[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!

[FinalFormer]

Cross-posted from the Spacebattles Thread.

Glimpses Into Another Time: Happy Endings

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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?

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

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.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Glimpses into Another Time: Oh... That Day

- - -

Beacon, Vale

- - -

Cinder Fall thought she would be feeling more joy at this moment. The plan had gone off flawlessly, after all.

The Vytal Tournament had been ruined. Panic and doubt had been spread across Remnant before the CCTnet went out. Atlas' pet gynoid had been neutralized and Pyrrha Nikos had gotten all the blame. Causing her pain was deeply satisfying to Cinder, even beyond what she had felt previously.

Yet even that didn't excite her. This terror, this mayhem... She was feeling so empty as she approached the elevator to Ozpin's office, Emerald and Mercury flanking her.

If she was in time, she would catch Ozpin before he transferred what was left of the Maiden Powers into Nikos, seize them for herself, and then... Maybe she could find something to excite her and keep her mind off of-

"Cinder?!"

She froze, as did Mercury and Emerald.

No...

She slowly turned to her right. She saw him standing there in utter shock, his weapons out.

No no no...

"Arc?" Mercury hissed in shock, yet she caught a brief flash of pain in his eyes.

"Why are you here?!" Emerald demanded. She shot an anxious look at Cinder, then back at the blond knight.

"I'm here protecting the elevator-What are you doing here?!" Jaune demanded. "You should be evacuating!"

There was the temptation to lie. She'd lied so much after all. Left so many bodies in her wake.

He was... He should have just been one more. One more patsy, one more stooge.

She clenched her fists.

"I'm here for the Maiden Powers," she stated, almost meekly.

Jaune's eyes widened in shock. As much of a dolt as he could be, he put the pieces together remarkably quickly. She could practically see his synapses firing behind his eyes, so fast...

"No," he whispered.

Cinder held her chin high, even though the horror in his gaze made her want to shrink away.

No. No! She wasn't going to be stopped by this pathetic boy's eyes!

Mercury stepped up.

"Look Arc. You have two choices," he stated, "Run, or die. That's how it is."

"She's been playing you from the start! We all have!" Emerald insisted. "You-You don't mean anything to her! She just used you!"

Silence ensured, save for the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions. Then:

"I want to hear it from her."

His voice was quiet, but firm. Cinder looked up. He was staring intently right at her, his focus like a laser beam.

"She doesn't need to-" Emerald tried but Jaune shook his head.

"I want to hear it from her!" Jaune growled. "I want to hear it from her lips! Cinder... Tell me the truth!"

Cinder trembled.

"Go on, I'll deal with this," she muttered.

"But Cinder-" Emerald tried.

"GO," she snarled, eyes lighting up. Emerald and Mercury practically raced to the elevator. The doors slid shut behind them. Cinder summoned up her anger, her arrogance, her pride-Who was this boy to impede her?

"It was...!"

She gritted her teeth, her eyes still low.

"It was... It was all the lie!" She spat. "You-You were just a tool! Power... Power is what I was after!"

"Why?" Jaune asked. Cinder scoffed.

"Because it's power, Jaune! In the end, we all just want it! We need it! And only those strong enough to cut out the weakness can-can achieve it!"

Jaune stared at her for a long moment. She wanted to see some hurt in his eyes. Hatred would have been better: Disgust would make this so much easier.

Hate me, she willed, please hate me... Please...!
He slowly shook his head.

"I don't believe you," he stated.

Cinder's eyes widened.

"Wha-?"

"I mean, I believe you wanting power and all, yeah," Jaune said with a nod, "This is proof but... I don't believe you felt nothing for me. For everyone else."

Cinder grit her teeth.

"I'm the big villain you've been fighting all this time! I-I've been using the White Fang! I've unleashed hell upon Vale! I'm going to leave this city a ruin!" She snarled. "What makes you think I-I could ever care about you?! ABOUT ANYONE?!"

She ignited her Semblance, fires burning in her hands.

"So unless you want that to happen, you'd better fight me, and pray that I'm merciful enough to kill you in one-!"

A sword and shield clattered to the floor. Cinder blinked. Jaune stood there unarmed.

"Wha-What are you doing?!" She demanded. "Pick up your weapons! Fight me!"

"No!" Jaune growled.

"Wha-You're unreasonable!" Cinder shot back with a growl, "I'm an evil witch here to destroy Vale and your enemy! It's kill or be killed!"

"I don't believe you!" Jaune shouted back.

"Do you HAVE to be so stubborn?!" Cinder demanded, a familiar anger burning in her.

"Me stubborn?! You threw a fit over us going to the park even though we had a great time!" Jaune retorted. Cinder gaped.

"What-I didn't want to go out and get sweaty outside! And it was too hot! But then you had to go and-and use your stupid puppy dog eyes and we went anyway!"

"And we still had a great time!" Jaune insisted. "You couldn't have faked all of that!"

"I-!" She shook her head. She had fallen into the trap-Arguing with him like they weren't secretly mortal enemies. Teasing and toying with each other.

"I DID!" She growled. "It was all a LIE! You mean NOTHING TO ME!"

Jaune stared at her for a long moment.

"You mean everything to me," he said, and her heart nearly stopped.

No, please...!

"You don't mean that!" She growled. "You're just a stupid boy! You got a hot girlfriend! You just-You didn't-FIGHT ME!"

"No," Jaune replied. He began to walk towards her. Cinder's jaw dropped.

"Wha-What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to give my girlfriend a hug," Jaune stated, "Because she's having a bad day."

"I'M NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Cinder raged as her heart beat so hard it was nearly deafening in her ears. "And if you take another step closer I'll kill you!"

Jaune stared into her eyes.

"Then do it," he said softly. "Kill me. But I don't believe you will."

He took another step. Cinder's shook as the flames burned in her palms. Despite the heat she felt cold and twisted inside.

"Fool," she snarled.

She threw a fireball right at him. His Aura flared to life, taking the hit even as he stumbled. He looked back up... And took another step.

"Idiot!" She bellowed, unleashing a stronger blast. This one nearly bowled him over, but he kept coming.

"BASTARD!" She roared, and unleashed a massive blast of fire at him. His Aura burned and shielded him, as he kept walking towards her. She seethed as he went right through the fire. He was panting, tired, but he didn't stop.

STOP! RUN! She begged mentally. STOP MAKING ME FEEL THIS WAY!

He close enough to touch. She threw her hands out, but faster than she had ever given him credit for, he caught her wrists. Enraged, she poured on the flames, gripping his wrists and channeling her rage. He grimaced but didn't let go as she burned his wrists.

"Don't you get it?!" Cinder roared. "IF YOU DON'T GO I'LL HAVE TO KILL YOU! YOU'RE A WEAKNESS AND I HAVE TO CUT YOU OUT!"

"NO!" Jaune shouted back.

She began to sob,

"JUST GO! JUST GO!"

"NO!"

Cinder's flames burned white hot yet still Jaune didn't pull away.

"ALL I'VE EVER WANTED IS POWER! THIS IS ALL I WANT! PLEASE!" Cinder begged, her knees shaking.

"Then... Kill me!" Jaune gritted out. "If it was all a lie... Kill me! If that's what you want, then do it! I just want you to know... I love you, Cinder!"

"NO!"

She let go of Jaune, and fell to the floor. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as she wept. She felt him kneel down with her and wrap his arms around her shaking shoulders.

"You can't love me!" She got out between desperate sobs, "You CAN'T!"

"I do!"

"You're an idiot!"

"I know!"

She buried her face in his chest, tearing raining down her cheeks as he gripped her tightly. His Aura poured into her. She felt the Grimm within her writhe, scream, and die.

She turned her head and vomited black goo all over the floor. He held her hair away from her face with one hand, his other arm still wrapped around her. She was left panting, and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Even now, she kept crying.

She leaned back into his warm. She felt his heartbeat. She closed her eyes tightly. She let his warmth fill her.

"... I'm sorry," she whispered.

He stroked her long hair comfortingly.

"I know..."

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Ozpins



- - -



Ozpin was quite capable of multitasking. The real thing, not what a bunch of corporate consultants thought the word meant. He could split his thought processes into many streams through long practice, carrying on multiple lines of thought at the same time. It came in handy almost constantly.



Certainly, he could pay attention in budget meetings but that required very little of his faculties: The rest was indulging in far more important matters like strategy in countering Salem's movements, potential locations for Qrow or his other agents to seek out some esoteric lore, and new recipes of hot chocolate and coffee to attempt.



Glynda was always better with money matters. He didn't even know his bank account numbers any more thanks to her.



In this case, his mental streams were divided into two: One to follow the conversation Doctor Weena Nebogipfel was having with him and their son over complex temporal mechanics in the conference room they had chosen after he had returned from dealing with Raven.



The other was studying Weena's face.



Romance since Salem had been a chore for the most part. When he incarnated into people who were in a relationship, he did do his best to keep it going. Much of the time things didn't work out: He'd lost count of the women who had walked out on his hosts, never to be seen again, as they believed their beloved had been consumed by some monster.



Yet sometimes it had worked out well: His partner had managed to adjust and accept him as a fusion of an ancient wizard fighting implacable darkness and their beloved. Elphaba had been one of the most understanding: She was the wife of his persona as the Warrior King of Vale during the Great War. She had been shaken but had carried on dutifully as his Queen. She'd had great insight into politics and had practically run Vale itself during the conflict.



Yet every time they met, he could tell there was a great sadness in her eyes over the change. The only comfort he had been able to offer her was that, one day, she and her real love would be united in the afterlife while he continued. Continued in a hopeless war for humanity's survival, all alone.



When he'd told her that in their study, she had reached out and hugged him, crying genuine tears for his plight and offering what comfort she could.



She was the wife who reminded him most of Salem. Salem as she was, before his first death. Before the Darkness. Before this insanity.



When she died, he'd made sure she had the nicest memorial gardens in Beacon, packed with her favorite poppy flowers. It was the least he could do to honor her memory. A woman who had treated him with so much love and kindness.



He'd studied her face their entire lives together. Just as he had with Salem.



Just as he did now with Weena.



"Hmm... This Rusted Knight event," Weena went on, numerous calculations written out on holoscreen and paper before her, "You're absolutely sure it happens in every timeline?"



"Positive, Mom," Moses said firmly, "It-It's hard to quantify but it might be a fixed event."



"Hmmm," Weena considered the equations carefully, writing down some notes, "It might be. And the use of this Staff Relic-That's required to open the Gateways?"



"Yes, though from what I have gleaned," Ozpin said as he looked over at Moses, "Getting into the Ever After was an accident, correct?"



"Yeah, in every timeline," Moses said, wincing as he rubbed his temples. Weena frowned.



"Are you all right?" She asked in concern.



"Y-Yeah... Eleven sets of memories are still hard to keep track of," Moses groaned.



Weena looked at Ozpin in concern.



"What have you been giving him?"



"Standard pain killers and Aura supplements," Ozpin said, "Jaune's Semblance can apparently heal ailments but I'm reluctant to have him use it on Moses given what happened last time. I'll have Isabel give him a full examination."



"Good call," Moses groaned. "Hey uh... Mind if I lay down for a bit?"



"Not at all!" Weena said with a smile, "I can only imagine the strain. Here, here!"



She got up and pushed a couch over to him. Moses gratefully staggered over and fell onto it. He curled up and pressed a pillow up over the side of his head.



"Urgh... Need to block some stuff out," he muttered.



Weena pulled out an instrument and began to scan him carefully. It hummed loudly, and at tension in Moses' back muscles Weena turned the sound off.



"Geez..." She mumbled. She walked over to where Ozpin was sitting at the desk covered in their various notes. She frowned as she looked at Moses intently.



"Bad?" Ozpin asked.



"Yes and no," Weena admitted, "I'll need to get my bigger scanners into the lab, and him for examination. Good news is that he's not facing temporal discontinuity: There's no sign he'll vanish out of existence."



Ozpin braced himself.



"And the bad news?"



"He's still in temporal flux," she admitted, "I picked up smaller amounts of it off the other children, Jaune and his potential wives, but it's there. They're all connected." Weena frowned and removed her glasses. She began to pace around the room, muttering under her breath.



"It's almost like there's... An impact point in time, like a rock hit a windshield," she mused, "The integrity of the surface is still there but it is compromised. The rest of it is intact but there's increased strain upon it. As though even if they all come from different timelines, they are bound together by Moses. It's honestly fascinating and it would be a lot less terrifying-"



"If your child wasn't involved," Ozpin finished the thought. Weena turned to him helplessly, and nodded. She stared at Moses, as he fell into a deep sleep.



"... I honestly hadn't pictured having children," she said softly. Her eyes softened. "Yet we get along so easily. It's... It's so natural. Like instinct and something more interacting."



Ozpin nodded slowly.



"I have many regrets," he said quietly, "But being a parent was never one of them."



Weena stared intently at the old wizard. She flushed deeply.



"Ah... Um... Oh yes, that. That part," she muttered.



Ozpin coughed.



"I have... I have no expectations-"



"Well it's not like we have a very wide dating pool, now is it?" Weena asked dryly. "We're both immortal. Who would be my other option, your ex-wife?"



"I would hope you had better taste," Ozpin said dryly, sipping his hot chocolate, "Though honestly it feels like I win by default."



Weena looked back at their son. She smiled quietly.



"I think he appreciates us together," she said, "He looks far less stressed when we talk together. Like it's familiar."



"Mm," Ozpin said with a nod. He sighed.



"It has been a very long time for me."



"Well, I don't exactly have a lot of experience myself," Weena shrugged. "But... We do figure it out in eleven timelines, don't we? That's at least somewhat comforting."



"Mm," Ozpin grunted in soft agreement. Weena chuckled.



"Besides... We could be like poor Jaune. However is he going to choose?"



"I have every confidence that they will figure something out," Ozpin said quietly. "Though I will admit, that is more based on instinct than hard data."



He looked to Weena, again studying her face. She put her glasses back on.



"I heard that logic is only the beginning of wisdom," she said.



"Wisdom is also what men call their mistakes," Ozpin chuckled dryly. Weena raised an eyebrow.



"How many of those sayings were yours?"



"Not as many as you might think, which is comforting," Ozpin said, sipping his mug, "To know that there are things I do not know."



"For now, anyway," Weena muttered. Ozpin gave her a small smile.



"I will not lie and say that immortality is easy. It isn't, even without my ex-wife trying to destroy all existence. But at the very least... We won't be alone. However things turn out."



Weena slowly nodded. She sat back down in her chair and leaned forward.



"So... Um... If we're part of the same club... It would be nice to know about, well..." She winced. "Your ex and all. How it all began."



Ozpin nodded slowly. His streams of consciousness collapsed into one. He would need his full faculties to get through this.



"Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a princess in a tower, and a foolish young man with four daughters..."



- - -



I just realized we had one more family to check in with.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Ren and Nora had commandeered the Odette Swan Ballroom for their brunch, and had managed to rope May and Arslan's teams into helping with the setup and preparation. Once all the tables and chairs had been set up the boys of BRNZ had been posted at the entrances to act as doormen while the boys of team ABRN were moving about the adjacent kitchen helping Ren flip pancakes, scramble eggs and get the other food items like donuts and pastries sorted out. Reese darted around the place on her hoverbard playing waitress ferrying plates full of food from the kitchen area to the buffet table.

As Nora ushered almost everyone into the ballroom with a grand flourishing of her arms and a declaration of "The stranglers get here when they get here, LETS EAT!" The stranglers in question were a small handful of people who needed to take care of this or that small chore before coming and left with assurances they would be joining the brunch soon.

Jaune had to admit that the Odette Swan Ballroom was a perfect venue for this second breakfast; it was smaller than Beacon's other ballrooms making it a significantly more intimate location while still having enough room for everyone to have plenty of elbow room. The line at the buffet table had moved quickly and people were mixing and mingling with pleasant conversation filling the air. After eating enough to please Nora he took a deep breath and steeled himself for the next daunting task in front of him: properly introducing himself to the parents of his potential brides.

He glanced around the room trying to figure out who to approach first. May's parents were his godparents, meaning they already knew him pretty well so he supposed starting with them wasn't necessary. On top of that only Arjun was in the room at the moment: Saia had taken May aside to show her something instead of coming straight to the brunch. That means Jaune was starting elsewhere, but with who?

Pyrrha was his partner and Ruby was his best friend so starting with one of them felt natural. Ruby's dad was also Yang's dad so starting with Mr. Xiao Long would take care of the introductions to the parents of two of his potential brides at once. Mr. Xiao Long wasn't a complete stranger either, he had actually met the guy when he was around three and the man's team were involved in more than one of his parent's stories form their huntsman days so it would make sense to start with him. Jaune stepped away from his seat and took a couple of purposeful strides into the space between the tables before coming to a stop as a thought popped into the back of his mind: Would starting with his best friend be a sign of favoritism? He didn't want to give anyone that kind of impression, so how could he do this without sending the wrong kind of signals to anyone?

Jaune stood there in a state of contemplation only to have his conundrum solved for him as someone else approached him first.

"Umm. Hey Jaune," Blake stood in front of her parents with her father on her right and her mother on her left. An incredibly nervous smile dominated the catgirl's face as she began her formal introductions, nerves that bled into her actions. "This is my father, Ghira," Blake gestured to her mother, "And this is my mother Kali," she gestured to her father. "Mom, Dad," She nodded her head in the direction of the wrong parent as she addressed them, "This is Jaune Arc, the father of my children."

Ghira and Kali shared a bemused look behind their daughter's back that threatened to morph into amusement. Jaune just felt relieved that someone else was as nervous as he was.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Jaune extended a hand to Ghira who gladly took it causing Bake to realize her father had been on her right this whole time.

"Ghira!" She pointed to her father. "Kali!" She pointed to her mother. "Oh god." She buried her face in her hands.

"Relax Blake," Kali stepped forward and hugged her daughter from the side, "This isn't going to be like the first time you brought a boy home. Or the second time. Or the third. Your taste in boys has significantly improved."

"Yes," Ghira agreed as he place a hand on Blake's shoulder, "And on top of that the twins were clearly raised right, which alleviates ninety-five percent of the concerns we'd normally have about a suitor of yours."

"What do I need to do for the other five percent?" Jaune wondered.

"Are you anything like Adam Taurus?" Ghira asked in a tone that wasn't that serious while being very serious.

"I don't really know the guy but I don't think so?" Jaune provided.

"Then you have nothing to worry about!" Ghira proclaimed as he clasped Jaune's shoulder. "We'll just need to spend some time together and I'm sure any lingering concerns will be taken care of as we get to know each other."

"And since you're a suitor we approve of the traditions of Menagerie say we should show our approval with a gift," Kali explained with a smile as she pulled a book from behind her back and handed it to Jaune.

Jaune examined the book as he turned it over in his hands. It was a black hardcover with no words on its' front or spine, a golden image of a mountain flower with an insect being the only identifying marks in those places. Jaune opened the book to its' title page and read aloud, "The Wasp and the Orchid."

Blake gasped in horror before snatching the book from Jaune's hands and pulling it to her chest with an absolutely scandalized look on her face. Her eyes darted about the room to make sure nobody saw or heard the title Jaune had just read while her face blushed the deepest scarlet Jaune had ever seen on a woman.

"Mom!" Blake hissed, "What Were You Thinking!"

"Glynda's call made us think things were closer to the marriage and honeymoon phase than the just started dating phase," Kali shrugged in an unrepentant manner.

"Umm... what's...?" Jaune ventured with concern in his eyes.

Ghira cleared his throat and explained, "It's an old faunus relationship guide written by a priestess of the Animal God almost two-thousand years ago. Its' main focus is about how to keep the spark in the bedroom going as long as possible."

"Ooooh," Jaune then shrugged as he looked to Blake, "I'm pretty sure I've seen you read worse in public."

"No," Blake shook her head with a far away look on her face, "No you haven't." She looked down at the book and then back up to Jaune. "I'm going to burn this."

Blake darted off causing Kali to chase after her with a "HEY!" Ghira shook his head with a chuckle before looking Jaune in the eye.

"Let's do something together later so we can get to know one another better," The panther faunus grinned. "Do you enjoy fishing?"

"Ah, yeah I'm good with fishing," Jaune managed to answer.

"Great! We'll figure out a time and place later," Ghira replied before turning to follow his wife and daughter who were having a whispered argument by the doorway Kali had caught Blake at.

Jaune shook his head as he watched the argument he couldn't hear. What could possibly be in that book that it would make Blake of all people bashful about sex? The question was as intriguing as it was terrifying. In fact it might be more terrifying than it was intriguing. By a significant margin.

A firm hand grasping Jaune's shoulder shook him from that line of thought, and he looked over to see Ruby and Yang's dad Taiyang standing there regrading him with a serious look on his face. Qrow was standing just behind him with a semi-hostile scowl dominating his features.

"Alright punk," Taiyang began without preamble, "You've captured the hearts of both of my daughters, the lights of my life, so I have a moral obligation to put you through the wringer to make sure you're up to snuff."

"I'm helping," Qrow added gruffly.

"Okay then," Jaune straightened his posture and held Taiyang's harsh gaze, "What are we doing for the wringer?"

Taiyang's glare intensified and Jaune managed to keep his own gaze steady in the face of the older man's judgment. The two of them stood like that for a lengthy moment before Tai reached some kind of conclusion and nodded.

"Sunrise tomorrow, the old clocktower, bring-"

"DAD! NO!" Ruby appeared between Jaune and her father in a burst of red petals.

"Yeah Dad," Yang growled as she grabbed her old man's shoulder and turned him away form Jaune, "We talked about this: Don't beat up Jaune!"

"We're not beating him up," Tai objected, "We're just making sure he can take care of you."

"By beating him up," Yang scowled.

"Noooooooo," Tai objected again, "I was just going to put him through the hell week workout, starting with climbing the clocktower."

"And I'm going to take pot shots at him," Qrow added unhelpfully.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby stepped towards the family drifter and jabbed a finger in his chest, "Be nice!"

"What! I am!" Qrow lied as naturally as he drank.

A smile graced Jaune's lips for a moment before he banished it and steeled himself; while he appreciated what Ruby and Yang were doing it wouldn't be good to hide behind their protection when dealing with their family.

"It's alright guys," Jaune reassured the sisters, "He's just trying to look out for you; wants to make sure I'm serious cause anyone who gets scared off by dad being aggressive isn't worth his girls time. My parents did the same thing for most of my sisters when they started dating."

"Only most?" Qrow quirked an eyebrow at his statement.

"Lilac's only really dated her fiancé Primo, and we've known him forever," Jaune explained. "In any case I need to do something to show I'm serous about making things work with both of you. If that means hell week then it means hell week."

Taiyang scrutinized Jaune for a moment longer before nodding in decision again. "Qrow, you're not taking potshots at him."

"Oh come on," Qrow grumbled in disappointment, "At this rate you'll leave me with nothing to do."

Ruby and Yang shared mirrored looks that mixed relief that their father was backing off a bit with a pleased feeling that Jaune was willing to submit himself to hardship for their sakes. At the same time...

"Jaune proving himself doesn't mean hell week," Yang put her metaphorical foot down. "Too much is going on right now for him to run himself ragged for some macho test you're making up on the fly."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "Besides, you were gushing about us marrying into a well off family not that long ago! Why are you acting like you don't want this to happen?"

"Rubes!" Taiyang gaped, "You can't just say that in front of him! There's a pattern we men have to do these things in! Now the whole order of operations is out of wack!"

"You always told me I didn't have to do things the way other girls do when that way is stupid," Ruby humphed. "That should apply to the way boys do things too."

Taiyang raised his finger to object, then slowly lowered his finger.

A feeling of relief started to flow through Jaune's veins. That was two relatively successful introductions done. How many more sets of parents did he need to meet? If he included his godparents then the count would be four. He just needed to figure out how to slide out of this conversation and then figure out who to approach next...

"Excuse me," Arslan Altan greeted as she approached with her parents on either side of her, "I hope we're not interrupting anything."

...Or they could approach him again. He could roll with that.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

At The Brunch Part 2

- - -

Isabel ate her fill. She was keeping an eye on Jaune and Nick out of habit. With her Semblance it was rather easy to keep track of everything going on around her... Also how good this breakfast really was.

Wow, and I thought Lilac was a great cook! She thought to herself. She'll love having Nora and Ren around the house-

She shook her head rapdily.

No no no! One step at a time! I'm not Nick, I have to be the responsible one in this relationship! Even if the world has gone insane, I need to stay sane!

She watched Jaune meet Blake's parents. That seemed to go all right. She tensed a little at Taiyang and Qrow confronting Jaune with Yang and Ruby... But their body language was much more relaxed than their harsh words suggested, and they soon ended up laughing together. She smiled softly.

"I really should have kept in better touch with them," she sighed. "Ruby is the spitting image of her mother."

A black and red blur appeared next to her out of a burst of rose petals. Ruby Rose grinned eagerly at her.

"Really?!"

"GAH!"

Isabel instinctively reached out and held a hand up in front of Ruby. She shook her head and swallowed the bacon she'd nearly choked on.

"You knew my mom?! Really really?!" Ruby insisted with big, bright eyes. Yang Xiao-Long was standing nearby, a bit awkwardly but with the same expression of hope on her face.

It melted Isabel's heart. She sighed and smiled.

"Yes. And I'll tell you all you want to hear about her," she said. "Honestly Ruby, I'm very sorry we didn't keep in contact. I last saw you when you were just a baby."

"You mean..." Ruby's eyes widened, "We're... Childhood friends with Jaune?!"

Elsewhere in the ballroom Blake's ears twitched. The catgirl scowled a bit.

Isabel blinked.

"Yes? He and Yang played more together but, very much so! I think I have some pictures of you three..."

She flipped through her Scroll and beamed as she held it up. Ruby and Yang gasped happily at the sight of themselves as toddlers with a toddler Jaune. All in onesies: Jaune in a blue rabbit onesie.

"He sure did love that onesie, huh?" Ruby giggled.

"Oh absolutely," Isabel laughed, "Though the girls liked dressing him up in it much more, I think."

"Heheheh, guess that's why he always hopped to everything," Yang snickered. Isabel grimaced.

"You pun just as badly as Summer and Tai, too," the Arc matriarch groaned.

Yang's eyes were sparkling.

"Really?!"

Emerald, sitting nearby, frowned a bit. She felt a bit disconnected without any family around to bond with save for Amethyst. She'd run off to talk about things with Petra. As though sensing this, Isabel beamed and held up her Scroll.

"Would you like to see more baby photos of Jaune?" She asked. "I have hundreds!"

Emerald's mouth quirked into a smile. A smile that Ruby and Yang helped with their own.

Glynda Goodwitch loomed in the background with some mild interest. Isabel rolled her eyes.

"You can look too, Glynda."

"I wasn't curious, but I'll look if I must," Glynda sighed, looking very put upon.

Emerald grinned.

Maybe... Maybe I could get used to this, she thought.

- - - -

Arjun stood tall and intimidating before the three male members of team BRNZ. Brawnz, Roy, and Nolan, for their part, tried to scowl back and not show any fear. The Pandavan King had cornered them near the entrance to the ballroom. His stare pierced them like his arrows would if they didn't manage to impress him.

"So uh... You're May's dad?" Brawnz began.

A beat. Arjun's stare became even more intimidating. Nolan and Roy began to pray their deaths would not be too horrible.

"Yes," Arjun stated.

"Cool," Brawnz said with a nod, "Uh. Didn't know she was a princess."

"Yes, I imagine you didn't," Arjun stated, as hard as steel. Roy gulped, and being the smartest of the three (which was not saying much), he began to speak quickly.

"Also!" Roy said, "I just want you to know, we see her like our sister! Big sister! Mom! She-She does our laundry and cooks for us! Also stitches our clothes up! She's-She's really great at that!"

Arjun's eyes blazed with Aura. Roy immediately thought over what he'd said and his eyes went wide.

"N-Not that we made her our slave or-or anything! She's just really good at that stuff!"

"Yeah!" Nolan insisted, "Like a Wisney Princess! She never talked to animals or shit but she was like, super kind and helpful!"

"Also we never once touched her!" Brawnz, in his usual blunt way, declared. Roy and Nolan glared at him.

"Dude!" Roy hissed, "I was getting to that!"

"I only like petite chicks!" Brawnz plowed on ahead, heedless of anything his teammates said. He pointed to Nolan.

"Nolan here is gay so he never had any interest in her. He did screw an ugly butch chick once but he was drunk."

"HEY!" Nolan growled.

Brawnz pointed at Roy.

"And Roy's racist so he never tried anything!"

"I'm not racist, I just like girls with pale skin!" Roy growled. "It's not about race! Plus May was the only one who knew how to do our damn homework! I wasn't gonna jeopardize the only person with brains here other than me!"

"Hey! I got brains!" Brawnz growled back, offended.

"Sure aren't proving it right now!" Roy shot back.

"Look, Your Majesty," Nolan tried, "We're May's friends. She's like our family. So we're gonna do right by her."

"YEAH!" Brawnz declared, waving his finger in Arjun's face, "And you'd better do right by her!"

Nolan and Roy pulled their alleged team leader back. Arjun glared into Brawnz's eyes. Brawnz glared back.

"What makes you think I won't?" Arjun asked dangerously.

"She's our teammate and friend! We're trying to hook her up with Arc!" Brawnz declared., even as Nolan and Roy tried to cover his mouth, "So you don't get to whisk her off and make her into something she's not! She's May! Not some stuffy princess in a castle! So if you don't do right by her, we're gonna have a motherfucking problem! You got me?!"

He waved his finger in Arjun's face, despite Nolan and Roy's best efforts to hold him back. Arjun's glare intensified. Even Brawnz winced and wondered if he had perhaps made a mistake...

Before Arjun smiled at the three boys.

"I am glad she had you as her friends," Arjun said with a nod. "Would you be willing to continue to fight alongside her?"

"Hell yeah!" Brawnz shook his fist.

"Until death!" Nolan added.

"Uh, or at least... Try to avoid death as an option unless it's the only one?" Roy managed.

Arjun nodded again.

"Then I accept you as royal guard candidates for the Royal Army of Pandu," he stated.

The three young men blinked.

"Huh?"

"Well, if you are to continue protecting my daughter and our family," Arjun said with a small smile, "I should make it official, should I not?"

The idea of joining a small but prosperous kingdom's military as royal guards was a dream job for many young Hunters-in-Training. It was very difficult to get such work though. You needed connections.

... Connections the three young men abruptly realized... They had.

"Wait, so... We'd get training? Custom weapons? Good pay?" Roy asked in shock.

"If you can pass the training? Yes, absolutely," Arjun said with a smile, "And you won't even need to become eunuchs!"

His eyes narrowed.

"As long as your feelings for my daughter remain brotherly?"

"Yes sir!" All three yelped.

Arjun smiled.

"Good! I'll have the applications sent to your Scrolls by nightfall! Wonderful to meet you again!"

Arjun headed off, his natural political instincts guiding him to rub elbows and gab with others at the brunch. Brawnz, Roy and Nolan grinned at each other.

"Man... Royal Guards! This is gonna be so sweet!"

"Yeah!" Nolan nodded.

"We really gotta thank May for being a secret Princess," Brawnz said brightly.

"I'm sure she's happy about it too," Roy deadpanned.

"Also," Brawnz blinked. "What's a eunuch? The way you guys tensed up made me think it was bad... How bad is it?"

Roy and Nolan shuddered. Nolan patted Brawnz on the shoulder.

"Trust me. You don't want to know."

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From The Spacebattles Thread

Childhood Memories: Birthright

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Arc-Schnee Manor, Atlas. Nicholas Arc-Schnee. Age: 12.

In times past, when Jaques Schnee was the head of the household, the Schnee Manor was a cold, empty place to live in. Devoid of any of the warmth that a loving family provided. Like a cage and the Schnee family were nothing more than prisoners.

But to Nicholas Arc-Schnee, all he and his siblings had ever known was love of their family.

The Arc-Schnee Manor, after it had been rebuilt during the Atlas Restoration years, was always filled with laughter, music, and the cacophony of his sisters antics. His grandmother's garden looked more alive as each year passed. Even the tomatoes she and his sister, Yuki, planted looked lovely.

The commotion caused by his family today, however, was special. Today was Nicholas' birthday. Everyone was gathered in the ballroom, making idle conversation with one another. His sisters Noel and Yuki were playing with their cousins, eating pizzas that his father brought home after finishing up a recent Hunter in the inner city. His brother, Luc, was helping Nana Izzy and Grandma Willow watch their younger sisters, Brynhildr and Pyrrha. His Aunts and honorary Aunts were sharing stories of their recent ventures. Aunt Ruby was recently made Deputy Head Mistress of Beacon Academy, Aunt Nora and Uncle Ren were expecting their 4th child. Everyone was having a great time.

While he would normally enjoy spending time with his family, Nicholas was on a mission of great importance. It was dangerous, but the reward would be worth it.

In the kitchen, the young, white-haired boy was sneaking up to the kitchen counter. Atop the counter was a delicious chocolate cake, baked by the best mother in the world. The boy crept closer, he could smell the confection the closer he got. Now, all he had to do was stealthily steal a big slice and--

"Nicholas. Warden. Arc-Schnee. Just what do you think you're doing?"

Uh oh. Busted.

Nicholas turned to see his mother, Weiss Arc-Schnee, standing with her eyebrow raised. Despite being on her 7th pregnancy, she still looked intimidating. His father, Jaune Arc, was standing beside her, looking just a tad amused by his attempt to pull a fast one on his mother. His sword, Blónt Joyeúx, was still strapped to his back. He also appeared to be holding a big box in one hand.

"I...," He managed to get out. Unfortunately, he knew no excuse he could make would work. "I'm sorry."

"I know you're getting impatient, but the cake isn't finished, sweetie. I still need to add frosting." Weiss gently pat his head. What she was saying was half true. She mainly didn't want her baby boy to spoil his appetite. Especially on his birthday.

"I told you he has your sweet tooth." Jaune teased. Weiss raised an eyebrow at that statement. Both of their mothers, her's in particular, were responsible for Nicholas developing a sweet tooth.

"What's that?" Nicholas asked. "Is that my present?"

"Well...," Jaune started. He looked over to Weiss, giving her a questioning look. They both have had this talk everyday since Nicholas was born, and even longer talks when he told them a year ago. "Why don't we all go to the parlor for a second? Just the three of us."

The trio walked to the parlor, taking a seat on the one of the couches. Jaune placed the box on the coffee table. Nicholas was seated across from his parents. A small silence hung in the air until Jaune spoke first.

"Nick, can I ask you a question?," His son nodded. Jaune continued. "I know I've asked this many times before, but I just want to know if you changed your mind: What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I haven't changed my mind, Father." Nicholas looked at his parents with determination. "I want to become a Hunter. Like the two of you. I want to protect the ones who can't protect themselves because it's the right thing to do."

Jaune turned to Weiss and smiled, which she returned. As Nick was growing up, Jaune at some point finally understood his mother's reluctance on his dream of becoming a Hunter. Weiss had done so as well. But just because they understood, didn't mean they were agreeing with her.

"Well then," Weiss started. "You're going to need this." She slid the box towards Nicholas. He looked at them and the box curiously. He opened the box, revealing a beautifully crafted great sword. It was a bit too big for him now, but Jaune knew that he'd be able to wield it in due time.

"This is really mine?" Nicholas asked. His voice sounded like it was trembling.

"Sure is. We had your Aunt Ruby make this," Jaune took the sword from the box. "This was made from my old sword."

"You mean the one you stole from Nana Izzy? Wasn't she really mad that you stole it?"

"She was more mad that I ended up breaking it," Jaune internally cringed. "We also used your mother's rapier. See the Dust cycle on the crossguard?" Jaune pointed to the crossguard.

Nicholas looked closer. It looked like a little rainbow wheel. Mother had been making it a point recently that he should learn the finer points of handling Dust.

"Nicholas, we're giving this to you because we believe in you," Weiss said, a reassuring tone in her voice. "We'll never try to talk you out of your dream. So, no matter what happens, we will always be with you."

Nicholas took in their words and stared intently at the sword. He then stood up and hugged his parents.

"Happy Birthday, Nick" Jaune said, softly as he and Weiss hugged their son.

"Thank you. Both of you," He said, "I'll try my best. You'll see. I'll be even better than the two of you." His father once told him that an Arc never goes back on his word. So he hoped that he could do his best to keep it.

"Now if only you had just a fraction of that confidence when you talk to Lian." Weiss teased. She learned of her son's crush a month ago and tried to push him out of his shell and say something to the Mistrali girl.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Nicholas denied as easily as he breathed. His face turned a bright red. He doesn't think of his best friend like that! Never!

"Alright, let's head back to the party. Wouldn't want to be late to your own birthday party, do you?" Jaune tussled his son's hair. The trio began to head back to the party, with Nicholas leaving his sword behind, not wanting to upset Nana Izzy for opening his presents early again.

"Yes. We wouldn't want Lian thinking you disappeared." Weiss teased once again.

"Mom! Quit it!" Nicholas whined. His parents started laughing.

They kept teasing Nicholas until they made it to the ballroom. As much as the teasing annoyed him, he couldn't ask for better parents.

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

I had no clue Weiss' birthday had passed, but it gave me the idea about Nicholas' birthday party.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Nick: "Still Jaune: Great work on getting a harem!"

Jaune: "It's not a harem! I-I don't have a harem!"

Nick: "You're just like your great-grandfather Shirou!"

Jaune: "What? He didn't have a harem!"

Isabel: "Well... He kind of did, Jaune."

Jaune: "Wha?!"

Isabel: *nods* "Yes. It's still perfectly legal in Vale."

Jaune: eyes widen "Then... Great Aunt Rin and Great Aunt Sakura-?!"

Nick: "Yup!" laughs and pats Jaune's shoulder "You beat him by eight women! That's my boy! That's my boy!"

Jaune: "I THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST FRIENDLY!"

Isabel: "Well why do you think we wouldn't let you date their great-granddaughters? It is several generations removed so it would probably be okay but better safe than sorry!"

Nick: "We should give Papa Shirou a call! Maybe he could help you manage your harem-"

Jaune: "IT'S NOT A HAREM!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"It's a pleasure to meet you Jaune Arc. I'm Logos Altan and this is my wife Barsara," the Altan patriarch stretched his right arm for a handshake with a smile on his face.

"The pleasure's mine," Jaune accepted the older man's handshake and found that he had a very firm grip. This begged the question; "They unlock the aura's of stuntmen?"

Jaune almost cringed at the question that had slipped out of his mouth. It felt dumb. Stunt work was incredibly dangerous so of course stuntmen and stuntwomen would have their auras unlocked! To suggest otherwise would be-

"Yes, but only after you reach a certain level of certification," Logos explained as the handshake ended, having not found Jaune's question silly at all while also dispelling the reason Jaune thought the question was silly. "While the Practical Effects Guild is run by people that can unlock the aura of all of their aspiring stuntmen and any actors willing to do their own stunts they don't; because they learned long ago that a lot of producers and directors will cut corners on set safety if everyone has working auras."

"That's kind of sad," Jaune frowned at that explanation.

"There's an old saying about laws and sausages," Barsara chimed in, "That in order to have respect for either you have to have very little idea about what went in to making them. A lot of film productions are the same; for every production that does everything right and above the board there are just as many if not more that make their films like they're making sausage." The retired actress shrugged before smiling at Jaune, "I'm a bit surprised you recognized my husband enough to comment on his career as a stuntman. Most people assume I snatched up a random hunk unrelated to the industry."

"Well, one of my favorite movies growing up was Street Knights," Jaune admitted somewhat bashfully.

"Ahhh," Barsara nodded with a smile, "The mini-documentary about Motorcycle Jousting that was included in the special features."

"That was a great week of filming," Logos reminisced while a grin split his face, "Everyone on set had a blast."

"I kind of wish I could have been there to see it get filmed in person, that was some of the coolest stuff I've ever seen." Jaune then excitedly snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "I actually grabbed a Street Knights poster last week; would you be okay with signing it?"

"I'd love too!" Logos laughed in a low rumble, "It isn't every day that somebody asks for my signature before they ask for my wife's."

"Oh, right," Jaune sheepishly rubbed at his neck as he turned his gaze to Barsara, "A couple of my sisters might kill me if I don't get your signature on something."

"I'm sure we can arrange an even trade," Barsara's eyes twinkled before she nudged her daughters shoulders. "What do you think Little Lion?"

"A trade?" Jaune asked as he looked to Arslan.

"Right," the chocolate skinned nun started as she blushed a bit, "Your father and his mentor are two of the most accomplished paladins the Church has had in the last fifty years. Some of your father's more noteworthy missions have been circulating around the Temple non-stop, and I'm pretty sure a publishing house in Aelia Paravel is still paying your father royalties to make children's books based off of his exploits."

Jaune could remember a collection of children's books on the top shelf of his mother's office featuring a blond huntsman. He couldn't remember her ever reading them to him because she was already trying to direct him away from an adventurous lifestyle during those sickly years of his youth, and he had just assumed the books were gifts his mom couldn't get rid of that the family had been given because of the blond huntsman's resemblance to his father. Now that he knew it wasn't just a resemblance his curiosity about those books was growing stronger.

Arslan's blush grew deeper as she admitted the next part, "I read those books when I was a child. Yesterday when you told us that your godfather was Arjun Sarkaras I was thrown for a bit of a loop because that confirmed your father was actually THE Nicholas Arc I read about growing up, as opposed to someone with a coincidentally similar name."

"Arc is one of the most common surnames in Vale and Nick is a pretty popular name," Jaune allowed. "So I can understand why you didn't jump to conclusions before then."

"Jaune," Arslan looked him directly in they eyes while her gaze intensified with each word, "Your father was one of my childhood heroes growing up, right up there with The Rusted Knight and The Wise Lion, only he was better because he was a real person and not part of a fairytale." Arslan reached out and took Jaune's closest hand as she continued with the most serious look on her face, "Jaune, I swear to you that I will not allow this to color the way I see you as we get to know one another, and that I will always see you as your own man independent of who your parents are. I want to know you for you."

Jaune was somewhat taken aback by the intensity of Arslan's declaration. The problem she described was the kind of problem Jaune didn't even realize he could have; his brain protesting that it was an issue for kids from rich and famous families. The realization that from her perspective he was the kid of a celebrity felt surreal on all levels. And not just any celebrity either; he was the son of her childhood hero. That she recognized a potential issue that wasn't even on his radar while doing her best to nip it in the bud as quickly and as efficiently as possible was oddly touching and was putting him a bit off kilter.

This was the kind of barrier he had accidentally crossed with Pyrrha and he had been trying and failing to cross with Weiss before yesterday's events, and now he was watching Arslan trying to cross that barrier to get to him before he even realized he had that barrier with her.

What a world.

"Arslan... Thank you," Jaune gave her a small smile that he hoped conveyed the warmth he felt. "I didn't know I needed to hear that, but I think I did."

It really was a shame that a misunderstanding had prevented Arslan and Pyrrha from becoming proper friends until yesterday. Jaune could easily imagine the crimson haired spartan girl being significantly more comfortable with herself thanks to the chocolate skinned nun's influence. How different would his partner have been is she had a real friend before him? Would she have been more direct with her feelings? Could they have bonded with each other easier than they did?

Arslan reaching out the way she was also planted another line of questions: if his past had been different could he have been the one people found unapproachable? His parents were and are on a high enough level that if they had agreed to train him he could have possibly stood ahead of his peers, and if that was the case would he have been as lonely as Pyrrha was? If so, would anyone have known how to approach him like Arslan was now?

The warrior-nun had given him a lot to think about. He wondered what else she would give him to think about as they talked.

"Good, good," Arslan sighed in relief before she started rambling; "I just wanted to make that clear before I did something embarrassing like fangirl over your father. I've been adjacent to enough high society drama to know that could give somebody the wrong impression so I thought- What in the world are they doing?"

Jaune turned around to look at what Arslan was seeing before laughter escaped his lips. "They're setting the stage," Jaune explained as he pulled the warrior-nun to the table his parents were sitting at.

Or rather his mother was sitting. His father was standing, alongside his godfather Arjun, Ruby and Yang's dad Taiyang and their uncle Qrow. The four men had just finished sculpting a facsimile of a Kraken out of scrambled eggs, bits of bacon and strips of cinnamon rolls. A collection of half-eaten pancakes had been fashioned into little boats with an assortment of breakfast fruits acting as passengers.

"Alright, tape your emblems to your spoons so everyone can keep track of who's who," Nick Arc instructed as people gathered around to see the commotion. In short order the four men had strapped little colored banners with the symbols used by teams AARN and STRQ to eight different spoons that they positioned around the pancake boats. Satisfied that everything was in place and with a quick glance about to be sure that the gathering audience was paying attention Nick began the tale:

"So both of our teams had been tasked with protecting a group of boats that were transversing Lake Sawgrass on account of a spreading rumor about some kind of lake monster. We weren't sure if it was some kind of Grimm or if we were dealing with some kind of more natural creature, but in either case none of us were prepared to find a normally ocean going Grimm in a freshwater lake." Nick grinned broadly as he remembered the day, "To top it all off it was a truly ancient blighter with the experience and brains to have a plan."

"We had no idea it was there until its' tentacles burst out of the water," Arjun picked up where Nick left off. "First thing it tried to do was grab people off the deck, and while it didn't manage to grab any civilians it did manage to grab my beloved Saia as she was pushing someone else out of danger." Arjun grabbed the spoon with his wife's emblem tied to it and moved it from the pancake boat to one of the scrambled egg kraken's appendages. "Now instead of trying to pull her under it dangled her in air in the middle of all the other tentacles that had left the water, obviously taunting us and trying to get us to leave the boats."

"Of course we had to, even though it was obviously a trap," Qrow interjected. "We needed to save Arjun's main squeeze not just because she was part of the team and a friend, but also because her giant death laser was one of the few ways we could guarantee a kill on a beast that big. So Arjun started firing off Ice-dust arrows to freeze the water around the kraken in an attempt to pin it in place and keep it from submerging." Qrow grabbed a pressurized can of whipped cream and started spaying patches of the creamy delight around the food kraken to simulate ice. "While he was doing that me, Raven and Nick were getting into position to cut down the tentacles that were keeping Saia suspended in the air..."

"...While I got into position to catch her," Taiyang moved the spoon representing himself onto a different pancake boat. "Unfortunately Raven jumped the gun and while we managed to get Saia out of her calamari captivity the Kraken now had a new hostage in the shape of my ex. I tell you Summer was so incredibly mad about that, she made Raven run timing drills for a solid week afterwords..."

Jaune chuckled a bit as the men telling the tale moved the spoons around to show everyone changing position. As Arslan was still next to him she leaned in closer to him an whispered, "What's so funny?"

"I've heard this story a few times before," Jaune whispered back, "It's changed a bit each time I've heard it."

"How so?"

"The bigger the audience is the bigger the kraken is for one thing," Jaune explained as he gestured to the gathered crowd. In addition to himself, Arslan and her parents there was also Ruby and Yang paying close attention to the story, and a good number of Jaune's future children had gathered round to listen.

"Ooooh," Arslan murmured, "A bit of artistic embellishment then."

"That, and I've never heard anyone telling the story agree who landed the killing blow." Jaune grinned conspiratorially.

Somehow, Arslan made the resulting snort seem dignified.

Before Jaune could turn his full attention back to the story (they were at the part where Summer was running along the kraken's head in an attempt to drive her axe-blade into one of the Grimm's eyes) he felt a gentle tugging on his sleeve. Looking to his other side he saw the Schnee butler Klein politely standing there.

"Do you have a moment to step away and introduce yourself to the Schnee family matriarch?" The butler asked in a low tone that didn't disrupt the story.

"Go ahead," Arslan whispered, "We can talk more later."

And so Jaune stepped away from the story's audience and followed Klein to a table that wasn't too far away around which the Schnees sat. At the head of the small table sat Willow, with Winter on her right and Weiss on her left. Jaune's future sons sat besides their respective mothers while their uncle Whitley was conspicuously absent, leaving a space at the other head of the table for him to sit. Klein pulled out that chair, allowing Jaune to take his seat across from the woman he was meeting.

As he sat down he cast his eyes about looking for the missing Schnee, and it only took him a moment to spot the young man. Whitley was making large purposeful strides towards the ballroom's band stage, where Penny Polendina was perched on the piano bench observing all the goings ons in the room.

Jaune wasn't sure what to make of that, but he figured he could properly meet Weiss and Winter's brother later. Jaune took a deep breath, and began his introduction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'-"

"-Wait!" Theodore interrupted as he pulled his scroll out. The young man flipped through his messages before nodding in satisfaction, "Okay, he's on his way. We can get started."

"Who's on his way?" Winter frowned at her son's antics.

"You'll know when he gets here," Theodore shrugged.

Winter pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed...

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Of all the people Jaune was expecting to show up, the Supreme Commander of Atlas' armed forces was the last one he expected to see. Yet here came General James Ironwood himself, standing tall and proud as he walked up to the table. He gave Jaune a fairly neutral look, which might have been the equivalent of a smile on a less stringent man.

"Mister Arc. It's good to meet you," Ironwood stated, holding out his hand. Jaune stood up and shook it, managing not to wince at how tightly Ironwood held it. He kept his eyes on the older man's and didn't show any strain. Ironwood finally let go, as though done sizing Jaune up for now. He took the seat Theodore offered without ceremony. Jaune sat down with him.

"It seems that all of Remnant owes a great debt to you and your children," he stated.

Jaune shook his head.

"I haven't really done anything."

"Not yet," Ironwood stated, "But your son has probably prevented a catastrophe. One that occurs in all these timelines."

Theodore shrugged, while Winter gave him a proud expression. Jaune shared it, and Theodore smiled slightly back.

"Just doing my duty, sir," he said in a far more respectful tone than the one he'd been using with Jaune, Winter, or his siblings.

Ironwood nodded.

"However," he said, "There are still greater threats to deal with. You and your family will be key, Mister Arc. I just want you to know that you have my full support."

"Well, thank you sir," Jaune said, a bit dumbfounded. Willow cleared her throat, and Ironwood looked apologetically.

"Ah. Forgive me Willow. I did not mean to intrude on a family gathering-"

"We both have siblings named for you, s-sir," Nicholas managed, looking a little nervous but gamely pushing through, "You're family too as far as we're concerned."

"Am I?" Ironwood asked, sounding almost pleased. Theodore nodded, his gaze very determined.

"Yes sir. We're going to keep it that way," he said firmly. Ironwood stared into the eyes of the younger man. Comprehension lit up in his face, and he nodded grimly.

"... Did I do my duty to the end?" He asked quietly. Winter looked aghast.

"Sir, maybe you shouldn't-"

"You did, sir," Theodore said firmly, despite Winter's slight scowl.

"My timeline too," Nicholas added. Ironwood looked between them, and nodded.

"Then it is enough," he stated. "I will... Need more details for intelligence purposes, but later. I have taken up enough of Willow's time."

He nodded in apology to Willow. She smiled softly and nodded back, before turning her gaze onto Jaune. He stood up straight.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Schnee."

For Jaune's part, many thoughts raced through his head: The first was that both Winter and Weiss clearly got their beauty from her. The second was that her very presence was intimidating. She was sizing him up too, to get his measure. He met her eyes and stood strong, just like his father had taught him.

It was like a silent battle of wills between them as Willow's gaze felt like an icy dagger trying to pierce through him. He held his ground and stared right back, willing himself to stay calm.

Then she smiled, like the sun rising over a frozen winter's morning.

"I knew your father very well in my youth, Jaune," Willow said softly, "I am pleased to see you take after him. He is a good man."

Jaune nodded back slowly.

"He is," he agreed.

Willow sighed wistfully.

"However this turns out, please promise you will take good care of my daughters?" Willow stated, "Hearts can be very fragile things. I don't want them to suffer as I did."

Willow stared intently at him, all business.

"Can you promise to protect their hearts? To never abandon them in their time of need or mistreat them?"

"He would never!" Weiss insisted. Their eyes met and Weiss blushed intensely.

Geez, she... She never talked about me like that before, Jaune thought. He blushed as well. He looked over at Winter, who gave him a small, encouraging smile.

He turned his gaze back to Willow and put every bit of his true feelings into his next words:

"I would rather die, than forsake any one of them."

Now Winter was blushing up a storm. One that matched Weiss. A few other girls elsewhere throughout the ballroom blushed, though Jaune didn't notice this.

Willow herself flushed a bit at the intensity of his words then smiled and nodded.

"That's all I can ask," she said warmly. Her eyes went behind Jaune. He looked over his shoulder: His father was arguing loudly with Taiyang in front of their large model of the Kraken.

"I'm telling you it had ten tentacles! That's why they're called 'ten'!"

Taiyang scoffed.

"It was eight!"

"It was eight when I cut off two of them!" Nick argued back.

Willow sighed longingly. She then beamed at Jaune.

"Also... Since you're involved with more than one woman-"

"Er, I mean, uh," Jaune stuttered, trying to find the right words but none forthcoming. Willow continued as though he hadn't spoken.

"-Would it be too much to ask to put in a good word for me with your father and mother?"

"MOTHER!" Weiss and Winter gasped, scandalized.

"GRANNY!" Nicholas and Theodore groaned.

"More tea?" Klein, as unflappable as ever, offered.

- - -

Whitley walked right up to Penny. The orange-haired gynoid was serenely scanning the area with her electric green eyes, a gentle smile on her face.

Appropriate color, electric green, Whitley thought to himself. He cleared his throat

Penny looked right at him, her smile unchanging.

"Hello, Whitley Schnee! It is good to meet you! I hope we can be friends?"

"I uh... S-Same," Whitley stuttered.

Smoooth, his brain supplied sarcastically amidst his sweaty palms and racing heartbeat.

"You uh... You're... Um..."

"Yes, Friend Whitley?" Penny asked gently, her smile not altering one iota.

"... Wh-What processor system do you use?" Whitley blurted out.

IDIOT! WHY DID YOU GO WITH THAT?! His brain demanded.

Penny nodded.

"I utilize a modified version of the Atlas WOS 4.5 Unimatrix Programming system, though thanks to my adaptive data core system I am exponentially rewriting and modifying the software to accomadate the increase in data I am able to process, recollect, synthesize and create abstractions from!"

She paused and then blushed quite prettily.

"Which is what I would say if I was a gynoid! I am in fact a normal human girl, and this is a joke!" She hiccuped. "Was that amusing?"

Damn that's cute, Whitley thought.

"Oh! Oh-y-yeah! Hahahaha! Hahahaha!" Whitley laughed awkwardly. An awkward laugh Penny joined in two seconds after.

Which is when Ruby Rose approached. She smiled awkwardly.

"So um... Why are we laughing?" She asked.

"Friend Whitley found my statement on my operating system to be most humorous!" Penny said cheerfully. "I can only conclude it was based upon the fact I am a normal human girl, and thus should not have an operating system! Is that not amusing?"

"Er, but you are a gynoid, Penny," Ruby said quietly. She scowled at Whitley. "Are you making fun of her?"

"N-No! Not at all!" Whitley insisted. Ruby stepped closer to Whitley, her scowl intensifying.

"Well you'd better not!" She growled. "She's one of my good friends so you'd better be nice!"

Whitley gulped and held his hands up.

"I-I am! I am!"

Ruby's son from the future appeared behind her in a burst of yellow petals, and rested a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head.

"It's okay Mom. This is just how these two flirt," he said.

Whitley gaped in disbelief.

WHAT?!

Ruby blushed.

"Oh! Oh... Um, I won't get in your way then. Good luck with the flirting, Penny!"

Ruby and her son vanished in bursts of petals. Penny turned her eyes onto Whitley, now looking... Intrigued.

"Really? You were flirting with me?" Penny asked with a smile. "Sensational! With all the romance going on, I am curious as to how such things occur! Please, continue to flirt with me Friend Whitley!"

"Um, s-sure?" Whitley said, tugging at his collar.

How was I even doing that?!

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It had been foolish of Arslan. She had lost control. Seeing Jaune hurt so badly... She had seen nothing but red. Nothing but raw rage had filled her.

In that moment she had forgotten that her Semblance didn't work if she lost emotional control. Her incredible Aura control and power? Useless if she didn't keep herself calm.

Cinder had struck her down and everything had gone black. She wondered for a moment if she was dead. If she was about to reach the Table Breaker's Country at last.

Instead, she awoke in a cell in Aura suppressing cuffs. A cage in some run down warehouse in Mantle, below the flying city of Atlas.

It was filthy, dark, and deserted. She was still in pain.

Still... She would manage.

She got up onto her knees, and bowed her head. Her hands were bound in front of her, so that made things easier.

Oh Emperor above, please, hear my prayer...

"You're awake."

Arslan opened her eyes and turned her head calmly. Cinder stood there, a sneer upon her ruined face. Arslan studied her for a moment, before turning her head back and closing her eyes again.

She could feel Cinder's derision from here.

"You know, I could have killed you then and there," the terrorist went on, "But I chose not to. You know why?"

"Because you wish to use me as bait for my friends," Arslan said quietly. Cinder was quiet, then snorted.

"You can do nothing about it."

"I can. And I am," Arslan replied.

She heard Cinder stalk in front of the cage and crouch down. No doubt to glare at her right in her face.

"What are you doing, hm?"

"Praying," Arslan said simply. Cinder laughed mockingly.

"To your made up god? What good will that do? You hoping he'll save you?"

"My hope is that He will save both of us," Arslan said quietly. She could feel Cinder gape at her in disbelief.

"Save both of us?!" She demanded. She slammed the bars of the cage, making them rattle. "What kind of shit is that?! I'm your enemy! I'm your nemesis-!"

Arslan opened her eyes and stared into Cinder's.

"And why do you not seem happy about that?" Arslan asked. Cinder sneered at her.

"Your god's a fake. A fraud. What power has he given you? What reward? What reason to believe?"

"I do not always recognize His will, for no one can discern it fully," Arslan said, "But He has given me many things. A loving family. Friends. A man I wish to spend the rest of my life with. And opportunities to help and save people. The power He has given me is to do good. The reward is that good is done. The belief is that my actions matter and will make a difference."

"Your life has made no difference!" Cinder sneered.

"Your defeats and the lives you have failed to take speak otherwise," Arslan countered. Cinder seethed.

"You're up against the power of an immortal witch! She is the true god here-!"

"And you seek to usurp her power," Arslan surmised. Cinder glared, then smirked.

"So what if I do?"

"It will not change what happened to you," Arslan said softly, her eyes filled with compassion. Cinder's eyes narrowed.

"You don't know anything about me-!"

"The orphanage," Arslan said coldly, "The Glass Unicorn. Rhodes. Your stepmother and stepsisters."

Cinder reared back as though Arslan had struck her. She shook her head rapidly.

"Y-You can't know-How could you-?!"

"I know. It is enough," Arslan murmured. She shook her head.

"You have been through Hell, Cinder Fall. I do not dispute that. I do not deny you have suffered much. Was killing your abusive stepmother and siblings justice? I cannot say. Only He can judge you. I do know that the actions you have taken in Salem's service will not bring you peace."

"I don't want peace!" Cinder spat, "I want power! I want revenge!"

Arslan slowly shook her head.

"You want to feel safe," she stated, "You wanted love. So badly. But you decided it was not worth the risk. How could you? After how badly you were hurt when you trusted? It is the hardest thing in the world to trust, to open yourself up-"

"SHUT UP!"

Cinder flared her flames in her hands. Arslan remained stoic, staring back at Cinder. Cinder meanwhile was panting angrily.

"You can't pity me... You don't get to pity me! We're enemies and I'm going to kill you, your fucking boyfriend, and the rest so I can rule! Your prayers won't change that!"

Arslan closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"Perhaps not," she said, "But I will still try."

Cinder was silent for a moment.

"Even if there was a God, He wouldn't..." Cinder hesitated, "He wouldn't forgive me for what I have done."

"He would," Arslan said softly, "Even if I cannot... He would. If you sought redemption."

"So you can't forgive me," Cinder smirked. "You're not perfect, huh?"

"I am not, nor did I claim to be," Arslan said, sounding tired, "But I still try to do the right thing. No matter how hard it is. That includes praying for my enemies in the hope that they will turn away from evil. It is a faint hope... But it is what must be done."

Cinder glared at Arslan in silence for a bit. Arslan continued to pray.

"You're a fool," Cinder spat. She stood up. "I'm going to kill you in front of your boyfriend. The one I crippled! How does that make you feel?"

"Sad," Arslan said quietly, "For you."

Cinder seethed. She turned and stalked away.

- - -

A bit random but while this story is very Jaune-centric, no reason we can't show glimpses that showcase the other characters in more detail.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Dvipa, near Mistral

- - -

Dvipa was a small collection of about seven islands about halfway between Pandu's southernmost shore and Menagerie's northernmost point. It was one of thousands of small island chains that dotted the sea between Animus, Vale and Menagerie. Law and order could only be brought to so many of them, even with the reach of Atlas' military. So among the petty almost-kingdoms and islands where people toiled unaware of the larger world outside, there sat Dvipa.

Once it had been an outpost of the great Pandavan Empire at its height, and so the cities that dotted the archipelago featured Pandavan architecture: White and tan walls with graceful arches and turban-like tops. Wide fountains and boulevards going through dense jungles. Yet its allegiance was neutral, and it had no extradition laws.

This suited Colonel Sebastian Zaroff, late of Her Majesty's Vytalian Army, just fine. He rode on his horse through the jungle, tall, broad and strong despite his long years. His hair was a fading orange, with black and silver stripes running through it. With his bushy mustache, fearsome scowl and golden eyes, one covered by a monocle, he resembled a fearsome tiger on the prowl. His khaki uniform was still filled out well by his muscular body. He held his double rifle in one hand, keen eyes and senses scanning the underbrush.

He tugged on the reins and his horse obediently slowed to a stop. Nothing but the wind waving in the leaves and the sounds of birds and monkeys could be heard.

The colonel sniffed the air carefully. He looked to his south. He held up his rifle, eyes narrowing through the scope. He took aim, his heartbeat slowing as he went still as a statue.

He licked his lips free of sweat, revealing his Faunus fangs just for a moment-One replaced with a golden replica.

His Aura surged... And he fired!

The first round from the double rifle flew straight and true, the sonic boom ringing through the forest. There was a cry of pain-Human.

Colonel Zaroff turned his steed towards the sound and galloped after it. He crashed through the undergrowth, disturbing several beasts who hadn't scurried away with the sound of the shot.

At last, the colonel and his horse broke onto a wide shallow stream. A single figure lay in the water, dragging himself onto the rock. The figure looked back in terror, a White Fang mask upon his face. He gasped loudly, desperately, as the Colonel dismounted and slowly approached him.

"N-No... I-I'm... I'm a Faunus... Like you!" The terrorist begged. He coughed, holding his side-A hole had been shot clean through, and blood poured out of the wound into the river.

The Colonel snorted.

"Such a trivial bond we share," he huffed. "I fought the Mantlians and the Mistralians, a loyal soldier of Queen Arturia herself! Well before you were a glint in your no good father's eye. I slew Grimm, man, and Faunus. There was no challenge I could not overcome!"

He shook his head sadly, and cocked his double rifle. His sorrow was so deep it made the big man sag almost completely.

"Then the Empire ended... And I was left without a purpose," he sighed. "Without war, what use is a warrior?"

He brightened at a happy memory, which made the Faunus cower even more.

"Then... Oh, then... Ol' Duryodhana, he had a plan! Overthrow the Sarkaras! Put the Kauravas back on top! Beat drinking myself to death in a bar, telling stories of my old glories to unappreciative youths. Aye lad, was that a great battle! And so many others besides! Now those were heady days! I was fighting again! Killing again! The most dangerous prey you can imagine!"

He sighed and slowly shook his head, regret coming over his face.

"Then... Bah. Arjun retook the throne. I lost it all. Even that little shite Karna betrayed us. I had to flee to this spit o' land, retired and bored again."

He gave the White Fang terrorist a scowl.

"I had hoped hunting you down would have given me some excitement! But you... You didn't even take an hour."

He held the rifle up with a shrug.

"Still! Better than nothing. I'll put you down clean and put your head somewhere nice on me wall, I promise-"

"Colonel!"

Zaroff growled and looked away from his injured prey. A Pandavan man in white clothing with a red turban dashed through the trees, his youthful face filled with anxiety.

"Yes Asok?" Zaroff asked impatiently. "I'm in the middle of something-"

"Lionheart is calling!" Asok said quickly, skidding to a halt in the middle of the stream. He held up the holocommunicator. Zaroff's annoyance changed flavor-No longer with his aide but with the caller.

He took his time, quite deliberately rubbing his chin. He then shrugged.

"Very well."

Asok activated the projector. The tiger Faunus glared at the lion Faunus outlined in blue.

"This had better be important, Lionheart. I was in the middle of-"

"Ozpin knows I'm a traitor," Lionheart stated flatly, the rotund Faunus's voice level but the sweat on his brow betrayed his fear.

Zaroff huffed.

"And?"

"And you owe me," Lionheart growled.

"Feh," Zeroff scoffed, "For what? Sending me to retire in exile?"

"Would you have preferred I left you to Arjun's tender mercies?" Lionheart sneered. Zaroff shrugged and thought about it.

"Hmm... A glorious end might be preferred, I'll be honest."

Lionheart growled, then sucked in a deep breath. He regain his composure.

"I helped you escape and got you prey to hunt from time to time. Now... I need something more of you. I need you to go to Vale."

Zaroff raised a bushy eyebrow. He was too old a hand at this to betray his full interest though.

"Oh really? In handcuffs? Trying to save your skin?"

"Offering you would not be enough," Lionheart stated flatly. Zaroff chuckled.

"That's true. I believe you had a hand in murdering the entire Sarkaran family. My life wouldn't buy yours. So why should I go?"

"Because there's something much more valuable to be had," Lionheart stated, "A shot at Team AARN."

Zaroff paused.

"They're back together again, are they?" He asked softly, a glint returning to his eyes.

Lionheart nodded.

"Family issues... You would have a shot at them and what's left of team STRQ. All you need to do is take them down... And retrieve these two people, alive and unharmed."

An image of a blond young man, around 17, with blue eyes and white and black armor appeared alongside a boy of the same age whose features shifted almost constantly. Zaroff scowled.

"The hell is wrong with that one?"

"Long story," Lionheart said, "I'll be sending you in along with a team. They'll be hard to manage... But I have every confidence you can do it."

Zaroff hummed. Granted... He was tempted. Severely, in fact. Yet...

"And what else will I get if I go along with this little hunting expedition of yours, Lionheart? My services were never cheap."

"If you achieve this," Lionheart said, "You'll get to name your price."

Zaroff stared at him. Lionheart didn't so much as blink.

"You're serious?"

"Deadly serious," Lionheart stated.

Zaroff laughed. He shook his head and rested a hand against his hip.

"Well... I suppose I may as well hear you out," he decided. "We'll talk more back at my manor."

"Agreed," Lionheart said, before the hologram winked out. Zaroff chuckled again, nearly jumping for joy.

"Hahaha! A good old fashioned hunt! Ahh... Against the greatest of prey! Suddenly, everything is looking up!"

The White Fang member coughed up blood. Zaroff looked down at him, all smiles.

"Ah, yes... Almost forgot about you. Seems I've got a change of plans, son! I've actually got some real entertainment at last!"

"So... Are you going to let me go?" He asked hopefully.

Zaroff held out his hand. Asok pulled out a shotgun. Zaroff, still smiling, took the the shotgun then held it up to the face of the White Fang terrorist.

"You should have been a comedian, son," Zaroff chuckled, before he pulled the trigger.

- - -

Colonel Sebastian Zaroff is based upon Colonel Sebastian Moran, an associate of Moriarty's in "Sherlock Holmes" who was a British Army Officer and tiger hunter, and General Zaroff from "The Most Dangerous Game", a Russian aristocrat and big game hunter who hunts people on his private island.

Asok is named for the Indian intern from "Dilbert".

Zaroff will be the first of the Four Emperors: Four mercenaries Salem's agents will gather to counter the adults and assist her Maiden Candidates as part of her larger plans in Vale.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Moses' nap had lasted only a little bit longer than Ozpin had needed to tell Weena all the truly pertinent details of Salem's and his own immortality. He was certain they would revisit the topic at some point the the near future once the experimental physicist had mulled over what he had shared and questions had the opportunity to properly percolate. But conversations about the deep past would happen later; Moses awakening from his nap had refocused them on the now.

And so the three of them had made their way to the Odette Swan Ballroom to reconvene with the others involved in this paradox. Ozpin held the ballroom door open for his son and... girlfriend? Fiancee? They had agreed to try courting while there wasn't an official engagement yet, so girlfriend fit best. He hadn't had to put a label on a relationship in quite some time; the nature of his curse meant he had woken up already married to most of his past wives, with the remaining handful being rare stubborn souls who'd pursued him. A mutual pursuit hadn't happened since Salem millennia ago, so it would take a while to shake the rust off. In any case he held the door open for them before following them inside.

Their arrival did not go unnoticed. Glynda's daughter Dorothy was looking their way when the ballroom doors opened and almost immediately made a beeline for Moses as soon as she saw them.

"Moses!" Dorothy grinned as she seemed to float with each step, "You're feeling better, right? I mean you were in bed all day yesterday but you gave us a semblance demonstration earlier so..."

"How am I feeling?" Moses gave her a strained smile before he waved his right hand in the 'so-so' gesture, "I mean I can do stuff but my head's pounding with all the memories that are actively shifting about."

"Actively shifting?" Dorothy asked with a concerned frown, "What do you mean by that?"

"Right, so you see Julian over there?" Moses pointed.

Dorothy looked over her shoulder for a moment to confirm that she could see the silver eyed boy, "I do."

"So when I'm looking right at him the memories I have of his timeline are really fuzzy and hard to pull up," Moses explained with a grimace. "I can still do it, but it's a bit of a fight. When I look away from him the memories I have of his timeline become sharper and easier to bring to the surface."

Ozpin and Weena shared a look silently agreeing that sounded quite strange, both of them would have expected the opposite to happen. Weena discreetly pulled out her scroll and made a note of the oddity.

"Wait," Dorothy started wringing her hands together, eyes widening like someone watching a car wreck in progress, "That means with me right here talking to you... do you remember our timeline at all?"

"Sorry," Moses apologized as he winced, "It's all an indistinct blur."

"O-oh." For a moment Dorothy sagged like a child who had just been told that Yuletide had been canceled this year and they wouldn't be getting any presents. Then she rallied, squaring her shoulders with a look of absolute determination on her face. "Moses, I want to make something unquestionably clear to you."

"Alright," Moses allowed, only for a look of confusion to grace his face as Dorothy's left hand clamped onto his shoulder. "Wait, what are-" his words died as her right hand cupped his chin before her head shot forward and her mouth latched onto his. The contact only lasted a few seconds, but Dorothy did her best to push every ounce of her feelings into it.

"Mwah," Dorothy pulled back with a coy twinkle in her eyes. "I hope that cleared some things up."

"Huba da wah," Moses managed.

"You're my boyfriend, we've been dating for six months, things have been getting pretty serious," Dorothy clarified with a small smile.

"Have they now?" Weena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Dr. Nebogipfel!" Dorothy squeaked as her eyes suddenly grew wide, as if she hadn't realized Moses' parents were standing right there the whole time.

"It appears we need to have to have a nice long talk young lady," Ozpin chuckled with touch of mischief in his voice.

As Dorothy stammered all flustered like and Moses' brain rebooted Ozpin could see August getting up from where he was sat. The tallest of Jaune's children grabbed his grandfather Arjun's arm and with a few whispered words pulled the royal archer away from the dramatization of the Kraken hunt that had just concluded. The two approached with a purposeful stride and a look that meant serous business on their faces.

"Dr. Nebogipfel, can we borrow Ozpin for a moment?" August asked once they were close. "Our topic is cloak and danger politics."

"You can borrow him," Weena allowed with a wave of her hand, "I'll be learning all I can about this young lady while you talk about things I lack the context to comment on."

"Don't be too harsh with her," Ozpin smiled as he stepped away. "She's Glynda's daughter so Moses could do worse."

"Glynda's daughter huh? In that case I know exactly where to start."

Dorothy gulped.

Leaving the young woman to her fate Ozpin lead August and Arjun to an unoccupied corner of the ballroom where they could have a private enough conversation so long as they kept their voices down.

"What do you need to tell me August?" Ozpin asked in a low voice.

"Well, me and the rest of the firstborn had a little meeting before we went to church," August explained. "We talked a bit about potential threats to keep an eye out for, and in doing so we realized nobody thought to mention to you that Professor Lionheart is a traitor: he's been working with Salem for a while now."

Ozpin heaved a mighty sigh as a flood of disappointment filled his heart and soured his good mood. He really wished he could say he was surprised, yet he couldn't. This lack of surprise didn't stem from anything overtly suspicious on Lionheart's part, the old wizard had simply been betrayed by close allies and friends enough times over the centuries that such an event couldn't feel like a surprise no mater how unexpected it ended up being.

"What has Leonardo done?" Ozpin inquired as he started to drum his fingers on the handle of his cane, each little impact adding a bit of his frustrations into The Long Memory's potency. "I know you have no reason to lie about this, but I still need something actionable to cleanly remove him from his position."

"Where do I even start?" August muttered as he brought his hand to his chin. After a moment of thought he decided where to begin; "Alright, so from a completely objective standpoint the most insidious thing he's been doing is giving the majority of students at Haven deliberately shoddy training. He then takes this a step further by making sure the teams that were decent in spite of their poor training aren't able to effectively coordinate with each other, and if a team still manages to thrive with that going against them he'll make sure they don't get the support they need once they've accepted a high-risk mission. Basically Mistral's higher than normal attrition rate for huntsman is the result of his machinations."

"I see," Ozpin scowled as he considered August's accusation. The attrition rate for Mistrali Huntsmen had been noticeably higher than the other kingdoms for a while now, but the situation was complicated enough there didn't really seem to be a direct cause. The idea that Lionheart was a traitor changed those variables drastically and Ozpin was sure that if he looked over that data again with that idea in mind he could find enough correlation to imply causation. Pinpointing the timeframe where the attrition rate started to rise could also give him a general idea of when the man went turncoat, but perhaps August already knew? "Do you know how long Leonardo's been a traitor?"

"That's something the people writing the history books are still debating," August explained in an apologetic tone. "He helped the Kauravas overthrow my great-grandfather," Arjun's eyes narrowed dangerously as his time-displaced grandson continued; "However the political clique that controlled the central government of Mistral at that time thought having the Kauravas ruling Pandu again was in their best interests, so it's argued Leonardo didn't start working for Salem until later. Some people even think the Kauravas actually introduced him to Salem in the first place."

"I'm not sure which option's worse," Ozpin grit his teeth as the bitterness he felt bled into his tone. "One means he was turned by Salem near the very the start of his tenure as Haven's Headmaster. The other means he betrayed the spirit of his position all on his own." The old wizard's drumming of his fingers on The Long Memory grew more forceful. "In either case I've failed to notice something amiss, and the people I've worked to protect have suffered for it."

"Who exactly is this Salem I've heard mentioned a few times now, and why would Lionheart take orders from her?" Arjun asked with stormy eyes that promised violent retribution. "I've gathered she's a villain Jaune and his brides defeat in their futures, but that doesn't tell me who she is or why she would have a connection to the Kauravas."

"Oh, right, you need to be told about her," August sheepishly grimaced as he looked away from Ozpin to his grandfather.

"The Dark Mother," Ozpin chose to answer the royal archer's question instead of leaving the task to the boy. Arjun's eyes widened in recognition of that name, and so Ozpin continued; "That's the title the Kauravas use for her. She's born other titles you might recognize; The Phantom Queen, The Lady Of Shadows, The Bone Sorceress, The Death Caller, The Ash Bride, and so on."

"Those titles all belong to the goddesses revered by different Grimm worshiping cults," Arjun observed with knitted eyebrows. "So this Salem has somehow convinced these cults that she's their goddess?"

"That is technically correct," Ozpin noted before elaborating as his fingers quietly drummed faster. "Salem can control the Grimm just like the goddesses the Grimm cults worship. She also possesses other esoteric powers so vast and overwhelming that anyone who hasn't met a real god can be forgiven for thinking she was one. On top of that she is unageing and has been alive since before the Moon-Shatter, orchestrating the collapse of more than one civilization from the shadows. In other words Salem is able to convince the Grimm cults that she's the goddess they worship by virtue of actually being the goddess they worship."

Ozpin sighed as he finished drumming out his frustrations with his fingers, "Me and my fellow Academy Headmasters are the leaders of a secret society that's been fighting Salem and her followers long before the Academies were even founded. We've kept her agents from burning down civilization as we know it for centuries. Lionheart's betrayal isn't just against any one country or institution, it's a betrayal of all man and faunus-kind."

"The man needs to die," Arjun concluded with a dark intensity in his voice.

"He does," Ozpin agreed as he warily eyed the King of Pandu. "But you shouldn't be the one running off to do it."

"His betrayal started with my kingdom, and my family," Arjun's hands clenched and unclenched as if he was imagining something breakable within his grasp. "It is my duty as King and patriarch to bring him to justice."

"It will be difficult to find out what secrets Leonardo shared with Salem if he dies before we can interrogate him," Ozpin reasoned. "Can you honestly guarantee that you'd aim to capture and not execute if you were to head out and confront him now?"

The King remained silent, the dark intensity of his gaze was answer enough.

"Aside from that there's your daughter to consider; you've literally just reunited with her and you've yet to establish a real relationship that could survive you running off right now to take care of this," Ozpin pointed out. "Now is the time to delegate. Qrow's available and capable; I'm planning on sending him. He could easily meet up with Karna and a few other men and women you can trust. They capture Lionheart and bring him here; I learn what I need to know from him and then I hand him over to you to stand trial for his crimes. Is that acceptable?"

The King's brow creased in thought, and after a long moment Arjun spoke; "I can live with it."

"Good, good," Ozpin adjusted his glasses, "When brunch is over let's take Qrow up to my office and make a few calls."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Solitas, Kingdom of Atlas, Republic of Balto, Nome City
- - -
Like all the other kingdoms, Atlas was not simply one gigantic nation. It was composed of many smaller republics, most of them founded as colonies by Vale, Mistral and Vacuo but over time became independent nations-Then voluntarily united together into a larger Kingdom, Atlas, with Mantle as its capital. In the prelude to the Great War, Mantle's legitimate rulers were overthrown in a coup and the new leaders launched the Great War across the planet. Yet all the while they were resisted by half the continent, who had won their freedom from foreign rulers and would not tolerate domestic tyranny. With the overthrow of the cabal that had taken over Mantle at the end of the conflict, aided by the Allied Nations of Vale, Vytal, Vacuo, and many others, Atlas was rebuilt into a free country once more and became the leader in economics, technology, and military might.

It was a harsh continent that made strong people. A strength Corporal Maroon Polo certainly hoped was in his veins as he nervously stared down his rifle. His squad was holding the only exit out of their military depot. Something had torn its way into the top secret storage facility and was heading for them. The alarms rang loudly as his squad stood ready, guns all pointed down the darkened hallway into the base.

"Reinforcement ETA is five minutes, boss," his comms tech, Mora Carnis, said as she tapped her earpiece. She stared back down her rifle. Polo nodded.

"All right. Nothing gets past us," he ordered, keeping his voice even.

There was a creak and a groan of metal in the darkness ahead of them. Polo tightened his grip on his rifle. Sweat dripped down his brow onto his pointed nose.

Silence fell, the most terrible silence he had ever heard... Then something red ignited in the darkness beyond. Scarlet lightning crackled up and down a huge claymore, held by a gigantic man in black armor. He was covered head to toe in it, all plate, his face obscured by a tinted visor. Silver highlights were here and there, like stars shining in the blackest night. Curled horns jutted from either side of his helmet, and a great silver cape waved behind him. In the dim light, they looked like bat wings.

"OPEN FIRE!" Polo screamed, and the loud percussion of their heavy HAR-2004 assault rifles filled the air. The armored figure advanced, every Dust enhanced round vanishing into the man as he walked through the barrage.

Impossible...! Polo thought, They're just bouncing off! HOW?!

It was then the armored man lifted his sword and swung. A great blast of Red Aura erupted, and the squad was blown off their feet and slammed into the walls.

Corporal Polo groaned, his Aura broken. The black knight walked right through them. Polo tried to reach up, tried to grab onto the man... But his armor expanded out and slammed Polo into the wall. The dark figure then swung his blade, and flames erupted all around the warehouse.

As the smoke choked him and flames blinded him, all Polo could do was gape in disbelief at the figure just plodding along. As though unbothered by the pain and anguish he had inflicted.

Not noticing a damn thing.

What was that...? Polo thought to himself, before he passed out.

- - -

The trek out to the base fence wasn't too arduous. The fire he had started was providing sufficient distraction, and his employer had disabled the security systems.

He hopped over the fence and dashed out into the pine trees. He dropped into a gulley, making his way to an old railroad station that had seen better days long ago.

He pushed through the rotting timbers that were once a door and through the wrecked, mold covered interior. He broke through the other wall, revealing a cave.

He hurried through it, down the wet cavern, the sounds of dripping water haunting his steps.

Finally, he reached a hidden lake. Sitting on the lake was a small automated cargo barge, one of thousands across Atlas' waterways. He stepped onto the deck and into the cabin. Inside was an elaborate life support system, integrated into a large metallic frame chair. The man sat down and leaned back. Robotic arms and needles activated, attaching themselves to him. The man sighed quietly as the barge got underway.

A holoscreen activated, and a familiar leonine face appeared.

"I trust you have completed the mission, Lord Caliban Testoasa?"

Testoasa turned his masked face towards the holoprojection. One might imagine a frown was on his face.

"Why you? Why not Watts?" He inquired in a deep, booming bass.

"Watts is busy with something else," Lionheart stated, almost impatiently, "Did you complete the mission?"

Testoasa reached into his belt, and pulled out a single metallic cylinder. He set it down on a table in the cramped cabin.

"Yes. The nanite core has been retrieved," Testoasa stated. "I trust I will receive my payment?"

"Yes... And an even greater reward," Lionheart said.

Testoasa scoffed, his breathing low and mechanical.

"To be Watts' slave and errand boy for longer? How wonderful to hear."

Lionheart scowled.

"He is the one who dug you out of your collapsed castle. He is the one who rebuilt you, after your folly-"

"That does not make me a slave to you parasites," Testoasa seethed. "I am a warrior, a count. Twenty generations of my family were warriors, knights of Hispania."

"And now you have nothing but the title," Lionheart returned. Testoasa's fists clenched as his impassive visor stared at Lionheart. The headmaster of Haven shook his head.

"But you could get back what you have lost."

"I have heard that before," Testoasa snorted.

Lionheart switched to an image. An image that Testoasa stared at with a frightening intensity.

It showed four people-Older than he remembered, but all too familiar.

"Team AARN has become a problem for my employer," Lionheart stated, "A big enough problem that we will require a great deal of strength to end them. I believe you have some... Personal interest in this?"

He had been young, handsome. A great count and warrior heir to a noble dynasty. He had had it all...

Save for a woman he desired.

Isabel Arc. She had brains, beauty, and talents that would have let him rise to the top of Hispania's aristocracy. Maybe become their Councilman, and then? Rule all of Vacuo.

He had used the old arts to try and entrance her. His natural charm. Yet still she insisted on that bumbling oaf!

He would not have it. He found a way to get her to agree to marriage: Blackmail.

He had used his mother's ancient lessons in medicine and alchemy to addict the townspeople to the old potion. Without it, they would die. He had lowered
the dosage, slowly, and made it look like a plague had struck. He told Isabel if she did not cooperate, he would put the potion into the general water supply.
It would hook everyone in the province. If she married him, she could help him refine it, make it so they could rule together!

She obeyed. She had told her friends to their faces she was abandoned them for him. That she never wanted to see them again. Arjun, the Exiled Prince and his little maid? They had seemed convinced...

But not the imbecile. He stubbornly refused. He'd thrown the idiot off a tower into the river and driven the others off with his troops.

Isabel was his. All his. He'd put an explosive collar around her neck, just in case. But he was confident he would get her to see things his way eventually.

But then Team STRQ got involved. Helped the imbecile, Arjun and the maid get into his castle. Defeated all of his men. Freed Isabel, who had proceeded to
fight him. He'd used his powerful Semblance, absorbed all their energy to become stronger and more durable than the strongest steel! His endurance was second to none, he fought that blond moron until his castle was on fire and collapsing around them!

He had vowed to make his death the worst of all of them!

Yet... The idiot had beaten him.

Nick Arc had slashed off his arm and legs and sent him falling into the depths of his collapsing castle. He and everyone else had escaped... And he was left for dead under thousands of tons of rubble.

Only his Semblance had kept him alive... Until Watts had found him...

Testoasa's fists clenched. His mechanical breathing sped up.

"... The reward?" The black knight demanded.

"Full regeneration of your flesh," Lionheart said, "We have a man who can do it. As well as enough money to rebuild your castle."

Count Caliban Testoasa stared at the image. He slowly nodded.

"We have a deal."

He was still a slave, this was true. A slave to these bastards.

But once he had his revenge and his body back? No one would enslave him ever again.

- - -

Caliban Testoasa's name means "Black Tortoise": "Caliban" is Romani for "Black" or "Blackness" and Testoasa is Romanian for "tortoise.". His Semblance, Reinforcement, allows him to absorb kinetic energy and reinforce his body to the point he is nearly impervious to physical attacks. He's also a master swordsman. But if you hit him hard enough with enough Aura energy or in the right way? You can beat him, which is what Nick Arc did.

He's our Black Knight, very Darth Vader-like. He's been used as hired muscle by Watts to pay off all the cybernetics Watts put in him to keep him alive.

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted from the Spacebattles thread.

Childhood Memories: Starting Line

- - - - - - - - - -
Xiao-Long/Rose Homestead, Patch. Julian Arc-Rose. Age: 14.

Jaune Arc stood outside his father-in-law's home in the early morning, a cup of coffee in one hand and a stopwatch in the other.

A rumbling could be felt beneath his feet. They were almost here.

In a flash, clouds of red and gold flower petals showered the front lawn. Emerging from the flowerstorm was his wife, Ruby Arc, and their son, Julian Arc-Rose. Hitting the time on the stopwatch, Jaune approached the two. "I think you two beat your personal best."

He showed them the stopwatch. Julian and Ruby smiled wide. Last month their personal best was 44.5 seconds. Now it was 32 seconds! She and Julian had made these races a sort of morning ritual between the two ever since he unlocked his Semblance.

"OK, but I got here first, right? I definitely got here first." Julian asked. Ruby turned towards her son.

"Yeah right, slow-poke," Ruby teased. But truthfully, he actually was getting faster. Not as fast as she was, but he was getting there! "You were just a few inches behind me."

"Nu-Uh! I got here first!" Julian argued. There was no way Mom was still faster than him! He had to have gotten faster by now! "I want a rematch!"

"No way, mister," Ruby shot down Julian's demand. "We need to make breakfast for everyone. I'm starving!"

Before Julian could protest, his stomach growled. His face turned red. He was just as hungry as his mom. Ruby smirked. "You want some pancakes?"

"Yes, ma'am." Julian answered, sheepishly. The trio turned towards the house, but stopped when his grandfather stepped out.

"Uh, there's an angry rabbit Faunus on the house-line asking where Julian is?" Taiyang asked. Julian's eyes bulged in surprise.

"OHMYGODICOMPLETELYFORGOTSERENAWASCOMINGTOMEETYOUGUYSILLSEEYOUGUYSLATERBYE!!" Julian quickly shouted and disappeared in a burst of gold rose petals.

His parents and grandfather stood in silence before Tai asked the obvious question.

"Did either of you understand a word he said?"

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

"Hmmph." Serena Winchester pouted as she sat the Bullhead station waiting for her boyfriend. She had been waiting an hour for Julian to come get her!

She opened her scroll to call him again, but her ears picked up something coming towards. An explosion of gold rose petals showered over her and Julian appeared before her, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm super sorry, Serena! I was racing my and I forgot I was supposed to--"

"Hmmph," Serena crossed her arms and pouted. "You said you'd be here. You said an Arc never goes back on their word."

Before Serena could continue her pout parade, Julian pulled out his ultimate weapon: His puppy eyes! He saw Mom use this on Dad a million times and it always works!

Serena's cheeks began to flush. He's using his cute face! He knows that's her weakness! "Y-you can't just make that face every time I get upset!"

As if he was being challenged, Julian's silver eyes looked like they were getting bigger for maximum effect. Serena couldn't find it in herself to stay mad at someone so cute. She stepped forward and hugged her shroter boyfriend.

"That's so unfair. I'm literally a rabbit Faunus! I'm supposed to be cuter than you!"

"Not to brag but, heh, I learned from the best," Julian said smugly, hugging her back. Mission accomplished! He knew she couldn't resist his boyish charms. After their hug ended, he then got into a dramatic pose. "My charms are too powerful to resist!"

His smugness got swept away when Serena raised an eyebrow. "Which one of was super nervous about asking out the other: you or me?"

"Uh..." Julian's face turned redder than a tomato. He knew the answer to that and it made his insides twist at how cringy it was.

Serena was sitting with her friends when they were approached by a cloaked boy. He looked extremely nervous.

"M-may I speak to you for a minute, Serena?" Julian winced internally. Why did his voice sound like that? Was it always this high pitched? Maybe he should've listened to his friend Liu and got her some flowers. Girls love flowers!

"Yeah, sure." Serena said happily. She remembered this guy! His name was Julian! He was that cute short boy that ate nothing but cookies during lunch! He's so nice to everybody.

They were standing in the forest behind the school for 30 minutes before Julian attempted to ask her something.

"I-I-I... Um... W-w...," Julian stammered out. Why is this so hard! She was too dang cute! It was so distracting! He flipped his hood up, completely covering his face and tried again. "Serena Winchester, I was wondering if we could have a study date together tomorrow?"

She didn't respond. Did he do something wrong? Of course he did something wrong! He put his hood on because he couldn't look her in the eyes!

"Ask me again."

Julian tilted his head. "I'm sorry?"

A brief silence passed before Serena lifted up Julian's hood. She smiled and looked into his eyes. "I said, ask me again."

Suddenly, all of the fear in Julian's body disappered. "Would you like to have a study date with me tomorrow?"

"I'd love to," Serena accepted. She gave him a farewell kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow."

Julian stood there dumbfounded. He... He has a date! He has a date with the prettiest girl in school! He's definitely bringing her flowers tomorrow.

"Oh, come on, I never talked to pretty girls before!," Julian defended his past actions. "I'm not a smooth operator like my Dad was!"

"You think I'm pretty?" Serena blushed. This isn't the first time he said she was pretty. But she really liked it when he did.

Julian, once again, blushed. He knew he was in a trap. Serena was good at getting him out of his awkward shell but she always did it in a way that made him feel shy. Before he could give her an answer, his scroll vibrated. He checked. His sister, June, had sent him a message "Mom knows you have a girlfriend. She got answers out of Pyrrha. Her and Dad are heading your way."

"Oh. Well, looks like you'll be meeting my parents a bit sooner than I thought. Did you bring any cookies?" Julian asked. Serena's ears perked up. Reaching into her bag, she showed Julian a tupperware filled with cookies.

"Does she like snickerdoodles?"

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

I meant to get this out last week but decided to take my time with it.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

City of Viriathus, Lusitania Province, Vacuo

- - -

Vacuo was a harsh, arid Kingdom composed of many proud, squabbling cultures. One of the most famous was the small but fierce province of Lusitania on the far western coast of the Kingdom. Guarded by mountains, it had resisted numerous empires that had tried to conquer it. In a lawless Kingdom like modern Vacuo, it's capital Viriathus flouted the laws the council made in the far away capital: Especially on gambling.

Golden casinos stretched up into the night sky as tourists from all the Kingdoms walked along the boardwalks. Black Market wares were sold almost openly. Men who won big at the tables lived it up like it was their last night on Remnant, while losers were thrown out into the gutter.

Only the Magistrate's armed militia kept order in the glittering city, but they could not be everywhere. Despite this, some members of the criminal underworld actually tried to promote good order and lawfulness. After all, they were running businesses here. It would not do to antagonize their client base.

The man leading this charge was Prataeo Marfim. He was tall, dark skinned, his head shaved bald, with a neatly trimmed beard and a dark blue suit. He sat in his penthouse office of the Doreado Casino, overlooking the cityscape. His assistant, a woman in a business jacket and skirt, stood nearby in silence. She was beautiful: Tall, leggy, and curvy, with long black hair cascading down her back. Her purple eyes glittered behind her glasses like sharply cut amethyst. Her skin was pale and flawless, and her lips were ruby red.

Before them stood a militia officer. He was slovenly, balding, with pale skin and red hair. He wore his outdated armor messily, while holding his beret in front of himself nervously. The two large enforcers on either side of him, grim in their black suits, probably didn't help ease his worries.

"Carl," Marfim stated coldly, "I paid you to overlook shipments coming in. Not to start pimping kids or running drugs."

"I uh... W-Well, a man's gotta make ends meet, sir," the militia officer said, wringing his hat, "I-I appreciate all you've done for me but it's not enough-!"

"You could have put in more work for me, Carl," Prataeo went on, his eyes narrowing, "I could have given you more breaks. Instead? You broke the rules. Now you have to face the consequences."

He looked to his female assistant.

"Zhu?"

Zhu smiled cheerfully. She strutted right up to the sweating, nervous man. She pressed a delicately manicured nail against the side of his head... And Carl's eyes rolled into the back of his head. His veins turned black as he collapsed, and he began to choke.

"That's a brevetoxin," Zhu explained, "Usually found in single celled organisms in the ocean called dinoflagellate. It binds with sodium channels in nerve cells, causing a complete shutdown of your nervous system."

She smiled cheerfully at the dying man.

"I made this one especially painful," she grinned.

"I told you not to do that," Marfim growled. Zhu huffed.

"You never let me have any fun!"

"I want him dead, but quickly," Marfim stated, "Painlessly."

"Well, I chose something else, so nyeh," Zhu responded, sticking her tongue out. Marfim sighed and was about to say more... When Zhu's Scroll went off. She pulled it out, stuck an earpiece in, and answered the call.

"Hello? I'm at work, I... Ohhhh! Hello Lionheart!"

Zhu nodded a few times. She gasped.

"Really? They're back together? And..."

She growled.

"Branwen. Arc."

Poisonous fumes began to drift away from Zhu's skin, resembling the wings of a bird. Marfim's goons backed away, while Marfim discretely reached for a gas mask.

A moment later, Zhu was all smiles-Though still terrifyingly vicious.

"Of course I'll kill them! Don't you worry about a thing! Just make the deposit in the usual place, darling~! Okay, love you~!"

Zhu ended the call and turned back to her employer. She bowed low in the Fuujin manner.

"My apologies, Boss, but I have some personal business to attend to," she said.

Marfim grimaced.

"Arc and Branwen?"

Zhu nodded like an eager child.

"Oh yes! I finally get a chance to murder them."

Her pupils shrank to pinpoints and her grin shone like daggers in the well lit office. The goons cringed in terror behind the still dying Carl.

Marfim, unperturbed, slowly nodded.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Oh a few weeks! I'll file for the PTO and everything will be square! The lists of contacts and your agenda is set for the next month! Not to worry, Boss! I'll be back!" Zhu giggled. "And I'll have some new heads for my display case!"

"... That's great," Marfim said with a nod. "See you soon."

"Okay! Love you boss!" She pranced over to Marfim and kissed his cheek. She then turned and jumped out the window, smashing through the glass with a wild, child-like cheer. Marfim and his goons stared after her.

"Uh, Boss...?"

Marfim sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm not gonna stand in front of the Poison Phoenix when she wants someone dead."

He paused.

"Plus, I'd be lost without my favorite secretary..."

- - -

Lusitania is the Roman name for what is now Portugal. Viriathus is the name of a famous tribal leader of the area who resisted the Roman occupation of the region.

Zhu is a Chinese surname meaning "Vermillion". She is our Vermillion Bird of the Four Cardinal Beasts. Her Semblance is Toxic: The ability to create and emit any form of poison from her body. She's also a bit of a womanchild-But a dangerous one.

Prataeo is a corruption of the Portugese word for "Silver".