AndrewJTalon
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She might have more family, I haven't really thought about it.
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[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!
- Thread starter AndrewJTalon
- Start date
She might have more family, I haven't really thought about it.
Ash and Ashley Tell All.
AndrewJTalon
Experienced.
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"How often do you get nightmares?" Jaune inquired as he got close to Ashley's bedside. Her brother answered for her.
"Before we turned eight, never," Ash got out of his bed as he carefully felt around the edges of his scar. "After we turned eight? About once a week, sometimes more?"
"What happened?" Emerald asked with genuine concern in her voice.
"Home invasion that ended with us unlocking our semblance," Ash explained, "it was a bad time for everyone involved."
"We have the same semblance," Ashley picked up for her brother, "We call it Aura Syphon. It's kind of an inversion of your Aura Amp, Dad. Instead of supercharging your aura and letting you share it with other people like Aura Amp, Aura Syphon lets us drain someone else's aura to supercharge our own. Neither of us like using it because it's insanely dangerous; we can completely drain someone of all their aura in less than a minute, and that's kind of fatal..."
Concern grew in Jaune's gut, "Does that mean...?"
"That we killed the home invader?" Ash shuddered, "Yeah... Yeah we did. And then we weren't able to turn it off and almost killed Mom and Aunt Saphron. If you weren't there things would have been a lot worse. So yeah, the nightmares started after that."
"Can we pause this conversation for a bit?" Ashley asked as her stomach growled. "I need to stretch my legs and I'm kind of hungry."
"Right, you guys slept through lunch," Jaune looked toward's the infirmary's door in thought. "There's a vending machine with sandwiches between here and the Pastoria fountain, you think that will tide you over until dinnertime?"
"Probably," Ashley rubbed at her stomach as she got out of her bed.
After a few short moments Jaune and Emerald had the all clear from the nurses to take Ash and Ashley for a little stroll, and it wasn't long before the four of them had gotten to the vending machine. The twins made their selection, Jaune payed for them, and they returned to the Infirmary without any real problems.
When they got back to the twin's assigned beds the rest of Jaune's children and potential wives had moved past the entrance area and were loitering about Moses' bedside. This was far enough away to give an illusion of privacy, but it was still close enough that it wouldn't be hard for them to listen in on his an Emerald's conversation with Ash and Ashley. For the most part Jaune was willing to let that slide; considering who the twin's mother was and what she did in most of the timelines it was important for everyone to hear about the timeline where she was good.
Or at least he hoped she was good. Jaune turned to his children with Cinder as they finished off their sandwiches and sighed. "Alright then, we should probably start with the most important question: How did your mom and I get together?"
--------------------
Neopolitan frowned. For how simple of a plan 'Find Emerald and Steal Her Scroll' was, it was hitting all kinds of snags. It had taken far too long for them to find the green-haired thief, and when Mercury had finally spotted her she was in the infirmary with all of the time displaced children and most of their mothers.
That complicated getting in and out. Well more the getting out than getting in. Her semblance was more than up to the task of sneaking past everyone on the way in. That would not hold true on the way out. Emerald was a good enough thief that she would notice her scroll getting pulled from her pocket, meaning Neo would be exposed the instant she grabbed Em's scroll. Neo would have to book it at that point, and the odds were longer than she was comfortable with.
Four snipers, plus four Schnees multiplied by the fact that one of said Schnees was the top specialist of Atlas' military, plus Pyrrha Nikos times two, plus who knows what else the others had up their sleeves added up to a chase sequence Neo wasn't arrogant enough to think she could pull off.
The smart play would be to wait for Emerald to be alone. The boss lady didn't have the patience for the smart play, and insisted that if she was right there besides her they would have no issues with the retreat.
And so Neo was now sneaking through the infirmary with Cinder's right hand clamped on her left shoulder, uncomfortable anticipation building in her gut.
They entered the infirmary from the far end and moved slowly down its' central aisle, approaching Emerald as quietly and carefully as possible. Then Emerald shifted in her seat and Neo had a clear view of who was on her other side; Ash and Ashley, Cinder's twins.
Cinder's grip on Neo's shoulder tightened like a vice, and her free hand shot up to grab Neo's bicep. The false maiden then frog marched her reluctant underling to a spot where they could look at the burned twins with no obstructions, and then Cinder planted her feet like a tree and held Neo firmly in place.
Noepolitan's frown deepened, and since the boss lady couldn't see her face she rolled her eyes. She had a sudden sinking suspicion that getting Emerald's scroll was just an excuse for Cinder to look at her kids with her own eyes. And the more she thought about it the more it made sense: Cinder didn't need to return to campus to help Neo and Mercury tie up loose ends. That was fine and all, she just wished the boss lady had been upfront about her real objective before they snuck into the infirmary.
She glanced Cinder's way, and the false maiden seemed completely enraptured with watching the twins demolish a vending machine lunch. Soon the meals were finished and the twin's father, Jaune Arc, sighed and spoke:
"Alright then, we should probably start with the most important question: How did your mom and I get together?"
Cinder tensed, and leaned in with calculating eyes.
--------------------
Ash looked his father in the eyes as he began; "Well, Mom didn't like talking about her life before she married you, so most of what we know we learned from Aunt Em."
"From what she told us," Ashley continued for her brother, "The two of you got together at the party that's supposed to happen tonight. Aunt Em never went into the specific details of what went down, but it was basically an accident on Mom's part."
"In other words Mom was so drunk she didn't remember how it happened," Ash supplied, "But when she was sober she decided roll with it for a couple of reasons. Dating you was a good excuse to be close to the teams she wanted to spy on for the Vytal Tournament for one thing, and she thought you'd be an easily manipulated rube for another. There was one thing that didn't enter her calculations though: since you didn't know the relationship was fake you put in some serious effort into making things work."
"It didn't take you long to charm your way past mom's defenses," Ashley explained with a smile. "You gave her a whirlwind tour of every kind of fun she had missed out on growing up, and at the top of a Ferris Wheel she realized she liked you for you. Then The Breach happened, and she realized she didn't like seeing you get hurt."
"That's when she talked to her master, the Grimm Witch Salem, about you," Ash went on. "Mom asked Salem for a way to get you out of Vale so you wouldn't get caught in the crossfire of her grand plan. Salem refused to do that. When Mom insisted Salem snapped and ordered Mom to kill you; to cut out the weakness," Emerald flinched at that turn of phrase, "You were causing to grow within her. Mom told Salem she would, but she kept putting it off because deep down she realized she couldn't go through with it. Eventually the day she had been planning for came around and Mom kicked off the tumult of the century."
"It didn't take you long to find her in the middle of the chaos she was causing," Ashley continued the tale. "The two of you had your first and only big fight right outside of the elevator that leads to Ozpin's office. We don't know the details, but in the end you talked Mom into standing down and surrendering."
"The next couple of years were hard on Mom and Aunt Em," Ash sighed, "You were the only person who trusted them at that point. Sure Uncle Ozpin was in a forgiving mood, but that was because of everything Mom and Aunt Em were able to tell him about Salem and her inner circle. Mom had to earn everyone else's trust, and it wasn't until you all had finished dealing with Salem that the last of our honorary Aunts and Uncles came around."
"It didn't help that Mom's default response to mistrust was to get all cold and prickly," Ashley allowed a small smile to grow on her face. "Aunt Em told us it took Mom three years before she warmed up to Aunt Nora, which is kind of funny since Aunt Nora was one of the first people to warm up to Mom."
"The two of you got married on the first anniversary of Salem's defeat," Ash pulled out his scroll and showed off a wedding photo, "Though Mom was half convinced the Witch would still show up in spite of the shellacking you all gave her. Ashley and I were born about nine months later, and our family just kept growing after that." Ash swiped over to a different photo, and Jaune did a quick headcount.
"So there are nine of you?" Jaune asked.
"Yep," Ashley grinned, "Mom runs a pretty tight ship in spite of all the ruckus our younger siblings cause. Mom's a great Mom!" Her smile shrank, "Please don't let what happened today be a mark against her, she isn't really like that!"
"You mean she won't be like that," Emerald reminded in a gentle tone.
Ash and Ashley looked away at that and Ash's eyes turned to the crowd around Moses' bed, where he saw a peculiar sight. August and his mother May were staring very intently at an empty space beyond his and Ashley's beds. May tugged on Ruby's cloak, and whispered something to the silver-eyed girl and her son Julian. The silver-eyed boy looked at the empty space and his eyes seemed to glow for a moment before he let out a completely silent gasp. Julian then had a rushed and whispered conversation with his mom who also stared at the empty space with a look of extreme concentration, then her eyes started to glow like her son's. Surprise dominated her features, only to be replaced with steely determination.
Ruby stormed forward, her eyes glowing brighter and brighter with each step. "I Know You're There!" She called out to the empty space, "There's No Use Hiding! I. Can. See. Your. Souls."
A sound that could only be described as the kind of pained yelp only a mute person would make came from the empty space, only for that emptiness to shatter like glass. Ash could hardly contain his own surprise as he saw his mother standing where the emptiness wasn't anymore, squeezing the shoulder and arm of Neopolitan far too tight with a look on her face comparable to a cornered and panicking tiger.
She threw Neopolitan forward into Ruby and took a fighting stance. The tension in the room skyrocketed as almost two dozen weapons were drawn, just as many Schnee glyphs appeared in the air and Amethyst screamed something about a warlock.
"HOLD IT! HOLD IT! HOLD IT!" Jaune Arc yelled with all the authority he could muster as he sprang up from his seat. Surprisingly everyone held it. "Everyone just hold it for a minute, Okay!" He walked cautiously into the infirmary's aisle with his left hand behind him towards his entourage in a signal to stop, while his right hand stretched out in front of him in a placating manner.
"Cinder," Jaune addressed Ash and Ashley's mother in the most soothing voice he could manage right after yelling. "Cinder, we need to talk. Can we do that? Just talk? You and me? A nice, quiet conversation with no violence before, after or during?"
Neopolitan and Ruby got off the ground. Ruby cautiously joined Jaune. Neo marched to Cinder's side with a scowl on her face.
Cinder looked rather out of sorts all things considered. Like someone caught between two conflicting thoughts.
"Can we talk?" Jaune asked again hopefully.
Moses rolled over, somehow still asleep.
"Before we turned eight, never," Ash got out of his bed as he carefully felt around the edges of his scar. "After we turned eight? About once a week, sometimes more?"
"What happened?" Emerald asked with genuine concern in her voice.
"Home invasion that ended with us unlocking our semblance," Ash explained, "it was a bad time for everyone involved."
"We have the same semblance," Ashley picked up for her brother, "We call it Aura Syphon. It's kind of an inversion of your Aura Amp, Dad. Instead of supercharging your aura and letting you share it with other people like Aura Amp, Aura Syphon lets us drain someone else's aura to supercharge our own. Neither of us like using it because it's insanely dangerous; we can completely drain someone of all their aura in less than a minute, and that's kind of fatal..."
Concern grew in Jaune's gut, "Does that mean...?"
"That we killed the home invader?" Ash shuddered, "Yeah... Yeah we did. And then we weren't able to turn it off and almost killed Mom and Aunt Saphron. If you weren't there things would have been a lot worse. So yeah, the nightmares started after that."
"Can we pause this conversation for a bit?" Ashley asked as her stomach growled. "I need to stretch my legs and I'm kind of hungry."
"Right, you guys slept through lunch," Jaune looked toward's the infirmary's door in thought. "There's a vending machine with sandwiches between here and the Pastoria fountain, you think that will tide you over until dinnertime?"
"Probably," Ashley rubbed at her stomach as she got out of her bed.
After a few short moments Jaune and Emerald had the all clear from the nurses to take Ash and Ashley for a little stroll, and it wasn't long before the four of them had gotten to the vending machine. The twins made their selection, Jaune payed for them, and they returned to the Infirmary without any real problems.
When they got back to the twin's assigned beds the rest of Jaune's children and potential wives had moved past the entrance area and were loitering about Moses' bedside. This was far enough away to give an illusion of privacy, but it was still close enough that it wouldn't be hard for them to listen in on his an Emerald's conversation with Ash and Ashley. For the most part Jaune was willing to let that slide; considering who the twin's mother was and what she did in most of the timelines it was important for everyone to hear about the timeline where she was good.
Or at least he hoped she was good. Jaune turned to his children with Cinder as they finished off their sandwiches and sighed. "Alright then, we should probably start with the most important question: How did your mom and I get together?"
--------------------
Neopolitan frowned. For how simple of a plan 'Find Emerald and Steal Her Scroll' was, it was hitting all kinds of snags. It had taken far too long for them to find the green-haired thief, and when Mercury had finally spotted her she was in the infirmary with all of the time displaced children and most of their mothers.
That complicated getting in and out. Well more the getting out than getting in. Her semblance was more than up to the task of sneaking past everyone on the way in. That would not hold true on the way out. Emerald was a good enough thief that she would notice her scroll getting pulled from her pocket, meaning Neo would be exposed the instant she grabbed Em's scroll. Neo would have to book it at that point, and the odds were longer than she was comfortable with.
Four snipers, plus four Schnees multiplied by the fact that one of said Schnees was the top specialist of Atlas' military, plus Pyrrha Nikos times two, plus who knows what else the others had up their sleeves added up to a chase sequence Neo wasn't arrogant enough to think she could pull off.
The smart play would be to wait for Emerald to be alone. The boss lady didn't have the patience for the smart play, and insisted that if she was right there besides her they would have no issues with the retreat.
And so Neo was now sneaking through the infirmary with Cinder's right hand clamped on her left shoulder, uncomfortable anticipation building in her gut.
They entered the infirmary from the far end and moved slowly down its' central aisle, approaching Emerald as quietly and carefully as possible. Then Emerald shifted in her seat and Neo had a clear view of who was on her other side; Ash and Ashley, Cinder's twins.
Cinder's grip on Neo's shoulder tightened like a vice, and her free hand shot up to grab Neo's bicep. The false maiden then frog marched her reluctant underling to a spot where they could look at the burned twins with no obstructions, and then Cinder planted her feet like a tree and held Neo firmly in place.
Noepolitan's frown deepened, and since the boss lady couldn't see her face she rolled her eyes. She had a sudden sinking suspicion that getting Emerald's scroll was just an excuse for Cinder to look at her kids with her own eyes. And the more she thought about it the more it made sense: Cinder didn't need to return to campus to help Neo and Mercury tie up loose ends. That was fine and all, she just wished the boss lady had been upfront about her real objective before they snuck into the infirmary.
She glanced Cinder's way, and the false maiden seemed completely enraptured with watching the twins demolish a vending machine lunch. Soon the meals were finished and the twin's father, Jaune Arc, sighed and spoke:
"Alright then, we should probably start with the most important question: How did your mom and I get together?"
Cinder tensed, and leaned in with calculating eyes.
--------------------
Ash looked his father in the eyes as he began; "Well, Mom didn't like talking about her life before she married you, so most of what we know we learned from Aunt Em."
"From what she told us," Ashley continued for her brother, "The two of you got together at the party that's supposed to happen tonight. Aunt Em never went into the specific details of what went down, but it was basically an accident on Mom's part."
"In other words Mom was so drunk she didn't remember how it happened," Ash supplied, "But when she was sober she decided roll with it for a couple of reasons. Dating you was a good excuse to be close to the teams she wanted to spy on for the Vytal Tournament for one thing, and she thought you'd be an easily manipulated rube for another. There was one thing that didn't enter her calculations though: since you didn't know the relationship was fake you put in some serious effort into making things work."
"It didn't take you long to charm your way past mom's defenses," Ashley explained with a smile. "You gave her a whirlwind tour of every kind of fun she had missed out on growing up, and at the top of a Ferris Wheel she realized she liked you for you. Then The Breach happened, and she realized she didn't like seeing you get hurt."
"That's when she talked to her master, the Grimm Witch Salem, about you," Ash went on. "Mom asked Salem for a way to get you out of Vale so you wouldn't get caught in the crossfire of her grand plan. Salem refused to do that. When Mom insisted Salem snapped and ordered Mom to kill you; to cut out the weakness," Emerald flinched at that turn of phrase, "You were causing to grow within her. Mom told Salem she would, but she kept putting it off because deep down she realized she couldn't go through with it. Eventually the day she had been planning for came around and Mom kicked off the tumult of the century."
"It didn't take you long to find her in the middle of the chaos she was causing," Ashley continued the tale. "The two of you had your first and only big fight right outside of the elevator that leads to Ozpin's office. We don't know the details, but in the end you talked Mom into standing down and surrendering."
"The next couple of years were hard on Mom and Aunt Em," Ash sighed, "You were the only person who trusted them at that point. Sure Uncle Ozpin was in a forgiving mood, but that was because of everything Mom and Aunt Em were able to tell him about Salem and her inner circle. Mom had to earn everyone else's trust, and it wasn't until you all had finished dealing with Salem that the last of our honorary Aunts and Uncles came around."
"It didn't help that Mom's default response to mistrust was to get all cold and prickly," Ashley allowed a small smile to grow on her face. "Aunt Em told us it took Mom three years before she warmed up to Aunt Nora, which is kind of funny since Aunt Nora was one of the first people to warm up to Mom."
"The two of you got married on the first anniversary of Salem's defeat," Ash pulled out his scroll and showed off a wedding photo, "Though Mom was half convinced the Witch would still show up in spite of the shellacking you all gave her. Ashley and I were born about nine months later, and our family just kept growing after that." Ash swiped over to a different photo, and Jaune did a quick headcount.
"So there are nine of you?" Jaune asked.
"Yep," Ashley grinned, "Mom runs a pretty tight ship in spite of all the ruckus our younger siblings cause. Mom's a great Mom!" Her smile shrank, "Please don't let what happened today be a mark against her, she isn't really like that!"
"You mean she won't be like that," Emerald reminded in a gentle tone.
Ash and Ashley looked away at that and Ash's eyes turned to the crowd around Moses' bed, where he saw a peculiar sight. August and his mother May were staring very intently at an empty space beyond his and Ashley's beds. May tugged on Ruby's cloak, and whispered something to the silver-eyed girl and her son Julian. The silver-eyed boy looked at the empty space and his eyes seemed to glow for a moment before he let out a completely silent gasp. Julian then had a rushed and whispered conversation with his mom who also stared at the empty space with a look of extreme concentration, then her eyes started to glow like her son's. Surprise dominated her features, only to be replaced with steely determination.
Ruby stormed forward, her eyes glowing brighter and brighter with each step. "I Know You're There!" She called out to the empty space, "There's No Use Hiding! I. Can. See. Your. Souls."
A sound that could only be described as the kind of pained yelp only a mute person would make came from the empty space, only for that emptiness to shatter like glass. Ash could hardly contain his own surprise as he saw his mother standing where the emptiness wasn't anymore, squeezing the shoulder and arm of Neopolitan far too tight with a look on her face comparable to a cornered and panicking tiger.
She threw Neopolitan forward into Ruby and took a fighting stance. The tension in the room skyrocketed as almost two dozen weapons were drawn, just as many Schnee glyphs appeared in the air and Amethyst screamed something about a warlock.
"HOLD IT! HOLD IT! HOLD IT!" Jaune Arc yelled with all the authority he could muster as he sprang up from his seat. Surprisingly everyone held it. "Everyone just hold it for a minute, Okay!" He walked cautiously into the infirmary's aisle with his left hand behind him towards his entourage in a signal to stop, while his right hand stretched out in front of him in a placating manner.
"Cinder," Jaune addressed Ash and Ashley's mother in the most soothing voice he could manage right after yelling. "Cinder, we need to talk. Can we do that? Just talk? You and me? A nice, quiet conversation with no violence before, after or during?"
Neopolitan and Ruby got off the ground. Ruby cautiously joined Jaune. Neo marched to Cinder's side with a scowl on her face.
Cinder looked rather out of sorts all things considered. Like someone caught between two conflicting thoughts.
"Can we talk?" Jaune asked again hopefully.
Moses rolled over, somehow still asleep.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Honestly im really looking forward to all the different ways Salem gets her shit kicked in.
BlueRanger O-Doom
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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I don't know if it's been brought up but is Moses…okay? Y'know, after he became the lynchpin to a massive time loop/distortion?
Like is he having problems with memory overload or anything?
Like is he having problems with memory overload or anything?
SpaceK0k0nut
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Ozpin put a Hex on him so he at least rests until they have a plan, so he is probably alright
Jaune and Cinder Talk
AndrewJTalon
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- - -
Cinder stared. She worked her jaw for a moment, before she held up her hands.
"All I want to do is talk," she said quietly. Much scoffing ensued. Emerald glared daggers at her former mistress. Xander's glare was a thing of legend, his weapons out and fully charged.
"You snuck back into Beacon for that?" Xander scoffed.
"Just say the word, Dad, and she'll be gone," Theodore stated.
"That goes double for me," Julian growled, fists tight around his sniper scythe.
"Like hell. She's mine," Xia snarled, slamming her fists together. Her mother followed suit.
Jaune looked back at his future wives and children, and then back at Cinder. He kept his breathing nice and even. In and out. In and out.
"Then we'll talk," he said.
"Alone," Cinder asked, very deliberately trying not to look at her children. Ash and Ashley's eyes narrowed at this.
Jaune glanced back at the twins, then back at their mother. He slowly nodded.
"Okay."
The entire infirmary was filled with loud, angry voices.
"You can't be serious, Jaune!" Ruby shouted.
"She killed so many people!" Nicholas added, his Glyphs spinning around at full power.
"At least let us tie her up!" Leander protested.
"I talk. Then I leave. I won't hurt anyone, if you don't hurt me," Cinder said softly.
"Vomit Boy, don't!" Yang hissed.
Pyrrha winced at the looks some of the future children shot her. It wasn't something Jaune missed. He sucked in another deep breath.
"... Ruby. May. Julian. August. Keep an eye on her friend here," he said, nodding to Neo. The shortstack in the bowler hat smirked and winked at Jaune, something he ignored. "And us. We'll be right outside in the hallway. If anything goes wrong..."
His eyes locked onto Cinder's, grave and cold.
"You know what to do," he said quietly.
"Dad-" Ash tried, but Jaune looked back and him and shook his head.
"Follow my orders," he stated. Ash grimaced, but slid back. Jaune turned back to Cinder.
"Hallway. Now," he ordered, calm but with an edge. Cinder slowly nodded. She backed out into the hallway, keeping her eyes on everyone the entire time. Jaune tried not to look back at everyone's staring eyes. He had a pretty good feeling about what he'd see, and in who's faces.
Yet he had a funny feeling. Something deep in his heart. Something that told him that Cinder wasn't here to fight.
He didn't really know why, nor why the faces of two children he didn't know flashed in his mind... It just felt right.
They stepped out into the empty hallway, facing one another like gunslingers in an old West Valean film. Cinder licked her lips nervously, eyes going anywhere but towards Jaune.
"I... I'm sorry," she murmured, "I-I lost myself... The entire situation was so overwhelming and-and I-"
Her poise and acting were so overwrought it pissed Jaune off immediately.
"You burned your own children," Jaune stated, a cold anger rising up in his chest. Cinder actually paused, staring at his shoulder. Away from the infirmary. Her face faltered a bit, towards something more honest.
"Yes... I... I didn't-"
"I know about Salem, Cinder," Jaune said calmly, "I know about your past. The twins and Emerald told me."
Cinder stared at him in disbelief and shock.
"They... They know... You know-?"
"Not all the details," Jaune admitted, "But enough to make some... Guesses as to why you'd trade one master for another."
"I didn't trade anything!" Cinder snarled. "Salem... She saw my potential! She saw what I could do! She offered me power! Power to-"
"To hurt? To harm? To destroy people's lives?" Jaune asked quietly. Cinder glared.
"All people did to me was hurt me. Use me. Enslave me... She's eternal. She... She would make sure that I would never be hurt again."
"And yet, here you are, hurting," Jaune murmured.
"I'm not-!"
"You know what I mean," Jaune stated.
Cinder stared at Jaune.
"... I didn't mean to," she said, just as quietly.
"Which means maybe sometimes the world didn't mean to, either," Jaune argued, taking a step forward, "Maybe you don't need to hurt people who never did you harm to be safe. Maybe... Maybe you found it in that future. I know you found it in that future."
"With you?" Cinder sneered. Jaune slowly nodded.
"Yeah... I know I'm not much right now, Cinder... But it happened. In one future. In one future, you were free."
"I'm free now-"
"Bullshit," Jaune snorted, "What did Salem tell you when you called her?"
She gaped at him.
"How did-?"
Lucky guess and bluff, Jaune thought. Outwardly, he shook his head.
"If my plan had been upended by time travel, I think I'd at least let my boss know," he said, "What did she tell you?"
Cinder fell silent. Jaune's arms twitched. The conflict on her face, the anger she was just barely reining in... Part of him wanted to run and let his friends just demolish her.
Yet... Something in her eyes. Something about the discoloration around her neck. Something about how she'd looked when the twins were brought up...
That hurt inside of her was deep. Intense. Yet there was just the hint of regret. A moment of... Of empathy.
Maybe he was imagining it. Maybe she couldn't be saved. Yet...
"I'm guessing," Jaune said quietly, "She said some things you didn't like."
Again Cinder said nothing, glaring holes into the wall nearby.
Jaune steeled himself and took a step forward. Cinder looked at him, but didn't react otherwise.
"She's not your master in the future, Cinder," Jaune said quietly. He took another step forward, slow and steady.
"She can't be destroyed," Cinder murmured, "What kind of fool would oppose power like that?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Jaune admitted, taking another step, "But she can be defeated. You really think I'd have kids in so many timelines where she was still a force to be reckoned with? You think she'd suffer someone like me to live?"
Another step closer. Slow and steady. Still she didn't bolt.
"That... That proves nothing," Cinder gritted. Her fists were clenched tightly. Jaune took another step, placing him within reach of her. He stopped, and again steeled him.
"Your kids... Our kids still care about you," Jaune said softly, "They still love you. Even with what you've done."
"I didn't ask them to love me," Cinder hissed.
"But they do... And that has to matter to you somewhere, Cinder. Somewhere deep down inside," Jaune murmured. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't feel like this."
"You don't know how I feel-!"
"I've got a pretty good idea," Jaune countered. Cinder looked up at him sharply.
"You've got yourself a virtual harem! Why would you care about me?"
"Because there's a way for you to be happy. To be at peace. To not fear for your life, or lash out at the world," Jaune said softly, earnestly, "And I want that... I want that for everyone."
"You can't give everyone a happy ending," Cinder hissed.
The blond knight slowly nodded.
"You're right. I can't. I can't change what happened to you. To Emerald. To Yang and Ruby's mothers. To May, Winter and Weiss's families. To Nora and Ren's home and loved ones. To Blake's people, or any bad things in Professor Goodwitch's or Pyrrha's pasts. I can't change any of that."
He then did what might have been the stupidest thing he could have done: He reached out and took Cinder's hand in his. She started, and instinctively tried to pull away. Jaune didn't let go, but he didn't squeeze too hard. He applied just enough pressure for her to pull away if she really wanted to... But just enough to keep her there.
"But maybe we can change our futures. Maybe I can change yours. Isn't... Isn't that worth thinking about, at least?"
Cinder stared into his eyes. For a moment, he thought he could see a glimmer of hope...
She then yanked her hand away, and turned her back to him.
"... I'll consider it," she muttered. "I won't be Ozpin's lapdog-"
"I didn't say you'd-"
"And I will choose the time and place of our next meeting," she stated firmly.
Jaune slowly nodded.
"Fine. Somewhere neutral... So we can trust eachother."
She shot a glare at him over her shoulder. He shrugged.
"A little."
"... Fine," Cinder managed. She glared at the door. "Call off your watchdogs."
"Don't call them that, and I will," Jaune retorted. Cinder stared at him for a moment, before nodding. Jaune looked back.
"Let her go, guys," he said.
Ruby and August grimaced, but they let Neo go. The bowler hatted girl grinned devilishly, and moved her hand towards her sleeve-
"Enough, Neo," Cinder barked. Neo pouted at her. "No... No violence. Take it out on some goons when we get home."
Neo huffed, but nodded. She then pranced up to Cinder. She gave Jaune an appraising look. One none of the other present women missed.
"HEY! Ogle someone else's beefcake!" Yang growled. Neo flipped her off. "Oh that's it, let me-!"
"Ease up, Yang!" Blake stated, gripping her partner's arm.
Cinder and Neo stood next to each other. Cinder narrowed her eyes.
"I'll get a message to you somehow," she stated.
"I... Look forward to it, I guess," Jaune managed.
"Hmph," Cinder snorted. She looked at the packed doorway, where her twins stood and stared. "... What are your names?"
"Ash," the boy volunteered.
"Ashley," the girl said.
Cinder slowly nodded.
"I see..." she whispered. "Until next time."
A smoke bomb and flashbang went off, and everyone held their arms up to their eyes. Jaune coughed hard. He felt something slip around his pockets, but couldn't see anything.
"DAMNIT! WHY DO MY EYES NOT WORK IN THIS CRAP?!" Julian shouted.
"LANGUAGE!" Ruby coughed back.
"Oh for...!" Weiss summoned up a Glyph and used Wind Dust to clear the hallway. May, Ruby, Julian and August scanned around. May grimaced.
"I can't see them," she admitted, "They must have booked it to get out of range."
"Ugh... My eyes," Ruby moaned, rubbing hers, "They're super eyes but they still get hurt thanks to crap like that?!"
"Language," Yang chided her, and Xia and Julian snickered a little.
Jaune sighed, and looked back at Ash and Ashley. The twins looked a little less tense.
"Well...?"
"That... Probably went about as well as it could have gone," Ash admitted.
"That so?" Weiss asked.
"We aren't dead, after all," Ashley opined.
"I suppose she has a point," Leandra muttered.
- - -
Cinder stared. She worked her jaw for a moment, before she held up her hands.
"All I want to do is talk," she said quietly. Much scoffing ensued. Emerald glared daggers at her former mistress. Xander's glare was a thing of legend, his weapons out and fully charged.
"You snuck back into Beacon for that?" Xander scoffed.
"Just say the word, Dad, and she'll be gone," Theodore stated.
"That goes double for me," Julian growled, fists tight around his sniper scythe.
"Like hell. She's mine," Xia snarled, slamming her fists together. Her mother followed suit.
Jaune looked back at his future wives and children, and then back at Cinder. He kept his breathing nice and even. In and out. In and out.
"Then we'll talk," he said.
"Alone," Cinder asked, very deliberately trying not to look at her children. Ash and Ashley's eyes narrowed at this.
Jaune glanced back at the twins, then back at their mother. He slowly nodded.
"Okay."
The entire infirmary was filled with loud, angry voices.
"You can't be serious, Jaune!" Ruby shouted.
"She killed so many people!" Nicholas added, his Glyphs spinning around at full power.
"At least let us tie her up!" Leander protested.
"I talk. Then I leave. I won't hurt anyone, if you don't hurt me," Cinder said softly.
"Vomit Boy, don't!" Yang hissed.
Pyrrha winced at the looks some of the future children shot her. It wasn't something Jaune missed. He sucked in another deep breath.
"... Ruby. May. Julian. August. Keep an eye on her friend here," he said, nodding to Neo. The shortstack in the bowler hat smirked and winked at Jaune, something he ignored. "And us. We'll be right outside in the hallway. If anything goes wrong..."
His eyes locked onto Cinder's, grave and cold.
"You know what to do," he said quietly.
"Dad-" Ash tried, but Jaune looked back and him and shook his head.
"Follow my orders," he stated. Ash grimaced, but slid back. Jaune turned back to Cinder.
"Hallway. Now," he ordered, calm but with an edge. Cinder slowly nodded. She backed out into the hallway, keeping her eyes on everyone the entire time. Jaune tried not to look back at everyone's staring eyes. He had a pretty good feeling about what he'd see, and in who's faces.
Yet he had a funny feeling. Something deep in his heart. Something that told him that Cinder wasn't here to fight.
He didn't really know why, nor why the faces of two children he didn't know flashed in his mind... It just felt right.
They stepped out into the empty hallway, facing one another like gunslingers in an old West Valean film. Cinder licked her lips nervously, eyes going anywhere but towards Jaune.
"I... I'm sorry," she murmured, "I-I lost myself... The entire situation was so overwhelming and-and I-"
Her poise and acting were so overwrought it pissed Jaune off immediately.
"You burned your own children," Jaune stated, a cold anger rising up in his chest. Cinder actually paused, staring at his shoulder. Away from the infirmary. Her face faltered a bit, towards something more honest.
"Yes... I... I didn't-"
"I know about Salem, Cinder," Jaune said calmly, "I know about your past. The twins and Emerald told me."
Cinder stared at him in disbelief and shock.
"They... They know... You know-?"
"Not all the details," Jaune admitted, "But enough to make some... Guesses as to why you'd trade one master for another."
"I didn't trade anything!" Cinder snarled. "Salem... She saw my potential! She saw what I could do! She offered me power! Power to-"
"To hurt? To harm? To destroy people's lives?" Jaune asked quietly. Cinder glared.
"All people did to me was hurt me. Use me. Enslave me... She's eternal. She... She would make sure that I would never be hurt again."
"And yet, here you are, hurting," Jaune murmured.
"I'm not-!"
"You know what I mean," Jaune stated.
Cinder stared at Jaune.
"... I didn't mean to," she said, just as quietly.
"Which means maybe sometimes the world didn't mean to, either," Jaune argued, taking a step forward, "Maybe you don't need to hurt people who never did you harm to be safe. Maybe... Maybe you found it in that future. I know you found it in that future."
"With you?" Cinder sneered. Jaune slowly nodded.
"Yeah... I know I'm not much right now, Cinder... But it happened. In one future. In one future, you were free."
"I'm free now-"
"Bullshit," Jaune snorted, "What did Salem tell you when you called her?"
She gaped at him.
"How did-?"
Lucky guess and bluff, Jaune thought. Outwardly, he shook his head.
"If my plan had been upended by time travel, I think I'd at least let my boss know," he said, "What did she tell you?"
Cinder fell silent. Jaune's arms twitched. The conflict on her face, the anger she was just barely reining in... Part of him wanted to run and let his friends just demolish her.
Yet... Something in her eyes. Something about the discoloration around her neck. Something about how she'd looked when the twins were brought up...
That hurt inside of her was deep. Intense. Yet there was just the hint of regret. A moment of... Of empathy.
Maybe he was imagining it. Maybe she couldn't be saved. Yet...
"I'm guessing," Jaune said quietly, "She said some things you didn't like."
Again Cinder said nothing, glaring holes into the wall nearby.
Jaune steeled himself and took a step forward. Cinder looked at him, but didn't react otherwise.
"She's not your master in the future, Cinder," Jaune said quietly. He took another step forward, slow and steady.
"She can't be destroyed," Cinder murmured, "What kind of fool would oppose power like that?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Jaune admitted, taking another step, "But she can be defeated. You really think I'd have kids in so many timelines where she was still a force to be reckoned with? You think she'd suffer someone like me to live?"
Another step closer. Slow and steady. Still she didn't bolt.
"That... That proves nothing," Cinder gritted. Her fists were clenched tightly. Jaune took another step, placing him within reach of her. He stopped, and again steeled him.
"Your kids... Our kids still care about you," Jaune said softly, "They still love you. Even with what you've done."
"I didn't ask them to love me," Cinder hissed.
"But they do... And that has to matter to you somewhere, Cinder. Somewhere deep down inside," Jaune murmured. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't feel like this."
"You don't know how I feel-!"
"I've got a pretty good idea," Jaune countered. Cinder looked up at him sharply.
"You've got yourself a virtual harem! Why would you care about me?"
"Because there's a way for you to be happy. To be at peace. To not fear for your life, or lash out at the world," Jaune said softly, earnestly, "And I want that... I want that for everyone."
"You can't give everyone a happy ending," Cinder hissed.
The blond knight slowly nodded.
"You're right. I can't. I can't change what happened to you. To Emerald. To Yang and Ruby's mothers. To May, Winter and Weiss's families. To Nora and Ren's home and loved ones. To Blake's people, or any bad things in Professor Goodwitch's or Pyrrha's pasts. I can't change any of that."
He then did what might have been the stupidest thing he could have done: He reached out and took Cinder's hand in his. She started, and instinctively tried to pull away. Jaune didn't let go, but he didn't squeeze too hard. He applied just enough pressure for her to pull away if she really wanted to... But just enough to keep her there.
"But maybe we can change our futures. Maybe I can change yours. Isn't... Isn't that worth thinking about, at least?"
Cinder stared into his eyes. For a moment, he thought he could see a glimmer of hope...
She then yanked her hand away, and turned her back to him.
"... I'll consider it," she muttered. "I won't be Ozpin's lapdog-"
"I didn't say you'd-"
"And I will choose the time and place of our next meeting," she stated firmly.
Jaune slowly nodded.
"Fine. Somewhere neutral... So we can trust eachother."
She shot a glare at him over her shoulder. He shrugged.
"A little."
"... Fine," Cinder managed. She glared at the door. "Call off your watchdogs."
"Don't call them that, and I will," Jaune retorted. Cinder stared at him for a moment, before nodding. Jaune looked back.
"Let her go, guys," he said.
Ruby and August grimaced, but they let Neo go. The bowler hatted girl grinned devilishly, and moved her hand towards her sleeve-
"Enough, Neo," Cinder barked. Neo pouted at her. "No... No violence. Take it out on some goons when we get home."
Neo huffed, but nodded. She then pranced up to Cinder. She gave Jaune an appraising look. One none of the other present women missed.
"HEY! Ogle someone else's beefcake!" Yang growled. Neo flipped her off. "Oh that's it, let me-!"
"Ease up, Yang!" Blake stated, gripping her partner's arm.
Cinder and Neo stood next to each other. Cinder narrowed her eyes.
"I'll get a message to you somehow," she stated.
"I... Look forward to it, I guess," Jaune managed.
"Hmph," Cinder snorted. She looked at the packed doorway, where her twins stood and stared. "... What are your names?"
"Ash," the boy volunteered.
"Ashley," the girl said.
Cinder slowly nodded.
"I see..." she whispered. "Until next time."
A smoke bomb and flashbang went off, and everyone held their arms up to their eyes. Jaune coughed hard. He felt something slip around his pockets, but couldn't see anything.
"DAMNIT! WHY DO MY EYES NOT WORK IN THIS CRAP?!" Julian shouted.
"LANGUAGE!" Ruby coughed back.
"Oh for...!" Weiss summoned up a Glyph and used Wind Dust to clear the hallway. May, Ruby, Julian and August scanned around. May grimaced.
"I can't see them," she admitted, "They must have booked it to get out of range."
"Ugh... My eyes," Ruby moaned, rubbing hers, "They're super eyes but they still get hurt thanks to crap like that?!"
"Language," Yang chided her, and Xia and Julian snickered a little.
Jaune sighed, and looked back at Ash and Ashley. The twins looked a little less tense.
"Well...?"
"That... Probably went about as well as it could have gone," Ash admitted.
"That so?" Weiss asked.
"We aren't dead, after all," Ashley opined.
"I suppose she has a point," Leandra muttered.
- - -
TheCompiler
Now with added Lewd!
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I love this story so fucking much.
TheFabulousCustodes
Experienced.
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I need more of Jaune's parents.
Thanks for the update.
Thanks for the update.
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ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Fantastic chapter as always
AndrewJTalon
Experienced.
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Thank you!
The Rest of the Arc Family Gets the News.
AndrewJTalon
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Radian
Arc Farm
- - -
Isabel Arc barged in through the front door, the impact making the MANY pictures hanging from the walls shake.
"ACK!" Lilac Arc, a beautiful young woman of twenty-three with her hair in a loose ponytail over one shoulder, started. She looked up from the living room couch where she'd been working on the finances for the farm. "Mom, what is it?!"
"Your brother got himself into trouble," Isabel stated brusquely, hurrying upstairs. Lilac got up and walked to the bottom of the stairs. She stared up in disbelief as her mother began ransacking the closets.
"Wh-What kind of trouble?!"
"Very official trouble," a female voice said behind her. Lilac yelped and looked behind her. A beautiful dusky skinned woman with reddish hair and green eyes smiled at her. She wore humble white and blue robes and a head covering. Her forehead bore a single red jewel, and she held an elaborate silver staff in one hand.
"Aunt Saia?!" Lilac gasped. "Aren't you supposed to be... Being a queen or-or something?!"
"Oh, I left Uncle Drona in charge of the kingdom," Saia said with a laugh, "Besides, my husband the King was off playing hooky. I believe the queen has the same right. Especially if I can help out dear old friends."
Isabel emerged from her room, carrying several large, heavy looking suitcases and bags. She stomped down the stairs, smiling at Saia.
"Glad to see you taking initiative, Saia," Isabel said gratefully. Saia chuckled, her laugh like the sound of tinkling bells.
"Well I was on my way to Beacon anyway. Arjun wanted me to be a representative while he and Nick cheered for your son."
"And he didn't tell me that because...?" Isabel prompted. Saia smirked slightly.
"You didn't ask," she said wryly.
Isabel rolled her eyes.
"Of course. Jackass."
"That's my husband you're talking about. Please, call him a royal jackass, it's more appropriate," Saia encouraged. Isabel scowled.
"Not in the mood for jokes, Saia."
"I know... But it's better to laugh at the universe than cry," Saia said with a sigh, "Tears do nothing."
The queen looked very solemn, a hand resting on her belly. Lilac reached out to hug her aunt. Saia returned it, smiling gratefully.
"Thank you dear."
"Anyway," Isabel smiled at Lilac, "Just manage the farm as usual until we get back. If you have any issues, call us. all right? Hopefully this won't take too long, but I'm honestly not sure how bad things might get with Jaune."
"Well, uh... What kind of trouble specifically is he in?" Lilac asked.
Isabel sighed heavily. Saia smirked a bit.
"Your brother decided to outdo Saphron and Terra," she said, "And has impregnated at least eleven women. Who all know one another."
Lilac's jaw dropped.
"E-E-ELEVEN?!"
"At least," Isabel sighed. "Just try to keep it quiet, Lilac? This will inevitably get out, but the less media attention we have, the better."
"R-R-Right! Right!" Lilac said, nodding vigorously.
Isabel hugged and kissed her daughter goodbye, before she turned to the door. Saia opened it up, and Isabel managed to squeeze through with all the baggage. The two women hurried over to a large silver and red airship hovering over the front drive of the farm. They leaped up into the open hatches, which closed, and then the large airship turned and began to head to the south.
Lilac watched them go, and waved her hand at them in a dazed manner. She shook her head.
"Eleven?! Oh my... That's a lot of knitting! I'd better get started!"
She sat down and pulled her her knitting needles. She went to town on several bundles of yarn, her needles clicking loudly.
A few minutes later, twin blonde women of twenty-two entered. One had her hair in a short spiky bob with orange streaks going through it, while the other had green streaks in her wild curly locks.
"I'm just saying, Verdy," the orange streaked twin said, "There is a fine line between a prank and terrorism."
Verdy stuck her tongue out at her sister.
"And I'm saying, Coral, as long as Sarge says it's cool, it's cool! And he said it was cool! So did Caboose!"
Right after them, a shorter blonde woman with a neat pageboy cut and glasses on her nose walked in with a frown.
"Caboose said he was no longer on speaking terms with that pile of explosives," she stated.
"There see? We didn't even blow up one of his friends, so what's the issue?" Verdy asked. Coral sighed, as Orchid shook her head.
All three sisters looked over at Lilac, who looked up with a smile.
"Hello Verdy! Hello Coral! Hello Orchid!"
"Uh, hey Lilac," Verdy said, frowning, "Why are you knitting?"
"Because Jaune's got at least eleven babies on the way and we need to get on top of the situation!" Lilac said cheerfully.
Verdy's jaw dropped to the floor. Coral gasped. Orchid adjusted her glasses.
"E-ELEVEN BABIES?!" Verdy cried.
"How many mothers?!" Coral exclaimed.
"At least eleven!" Lilac said brightly, her knitting needles clicking like a Geiger counter on top of a mountain of uranium.
Orchid blinked.
"Huh... I would have thought there would be a few twins."
"THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT TO SAY?!" Verdy cried. Orchid shrugged.
"What else is there to say?"
"I-I mean, a lot of things?" Coral suggested.
"Are you three going to stand there and argue or are you going to help me knit?" Lilac asked tensely.
"Shouldn't one of us let the others know?" Coral asked, as Lilac's smile was looking just a bit terrifying.
"Oh! O-Of course!" Lilac agreed with a nod. She finished a pair of red booties, and smiled happily, before she set them aside and got back to knitting at high speed. "Verdy! Coral! Get to work on scarves and hats! Orchid! Make the calls!"
- - -
Somewhere in the wilds of Mistral, Aqua Arc stared in disbelief at her Scroll. The rest of her team was busy dealing with a bandit tribe they'd been tasked by the locals to deal with. The members of the tribe were scattered around them, unconscious or tied up.
Her partner, one Kazuma Satou, was trying to console a bandit while the other two members of their team kept watch on or looted the others.
"It's okay, it's okay, Megumin's explosions were set for non-lethal," he soothed the shaking man.
"So huge...! So terrifying!" The bandit wailed.
Kazuma looked over at Aqua in concern.
"Something up?" He asked.
Aqua slowly looked over at her partner/boyfriend and shrugged helplessly.
"Um... It looks like my little brother is going to be a father."
Kazuma chuckled.
"Little Jaune, huh? Well, good to know! Little young but hey! Good on him!"
"Eleven times over," Aqua deadpanned.
Kazuma blinked a few times.
"... And the mothers aren't going to murder him?"
"Apparently not," Aqua shrugged.
Kazuma sobbed, clenching his fist.
"That lucky bastard...!"
Aqua summoned some water with her Semblance and blasted him into a rock.
"IDIOT!"
- - -
Tangerine "Tangy" Arc blinked rapidly at the message on her Scroll. She scowled deeply as the cold Solitas wind blew her blond hair out of her face.
Her assistant, one Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov of Mantle, looked at her boss in concern.
"Something wrong, ma'am?"
"Well... No... Sort of," she sighed. "My idiot little brother knocked up some girls."
Viktoriya beamed and gasped happily.
"He did? Oh that's wonderful! I love babies! They're ever so cute and adorable and-" She blinked. "Wait, girls?"
"Eleven," Tangy deadpanned.
"Oh." Viktoriya winced. "Um... Oh dear..."
"They all know about eachother and they're all getting along, mostly," Tangy went on. Viktoriya beamed.
"OH! How wonderful! Shall we get some gifts for them?"
"We pretty much have to," Tangy sighed.
"Boss!" A handsome blond man shouted. Tangy looked over at him. He, with a few other men, were holding a group of bandits under armed guard near an armored train.
"Any of them willing to talk?" Tangy called.
"No ma'am!"
"All right! Guess we'll pick one at random to start torturing! Maybe that will loosen some lips!" Tangy chuckled, as the bandits all paled.
"Um, w-we're willing to split the entire fortune on the train with you?" One of the bandits offered.
Tangy snorted.
"Please. The system only works if we all agree to play by the rules. That's business 101. Sure, I'll get as much as I can and sometimes I'll push the line, but dealing with a bunch of assholes who just steal as they please and generate no value is a losing proposition."
A psychotic smile came over the short blonde woman's face.
"And just for that? Guess who gets to be tortured first~?"
- - -
In Argus, Saphron Arc-Cotta scowled deeply at her Scroll. Terra Cotta, her wife, sat across their kitchen table. Their infant son Adrian was sucking from a bottle, utterly at peace.
"Uh, Saph? You okay?"
"Jaune's going to be a father," Saphron scowled. Terra's eyebrows rose.
"Oh? Well, good on him! He's a little young but-"
"To eleven kids."
Terra's jaw dropped.
"From eleven women."
Terra choked. Saphron, still scowling, reached out and slapped Terra on the back.
"E-E-ELEVEN?!" She gasped.
Saphron nodded, her mouth a thin angry line.
"He's beating us at the grandchildren game, Terra! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" She declared. "Call the sitter! We're making more babies RIGHT NOW!"
"... Right now right now or-?"
"RIGHT DAMN NOW!"
"Yes dear!"
- - -
Again, using my silly fanon for the Arc Family sisters. They will not have a big impact on the rest of the story, it's a little too complicated to have them all be involved, after all.
Arc Farm
- - -
Isabel Arc barged in through the front door, the impact making the MANY pictures hanging from the walls shake.
"ACK!" Lilac Arc, a beautiful young woman of twenty-three with her hair in a loose ponytail over one shoulder, started. She looked up from the living room couch where she'd been working on the finances for the farm. "Mom, what is it?!"
"Your brother got himself into trouble," Isabel stated brusquely, hurrying upstairs. Lilac got up and walked to the bottom of the stairs. She stared up in disbelief as her mother began ransacking the closets.
"Wh-What kind of trouble?!"
"Very official trouble," a female voice said behind her. Lilac yelped and looked behind her. A beautiful dusky skinned woman with reddish hair and green eyes smiled at her. She wore humble white and blue robes and a head covering. Her forehead bore a single red jewel, and she held an elaborate silver staff in one hand.
"Aunt Saia?!" Lilac gasped. "Aren't you supposed to be... Being a queen or-or something?!"
"Oh, I left Uncle Drona in charge of the kingdom," Saia said with a laugh, "Besides, my husband the King was off playing hooky. I believe the queen has the same right. Especially if I can help out dear old friends."
Isabel emerged from her room, carrying several large, heavy looking suitcases and bags. She stomped down the stairs, smiling at Saia.
"Glad to see you taking initiative, Saia," Isabel said gratefully. Saia chuckled, her laugh like the sound of tinkling bells.
"Well I was on my way to Beacon anyway. Arjun wanted me to be a representative while he and Nick cheered for your son."
"And he didn't tell me that because...?" Isabel prompted. Saia smirked slightly.
"You didn't ask," she said wryly.
Isabel rolled her eyes.
"Of course. Jackass."
"That's my husband you're talking about. Please, call him a royal jackass, it's more appropriate," Saia encouraged. Isabel scowled.
"Not in the mood for jokes, Saia."
"I know... But it's better to laugh at the universe than cry," Saia said with a sigh, "Tears do nothing."
The queen looked very solemn, a hand resting on her belly. Lilac reached out to hug her aunt. Saia returned it, smiling gratefully.
"Thank you dear."
"Anyway," Isabel smiled at Lilac, "Just manage the farm as usual until we get back. If you have any issues, call us. all right? Hopefully this won't take too long, but I'm honestly not sure how bad things might get with Jaune."
"Well, uh... What kind of trouble specifically is he in?" Lilac asked.
Isabel sighed heavily. Saia smirked a bit.
"Your brother decided to outdo Saphron and Terra," she said, "And has impregnated at least eleven women. Who all know one another."
Lilac's jaw dropped.
"E-E-ELEVEN?!"
"At least," Isabel sighed. "Just try to keep it quiet, Lilac? This will inevitably get out, but the less media attention we have, the better."
"R-R-Right! Right!" Lilac said, nodding vigorously.
Isabel hugged and kissed her daughter goodbye, before she turned to the door. Saia opened it up, and Isabel managed to squeeze through with all the baggage. The two women hurried over to a large silver and red airship hovering over the front drive of the farm. They leaped up into the open hatches, which closed, and then the large airship turned and began to head to the south.
Lilac watched them go, and waved her hand at them in a dazed manner. She shook her head.
"Eleven?! Oh my... That's a lot of knitting! I'd better get started!"
She sat down and pulled her her knitting needles. She went to town on several bundles of yarn, her needles clicking loudly.
A few minutes later, twin blonde women of twenty-two entered. One had her hair in a short spiky bob with orange streaks going through it, while the other had green streaks in her wild curly locks.
"I'm just saying, Verdy," the orange streaked twin said, "There is a fine line between a prank and terrorism."
Verdy stuck her tongue out at her sister.
"And I'm saying, Coral, as long as Sarge says it's cool, it's cool! And he said it was cool! So did Caboose!"
Right after them, a shorter blonde woman with a neat pageboy cut and glasses on her nose walked in with a frown.
"Caboose said he was no longer on speaking terms with that pile of explosives," she stated.
"There see? We didn't even blow up one of his friends, so what's the issue?" Verdy asked. Coral sighed, as Orchid shook her head.
All three sisters looked over at Lilac, who looked up with a smile.
"Hello Verdy! Hello Coral! Hello Orchid!"
"Uh, hey Lilac," Verdy said, frowning, "Why are you knitting?"
"Because Jaune's got at least eleven babies on the way and we need to get on top of the situation!" Lilac said cheerfully.
Verdy's jaw dropped to the floor. Coral gasped. Orchid adjusted her glasses.
"E-ELEVEN BABIES?!" Verdy cried.
"How many mothers?!" Coral exclaimed.
"At least eleven!" Lilac said brightly, her knitting needles clicking like a Geiger counter on top of a mountain of uranium.
Orchid blinked.
"Huh... I would have thought there would be a few twins."
"THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT TO SAY?!" Verdy cried. Orchid shrugged.
"What else is there to say?"
"I-I mean, a lot of things?" Coral suggested.
"Are you three going to stand there and argue or are you going to help me knit?" Lilac asked tensely.
"Shouldn't one of us let the others know?" Coral asked, as Lilac's smile was looking just a bit terrifying.
"Oh! O-Of course!" Lilac agreed with a nod. She finished a pair of red booties, and smiled happily, before she set them aside and got back to knitting at high speed. "Verdy! Coral! Get to work on scarves and hats! Orchid! Make the calls!"
- - -
Somewhere in the wilds of Mistral, Aqua Arc stared in disbelief at her Scroll. The rest of her team was busy dealing with a bandit tribe they'd been tasked by the locals to deal with. The members of the tribe were scattered around them, unconscious or tied up.
Her partner, one Kazuma Satou, was trying to console a bandit while the other two members of their team kept watch on or looted the others.
"It's okay, it's okay, Megumin's explosions were set for non-lethal," he soothed the shaking man.
"So huge...! So terrifying!" The bandit wailed.
Kazuma looked over at Aqua in concern.
"Something up?" He asked.
Aqua slowly looked over at her partner/boyfriend and shrugged helplessly.
"Um... It looks like my little brother is going to be a father."
Kazuma chuckled.
"Little Jaune, huh? Well, good to know! Little young but hey! Good on him!"
"Eleven times over," Aqua deadpanned.
Kazuma blinked a few times.
"... And the mothers aren't going to murder him?"
"Apparently not," Aqua shrugged.
Kazuma sobbed, clenching his fist.
"That lucky bastard...!"
Aqua summoned some water with her Semblance and blasted him into a rock.
"IDIOT!"
- - -
Tangerine "Tangy" Arc blinked rapidly at the message on her Scroll. She scowled deeply as the cold Solitas wind blew her blond hair out of her face.
Her assistant, one Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov of Mantle, looked at her boss in concern.
"Something wrong, ma'am?"
"Well... No... Sort of," she sighed. "My idiot little brother knocked up some girls."
Viktoriya beamed and gasped happily.
"He did? Oh that's wonderful! I love babies! They're ever so cute and adorable and-" She blinked. "Wait, girls?"
"Eleven," Tangy deadpanned.
"Oh." Viktoriya winced. "Um... Oh dear..."
"They all know about eachother and they're all getting along, mostly," Tangy went on. Viktoriya beamed.
"OH! How wonderful! Shall we get some gifts for them?"
"We pretty much have to," Tangy sighed.
"Boss!" A handsome blond man shouted. Tangy looked over at him. He, with a few other men, were holding a group of bandits under armed guard near an armored train.
"Any of them willing to talk?" Tangy called.
"No ma'am!"
"All right! Guess we'll pick one at random to start torturing! Maybe that will loosen some lips!" Tangy chuckled, as the bandits all paled.
"Um, w-we're willing to split the entire fortune on the train with you?" One of the bandits offered.
Tangy snorted.
"Please. The system only works if we all agree to play by the rules. That's business 101. Sure, I'll get as much as I can and sometimes I'll push the line, but dealing with a bunch of assholes who just steal as they please and generate no value is a losing proposition."
A psychotic smile came over the short blonde woman's face.
"And just for that? Guess who gets to be tortured first~?"
- - -
In Argus, Saphron Arc-Cotta scowled deeply at her Scroll. Terra Cotta, her wife, sat across their kitchen table. Their infant son Adrian was sucking from a bottle, utterly at peace.
"Uh, Saph? You okay?"
"Jaune's going to be a father," Saphron scowled. Terra's eyebrows rose.
"Oh? Well, good on him! He's a little young but-"
"To eleven kids."
Terra's jaw dropped.
"From eleven women."
Terra choked. Saphron, still scowling, reached out and slapped Terra on the back.
"E-E-ELEVEN?!" She gasped.
Saphron nodded, her mouth a thin angry line.
"He's beating us at the grandchildren game, Terra! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" She declared. "Call the sitter! We're making more babies RIGHT NOW!"
"... Right now right now or-?"
"RIGHT DAMN NOW!"
"Yes dear!"
- - -
Again, using my silly fanon for the Arc Family sisters. They will not have a big impact on the rest of the story, it's a little too complicated to have them all be involved, after all.
Brian Boru
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The mechanics for that last sister...
The Arc Sisters
AndrewJTalon
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As for the Arc Sisters and their references:
-Saphron Cotta-Arc: Eldest, happily married to Terra Cotta, lives in Argus. She is an editor at a publishing house while Terra is a technician for the Argus CCT System. Her canon self. About nine years older than Jaune. Son named Adrian.
-Aqua Arc: A trained field medic with unlocked Aura, travels around with a party of Adventurers who go out and find ancient relics, people, or deal with Grimm. Has a Water Control Semblance, often called the "Goddess of Healing Water". She is based upon Aqua from Konosuba. She dyes her hair blue from blonde.
-Lilac Arc: Engaged to marry a local mechanic and racer, manages the farm's finances and operations. Based upon Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess!
-Orchid Arc: Works as a bookkeeper at the Arc-En-Ciel Hospital in Radian, is very scientifically inclined and stoic. Extremely deadpan. Based upon Yuki Nagato from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
-Verdy and Coral Arc: Twin sisters, both in college for their doctorates, and they love to mess around. Based upon Kururi & Mairu Orihara From Durarara!! with a touch of the Weasley Twins from Harry Potter in how much they love pranks.
-Tangerine "Tangy" Arc: Is apparently a very aggressive saleswoman who travels a lot, most recently in Atlas selling refrigerators. Whether this is entirely true or not is a matter of speculation. Also goes by "Tanya" due to how much she despises her given name. Based upon Tanya von Degurechaff from Saga of Tanya the Evil.
-Jaune Arc: Youngest of the family, only son.
-Saphron Cotta-Arc: Eldest, happily married to Terra Cotta, lives in Argus. She is an editor at a publishing house while Terra is a technician for the Argus CCT System. Her canon self. About nine years older than Jaune. Son named Adrian.
-Aqua Arc: A trained field medic with unlocked Aura, travels around with a party of Adventurers who go out and find ancient relics, people, or deal with Grimm. Has a Water Control Semblance, often called the "Goddess of Healing Water". She is based upon Aqua from Konosuba. She dyes her hair blue from blonde.
-Lilac Arc: Engaged to marry a local mechanic and racer, manages the farm's finances and operations. Based upon Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess!
-Orchid Arc: Works as a bookkeeper at the Arc-En-Ciel Hospital in Radian, is very scientifically inclined and stoic. Extremely deadpan. Based upon Yuki Nagato from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
-Verdy and Coral Arc: Twin sisters, both in college for their doctorates, and they love to mess around. Based upon Kururi & Mairu Orihara From Durarara!! with a touch of the Weasley Twins from Harry Potter in how much they love pranks.
-Tangerine "Tangy" Arc: Is apparently a very aggressive saleswoman who travels a lot, most recently in Atlas selling refrigerators. Whether this is entirely true or not is a matter of speculation. Also goes by "Tanya" due to how much she despises her given name. Based upon Tanya von Degurechaff from Saga of Tanya the Evil.
-Jaune Arc: Youngest of the family, only son.
KingsAnvil
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Thank you for the update
ThunderBasilisk
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The explanation on just how his kids are around are gonna be hilarious. And Saphron doesnt know just how far behind shes gonna be since in each timeline he has 10 kids Thats over a hundred Grandkids in store.
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Blackicefox
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No no please please get them involved it will be both hilarious and awesome and so should be done whatever possible
August upends his Mother's world a second time
AndrewJTalon
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- - -
August sighed in some relief as everyone settled back down to keep an eye on Moses. He was still worried about Cinder, but he was pretty confident everyone would be able to handle her. He knew the story about Aunt Pyrrha, after all.
Speaking of which, he smiled warmly at the redhead.
"I uh, I just wanted to say, Aunt Pyrrha, I'm really glad you're still okay," he said. Pyrrha started, and stared at the tall teen.
"Oh?"
"Yeah! I've heard you weren't in a lot of other timelines," he said with a sigh, "And in mine. But I'm so glad you're good here. Mom and Dad had a memorial raised to you in the royal palace!"
"Oh, well, um, thank you," Pyrrha managed, flushing a bit in confusion, flattery, and some frustration.
His mother May frowned deeply, as did his father, and Xander.
"Royal Palace? What do you mean, August?" May asked. "Does your father become a king in our-um, I mean, your future?" She cast some nervous glances at some of the other girls.
"Eh? No, he's your..." August trailed off and his eyes widened. "Ohhh. Oh, this-this is before you find out. Dang, uh..."
"Find out what?" Jaune asked.
August winced.
"I-I really shouldn't say-The timeline's a big enough mess as it is-You really shouldn't-"
"Just tell us, dipshit!" Ash shouted with a glare. August coughed.
"Um... Dad? Arjun Sarkara is still your dad's best friend, right?"
"Yeah," Jaune said with a nod and a grin, "Uncle Arjun's the best! He's super busy but he and Aunt Saia show up for the holidays!"
Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, and Emerald all gasped in shock. Arslan looked deeply startled.
"Wait, you don't mean King Arjun Sarkara of the Kingdom of Pandu, do you?" Weiss cried. Jaune blinked and shrugged.
"Well, yeah. He's my godfather."
Much staring.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?!" Nora shouted angrily. "I COULD HAVE BEEN A PRINCESS!"
"It's not that big a deal!" Jaune insisted. "When my parents helped him and Aunt Saia retake his throne from the Kaurava Crime Family-"
"Your dad and mom helped overthrow a government?!" Ruby gasped, eyes sparkling, "And restored an exiled prince to his throne?! THAT'S SO COOL!"
"Why didn't you tell us your family was so awesome?!" Yang demanded.
"I did," Jaune deadpanned. Yang and Ruby winced.
"Oh... I guess we weren't listening," Ruby conceded bashfully.
Blake looked immensely jealous for some reason, though she didn't voice her thoughts on the matter.
"That's... Wow," Pyrrha beamed, "To know you're the godson of King Arjun himself... He's such an inspiration! A noble warrior, a compassionate ruler-!"
"A fearsome fighter against corruption," Arslan nodded, as Petra nodded with her.
"Someone my father tried to buy out but failed," Weiss breathed in amazement.
"A cunning tactician," Ren added.
"And a snappy dresser!"
Everyone stared at Yang. She shrugged and grinned.
"Had to lighten the mood a little, right?"
"Mom," Xia moaned.
"Anyway, anyway!" August said quickly, "Um, their only daughter was kidnapped by Kaurava sympathizers when she was a baby... And thought lost and dead..." He shyly met his mother's eyes, "Until the Vytal Festival."
May's jaw dropped. Her dusky cheeks went bright red. She began to sway unsteadily even as she sat on her chair.
"Y-You mean... I'm... I'm...?"
"Uh, yeah," August coughed, "You're actually Maia Sarkara, the future Queen of Pandu. Dad's your consort... Maybe I should have mentioned it sooner?"
"HOW MANY HIDDEN PRINCESSES ARE AT THIS SCHOOL ANYWAY?!" Nora demanded.
Once again, May Zedong fainted.
- - -
Aboard a small Pandu airship, some distance to the north...
Arjun piloted the craft from the pilot's seat, while Nick was in the copilot seat. Notably, his controls were all shut down and triple-locked out.
Nick sighed and looked over at his best friend.
"This really isn't necessary. I learned my lesson last time, promise!"
"One airship crashing, I could forgive," Arjun stated, "Two? I could tolerate, if the circumstances warranted it. But you crashed three of my airships, Nick. No more piloting for you, ever."
"Oh come on!" Nick groaned. "That last one was a fluke!"
"Two would be a fluke, three is enemy action."
"Come on, I've been practicing!" Nick complained. "Tex let me in the simulator back in Radian! She said I was doing better!"
"You crashed the simulator."
"I didn't crash it as fast that time!"
Arjun rolled his eyes. Nick held his hands together with a pleading expression on his face.
"Come on Arjun! You have any idea how embarrassing it is to have to ask my wife or children to pilot me anywhere?"
Arjun sighed, checking their readouts. Everything was on course and looked good.
"Any more embarrassing than crashing every air vehicle you've ever tried to pilot?"
"Uggggh," Nick groaned, leaning his head back and fidgeting like the very mature adult he was.
Arjun then adopted a sly smile.
"Of course... I might be persuaded to be patient enough to teach you how to fly properly... If one of your daughters married my son."
Nick's head snapped up and he scowled.
"No."
"Oh come on!" Arjun groaned. "It would make us family! True family! That's something we've wanted forever!"
Nick wavered a bit.
"That's true, Arjun," Nick said, his voice thick with emotion, "You are my brother in every way but blood."
Arjun smiled, filled with the same manly emotions.
"And you too, my brother," Arjun nodded.
"But," Nick sighed, "Isabel made it very clear: No arranged marriages. Besides, your son is twelve."
"Abhimanyu is very mature for his age!" Arjun protested. Nick gave him a deadpan look.
"Besides. Saphron is already married and a lesbian, Aqua is practically married and a disaster I wouldn't inflict on anyone, Lilac is engaged to Primo, whom she's been in love with since childhood, Verdy and Coral would eat him alive, Tangy would probably depose him for the money, and Orchid would have to look up from her books for five minutes to take notice of him."
"... So Tangy and Orchid are my best bet?" Arjun asked.
Nick sighed. Arjun smiled.
"Come on. We would get to be together all the time to arrange their dates. We could do all the fun things our wives forbade us to do in the name of ensuring our children got married!"
"I know, damnit!" Nick sighed, "We could have had that with..." He hesitated.
Arjun sighed and nodded sadly.
"With Maia and Jaune. I know. But unless she's one of the eleven women your son knocked up? Abhimanyu it is."
Nick sighed.
"... Is he interested in video games?"
"A few."
"Well, that's a start for Orchid," Nick nodded, "Let's set it up!"
- - -
August sighed in some relief as everyone settled back down to keep an eye on Moses. He was still worried about Cinder, but he was pretty confident everyone would be able to handle her. He knew the story about Aunt Pyrrha, after all.
Speaking of which, he smiled warmly at the redhead.
"I uh, I just wanted to say, Aunt Pyrrha, I'm really glad you're still okay," he said. Pyrrha started, and stared at the tall teen.
"Oh?"
"Yeah! I've heard you weren't in a lot of other timelines," he said with a sigh, "And in mine. But I'm so glad you're good here. Mom and Dad had a memorial raised to you in the royal palace!"
"Oh, well, um, thank you," Pyrrha managed, flushing a bit in confusion, flattery, and some frustration.
His mother May frowned deeply, as did his father, and Xander.
"Royal Palace? What do you mean, August?" May asked. "Does your father become a king in our-um, I mean, your future?" She cast some nervous glances at some of the other girls.
"Eh? No, he's your..." August trailed off and his eyes widened. "Ohhh. Oh, this-this is before you find out. Dang, uh..."
"Find out what?" Jaune asked.
August winced.
"I-I really shouldn't say-The timeline's a big enough mess as it is-You really shouldn't-"
"Just tell us, dipshit!" Ash shouted with a glare. August coughed.
"Um... Dad? Arjun Sarkara is still your dad's best friend, right?"
"Yeah," Jaune said with a nod and a grin, "Uncle Arjun's the best! He's super busy but he and Aunt Saia show up for the holidays!"
Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, and Emerald all gasped in shock. Arslan looked deeply startled.
"Wait, you don't mean King Arjun Sarkara of the Kingdom of Pandu, do you?" Weiss cried. Jaune blinked and shrugged.
"Well, yeah. He's my godfather."
Much staring.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?!" Nora shouted angrily. "I COULD HAVE BEEN A PRINCESS!"
"It's not that big a deal!" Jaune insisted. "When my parents helped him and Aunt Saia retake his throne from the Kaurava Crime Family-"
"Your dad and mom helped overthrow a government?!" Ruby gasped, eyes sparkling, "And restored an exiled prince to his throne?! THAT'S SO COOL!"
"Why didn't you tell us your family was so awesome?!" Yang demanded.
"I did," Jaune deadpanned. Yang and Ruby winced.
"Oh... I guess we weren't listening," Ruby conceded bashfully.
Blake looked immensely jealous for some reason, though she didn't voice her thoughts on the matter.
"That's... Wow," Pyrrha beamed, "To know you're the godson of King Arjun himself... He's such an inspiration! A noble warrior, a compassionate ruler-!"
"A fearsome fighter against corruption," Arslan nodded, as Petra nodded with her.
"Someone my father tried to buy out but failed," Weiss breathed in amazement.
"A cunning tactician," Ren added.
"And a snappy dresser!"
Everyone stared at Yang. She shrugged and grinned.
"Had to lighten the mood a little, right?"
"Mom," Xia moaned.
"Anyway, anyway!" August said quickly, "Um, their only daughter was kidnapped by Kaurava sympathizers when she was a baby... And thought lost and dead..." He shyly met his mother's eyes, "Until the Vytal Festival."
May's jaw dropped. Her dusky cheeks went bright red. She began to sway unsteadily even as she sat on her chair.
"Y-You mean... I'm... I'm...?"
"Uh, yeah," August coughed, "You're actually Maia Sarkara, the future Queen of Pandu. Dad's your consort... Maybe I should have mentioned it sooner?"
"HOW MANY HIDDEN PRINCESSES ARE AT THIS SCHOOL ANYWAY?!" Nora demanded.
Once again, May Zedong fainted.
- - -
Aboard a small Pandu airship, some distance to the north...
Arjun piloted the craft from the pilot's seat, while Nick was in the copilot seat. Notably, his controls were all shut down and triple-locked out.
Nick sighed and looked over at his best friend.
"This really isn't necessary. I learned my lesson last time, promise!"
"One airship crashing, I could forgive," Arjun stated, "Two? I could tolerate, if the circumstances warranted it. But you crashed three of my airships, Nick. No more piloting for you, ever."
"Oh come on!" Nick groaned. "That last one was a fluke!"
"Two would be a fluke, three is enemy action."
"Come on, I've been practicing!" Nick complained. "Tex let me in the simulator back in Radian! She said I was doing better!"
"You crashed the simulator."
"I didn't crash it as fast that time!"
Arjun rolled his eyes. Nick held his hands together with a pleading expression on his face.
"Come on Arjun! You have any idea how embarrassing it is to have to ask my wife or children to pilot me anywhere?"
Arjun sighed, checking their readouts. Everything was on course and looked good.
"Any more embarrassing than crashing every air vehicle you've ever tried to pilot?"
"Uggggh," Nick groaned, leaning his head back and fidgeting like the very mature adult he was.
Arjun then adopted a sly smile.
"Of course... I might be persuaded to be patient enough to teach you how to fly properly... If one of your daughters married my son."
Nick's head snapped up and he scowled.
"No."
"Oh come on!" Arjun groaned. "It would make us family! True family! That's something we've wanted forever!"
Nick wavered a bit.
"That's true, Arjun," Nick said, his voice thick with emotion, "You are my brother in every way but blood."
Arjun smiled, filled with the same manly emotions.
"And you too, my brother," Arjun nodded.
"But," Nick sighed, "Isabel made it very clear: No arranged marriages. Besides, your son is twelve."
"Abhimanyu is very mature for his age!" Arjun protested. Nick gave him a deadpan look.
"Besides. Saphron is already married and a lesbian, Aqua is practically married and a disaster I wouldn't inflict on anyone, Lilac is engaged to Primo, whom she's been in love with since childhood, Verdy and Coral would eat him alive, Tangy would probably depose him for the money, and Orchid would have to look up from her books for five minutes to take notice of him."
"... So Tangy and Orchid are my best bet?" Arjun asked.
Nick sighed. Arjun smiled.
"Come on. We would get to be together all the time to arrange their dates. We could do all the fun things our wives forbade us to do in the name of ensuring our children got married!"
"I know, damnit!" Nick sighed, "We could have had that with..." He hesitated.
Arjun sighed and nodded sadly.
"With Maia and Jaune. I know. But unless she's one of the eleven women your son knocked up? Abhimanyu it is."
Nick sighed.
"... Is he interested in video games?"
"A few."
"Well, that's a start for Orchid," Nick nodded, "Let's set it up!"
- - -
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TheFabulousCustodes
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How many orphans with mysterious past's are there?
I need a short of Jaune in a booster seat flying his dad around, now.....
RandomDragon
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Jaunes airsickness is because of his dad crashing a airship when he was a child is now head-cannon...multiple times.
needless to say hes internally so scared he throws up and is utterly relieved to be on solid ground every time he gets done being in a bullhead or airship.
needless to say hes internally so scared he throws up and is utterly relieved to be on solid ground every time he gets done being in a bullhead or airship.
ThunderBasilisk
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Wait he crashed the simulator? Like crashed a virtual bullhead before even taking off?
NightDranzer
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Crashed, as in he fucked up so badly the simulator bugged the fuck out, glitched like a motherfucker and just noped into a software crash.
Frakir's brother
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I mean, setting up a few dates isn't a bad idea. Hide the premise so there's no rebellious deliberate bombing of it and they might hit it off enough that it sets up a good foundation for romance.
TheFabulousCustodes
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This is an reasonable explanation, and Jaune's motion sickness gradually subsides as he flies on aircraft flown by competent pilots.
Bommel
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So Jaune is pretty much a prince and actually becomes one and later a king in at least 1 timeline.
Honestly, it seems like that by the end of this story, Jaune will somehow end up as crown prince/king and all the potential future baby-mamas will form a literal royal harem.
Everyone gets their happy ending, all the children from every timeline will end up being born, no one will be deleted by a timeline-erased-paradox, and all women will become princesses/future queens.
Pretty much the definition of a golden ending.
Also, can I have a list of whose child is whose?
Because I have trouble keeping track, and who is and isn't a time-travel future timeline potential baby-mama and not.
Like Neopolitan for example, because I got the impression she did flirt with Jaune or something, but I'm not sure if there are any of her future-timeline kids running around or not, and thus the impact of if she somehow ends up joining the harem anyway or not.
Honestly, it seems like that by the end of this story, Jaune will somehow end up as crown prince/king and all the potential future baby-mamas will form a literal royal harem.
Everyone gets their happy ending, all the children from every timeline will end up being born, no one will be deleted by a timeline-erased-paradox, and all women will become princesses/future queens.
Pretty much the definition of a golden ending.
Also, can I have a list of whose child is whose?
Because I have trouble keeping track, and who is and isn't a time-travel future timeline potential baby-mama and not.
Like Neopolitan for example, because I got the impression she did flirt with Jaune or something, but I'm not sure if there are any of her future-timeline kids running around or not, and thus the impact of if she somehow ends up joining the harem anyway or not.
Ghira and Kali get the News
AndrewJTalon
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The Four Kingdoms of Remnant: Vale, Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo. As far as the average citizen of these four nations are concerned they have stood alone since the end of The Great War, when the few smaller nations that hadn't been destroyed in the conflict allowed themselves to be absorbed by the big four as a means of protection and economic rebuilding. Civilization ends beyond the Four Kingdom's borders.
This view isn't completely accurate. Several political entities such as towns, villages, and even some fully fledged city-states exist outside of the Four Kingdom's domains. While most of these independent entities are impoverished and barely eking out a living in the unforgiving wilds some of them are actually quite prosperous with their own native industries and defenses worthy of the name. However in spite of this prosperity none of them have the wealth and gravitas necessary to be considered a "Proper Kingdom" by the Big Four...
...Or at least none of them have the wealth and gravitas yet. A handful of these wealthy independent entities have advanced to a point where they are Kingdoms in all but name, with only a handful of political and material hurtles keeping them from being recognized as Remnant's Fifth Kingdom.
At the forefront of these "Aspirant Kingdoms" is Menagerie. While not quite as prosperous as some of the other independent polities Menagerie has the largest territorial claim and is by far the most populous of the Aspirant Kingdoms. Its' capital of Kou Kuana is in some ways more developed than the city of Vacuo, only lacking a high end CCTS Tower and an accredited Huntsman Academy. Neither of these material shortcomings were true obstacles to Menagerie's ascension, no the reasons Menagerie hadn't been acknowledged as the Fifth Kingdom by now were entirely political.
Vale was cautiously supportive of the idea of recognizing Menagerie as the Fifth Kingdom. Mistral was vehemently opposed. Vacuo was tepidly supportive on a really good day, and indifferent the rest of the time. Atlas wasn't opposed... so long as a White Fang terrorist attack wasn't dominating the news cycle.
Ghira Belladonna sighed as he looked through the reports on his desk. A White Fang terrorist attack was dominating the news cycle. A cell in Atlas had highjacked an airship and held several employees of the Schnee Dust Company hostage, demanding the release of several White Fang prisoners in exchange for the lives of the hostages.
Now the bidding war over building a modern CCTS Tower in Kou Kuana had abruptly stopped, as the Atlesian communication companies he had tempted into the job couldn't commit to it anymore without a public backlash at home. Now he'd have to start the whole process over again in a few months or even years. Ghira cursed Sienna Khan under his breath for the fifth time since he had started on the afternoon's paperwork. Every piece of news crossing his desk involved this or that trade deal or treaty falling through because of something the White Fang had done over the last few weeks.
He should have never stepped down as the White Fang's High Leader. He should have been less lenient with Sienna when she started publicly questioning his leadership. His mind raced with other should haves, would haves, and could haves, and he growled.
A cup of tea was placed on the desk before him, and his wife pulled up a chair beside him. Kali leaned against him and started rubbing soothing circles along his back. Ghira took a deep breath and then relaxed into his wife's affections, and for a moment the stresses of the day were replaced with her comforting presence.
Unfortunately they couldn't luxuriate in each other's warmth for long. Wanting to stretch out the moment a bit longer Ghira sipped his tea at a sedate pace, only speaking when he had finished the drink.
"We need a way to separate Menagerie from the White Fang in the eye's of the common man," Ghira opined as he set his teacup back in its' saucer.
"A tall order," Kali observed with a frown, "People's memories might be short, but they all remember we founded the White Fang."
"A tall order," Ghira agreed, "But not an impossible one. Blake leaving them made it possible; Sienna can't use our heir against us anymore."
"That's true," a dark look crossed Kali's face as her hands went to her stomach. Ghira winced at accidentally bringing the problem of their heir.
Technically speaking Blake had disqualified herself from inheriting the Chiefdom the day she ran away and joined a terrorist organization, but as their only child she was the only candidate the people of Kou Kuana would accept. At the time the solution to that problem seemed simple: make another heir. While the impetus of Blake leaving was unpleasant Ghira and Kali had already been discussing the possibility of expanding their family now that their lives were more stable without the additional strain of leading the White Fang. At the time their only regret was that Blake would miss the childhood of her younger sibling...
...The doctors all agreed the catastrophic miscarriage was the result of poison. The doctors also agreed that Kali still hadn't truly recovered from the ordeal, making trying again an incredibly risky endeavor.
In ancient times criminal investigations started with a question: to whom is it a benefit? The answer to that question was obvious to Ghira and Kali. So long as the Belladonna heir was a lieutenant of Sienna Khan any and all criticism the two could level against her would ring hollow in the ears of the people, therefore it was a benefit to Sienna to ensure that Blake was the only possible heir.
Unfortunately they weren't able to find any concrete evidence that could prove their suspicions, and Sienna remained popular enough among the undecided faunus that accusing her of the crime would only be seen as a baseless effort to use a tragedy to smear a political rival.
Once again Ghira found himself wanting to curse Sienna under his breath, but his breath was better spent on things he and his wife were in a position to actually do something about.
"Ozpin's last message said Blake's team is planning to participate in the Vytal Tournament," Ghira mused. Without a modern CCTS Tower updates concerning their daughter's time at Beacon were far more sporadic than ether of them liked, as international communication was spotty and expensive using the multiple small and outdated towers that had been salvaged for Menagerie's current network. Most of the updates had been emails with a handful of photos, or as an aside about Blake in voice only business calls to Beacon when they weren't pressed for time. "Everyone will see she's not with the White Fang anymore once that happens. We could try to capitalize on that."
"Isn't she hiding her identity though?" Kali objected. "How will people recognize her?"
"You saw the picture of her in that black and white outfit?"
"Yes."
"Apparently, and I just found this out this morning, that's what she thought made a good disguise," Ghira smirked.
"No..." Kali's jaw dropped, "Just the bow?"
"Just the bow," Ghira confirmed.
Kali brought her hand to her mouth to catch the undignified snort that popped out. More followed. Soon her hand had abandoned catching snorts and giggles in favor of grabbing her husband's arm in support. Her other arm wrapped around her middle as she began to cackle in a most unladylike manner. Ghira joined her in a low and deep chuckle that reverberated down the hall and for then next few minutes the guards posted outside their chambers looked at one another with concern in their eyes.
Eventually Kali's laughter devolved into wheezing, so she forced her self to stop at that point.
"God must be watching out for our little girl," Kali noted as she wiped a mirthful tear from her eye, "Because she obviously has no idea what she's doing."
"Yes," Ghira agreed as his own chuckling slowed down. "She probably-"
A chiming sound came from Ghira's scroll, in the tune he had selected for contacts from the Huntsman Academies. He raised an eyebrow as he pulled his scroll from his pocket, and then both of his eyebrows shot up to his hairline when he saw it was a video call. A video call of exceptional quality. The caller was putting down half a week's wages for this at bare minimum. Ghira accepted the call and put it on his desk's screen.
"Chieftain Belladona, Chieftess Belladona," Glynda Goodwitch greeted them with a strained smile. "I hope this is a good time?"
"It is Professor Goodwitch," Ghira replied, then asked, "What's this about?"
"The two of you need to come to Beacon as soon as possible, a complicated situation if unfolding and Blake needs your support."
"What kind of situation?" Ghira asked.
"It would be best if we discussed it in person with the other parents involved." Glynda smile strained some more.
"Other parents? Did our little girl hurt someone?" Kali gasped.
"Ye-NO!" Glynda's smile broke a little, "There was a fight, but Blake didn't cause any permeant damage."
"What was the fight about?" Kali asked.
"Like I said it's a complicate situation so it would be best if the two of you-"
"What was the fight about, Glynda?" Kali pressed with a hiss in her voice.
Glynda pushed her glasses up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "A boy. The fight was over a boy."
Kali perked up and glanced to her husband.
Ghira leaned forward, "Does this boy have a name?"
"Jaune Arc, his name is Jaune Arc," Glynda sighed as she pulled up a picture of the boy in question.
Pale skin with blue eyes and messy blond hair. A nervous yet warm smile on his face. Ghira scrutinized the young man for a long moment before nodding in approval.
"It's good to see our daughter's taste in men has improved," He noted with the voice of a man weighing his options.
"Oh defiantly," Kali's eyes gleamed, "He looks like the exact opposite of Adam Taurus in every way that matters. I'm not seeing any faunus traits, is he human?"
"He is," Glynda confirmed, then her eyes narrowed, "That isn't a problem I hope?"
"It's not a problem at all," Ghira stroked his beard, "In fact I can think of several reasons why him being human might be better than him being a faunus."
Glynda looked taken aback by Ghira's statement, but before she could comment on it Kali started speaking again:
"There's more you're not telling us, isn't there?" Kali leaned in. "What's the real reason you need us there? I mean if Blake didn't hurt anyone and she isn't hurt then it shouldn't be all that complicated unless..." She trailed off for a moment, then her eyes widened and she exclaimed; "Is someone pregnant?"
"Yes and No," Glynda answered in a put upon tone.
"What do you mean Yes and No?" Kali frowned.
"I said things were complicated," Glynda sighed, "This is one of the things that makes it complicated."
"Well is Blake an expecting mother or not?" Kali demanded.
"Twins." Was Glynda's flat reply.
Kali gasped. Ghira looked to his wife with a smile threatening to break out across his face. The two of them embraced with Kali squeeing like a schoolgirl. Ghira spun his wife around for a moment of ascendant joy before his duties as a father reasserted themselves and he put Kali down so he could speak to the Professor again.
"We'll be at Beacon as soon as possible, and I'll assess Jaune's ability to take care of my little girl." The firmness in his voice didn't quite hide the excited undercurrent the word twins had prompted. Then part of his brain reviewing the last few moments pointed something out to him; "You said 'one of the things' making the situation complicated. What are the other things?"
"Blake isn't the only girl, expecting," Glynda rolled that last word as if it was an euphemism instead of a regular descriptor, "She's one of eleven."
Ghira frowned and then muttered, "I guess it'll be putting the boy through a particularly thorough assessment then."
"Blake isn't at the bottom of the totem pole is she?" Kali asked with worry in her eyes.
"Uhhh..." Glynda looked thrown for a loop by the question, "I believe this is too recent of a development for any kind of hierarchy to have formed."
"Good," Kali nodded before looking to her husband, "We'll need to put our best foot forward for his family. If you need me I'll be putting the dowry together." And with that she ran off.
"I also have several arrangements to make," Ghira told Glynda. "We'll be at Beacon before the day is over tomorrow. Is there anything else I need to know before I go?"
"No, everything else can wait until you get here."
"Very well. We'll see you soon."
- - -
The rumor mill of Kou Kuana would go into overdrive for the next week or so. While the exact details would vary from one retelling to another a few bits and pieces would consistently reappear and hint at true facts: That Ghira and Kali had upped and left overnight to attend secret meetings in Vale at Beacon Academy, and that they had taken jewelry and gold set aside long ago for Blake's dowry with them.
The speed of gossip can be truly astounding at times. They can be so fast in fact, that these rumors would reach the ears of Sienna Khan well before the Belladonna's transport would arrive at Beacon...
This view isn't completely accurate. Several political entities such as towns, villages, and even some fully fledged city-states exist outside of the Four Kingdom's domains. While most of these independent entities are impoverished and barely eking out a living in the unforgiving wilds some of them are actually quite prosperous with their own native industries and defenses worthy of the name. However in spite of this prosperity none of them have the wealth and gravitas necessary to be considered a "Proper Kingdom" by the Big Four...
...Or at least none of them have the wealth and gravitas yet. A handful of these wealthy independent entities have advanced to a point where they are Kingdoms in all but name, with only a handful of political and material hurtles keeping them from being recognized as Remnant's Fifth Kingdom.
At the forefront of these "Aspirant Kingdoms" is Menagerie. While not quite as prosperous as some of the other independent polities Menagerie has the largest territorial claim and is by far the most populous of the Aspirant Kingdoms. Its' capital of Kou Kuana is in some ways more developed than the city of Vacuo, only lacking a high end CCTS Tower and an accredited Huntsman Academy. Neither of these material shortcomings were true obstacles to Menagerie's ascension, no the reasons Menagerie hadn't been acknowledged as the Fifth Kingdom by now were entirely political.
Vale was cautiously supportive of the idea of recognizing Menagerie as the Fifth Kingdom. Mistral was vehemently opposed. Vacuo was tepidly supportive on a really good day, and indifferent the rest of the time. Atlas wasn't opposed... so long as a White Fang terrorist attack wasn't dominating the news cycle.
Ghira Belladonna sighed as he looked through the reports on his desk. A White Fang terrorist attack was dominating the news cycle. A cell in Atlas had highjacked an airship and held several employees of the Schnee Dust Company hostage, demanding the release of several White Fang prisoners in exchange for the lives of the hostages.
Now the bidding war over building a modern CCTS Tower in Kou Kuana had abruptly stopped, as the Atlesian communication companies he had tempted into the job couldn't commit to it anymore without a public backlash at home. Now he'd have to start the whole process over again in a few months or even years. Ghira cursed Sienna Khan under his breath for the fifth time since he had started on the afternoon's paperwork. Every piece of news crossing his desk involved this or that trade deal or treaty falling through because of something the White Fang had done over the last few weeks.
He should have never stepped down as the White Fang's High Leader. He should have been less lenient with Sienna when she started publicly questioning his leadership. His mind raced with other should haves, would haves, and could haves, and he growled.
A cup of tea was placed on the desk before him, and his wife pulled up a chair beside him. Kali leaned against him and started rubbing soothing circles along his back. Ghira took a deep breath and then relaxed into his wife's affections, and for a moment the stresses of the day were replaced with her comforting presence.
Unfortunately they couldn't luxuriate in each other's warmth for long. Wanting to stretch out the moment a bit longer Ghira sipped his tea at a sedate pace, only speaking when he had finished the drink.
"We need a way to separate Menagerie from the White Fang in the eye's of the common man," Ghira opined as he set his teacup back in its' saucer.
"A tall order," Kali observed with a frown, "People's memories might be short, but they all remember we founded the White Fang."
"A tall order," Ghira agreed, "But not an impossible one. Blake leaving them made it possible; Sienna can't use our heir against us anymore."
"That's true," a dark look crossed Kali's face as her hands went to her stomach. Ghira winced at accidentally bringing the problem of their heir.
Technically speaking Blake had disqualified herself from inheriting the Chiefdom the day she ran away and joined a terrorist organization, but as their only child she was the only candidate the people of Kou Kuana would accept. At the time the solution to that problem seemed simple: make another heir. While the impetus of Blake leaving was unpleasant Ghira and Kali had already been discussing the possibility of expanding their family now that their lives were more stable without the additional strain of leading the White Fang. At the time their only regret was that Blake would miss the childhood of her younger sibling...
...The doctors all agreed the catastrophic miscarriage was the result of poison. The doctors also agreed that Kali still hadn't truly recovered from the ordeal, making trying again an incredibly risky endeavor.
In ancient times criminal investigations started with a question: to whom is it a benefit? The answer to that question was obvious to Ghira and Kali. So long as the Belladonna heir was a lieutenant of Sienna Khan any and all criticism the two could level against her would ring hollow in the ears of the people, therefore it was a benefit to Sienna to ensure that Blake was the only possible heir.
Unfortunately they weren't able to find any concrete evidence that could prove their suspicions, and Sienna remained popular enough among the undecided faunus that accusing her of the crime would only be seen as a baseless effort to use a tragedy to smear a political rival.
Once again Ghira found himself wanting to curse Sienna under his breath, but his breath was better spent on things he and his wife were in a position to actually do something about.
"Ozpin's last message said Blake's team is planning to participate in the Vytal Tournament," Ghira mused. Without a modern CCTS Tower updates concerning their daughter's time at Beacon were far more sporadic than ether of them liked, as international communication was spotty and expensive using the multiple small and outdated towers that had been salvaged for Menagerie's current network. Most of the updates had been emails with a handful of photos, or as an aside about Blake in voice only business calls to Beacon when they weren't pressed for time. "Everyone will see she's not with the White Fang anymore once that happens. We could try to capitalize on that."
"Isn't she hiding her identity though?" Kali objected. "How will people recognize her?"
"You saw the picture of her in that black and white outfit?"
"Yes."
"Apparently, and I just found this out this morning, that's what she thought made a good disguise," Ghira smirked.
"No..." Kali's jaw dropped, "Just the bow?"
"Just the bow," Ghira confirmed.
Kali brought her hand to her mouth to catch the undignified snort that popped out. More followed. Soon her hand had abandoned catching snorts and giggles in favor of grabbing her husband's arm in support. Her other arm wrapped around her middle as she began to cackle in a most unladylike manner. Ghira joined her in a low and deep chuckle that reverberated down the hall and for then next few minutes the guards posted outside their chambers looked at one another with concern in their eyes.
Eventually Kali's laughter devolved into wheezing, so she forced her self to stop at that point.
"God must be watching out for our little girl," Kali noted as she wiped a mirthful tear from her eye, "Because she obviously has no idea what she's doing."
"Yes," Ghira agreed as his own chuckling slowed down. "She probably-"
A chiming sound came from Ghira's scroll, in the tune he had selected for contacts from the Huntsman Academies. He raised an eyebrow as he pulled his scroll from his pocket, and then both of his eyebrows shot up to his hairline when he saw it was a video call. A video call of exceptional quality. The caller was putting down half a week's wages for this at bare minimum. Ghira accepted the call and put it on his desk's screen.
"Chieftain Belladona, Chieftess Belladona," Glynda Goodwitch greeted them with a strained smile. "I hope this is a good time?"
"It is Professor Goodwitch," Ghira replied, then asked, "What's this about?"
"The two of you need to come to Beacon as soon as possible, a complicated situation if unfolding and Blake needs your support."
"What kind of situation?" Ghira asked.
"It would be best if we discussed it in person with the other parents involved." Glynda smile strained some more.
"Other parents? Did our little girl hurt someone?" Kali gasped.
"Ye-NO!" Glynda's smile broke a little, "There was a fight, but Blake didn't cause any permeant damage."
"What was the fight about?" Kali asked.
"Like I said it's a complicate situation so it would be best if the two of you-"
"What was the fight about, Glynda?" Kali pressed with a hiss in her voice.
Glynda pushed her glasses up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "A boy. The fight was over a boy."
Kali perked up and glanced to her husband.
Ghira leaned forward, "Does this boy have a name?"
"Jaune Arc, his name is Jaune Arc," Glynda sighed as she pulled up a picture of the boy in question.
Pale skin with blue eyes and messy blond hair. A nervous yet warm smile on his face. Ghira scrutinized the young man for a long moment before nodding in approval.
"It's good to see our daughter's taste in men has improved," He noted with the voice of a man weighing his options.
"Oh defiantly," Kali's eyes gleamed, "He looks like the exact opposite of Adam Taurus in every way that matters. I'm not seeing any faunus traits, is he human?"
"He is," Glynda confirmed, then her eyes narrowed, "That isn't a problem I hope?"
"It's not a problem at all," Ghira stroked his beard, "In fact I can think of several reasons why him being human might be better than him being a faunus."
Glynda looked taken aback by Ghira's statement, but before she could comment on it Kali started speaking again:
"There's more you're not telling us, isn't there?" Kali leaned in. "What's the real reason you need us there? I mean if Blake didn't hurt anyone and she isn't hurt then it shouldn't be all that complicated unless..." She trailed off for a moment, then her eyes widened and she exclaimed; "Is someone pregnant?"
"Yes and No," Glynda answered in a put upon tone.
"What do you mean Yes and No?" Kali frowned.
"I said things were complicated," Glynda sighed, "This is one of the things that makes it complicated."
"Well is Blake an expecting mother or not?" Kali demanded.
"Twins." Was Glynda's flat reply.
Kali gasped. Ghira looked to his wife with a smile threatening to break out across his face. The two of them embraced with Kali squeeing like a schoolgirl. Ghira spun his wife around for a moment of ascendant joy before his duties as a father reasserted themselves and he put Kali down so he could speak to the Professor again.
"We'll be at Beacon as soon as possible, and I'll assess Jaune's ability to take care of my little girl." The firmness in his voice didn't quite hide the excited undercurrent the word twins had prompted. Then part of his brain reviewing the last few moments pointed something out to him; "You said 'one of the things' making the situation complicated. What are the other things?"
"Blake isn't the only girl, expecting," Glynda rolled that last word as if it was an euphemism instead of a regular descriptor, "She's one of eleven."
Ghira frowned and then muttered, "I guess it'll be putting the boy through a particularly thorough assessment then."
"Blake isn't at the bottom of the totem pole is she?" Kali asked with worry in her eyes.
"Uhhh..." Glynda looked thrown for a loop by the question, "I believe this is too recent of a development for any kind of hierarchy to have formed."
"Good," Kali nodded before looking to her husband, "We'll need to put our best foot forward for his family. If you need me I'll be putting the dowry together." And with that she ran off.
"I also have several arrangements to make," Ghira told Glynda. "We'll be at Beacon before the day is over tomorrow. Is there anything else I need to know before I go?"
"No, everything else can wait until you get here."
"Very well. We'll see you soon."
- - -
The rumor mill of Kou Kuana would go into overdrive for the next week or so. While the exact details would vary from one retelling to another a few bits and pieces would consistently reappear and hint at true facts: That Ghira and Kali had upped and left overnight to attend secret meetings in Vale at Beacon Academy, and that they had taken jewelry and gold set aside long ago for Blake's dowry with them.
The speed of gossip can be truly astounding at times. They can be so fast in fact, that these rumors would reach the ears of Sienna Khan well before the Belladonna's transport would arrive at Beacon...
Last edited:
Willow Gets a Call
AndrewJTalon
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- - -
Schnee Mansion
Atlas, Northern Solitas
- - -
Willow Schnee sat on her couch and lazily watched the goings on in her garden. Her cranes were looking healthier than before-She would have to thank the vet next time he showed up.
Or both vets. At the time she'd been a bit soused so she wasn't entirely sure if it was one or two.
She was about to lift up her glass to start her breakfast, when Klein, the head butler, entered the warm gardens at a brisk pace. She looked over at him in curiosity.
"Mm? Klein, is something wrong?"
"On your private line, ma'am," he stated firmly, holding out a Scroll. "It's from Professor Goodwitch. She says it's about Weiss and Winter, and it is urgent."
Willow bit her lower lip. A tiny pang of guilt shot through her chest at this. For all her depression and self pity... She did care for her children.
"Does Jacques know?" She asked quietly.
Klein smiled politely underneath his bushy mustache.
"Mister Schnee is regrettably detained by a private meeting at this time, and asked to not be disturbed," he stated. Willow smiled just a bit.
"I see... Then I'll take care of this," she said. She took the Scroll, and opened the chat window. A somewhat frazzled Glynda Goodwitch greeted her: A far cry from the stoic, taciturn and neat woman she'd met briefly at a party to celebrate Weiss entering Beacon with top scores.
"Miss Goodwitch," Willow asked quietly, "Is Weiss all right? How is Winter involved? I don't understand that at all."
Glynda slowly nodded.
"They're safe, there's no need to worry about their physical well being," she said, "However, an... Incident involving a young man has... Well..." She sighed. "It's... Complicated."
Willow frowned deeply.
"Who is this young man? Has he... Done anything to them?"
She couldn't imagine many young men who could do anything to her girls. Not easily, at any rate.
"Nothing bad, I assure you," Glynda said firmly, "I can vouch for his character in this matter. But it is... Complex. You should come and speak to him and his parents."
Willow blinked. She blinked a few more times. Despite her alcoholism, her keen mind could still be roused to action when the situation called for it.
"You almost make it sound like he's... Put them into a family way," Willow said with a light smile to indicate she was joking.
Glynda's expression did not change. Willow blinked. She blinked again.
"Wait... You're not telling me that he... They're both...?!"
Glynda sighed tiredly.
"It is, and is not like that," she stated, "But it is a delicate situation nonetheless and I believe you are better suited to handling it than Jacques."
Willow frowned, and squeezed her thigh out of nerves.
"I, well..." She cleared her throat. "How soon do you need me?"
Glynda glared at her.
"As soon as possible."
Willow slowly nodded.
"And you can't give me any more details?"
"Not over the Scroll, no," Glynda stated. "You'll understand when you arrive, I promise."
Willow hummed.
"Can I at least see the man my daughters are... Involved with?"
Glynda pulled up a photo of a handsome, brightly smiling young man with messy blond hair and blue eyes. Willow's eyes widened.
"Is... Is he by any chance, related to a Nick Arc from Radian?" She asked.
"He's his son," Glynda said, cocking her head curiously, "Are you familiar with him?'
For a moment, Willow wasn't a burned out, depressed trophy wife kept prisoner in her own house by an uncaring, cold, two-faced bastard of a husband.
She was a young up and comer in the Atlasian social scene, her father a newly made millionaire. She still made frequent trips to the mines though, to see her father and all the dear "uncles" who made up the head teams. Her brother Warden among them, Gods rest his soul.
She'd met a young man who was part of a Hunter-in-training team from Beacon. Brash, blond, always confident, grinning, and kind. He'd been her personal bodyguard when a rival company tried to kidnap her.
He had taken bullets for her, all with a happy grin on his face. Even as his team leader healed him, he refused to move from in front of her. When she'd asked why, he just smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"Because it's my Huntsman's way! I'll never let any harm come to someone I'm protecting. Not ever!"
Her heart still fluttered at the memory, even now. She'd entertained the fantasy of running off with the sunny, brave boy... But Nick's goals lay elsewhere. Besides, it was clear his blonde medic leader had designs on him. Oh she had denied they had any attraction, but even at that age, Willow knew when someone was infatuated. The way the medic's eyes had softened around Nick had been too obvious for it not to be love.
That, and she loved her father too much to run away.
Of course, after that, she'd met Jacques. She thought him like Nick: Dashing, warm, even courageous. Yet it was all a facade, and by the time she realized it... It was too late.
She clenched her fists tightly. She looked over at her cranes. Their chicks had just hatched, and the proud mother and father were both doting on them shamelessly. Showing them love and affection as they fed them, a mated pair.
How she had felt like that, back in the day... How things might have turned out, if not for...
She nodded.
"Yes, I am. I'll be there in a day."
"Good," Glynda said. The call ended. Willow allowed herself a small smile. She set her wine glass on the side table, and stood up.
"Klein, please prepare my airship and my luggage."
"Already done, ma'am," Klein said. She looked at him oddly, and he blushed.
"I uh... Well... I hoped you would want to go, ma'am. Despite everything, when you show an interest... The girls were always happy."
Willow frowned deeply, and nodded.
"I know," she said quietly. "If-If you could? Get Whitley, too. He should come as well."
"Of course, ma'am," Klein said, "And what should we tell Mister Jacques?"
A little smirk came over Willow's face.
"Nothing. He asked to not be disturbed, after all."
Klein was too professional to smirk back, but she knew the glint in his eyes.
"Of course, ma'am."
"I just need to look over some of my luggage first," Willow declared, striding confidently for the door to the gardens. She had a few outfits that would be good for her daughters.
And even better for Nick. Just because she was married didn't mean she couldn't show off, right?
- - -
Whether or not Jacques gets involved in the story is ultimately up to Sift Green. He would be more interested in Moses and his time traveling ability than almost anything else, I think.
Schnee Mansion
Atlas, Northern Solitas
- - -
Willow Schnee sat on her couch and lazily watched the goings on in her garden. Her cranes were looking healthier than before-She would have to thank the vet next time he showed up.
Or both vets. At the time she'd been a bit soused so she wasn't entirely sure if it was one or two.
She was about to lift up her glass to start her breakfast, when Klein, the head butler, entered the warm gardens at a brisk pace. She looked over at him in curiosity.
"Mm? Klein, is something wrong?"
"On your private line, ma'am," he stated firmly, holding out a Scroll. "It's from Professor Goodwitch. She says it's about Weiss and Winter, and it is urgent."
Willow bit her lower lip. A tiny pang of guilt shot through her chest at this. For all her depression and self pity... She did care for her children.
"Does Jacques know?" She asked quietly.
Klein smiled politely underneath his bushy mustache.
"Mister Schnee is regrettably detained by a private meeting at this time, and asked to not be disturbed," he stated. Willow smiled just a bit.
"I see... Then I'll take care of this," she said. She took the Scroll, and opened the chat window. A somewhat frazzled Glynda Goodwitch greeted her: A far cry from the stoic, taciturn and neat woman she'd met briefly at a party to celebrate Weiss entering Beacon with top scores.
"Miss Goodwitch," Willow asked quietly, "Is Weiss all right? How is Winter involved? I don't understand that at all."
Glynda slowly nodded.
"They're safe, there's no need to worry about their physical well being," she said, "However, an... Incident involving a young man has... Well..." She sighed. "It's... Complicated."
Willow frowned deeply.
"Who is this young man? Has he... Done anything to them?"
She couldn't imagine many young men who could do anything to her girls. Not easily, at any rate.
"Nothing bad, I assure you," Glynda said firmly, "I can vouch for his character in this matter. But it is... Complex. You should come and speak to him and his parents."
Willow blinked. She blinked a few more times. Despite her alcoholism, her keen mind could still be roused to action when the situation called for it.
"You almost make it sound like he's... Put them into a family way," Willow said with a light smile to indicate she was joking.
Glynda's expression did not change. Willow blinked. She blinked again.
"Wait... You're not telling me that he... They're both...?!"
Glynda sighed tiredly.
"It is, and is not like that," she stated, "But it is a delicate situation nonetheless and I believe you are better suited to handling it than Jacques."
Willow frowned, and squeezed her thigh out of nerves.
"I, well..." She cleared her throat. "How soon do you need me?"
Glynda glared at her.
"As soon as possible."
Willow slowly nodded.
"And you can't give me any more details?"
"Not over the Scroll, no," Glynda stated. "You'll understand when you arrive, I promise."
Willow hummed.
"Can I at least see the man my daughters are... Involved with?"
Glynda pulled up a photo of a handsome, brightly smiling young man with messy blond hair and blue eyes. Willow's eyes widened.
"Is... Is he by any chance, related to a Nick Arc from Radian?" She asked.
"He's his son," Glynda said, cocking her head curiously, "Are you familiar with him?'
For a moment, Willow wasn't a burned out, depressed trophy wife kept prisoner in her own house by an uncaring, cold, two-faced bastard of a husband.
She was a young up and comer in the Atlasian social scene, her father a newly made millionaire. She still made frequent trips to the mines though, to see her father and all the dear "uncles" who made up the head teams. Her brother Warden among them, Gods rest his soul.
She'd met a young man who was part of a Hunter-in-training team from Beacon. Brash, blond, always confident, grinning, and kind. He'd been her personal bodyguard when a rival company tried to kidnap her.
He had taken bullets for her, all with a happy grin on his face. Even as his team leader healed him, he refused to move from in front of her. When she'd asked why, he just smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"Because it's my Huntsman's way! I'll never let any harm come to someone I'm protecting. Not ever!"
Her heart still fluttered at the memory, even now. She'd entertained the fantasy of running off with the sunny, brave boy... But Nick's goals lay elsewhere. Besides, it was clear his blonde medic leader had designs on him. Oh she had denied they had any attraction, but even at that age, Willow knew when someone was infatuated. The way the medic's eyes had softened around Nick had been too obvious for it not to be love.
That, and she loved her father too much to run away.
Of course, after that, she'd met Jacques. She thought him like Nick: Dashing, warm, even courageous. Yet it was all a facade, and by the time she realized it... It was too late.
She clenched her fists tightly. She looked over at her cranes. Their chicks had just hatched, and the proud mother and father were both doting on them shamelessly. Showing them love and affection as they fed them, a mated pair.
How she had felt like that, back in the day... How things might have turned out, if not for...
She nodded.
"Yes, I am. I'll be there in a day."
"Good," Glynda said. The call ended. Willow allowed herself a small smile. She set her wine glass on the side table, and stood up.
"Klein, please prepare my airship and my luggage."
"Already done, ma'am," Klein said. She looked at him oddly, and he blushed.
"I uh... Well... I hoped you would want to go, ma'am. Despite everything, when you show an interest... The girls were always happy."
Willow frowned deeply, and nodded.
"I know," she said quietly. "If-If you could? Get Whitley, too. He should come as well."
"Of course, ma'am," Klein said, "And what should we tell Mister Jacques?"
A little smirk came over Willow's face.
"Nothing. He asked to not be disturbed, after all."
Klein was too professional to smirk back, but she knew the glint in his eyes.
"Of course, ma'am."
"I just need to look over some of my luggage first," Willow declared, striding confidently for the door to the gardens. She had a few outfits that would be good for her daughters.
And even better for Nick. Just because she was married didn't mean she couldn't show off, right?
- - -
Whether or not Jacques gets involved in the story is ultimately up to Sift Green. He would be more interested in Moses and his time traveling ability than almost anything else, I think.
Frakir's brother
Experienced.
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- Mar 5, 2015
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I'm rooting for Nick to accidentally reseduce Willow and Isabel to let it happen just so someone else can have the next few kids.
NightDranzer
Unrepentant MILF Lover
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Yeah, not happening. Isabel Arc is....possessive....from what I've gathered.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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Least we know were Jaune gets his rizz from