taiyang cried.

"What dreams?" Yang demanded.

"Marrying a well off-I mean, a good guy!" Taiyang insisted. Ruby grimaced.

"Dad! It hasn't happened yet-!'

"It had better," Qrow growled, pointing a sword at Jaune. The blond gulped. Winter pulled away from her mother and knocked Qrow's sword away with her own. Penny took up a defensive stance in front of Jaune.

"Would you mind NOT threatening my future husband?" Winter demanded. Qrow choked.

"YOU TOO!?" He glared at Jaune. "You damn harem protagonists are all alike!"

"Huh?!" Jaune cried. "N-No, I'm not-!"

"HA! Like you ever had a chance!" Winter sniffed.

"Well I might have!" Qrow protested. "But hey, least you're not a cradle robber like Glynda-HEY!"

Glynda waved her riding crop and Qrow was flipped upside down onto his face. He groaned.

"Nice to see you too, Glynda," he muttered.

A pair of dark skinned blonds, a man and a woman, approached Arslan. Arslan bowed, as did Petra.

"Mother, Father," she said, "My motherhood is unexpected but-"

"Time travel, we got it," Logos chuckled, as Barsara sighed.

"No dramatic timing."

"Well that's why you were the actress, dear," Logos smiled. "And you must be our granddaughter?"

"Petra," Petra introduced herself.

The two hugged Arslan and Petra tightly together. Though without as much blubbering and guilting as Blake was getting.

"Hello Jaune," intoned a familiar voice. Jaune winced, and turned away to face... His parents. Penny respectfully stepped out of the way as Nick and Isabel Arc stared at him. Godfather Arjun and Godmother Saia stood back a respectful distance, watching him with amused and encouraging looks.

He stared back at his parents and took a deep breath.

"Hello Mom. Hello Dad-URK!"

Nick grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Hahahaha! That's my boy!" Nick cheered. "You're the manliest man who ever walked, son! Great job!"

"D-DAD!" Jaune choked. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

"Then what is it like?!" Isabel demanded with a glare. She then glared at Glynda, who blushed. "You're a damn teacher and you-you just formed a gigantic harem for him?!"

"N-No, I didn't!" Glynda insisted. Dorothy sighed.

"It's all right, Grandma! It's-It hasn't happened yet-!"

"Grandma?! I am not that old!" Isabel protested. "I mean, yes I am a grandmother but he's still a toddler! And I suppose all these other girls are pregnant-I'M NOT THAT OLD!"

Dorothy rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean, you're our actual grandma! Time travel!"

Isabel stared. She looked around at the other future children. Julian and Xia waved. Leandra and Leander beamed. Theodore shot a smug grin, while Nicholas waved awkwardly. Ash and Ashley beamed as well, synchronized perfectly. August sighed and shrugged. Petra looked away from her mother's parents and nodded grimly. Amethyst, standing with Emerald, offered a nervous wave. Xander coughed, and then shrugged.

"Hi Granny Isabel and Grandpa Nick!" They all announced.

Nick blinked a few times. Isabel gaped in utter disbelief. Glynda facepalmed.

"Wha... Time travel?!" Isabel demanded. "That's ridiculous! Magic, immortals, time travel-Next you're gonna tell me that Arjun and Saia's long lost daughter is here too!"

"Ummmm..."

May stepped out of the Bullhead. Arjun and Saia both stared intently at her. August stepped next to her, and waved awkwardly at his mother's parents.

Arjun moved like a gust of wind, practically teleporting in front of May. His eyes glowed as he looked her over, his hands resting on her shoulders. Saia was only a few steps behind, grabbing onto May's other arm.

"... Maia?" Arjun whispered.

"Is... Is it you?" Saia asked, her eyes filling with tears.

May managed a slow nod, her own eyes wet.

"Y-Yes... It's me... M-Mother... Father...?"

Arjun smiled, hugged his long lost daughter... Then collapsed into a dead faint. Saia hugged May so tightly the sniper choked a bit.

"MAIAAAAA!" Saia wailed, crying hard. August smiled encouragingly at his frightened mother.

"It's okay, it's okay," he said.

Nick blinked a few times. Jaune looked up at his father, wondering what his response would be.

The mighty paladin blinked a few more times... Before he threw his head back and laughed.

"YES! BEST DAY EVER! COME TO MY ARMS, GRANDKIDS! I WILL SPOIL YOU ALL WITH LOUD ELECTRONIC TOYS AND CANDY!"

"WOOHOO!" Julian cheered.

Isabel, at a complete loss for words, just buried her face in her hands and moaned.

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From the SpaceBattles Thread.

Childhood Memories: Invincible

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Enótita Coliseum, Argus, Mistral. Xander Arc-Nikos. Age: 13.

The Enótita Coliseum was constructed 4 years after the defeat of Salem after the old Argus Arena was destroyed in the Leviathan's attack on Agrus. Much like its older iteration, the Enótita Coliseum is primarily used for the final exams for Sanctum and Haven Academy students or, on this day, the annual Mistral Tournament.

This year's tournament has been quite the spectacle so far. There have been plenty of new up-and-coming fighters, such as Ai Wukong, and returning fighters, like Arslan Altan. There were even rumors of appearances from older champions in the private booths in search of protégés.

Among the rumored champions was the greatest Spartan of her time. Seated in the bleeder's section of the Coliseum, Pyrrha Arc-Nikos was seated next her husband, Jaune Arc, with their friends seated in the row behind them. Their children sat in order, from eldest to youngest; Artemis, Alphonse, Asteria, and Lydia. There were two who were not currently among them. Alain, who was only 9 months old, was left with his Grandparents, Athena and Orestes.

The other was currently preparing to face off against the current Mistral Tournament champion, a warrior from the Kingdom of Fuujin named Kurenai Kitamura, in the final round of the Mistral Tournament.

Before entering the arena, Xander Arc-Nikos took a deep breath to relax himself. His opponent was fierce. That was a given. One doesn't simply earn '2nd Greatest Swordsman in The World' if they weren't. But Xander was trained by three people who were considered the Greatest Alive. His grandfather, Nicholas, was the greatest Swordsman alive. His mother was the greatest Huntress of her time. And his father was The Rusted Knight, the greatest hero of all time. A walking inspiration to all of Remnant...

"No pressure, Xander," He sighed to himself. "No pressure at all."

There was a small part of Xander that felt like he couldn't measure up to them. That maybe participating in the Tournament was a bad idea, that all they'll see is 'The Invincible Girl's Son'. That sense of doubt wasn't so loud during his training or the preliminaries. Why did have to creep up now?

"Hey, kid? You ready yet?" A staff member snapped Xander from his thoughts. He quickly gave Ílios and Fengári one last once over, just for good measure, then ran towards the arena entrance.

"I'm ready." He says, steeling himself. He hears the announcer hyping up the crowd by going over his opponent's accolades. Xander takes another deep breath and strides into the arena.

"HERE HE IS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," the announcer shouts. "KURENAI'S OPPONENT! THE BREAKOUT STAR OF THIS YEAR'S MISTRAL TOURNAMENT! THE INVINCIBLE BOY! XANDER ARC-NIKOS!"

The crowd cheers. Although the feeling was overwhelming, Xander took a moment to take it all in and--

"YES!!! DESTROY HIM, XANDER!!! MY PRECIOUS BABY BOY!!!!!"

Oh no.

Xander turned in the direct her voice came from. Despite the distance, he spotted his family. His face turned bright red the moment he saw his Mom and Dad's attire.

'Oh gods, what are they wearing?!'

-----------------------------------------------

"Oh gods, what are you wearing?" Weiss asked with an incredulous look on her face.

"We wanted to show Xander our support, so I had these specially made T-shirts." Pyrrha beamed with pride. And why wouldn't she! Her baby boy made it to the final round and needed to know his family is giving him all their support!

"Vomit Boy," Yang managed to catch her breath after laughing for what seemed like an hour. "Did you know that your wife put your son's baby pictures on the shirts?"

"Um...," Jaune began to scratch the back of his head. "Actually Yang, it was my idea."

Yang started to laugh even harder. Asteria looked up at her father and tilted her head.

"Vomit Boy?"

"That was a mean nickname your Auntie gave me when we went to school together." Jaune explained as he patted her head. Yang's laughter was immediately cut off when she saw Ruby and Blake return with the snacks, wearing those t-shirts. Right before she could complain, Jaune immediately cuts her off.

"We gave one to Ruby and Blake because we knew they wouldn't laugh at it."

"Ooh, beloved," Pyrrha squeaked. "Xander is on the jumbo screen! He looks so shocked to see us!"

Shocked wasn't exactly the word Xander would describe. He was embarrassed beyond reproach. How could they make something like that! And with his baby pictures!

Next to them, Artemis, Alphonse, and Lydia held up a banner that stated 'Go, Xander, Go!" on it. Behind them, his Aunt Nora and Uncle Ren held similar signs. Next to them, their daughter, Lian, simply gave him a warm smile. A smile that made his heart skip a beat.

"That's some family you have, boy," Kurenai says coldly. "I'll try to make your loss as dignified as possible for them."

Xander got into his stance. Shield up, sword at the ready. This opponent doing the same, his hand firmly grasping his katana.

"LET THE MATCH BEGIN!!"

Kurenai immediately sent an Aura Slash at Xander, which he immediately blocked with his shield. Xander began circling around his opponent and started to remind himself of what he's seen of Kurenai's fighting style. He was mostly reliant on Aura techniques like Aura Slash, Aura Strike, Aura Sight, etc, etc. His Semblance, which was (Suprisingly) common knowledge, allowed him to create a small field of Aura around himself, giving Kurenai inhuman spacial awareness. Combined with his sword skills, it meant he could effectively end the fight in one or two good hits.

But this meant he was completely useless when it came to ranged attacks. Xander shifted Ílios into its rifle form and opened fire on the Swordsman. Every shot fired was just as easily deflected. The Swordsman charged towards Xander, releasing another Aura Slash at him. Kurenai's strategy was pretty clear cut to Xander: Use overwhelming force to crush his spirit. But using techniques like Aura Slash was a bit of a double-edged sword (There's a joke there that only Auntie Yang could appreciate). It's a powerful attack, but even if you highest degree of Aura control, it still uses a lot of your Aura, something Xander had in spades.

Xander blocked every attack sent his way with his shield. He shifted Ílios into its spear form and kept Kurenai at a safe enough distance, jabbing him with powerful strikes. His weak points were easier to expose using this method. But it would only last for so long, he needed to further whittle away at Kurenai's Aura somehow.

As if right on cue, the Fuujin Swordsman parried one of Xander's spear strikes and disarmed the young Spartan. Leaving him with just Fengári to defend himself.

"Now, you can't attack. Yield. Yield knowing the greatest Swordsman alive has recognized your mettle, boy." Kurenai smugly states.

This is bad. He only knew a few basic shield attacks. He was playing it too safe and now all he can do is defend himself.

'Stupid,' He mentally scolded himself. 'I was too worried about bringing his Aura down when I should've kept track of his sword! Now I'm stuck... Wait... That's it!'

A new plan formed in Xander's mind. Sure, he'd be exposing his Semblance but it was worth it. All he had to do know was get Kurenai mad enough to think carelessly.

Now, His mother told him it was bad sportsmanship to trash talk, but his grandfather (and Auntie Nora) told him it was perfectly justifiable in certain situations. Plus, with the way his mother spoke to his other aunts about father, it seemed like her rules were a bit flexible.

But his parents raised him to be a polite boy, so the only insult he could muster was:

"Wrong. You're only the Second Best."

This was more than enough to send Kurenai into a blind rage, his status as second best forcing him into a state of tunnel vision. He kept wildly swinging his katana at Xander, the grace in his attacks completely gone. As if he was just a child with a wiffle ball bat.

"THAT BLONDE MORON IS NOT BETTER THAN ME," Kurenai roared, his cold, dignified tone completely replaced by unbridled anger and insecurity. "I WAS THE ONE WHO BEAT HIM ALL THOSE YEARS AGO! ME! I SHOULD'VE WON!! ISABEL ARC SHOULD'VE BEEN MINE!!"

Geez, no wonder he was being so rude earlier. He hated his grandfather. He knew Grandpa Nick had made a few enemies during his time as a Hunter, but he certainly wasn't really that bad... Right?

Elsewhere, Nicholas Arc sneezes.

Another wild swing of Kurenai's blade crashed against Xander's shield. Then another. And another. As Xander patiently waited for his opening, he closed his eyes and reached out with his Semblance. His electromagnetic senses buzzed around him. He could feel the radio waves in the air, the iron in all around him, and the trajectory of his opponent's blade. As Kurenai raised his sword for an overhead strike, Xander found his opening.

He slowed down the Fuujin Swordsman's blade, slow enough so he could catch it with his hand. He then used his edge shield to shatter the sword, then immediately kicked his foe into the dirt. Before Kurenai could recover, Xander slammed his hand on the Coliseum floor and used Magnetism to alter the floors elcrton attraction, leaving Kurenai thoroughly restrained. Xander then pulled his spear from the wall and pointed its tip towards Kurenai.

"Yield," Xander states stoicly. "Yield while you still have some honor left."

With no other choice, Kurenai lowers his head in defeat. And the crowd cheers. But the only cheers Xander could hear were the ones that mattered the most.

"XANDER!!!!!!! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!" Pyrrha cried out loud enough to drown out the rest of the crowd. His siblings hugged each other and their aunts. Lian clapped her hands in her usual reserved way.

Xander raised Ílios into the air and the crowd went wild. The Tournament was over. Destiny had chosen Xander as the victor.

As he enjoyed listening to the cheers of his family, something miraculous happened to Jaune. For a brief moment, it was like his vision returned to him, so he could see the smile that graced his son's face.

A smile that looked very much like his own.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I had a lot of fun writing this one.
For the music, listen to "Final Breath" by Brandon Yates (If you can find a good re-upload).

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Ozpin sighed as he settled into the chair at the head of the Poucet Lecture Hall's conference room. The room was on the first floor of the Lecture Hall, which was a newer addition to Beacon built only five years ago when the school's budget experienced an unexpected windfall after a former alumni, a Poucet Thumbling, left half of his fortune to the school in his will. The old Lord Lear Lecture Hall had been showing its' age, so it didn't take the school long to decide what to do with the extra money.

The Headmaster had chosen to hold this meeting here not just because it was large enough to comfortably seat everyone involved within earshot of one another, but also because there were several smaller and more private meeting rooms directly across the hallway he expected the families to use once he had concluded the primary meeting.

He started the day with a simple yet straightforward plan for this meeting: He would bring all the parents in and sit down with them and explain the situation to them before calling in their children and their time displaced grandchildren. It would have been a nice and relatively smooth introduction that would have given him a chance to head off any potential negative reactions...

...Mostly he wanted to be sure Isabel wouldn't try to kill Glynda.

Raven threw a wrench in that plan. Fortunately the completely uncontrolled introductions at the airfield, while messy, hadn't turned violent. They had also been just as confusing as they were dramatic, and it had taken far too long to get everyone corralled into the conference room and into their seats.

Everyone was grouped up with their families; a straightforward arrangement that nobody objected to, even though some probably wished they could. There was a subtle and uneasy tension amongst the Schnees, like thin ice over a turbulent river. Pyrrha looked like she wished someone was between her and her mother. The Belladonnas had Blake firmly in the middle as if they were boxing her in so she couldn't run off; Blake in turn looked like she was fighting her own urges to attempt just that.

On the other end of the spectrum the Altans were all clearly content to be in each other's presence, while Ruby and Yang seemed to be relived that their father and uncle were being supportive.

Jaune seemed to be caught between optimism and dread, which was understandable between his father's joviality and his mother's broiling exasperation with everything.

"Alright then," Ozpin began as he looked the assembled grandparents in the eyes, "Since I now have your attention I'd like to introduce all of you to Moses Nebogipfel. In the hopes of removing all reasonable doubts he's going to display his semblance in action." The Headmaster looked to his son, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah I'm ready," Moses affirmed before he flickered like a video skipping a few frames. The young man was now holding a set of black and white fighting gloves with dust slots in the palms and armor around the knuckles that he presented to the Arc matriarch. "Can you tell any differences between this pair and the one you currently have?"

Isabel took the gloves in her left hand and compared them to the gloves she pulled from her pockets with in her right. Isabel knew her weapons, Battement. She knew them like she knew her own face in the mirror. Isabel scrutinized the gloves with eyes far keener than any normal human, with fingers far more sensitive, both taking in almost microscopic imperfections unique to the gloves she wore almost every day.

"They're identical," She admitted with a small amount of wonder. She took a sniff with a nose far more sensitive than a bloodhound faunus could hope to have and took in her own sent that was present in a strength that could only come from years of use. "Even the best duplication semblances would have a hard time creating something this exact. Nick, do you see anything wrong with them?"

Nick took the second set of his wife's gloves and gave them a carful look over. While not as familiar with her weapons as she was Nick knew the feel of her hand in his, and Battement was frequently part of that feel.

"They're just like the originals," Nick admitted.

"That's cause they are the originals," Moses explained, "I'm going to be grabbing them from Isabel and taking it back in time in three... two... one."

A second Moses flickered into existence and put his hand on the Battement Isabel was holding, and with a second flicker the second Moses and the gloves were gone. Isabel took her gloves back from Nick with a look of contemplation on her face.

"I hope that's sufficient proof of time travel for this conversation," Ozpin began before being interrupted by the youngest Schnee.

"No it's not!" Whitley objected with a scowl. "It could still be a duplication semblance with Mr. and Mrs. Arc in on this scheme to tie my sisters-"

Moses flickered out of existence again, only to flicker back holding a second Whitley by the collar of his expensive shirt. The first Whitley fell silent as the two identical boys stared at each other in shock. Then a second Moses flickered into existence next to the first Whitley, who proceeded to grab the Schnee boy by the collar of his shirt before they both flickered away.

Whitley silently left Moses' side and returned to his seat beside his mother with a cowed expression on his face. Willow grabbed her son tightly, and the boy was too shocked to protest.

"Anyone else need a demonstration?" Moses asked. After nobody volunteered Moses looked to Ozpin and shrugged, "Back to you I guess."

"Right," Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "So with the existence of time travel established let's start from the top so we're all on the same page: Several years from now Moses will be experimenting with his semblance trying to find the hard limits of his abilities. Assisting him are some of his good friends, the children of Jaune Arc. At some point in the experimentation Jaune Arc's eldest volunteers to help Moses see if he can bring other people with him on his time jumps. Now Jaune Arc's second oldest has a semblance that lets them supercharge other people's auras at a distance, and they decided to supercharge Moses while he was attempting to do a time jump with Jaune's eldest. As a result Moses jumped back in time significantly farther than he intended, and now he can't jump far enough forward to return to his own time."

A low murmuring flowed through the room as the grandparents regarded the time displaced children. The idea that their grandchildren had traveled through time was already a shock that needed time to adjust to; the idea that their grandchildren were stuck here was another shock on top of that. The prevailing tune of the muttering was sympathetic, so Ozpin decided to let it run its' course.

The Headmaster then continued once the worst of the murmuring had died down, "That brings us to yesterday morning, when Moses arrived with Jaune Arc's eldest in tow. Apparently the events that started Jaune Arc's romantic relationship with his wife was going to happen at a party yesterday evening, and it was a party that could have gone many different ways. Since Moses' time jump took him and Jaune's eldest to a point in time before Jaune was in a relationship with his wife a temporal uncertainty occurred, and the resulting paradox meant Moses arrived here with every possible version of Jaune Arc's eldest child that could have resulted from the party going one way or another." Ozpin vaguely gestured to all the time displaced children in the room.

The old wizard carefully scrutinized everyone's reactions to that bit of news. Up until this moment the Grandparent's might have been operating under the assumption that all of the children came from the same future; the news that each child came from a future where Jaune only married their daughter would change things for many of them.

Oz could see relief on Isabel's face at the news her son wasn't a shameless playboy. Similar relief appeared on the faces of other parents at the realization that their daughters hadn't fallen prey to some suave Don Juan stringing them along. Yet that reaction wasn't universal. Taiyang was looking back and fourth between his daughters with the dread of a parent realizing their children were at odds, with a similar look crossing the face of Willow. Hopefully theses shifting attitudes were a step forward towards ensuring the continued existence of Jaune's children.

"With only a few hours before Jaune Arc got together with a woman that might not be their mother Jaune's children panicked," The old wizard explained. "Fearing that time travel was working on Get Back To The Present rules all of them were convinced they would cease to exist if they didn't do something fast, so most of them went to get their mothers for help. The end result was a large fight in the Star-Maiden's Memorial Courtyard, which thankfully didn't collapse the space-time continuum."

"Well since the kids are all still here we're obviously not using Get Back To The Present rules," Barsara observed before looking over to Mrs. Nikos. "What do you think Athena? Clock Crooks? The Argus Experiment? Yesterday's Tomorrow? Maple Lake?"

"What?" Athena tilted her head in absolute confusion.

"Time travel rules," Barsara elaborated. "We have twelve different time travel movies between the two of us. We can figure out how this works."

"Moses' mother, Doctor Weena Nebogipfel, is the best theoretical physicist currently alive" Ozpin reasserted himself in the conversation with some mild annoyance at the interruption. "She is going to arrive sometime after lunch and will be conducting experiments with the aim of figuring out what time travel rules Moses' semblance operates with. Until then speculation is just that: speculation. Irregardless of what the rules end up being your grandchildren are stuck in this time period until we find a way to safely supercharge Moses' semblance again, and we've called you here in the hopes that you can lend a hand until they can go home."

Sifting in his seat to stand Ozpin decided to wrap things up. "Now I believe your children and grandchildren can fill you in on the more personal details you'll want to know. The meeting rooms across the hall can give you all the privacy you'll need to get to know each other better. Glynda can get in contact with me once you've finished and I'll come back to answer any questions that might arise. Unless one of you has a burning question for me that can't wait until you've spoken with your grandchildren?"

None of the grandparents spoke up, and a few of them shook their heads.

"I'll leave you all to get aquatinted then," Ozpin got out of his chair and tapped his staff against the floor ominously as he left the room. "In the meantime I have a birdcage I want to triple check the locks on..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Roses and Xiao-Longs

- - -

Ruby had led her father, uncle, sister, son, and kind of/sort of niece into the nearest meeting room. She was filled with nervous anticipation, one that only grew as her father took his sweet time walking in after them!

"Will you hurry up already!" Julian whined, "Geez! You're even slower than in my time!"

"Well, that's not a nice thing to say to your grandpa!" Taiyang said with a teasing grin.

"He's doing it deliberately," Xia sighed.

"Well, I don't want this amazing moment to end too quickly," Taiyang reasoned, closing the door behind them as Qrow pulled up some stately wooden chairs, "I'm meeting my grandkids for the first time, after all."

"Just like XRay and Xav, issue 198," Qrow pointed out with a chuckle. Xia and Yang both rolled their eyes.

"Ugh... You're such nerds," Xia sighed.

"Please, Yang was the biggest fan of Professor Paradox!" Ruby argued, plopping down in a chair across from her dad and uncle as Julian remained standing. Yang blushed bright red.

"O-Only when it had hot lead guys who could act and good writing!" Yang argued. "Then they got some smug hag off a police show and ruined it with a lot of stupid crap!"

"Oh Breaker, you're still going on about that in my time," Xia moaned, "'The first reboot of Paradox was the best and this second is just recycled storylines.' You call them nerds!"

"We are, and proud of it!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah!" Julian threw in. He smirked. "Besides, I bet you're just like my Aunt Yang! You're still a total nerd, just in denial!"

"That sounds like her," Ruby snickered.

"I am not!" Yang growled.

"You married Dad, of course you're a nerd," Xia sighed.

A bit of laughter ensued as Yang pouted. Ruby savored it, before she looked over at Yang and her son. Julian frowned. Yang slowly nodded. Xia squeezed Yang's shoulder.

Ruby finally turned back to her father and uncle, and took a deep breath.

"So, um... We know about... Salem."

Taiyang's face went dark. Qrow swore under his breath, and went for his flask. He took a long drink, as Taiyang sighed.

"So... Um-"

"She's been defeated," Xia said with a smile, "For good. In... In all our timelines. Granny... Granny didn't die in vain."

Taiyang's jaw dropped. Qrow gaped in shock.

Taiyang... bowed his head and sobbed. Ruby and Yang got up and were by their father's side in an instant.

"Dad? Dad?!" Ruby insisted.

Taiyang looked up, crying... Yet a big smile was on his face. Qrow reached out to squeeze his best friend's shoulder tightly. Taiyang kept crying, but his smile was still so wide. He pulled his daughters into a tight hug, and he kept crying.

"I... Granny... You mean Mom...?" Ruby asked in shock. Julian winced, looking very awkward as his grandfather sobbed.

"Yeah, uh... They... They went on a last mission to try and stop Salem and... Granny..."

Ruby sniffled. Yang felt her own eyes get wet.

Qrow sighed, bowing his head.

"We failed... She stayed behind to let us escape and..."

"Oh, God, Dad..." Yang whispered.

Taiyang sobbed happily, and tightened his hug. He grinned out at his grandkids.

"That... That's the best news... I have ever heard... Th-Thank you," he whispered.

"N-No problem, Grandpa," Xia managed, awkwardly squeezing her bicep as she fought her own tears. Julian also wiped his eyes.

"Um... Uh... D-Dry air in here," Julian muttered. Qrow barked out in laughter.

"Yeah kid. It's going around," he said.

Taiyang got himself under control, and nodded to his daughters. They slowly pulled away, as he took a few deep breaths.

"Well... I'm... I'm gonna need some time to process that, but... Thank you," he whispered.

He looked up at Yang and Ruby with some regret. Yang shook her head.

"It's okay," she murmured, "I... I'm getting better about it."

"Why didn't you tell us about... About what happened?" Ruby asked, looking hurt. Qrow snorted.

"How do you think that would have gone? 'Hey Ruby, some evil immortal witch killed your mom for her eyes and you'll be next?'"

"He did actually say the same thing in my timeline, apparently," Julian mumbled.

"Oh good, I'm not a complete idiot," Qrow snorted.

"No, just most of one," Xia stated. Qrow glared at her.

"You're a mouthy one. Thought Arc would teach you respect."

"Yeah, but he knows you," Xia shot back. Qrow glared over at Julian.

"You just as mouthy?"

"Um... Sometimes? It takes me a little," Julian winced.

"Don't bully my son, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby pouted.

"I wasn't!" Qrow said quickly.

Taiyang sighed.

"Most important question then... Are you guys... Happy? Does Jaune take good care of you all?"

Ruby and Yang blushed.

"Dad!" They squawked.

"He does," Xia said with a grin. "He's a great doctor, a great dad, a great husband-"

"We both have nine siblings, what do you think?" Julian snorted. Qrow glared at him, and Julian flushed. "Um, er..."

"All right!" Taiyang cheered. "Qrow? We're not killing him."

"But we are making sure he makes honest women out of 'em, right?" Qrow asked.

"Of course we are!" Taiyang grinned. He flared his Semblance, flaring his Aura. "Count on it."

"NO BEATING UP JAUNE/DAD!" Ruby, Yang, Julian and Xia cried.

"He's got it coming!" Qrow growled, "Damn harem protagonists!"

"Yeah!" Taiyang snarled, "They need to be kept in line!"

"Like you can talk," Qrow huffed.

"For the last time, I'm NOT a harem protagonist!" Taiyang cried in exasperation.

"Sooo," Yang tried to head off an old and well trod argument, "Are... We going to talk about Raven at some point?"

Xia tensed up a lot. She clenched her fists tightly. Something Taiyang, Yang, Ruby and Qrow couldn't help but notice.

"At some point," Taiyang allowed, "But right now? Let's just enjoy the moment."

"In that case," Xia asked, looking a bit less tense, "Can you teach me how to go Super Level 3? Or Burn 3?"

Taiyang blinked.

"Wait, there's a third level?"

"Ooh," Julian winced. "Time travel, huh?"

"Shut up, brat," Xia muttered.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Sarkaras

- - -

May had a few memories she treasured deeply. Hugs from her mother and father (Her adoptive parents, she supposed now). Their little garden that they tended outside their small house in the village they lived in. The flock of birds that would sing when the sun rose.

Those memories were precious to her, moreso than almost anything in the world, after Grimm destroyed her village and drove her out into an uncaring world.

Now, being held by the Queen of Pandu, those feelings... Those feelings were back. The Auras of both her biological mother and father were so comforting, so familiar...

August's smile and calm Aura helped her calm down even more.

That said... Even with all of that...

"I... I am sorry," May mumbled.

"What for?" Saia sniffled, looking deeply into her daughter's eyes. Arjun sat next to her on the couch they had plopped down on in the side room. August stood off a bit, still feeling awkward.

"I... I mean... I-I'm not... It's a little um..." She sniffled. Her tears kept coming.

Arjun slowly nodded, and stroked her hair gently.

"We are... Just as overwhelmed," the King of Pandu admitted wryly. He looked over at August. "Did I react similarly in your future?"

"Heh, yeah," August admitted, scratching the back of his head, "Dad and Grandpa Nick love telling that story."

"They probably would," Arjun muttered, looking like he was trying to be annoyed but failing. May blushed, as Saia cuddled her more tightly.

"Where were you?" Saia asked. "What happened? Who... Who took you?"

"Um... W-Well, I grew up in a small village called Al-Hambir," May said, "Central Vacuo. My father... I mean, adopted father... Was named August. My adoptive mother was named Parvati. They raised me, then died when Grimm assaulted our village. I went into an orphanage after that, and was recruited for a Hunter's Academy when they learned my Aura was unlocked. I um, I then went to Shade, joined my team and... And well... Here I am. Did... Did you know my... My parents? Um, foster parents?"

Arjun and Saia's faces darkened. May winced.

"Yes... August was a mercenary for the Kauravas," Arjun growled. "So was Parvati."

"The Kauravas?" May asked, blinking curiously. "I-I mean, I heard about them but... Um... I don't know much about them."

"They were once rulers of Pandu," Saia explained, as Arjun glared out into the air, "Long ago. They were overthrown by our family nearly a century past, because they sold our people out to foreign empires."

She grimaced.

"They were also Grimm cultists. Practiced human sacrifice. Most of them were exiled after the Great War, and they formed criminal organizations to stay rich and powerful."

"Not uncommon in Mistral," Arjun sighed. He looked intently at May. "Your great-grandfather Pandu helped free our kingdom from the yoke of the Vytal Empire after the Great War-Though through peaceful methods. Mistral tried to enlist us into their Kingdom after independence, but we refused. We had been under their rule before and had no desire to trade one master for another. The Kauravas began to gain power by working with Mistral's criminal organizations, and when Indra, your grandfather, took the throne, began to plot to overthrow him. It took them years, but the Faunus Revolution gave them an excuse. They accused Indra of supplying the Faunus rebels with arms, and used that as a justification to back a takeover. Your mother and I fled... The only survivors of the royal household."

May gaped in disbelief. She'd heard about all this, sure. Bits and pieces of it, though Shade's curriculum didn't focus heavily on foreign history. Still... To know her father felt the same pain she did...

"We came to Beacon, met Nick and Isabel Arc," Saia continued, stroking May's hair, "And became good friends. They later helped us reclaim the throne, and cast out the Kauravas. But..." She closed her eyes tightly. "Their supporters still remained, here and there. Shortly after you were born, you were..."

She swallowed a sob, and held Maya more tightly.

"You were taken from us," she whispered, "We searched everywhere, Maia. We used every connection, every resources..." She burst into tears and sobbed into May's hair.

"We... We are so sorry," Arjun said, stroking his wife's back and looking gravely at his daughter, "We are sorry... That we could not find you. That we could not bring you home."

He bowed his head. He sunk to the floor, and bowed down to her.

"It is the greatest failure I have ever made, not finding you," he whispered. "Please, Maia... Forgive me?"

May shook her head, sniffling a bit. It was... it was so overwhelming!

"Grandfather," August spoke, bending over and resting a hand on Arjun's shoulder, "Don't be so sad. I-I mean... Yes, August and Parvati stole Mom, but they couldn't bear to kill her. Those were their orders!"

"How could you-?" May gasped, but August shook his head.

"You met Duryodhana, the chief Kaurava, in the future. Well, Mom and Dad did, anyway. He managed to escape Grandfather's revolt, and went into hiding. He confessed to the whole scheme, and said that August and Parvati would not murder an innocent child. He tried to have them killed, but... They escaped."

"That rat bastard," Arjun snarled, "I should have killed him when I had the chance-!"

"He helped save the kingdom, Grandpa!" August said, moving in front of him and waving his hands, "He... He recognized the futility of fighting when the world was at stake... Though he did die for it." He shook his head.

"The future is... Really complicated. But I do know that you once told me that you should always think twice before taking a life. Only do it when necessary. And never out of rage."

Arjun stared up at his future grandson. He then chuckled a bit mirthlessly.

"You're a good student," he said, slowly standing up. He looked to his daughter and his wife. "So... Maia... Or May... The most important question to ask is: What do you want?"

"I..." May looked down, flushing deeply. "I... The future... The future August told me about sounds w-wonderful... But I don't know if it's possible anymore. And-And um... I mean... I don't think I'm cut out to be a princess. I-I'm just a sniper, and not a good one-"

"I was a maid, dear," Saia chuckled, again affectionately stroking May's hair. It felt good. "Your father's servant. If I can become a queen, you can become a princess. But it really is up to you."

"I..." May nodded. "I... Th-Thank you... I haven't had a family for a long time. My team is... Well... I care for them but... It's not the same."

Arjun nodded.

"A slightly more pressing matter though... What is your relationship with Jaune?"

May blushed deeply.

"U-Um... W-We... He was nice to me... We-We've talked," she mumbled, "And... And I do like him... I-I'd like to get to know him better... F-For August's sake, if nothing else."

"Thanks Mom," August said with a wry smile. Arjun nodded.

"Well then, in that case? We have the home field advantage. I am Jaune's godfather, after all. Your mother is his godmother. And Nick and I always wanted our families to be joined."

He grinned.

"We'll have you two happily married in no time!"

"B-B-But what about everyone else?!" May cried in shock, her cheeks burning brighter, "If they don't get married, all those other children might disappear!"

The king frowned and rubbed his chin.

"Well..." Arjun hummed thoughtfully, "Vale does allow for polygamy, as I recall. So did Pandu! Though we abolished that law."

"Yes, we did," Saia glared at her husband. Arjun coughed.

"I wouldn't change it for me, darling! Honest!"

"You'd better not," Saia growled playfully. Arjun sighed.

"Always so jealous. You never acted like this around Isabel."

"We both know she only had eyes for Nick," Saia chuckled. Arjun smirked.

"It took them forever to admit it, though," he murmured.

Arjun then smiled at May, and reached out to squeeze her hand comfortingly.

"Everything else aside, I am glad you grew up into such a kind, caring girl. We'll think of something, Maia. I promise."

May blushed, but smiled at the praise. She'd gotten it so rarely. To receive it from her father was... Was truly special.

Arjun hummed and looked at her weapon.

"That said... A sniper rifle? Really?" He looked between May and August with distaste. "Both of you?"

"There's nothing wrong with sniper rifles, Grandpa," August sighed, as though this was an argument the two of them had had many times. It wouldn't surprise May: She had an inkling that while her father was very caring, he could be very stubborn.

"Why not a bow? Bows are superior to sniper rifles in many situations," Arjun said, "It's the tradition in Pandu! Your uncle is learning the bow!"

"Uncle Abhimanyu was so good at the bow he got bored with it and switched to rifles," August deadpanned. Arjun gasped.

"What?! Impossible! How can you get bored with bows?! They're BOWS!"

Her father argued with her son over the utility of bows versus sniper rifles, while her mother sighed and continued to stroke May's hair. The sniper blushed and smiled softly.

No matter what the outcome... She would not regret this day. She would not regret her decisions. Because this memory was another precious moment she would treasure forever.

"YOU CAN'T CURVE BULLETS LIKE YOU CAN ARROWS!"

"I CAN!"

"IT DOESN'T LOOK AS COOL!"

Most of it, anyway...

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"It's good to see you're well, Little Lion," Logos Altan smiled at his daughter as the door to the meeting room closed. Then a small concerned frown danced across his face, "You are actually doing well, right? You're not just putting on a brave face?"

"I am doing well father, mother," Arslan reassured her parents. "Though our circumstances are unprecedented I'm doing well, Petra is doing well, and our path forward is unclouded. That being said I'm extremely glad the two of you are here; your advice will keep me grounded and away from rash action."

"What do you mean by rash action?" Barsara asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yesterday," Petra answered before Arslan could, "When everyone was panicking we were war bringers instead of peacemakers."

"Were you now?" Barsara's voice held no judgment. "Does this have to do with why you're not wearing your sash of mastery or the family prayer beads?"

"Yes," Arslan confirmed with shame coloring her words. "Instead of thinking the situation through I sought out my rival and instigated a fight. If I had given the situation the thought it deserved I would have realized I was putting peoples lives at risk by doing that. If the time travel had been operating under Get Back To The Present rules I could have killed my husband's children..."

Tears started to flow down Arslan's face as the full force of regret returned, and Petra's tears soon joined her's. The mother and daughter pair leaned against each other as their tears threatened to grow into full blown sobbing.

Barsara strode forward and embraced the two of them, forcing herself to relax as she rested her forehead against theirs. A comforting rumbling sound emanated from the retired actress' throat, and the two anguished young women leaned into the elder woman's purring. Logos gently pulled the trio towards the couch along one of the room's walls and once they were sat down he sat down sandwiching his daughter and granddaughter between himself and his wife, who's rumbling purr was soon accompanied with his own. So situated between their loving elders Arslan and Petra physically relaxed allowing their own purring to rumble fourth. The four of them sat there purring until the tears ran dry and Arslan and Petra were ready to talk again.

"So you're seeking to make amends?" Barsara gently prodded as she rubbed her daughter's shoulders.

"Yes," Arslan nodded, "I gave Jaune my sash, Pyrrha the prayer beads, and I gave the other mothers items of similar personal value to me."

"And what else are you doing?" Logos wondered with a curious gaze.

"Reese is going to help us prepare a surprise dinner for everyone ether tonight or tomorrow," Arslan supplied. "Basically as soon as we figure out everyone's preferred meals we can put together an apology feast."

"Then it sounds like you're off to a good start," Logos sagely nodded, "It's difficult to hold hard feelings towards someone who does a good job feeding you."

"You said you're worried about rash action," Barsara circled back to the beginning of the conversation. "What are you afraid of doing?"

"I don't know," Arslan admitted with a shake in her voice, "This is completely uncharted territory for me. I know who my husband is, yet he doesn't know I'm his wife because this isn't happening organically in any way shape or form. On top of that I'm in competition with people who have had the chance to develop an organic relationship with him. This is a recipe for desperation and desperation leads to terrible mistakes."

"I see," Logos hmm'd in thought. "This is a tricky situation, and I understand why you're worried. Have you done anything before we got here?"

"As far as grand romantic gestures go? Nothing unless you count organizing a trip to church as a romantic gesture," Arslan sighed. She looked to her father and pressed on, "As far as simple moment to moment actions go? I've tried to remain in close proximity to Jaune while doing my best to not contribute to the drama surrounding him, and I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a moment where I can be helpful to him. Beyond that? I've been trusting that God has a hand in this that will see me through."

"Staying close and not contributing to the drama is actually a very good move on your part," Barsara noted as she pulled slightly away from her embrace to show her daughter her approving look. "You're not accustomed to the social power games women play to assert their place in the pecking order, so you would be at a disadvantage if you tried to play those games. Yet even if you were an expert in those kinds of games there are plenty of situations where the winning move is not to play, and I'd say this is one of them."

"How so?" Arslan asked while Petra also sent an inquiring look Barsara's way.

"Get a large enough group of women together and you'll almost inevitably have a bossy diva doing her best to push everyone who isn't a fellow diva around," The retired actress explained with reminiscing eyes. "Get more than one diva into the group and they'll clash over who's the true queen bee. This is where the winning move is not to play any of the social power games: by being a true neutral the divas will ignore you in favor of clashing with the other divas. If you find a way to be helpful to everyone while remaining neutral than all the girls in the group who aren't divas will eventually come to realize that you won't backstab them and that you're the most trustworthy person to confide in. Once that happens you are effectively the queen bee calling all the shots, and it's fifty fifty whether the divas notice or not."

Arslan considered her mother's words for a moment. It made enough sense, however; "I don't think it matters if they're divas or not. Everyone's going to try and be the queen bee."

"Well, that brings us to the other reason not playing the game is a good thing here," Barsara elaborated. "You're all competing for the affections of a man, and most men only have so much patience for pointless drama. If you don't contribute to the pointless drama you'll inevitably stand above those that do, especially if you can help him deal with any fallout caused by the pointless drama." She smiled encouragingly, "You have a shot here Little Lion, and if you need us to help steady your aim we'll be glad to help."

"Thank you," Arslan sighed in relief.

Logos turned his attention to his time displaced granddaughter, "Since our daughter's our Little Lion, does that make you our Littlest Lion?"

"I'm not a little lion I'm a BIG cat!" Petra protested before she blushed at her reflexive response.

The grandparents chuckled for a moment before Logos asked, "Alright then Big Cat, what can you tell us about yourself?"

"I, I have a lot to live up to," Petra began as her embarrassment died down. "Mother and Father saved the world, so a lot of strangers expect me to live up to their legacy do things just as great. That really isn't fair because there's no way I can defeat an immortal witch; Mother and Father took care of the only one! As the eldest I also had a pretty busy childhood helping out with all my younger siblings, which was a tall task since Mother and Father never really stopped having more. My favorite stories growing up were the Tales of Saint Reepicheep and the Parables of Puddleglum. When people ask if I decided to become a warrior-nun to be like my parents I tell them I wanted to be like Grandpa Nick; because Mother and Father are Mother and Father to me, not modern legends."

"And your Grandpa Nick is a modern legend?" Barsara asked with genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Mother," Arslan began with stars in her eyes, "He's Nicholas Arc of Team AARN; the first team in a century to slay a Grimm Hydra! He's the last student of Ser Jaune Saint George, and was practically Saint George's adopted son! He became a fully initiated Paladin of the Church at the same time he graduated from Beacon! He helped restore the rightful rulers of the Kingdom of Pandu! He's THAT Nicholas Arc and if anyone deserves to be called a modern legend it's him!"

"And he's going to be your father in law," Logos observed.

"Yes, he's going to be-" Arslan stopped as if someone jammed a rod into the gears of her thoughts. Her starry eyed look became distant as her voice jumped an octave; "Jaune Arc is my husband. Jaune Arc is the son of Nick Arc. Nicholas Arc is Jaune's father. Jaune Arc is my husband. I'm related to Nicholas Arc through marriage."

The warrior nun was already sitting down, so she didn't fall to the floor when she fainted.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Belladonnas

- - -

Blake had tried to be patient. She really had. It was completely understandable that her parents would miss her after all this time. She had run away without any notice, after all. She had also not contacted them for almost three years.

Again, completely understandable.

However...

"Mom, I promise, I'm not going to run away," Blake said, held between her parents on a couch in an adjacent meeting room. She could feel her mother's eyes narrow, and she coughed.

"Again."

"Just making sure, dear," Kali said, her smile wide and bright and yet still somehow terrifying, "It's not like I cried myself to sleep for many nights, praying that my baby girl was safe. Or that I obsessively went through our intelligence reports to make sure you were still alive. Don't even spare a thought for it!"

I deserve this, Blake thought miserably.

Leander and Leandra, sitting on a couch opposite their mother and grandparents, looked at each other and sighed.

"Wow, it's like we never left," Leander observed wryly.

"Though Grandpa is a lot less gray haired," Leandra said with a smile.

Ghira turned from his daughter to his future grandchildren. Kali managed to tear her eyes away from Blake for a moment as well.

"Each gray hair is like a scar earned in battle," Ghira huffed, "A badge of honor!"

"Yeah, you say that in the future too," Leandra nodded, her twin nodding along.

"All the time," Leander added.

"But it's okay, Grandma and Grandpa!" Leandra said soothingly, leaning forward to pat Ghira's hand, "Mom's not gonna make any more stupid decisions!"

"Well, she might," Leander said with a shrug, "But at least she knows she doesn't have to do everything herself... Hopefully."

I totally deserve this, Blake sighed mentally.

"She also needs to stop beating herself up," Kali sighed, cuddling her daughter.

"You could talk about me like I'm here," Blake groused, her pride and guilt fighting and finally pride won out once this bout.

"And we're so happy you are," Kali squealed, kissing the top of her head, "But more than that-GRANDKITTENS!"

Kali sprang for the other couch. The Twins' eyes went wide.

"ACK!"

"HEY!"

Blake would have warned her twins about her mother's pounce... But she deserved some schadenfreude after all the roasting her kids had given her. She smirked a bit as they flailed in Kali's steel like grip as Ghira's hold on her loosened just a bit.

"Serves you right," Blake sniffed.

"Not cool, Mom!" Leandra cried, wiggling against Kali's grip.

"Easy, Grandma! We're not going anywhere either!" Leander insisted, trying to push Kali away.

"Oh no you don't!" Kali giggled, "I'm going to hug you and spoil you so much!" She pouted. "It's a shame you're not babies... Ooh! Do you have baby pictures? Share them!"

"No we don't!" Leandra cried, clawing at the couch armrest to try and escape, "What weirdos have baby pictures of themselves on their Scrolls?"

"Well give me family photos at least!" Kali insisted. She released the twins long enough to seize their Scrolls, opened them up and flipped through them. She gasped, and then turned the Scrolls to Ghira. He leaned forward.

"Look Ghira!" Kali cried in delight, "That's... Twenty grandkittens?!"

"Mom and Dad were getting frisky again when we left, so it might be more," Leander grumbled.

"LEANDER!" Blake cried, her face bright red.

"What?" Leander demanded. "You never had to have the birds and bees talk with us! We already knew where babies came from!"

"In copious detail," Leandra shuddered.

"LEANDRA!" Blake scolded, her face even redder. Ghira laughed and clapped Blake on the shoulder.

"Still... It is good to know the future turns out well," he said, "Though even this good news seems a bit excessive."

"We needed it," Kali sighed, "After nearly being assassinated today."

"Wait what?!" Blake cried. Ghira nodded.

"That Raven woman... She was wearing a White Fang mask when she attacked us," he stated calmly, "Went right for us from the start. It's only thanks to the Arcs, the Sarkaras, and the Xiao-Longs that we're still alive."

"Um, I don't think Yang's dad and uncle are married," Blake pointed out.

"Yeah but you still thought about it," Leandra sighed.

"Do I have to put you in time out?!" Blake demanded. Kali and Ghira chuckled, as Leander snorted.

"You did that many times. We just kept getting out of it," Leander stated. He shrugged at Blake's glare. "Hey, I'm just saying."

"In any case," Ghira continued, "While it was thwarted for now, there's no indication there won't be more. So a moment with our future grandchildren is very much appreciated."

"Indeed!" Kali said cheerfully.

Blake meanwhile was running things through her head. Her old political lessons came to the forefront of her mind as she considered things.

An assassination attempt on my parents... They came so quickly that they probably didn't have time to set up any counter itineraries or handle any spies... Who stands to gain...?

"Sienna Khan," she whispered, "She ordered the assassination!"

Ghira smiled in soft pride, as Kali nodded.

"She is the most likely culprit, Blake," Kali said, "But accusing her is... Dangerous right now."

She turned to her grandkittens.

"What happened to her in your future?" She asked curiously.

"She realized how big a mistake she made with Adam Taurus," Leandra said, the name of Blake's ex making Ghira and Kali grimace, "After he attacked Vale during the Vytal Festival in a few months. It was such a huge disaster that Menagerie was almost invaded."

Ghira and Kali grew still. Kali looked at the twins.

"How huge a disaster?"

Leandra grimaced.

"At least a million people died," she said. Kali and Ghira sucked in deep breaths. "Adam Taurus took public credit for it."

Ghira slowly shook his head. Blake's fingers curled into tight, anxious fists as her ears pressed down tightly against her skull.

I knew he was... He was becoming bloodthirsty and unstable, but to go that far...?

"Dad went with Mom to Menagerie," Leander said, "And was able to help you all convince the Kingdom leadership to focus on Cinder Fall and Adam. Sienna tried to offer Adam's head to keep the peace... And he killed her. That's when Mom ran off to go confront him on her own, and nearly died if Dad hadn't been there to save her."

Blake bowed her head.

If only I had... If only I'd... It's all my fault, I have to-!

She felt a flick to her forehead, and looked up in shock. Her parents were smiling at her.

"You didn't cause this, Blake," Ghira stated, "What were we supposed to do? Ignore that our daughter suddenly had children?"

"Though not in the way we imagined it," Kali said dryly.

"I just... Even so," Blake winced, her ears pressing down, "I... I'm sorry-"

"You didn't do anything, Blake," Kali insisted. "Not for this. And as for you running away...? We forgive you, Blake."

Blake winced.

"Maybe you shouldn't," Blake mumbled, looking down at her knees. Ghira shook his head.

"Blake... You're our daughter. We love you," he said seriously, "Whatever trouble you're in, we want to help you out of it. We always did. We know you have to make decisions for yourself... Sometimes the wrong ones... But that doesn't change how much we love you."

The tears were threatening the corners of Blake's eyes. She choked them back with some difficulty. A part of her insisted she didn't deserve this. Didn't deserve her parents' love and forgiveness. Didn't deserve... Didn't deserve a happy future with a loving man and two wonderful children...

"You care so much, Mom," Leander said, "You feel so strongly. That's why we love you."

"You just kind of overdo things, a little," Leandra said. The twins reached out and took Blake's hands in theirs. She looked up at them, as they smiled back.

"I just... I'm afraid I'll make the same mistakes again," Blake said softly. Ghira patted her on the back.

"So is everyone," he said quietly, "But recognizing this is the first step to making better decisions."

Blake sniffled. She smiled as her twins leaned in and pressed their foreheads to hers. It was an affectionate gesture she had shared with her own parents many times.

"Plus," Leander stated, "Dad will drag you back if you run off again. He got really good at it!"

"We learned all sorts of rope tricks from him!" Leandra added.

Blake flushed and scowled at her snickering twins. Kali giggled as Ghira smirked.

"Who taught you two to be so disrespectful and rude and... And..."

Blake's eyes widened. Ghira laughed heartily, and clapped his daughter on the back.

"Welcome to parenthood, sweetie."

"It's like nothing else in the world," Kali giggled, kissing the top of Blake's head.

Blake sighed and shut her eyes tightly. She couldn't help a small smile though.

- - -

Some fluff for the ninja catgirl and a bit of healing. Hope you enjoyed.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Glimpses into Another Time: Mechanics

- - -

Radian, Gallia, Vale, Remnant

Nine years after Salem's Defeat

- - -

Ruby Arc sighed quietly as she entered her home. It was a small farmhouse on the Arc property. While it was very boxy and modern in much of its design, little touches like the red shingles and the wooden floorboards, along with the growing number of family photos on the walls, helped make it feel like a real home. She stretched her arms over her head with a soft groan, and reached down to rub her pregnant belly.

"You were so well behaved for the trip over here, yes you were," she cooed at her unborn children, "You two deserve a treat, yes you do!"

The twins moved inside her, almost like they were dancing for joy. Ruby beamed as she headed into the kitchen. She prepared a few peanut butter cookies and relish sandwiches, with a helping of salmon.

No, she didn't know why her babies wanted this stuff, but who was she to refuse them? She was on her third pregnancy, this was automatic by now.

She finished off her snack and then activated her Silver Eyes. The world changed to one of bright colors and dark shadowy outlines. She spotted the familiar Aura signature of her husband and their two other children in the den. She smiled, and stealthily headed towards the room down the hallway.

She heard Jaune's voice echoing down the hallway filled with pictures, and she crept even more carefully.

"... No, that's not..."

Ruby snuck into a small alcove in the hallway, and peered inside.

She could see her husband, Jaune, sitting on the floor in the perpetual mess of toys, books, and crayons their children brought with them. His beard was thin due to the summer heat, and he smiled warmly. Julian, their oldest at nearly three, sat in his father's lap with his nearly one year old sister, Pyrrha, cuddled awkwardly in his arms. In front of them was a big photo album, that Jaune slowly turned.

"That's your Uncle Sun, at the Vytal Festival," Jaune recounted, "He was trying to impress your Aunt Blake by getting her a stuffed animal. She pretended not to like it, but she really did."

"Wow," Julian mumbled, as Pyrrha goggled at the goggles. The baby reached out and grabbed at the photos. "Hey! Don't touch, Pyrrha! Don't touch!"

"It's okay, worst she can do is drool on them," Jaune chuckled. He stroked his daughter's head, as Julian flipped more pages. The toddler frowned when he got to some photos. Jaune smiled.

"Oh! This is when we went to the beach, before the festival! There's Auntie Yang-She was showing off with your Auntie Weiss. They were playing volleyball and one hit-"

"Daddy," Julian inquired with a frown. Jaune smiled at their son.

"Yes Julian?"

Julian stabbed a photo with his finger

"You have a different arm," he said, "Not metal."

Ruby hitched a breath. Jaune flexed his artificial hand slightly, as Julian stared at it.

"Yeah, I did," Jaune said gently.

Julian frowned.

"Why's your arm metal now?"

Ruby winced. That day... Even after all these years...

"You're a threat to my goddess," Tyrian sneered, as he slammed her against the farmhouse wall. His stinger rose. Ruby whimpered: Her Aura wasn't working, and without that, her Semblance didn't work...

I'm useless... I'm so useless...!

"Which means," the Scorpion Faunus grinned, "You DIE."

The stinger lashed out... And someone slammed into Tyrian from the side, knocking him away. The stinger slammed into the wall over Ruby's head, before it was yanked away. Ruby gaped as Jaune brawled artlessly with the Faunus, taking hits and punches but delivering them back as hard as he could.

"HERETIC!" Tyrian snarled, whipping his tail back. He slammed Jaune aside, and again thrust his stinger at Ruby. Ruby cringed and shut her eyes.

She heard Jaune scream. She forced them open. Jaune fell down in front of her, clutching a bloody stump where his wrist used to be.

"JAUNE!"

Tyrian giggled

"You're next, lolita-ARGH!"

Tyrian screamed as Jaune grabbed onto his tail with his remaining hand. With a hatefilled look Ruby had never seen on his face before, he pushed all of his strength into his palm, pressed the joint of the tail against the floor, and-

CRACK!

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Tyrian screamed, falling back, his stinger gone. Ruby found herself grabbing Crescent Rose, hefting it up, and pulling the trigger.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Anti-material Dust rounds tore into Tyrian at point blank range, and Aura or no Aura, that much force hurt. He turned and fled, more gunfire from outside letting Ruby know Nora and Ren had gotten through and joined the fight

She dropped Crescent Rose and fell next to Jaune. Half-remembered medical training led her to yank off her cape and wrap his stump in it tightly.

"Jaune, it's okay, it's okay..." Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry! I-I'm so sorry-!"

Jaune looked her in the eyes, and despite his pain, shook his head.

"Don't... I'm not letting anything happen to you... Not EVER..."

It was still her fault... Still a sign she had failed him, failed the man she loved... And it just wouldn't heal... She'd told him he could leave, but the second he had his new hand, he was right back up with her...

"Ride or die, Ruby. I'm with you to the end."

And he was... And yet... She still felt guilt when the subject came up-

"I lost my hand protecting your mom."

Ruby started out of the memory. Jaune smiled sadly, but proudly, as he ruffled Julian's air. The toddler blinked his wide silver eyes as Pyrrha gnawed on a teething ring.

"Really?"

"Yes," Jaune said, "A very bad man tried to hurt your Mom."

"Did he work for the evil witch?" Julian asked, eyes wide in wonder. Jaune nodded.

"The same. The bad man tried to hurt her... So I stepped in and protected her."

He held up his articial hand, his smile turning warm and wistful.

"She built me my new hand when we got to a hospital. And she's made them for me ever since."

"Did it hurt?" Julian asked, wincing. Jaune nodded at his son.

"It did... But it would have hurt a lot worse if your mom had gotten hurt."

Julian reached up and grabbed onto his father's hand. He pulled it close and kissed it. Jaune chuckled and ruffled Julian's hair with his other hand, as Pyrrha looked up and cooed.

"And keeping your mom safe is more important that losing my hand," he said. "Because that's what you do for the ones you love."

Julian grinned.

"Then I'm gonna protect the ones I love too!" He declared. "I wanna be like you, Daddy!"

Ruby sniffled. All eyes went to her.

"Mommy!" Julian announced happily. He clambered out of Jaune's lap and ran up to Ruby. He wrapped his arms around her legs, as she hugged him back. Pyrrha cheered wordlessly, as Jaune clambered up to his feet and stepped over the toys to embrace his wife.

"Hey," Jaune said with a warm smile, "Didn't hear you come in."

"I just wanted to lurk a little," Ruby admitted, pulling Julian up to hug him, and then kissed the top of Pyrrha's head before planting one on her husband. "Mmm..."

"Daddy said he saved you from a bad man!" Julian said happily, "And lost his hand and he protected you!"

"He did," Ruby said, beaming with misty eyes at her husband.

"And I always will," Jaune confirmed, nuzzling her.

Ruby sighed happily. She rested her hands over his-The flesh and the metal. Their children held protectively together in their small but growing family.

Maybe one day, she would stop blaming herself.

Maybe... It was closer than she thought.

- - -

Thread's not dead, no worries. Work's just getting rather involved lately.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

"Hello Klein," Nicholas Arc said respectfully, bowing to him as the Schnees arranged themselves around the meeting room, "It is good to see you well."

Klein smiled and nodded in approval at the polite young man.

"And you as well, Master Nicholas," he said kindly.

"Geez, there's no need to be so stuffy, Nick," Theodore huffed. He grinned and slapped Klein on the shoulder. "Nice to see you without so much gray in your mustache, Klein!"

Klein raised an eyebrow as Winter looked a bit scandalized, but then laughed it off with a jovial chuckle.

"I imagine most of those were thanks to you, Master Theodore."

Theodore shrugged and grinned, before he lay back in a chair with his feet up on the coffee table. Nicholas sat in another chair, much more respectfully. Winter and Weiss had taken opposing chairs across the coffee table, while Willow sat alone on the couch facing her future grandchildren. Whitley had taken up a spot behind his mother, a bit awkward: He clearly wasn't sure where to stand.

Klein, ever at the ready, had procured a tea trolley and some snacks and was delivering them to his charges in his usual efficient manner.

It was a bit familiar for most of the Schnees, this environment. Which is what gave Willow her opening.

"I am... Very glad you are all safe," she began, "And pleased to see you well... Despite the circumstances."

Weiss flushed deeply. Nicholas rubbed the back of his head nervously. Winter coughed. Theodore shrugged.

"Things got a bit out of hand, Grandma," Theodore admitted while teleporting a cookie to himself and munching on it, "But we worked it out pretty well."

"Finish chewing and swallow before you speak," Winter grumbled. Theodore swallowed and rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Mom, I'm not a little kid!"

"Then stop acting like one!" Winter growled. Weiss smirked.

"At least my son is well behaved," she shot at her elder sister. Winter's eyes widened and then narrowed.

"Yes? At least my son didn't engage in a pointless fight!"

"W-Well, my son was just defending his existence!" Weiss protested.

"My son was defending everyone's existence!"

"Please," Nicholas interjected, holding his hands up, "Everyone, let's all just take a step back. Okay? This is really weird for us, too."

"And kind of familiar," Theodore sighed. He brightened. "Hey! I know a perfect way to bond! How about we kick Jacques' ass?"

"Language!" Winter and Weiss admonished, before they blushed. WIllow raised a perfect eyebrow as she accepted a cup of tea from Klein.

"Why do you want to beat up Father?" Whitley asked, though it sounded like a reflex. Theodore grinned, teleporting another cookie to his hand.

"You want a list?" He asked.

Nicholas nodded.

"He conspired with an agent of Salem to overthrow Atlas' government, he deliberately made sacrificial villages of Faunus slaves to attract Grimm away from more important mines, and do I need to get into everything he did to all of you? Because you told me in detail, Mother, Auntie, Uncle, and Grandmother."

He nodded to Klein.

"You as well, Klein."

"Same here," Theodore said, leaning forward a bit, "Besides... He killed Uncle Warden."

Weiss, Winter, Whitley and Willow all tensed up. Willow slowly shook her head.

"N-No... No, that was a tragic-"

Nicholas leaned forward, his blue eyes ice cold and hard. His grandmother flinched as he talked.

"The only Schnee standing in his way with the workers somehow got isolated from security during one of White Fang's earliest terrorist attacks? With no back up? All the security sent somewhere else?"

Whitley shook his head.

"No... That's not-"

"He would gloat over it to you, Aunt Weiss, and Dad," Theodore said grimly, making a face like he wanted to spit, "Saying that for all your hatred, you never even thought of the obvious."

Whitley's fingers dug into the back of the couch. Weiss grit her teeth, as Winter tightened her grip on her sword. Klein's face was stony.

Silence fell for a time. Willow licked her lips.

"Can you prove it?" She asked.

Theodore waved his hand and grinned darkly behind his sunglasses.

"Sure can, Grandma."

"A full confession would be better, but that might take the invasion of Atlas and that would be inconvenient," Nicholas said dryly.

"Hey, he can tell jokes!" Theodore chuckled. He got up and put Nicholas in a headlock before delivering a noogie. "You are related to me!"

"Getoff already!" Nicholas groaned, shoving his half-brother away, though he had a little grin. Theodore chuckled again.

Weiss was left in wonder at how easy going her son and her... Nephew? Were. Despite being from different timelines, they bonded together so easily on family...

When family is the biggest impediment to me, she thought, looking with a guilty look at her silent mother.

Willow Schnee sucked in a deep breath. She sipped her tea, as though for courage, before she bowed her head.

"... I suspected it for a long time," she murmured, "I knew... I knew he would... Had done... So many terrible things, but my own brother..." She shut her eyes tightly.

Whitley twitched, as though to reach out to her. He stopped short. Klein, seeing that Winter and Weiss were in no better position to comfort their mother, reached out to squeeze her shoulder. She rested a hand over his and nodded slowly.

"We know things are... Awkward now," Nicholas sighed, "I mean, you still have trouble talking about this stuff in our time."

"I can only imagine how strange it is for you," Whitley observed. "Incidentally... How do I turn out in the future?"

"I'm not sure-" Weiss tried, but Whitley shot her a glare.

"You got your preview. Why can't I have mine?" He demanded.

"Easy, Uncle Whitley," Theodore said soothingly, "Honestly? You're probably my favorite uncle. You went into engineering like you always wanted to, even though you are the CEO of the SDC. You married Aunt Ruby, too."

"Eh?" Whitley grunted in disbelief.

"Well, she did say you looked cute," Willow observed. Whitley gaped.

"MOTHER!"

Weiss gasped, as Winter looked considerate.

"Hmmm... She did impress me at our meeting this morning," Winter said with a smile.

"I mean, once you grew some muscles and perfected your powered armor, she was all over you!" Nicholas contributed. "And Aunt Penny, but uh..."

He twitched.

"I'm... Going to go back to repressing that memory," he managed.

"Oh, you too huh?" Theodore asked dryly.

"Must you be so crass?" Weiss asked in exasperation. She shook her head. "Geez... To think I'd end up related to Ruby..."

"Who's Penny?!" Whitley demanded.

"She's the orange haired gynoid girl!" Theodore said.

Whitley's eyes lit up.

"A... Gynoid, you say?" He asked, immediately intrigued.

"Theo!" Winter admonished. "That's a state secret!"

"So's time travel and yet, here we are," Theodore said dryly.

Willow stared intently at her grandsons, and then let out a sigh.

"I need a drink, but I suspect it would make things worse."

Weiss, Winter and Whitley all stared intently at her. Willow winced.

"Just... Trying to lighten the mood," she sighed. "I know... I know we have a lot of work to do. All of us..."

She smiled warmly at Theodore and Nicholas.

"But... Are... Are we a family? In your futures? Are... Are you happy?"

Neither Theodore or Nicholas had to pretend to smile.

"We are," Nicholas confirmed, "I-I mean, it's not perfect, but... Yeah. Uncle Whitley helped me build my sword and shield with Aunt Ruby's help." He held them up. "Just like Dad's. Aunt Winter, you trained me with Dad and Mom in how to fight! I-I really love you, too. Grandma, you've always been kind and wonderful to me. Klein... You're like another favorite uncle, and I have so many!"

He beamed widely and bowed his head.

"You are my family, and I'm blessed to have you all in my life."

Theodore scratched his cheek, looking a bit self conscious.

"... Same, really," he said, looking intently at Winter, "I mean yeah, we fight a lot and Dad grounds me when I teleport the TV but... I wouldn't trade any of you for the world."

Willow blushed. Winter smiled fondly at her son. Weiss was the same for hers. Whitley stood in awe. Klein beamed.

Willow was the first to recover.

"Well... I mean... I knew your father's father very well," she said, nodding to them both, "And... I can't imagine he would raise his son in any other way but to become a good man." She smiled at Winter and Weiss. "I... I think you should commit to it. To Jaune Arc."

"Mother, I..." Weiss shook her head. "There's no guarantee that our future will happen-"

"I passed up a chance for true love for your father," Willow said firmly, clutching at her thighs in agitation, "And... And while I do not regret having all of you? I... I do regret Jacques. I don't want any of you to miss your chance at true love."

"Even if we have to compete with each other?" Weiss asked, side eyeing Winter. Winter scowled back at her.

Winter nodded slowly.

"If it comes down to it... I hope you will resolve it properly," she said quietly. "You're already off to a better start than me. At least you know he can love you back."

Both sisters frowned and looked at Willow.

"Mother," Weiss murmured. Winter opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and shook her head softly.

Willow nodded, then looked at Whitley intently. He flushed and shrugged.

"Er, I mean... I don't even know the Ruby girl and she's after Arc-Er, Jaune too..."

He looked at Theodore and Nicholas intently.

"That said... Really? A truly sapient gynoid?"

"Oh great," Theodore groaned, "Uncle has his fetish already."

Nicholas flushed, but didn't disagree.

"Fetish?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow at her son. Whitley flushed.

"IT IS NOT A FETISH, MOTHER!"

- - -

That's... About as well as it could have gone, I think. Could have gone much worse.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Before coming to Beacon Pyrrha had no idea she had a too polite smile. Her mother's agents had spent years teaching her how to put on the perfect face to show the world when dealing with people you couldn't expose your real feelings with like paparazzi or the bigwigs at high society galas. She had simply thought of that face as her showroom smile, she had no idea that smile didn't reach her eyes until people here at Beacon had gotten to know the real Pyrrha and told her.

At the moment the people who recognized her too polite smile for what it was consisted of her Jaune, their teammates Ren and Nora, their friends in Team RWBY, and had been joined by her son Xander. She suspected that if she had been allowed to spend real time with Arslan the warrior nun would have caught on quickly, but her mother had made sure that hadn't happed.

Her mother.

Her mother had made that smile. Spent hours with different specialists sculpting it until it met her standards and placed it on Pyrrha's face like she was a good little doll to parade before the world.

Pyrrha wasn't going to wear her mother's smile today, even though it was taking a conscious effort to keep it off her face.

The door to the meeting room closed and Pyrrha steeled her heart as she slowly turned to face Athena, a truly blank expression displayed on her face.

"Pyrrha?" Her mother wrung her hands together in an exaggerated manner. "How, how did this happen?"

"Professor Ozpin already explained that, weren't you paying attention?" Pyrrha crossed her arms as she deliberately frowned to keep that dam showroom smile off her face.

"That's not what I meant," Athena protested waving her hands about wildly like she was trying to clear the air of her miss-phrased question. "I mean what drew you to Jaune Arc? Why is he my future son-in-law?"

"Why shouldn't he be?" Pyrrha countered with a scowl. "He's the man who holds my heart."

"Your mother isn't challenging your decision to pursue him, Miss Pyrrha," Orestes interjected from his place by the door. His hands were casually resting in his pockets, but his shoulders were tense. "She's just curious."

Pyrrha considered Orestes for a moment. The man had lasted longer than any of the family's previous butlers and had actually argued in favor of letting her go to Beacon when her mother seemed hesitant. She supposed that gave him enough benefit of the doubt for her to let him stick his oar in this family discussion.

"If you must know I've felt an attraction to Jaune since Initiation here at Beacon," Pyrrha explained as she shifted the way she had her arms crossed. "I went out of my way to make sure he was my partner because he was the first person I met who didn't know who I was. I knew something real could happen between us without the expectations of fame coloring our interactions."

"You fell in love with a boy you literally just met!" Athena clutched at her heart as her eyes grew wide.

"That's a gross oversimplification of things!" Pyrrha forcefully objected. It wasn't hard to keep the frown on her face now. "I've spent almost every day of the last few semesters by his side while he's had no clue about my feelings for him. He's spent most of that time pursuing another girl, and while it was painful to watch it let me know exactly what kind of man he is. Weiss' situation is rather similar to mine but he was interested in her for her, not her wealth or name. He never saw a reason to hide his true nature from me, so I know he's nothing like my father."

"That's good, that's very good," Athena smiled wide. Too wide. Wooden even. Come to think of it, every expression Pyrrha had seen her mother make today was wooden, every motion overwrought and every vocalization dripping with drama.

"Stop playing games, Mother," Pyrrha warned as her arms fell to her sides and her hands clenched into fists.

"Beg pardon?" The confusion crossing Athena's visage was the most genuine thing the young spartan had seen on her face all day.

"You keep switching back and forth between being horrified by my situation and being completely supportive," Pyrrha's scowl deepened. "I admit this is different from the games you played back home but it's just as confusing. Why can't you just be genuine for once and let me know how you really feel? Give it to me straight instead of the smoke and mirrors you make me dance through?"

"I-I'm, I am being genuine," Athena objected.

"Oh please," Pyrrha rolled her eyes, "You put me through mind games twenty-four-seven after Dad hurt us. You expect me to believe you stopped today when you couldn't even greet me like a normal person?! Basara was able to be supportive and hug her daughter properly and treat this situation normally! You dove in wailing like this is some kind of soap opera instead of real life!"

Athena recoiled as if she had been slapped. "Pyrrha, my sweet, I'm not playing mind games with you. I'm just confused and out of my depth here."

"Part of me wants to believe that," Pyrrha chuckled ruefully as she started shaking from tightly bridled anger. "But I've been a prop and a doll for your drama far too long. I've tasted freedom here and I'm not going to let you take complete control of my life again."

Color began to drain from Athena's face. "If I was trying to have complete control over your life why would I let you come here to Beacon?"

"You almost didn't," Pyrrha hissed as she loomed forward. "Orestes had to talk you into it! Why you agreed, I don't know! Maybe you got bored of the old game! Maybe you wanted the challenge of pulling my strings from a distance! If I didn't have your number blocked I wouldn't have time for anything besides answering your calls so that's a real possibility. Or maybe you wanted the thrill of pulling me back in after I've had the chance to be free of you!"

"Oh gods," Athena whispered with all the horror of comprehension, "You actually hate me."

"MAYBE I DO!" Pyrrha howled as the metal legs of a side table suddenly bent into pretzels. "I had no idea how to value myself until Jaune Arc taught me how to be genuine! How to have a real smile instead of the plastic thing you slapped on my face! I didn't know how to have friends until Jaune and Ren and Nora taught me! Until Ruby shared her baking and Yang pulled me into girl talk and Blake shared her books! And WHY did I have to learn it from them? YOU KEPT THE ONE PERSON WHO COULD HAVE BEEN FRIENDS WITH ME AS FAR AWAY AS PROPRIETY PERMITTED! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN FRIENDS WITH ARSLAN! I SPENT ALL OF MY TEENAGE YEARS ALONE BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"I, I, I was trying to keep you safe," Athena trembled as she stumbled back to Orestes, who caught her before she could trip over herself. "I was trying to make you ready for anything before you went out into the world! I tried to have you live through every possibility as we role-played-"

"WELL YOU DID A TERRIBLE JOB!" Pyrrha screamed as a metal lamp attempted to become a Möbius strip. Her voice dropped low as she continued, "The Space-Time Continuum had to turn itself inside out before I was able to be honest with the man I love! And it gets worse. So much worse. In five of the eleven futures I never said anything and had to live watching the love of my life fall into the arms of another woman. In the other five where we're not married I only told him how I felt because I was charging into a battle that I was certain would kill me, and I was right." The horror that grew on Athena's face shouldn't have brought Pyrrha comfort, but it did. "And in the one, singular future where I marry the man of my dreams? I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing. So no Mother: nothing you did helped me. Everything you did crippled me. So yes, Mother, I think I might hate you."

Getting all of that out into the air was pleasing on a visceral level to a part of herself that she didn't realize she had until that moment. Breathing heavily Pyrrha began to gather herself for the second wind of her rage, but then Xander placed a placating hand on her shoulder.

"That's more than enough Mom," her son gently admonished. "You got what you needed off your chest. Any more and you'll say things you'll genuinely regret. Besides, you've completely demolished what was left of Granny's façade. We're dealing with the real her now."

The plea was enough to still the winds fanning the flames of anger. With her vision no longer clouded by rage she looked upon her mother again, and what she saw surprised her.

Athena stood there still supported by Orestes and it was clear she needed the support. It was like she had crumpled in on herself despite standing tall, tears slowly running down her cheeks while her eyes morosely looked into the distance. The last time Pyrrha had seen this face on her mother was a week before she kicked her husband out of the house; it was the only face of her mother that she knew for certain was completely real.

It was now difficult to hold on to her anger.

"Granny Athena hurt you because she was damaged," Xander went on now that he knew his mother was listening. "She legitimately thought Peleus was the most honest and trustworthy man she had ever met, and the realization he wasn't really screwed with her head. She didn't trust any of her old friends anymore so she only had her paranoia to lean on while she was trying to figure out how to raise you. She was trying to make you naturally suspicious so you would second guess any smooth talker that came your way, but we both know that's not what happened."

"Since you're calling Athena Granny," Orestes spoke up as he gently navigated Athena to a chair, "Is it safe to assume you're all on speaking terms in your future?"

"We are," Xander confirmed with a nod, "Though things were rough for a bit. When Mom and Dad got together Granny was convinced Dad was another Peleus so she was pretty hostile at first. Then Mom almost died in The Battle of Atlas and that threw Granny off enough for other people to get through to her. Grandma Isabel forced her to start seeing a therapist after that, and while it wasn't an overnight fix they were able to get Athena to stop acting twenty-four-seven. "

"And she stuck with Doctor Isabel's recommended therapist the whole time?"

"She did."

"I'd be interested in getting their contact information later."

"Acting twenty-four-seven?" Pyrrha asked as she allowed herself to sit in a chair across from Athena.

"It's easier," Athena managed to get out in a dull voice, "Easier than being me all the time. Most of the time I don't know what I would do. But I know what The Countess would do. I know what The Captain would do. I know what The Huntress and The Judge and The Smuggler and The Jester and The Scientist and The Priestess would do. But not me. Not usually."

Pyrrha pressed her lips into a fine line and rubbed her left arm with her right. She could remember times where she wasn't sure what she ought to be doing... but she knew what The Invincible Girl was supposed to be doing and fell back on that.

"I think I understand," Pyrrha sighed. "I'm not happy about it, but I understand." She fixed her mother with a look she hoped was neutral and extended her olive branch, "I might be willing to forgive my mother. My actual mother, not some character that happens to be a mother. Can you do that?"

"I don't know," Athena admitted, "I can try, but I don't know what that will be."

"Trying is a place to start," Xander reassured his Granny, "And if you have a place to start you can get it done as long as you're willing to work at it."

"Then I want to try," Athena wept.

Pyrrha exchanged a look with Xander, who helped her out of her chair and onto the meeting room's couch.

"Then let's try," Pyrrha offered figuring it was best to start while she knew for certain she was dealing with her mother's true face.

Athena stumbled from her chair to the couch, taking her seat between her daughter and grandson. The two of them allowed her to wrap her arms around them and she sobbed great big ugly tears as snot started running from her nose.

Orestes dutifully provided a handkerchief.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Arcs Part 1

- - -

Isabel led the way into the conference room, Jaune, Emerald, Glynda, Dorothy, Amethyst, Ash and Ashley following. Nick had begged off, saying he would be back in a bit.

The second the door closed, Isabel rounded on her future grandchildren and locked onto Ash and Ashley.

"All right, sit down," she instructed, guiding them to the couch, "Let me see those scars."

The twins glanced at each other in a mixture of relief and some familiar exasperation, but they complied. Isabel examined their faces with a surgeon's eye, while Jaune, Emerald, Glynda, Amethyst, and Dorothy sat down across from them. Amethyst and Dorothy none-too-subtly pushed their mothers to sit on either side of Jaune, while taking up seats in chairs alongside. Jaune felt a bit nervous but did his best to hide it. Emerald flushed but nevertheless she stayed close to Jaune. Her precious daughter was living proof this man was someone she could trust completely.

She... She hadn't even had that with Cinder. So the temptation to be close with him was just too strong for the thief to resist.

Glynda, for her part, was keeping a bit more distance between her potential future husband and herself. Yet the disapproving frown on her face over Emerald's closeness was a bit stronger than she would have liked.

"Hmmm..." Isabel murmured, "Who healed you? It's very good work. The scarring will take more effort to fix but any underlying damage has been completely repaired."

"Dad," Ash and Ashley said, pointing over at Jaune. Isabel looked back in shock. Glynda and Emerald nodded. Jaune flushed and nodded as well.

"His Semblance, Aura Amp, lets him transfer his own Aura to another person," Dorothy reported, as though she was in class, "With nearly 100 percent efficiency."

"100 percent?!" Isabel gasped, nearly staggered. "The best modern healing dust can do is twenty percent efficiency!"

Ashley nodded, smiling with genuine pride in her eyes at her father.

"He can also enhance others' Semblances, evolve them to become much more powerful!"

"I can?!" Jaune gasped.

"He can?!" Glynda, Isabel, and Emerald asked in shock.

"How long does it last?" Glynda asked urgently.

"Around 24 hours, I think, depending on how much you do," Ash contributed, "Later on, he learned how to restore his own Aura and enhance everyone else's in range without having to touch them. Like an instant Aura and Semblance booster."

Isabel's eyes were shining with pride and amazement. Glynda rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"No wonder I could fix the airfield so quickly," she murmured. She looked at Jaune with some admiration. "That's quite the talent you have, Jaune-Mister Arc."

"No wonder we were able to defeat Salem," Emerald breathed in awe.

"I... Um... Thank you," Jaune said modestly, "But uh, we haven't done it yet so-"

"Ooooh!" Isabel hugged Jaune tightly with a beam. "I knew it! I knew it! You're going to be a shoe-in at Ambroise Pare University! I mean, before, you would have made the grade but this? You could be valedictorian! You could make the Deans' list-Screw it you WOULD be the Dean's List!"

Jaune felt the old argument rearing its head. He felt the old resentments beginning to rise. He clenched his fists and he gritted his teeth.

"Mom," he tried.

"Oh, and a fellowship at Arc-En-Ciel-Who would care if it looked like nepotism?!" Isabel babbled excitedly, "You can heal with a touch!"

"Mom."

"We could write your first paper together and-"

"MOM!" Jaune shouted, pushing Isabel away. He took a deep breath and did his best to ignore her hurt and confused look.

"I told you before," he said, "I'm not going to be a doctor! I've chosen my path!"

"But Jaune!" Isabel insisted, "Your Semblance-You could literally change the world!"

"I already HAVE changed the world!" Jaune growled. "In eleven futures! If I hadn't joined Beacon, I... For all we know, the world might have ended!"

"It absolutely would have," Dorothy stated, as Ash, Ashley, and Amethyst nodded.

Isabel gaped.

"But-Surely now that we know, you could quit! Your Semblance-!"

"His Semblance is why the world was saved, Nana," Ashley stated flatly, "And not just that: His leadership, his kindness. He turned our mom from serving the greatest source of evil in the world into a great hero who saved everything."

"S-Same in my timeline," Amethyst offered, a bit shyly.

"Same in all the timelines, Grandma," Dorothy added, shaking her head. She sighed. "Geez, I knew you were controlling but this is a bit much-"

"I am not controlling!" Isabel growled. "I just... I just want what's best for this family! For everyone! A lot of impossible and frankly insane things have happened and I'm just... I'm just trying to-"

"Isabel," Glynda said softly, "I know. But do you really think you can convince Jaune-Mister Arc-to turn his back on this situation? Would you turn your back on this situation if it was you in his place?"

"I..." Isabel looked back at her son, who stood resolutely. "I'm not asking that... I just... We know what the future holds. We know we win against this Salem person-"

"And what?" Jaune demanded. "I shouldn't fight her?"

"I... Well," Isabel stood awkwardly, "I mean, if we know, and we could build an alliance... Your father and I are a little out of practice but we could fight while you-"

"No!" Jaune growled. "I'm tired of this, Mom! Even with all of this, you're still treating me like a baby!"

Isabel scowled.

"Well what am I supposed to do, huh?!" She demanded. "Do you really think you have any control over the situation?! You're a father 13 times over with eleven potential brides! You're a key point in a temporal paradox and someone already tried to kill you! How else am I supposed to respond?!"

Emerald got up and took her place at Jaune's side. She scowled at her future mother-in-law.

"Maybe recognize he's a MAN and not a child?!" Emerald demanded. Isabel scowled back, not backing down.

"You barely know him! You just met him! I am his mother-!"

"And in the day or two I've really known him, I've seen the kind of man he is!" Emerald insisted. "I-I can see why I fell for him! Why I trust him! Why I would have children with him!"

She took the stunned Jaune's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"He's shown me more care and kindness than anyone I've even known before!" She insisted, "And you don't get to act like he's some idiot teenager father in over his head!"

"Emerald," Jaune murmured. Emerald blushed deeply, but the happy smile on Amethyst's face and the scowl on Isabel's hardened her resolve.

He actually appreciates me... It's all I've ever wanted... I refuse to back down!

"Auntie Em, it's okay," Ashley contributed, "Nana chills out eventually. She did for our mom, and you. And Uncle Mercury."

"Speaking of, we gotta get him to defect next," Ash said with a nod, "He taught us lock picking."

"Really? You too?" Amethyst asked in interest.

Isabel groaned.

"What kind of women do you marry in the future?!" Isabel demanded, exasperated. She turned and glared at Glynda, who coughed.

"Wonderful ones, even if some need more help than others," Jaune shot back defiantly. This made Emerald and Glynda both blush, while Dorothy, Amethyst, Ash and Ashely all grimaced.

Isabel scowled.

"I just... It's not easy to understand," she said quietly, "Or... Well..."

The door slammed open. Nick entered, his arms full of cakes and candies. He grinned.

"Hey! I'm back! Sorry, I didn't know what everyone would want so I got some of everything!" He dropped the pile of snacks onto the coffee table. "Now, first things first... Glynda?"

"Ah, yes Nick?" Glynda asked. He motioned for her to stand up. She did so... And he captured her in a gigantic bear hug. "Urk!"

"Welcome to the family, daughter-in-law!" Nick laughed. He dropped the blushing deputy headmistress, before he walked over to Emerald and caught her in a big hug as well. "And you too, daughter-in-law! Emerald, right?"

"Y-Yes sir?" Emerald managed, her cheeks much darker at the affection and power in Nick's hug. The tall man put her down and beamed. He turned to his grandchildren and held out his arms.

"Plenty more where that came from! Bring it in, then, snacks!" Nick cheered.

"Nick!" Isabel protested, even as the grandkids got up to embrace Nick, "The last thing we need is a bunch of junk food!"

"This is exactly the time for a bunch of junk food!" Nick insisted. He hugged Amethyst (who squealed happily and returned it), Dorothy (who giggled and kissed her grandpa's cheek) Ash (who tolerated it while trying to hide how pleased he was) and Ashley (who sighed in exasperation but patted Nick's head).

"And also," Nick continued, "Tell me all about this evil witch Salem!" He grinned and punched his fist into his other palm. "Do I get to punch her in the schnozz?"

"Nick!" Isabel groaned in exasperation.

"Okay, does Jaune get to punch her in the schnozz?"

"NICK!"

- - -

To be continued!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"You're lucky I didn't lock you in an actual birdcage."

Those were the words that greeted Raven as her faculties returned to her. The words set off an alarm in her head and she tried to jump up into a combat stance only to find that her body didn't move more than a quarter of an inch. For a moment Raven almost succumbed to a blind panic from waking up tied and bound in a strange room with someone she considered a sworn enemy. Almost. The Spring Maiden deliberately bit the side of her cheek with just enough force to bring focus as the calculated pain derailed her spiraling thoughts. With her panic averted Raven was able to take proper stock of her situation.

She was no longer in her usual attire. Instead she was garbed in a prison jumpsuit with a neon-orange color that she found quite tacky. Her wrists and ankles were cuffed to X shaped beams jutting out from a narrow slab on an adjustable fulcrum allowing it to hold a person in a standing position or have them lying down like a bed. At the present moment it was holding her in a standing position in the center of the cell that allowed her to see the hardlight wall that served as the bars of the cell she was in, as well as the man who was currently standing in the cell with her.

"Ozpin," Raven hissed out as she struggled against the cuffs. The memories of the battle leading up to her capture flashed through her head, and embarrassed anger flushed through her system as she came to terms with being caught. That lead to something important she needed to get out of the way: "I don't care about whatever deal you have cooked up. I'm not working for you ever again."

"What makes you think I'm here for a deal?" Ozpin quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You can't keep me here," Raven reasoned. "Not for long anyways. Once I've recovered enough to use my powers I'll tear out of this place and you'll never see me again. Since you haven't killed me you're clearly here to give me some feel good speech about forgiveness and doing the right thing for the good of all mankind hopping to appeal to my better nature. Well let me save us both some time and say the answer is no."

Ozpin adjusted his glasses and frowned in disappointment. "Over a decade with the powers of a Maiden and you still don't know what you're doing with them."

What. That seeming non sequitur wasn't what Raven expected, so she actually opened her ears as Ozpin continued.

"If you knew what you were doing you would have noticed what the cuffs are currently doing to you." The old wizard explained.

Alarmed by that statement Raven looked to the cuff on her right wrist and strained against it again. Now that Ozpin had brought it to her attention she could feel it. The cuffs were actively sapping away at her aura and her magic, pulling them away from her body just as fast as they could regenerate. The Spring Maiden tried to flair her aura and magic to overwhelm the draining effect, but the cuffs adjusted to the greater flow far too quickly for that brief flair up to work.

"The cuffs will keep your aura levels and the amount of magic you have on hand low enough that you're basically a regular civilian right now. You'll be staying here for as long as is necessary."

"Magic can't be destroyed," Raven objected as she stopped straining against her bonds. "It can only be defused. Sooner or later this area will be too saturated with my magic for you to keep me locked up like this."

"Normally you'd be right," Ozpin allowed with a tired sigh. "Unfortunately I have a comatose Fall Maiden a few floors down who's soaking up all of the ambient magic in the area in an effort to plug the hole in her soul. You're being drained directly into her life support system. The good news is that every hour you're connected to the system adds another week we'll be able to keep Amber alive. If this was my only method of keeping you here I'd be able to keep you in this room for as long as Amber needs life support; which might not be as long as you'd think since some new information has come to light that might help us heal her. However, I've done more than cuff you."

"What do you mean you've done more than cuff me?" Raven asked as dread started pooling in her stomach.

"I've placed four sigils on your back," the reincarnating wizard explained as he began to circle her. "The first disrupts your ability to use your semblance. The second disrupts your ability to turn into a bird. The third disrupts your ability to manipulate magic. The fourth? That one will straight up kill you if it's tampered with incorrectly."

Raven frowned as she processed this information. The fourth sigil obviously served as a deterrent for messing with the other three, meaning it was possible to mess with them. The fact that he was telling her about it meant it was possible for her to mess with the sigils in her current state and he wanted her to know that doing so was too risky. She needed to know more about them.

"These sigils sound like useful tools," She probed with a taunting tone. "Is there a reason you never used them against the Black Queen?"

"You put the world's best lock in front of the world's best lock-picker and it's only a matter of time before the lock-picker unlocks it." Ozpin explained as he returned to standing in front of her. "They're useless against someone who knows how to use magic like a master artist's finest paintbrush. Against a wayward Maiden who wields her magic like an amateur with a paint roller? They'll serve their purpose well."

"I'm no amateur!" Raven objected with a snarl as she strained against her cuffs again.

"I really wish you weren't," Ozpin's eyes held genuine remorse, "Things would have been significantly different if you had bothered learning the subtler half of the esoteric arts. Thought that's a problem most of the Maidens have had: too few of you think like wizards and end up wielding your magic like an elemental beat-stick."

Raven rolled her eyes at The Wizard's commiserating. If he didn't think she could figure the sigils out fine, she'd let him think that. She just needed a way to figure out which sigil to avoid before she started experimenting... which was a taller order than she liked but if she had time she'd do it. This lead to an important question: how much time did she have to work with?

"So you'll use me as a battery to keep your Fall Maiden alive. Then what?" Raven asked in a nonchalant manner. "You keep me locked up, come down every once in a while to parade regrets and might have beens before going on and on about how it's not to late for me, I can change and be a good girl again. Maybe bring other people I've been close with for visits to try and wear me down. It's not going to work Ozpin. I'm never going to be a pawn in your war again."

Ozpin sighed once again before pulling out his scroll and opening it up to show an official looking document, "Raven Branwen, The Branwen Tribe of Bandits are considered hostis humani generis and as their leader you have no legal protection under any Kingdom's laws. You will be tried in a manner your captors deem fit, and from that trial a sentence will be determined and then carried out in the manner your captors deem appropriate. As an Outlaw in the truest sense of the term you will be offered no legal council, nor any chance to appeal the results of the trial. Dura lex sed lex."

"Are you planing on killing me?" That was a bit surprising, but she was well prepared for that possibility. Raven began to chuckle, "Well you can't kill me. My last thoughts determine who the next Spring Maiden is. There are plenty of girls in the Branwen Tribe young enough to become the next Maiden, and I've actually been training one of them to take my place should the worst happen. And if you think your agents can take her on before she comes into her own... well their are plenty of criminal organizations in Mistral that would love to have a young recruit gain real magic. And if that isn't enough for you to take me seriously... Well, I've discovered the identities of the girls Salem's trained to become her dark maidens."

Ozpin rose an eyebrow at this, and she could tell she had his attention.

"And I don't just mean the girl that crippled Amber," Raven went on. "I know who she's planning to send after Fria, who she's planning to send to Vacuo for the Summer Maiden, who she's planning to send after me." There it was; her trump card on the table. A nasty grin split across her face, "You kill me and you'll just be hand delivering a Maiden to the Black Queen, and she'll make them far too dangerous for you to get that power back."

"DON'T think about Summer," Ozpin replied, and Raven's mind immediately went to her old team leader in spite of her efforts to stop it. Thoughts of Summer Rose naturally dovetailed into thoughts of Summer's flesh and blood, Ruby Rose, as well as the girl Raven left for Summer and Tai to raise, Yang. From the smile on the wizard's face Raven knew that Oz could tell where her thoughts had just gone. "I did that without any magic Raven. Want to know what I could do with magic?"

Ozpin waved his hand about in a series of arcane gestures that slowly formed a sphere of emerald energy that hung in the air in front of him. With each wave of his hands that sphere became flatter and flatter until it was the dimensions of an old compact disk used by older computers and music players. Satisfied with his creation the wizard plucked the disk out of the air before giving one last look over before a grim frown took over his face. He stepped forward disk in his right hand while his left grasped Raven's face, holding it in place as he pressed the disk against her forehead. She could feel it sliding into her head between the two hemispheres of her brain where it settled in and wove itself into her neurons.

"Let's see who you should be thinking about, hmm?" Ozpin began in a voice that held no pleasure with what he had done. "Perhaps Velvet? She has one of the most promising semblances I've seen in years. She could put the Maiden's power to great use." He spun his hands around and the image of a brown haired rabbit faunus filled Raven's mind. "On the other hand she wouldn't think like a wizard and would mostly use the power to make melee weapons. Hmm... Maybe one of the Schnee sisters? Their semblances are pseudo-magic so the learning curve would be in their favor." The two Atlesian women now dominated Raven's thoughts. "Though both of them have a tendency to get close in a fight when they don't have to, and I don't see ether of them breaking that bad habit... Wait... The sniper! May!" A dusky skinned girl that seemed like a bit of a wallflower stood at the forefront of Raven's mind. "Yes, she'll do nicely. She appreciates the benefits of keeping her distance and her mother has another pseudo-magic semblance. She can learn how to think like a wizard from her! Now I just need to get her opinion on the matter, I can always change it if she says no."

Ozpin dropped his hands, and Raven's thoughts were her own again. Dread pooled in her stomach once more; she had thought her trump card made her unkillable by anyone affiliated with Oz, but the man himself had just gotten rid of it like it was nothing. For the first time since she became the Spring Maiden the possibility she might get sentenced to death for her crimes as a bandit became tangible.

"You can't be serious," Raven objected, "You'd rather have that untested slip of a girl instead of a seasoned warrior as your Spring Maiden? That's ridiculous! You can't-"

"Ten Thousand." Ozpin interrupted with a growl.

"What?"

"The estimated combined population of all the towns, villages, hamlets and other settlements destroyed by the Branwen Tribe since you became their leader is around ten thousand, and that's the low end estimate," Ozpin elaborated as he began to aggressively tap his staff against the floor, his voice becoming more and more stern with each tap. "To be frank there are only three reasons you're alive right now. The first is that you're currently helping to keep Amber alive. The second is that I'm not going to foist the powers of the Spring Maiden on someone who doesn't want it if I can help it. The third is that your family needs closure, and killing you right here and now would rob them of that."

Raven gawked.

"The trial will decide your fate. It will serve to bring closure as well," Ozpin turned to leave. "I hope your ready to face your family: because I can't think of a better jury than them."

The hardlight wall split open for a second and then closed after the wizard passed through. Raven was left alone with her thoughts.

A trial. Ozpin would stand as judge no doubt and he would honor any verdict from the jury. A jury that would contain her own family. The best possibly outcome for her required her to cross bridges she burnt years ago...

...Brothers of Light and Darkness, Raven thought with wide eyes, I might actually die here!

No! It wouldn't be in any of their natures to leave her in a lurch like that! She'd live.

Right?

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Arcs Part 2

Sift Green

- - -

The group divided the snacks and drinks and ate quietly for a while. Nick polished off several cakes in quick succession and guzzled a two-liter of soda. Isabel ate her fill too, then looked for another conversation topic. Something less awkward, perhaps.

"So," she began, looking at Ash and Ashley, "Where is your mother?"

Ash and Ashley winced. Emerald narrowed her eyes and wrapped an arm around Amythest protectively, while Jaune sighed and Glynda and Dorothy grumbled. Her son spoke first.

"She's a terrorist serving Salem, Mom," Jaune said, "We don't know where she is."

Isabel grimaced but her eyes were sympathetic to her son and the twins.

"I see. I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Well, that won't do!" Nick boomed, after finishing another two-liter, "It's not fair to the rest of your wives if she's not included!"

"She tried to murder my daughter and I," Emerald gritted out.

"In most timelines, she destroys Vale and kills millions of people," Dorothy pointed out. She looked apologetically at the twins. "I get that you want to exist but-"

"But nothing!" Ash growled. He shook his head, and reached up to touch his scar. "Look... I know she was pure evil in your timelines. I know all the bad things she did in our timeline. We're fully aware of the bad things she's done here!"

"Seriously," Ashley added, touching her own scar, "But that doesn't change the fact that where we come from? She's our mom. She helped save the world. She loves our Dad. She-She tucked us in at night, read us stories, cooked our meals, kissed our..." She touched her scar again, "Injuries..."

"And we're sorry for what she tried to do, Auntie Em," Ash said, turning to the pensive green-haired girl, "And Amethyst... But please. She... She's got good in her. We know she does. To you, she's evil incarnate. To us? She's our mom. We love her. And in our timeline, she loves Dad, and Uncle Mercury, and Aunt Ruby, and... And you, too."

Emerald grimaced, and tightened her hold on her daughter. Amethyst winced again but held on tightly.

Nick and Isabel took this in thoughtfully. It was Nick who turned to his son first, his expression unusually grave.

"Jaune? What are your intentions regarding this Cinder?"

Jaune slowly stood up. He took a deep breath.

"Dad... You're the one who taught me no one was beyond redemption," he stated, "You're the one who told me all about your past."

Isabel instinctively reached out to hold her husband's hand. His expression didn't change, but he squeezed hers back as Jaune continued.

"How you were an orphan, a thief. How you got in too deep with bad people and were beaten and left for dead in a river," Jaune went on, and Emerald in particular winced, "How if Grandpa George hadn't found you and saved you, you would have died. Or if you'd lived, you'd have just kept getting worse and worse."

He sucked in a deep breath.

"Based on what the twins and Emerald have told me... Cinder just needed one person, just one, in her life to... To care about her. To help her. To-To help her not be evil. Grandpa George was that for you. You and Mom taught me to be that person for others. So... So I'm going to try to help her. To save her. Not just for our kids, but for her as well."

Isabel stared intently at her son. Nick glanced at his wife briefly, then back at Jaune. Isabel spoke first.

"It's going to be very dangerous, Jaune," she said softly. Glynda nodded.

"Exceedingly," Glynda emphasized.

Jaune slowly nodded back, his fists clenched.

"I know... But I have to try."

Silence fell. Dorothy sniffled a little, and Glynda turned to rest a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

Ash and Ashley stared at Jaune with emotional smiles, though Ashley tried to cover hers up with her hand. Emerald gazed up at Jaune in awe (with a slight blush on her cheeks) while Amethyst softly blew her nose into a handkerchief.

Nick smiled in pride. Isabel sighed. She looked at her husband, and Nick shrugged.

"He had to grow up sometime," Nick murmured. Isabel nodded. She got up, walked to her son, and hugged him tightly.

"Then... We'll help you with her, and the rest," she said quietly, "I promise."

"Mom?" Jaune gasped. Isabel grimaced for a moment and shook her head.

"I'm... Still not happy about this, but... If you're going to do this, we will do all we can to make sure you do it right," she said quietly.

Jaune's face slowly lit up. He hugged his mother tightly. Nick got up and hugged them both.

"We thought you weren't strong enough to do this, Jaune," Nick murmured, "I'm very glad to be wrong... And sorry we thought that of you. Can you forgive us?"

Jaune beamed, and hugged his father back.

"Always."

Emerald's eyes were shining. Glynda discreetly used her Semblance to wipe her own eyes though Dorothy's knowing look made clear it hadn't worked. Ash and Ashley got up and Nick pulled them into the hug as well.

"Aw... Hugs are nice," Nick said cheerfully. He beamed.

"Of course, it can't be all about one girl!" He boomed. "You've got eleven, Jaune! You need to be fair to all of them if you're going to have a harem!"

"D-Dad!" Jaune managed, "I-I don't have a harem-!"

"You basically do," Ashley deadpanned.

"Well not on purpose!" Jaune sputtered.

Isabel turned her glare onto Glynda.

"Speaking of," she growled, "How exactly did you end up with my son in the future, hm?"

"Er," Glynda Goodwitch blushed.

"She didn't do anything with him until he was legal, Grandma!" Dorothy rose to her mother's defense.

"That barely helps!" Isabel growled.

The doors slammed open. Nora entered, wearing a chef's hat. She scowled at the pile of snack wrappers on the table.

"HEY! Who got all these snacks?!" Nora demanded.

"Me!" Nick said, holding up his hand. Nora's scowl deepened.

"Renny and me were making breakfast for everyone and you go and spoil everyone's appetite?!" She demanded. She paused and checked her watch.

"Well, guess it's brunch now, but still! You're a jerk, Jaune's Dad!"

"Nora!" Jaune admonished. Nick stared intently at Nora.

"You're Nora Valkyrie then? Jaune's written me about you a lot," he said, "You see my son like a brother right?"

Nora, for once, looked genuinely confused (but also touched).

"Yeah? So what?"

Nick beamed and held out his arms.

"Welcome to the family, sweetie!"

Nora gaped... Then squealed as she leaped into Nick's arms.

"YAY! Can I call you Daddy?"

"Sure can!"

"WOOHOO!" Nora cheered. "NOW I HAVE SOMEONE TO GIVE ME AWAY AT MY WEDDING TO RENNY!"

"NICK!" Isabel hissed, grabbing his bicep and squeezing painfully. Nick pouted.

"Aw, come on Izzy! Look at her! She's so adorable!" He held Nora up to his wife. Nora sniffled with large, shiny eyes. "Can't we adopt her? Please? Please?"

"I..." At everyone's stares. Isabel cleared her throat. "We will discuss this later... After brunch."

"YAY!" Nora cheered again, hugging Isabel, "I GOT A MOM AND DAD! BEST DAY EVER!"

Isabel sighed, but smiled gently and patted the orange-haired girl's head affectionately.

Jaune snickered. Ash and Ashley smirked. Amethyst giggled, as did Dorothy, while Emerald and Glynda stared in confusion.

"Um... Is this how your parents are normally?" Emerald asked.

Jaune nodded.

"Pretty much."

"And so much is explained," Glynda sighed quietly.

"You're part of the family too~," Dorothy said in a sing-song voice. Glynda flushed.

"Quiet."

"Just saying~!"

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Nick: "So! What's your Semblance, kids?"

Amethyst: "Um... I just got my Aura Unlocked so I don't know. Sorry."

Dorothy: "Touch Telekinesis! So I can fly and lift gigantic things!"

Nick: "SWEET! I also love to lift gigantic things!"

Ash: "Our Semblance is kind of like yours, Grandpa!"

Nick: "Eh? You're also Awesome?"

Ashley: "Yeah, but more specifically, Grandma figured it out in the future! Because it's a little like ours!"

Ash: "We can Drain Aura from anyone. Grandpa does it too, but the area of effect is MUCH wider and he draws a lot less."

Ashley: "But on the plus side, he draws it from EVERYTHING. The air, the water, the ground."

Isabel: "Huh! No wonder it was so hard to pin down! I thought it was a passive regeneration Semblance. He's just gathering Aura from all around himself all the time?"

Ash: "Pretty much!"

Isabel: "That also explains why he never runs out of Aura. Well, almost never."

Nick: "Yeah, that fight with the Hydra and that jackass who overthrew Pandu really took it out of me!"

Isabel: exasperated "You were in a coma for a week after each!"

Nick: "Like I said, it really took it out of me!" He grinned "Still! This is great! Now that I know what it is, I can learn how to use it and get..."

He poses.

Nick: "A SUPER MODE!"

Jaune: excited "A super mode?!"

Nora: also excited "A super mode?!"

Isabel: exasperated "Not the super mode again..."

Nick: "Come on Izzy! Stupid Taiyang has a super mode! Qrow can turn into a bird! Raven's got magical super mode! Why can't I have a Super Mode where I have glowing hair and burning eyes and maybe my sword turns into flames?!"

Isabel: "Because it's absurd and you don't need it?!"

Jaune: "I have to agree with Dad, Mom. Super mode sounds pretty cool."

Nora: "THE COOLEST!"

Ashley: "Oh! So if you want to learn how to use the Super mode, you just-"

Nick: "NO! WAIT! DON'T SPOIL ME!"

Ash: "Eh?"

Nick: "I just want to know if I can do it. If you tell me how that takes all the fun out of it!" He nods "I'll figure it out myself... Probably just before I nearly die! That's how I figured out my coolest attacks before-!"

Isabel punches him.

Isabel: "LIKE HELL!" huffs "Just... Teach your grandfather the super mode, please?"

Nick: "But Izzzyyyyy-!"

Isabel: "NO BUTS!"

Nick: "Hmph... I hope your wives are more fun than mine, Jaune."

Jaune: "Um..."

Many female eyes are on him. He manages to stay standing.

Jaune: "... I'm sure they are."

Ashley: "He learned well."

Ash: "Such a quick learner."

Nora: "So, do I get a super mode?!"

Dorothy: "Well, as it turns out-"

Jaune and Isabel: "NOOOO!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Cinder Fall

- - -

"Based on what the twins and Emerald have told me... Cinder just needed one person, just one, in her life to... To care about her. To help her. To-To help her not be evil. Grandpa George was that for you. You and Mom taught me to be that person for others. So... So I'm going to try to help her. To save her. Not just for our kids, but for her as well."

Cinder Fall was not often found sitting on her bed, her Scroll the sole source of attention, in total darkness. It was something for melodramatic teenagers or lost souls.

She had... She had stopped being lost a long time ago.

"It's going to be very dangerous, Jaune," said a kindly sounding woman's voice.

"Exceedingly," Glynda Goodwitch added.

Cinder could hear Jaune take a deep breath.

"I know... But I have to try."

She heard a creak outside the door. She summoned the power of the Fall Maiden, using telekinesis to rip the door open and seize whoever was eavesdropping. He yelped as she yanked him inside with her power. She slammed the door shut and formed a glass knife to hold to his throat.

"H-Hey! Easy! It's just me!" Mercury Black sputtered. Cinder didn't pull the knife back, instead glaring in pure hatred down at him.

"How much did you-?!"

"Let's just say enough, huh?" Mercury shot back with a scowl. Cinder gritted her teeth. First Emerald, now Mercury?

Emerald... Emerald had been safe out of her devotion. A devotion she dropped in an instant for her brat. Mercury she'd kept in line out of fear, but now he was... He was...!

Mercury stared at her. He sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils and looked her right in the eyes.

"Look, Cinder... You're down enough followers, right? Just let me say my piece. Then you can kill me."

Cinder's jaw dropped. Cynicism, snark, those were things she expected. Mercury sounding... Tired like this.

"Are you the shortstack brat playing a bad joke?" She demanded. Mercury rolled his eyes.

"You could feel up my chest if you really don't trust me-OW!"

She'd dug the knife in against his throat as a warning. He held up his hands.

"That enough proof?" He asked flatly.

Cinder pulled the knife away. She backed off, stepping onto the floor with a scowl. Mercury sat up, rubbing his throat even as his Aura flared to life to heal him.

"Speak then," Cinder spat contemptuously. Mercury slowly shook his head.

"You've been treating me like a dog since the day we met. Go fetch, roll over, play dead-"

"That's all you are to me," Cinder seethed, "All Emerald was-"

"All Arc is?" Mercury shot back. Cinder grit her teeth furiously, fire flaring to life in her palms. Mercury for once was not cowed. He still met her eyes, calm and unwavering.

It was one of the most terrifying sights she'd ever seen in her life.

"He... It changes nothing-I'm just gathering intel-!"

"You're crying, Cinder," Mercury pointed out softly, "And for once? You're being a shitty liar."

Cinder narrowed her eyes. She flared her flames white hot, trying to intimidate him. And while he hesitated for a moment, Mercury's gaze didn't waver.

"We have a way out, Cinder," Mercury said quietly.

"It's one possible timeline out of eleven!" Cinder seethed. "In most of those I die-!"

"But in one of those, you live. I live. Emerald lives," Mercury insisted. "Salem's gone! We're not her slaves anymore-"

"I'm not her slave!" Cinder snarled, unleashing a fire blast over his head. He didn't even flinch.

It hit her like a Goliath Grimm: He wasn't afraid of her anymore.

"Cinder," Mercury said quietly, "I've been listening in too. Your kids... They love you. They love me. They love Em. We're free... Maybe we're even happy. I-I don't know what that feels like. What that's like... But maybe we have a chance to experience it. Maybe we can have that."

He leaned forward just a little. Cinder was the one to flinch away this time.

"In one future timeline-" She protested.

"Isn't one enough?" Mercury demanded.

"It doesn't matter-!"

"You wouldn't be so damn worked up if it didn't!" Mercury shot back. "Those are your kids... And you care about them. Despite everything, you do. Don't lie to me, Cinder."

Cinder trembled a little. Mercury sucked in a breath.

"... So what do you want to do, Cinder?" He asked softly. "What do you really want? What we've been doing? Or a happy ending?"

Cinder's lips trembled.

"... I-"

Her Scroll went off. Both Mercury and Cinder started. She recovered first, and pulled out her Scroll. She paled at the caller ID... But answered anyway.

"Y-Yes, Mother?"

"Cinder," Salem spoke, "I've learned that things have become more complicated at Beacon. Some formidable fighters have appeared, and they have Raven Branwen with them. She appears to have Maiden Powers."

Cinder felt ice fall into the pit of her stomach as she looked over the datasheets Salem sent to her.

"... All of them?" She whispered.

"It would seem this Jaune Arc is better connected than we thought," Salem said smoothly, "I'm going to have to rethink many things. In any event, I don't expect you to take on all these powerful fighters on your own. You've failed me enough already."

Cinder winced. Salem didn't seem to notice as she continued.

"So I'm sending you some back up. A few mercenaries who are interested in the former members of Teams STRQ and AARN. Lionheart found them."

"Lionheart?" Cinder asked, her nose wrinkled in distaste. Salem nodded.

"I expect his treachery to be discovered soon. I'm making use of him before his expiration date."

Salem smiled dangerously.

"And I'm sending along another Maiden Candidate."

Cinder shook her head rapidly.

"Th-There's no need-I can handle-"

"I was a mother too once, Cinder," Salem said, soft and deadly, "Your thoughts and feelings betray you. You will bring me Jaune Arc. And you will cut out this weakness if it becomes necessary. Is that understood?"

A terrible silence fell. Cinder slowly nodded.

"... Yes Mother."

"Good... Be sure to give them all the information you have gathered. If you perform well enough, I might just let you get the rest of your power. Do not fail me again."

The transmission cut off.

Cinder bowed her head. The flames died away, leaving them in darkness. Only then did she looked up into Mercury's face.

She hesitated, before she spoke in a low, sad tone:

"People like us don't get happy endings."

Mercury slowly nodded, holding in a sigh.

"... All right," he murmured.

Cinder turned away.

"Talk to Roman, see what he can do for our guests," she ordered.

His face like stone, Mercury turned and walked out the door. It shut tightly behind him, leaving Cinder alone in the dark.

- - -

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-posted from the Spacebattles Thread.

Glimpses Into Another Time: Happy Endings

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Radian, Gallia, Vale. 2 Years After The Defeat Of Salem.

In her bedroom, Emerald Sustrai stared at a locket that was gifted to her by the woman she once called 'mistress', debating whether or not to discard it. It was beautiful, but it held too many bad memories.

"'Us'? There is no 'Us', Emerald. There has never been an 'Us'. There will neve be an 'Us'."

Hearing those words from her mistress stung. That party at Beacon was the day Emerald learned how Cinder really felt about her. The woman she worshipped like a goddess saw her as nothing more than a pet. In hindsight, it should've been obvious, now that Emerald had given it some thought. Cinder had made so many false promises, stringing her along like she was some hopless, lovesick girl...

Ok, maybe she was, but it still hurt to be treated like that.

Emerald left the party to wallow in her sorrow, to curl up into a ball and push down her emotions. But fate decided not to kick while she was down that day, because she was followed by a certain blonde knight.

"Um, hey," Jaune Arc let his presence be known, albeit in his awkward way. "I.. heard what Cinder said. I'm sorry."

"I don't need your pity." Emerald spat. She knew he had a problem with taking 'no' for an answer, so she hoped her attitude would be enough to get him to fuck off.

"You're right. You don't," Jaune then sat down next to her. Was he seriously this dense!? "But you do need a friend."

It was at that moment Emerald's heart latched onto Jaune. At first, she used him as a life preserver. His kindness was healing that void Cinder left, putting her broken heart back together piece by piece. But soon, the need for comfort blossomed into something more. Emerald had fallen in love with Jaune. And he had fallen for her. But that love wouldn't go unnoticed. Cinder had given Emerald a choice: Kill the boy and redeem herself or die along with him.

Emerald made her choice when she told Ozpin what Cinder and Salem had planned for the Vytal Festival. It had taken quite a bit of convincing, but her Scroll had everything she needed to earn his trust. With the attack on the Vytal Festival was successfully thwarted. But it wouldn't stop there, knowing that Haven Academy was her next target, Ruby and team JNPR went on a journey to Mistral to stop Cinder. Naturally, Emerald went with them. And it was there that Emerald had her final confrontation with Cinder.

Knock Knock

Emerald turned, snapping herself back to the present. She's more than a little nervous today.

How could she not? It was her wedding day.

"Come in." She invited the person who knocked into the room. The door opened, revealing her soon-to-be Mother-in-law, Isabel Arc.

"I knew you'd look amazing." Isabel beamed. She had given Emerald her mother's wedding dress. She had hoped to see one of her daughters wearing it, but they all bought ones of their own and Tangy made it explicitly clear she wasn't settling down any time soon.

"You think so?" Emerald smiled.

"Of course I do," Isabel walked up to her. "You're going to knock Jaune's socks off. If he's anything like his father, his jaw is gonna fall completely off when he sees you!"

"Yeah, but he always does," Emerald says dryly. "But I appreciate the visualization." She turned back to the desk, the locket stared back at her. Almost like it was mocking her. This didn't go unnoticed by Isabel.

"That looks lovely. Why don't you put it on?" Isabel suggested.

"I'm... I don't...," Emerald struggled. She wanted to talk to someone about this, but she didn't want to say anything that she couldn't take back. Isabel had always treated her like a daughter, so who better to have a peptalk than her? "Isabel, can I ask you a question?"

"What's on your mind?" Isabel raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Emerald looked at the locket once more. "I've been wondering if... If I deserve this. All of this. A happy ending."

Isabel knew about Emerald's past. Everyone in Jaune's family did. She, along with a few of her son's friends, were apprehensive of their relationship at first. But as time went on, Emerald had proven her love for Jaune was true. But there was one person that lingered in the back of the thief's mind.

"Is this about Cinder?" Isabel asked.

Emerald winced. Cinder's last words have been haunting her for the last few weeks, causing her to worry when the other shoe will drop.

"People like us don't get happy endings, Emerald."

Cinder had sounded so sure of this, even as she died. But every day with Jaune had proven her wrong. So why was she thinking about it now? She found that locket at the bottom of her jewelry box. It brought up a few emotions along with it.

"Whatever it is, I don't think it really matters," Isabel said, her tone warm. She poured a glass of water for Emerald and herself. "To dwell on the past is to deny yourself of the future. I'm sure whatever Cinder said to you was only said to scare you. To make sure you always see her whenever you look over your shoulder."

Isabel words filled Emerald with relief. She really was the mother she never had. She took a sip of water and a smile formed on her face. "You're right. Maybe I'm just stressed out. All the planning, all the messages from Weiss, the pregnancy te--." Emerald immediately covered her mouth. Dammit! They were supposed to announce this at the reception!

The sound of glass shattering on the floor startled her. Isabel's mouth was in a perfect O shape.

"P-P-Pregnancy test?" She uttered, a wide smile was forming on the Arc matriarch's face. Tears stared to fall down her cheeks. She looked like her entire body was vibrating with joy. She ran over to the former thief and held in a (surprisingly) tight bear hug. "I can't believe it! Does this mean I'm--!"

"Yes! But when we tell everyone, act surprised!" Emerald said struggling in her hold. She just noticed that time. She was gonna be late for her own wedding and she'll be damned if she's gonna let Mercury hold it over her for the rest of her life. "Mrs. Arc, we have to go!"

Isabel let her daughter-in-law go and gave her one final once over. "Yes! Yes, you're right! Can't think about spoiling my grandkids just yet if my son isn't married! Now, let's go get you married!"

Isabel grabbed Emerald's arm and dragged her out of her room. Emerald began to laugh at her Mother-in-law's switch in demeanor.

With every step she took, Emerald started to imagine the life she and Jaune would make, free from Cinder's shadow. Whatever future they will make together will be made with their own two hands.

Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

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Wanted to take my time with this one.

In the Cinder omake, she was talking to Nick, so I thought Emerald should talk to Isabel. Hope you guys enjoy.