[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!

[AndrewJTalon]

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Blake felt offended and wasn't entirely sure why.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The other women tensed at Pyrrha's declaration.



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



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



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



...Well, technically harmless.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



"Yang, I just realized something terrible."



"What?"



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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"FOX! WHY?!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"COCO!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yup," Fox intoned, reading his book.

"Without mercy," Yatsuhashi added.

Velvet scowled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coco hummed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- - -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Sorry about giving you hell over that."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Here! Sorry I'm late!"

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

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

Jaune blushed deeply.

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

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

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

"RUBY!" Yang squawked.

"After that speech and everything," Emerald growled.

"Honestly?" May sighed.

"Hypocrite!" Weiss shouted.

Ruby flushed.

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

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

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

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

"Hey!" Blake cried.

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

Blake hummed and looked Ruby over.

"True."

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

Mom!Yang was in charge.

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

Ruby scowled.

"But Yang-"

"GO CHANGE!"

Ruby stomped her boots and huffed.

"Fine!"

Jaune rubbed his temples and sighed.

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A Quiet Sunday 2

- - -

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

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

Emerald shrugged.

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

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

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

Arslan nodded.

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

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

"S-Same," she said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone stared at Penny for a bit. Jaune sighed.

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

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

"Thin-skinned?" Weiss snorted.

"Look who's talking!" Blake growled.

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

"Theodore!"

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

"He really isn't," Leander said.

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

"Same," Nicholas moaned.

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

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

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

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

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

"Hey, at least you still have some."

"Speak for yourself," Weiss muttered.

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

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

May winced.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Um, whoops?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I am?!" Ruby gasped.

"She is?" Yang growled.

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

"Urk!" Yang gasped.

Blake looked extremely smug. Theodore hummed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arslan sighed in mild annoyance as Pyrrha went bright red.

"Yeah, same here," Ash smirked. The Invincible Girl squeaked.

"All the time, it's kind of getting weird," Theodore threw out, as Pyrrha looked faint.

"GUYS!" Xander cried, red-cheeked and scandalized.

Jaune groaned.

"Okay, enough of that!" He barked.

"Honestly, act your age!" Glynda added.

"We kind of are," Ash pointed out.

"Yeah," Ashley smirked, "And we're not students so what are you gonna do?"

"I'll ground you," Jaune growled. "All of you."

"For what? We could be telling the truth, ya know!" Julian protested. Jaune's glare intensified. The children all winced.

"Sorry," they muttered in a confused chorus.

Jaune noticed that a lot of warm looks were being directed at him from his future wives. He did his best to not pay them any mind. He was just doing what his dad had done on many occasions. Wasn't anything special.

"That's better," Jaune said with a nod. He looked over at Penny. "When are we gonna get back to Beacon, Penny?"

The gynoid beamed.

"We will arrive in five minutes, twenty seven seconds! However, we are being redirected to an auxiliary landing pad as there has been a massive incident at the main pads!"

"What kind of incident?" Glynda demanded, as the air of joviality fell away and everyone got serious. Penny tilted her head.

"Some kind of attack-"

"Take us to the site of the attack immediately!" Winter barked to the pilot. The pilot winced.

"Er, ma'am, we've been told to-"

"The directions are overridden by my authority and hers," Glynda stated firmly, "Get us there!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Do you think our parents are involved?" Weiss asked worriedly.

"Come on Weisscream," Yang snorted, "What are the odds of that?"

- - -

They touched down and emerged onto the wrecked airship field. Several firefighting Bullheads were putting out fires with hoses, while several students and staff rushed about.

Near the center of this chaos, Jaune tensed. A familiar tall blonde man with a beard and gigantic sword cheerfully and loudly talked with Headmaster Ozpin, while an equally familiar shorter blonde woman in a green dress, labcoat, stockings, and glasses argued more seriously next to him. Several other people were around them. All of whom turned and looked over at the group emerging from the Bullhead.

"Pyrrha!"

"Mother, Orestes," Pyrrha returned, just before a redheaded woman in a red dress practically tackled her. It did nothing to the much stronger Pyrrha, but the dead eyed look in her eyes was not faked at all. A dark haired man with gray streaks in his hair and a black suit walked up, smoking in some exasperation as Pyrrha's mother cried out dramatically.

"MY PRECIOUS BABY! WHERE DID I GO WRONG?!" She wailed.

Pyrrha didn't even bother with a smile, she just looked exhausted. Xander gave her a nervous but encouraging smile.

"There there...?"

"BLAKE!"

"BLAKE!"

Blake cringed nervously as a tall panther Faunus man with dark clothing and beard hugged her on one side, and an attractive older black cat Faunus woman in black robes hugged her on the other.

"You're pregnant! It's wonderful!" Kali cried happily.

"Where's Jaune Arc?! I'm going to beat him senseless!" Ghira growled. "And then find me Adam! I'll rip HIM apart!"

"Uh, h-hey, Mom and Dad," she managed.

Weiss looked smug... Before her own mother, butler, and little brother approached. Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat.

"H-Hello Mother, Klein, Whitley," she managed. Winter stood by her, a bit awkwardly. Willow actually smiled.

"It's good to see you well... I can't tell you how... Um... Confused I am. Though pleasantly." She looked over at Jaune with a blush.

"The spitting image of his father," she sighed.

"Mother?!" Winter and Weiss asked in disbelief. Whitley raised an eyebrow as Klein chuckled.

"Congratulations on actually fornicating, I've heard that can be difficult for you two."

"WHITLEY!" Winter, Weiss, Willow and Klein all shouted. The white haired boy winced.

"Wow, boy Weiss is kind of cute," Ruby observed.

"In a femboy sort of way," Emerald added.

Whitley flushed.

"I AM NOT A FEMBOY!" He protested angrily.

A tall blond man in brown vest and shorts ran up and hugged Yang and Ruby, while a dark haired man with a giant sword walked up to Jaune.

"Yang! Ruby! At last, you've fulfilled my dreams!" Taiyang cried.

"What dreams?" Yang demanded.

"Marrying a well off-I mean, a good guy!" Taiyang insisted. Ruby grimaced.

"Dad! It hasn't happened yet-!'

"It had better," Qrow growled, pointing a sword at Jaune. The blond gulped. Winter pulled away from her mother and knocked Qrow's sword away with her own. Penny took up a defensive stance in front of Jaune.

"Would you mind NOT threatening my future husband?" Winter demanded. Qrow choked.

"YOU TOO!?" He glared at Jaune. "You damn harem protagonists are all alike!"

"Huh?!" Jaune cried. "N-No, I'm not-!"

"HA! Like you ever had a chance!" Winter sniffed.

"Well I might have!" Qrow protested. "But hey, least you're not a cradle robber like Glynda-HEY!"

Glynda waved her riding crop and Qrow was flipped upside down onto his face. He groaned.

"Nice to see you too, Glynda," he muttered.

A pair of dark skinned blonds, a man and a woman, approached Arslan. Arslan bowed, as did Petra.

"Mother, Father," she said, "My motherhood is unexpected but-"

"Time travel, we got it," Logos chuckled, as Barsara sighed.

"No dramatic timing."

"Well that's why you were the actress, dear," Logos smiled. "And you must be our granddaughter?"

"Petra," Petra introduced herself.

The two hugged Arslan and Petra tightly together. Though without as much blubbering and guilting as Blake was getting.

"Hello Jaune," intoned a familiar voice. Jaune winced, and turned away to face... His parents. Penny respectfully stepped out of the way as Nick and Isabel Arc stared at him. Godfather Arjun and Godmother Saia stood back a respectful distance, watching him with amused and encouraging looks.

He stared back at his parents and took a deep breath.

"Hello Mom. Hello Dad-URK!"

Nick grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Hahahaha! That's my boy!" Nick cheered. "You're the manliest man who ever walked, son! Great job!"

"D-DAD!" Jaune choked. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

"Then what is it like?!" Isabel demanded with a glare. She then glared at Glynda, who blushed. "You're a damn teacher and you-you just formed a gigantic harem for him?!"

"N-No, I didn't!" Glynda insisted. Dorothy sighed.

"It's all right, Grandma! It's-It hasn't happened yet-!"

"Grandma?! I am not that old!" Isabel protested. "I mean, yes I am a grandmother but he's still a toddler! And I suppose all these other girls are pregnant-I'M NOT THAT OLD!"

Dorothy rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean, you're our actual grandma! Time travel!"

Isabel stared. She looked around at the other future children. Julian and Xia waved. Leandra and Leander beamed. Theodore shot a smug grin, while Nicholas waved awkwardly. Ash and Ashley beamed as well, synchronized perfectly. August sighed and shrugged. Petra looked away from her mother's parents and nodded grimly. Amethyst, standing with Emerald, offered a nervous wave. Xander coughed, and then shrugged.

"Hi Granny Isabel and Grandpa Nick!" They all announced.

Nick blinked a few times. Isabel gaped in utter disbelief. Glynda facepalmed.

"Wha... Time travel?!" Isabel demanded. "That's ridiculous! Magic, immortals, time travel-Next you're gonna tell me that Arjun and Saia's long lost daughter is here too!"

"Ummmm..."

May stepped out of the Bullhead. Arjun and Saia both stared intently at her. August stepped next to her, and waved awkwardly at his mother's parents.

Arjun moved like a gust of wind, practically teleporting in front of May. His eyes glowed as he looked her over, his hands resting on her shoulders. Saia was only a few steps behind, grabbing onto May's other arm.

"... Maia?" Arjun whispered.

"Is... Is it you?" Saia asked, her eyes filling with tears.

May managed a slow nod, her own eyes wet.

"Y-Yes... It's me... M-Mother... Father...?"

Arjun smiled, hugged his long lost daughter... Then collapsed into a dead faint. Saia hugged May so tightly the sniper choked a bit.

"MAIAAAAA!" Saia wailed, crying hard. August smiled encouragingly at his frightened mother.

"It's okay, it's okay," he said.

Nick blinked a few times. Jaune looked up at his father, wondering what his response would be.

The mighty paladin blinked a few more times... Before he threw his head back and laughed.

"YES! BEST DAY EVER! COME TO MY ARMS, GRANDKIDS! I WILL SPOIL YOU ALL WITH LOUD ELECTRONIC TOYS AND CANDY!"

"WOOHOO!" Julian cheered.

Isabel, at a complete loss for words, just buried her face in her hands and moaned.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Ozpin sighed as he settled into the chair at the head of the Poucet Lecture Hall's conference room. The room was on the first floor of the Lecture Hall, which was a newer addition to Beacon built only five years ago when the school's budget experienced an unexpected windfall after a former alumni, a Poucet Thumbling, left half of his fortune to the school in his will. The old Lord Lear Lecture Hall had been showing its' age, so it didn't take the school long to decide what to do with the extra money.

The Headmaster had chosen to hold this meeting here not just because it was large enough to comfortably seat everyone involved within earshot of one another, but also because there were several smaller and more private meeting rooms directly across the hallway he expected the families to use once he had concluded the primary meeting.

He started the day with a simple yet straightforward plan for this meeting: He would bring all the parents in and sit down with them and explain the situation to them before calling in their children and their time displaced grandchildren. It would have been a nice and relatively smooth introduction that would have given him a chance to head off any potential negative reactions...

...Mostly he wanted to be sure Isabel wouldn't try to kill Glynda.

Raven threw a wrench in that plan. Fortunately the completely uncontrolled introductions at the airfield, while messy, hadn't turned violent. They had also been just as confusing as they were dramatic, and it had taken far too long to get everyone corralled into the conference room and into their seats.

Everyone was grouped up with their families; a straightforward arrangement that nobody objected to, even though some probably wished they could. There was a subtle and uneasy tension amongst the Schnees, like thin ice over a turbulent river. Pyrrha looked like she wished someone was between her and her mother. The Belladonnas had Blake firmly in the middle as if they were boxing her in so she couldn't run off; Blake in turn looked like she was fighting her own urges to attempt just that.

On the other end of the spectrum the Altans were all clearly content to be in each other's presence, while Ruby and Yang seemed to be relived that their father and uncle were being supportive.

Jaune seemed to be caught between optimism and dread, which was understandable between his father's joviality and his mother's broiling exasperation with everything.

"Alright then," Ozpin began as he looked the assembled grandparents in the eyes, "Since I now have your attention I'd like to introduce all of you to Moses Nebogipfel. In the hopes of removing all reasonable doubts he's going to display his semblance in action." The Headmaster looked to his son, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah I'm ready," Moses affirmed before he flickered like a video skipping a few frames. The young man was now holding a set of black and white fighting gloves with dust slots in the palms and armor around the knuckles that he presented to the Arc matriarch. "Can you tell any differences between this pair and the one you currently have?"

Isabel took the gloves in her left hand and compared them to the gloves she pulled from her pockets with in her right. Isabel knew her weapons, Battement. She knew them like she knew her own face in the mirror. Isabel scrutinized the gloves with eyes far keener than any normal human, with fingers far more sensitive, both taking in almost microscopic imperfections unique to the gloves she wore almost every day.

"They're identical," She admitted with a small amount of wonder. She took a sniff with a nose far more sensitive than a bloodhound faunus could hope to have and took in her own sent that was present in a strength that could only come from years of use. "Even the best duplication semblances would have a hard time creating something this exact. Nick, do you see anything wrong with them?"

Nick took the second set of his wife's gloves and gave them a carful look over. While not as familiar with her weapons as she was Nick knew the feel of her hand in his, and Battement was frequently part of that feel.

"They're just like the originals," Nick admitted.

"That's cause they are the originals," Moses explained, "I'm going to be grabbing them from Isabel and taking it back in time in three... two... one."

A second Moses flickered into existence and put his hand on the Battement Isabel was holding, and with a second flicker the second Moses and the gloves were gone. Isabel took her gloves back from Nick with a look of contemplation on her face.

"I hope that's sufficient proof of time travel for this conversation," Ozpin began before being interrupted by the youngest Schnee.

"No it's not!" Whitley objected with a scowl. "It could still be a duplication semblance with Mr. and Mrs. Arc in on this scheme to tie my sisters-"

Moses flickered out of existence again, only to flicker back holding a second Whitley by the collar of his expensive shirt. The first Whitley fell silent as the two identical boys stared at each other in shock. Then a second Moses flickered into existence next to the first Whitley, who proceeded to grab the Schnee boy by the collar of his shirt before they both flickered away.

Whitley silently left Moses' side and returned to his seat beside his mother with a cowed expression on his face. Willow grabbed her son tightly, and the boy was too shocked to protest.

"Anyone else need a demonstration?" Moses asked. After nobody volunteered Moses looked to Ozpin and shrugged, "Back to you I guess."

"Right," Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "So with the existence of time travel established let's start from the top so we're all on the same page: Several years from now Moses will be experimenting with his semblance trying to find the hard limits of his abilities. Assisting him are some of his good friends, the children of Jaune Arc. At some point in the experimentation Jaune Arc's eldest volunteers to help Moses see if he can bring other people with him on his time jumps. Now Jaune Arc's second oldest has a semblance that lets them supercharge other people's auras at a distance, and they decided to supercharge Moses while he was attempting to do a time jump with Jaune's eldest. As a result Moses jumped back in time significantly farther than he intended, and now he can't jump far enough forward to return to his own time."

A low murmuring flowed through the room as the grandparents regarded the time displaced children. The idea that their grandchildren had traveled through time was already a shock that needed time to adjust to; the idea that their grandchildren were stuck here was another shock on top of that. The prevailing tune of the muttering was sympathetic, so Ozpin decided to let it run its' course.

The Headmaster then continued once the worst of the murmuring had died down, "That brings us to yesterday morning, when Moses arrived with Jaune Arc's eldest in tow. Apparently the events that started Jaune Arc's romantic relationship with his wife was going to happen at a party yesterday evening, and it was a party that could have gone many different ways. Since Moses' time jump took him and Jaune's eldest to a point in time before Jaune was in a relationship with his wife a temporal uncertainty occurred, and the resulting paradox meant Moses arrived here with every possible version of Jaune Arc's eldest child that could have resulted from the party going one way or another." Ozpin vaguely gestured to all the time displaced children in the room.

The old wizard carefully scrutinized everyone's reactions to that bit of news. Up until this moment the Grandparent's might have been operating under the assumption that all of the children came from the same future; the news that each child came from a future where Jaune only married their daughter would change things for many of them.

Oz could see relief on Isabel's face at the news her son wasn't a shameless playboy. Similar relief appeared on the faces of other parents at the realization that their daughters hadn't fallen prey to some suave Don Juan stringing them along. Yet that reaction wasn't universal. Taiyang was looking back and fourth between his daughters with the dread of a parent realizing their children were at odds, with a similar look crossing the face of Willow. Hopefully theses shifting attitudes were a step forward towards ensuring the continued existence of Jaune's children.

"With only a few hours before Jaune Arc got together with a woman that might not be their mother Jaune's children panicked," The old wizard explained. "Fearing that time travel was working on Get Back To The Present rules all of them were convinced they would cease to exist if they didn't do something fast, so most of them went to get their mothers for help. The end result was a large fight in the Star-Maiden's Memorial Courtyard, which thankfully didn't collapse the space-time continuum."

"Well since the kids are all still here we're obviously not using Get Back To The Present rules," Barsara observed before looking over to Mrs. Nikos. "What do you think Athena? Clock Crooks? The Argus Experiment? Yesterday's Tomorrow? Maple Lake?"

"What?" Athena tilted her head in absolute confusion.

"Time travel rules," Barsara elaborated. "We have twelve different time travel movies between the two of us. We can figure out how this works."

"Moses' mother, Doctor Weena Nebogipfel, is the best theoretical physicist currently alive" Ozpin reasserted himself in the conversation with some mild annoyance at the interruption. "She is going to arrive sometime after lunch and will be conducting experiments with the aim of figuring out what time travel rules Moses' semblance operates with. Until then speculation is just that: speculation. Irregardless of what the rules end up being your grandchildren are stuck in this time period until we find a way to safely supercharge Moses' semblance again, and we've called you here in the hopes that you can lend a hand until they can go home."

Sifting in his seat to stand Ozpin decided to wrap things up. "Now I believe your children and grandchildren can fill you in on the more personal details you'll want to know. The meeting rooms across the hall can give you all the privacy you'll need to get to know each other better. Glynda can get in contact with me once you've finished and I'll come back to answer any questions that might arise. Unless one of you has a burning question for me that can't wait until you've spoken with your grandchildren?"

None of the grandparents spoke up, and a few of them shook their heads.

"I'll leave you all to get aquatinted then," Ozpin got out of his chair and tapped his staff against the floor ominously as he left the room. "In the meantime I have a birdcage I want to triple check the locks on..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Roses and Xiao-Longs

- - -

Ruby had led her father, uncle, sister, son, and kind of/sort of niece into the nearest meeting room. She was filled with nervous anticipation, one that only grew as her father took his sweet time walking in after them!

"Will you hurry up already!" Julian whined, "Geez! You're even slower than in my time!"

"Well, that's not a nice thing to say to your grandpa!" Taiyang said with a teasing grin.

"He's doing it deliberately," Xia sighed.

"Well, I don't want this amazing moment to end too quickly," Taiyang reasoned, closing the door behind them as Qrow pulled up some stately wooden chairs, "I'm meeting my grandkids for the first time, after all."

"Just like XRay and Xav, issue 198," Qrow pointed out with a chuckle. Xia and Yang both rolled their eyes.

"Ugh... You're such nerds," Xia sighed.

"Please, Yang was the biggest fan of Professor Paradox!" Ruby argued, plopping down in a chair across from her dad and uncle as Julian remained standing. Yang blushed bright red.

"O-Only when it had hot lead guys who could act and good writing!" Yang argued. "Then they got some smug hag off a police show and ruined it with a lot of stupid crap!"

"Oh Breaker, you're still going on about that in my time," Xia moaned, "'The first reboot of Paradox was the best and this second is just recycled storylines.' You call them nerds!"

"We are, and proud of it!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah!" Julian threw in. He smirked. "Besides, I bet you're just like my Aunt Yang! You're still a total nerd, just in denial!"

"That sounds like her," Ruby snickered.

"I am not!" Yang growled.

"You married Dad, of course you're a nerd," Xia sighed.

A bit of laughter ensued as Yang pouted. Ruby savored it, before she looked over at Yang and her son. Julian frowned. Yang slowly nodded. Xia squeezed Yang's shoulder.

Ruby finally turned back to her father and uncle, and took a deep breath.

"So, um... We know about... Salem."

Taiyang's face went dark. Qrow swore under his breath, and went for his flask. He took a long drink, as Taiyang sighed.

"So... Um-"

"She's been defeated," Xia said with a smile, "For good. In... In all our timelines. Granny... Granny didn't die in vain."

Taiyang's jaw dropped. Qrow gaped in shock.

Taiyang... bowed his head and sobbed. Ruby and Yang got up and were by their father's side in an instant.

"Dad? Dad?!" Ruby insisted.

Taiyang looked up, crying... Yet a big smile was on his face. Qrow reached out to squeeze his best friend's shoulder tightly. Taiyang kept crying, but his smile was still so wide. He pulled his daughters into a tight hug, and he kept crying.

"I... Granny... You mean Mom...?" Ruby asked in shock. Julian winced, looking very awkward as his grandfather sobbed.

"Yeah, uh... They... They went on a last mission to try and stop Salem and... Granny..."

Ruby sniffled. Yang felt her own eyes get wet.

Qrow sighed, bowing his head.

"We failed... She stayed behind to let us escape and..."

"Oh, God, Dad..." Yang whispered.

Taiyang sobbed happily, and tightened his hug. He grinned out at his grandkids.

"That... That's the best news... I have ever heard... Th-Thank you," he whispered.

"N-No problem, Grandpa," Xia managed, awkwardly squeezing her bicep as she fought her own tears. Julian also wiped his eyes.

"Um... Uh... D-Dry air in here," Julian muttered. Qrow barked out in laughter.

"Yeah kid. It's going around," he said.

Taiyang got himself under control, and nodded to his daughters. They slowly pulled away, as he took a few deep breaths.

"Well... I'm... I'm gonna need some time to process that, but... Thank you," he whispered.

He looked up at Yang and Ruby with some regret. Yang shook her head.

"It's okay," she murmured, "I... I'm getting better about it."

"Why didn't you tell us about... About what happened?" Ruby asked, looking hurt. Qrow snorted.

"How do you think that would have gone? 'Hey Ruby, some evil immortal witch killed your mom for her eyes and you'll be next?'"

"He did actually say the same thing in my timeline, apparently," Julian mumbled.

"Oh good, I'm not a complete idiot," Qrow snorted.

"No, just most of one," Xia stated. Qrow glared at her.

"You're a mouthy one. Thought Arc would teach you respect."

"Yeah, but he knows you," Xia shot back. Qrow glared over at Julian.

"You just as mouthy?"

"Um... Sometimes? It takes me a little," Julian winced.

"Don't bully my son, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby pouted.

"I wasn't!" Qrow said quickly.

Taiyang sighed.

"Most important question then... Are you guys... Happy? Does Jaune take good care of you all?"

Ruby and Yang blushed.

"Dad!" They squawked.

"He does," Xia said with a grin. "He's a great doctor, a great dad, a great husband-"

"We both have nine siblings, what do you think?" Julian snorted. Qrow glared at him, and Julian flushed. "Um, er..."

"All right!" Taiyang cheered. "Qrow? We're not killing him."

"But we are making sure he makes honest women out of 'em, right?" Qrow asked.

"Of course we are!" Taiyang grinned. He flared his Semblance, flaring his Aura. "Count on it."

"NO BEATING UP JAUNE/DAD!" Ruby, Yang, Julian and Xia cried.

"He's got it coming!" Qrow growled, "Damn harem protagonists!"

"Yeah!" Taiyang snarled, "They need to be kept in line!"

"Like you can talk," Qrow huffed.

"For the last time, I'm NOT a harem protagonist!" Taiyang cried in exasperation.

"Sooo," Yang tried to head off an old and well trod argument, "Are... We going to talk about Raven at some point?"

Xia tensed up a lot. She clenched her fists tightly. Something Taiyang, Yang, Ruby and Qrow couldn't help but notice.

"At some point," Taiyang allowed, "But right now? Let's just enjoy the moment."

"In that case," Xia asked, looking a bit less tense, "Can you teach me how to go Super Level 3? Or Burn 3?"

Taiyang blinked.

"Wait, there's a third level?"

"Ooh," Julian winced. "Time travel, huh?"

"Shut up, brat," Xia muttered.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Sarkaras

- - -

May had a few memories she treasured deeply. Hugs from her mother and father (Her adoptive parents, she supposed now). Their little garden that they tended outside their small house in the village they lived in. The flock of birds that would sing when the sun rose.

Those memories were precious to her, moreso than almost anything in the world, after Grimm destroyed her village and drove her out into an uncaring world.

Now, being held by the Queen of Pandu, those feelings... Those feelings were back. The Auras of both her biological mother and father were so comforting, so familiar...

August's smile and calm Aura helped her calm down even more.

That said... Even with all of that...

"I... I am sorry," May mumbled.

"What for?" Saia sniffled, looking deeply into her daughter's eyes. Arjun sat next to her on the couch they had plopped down on in the side room. August stood off a bit, still feeling awkward.

"I... I mean... I-I'm not... It's a little um..." She sniffled. Her tears kept coming.

Arjun slowly nodded, and stroked her hair gently.

"We are... Just as overwhelmed," the King of Pandu admitted wryly. He looked over at August. "Did I react similarly in your future?"

"Heh, yeah," August admitted, scratching the back of his head, "Dad and Grandpa Nick love telling that story."

"They probably would," Arjun muttered, looking like he was trying to be annoyed but failing. May blushed, as Saia cuddled her more tightly.

"Where were you?" Saia asked. "What happened? Who... Who took you?"

"Um... W-Well, I grew up in a small village called Al-Hambir," May said, "Central Vacuo. My father... I mean, adopted father... Was named August. My adoptive mother was named Parvati. They raised me, then died when Grimm assaulted our village. I went into an orphanage after that, and was recruited for a Hunter's Academy when they learned my Aura was unlocked. I um, I then went to Shade, joined my team and... And well... Here I am. Did... Did you know my... My parents? Um, foster parents?"

Arjun and Saia's faces darkened. May winced.

"Yes... August was a mercenary for the Kauravas," Arjun growled. "So was Parvati."

"The Kauravas?" May asked, blinking curiously. "I-I mean, I heard about them but... Um... I don't know much about them."

"They were once rulers of Pandu," Saia explained, as Arjun glared out into the air, "Long ago. They were overthrown by our family nearly a century past, because they sold our people out to foreign empires."

She grimaced.

"They were also Grimm cultists. Practiced human sacrifice. Most of them were exiled after the Great War, and they formed criminal organizations to stay rich and powerful."

"Not uncommon in Mistral," Arjun sighed. He looked intently at May. "Your great-grandfather Pandu helped free our kingdom from the yoke of the Vytal Empire after the Great War-Though through peaceful methods. Mistral tried to enlist us into their Kingdom after independence, but we refused. We had been under their rule before and had no desire to trade one master for another. The Kauravas began to gain power by working with Mistral's criminal organizations, and when Indra, your grandfather, took the throne, began to plot to overthrow him. It took them years, but the Faunus Revolution gave them an excuse. They accused Indra of supplying the Faunus rebels with arms, and used that as a justification to back a takeover. Your mother and I fled... The only survivors of the royal household."

May gaped in disbelief. She'd heard about all this, sure. Bits and pieces of it, though Shade's curriculum didn't focus heavily on foreign history. Still... To know her father felt the same pain she did...

"We came to Beacon, met Nick and Isabel Arc," Saia continued, stroking May's hair, "And became good friends. They later helped us reclaim the throne, and cast out the Kauravas. But..." She closed her eyes tightly. "Their supporters still remained, here and there. Shortly after you were born, you were..."

She swallowed a sob, and held Maya more tightly.

"You were taken from us," she whispered, "We searched everywhere, Maia. We used every connection, every resources..." She burst into tears and sobbed into May's hair.

"We... We are so sorry," Arjun said, stroking his wife's back and looking gravely at his daughter, "We are sorry... That we could not find you. That we could not bring you home."

He bowed his head. He sunk to the floor, and bowed down to her.

"It is the greatest failure I have ever made, not finding you," he whispered. "Please, Maia... Forgive me?"

May shook her head, sniffling a bit. It was... it was so overwhelming!

"Grandfather," August spoke, bending over and resting a hand on Arjun's shoulder, "Don't be so sad. I-I mean... Yes, August and Parvati stole Mom, but they couldn't bear to kill her. Those were their orders!"

"How could you-?" May gasped, but August shook his head.

"You met Duryodhana, the chief Kaurava, in the future. Well, Mom and Dad did, anyway. He managed to escape Grandfather's revolt, and went into hiding. He confessed to the whole scheme, and said that August and Parvati would not murder an innocent child. He tried to have them killed, but... They escaped."

"That rat bastard," Arjun snarled, "I should have killed him when I had the chance-!"

"He helped save the kingdom, Grandpa!" August said, moving in front of him and waving his hands, "He... He recognized the futility of fighting when the world was at stake... Though he did die for it." He shook his head.

"The future is... Really complicated. But I do know that you once told me that you should always think twice before taking a life. Only do it when necessary. And never out of rage."

Arjun stared up at his future grandson. He then chuckled a bit mirthlessly.

"You're a good student," he said, slowly standing up. He looked to his daughter and his wife. "So... Maia... Or May... The most important question to ask is: What do you want?"

"I..." May looked down, flushing deeply. "I... The future... The future August told me about sounds w-wonderful... But I don't know if it's possible anymore. And-And um... I mean... I don't think I'm cut out to be a princess. I-I'm just a sniper, and not a good one-"

"I was a maid, dear," Saia chuckled, again affectionately stroking May's hair. It felt good. "Your father's servant. If I can become a queen, you can become a princess. But it really is up to you."

"I..." May nodded. "I... Th-Thank you... I haven't had a family for a long time. My team is... Well... I care for them but... It's not the same."

Arjun nodded.

"A slightly more pressing matter though... What is your relationship with Jaune?"

May blushed deeply.

"U-Um... W-We... He was nice to me... We-We've talked," she mumbled, "And... And I do like him... I-I'd like to get to know him better... F-For August's sake, if nothing else."

"Thanks Mom," August said with a wry smile. Arjun nodded.

"Well then, in that case? We have the home field advantage. I am Jaune's godfather, after all. Your mother is his godmother. And Nick and I always wanted our families to be joined."

He grinned.

"We'll have you two happily married in no time!"

"B-B-But what about everyone else?!" May cried in shock, her cheeks burning brighter, "If they don't get married, all those other children might disappear!"

The king frowned and rubbed his chin.

"Well..." Arjun hummed thoughtfully, "Vale does allow for polygamy, as I recall. So did Pandu! Though we abolished that law."

"Yes, we did," Saia glared at her husband. Arjun coughed.

"I wouldn't change it for me, darling! Honest!"

"You'd better not," Saia growled playfully. Arjun sighed.

"Always so jealous. You never acted like this around Isabel."

"We both know she only had eyes for Nick," Saia chuckled. Arjun smirked.

"It took them forever to admit it, though," he murmured.

Arjun then smiled at May, and reached out to squeeze her hand comfortingly.

"Everything else aside, I am glad you grew up into such a kind, caring girl. We'll think of something, Maia. I promise."

May blushed, but smiled at the praise. She'd gotten it so rarely. To receive it from her father was... Was truly special.

Arjun hummed and looked at her weapon.

"That said... A sniper rifle? Really?" He looked between May and August with distaste. "Both of you?"

"There's nothing wrong with sniper rifles, Grandpa," August sighed, as though this was an argument the two of them had had many times. It wouldn't surprise May: She had an inkling that while her father was very caring, he could be very stubborn.

"Why not a bow? Bows are superior to sniper rifles in many situations," Arjun said, "It's the tradition in Pandu! Your uncle is learning the bow!"

"Uncle Abhimanyu was so good at the bow he got bored with it and switched to rifles," August deadpanned. Arjun gasped.

"What?! Impossible! How can you get bored with bows?! They're BOWS!"

Her father argued with her son over the utility of bows versus sniper rifles, while her mother sighed and continued to stroke May's hair. The sniper blushed and smiled softly.

No matter what the outcome... She would not regret this day. She would not regret her decisions. Because this memory was another precious moment she would treasure forever.

"YOU CAN'T CURVE BULLETS LIKE YOU CAN ARROWS!"

"I CAN!"

"IT DOESN'T LOOK AS COOL!"

Most of it, anyway...

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"It's good to see you're well, Little Lion," Logos Altan smiled at his daughter as the door to the meeting room closed. Then a small concerned frown danced across his face, "You are actually doing well, right? You're not just putting on a brave face?"

"I am doing well father, mother," Arslan reassured her parents. "Though our circumstances are unprecedented I'm doing well, Petra is doing well, and our path forward is unclouded. That being said I'm extremely glad the two of you are here; your advice will keep me grounded and away from rash action."

"What do you mean by rash action?" Barsara asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yesterday," Petra answered before Arslan could, "When everyone was panicking we were war bringers instead of peacemakers."

"Were you now?" Barsara's voice held no judgment. "Does this have to do with why you're not wearing your sash of mastery or the family prayer beads?"

"Yes," Arslan confirmed with shame coloring her words. "Instead of thinking the situation through I sought out my rival and instigated a fight. If I had given the situation the thought it deserved I would have realized I was putting peoples lives at risk by doing that. If the time travel had been operating under Get Back To The Present rules I could have killed my husband's children..."

Tears started to flow down Arslan's face as the full force of regret returned, and Petra's tears soon joined her's. The mother and daughter pair leaned against each other as their tears threatened to grow into full blown sobbing.

Barsara strode forward and embraced the two of them, forcing herself to relax as she rested her forehead against theirs. A comforting rumbling sound emanated from the retired actress' throat, and the two anguished young women leaned into the elder woman's purring. Logos gently pulled the trio towards the couch along one of the room's walls and once they were sat down he sat down sandwiching his daughter and granddaughter between himself and his wife, who's rumbling purr was soon accompanied with his own. So situated between their loving elders Arslan and Petra physically relaxed allowing their own purring to rumble fourth. The four of them sat there purring until the tears ran dry and Arslan and Petra were ready to talk again.

"So you're seeking to make amends?" Barsara gently prodded as she rubbed her daughter's shoulders.

"Yes," Arslan nodded, "I gave Jaune my sash, Pyrrha the prayer beads, and I gave the other mothers items of similar personal value to me."

"And what else are you doing?" Logos wondered with a curious gaze.

"Reese is going to help us prepare a surprise dinner for everyone ether tonight or tomorrow," Arslan supplied. "Basically as soon as we figure out everyone's preferred meals we can put together an apology feast."

"Then it sounds like you're off to a good start," Logos sagely nodded, "It's difficult to hold hard feelings towards someone who does a good job feeding you."

"You said you're worried about rash action," Barsara circled back to the beginning of the conversation. "What are you afraid of doing?"

"I don't know," Arslan admitted with a shake in her voice, "This is completely uncharted territory for me. I know who my husband is, yet he doesn't know I'm his wife because this isn't happening organically in any way shape or form. On top of that I'm in competition with people who have had the chance to develop an organic relationship with him. This is a recipe for desperation and desperation leads to terrible mistakes."

"I see," Logos hmm'd in thought. "This is a tricky situation, and I understand why you're worried. Have you done anything before we got here?"

"As far as grand romantic gestures go? Nothing unless you count organizing a trip to church as a romantic gesture," Arslan sighed. She looked to her father and pressed on, "As far as simple moment to moment actions go? I've tried to remain in close proximity to Jaune while doing my best to not contribute to the drama surrounding him, and I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a moment where I can be helpful to him. Beyond that? I've been trusting that God has a hand in this that will see me through."

"Staying close and not contributing to the drama is actually a very good move on your part," Barsara noted as she pulled slightly away from her embrace to show her daughter her approving look. "You're not accustomed to the social power games women play to assert their place in the pecking order, so you would be at a disadvantage if you tried to play those games. Yet even if you were an expert in those kinds of games there are plenty of situations where the winning move is not to play, and I'd say this is one of them."

"How so?" Arslan asked while Petra also sent an inquiring look Barsara's way.

"Get a large enough group of women together and you'll almost inevitably have a bossy diva doing her best to push everyone who isn't a fellow diva around," The retired actress explained with reminiscing eyes. "Get more than one diva into the group and they'll clash over who's the true queen bee. This is where the winning move is not to play any of the social power games: by being a true neutral the divas will ignore you in favor of clashing with the other divas. If you find a way to be helpful to everyone while remaining neutral than all the girls in the group who aren't divas will eventually come to realize that you won't backstab them and that you're the most trustworthy person to confide in. Once that happens you are effectively the queen bee calling all the shots, and it's fifty fifty whether the divas notice or not."

Arslan considered her mother's words for a moment. It made enough sense, however; "I don't think it matters if they're divas or not. Everyone's going to try and be the queen bee."

"Well, that brings us to the other reason not playing the game is a good thing here," Barsara elaborated. "You're all competing for the affections of a man, and most men only have so much patience for pointless drama. If you don't contribute to the pointless drama you'll inevitably stand above those that do, especially if you can help him deal with any fallout caused by the pointless drama." She smiled encouragingly, "You have a shot here Little Lion, and if you need us to help steady your aim we'll be glad to help."

"Thank you," Arslan sighed in relief.

Logos turned his attention to his time displaced granddaughter, "Since our daughter's our Little Lion, does that make you our Littlest Lion?"

"I'm not a little lion I'm a BIG cat!" Petra protested before she blushed at her reflexive response.

The grandparents chuckled for a moment before Logos asked, "Alright then Big Cat, what can you tell us about yourself?"

"I, I have a lot to live up to," Petra began as her embarrassment died down. "Mother and Father saved the world, so a lot of strangers expect me to live up to their legacy do things just as great. That really isn't fair because there's no way I can defeat an immortal witch; Mother and Father took care of the only one! As the eldest I also had a pretty busy childhood helping out with all my younger siblings, which was a tall task since Mother and Father never really stopped having more. My favorite stories growing up were the Tales of Saint Reepicheep and the Parables of Puddleglum. When people ask if I decided to become a warrior-nun to be like my parents I tell them I wanted to be like Grandpa Nick; because Mother and Father are Mother and Father to me, not modern legends."

"And your Grandpa Nick is a modern legend?" Barsara asked with genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Mother," Arslan began with stars in her eyes, "He's Nicholas Arc of Team AARN; the first team in a century to slay a Grimm Hydra! He's the last student of Ser Jaune Saint George, and was practically Saint George's adopted son! He became a fully initiated Paladin of the Church at the same time he graduated from Beacon! He helped restore the rightful rulers of the Kingdom of Pandu! He's THAT Nicholas Arc and if anyone deserves to be called a modern legend it's him!"

"And he's going to be your father in law," Logos observed.

"Yes, he's going to be-" Arslan stopped as if someone jammed a rod into the gears of her thoughts. Her starry eyed look became distant as her voice jumped an octave; "Jaune Arc is my husband. Jaune Arc is the son of Nick Arc. Nicholas Arc is Jaune's father. Jaune Arc is my husband. I'm related to Nicholas Arc through marriage."

The warrior nun was already sitting down, so she didn't fall to the floor when she fainted.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Belladonnas

- - -

Blake had tried to be patient. She really had. It was completely understandable that her parents would miss her after all this time. She had run away without any notice, after all. She had also not contacted them for almost three years.

Again, completely understandable.

However...

"Mom, I promise, I'm not going to run away," Blake said, held between her parents on a couch in an adjacent meeting room. She could feel her mother's eyes narrow, and she coughed.

"Again."

"Just making sure, dear," Kali said, her smile wide and bright and yet still somehow terrifying, "It's not like I cried myself to sleep for many nights, praying that my baby girl was safe. Or that I obsessively went through our intelligence reports to make sure you were still alive. Don't even spare a thought for it!"

I deserve this, Blake thought miserably.

Leander and Leandra, sitting on a couch opposite their mother and grandparents, looked at each other and sighed.

"Wow, it's like we never left," Leander observed wryly.

"Though Grandpa is a lot less gray haired," Leandra said with a smile.

Ghira turned from his daughter to his future grandchildren. Kali managed to tear her eyes away from Blake for a moment as well.

"Each gray hair is like a scar earned in battle," Ghira huffed, "A badge of honor!"

"Yeah, you say that in the future too," Leandra nodded, her twin nodding along.

"All the time," Leander added.

"But it's okay, Grandma and Grandpa!" Leandra said soothingly, leaning forward to pat Ghira's hand, "Mom's not gonna make any more stupid decisions!"

"Well, she might," Leander said with a shrug, "But at least she knows she doesn't have to do everything herself... Hopefully."

I totally deserve this, Blake sighed mentally.

"She also needs to stop beating herself up," Kali sighed, cuddling her daughter.

"You could talk about me like I'm here," Blake groused, her pride and guilt fighting and finally pride won out once this bout.

"And we're so happy you are," Kali squealed, kissing the top of her head, "But more than that-GRANDKITTENS!"

Kali sprang for the other couch. The Twins' eyes went wide.

"ACK!"

"HEY!"

Blake would have warned her twins about her mother's pounce... But she deserved some schadenfreude after all the roasting her kids had given her. She smirked a bit as they flailed in Kali's steel like grip as Ghira's hold on her loosened just a bit.

"Serves you right," Blake sniffed.

"Not cool, Mom!" Leandra cried, wiggling against Kali's grip.

"Easy, Grandma! We're not going anywhere either!" Leander insisted, trying to push Kali away.

"Oh no you don't!" Kali giggled, "I'm going to hug you and spoil you so much!" She pouted. "It's a shame you're not babies... Ooh! Do you have baby pictures? Share them!"

"No we don't!" Leandra cried, clawing at the couch armrest to try and escape, "What weirdos have baby pictures of themselves on their Scrolls?"

"Well give me family photos at least!" Kali insisted. She released the twins long enough to seize their Scrolls, opened them up and flipped through them. She gasped, and then turned the Scrolls to Ghira. He leaned forward.

"Look Ghira!" Kali cried in delight, "That's... Twenty grandkittens?!"

"Mom and Dad were getting frisky again when we left, so it might be more," Leander grumbled.

"LEANDER!" Blake cried, her face bright red.

"What?" Leander demanded. "You never had to have the birds and bees talk with us! We already knew where babies came from!"

"In copious detail," Leandra shuddered.

"LEANDRA!" Blake scolded, her face even redder. Ghira laughed and clapped Blake on the shoulder.

"Still... It is good to know the future turns out well," he said, "Though even this good news seems a bit excessive."

"We needed it," Kali sighed, "After nearly being assassinated today."

"Wait what?!" Blake cried. Ghira nodded.

"That Raven woman... She was wearing a White Fang mask when she attacked us," he stated calmly, "Went right for us from the start. It's only thanks to the Arcs, the Sarkaras, and the Xiao-Longs that we're still alive."

"Um, I don't think Yang's dad and uncle are married," Blake pointed out.

"Yeah but you still thought about it," Leandra sighed.

"Do I have to put you in time out?!" Blake demanded. Kali and Ghira chuckled, as Leander snorted.

"You did that many times. We just kept getting out of it," Leander stated. He shrugged at Blake's glare. "Hey, I'm just saying."

"In any case," Ghira continued, "While it was thwarted for now, there's no indication there won't be more. So a moment with our future grandchildren is very much appreciated."

"Indeed!" Kali said cheerfully.

Blake meanwhile was running things through her head. Her old political lessons came to the forefront of her mind as she considered things.

An assassination attempt on my parents... They came so quickly that they probably didn't have time to set up any counter itineraries or handle any spies... Who stands to gain...?

"Sienna Khan," she whispered, "She ordered the assassination!"

Ghira smiled in soft pride, as Kali nodded.

"She is the most likely culprit, Blake," Kali said, "But accusing her is... Dangerous right now."

She turned to her grandkittens.

"What happened to her in your future?" She asked curiously.

"She realized how big a mistake she made with Adam Taurus," Leandra said, the name of Blake's ex making Ghira and Kali grimace, "After he attacked Vale during the Vytal Festival in a few months. It was such a huge disaster that Menagerie was almost invaded."

Ghira and Kali grew still. Kali looked at the twins.

"How huge a disaster?"

Leandra grimaced.

"At least a million people died," she said. Kali and Ghira sucked in deep breaths. "Adam Taurus took public credit for it."

Ghira slowly shook his head. Blake's fingers curled into tight, anxious fists as her ears pressed down tightly against her skull.

I knew he was... He was becoming bloodthirsty and unstable, but to go that far...?

"Dad went with Mom to Menagerie," Leander said, "And was able to help you all convince the Kingdom leadership to focus on Cinder Fall and Adam. Sienna tried to offer Adam's head to keep the peace... And he killed her. That's when Mom ran off to go confront him on her own, and nearly died if Dad hadn't been there to save her."

Blake bowed her head.

If only I had... If only I'd... It's all my fault, I have to-!

She felt a flick to her forehead, and looked up in shock. Her parents were smiling at her.

"You didn't cause this, Blake," Ghira stated, "What were we supposed to do? Ignore that our daughter suddenly had children?"

"Though not in the way we imagined it," Kali said dryly.

"I just... Even so," Blake winced, her ears pressing down, "I... I'm sorry-"

"You didn't do anything, Blake," Kali insisted. "Not for this. And as for you running away...? We forgive you, Blake."

Blake winced.

"Maybe you shouldn't," Blake mumbled, looking down at her knees. Ghira shook his head.

"Blake... You're our daughter. We love you," he said seriously, "Whatever trouble you're in, we want to help you out of it. We always did. We know you have to make decisions for yourself... Sometimes the wrong ones... But that doesn't change how much we love you."

The tears were threatening the corners of Blake's eyes. She choked them back with some difficulty. A part of her insisted she didn't deserve this. Didn't deserve her parents' love and forgiveness. Didn't deserve... Didn't deserve a happy future with a loving man and two wonderful children...

"You care so much, Mom," Leander said, "You feel so strongly. That's why we love you."

"You just kind of overdo things, a little," Leandra said. The twins reached out and took Blake's hands in theirs. She looked up at them, as they smiled back.

"I just... I'm afraid I'll make the same mistakes again," Blake said softly. Ghira patted her on the back.

"So is everyone," he said quietly, "But recognizing this is the first step to making better decisions."

Blake sniffled. She smiled as her twins leaned in and pressed their foreheads to hers. It was an affectionate gesture she had shared with her own parents many times.

"Plus," Leander stated, "Dad will drag you back if you run off again. He got really good at it!"

"We learned all sorts of rope tricks from him!" Leandra added.

Blake flushed and scowled at her snickering twins. Kali giggled as Ghira smirked.

"Who taught you two to be so disrespectful and rude and... And..."

Blake's eyes widened. Ghira laughed heartily, and clapped his daughter on the back.

"Welcome to parenthood, sweetie."

"It's like nothing else in the world," Kali giggled, kissing the top of Blake's head.

Blake sighed and shut her eyes tightly. She couldn't help a small smile though.

- - -

Some fluff for the ninja catgirl and a bit of healing. Hope you enjoyed.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Glimpses into Another Time: Mechanics

- - -

Radian, Gallia, Vale, Remnant

Nine years after Salem's Defeat

- - -

Ruby Arc sighed quietly as she entered her home. It was a small farmhouse on the Arc property. While it was very boxy and modern in much of its design, little touches like the red shingles and the wooden floorboards, along with the growing number of family photos on the walls, helped make it feel like a real home. She stretched her arms over her head with a soft groan, and reached down to rub her pregnant belly.

"You were so well behaved for the trip over here, yes you were," she cooed at her unborn children, "You two deserve a treat, yes you do!"

The twins moved inside her, almost like they were dancing for joy. Ruby beamed as she headed into the kitchen. She prepared a few peanut butter cookies and relish sandwiches, with a helping of salmon.

No, she didn't know why her babies wanted this stuff, but who was she to refuse them? She was on her third pregnancy, this was automatic by now.

She finished off her snack and then activated her Silver Eyes. The world changed to one of bright colors and dark shadowy outlines. She spotted the familiar Aura signature of her husband and their two other children in the den. She smiled, and stealthily headed towards the room down the hallway.

She heard Jaune's voice echoing down the hallway filled with pictures, and she crept even more carefully.

"... No, that's not..."

Ruby snuck into a small alcove in the hallway, and peered inside.

She could see her husband, Jaune, sitting on the floor in the perpetual mess of toys, books, and crayons their children brought with them. His beard was thin due to the summer heat, and he smiled warmly. Julian, their oldest at nearly three, sat in his father's lap with his nearly one year old sister, Pyrrha, cuddled awkwardly in his arms. In front of them was a big photo album, that Jaune slowly turned.

"That's your Uncle Sun, at the Vytal Festival," Jaune recounted, "He was trying to impress your Aunt Blake by getting her a stuffed animal. She pretended not to like it, but she really did."

"Wow," Julian mumbled, as Pyrrha goggled at the goggles. The baby reached out and grabbed at the photos. "Hey! Don't touch, Pyrrha! Don't touch!"

"It's okay, worst she can do is drool on them," Jaune chuckled. He stroked his daughter's head, as Julian flipped more pages. The toddler frowned when he got to some photos. Jaune smiled.

"Oh! This is when we went to the beach, before the festival! There's Auntie Yang-She was showing off with your Auntie Weiss. They were playing volleyball and one hit-"

"Daddy," Julian inquired with a frown. Jaune smiled at their son.

"Yes Julian?"

Julian stabbed a photo with his finger

"You have a different arm," he said, "Not metal."

Ruby hitched a breath. Jaune flexed his artificial hand slightly, as Julian stared at it.

"Yeah, I did," Jaune said gently.

Julian frowned.

"Why's your arm metal now?"

Ruby winced. That day... Even after all these years...

"You're a threat to my goddess," Tyrian sneered, as he slammed her against the farmhouse wall. His stinger rose. Ruby whimpered: Her Aura wasn't working, and without that, her Semblance didn't work...

I'm useless... I'm so useless...!

"Which means," the Scorpion Faunus grinned, "You DIE."

The stinger lashed out... And someone slammed into Tyrian from the side, knocking him away. The stinger slammed into the wall over Ruby's head, before it was yanked away. Ruby gaped as Jaune brawled artlessly with the Faunus, taking hits and punches but delivering them back as hard as he could.

"HERETIC!" Tyrian snarled, whipping his tail back. He slammed Jaune aside, and again thrust his stinger at Ruby. Ruby cringed and shut her eyes.

She heard Jaune scream. She forced them open. Jaune fell down in front of her, clutching a bloody stump where his wrist used to be.

"JAUNE!"

Tyrian giggled

"You're next, lolita-ARGH!"

Tyrian screamed as Jaune grabbed onto his tail with his remaining hand. With a hatefilled look Ruby had never seen on his face before, he pushed all of his strength into his palm, pressed the joint of the tail against the floor, and-

CRACK!

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Tyrian screamed, falling back, his stinger gone. Ruby found herself grabbing Crescent Rose, hefting it up, and pulling the trigger.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Anti-material Dust rounds tore into Tyrian at point blank range, and Aura or no Aura, that much force hurt. He turned and fled, more gunfire from outside letting Ruby know Nora and Ren had gotten through and joined the fight

She dropped Crescent Rose and fell next to Jaune. Half-remembered medical training led her to yank off her cape and wrap his stump in it tightly.

"Jaune, it's okay, it's okay..." Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry! I-I'm so sorry-!"

Jaune looked her in the eyes, and despite his pain, shook his head.

"Don't... I'm not letting anything happen to you... Not EVER..."

It was still her fault... Still a sign she had failed him, failed the man she loved... And it just wouldn't heal... She'd told him he could leave, but the second he had his new hand, he was right back up with her...

"Ride or die, Ruby. I'm with you to the end."

And he was... And yet... She still felt guilt when the subject came up-

"I lost my hand protecting your mom."

Ruby started out of the memory. Jaune smiled sadly, but proudly, as he ruffled Julian's air. The toddler blinked his wide silver eyes as Pyrrha gnawed on a teething ring.

"Really?"

"Yes," Jaune said, "A very bad man tried to hurt your Mom."

"Did he work for the evil witch?" Julian asked, eyes wide in wonder. Jaune nodded.

"The same. The bad man tried to hurt her... So I stepped in and protected her."

He held up his articial hand, his smile turning warm and wistful.

"She built me my new hand when we got to a hospital. And she's made them for me ever since."

"Did it hurt?" Julian asked, wincing. Jaune nodded at his son.

"It did... But it would have hurt a lot worse if your mom had gotten hurt."

Julian reached up and grabbed onto his father's hand. He pulled it close and kissed it. Jaune chuckled and ruffled Julian's hair with his other hand, as Pyrrha looked up and cooed.

"And keeping your mom safe is more important that losing my hand," he said. "Because that's what you do for the ones you love."

Julian grinned.

"Then I'm gonna protect the ones I love too!" He declared. "I wanna be like you, Daddy!"

Ruby sniffled. All eyes went to her.

"Mommy!" Julian announced happily. He clambered out of Jaune's lap and ran up to Ruby. He wrapped his arms around her legs, as she hugged him back. Pyrrha cheered wordlessly, as Jaune clambered up to his feet and stepped over the toys to embrace his wife.

"Hey," Jaune said with a warm smile, "Didn't hear you come in."

"I just wanted to lurk a little," Ruby admitted, pulling Julian up to hug him, and then kissed the top of Pyrrha's head before planting one on her husband. "Mmm..."

"Daddy said he saved you from a bad man!" Julian said happily, "And lost his hand and he protected you!"

"He did," Ruby said, beaming with misty eyes at her husband.

"And I always will," Jaune confirmed, nuzzling her.

Ruby sighed happily. She rested her hands over his-The flesh and the metal. Their children held protectively together in their small but growing family.

Maybe one day, she would stop blaming herself.

Maybe... It was closer than she thought.

- - -

Thread's not dead, no worries. Work's just getting rather involved lately.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

"Hello Klein," Nicholas Arc said respectfully, bowing to him as the Schnees arranged themselves around the meeting room, "It is good to see you well."

Klein smiled and nodded in approval at the polite young man.

"And you as well, Master Nicholas," he said kindly.

"Geez, there's no need to be so stuffy, Nick," Theodore huffed. He grinned and slapped Klein on the shoulder. "Nice to see you without so much gray in your mustache, Klein!"

Klein raised an eyebrow as Winter looked a bit scandalized, but then laughed it off with a jovial chuckle.

"I imagine most of those were thanks to you, Master Theodore."

Theodore shrugged and grinned, before he lay back in a chair with his feet up on the coffee table. Nicholas sat in another chair, much more respectfully. Winter and Weiss had taken opposing chairs across the coffee table, while Willow sat alone on the couch facing her future grandchildren. Whitley had taken up a spot behind his mother, a bit awkward: He clearly wasn't sure where to stand.

Klein, ever at the ready, had procured a tea trolley and some snacks and was delivering them to his charges in his usual efficient manner.

It was a bit familiar for most of the Schnees, this environment. Which is what gave Willow her opening.

"I am... Very glad you are all safe," she began, "And pleased to see you well... Despite the circumstances."

Weiss flushed deeply. Nicholas rubbed the back of his head nervously. Winter coughed. Theodore shrugged.

"Things got a bit out of hand, Grandma," Theodore admitted while teleporting a cookie to himself and munching on it, "But we worked it out pretty well."

"Finish chewing and swallow before you speak," Winter grumbled. Theodore swallowed and rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Mom, I'm not a little kid!"

"Then stop acting like one!" Winter growled. Weiss smirked.

"At least my son is well behaved," she shot at her elder sister. Winter's eyes widened and then narrowed.

"Yes? At least my son didn't engage in a pointless fight!"

"W-Well, my son was just defending his existence!" Weiss protested.

"My son was defending everyone's existence!"

"Please," Nicholas interjected, holding his hands up, "Everyone, let's all just take a step back. Okay? This is really weird for us, too."

"And kind of familiar," Theodore sighed. He brightened. "Hey! I know a perfect way to bond! How about we kick Jacques' ass?"

"Language!" Winter and Weiss admonished, before they blushed. WIllow raised a perfect eyebrow as she accepted a cup of tea from Klein.

"Why do you want to beat up Father?" Whitley asked, though it sounded like a reflex. Theodore grinned, teleporting another cookie to his hand.

"You want a list?" He asked.

Nicholas nodded.

"He conspired with an agent of Salem to overthrow Atlas' government, he deliberately made sacrificial villages of Faunus slaves to attract Grimm away from more important mines, and do I need to get into everything he did to all of you? Because you told me in detail, Mother, Auntie, Uncle, and Grandmother."

He nodded to Klein.

"You as well, Klein."

"Same here," Theodore said, leaning forward a bit, "Besides... He killed Uncle Warden."

Weiss, Winter, Whitley and Willow all tensed up. Willow slowly shook her head.

"N-No... No, that was a tragic-"

Nicholas leaned forward, his blue eyes ice cold and hard. His grandmother flinched as he talked.

"The only Schnee standing in his way with the workers somehow got isolated from security during one of White Fang's earliest terrorist attacks? With no back up? All the security sent somewhere else?"

Whitley shook his head.

"No... That's not-"

"He would gloat over it to you, Aunt Weiss, and Dad," Theodore said grimly, making a face like he wanted to spit, "Saying that for all your hatred, you never even thought of the obvious."

Whitley's fingers dug into the back of the couch. Weiss grit her teeth, as Winter tightened her grip on her sword. Klein's face was stony.

Silence fell for a time. Willow licked her lips.

"Can you prove it?" She asked.

Theodore waved his hand and grinned darkly behind his sunglasses.

"Sure can, Grandma."

"A full confession would be better, but that might take the invasion of Atlas and that would be inconvenient," Nicholas said dryly.

"Hey, he can tell jokes!" Theodore chuckled. He got up and put Nicholas in a headlock before delivering a noogie. "You are related to me!"

"Getoff already!" Nicholas groaned, shoving his half-brother away, though he had a little grin. Theodore chuckled again.

Weiss was left in wonder at how easy going her son and her... Nephew? Were. Despite being from different timelines, they bonded together so easily on family...

When family is the biggest impediment to me, she thought, looking with a guilty look at her silent mother.

Willow Schnee sucked in a deep breath. She sipped her tea, as though for courage, before she bowed her head.

"... I suspected it for a long time," she murmured, "I knew... I knew he would... Had done... So many terrible things, but my own brother..." She shut her eyes tightly.

Whitley twitched, as though to reach out to her. He stopped short. Klein, seeing that Winter and Weiss were in no better position to comfort their mother, reached out to squeeze her shoulder. She rested a hand over his and nodded slowly.

"We know things are... Awkward now," Nicholas sighed, "I mean, you still have trouble talking about this stuff in our time."

"I can only imagine how strange it is for you," Whitley observed. "Incidentally... How do I turn out in the future?"

"I'm not sure-" Weiss tried, but Whitley shot her a glare.

"You got your preview. Why can't I have mine?" He demanded.

"Easy, Uncle Whitley," Theodore said soothingly, "Honestly? You're probably my favorite uncle. You went into engineering like you always wanted to, even though you are the CEO of the SDC. You married Aunt Ruby, too."

"Eh?" Whitley grunted in disbelief.

"Well, she did say you looked cute," Willow observed. Whitley gaped.

"MOTHER!"

Weiss gasped, as Winter looked considerate.

"Hmmm... She did impress me at our meeting this morning," Winter said with a smile.

"I mean, once you grew some muscles and perfected your powered armor, she was all over you!" Nicholas contributed. "And Aunt Penny, but uh..."

He twitched.

"I'm... Going to go back to repressing that memory," he managed.

"Oh, you too huh?" Theodore asked dryly.

"Must you be so crass?" Weiss asked in exasperation. She shook her head. "Geez... To think I'd end up related to Ruby..."

"Who's Penny?!" Whitley demanded.

"She's the orange haired gynoid girl!" Theodore said.

Whitley's eyes lit up.

"A... Gynoid, you say?" He asked, immediately intrigued.

"Theo!" Winter admonished. "That's a state secret!"

"So's time travel and yet, here we are," Theodore said dryly.

Willow stared intently at her grandsons, and then let out a sigh.

"I need a drink, but I suspect it would make things worse."

Weiss, Winter and Whitley all stared intently at her. Willow winced.

"Just... Trying to lighten the mood," she sighed. "I know... I know we have a lot of work to do. All of us..."

She smiled warmly at Theodore and Nicholas.

"But... Are... Are we a family? In your futures? Are... Are you happy?"

Neither Theodore or Nicholas had to pretend to smile.

"We are," Nicholas confirmed, "I-I mean, it's not perfect, but... Yeah. Uncle Whitley helped me build my sword and shield with Aunt Ruby's help." He held them up. "Just like Dad's. Aunt Winter, you trained me with Dad and Mom in how to fight! I-I really love you, too. Grandma, you've always been kind and wonderful to me. Klein... You're like another favorite uncle, and I have so many!"

He beamed widely and bowed his head.

"You are my family, and I'm blessed to have you all in my life."

Theodore scratched his cheek, looking a bit self conscious.

"... Same, really," he said, looking intently at Winter, "I mean yeah, we fight a lot and Dad grounds me when I teleport the TV but... I wouldn't trade any of you for the world."

Willow blushed. Winter smiled fondly at her son. Weiss was the same for hers. Whitley stood in awe. Klein beamed.

Willow was the first to recover.

"Well... I mean... I knew your father's father very well," she said, nodding to them both, "And... I can't imagine he would raise his son in any other way but to become a good man." She smiled at Winter and Weiss. "I... I think you should commit to it. To Jaune Arc."

"Mother, I..." Weiss shook her head. "There's no guarantee that our future will happen-"

"I passed up a chance for true love for your father," Willow said firmly, clutching at her thighs in agitation, "And... And while I do not regret having all of you? I... I do regret Jacques. I don't want any of you to miss your chance at true love."

"Even if we have to compete with each other?" Weiss asked, side eyeing Winter. Winter scowled back at her.

Winter nodded slowly.

"If it comes down to it... I hope you will resolve it properly," she said quietly. "You're already off to a better start than me. At least you know he can love you back."

Both sisters frowned and looked at Willow.

"Mother," Weiss murmured. Winter opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and shook her head softly.

Willow nodded, then looked at Whitley intently. He flushed and shrugged.

"Er, I mean... I don't even know the Ruby girl and she's after Arc-Er, Jaune too..."

He looked at Theodore and Nicholas intently.

"That said... Really? A truly sapient gynoid?"

"Oh great," Theodore groaned, "Uncle has his fetish already."

Nicholas flushed, but didn't disagree.

"Fetish?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow at her son. Whitley flushed.

"IT IS NOT A FETISH, MOTHER!"

- - -

That's... About as well as it could have gone, I think. Could have gone much worse.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Before coming to Beacon Pyrrha had no idea she had a too polite smile. Her mother's agents had spent years teaching her how to put on the perfect face to show the world when dealing with people you couldn't expose your real feelings with like paparazzi or the bigwigs at high society galas. She had simply thought of that face as her showroom smile, she had no idea that smile didn't reach her eyes until people here at Beacon had gotten to know the real Pyrrha and told her.

At the moment the people who recognized her too polite smile for what it was consisted of her Jaune, their teammates Ren and Nora, their friends in Team RWBY, and had been joined by her son Xander. She suspected that if she had been allowed to spend real time with Arslan the warrior nun would have caught on quickly, but her mother had made sure that hadn't happed.

Her mother.

Her mother had made that smile. Spent hours with different specialists sculpting it until it met her standards and placed it on Pyrrha's face like she was a good little doll to parade before the world.

Pyrrha wasn't going to wear her mother's smile today, even though it was taking a conscious effort to keep it off her face.

The door to the meeting room closed and Pyrrha steeled her heart as she slowly turned to face Athena, a truly blank expression displayed on her face.

"Pyrrha?" Her mother wrung her hands together in an exaggerated manner. "How, how did this happen?"

"Professor Ozpin already explained that, weren't you paying attention?" Pyrrha crossed her arms as she deliberately frowned to keep that dam showroom smile off her face.

"That's not what I meant," Athena protested waving her hands about wildly like she was trying to clear the air of her miss-phrased question. "I mean what drew you to Jaune Arc? Why is he my future son-in-law?"

"Why shouldn't he be?" Pyrrha countered with a scowl. "He's the man who holds my heart."

"Your mother isn't challenging your decision to pursue him, Miss Pyrrha," Orestes interjected from his place by the door. His hands were casually resting in his pockets, but his shoulders were tense. "She's just curious."

Pyrrha considered Orestes for a moment. The man had lasted longer than any of the family's previous butlers and had actually argued in favor of letting her go to Beacon when her mother seemed hesitant. She supposed that gave him enough benefit of the doubt for her to let him stick his oar in this family discussion.

"If you must know I've felt an attraction to Jaune since Initiation here at Beacon," Pyrrha explained as she shifted the way she had her arms crossed. "I went out of my way to make sure he was my partner because he was the first person I met who didn't know who I was. I knew something real could happen between us without the expectations of fame coloring our interactions."

"You fell in love with a boy you literally just met!" Athena clutched at her heart as her eyes grew wide.

"That's a gross oversimplification of things!" Pyrrha forcefully objected. It wasn't hard to keep the frown on her face now. "I've spent almost every day of the last few semesters by his side while he's had no clue about my feelings for him. He's spent most of that time pursuing another girl, and while it was painful to watch it let me know exactly what kind of man he is. Weiss' situation is rather similar to mine but he was interested in her for her, not her wealth or name. He never saw a reason to hide his true nature from me, so I know he's nothing like my father."

"That's good, that's very good," Athena smiled wide. Too wide. Wooden even. Come to think of it, every expression Pyrrha had seen her mother make today was wooden, every motion overwrought and every vocalization dripping with drama.

"Stop playing games, Mother," Pyrrha warned as her arms fell to her sides and her hands clenched into fists.

"Beg pardon?" The confusion crossing Athena's visage was the most genuine thing the young spartan had seen on her face all day.

"You keep switching back and forth between being horrified by my situation and being completely supportive," Pyrrha's scowl deepened. "I admit this is different from the games you played back home but it's just as confusing. Why can't you just be genuine for once and let me know how you really feel? Give it to me straight instead of the smoke and mirrors you make me dance through?"

"I-I'm, I am being genuine," Athena objected.

"Oh please," Pyrrha rolled her eyes, "You put me through mind games twenty-four-seven after Dad hurt us. You expect me to believe you stopped today when you couldn't even greet me like a normal person?! Basara was able to be supportive and hug her daughter properly and treat this situation normally! You dove in wailing like this is some kind of soap opera instead of real life!"

Athena recoiled as if she had been slapped. "Pyrrha, my sweet, I'm not playing mind games with you. I'm just confused and out of my depth here."

"Part of me wants to believe that," Pyrrha chuckled ruefully as she started shaking from tightly bridled anger. "But I've been a prop and a doll for your drama far too long. I've tasted freedom here and I'm not going to let you take complete control of my life again."

Color began to drain from Athena's face. "If I was trying to have complete control over your life why would I let you come here to Beacon?"

"You almost didn't," Pyrrha hissed as she loomed forward. "Orestes had to talk you into it! Why you agreed, I don't know! Maybe you got bored of the old game! Maybe you wanted the challenge of pulling my strings from a distance! If I didn't have your number blocked I wouldn't have time for anything besides answering your calls so that's a real possibility. Or maybe you wanted the thrill of pulling me back in after I've had the chance to be free of you!"

"Oh gods," Athena whispered with all the horror of comprehension, "You actually hate me."

"MAYBE I DO!" Pyrrha howled as the metal legs of a side table suddenly bent into pretzels. "I had no idea how to value myself until Jaune Arc taught me how to be genuine! How to have a real smile instead of the plastic thing you slapped on my face! I didn't know how to have friends until Jaune and Ren and Nora taught me! Until Ruby shared her baking and Yang pulled me into girl talk and Blake shared her books! And WHY did I have to learn it from them? YOU KEPT THE ONE PERSON WHO COULD HAVE BEEN FRIENDS WITH ME AS FAR AWAY AS PROPRIETY PERMITTED! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN FRIENDS WITH ARSLAN! I SPENT ALL OF MY TEENAGE YEARS ALONE BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"I, I, I was trying to keep you safe," Athena trembled as she stumbled back to Orestes, who caught her before she could trip over herself. "I was trying to make you ready for anything before you went out into the world! I tried to have you live through every possibility as we role-played-"

"WELL YOU DID A TERRIBLE JOB!" Pyrrha screamed as a metal lamp attempted to become a Möbius strip. Her voice dropped low as she continued, "The Space-Time Continuum had to turn itself inside out before I was able to be honest with the man I love! And it gets worse. So much worse. In five of the eleven futures I never said anything and had to live watching the love of my life fall into the arms of another woman. In the other five where we're not married I only told him how I felt because I was charging into a battle that I was certain would kill me, and I was right." The horror that grew on Athena's face shouldn't have brought Pyrrha comfort, but it did. "And in the one, singular future where I marry the man of my dreams? I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing. So no Mother: nothing you did helped me. Everything you did crippled me. So yes, Mother, I think I might hate you."

Getting all of that out into the air was pleasing on a visceral level to a part of herself that she didn't realize she had until that moment. Breathing heavily Pyrrha began to gather herself for the second wind of her rage, but then Xander placed a placating hand on her shoulder.

"That's more than enough Mom," her son gently admonished. "You got what you needed off your chest. Any more and you'll say things you'll genuinely regret. Besides, you've completely demolished what was left of Granny's façade. We're dealing with the real her now."

The plea was enough to still the winds fanning the flames of anger. With her vision no longer clouded by rage she looked upon her mother again, and what she saw surprised her.

Athena stood there still supported by Orestes and it was clear she needed the support. It was like she had crumpled in on herself despite standing tall, tears slowly running down her cheeks while her eyes morosely looked into the distance. The last time Pyrrha had seen this face on her mother was a week before she kicked her husband out of the house; it was the only face of her mother that she knew for certain was completely real.

It was now difficult to hold on to her anger.

"Granny Athena hurt you because she was damaged," Xander went on now that he knew his mother was listening. "She legitimately thought Peleus was the most honest and trustworthy man she had ever met, and the realization he wasn't really screwed with her head. She didn't trust any of her old friends anymore so she only had her paranoia to lean on while she was trying to figure out how to raise you. She was trying to make you naturally suspicious so you would second guess any smooth talker that came your way, but we both know that's not what happened."

"Since you're calling Athena Granny," Orestes spoke up as he gently navigated Athena to a chair, "Is it safe to assume you're all on speaking terms in your future?"

"We are," Xander confirmed with a nod, "Though things were rough for a bit. When Mom and Dad got together Granny was convinced Dad was another Peleus so she was pretty hostile at first. Then Mom almost died in The Battle of Atlas and that threw Granny off enough for other people to get through to her. Grandma Isabel forced her to start seeing a therapist after that, and while it wasn't an overnight fix they were able to get Athena to stop acting twenty-four-seven. "

"And she stuck with Doctor Isabel's recommended therapist the whole time?"

"She did."

"I'd be interested in getting their contact information later."

"Acting twenty-four-seven?" Pyrrha asked as she allowed herself to sit in a chair across from Athena.

"It's easier," Athena managed to get out in a dull voice, "Easier than being me all the time. Most of the time I don't know what I would do. But I know what The Countess would do. I know what The Captain would do. I know what The Huntress and The Judge and The Smuggler and The Jester and The Scientist and The Priestess would do. But not me. Not usually."

Pyrrha pressed her lips into a fine line and rubbed her left arm with her right. She could remember times where she wasn't sure what she ought to be doing... but she knew what The Invincible Girl was supposed to be doing and fell back on that.

"I think I understand," Pyrrha sighed. "I'm not happy about it, but I understand." She fixed her mother with a look she hoped was neutral and extended her olive branch, "I might be willing to forgive my mother. My actual mother, not some character that happens to be a mother. Can you do that?"

"I don't know," Athena admitted, "I can try, but I don't know what that will be."

"Trying is a place to start," Xander reassured his Granny, "And if you have a place to start you can get it done as long as you're willing to work at it."

"Then I want to try," Athena wept.

Pyrrha exchanged a look with Xander, who helped her out of her chair and onto the meeting room's couch.

"Then let's try," Pyrrha offered figuring it was best to start while she knew for certain she was dealing with her mother's true face.

Athena stumbled from her chair to the couch, taking her seat between her daughter and grandson. The two of them allowed her to wrap her arms around them and she sobbed great big ugly tears as snot started running from her nose.

Orestes dutifully provided a handkerchief.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Arcs Part 1

- - -

Isabel led the way into the conference room, Jaune, Emerald, Glynda, Dorothy, Amethyst, Ash and Ashley following. Nick had begged off, saying he would be back in a bit.

The second the door closed, Isabel rounded on her future grandchildren and locked onto Ash and Ashley.

"All right, sit down," she instructed, guiding them to the couch, "Let me see those scars."

The twins glanced at each other in a mixture of relief and some familiar exasperation, but they complied. Isabel examined their faces with a surgeon's eye, while Jaune, Emerald, Glynda, Amethyst, and Dorothy sat down across from them. Amethyst and Dorothy none-too-subtly pushed their mothers to sit on either side of Jaune, while taking up seats in chairs alongside. Jaune felt a bit nervous but did his best to hide it. Emerald flushed but nevertheless she stayed close to Jaune. Her precious daughter was living proof this man was someone she could trust completely.

She... She hadn't even had that with Cinder. So the temptation to be close with him was just too strong for the thief to resist.

Glynda, for her part, was keeping a bit more distance between her potential future husband and herself. Yet the disapproving frown on her face over Emerald's closeness was a bit stronger than she would have liked.

"Hmmm..." Isabel murmured, "Who healed you? It's very good work. The scarring will take more effort to fix but any underlying damage has been completely repaired."

"Dad," Ash and Ashley said, pointing over at Jaune. Isabel looked back in shock. Glynda and Emerald nodded. Jaune flushed and nodded as well.

"His Semblance, Aura Amp, lets him transfer his own Aura to another person," Dorothy reported, as though she was in class, "With nearly 100 percent efficiency."

"100 percent?!" Isabel gasped, nearly staggered. "The best modern healing dust can do is twenty percent efficiency!"

Ashley nodded, smiling with genuine pride in her eyes at her father.

"He can also enhance others' Semblances, evolve them to become much more powerful!"

"I can?!" Jaune gasped.

"He can?!" Glynda, Isabel, and Emerald asked in shock.

"How long does it last?" Glynda asked urgently.

"Around 24 hours, I think, depending on how much you do," Ash contributed, "Later on, he learned how to restore his own Aura and enhance everyone else's in range without having to touch them. Like an instant Aura and Semblance booster."

Isabel's eyes were shining with pride and amazement. Glynda rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"No wonder I could fix the airfield so quickly," she murmured. She looked at Jaune with some admiration. "That's quite the talent you have, Jaune-Mister Arc."

"No wonder we were able to defeat Salem," Emerald breathed in awe.

"I... Um... Thank you," Jaune said modestly, "But uh, we haven't done it yet so-"

"Ooooh!" Isabel hugged Jaune tightly with a beam. "I knew it! I knew it! You're going to be a shoe-in at Ambroise Pare University! I mean, before, you would have made the grade but this? You could be valedictorian! You could make the Deans' list-Screw it you WOULD be the Dean's List!"

Jaune felt the old argument rearing its head. He felt the old resentments beginning to rise. He clenched his fists and he gritted his teeth.

"Mom," he tried.

"Oh, and a fellowship at Arc-En-Ciel-Who would care if it looked like nepotism?!" Isabel babbled excitedly, "You can heal with a touch!"

"Mom."

"We could write your first paper together and-"

"MOM!" Jaune shouted, pushing Isabel away. He took a deep breath and did his best to ignore her hurt and confused look.

"I told you before," he said, "I'm not going to be a doctor! I've chosen my path!"

"But Jaune!" Isabel insisted, "Your Semblance-You could literally change the world!"

"I already HAVE changed the world!" Jaune growled. "In eleven futures! If I hadn't joined Beacon, I... For all we know, the world might have ended!"

"It absolutely would have," Dorothy stated, as Ash, Ashley, and Amethyst nodded.

Isabel gaped.

"But-Surely now that we know, you could quit! Your Semblance-!"

"His Semblance is why the world was saved, Nana," Ashley stated flatly, "And not just that: His leadership, his kindness. He turned our mom from serving the greatest source of evil in the world into a great hero who saved everything."

"S-Same in my timeline," Amethyst offered, a bit shyly.

"Same in all the timelines, Grandma," Dorothy added, shaking her head. She sighed. "Geez, I knew you were controlling but this is a bit much-"

"I am not controlling!" Isabel growled. "I just... I just want what's best for this family! For everyone! A lot of impossible and frankly insane things have happened and I'm just... I'm just trying to-"

"Isabel," Glynda said softly, "I know. But do you really think you can convince Jaune-Mister Arc-to turn his back on this situation? Would you turn your back on this situation if it was you in his place?"

"I..." Isabel looked back at her son, who stood resolutely. "I'm not asking that... I just... We know what the future holds. We know we win against this Salem person-"

"And what?" Jaune demanded. "I shouldn't fight her?"

"I... Well," Isabel stood awkwardly, "I mean, if we know, and we could build an alliance... Your father and I are a little out of practice but we could fight while you-"

"No!" Jaune growled. "I'm tired of this, Mom! Even with all of this, you're still treating me like a baby!"

Isabel scowled.

"Well what am I supposed to do, huh?!" She demanded. "Do you really think you have any control over the situation?! You're a father 13 times over with eleven potential brides! You're a key point in a temporal paradox and someone already tried to kill you! How else am I supposed to respond?!"

Emerald got up and took her place at Jaune's side. She scowled at her future mother-in-law.

"Maybe recognize he's a MAN and not a child?!" Emerald demanded. Isabel scowled back, not backing down.

"You barely know him! You just met him! I am his mother-!"

"And in the day or two I've really known him, I've seen the kind of man he is!" Emerald insisted. "I-I can see why I fell for him! Why I trust him! Why I would have children with him!"

She took the stunned Jaune's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"He's shown me more care and kindness than anyone I've even known before!" She insisted, "And you don't get to act like he's some idiot teenager father in over his head!"

"Emerald," Jaune murmured. Emerald blushed deeply, but the happy smile on Amethyst's face and the scowl on Isabel's hardened her resolve.

He actually appreciates me... It's all I've ever wanted... I refuse to back down!

"Auntie Em, it's okay," Ashley contributed, "Nana chills out eventually. She did for our mom, and you. And Uncle Mercury."

"Speaking of, we gotta get him to defect next," Ash said with a nod, "He taught us lock picking."

"Really? You too?" Amethyst asked in interest.

Isabel groaned.

"What kind of women do you marry in the future?!" Isabel demanded, exasperated. She turned and glared at Glynda, who coughed.

"Wonderful ones, even if some need more help than others," Jaune shot back defiantly. This made Emerald and Glynda both blush, while Dorothy, Amethyst, Ash and Ashely all grimaced.

Isabel scowled.

"I just... It's not easy to understand," she said quietly, "Or... Well..."

The door slammed open. Nick entered, his arms full of cakes and candies. He grinned.

"Hey! I'm back! Sorry, I didn't know what everyone would want so I got some of everything!" He dropped the pile of snacks onto the coffee table. "Now, first things first... Glynda?"

"Ah, yes Nick?" Glynda asked. He motioned for her to stand up. She did so... And he captured her in a gigantic bear hug. "Urk!"

"Welcome to the family, daughter-in-law!" Nick laughed. He dropped the blushing deputy headmistress, before he walked over to Emerald and caught her in a big hug as well. "And you too, daughter-in-law! Emerald, right?"

"Y-Yes sir?" Emerald managed, her cheeks much darker at the affection and power in Nick's hug. The tall man put her down and beamed. He turned to his grandchildren and held out his arms.

"Plenty more where that came from! Bring it in, then, snacks!" Nick cheered.

"Nick!" Isabel protested, even as the grandkids got up to embrace Nick, "The last thing we need is a bunch of junk food!"

"This is exactly the time for a bunch of junk food!" Nick insisted. He hugged Amethyst (who squealed happily and returned it), Dorothy (who giggled and kissed her grandpa's cheek) Ash (who tolerated it while trying to hide how pleased he was) and Ashley (who sighed in exasperation but patted Nick's head).

"And also," Nick continued, "Tell me all about this evil witch Salem!" He grinned and punched his fist into his other palm. "Do I get to punch her in the schnozz?"

"Nick!" Isabel groaned in exasperation.

"Okay, does Jaune get to punch her in the schnozz?"

"NICK!"

- - -

To be continued!

 

[Gur40]

Ruby Timeline Mechanic Ruby Dr Jaune	Lost right hand to Tyrian	Son Julian uses Sniper-scythe. Semblance: Golden Petal Burst (Super Speed)	Age 16 of 10 kids	Dead - Roman	Salem: Petrified Ozma: Oscar	Crocea Mors Broken before Atlas reforged into new Right Hand	With him in the Ever After - Red Reaper	Pyrrha dead -daughter named Pyrrha
Weiss Timeline CEO Weiss House Husband Jaune	Scar over Left eye by Neo Mentally most damaged	Son Nicholas uses Sword and shield (Neo Crocea Mors) Semblance: Schnee Glyph Overdrive	Age 17 of 10 kids	Dead - Roman, Nick Arc, Saph, Terra, Adrian	Salem: Banished to the Mirror Dimension Ozma: Oscar	Crocea Mors Broken and reforged into Nicholas sword	Ever After Alone	Pyrrha dead -daughter named Pyrrha
Blake Timeline Teachers at Menagerie Huntsmen Academy	Scars by Adam	Twins Leandra and Leander uses Matching Ninjato-pistols and various ninja tools Semblance: Quantum Teleportation	Age 17 of 20 kids	Dead - Roman	Salem: Mirror Dimension Ozma: Oscar	Crocea Mors	Ever After Alone	Pyrrha dead -daughter named Pyrrha
Yang Timeline Combat Instructor Yang Dr. Jaune	Scars by Raven?	Daughter Xia uses Combat Gauntlets Semblance: Super	Age 17 of 10 kids	Dead - Roman	Salem: Magicless Ozma: Oscar	Crocea Mors sliced by Adam's moonslice	With him in the Ever After -Golden Dragon	Pyrrha dead -daughter named Pyrrha
May/Maia Timeline Queen & Royal Consort	Light Scar on neck by Assassin [Poison]	Son August uses Sniper-Monk's Spade Semblance: Aura Vision/Sight	Age 17 of ??	Dead - Roman	Salem: Medical Coma Ozma: Oscar	Crocea Mors	Ever After Alone??	Pyrrha dead -daughter named Pyrrha
Pyrrha Timeline House Husband Jaune	Eyes destroyed by Cinder get cyber eyes	Son Xander uses Roman-style shield and sword/spear/semi-auto rifle Semblance: Magnetism	Age 17 of 9 kids	Dead - Roman	Salem: Petrified Ozma:	Crocea Mors	Ever After Alone?	Pyrrha Alive duh
Arslan Timeline	Leg lost to Hound	Daughter Petra uses Short sword with chain Semblance: Pneuma	Age 17 of 13 kids	Dead - Roman	Salem: Ever After Ozma:	Crocea Mors	With him in the Ever After - Wise Lion	Pyrrha Alive
Winter Timeline General Schnee Tactician Jaune	Heart torn out by Cinder	Son Theodore uses is Satoru Gojo Semblance: Schnee Glyph Evolution	Age 18 of 10 kids	Dead - Roman, Isabel, James	Salem: Magicless Ozma:	Crocea Mors	Ever After Alone?	Pyrrha Alive - dating Yang?
Glynda Timeline Head Mistress Glynda Medic Teacher and Staff Dr. Jaune	Eye lost to Cinder face scared	Daughter Dorothy Semblance: Touch Telekinesis Crush on Moses	Age 17 of 9 kids	Dead - James Leo	Salem: Magic Prison Ozma: Oscar	Crocea Mors broken battle of Atlas by Cinder	Locked in Rusted Knight age	Pyrrha Alive
Emerald Timeline	Burned by Cinder	Daughter Amethyst - Civilian locked out the loop	Age 17 of ??	Amber lives??	Salem: Mind Break Ozma: Ozpin	Crocea Mors	Ever After Alone??	Pyrrha Alive
Cinder Timeline	Burned wrists/forearms by Cinder	Twins Ash and Ashley uses Dagger-machine pistols, anything else they can carry or grab Semblance: Aura Drain/Leech	Age 17 of 9 kids	Dead ??	Salem: Mind Break Ozma: Ozpin	Crocea Mors	Ever After Alone??	Pyrrha Alive

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"You're lucky I didn't lock you in an actual birdcage."

Those were the words that greeted Raven as her faculties returned to her. The words set off an alarm in her head and she tried to jump up into a combat stance only to find that her body didn't move more than a quarter of an inch. For a moment Raven almost succumbed to a blind panic from waking up tied and bound in a strange room with someone she considered a sworn enemy. Almost. The Spring Maiden deliberately bit the side of her cheek with just enough force to bring focus as the calculated pain derailed her spiraling thoughts. With her panic averted Raven was able to take proper stock of her situation.

She was no longer in her usual attire. Instead she was garbed in a prison jumpsuit with a neon-orange color that she found quite tacky. Her wrists and ankles were cuffed to X shaped beams jutting out from a narrow slab on an adjustable fulcrum allowing it to hold a person in a standing position or have them lying down like a bed. At the present moment it was holding her in a standing position in the center of the cell that allowed her to see the hardlight wall that served as the bars of the cell she was in, as well as the man who was currently standing in the cell with her.

"Ozpin," Raven hissed out as she struggled against the cuffs. The memories of the battle leading up to her capture flashed through her head, and embarrassed anger flushed through her system as she came to terms with being caught. That lead to something important she needed to get out of the way: "I don't care about whatever deal you have cooked up. I'm not working for you ever again."

"What makes you think I'm here for a deal?" Ozpin quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You can't keep me here," Raven reasoned. "Not for long anyways. Once I've recovered enough to use my powers I'll tear out of this place and you'll never see me again. Since you haven't killed me you're clearly here to give me some feel good speech about forgiveness and doing the right thing for the good of all mankind hopping to appeal to my better nature. Well let me save us both some time and say the answer is no."

Ozpin adjusted his glasses and frowned in disappointment. "Over a decade with the powers of a Maiden and you still don't know what you're doing with them."

What. That seeming non sequitur wasn't what Raven expected, so she actually opened her ears as Ozpin continued.

"If you knew what you were doing you would have noticed what the cuffs are currently doing to you." The old wizard explained.

Alarmed by that statement Raven looked to the cuff on her right wrist and strained against it again. Now that Ozpin had brought it to her attention she could feel it. The cuffs were actively sapping away at her aura and her magic, pulling them away from her body just as fast as they could regenerate. The Spring Maiden tried to flair her aura and magic to overwhelm the draining effect, but the cuffs adjusted to the greater flow far too quickly for that brief flair up to work.

"The cuffs will keep your aura levels and the amount of magic you have on hand low enough that you're basically a regular civilian right now. You'll be staying here for as long as is necessary."

"Magic can't be destroyed," Raven objected as she stopped straining against her bonds. "It can only be defused. Sooner or later this area will be too saturated with my magic for you to keep me locked up like this."

"Normally you'd be right," Ozpin allowed with a tired sigh. "Unfortunately I have a comatose Fall Maiden a few floors down who's soaking up all of the ambient magic in the area in an effort to plug the hole in her soul. You're being drained directly into her life support system. The good news is that every hour you're connected to the system adds another week we'll be able to keep Amber alive. If this was my only method of keeping you here I'd be able to keep you in this room for as long as Amber needs life support; which might not be as long as you'd think since some new information has come to light that might help us heal her. However, I've done more than cuff you."

"What do you mean you've done more than cuff me?" Raven asked as dread started pooling in her stomach.

"I've placed four sigils on your back," the reincarnating wizard explained as he began to circle her. "The first disrupts your ability to use your semblance. The second disrupts your ability to turn into a bird. The third disrupts your ability to manipulate magic. The fourth? That one will straight up kill you if it's tampered with incorrectly."

Raven frowned as she processed this information. The fourth sigil obviously served as a deterrent for messing with the other three, meaning it was possible to mess with them. The fact that he was telling her about it meant it was possible for her to mess with the sigils in her current state and he wanted her to know that doing so was too risky. She needed to know more about them.

"These sigils sound like useful tools," She probed with a taunting tone. "Is there a reason you never used them against the Black Queen?"

"You put the world's best lock in front of the world's best lock-picker and it's only a matter of time before the lock-picker unlocks it." Ozpin explained as he returned to standing in front of her. "They're useless against someone who knows how to use magic like a master artist's finest paintbrush. Against a wayward Maiden who wields her magic like an amateur with a paint roller? They'll serve their purpose well."

"I'm no amateur!" Raven objected with a snarl as she strained against her cuffs again.

"I really wish you weren't," Ozpin's eyes held genuine remorse, "Things would have been significantly different if you had bothered learning the subtler half of the esoteric arts. Thought that's a problem most of the Maidens have had: too few of you think like wizards and end up wielding your magic like an elemental beat-stick."

Raven rolled her eyes at The Wizard's commiserating. If he didn't think she could figure the sigils out fine, she'd let him think that. She just needed a way to figure out which sigil to avoid before she started experimenting... which was a taller order than she liked but if she had time she'd do it. This lead to an important question: how much time did she have to work with?

"So you'll use me as a battery to keep your Fall Maiden alive. Then what?" Raven asked in a nonchalant manner. "You keep me locked up, come down every once in a while to parade regrets and might have beens before going on and on about how it's not to late for me, I can change and be a good girl again. Maybe bring other people I've been close with for visits to try and wear me down. It's not going to work Ozpin. I'm never going to be a pawn in your war again."

Ozpin sighed once again before pulling out his scroll and opening it up to show an official looking document, "Raven Branwen, The Branwen Tribe of Bandits are considered hostis humani generis and as their leader you have no legal protection under any Kingdom's laws. You will be tried in a manner your captors deem fit, and from that trial a sentence will be determined and then carried out in the manner your captors deem appropriate. As an Outlaw in the truest sense of the term you will be offered no legal council, nor any chance to appeal the results of the trial. Dura lex sed lex."

"Are you planing on killing me?" That was a bit surprising, but she was well prepared for that possibility. Raven began to chuckle, "Well you can't kill me. My last thoughts determine who the next Spring Maiden is. There are plenty of girls in the Branwen Tribe young enough to become the next Maiden, and I've actually been training one of them to take my place should the worst happen. And if you think your agents can take her on before she comes into her own... well their are plenty of criminal organizations in Mistral that would love to have a young recruit gain real magic. And if that isn't enough for you to take me seriously... Well, I've discovered the identities of the girls Salem's trained to become her dark maidens."

Ozpin rose an eyebrow at this, and she could tell she had his attention.

"And I don't just mean the girl that crippled Amber," Raven went on. "I know who she's planning to send after Fria, who she's planning to send to Vacuo for the Summer Maiden, who she's planning to send after me." There it was; her trump card on the table. A nasty grin split across her face, "You kill me and you'll just be hand delivering a Maiden to the Black Queen, and she'll make them far too dangerous for you to get that power back."

"DON'T think about Summer," Ozpin replied, and Raven's mind immediately went to her old team leader in spite of her efforts to stop it. Thoughts of Summer Rose naturally dovetailed into thoughts of Summer's flesh and blood, Ruby Rose, as well as the girl Raven left for Summer and Tai to raise, Yang. From the smile on the wizard's face Raven knew that Oz could tell where her thoughts had just gone. "I did that without any magic Raven. Want to know what I could do with magic?"

Ozpin waved his hand about in a series of arcane gestures that slowly formed a sphere of emerald energy that hung in the air in front of him. With each wave of his hands that sphere became flatter and flatter until it was the dimensions of an old compact disk used by older computers and music players. Satisfied with his creation the wizard plucked the disk out of the air before giving one last look over before a grim frown took over his face. He stepped forward disk in his right hand while his left grasped Raven's face, holding it in place as he pressed the disk against her forehead. She could feel it sliding into her head between the two hemispheres of her brain where it settled in and wove itself into her neurons.

"Let's see who you should be thinking about, hmm?" Ozpin began in a voice that held no pleasure with what he had done. "Perhaps Velvet? She has one of the most promising semblances I've seen in years. She could put the Maiden's power to great use." He spun his hands around and the image of a brown haired rabbit faunus filled Raven's mind. "On the other hand she wouldn't think like a wizard and would mostly use the power to make melee weapons. Hmm... Maybe one of the Schnee sisters? Their semblances are pseudo-magic so the learning curve would be in their favor." The two Atlesian women now dominated Raven's thoughts. "Though both of them have a tendency to get close in a fight when they don't have to, and I don't see ether of them breaking that bad habit... Wait... The sniper! May!" A dusky skinned girl that seemed like a bit of a wallflower stood at the forefront of Raven's mind. "Yes, she'll do nicely. She appreciates the benefits of keeping her distance and her mother has another pseudo-magic semblance. She can learn how to think like a wizard from her! Now I just need to get her opinion on the matter, I can always change it if she says no."

Ozpin dropped his hands, and Raven's thoughts were her own again. Dread pooled in her stomach once more; she had thought her trump card made her unkillable by anyone affiliated with Oz, but the man himself had just gotten rid of it like it was nothing. For the first time since she became the Spring Maiden the possibility she might get sentenced to death for her crimes as a bandit became tangible.

"You can't be serious," Raven objected, "You'd rather have that untested slip of a girl instead of a seasoned warrior as your Spring Maiden? That's ridiculous! You can't-"

"Ten Thousand." Ozpin interrupted with a growl.

"What?"

"The estimated combined population of all the towns, villages, hamlets and other settlements destroyed by the Branwen Tribe since you became their leader is around ten thousand, and that's the low end estimate," Ozpin elaborated as he began to aggressively tap his staff against the floor, his voice becoming more and more stern with each tap. "To be frank there are only three reasons you're alive right now. The first is that you're currently helping to keep Amber alive. The second is that I'm not going to foist the powers of the Spring Maiden on someone who doesn't want it if I can help it. The third is that your family needs closure, and killing you right here and now would rob them of that."

Raven gawked.

"The trial will decide your fate. It will serve to bring closure as well," Ozpin turned to leave. "I hope your ready to face your family: because I can't think of a better jury than them."

The hardlight wall split open for a second and then closed after the wizard passed through. Raven was left alone with her thoughts.

A trial. Ozpin would stand as judge no doubt and he would honor any verdict from the jury. A jury that would contain her own family. The best possibly outcome for her required her to cross bridges she burnt years ago...

...Brothers of Light and Darkness, Raven thought with wide eyes, I might actually die here!

No! It wouldn't be in any of their natures to leave her in a lurch like that! She'd live.

Right?

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Arcs Part 2

Sift Green

- - -

The group divided the snacks and drinks and ate quietly for a while. Nick polished off several cakes in quick succession and guzzled a two-liter of soda. Isabel ate her fill too, then looked for another conversation topic. Something less awkward, perhaps.

"So," she began, looking at Ash and Ashley, "Where is your mother?"

Ash and Ashley winced. Emerald narrowed her eyes and wrapped an arm around Amythest protectively, while Jaune sighed and Glynda and Dorothy grumbled. Her son spoke first.

"She's a terrorist serving Salem, Mom," Jaune said, "We don't know where she is."

Isabel grimaced but her eyes were sympathetic to her son and the twins.

"I see. I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Well, that won't do!" Nick boomed, after finishing another two-liter, "It's not fair to the rest of your wives if she's not included!"

"She tried to murder my daughter and I," Emerald gritted out.

"In most timelines, she destroys Vale and kills millions of people," Dorothy pointed out. She looked apologetically at the twins. "I get that you want to exist but-"

"But nothing!" Ash growled. He shook his head, and reached up to touch his scar. "Look... I know she was pure evil in your timelines. I know all the bad things she did in our timeline. We're fully aware of the bad things she's done here!"

"Seriously," Ashley added, touching her own scar, "But that doesn't change the fact that where we come from? She's our mom. She helped save the world. She loves our Dad. She-She tucked us in at night, read us stories, cooked our meals, kissed our..." She touched her scar again, "Injuries..."

"And we're sorry for what she tried to do, Auntie Em," Ash said, turning to the pensive green-haired girl, "And Amethyst... But please. She... She's got good in her. We know she does. To you, she's evil incarnate. To us? She's our mom. We love her. And in our timeline, she loves Dad, and Uncle Mercury, and Aunt Ruby, and... And you, too."

Emerald grimaced, and tightened her hold on her daughter. Amethyst winced again but held on tightly.

Nick and Isabel took this in thoughtfully. It was Nick who turned to his son first, his expression unusually grave.

"Jaune? What are your intentions regarding this Cinder?"

Jaune slowly stood up. He took a deep breath.

"Dad... You're the one who taught me no one was beyond redemption," he stated, "You're the one who told me all about your past."

Isabel instinctively reached out to hold her husband's hand. His expression didn't change, but he squeezed hers back as Jaune continued.

"How you were an orphan, a thief. How you got in too deep with bad people and were beaten and left for dead in a river," Jaune went on, and Emerald in particular winced, "How if Grandpa George hadn't found you and saved you, you would have died. Or if you'd lived, you'd have just kept getting worse and worse."

He sucked in a deep breath.

"Based on what the twins and Emerald have told me... Cinder just needed one person, just one, in her life to... To care about her. To help her. To-To help her not be evil. Grandpa George was that for you. You and Mom taught me to be that person for others. So... So I'm going to try to help her. To save her. Not just for our kids, but for her as well."

Isabel stared intently at her son. Nick glanced at his wife briefly, then back at Jaune. Isabel spoke first.

"It's going to be very dangerous, Jaune," she said softly. Glynda nodded.

"Exceedingly," Glynda emphasized.

Jaune slowly nodded back, his fists clenched.

"I know... But I have to try."

Silence fell. Dorothy sniffled a little, and Glynda turned to rest a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

Ash and Ashley stared at Jaune with emotional smiles, though Ashley tried to cover hers up with her hand. Emerald gazed up at Jaune in awe (with a slight blush on her cheeks) while Amethyst softly blew her nose into a handkerchief.

Nick smiled in pride. Isabel sighed. She looked at her husband, and Nick shrugged.

"He had to grow up sometime," Nick murmured. Isabel nodded. She got up, walked to her son, and hugged him tightly.

"Then... We'll help you with her, and the rest," she said quietly, "I promise."

"Mom?" Jaune gasped. Isabel grimaced for a moment and shook her head.

"I'm... Still not happy about this, but... If you're going to do this, we will do all we can to make sure you do it right," she said quietly.

Jaune's face slowly lit up. He hugged his mother tightly. Nick got up and hugged them both.

"We thought you weren't strong enough to do this, Jaune," Nick murmured, "I'm very glad to be wrong... And sorry we thought that of you. Can you forgive us?"

Jaune beamed, and hugged his father back.

"Always."

Emerald's eyes were shining. Glynda discreetly used her Semblance to wipe her own eyes though Dorothy's knowing look made clear it hadn't worked. Ash and Ashley got up and Nick pulled them into the hug as well.

"Aw... Hugs are nice," Nick said cheerfully. He beamed.

"Of course, it can't be all about one girl!" He boomed. "You've got eleven, Jaune! You need to be fair to all of them if you're going to have a harem!"

"D-Dad!" Jaune managed, "I-I don't have a harem-!"

"You basically do," Ashley deadpanned.

"Well not on purpose!" Jaune sputtered.

Isabel turned her glare onto Glynda.

"Speaking of," she growled, "How exactly did you end up with my son in the future, hm?"

"Er," Glynda Goodwitch blushed.

"She didn't do anything with him until he was legal, Grandma!" Dorothy rose to her mother's defense.

"That barely helps!" Isabel growled.

The doors slammed open. Nora entered, wearing a chef's hat. She scowled at the pile of snack wrappers on the table.

"HEY! Who got all these snacks?!" Nora demanded.

"Me!" Nick said, holding up his hand. Nora's scowl deepened.

"Renny and me were making breakfast for everyone and you go and spoil everyone's appetite?!" She demanded. She paused and checked her watch.

"Well, guess it's brunch now, but still! You're a jerk, Jaune's Dad!"

"Nora!" Jaune admonished. Nick stared intently at Nora.

"You're Nora Valkyrie then? Jaune's written me about you a lot," he said, "You see my son like a brother right?"

Nora, for once, looked genuinely confused (but also touched).

"Yeah? So what?"

Nick beamed and held out his arms.

"Welcome to the family, sweetie!"

Nora gaped... Then squealed as she leaped into Nick's arms.

"YAY! Can I call you Daddy?"

"Sure can!"

"WOOHOO!" Nora cheered. "NOW I HAVE SOMEONE TO GIVE ME AWAY AT MY WEDDING TO RENNY!"

"NICK!" Isabel hissed, grabbing his bicep and squeezing painfully. Nick pouted.

"Aw, come on Izzy! Look at her! She's so adorable!" He held Nora up to his wife. Nora sniffled with large, shiny eyes. "Can't we adopt her? Please? Please?"

"I..." At everyone's stares. Isabel cleared her throat. "We will discuss this later... After brunch."

"YAY!" Nora cheered again, hugging Isabel, "I GOT A MOM AND DAD! BEST DAY EVER!"

Isabel sighed, but smiled gently and patted the orange-haired girl's head affectionately.

Jaune snickered. Ash and Ashley smirked. Amethyst giggled, as did Dorothy, while Emerald and Glynda stared in confusion.

"Um... Is this how your parents are normally?" Emerald asked.

Jaune nodded.

"Pretty much."

"And so much is explained," Glynda sighed quietly.

"You're part of the family too~," Dorothy said in a sing-song voice. Glynda flushed.

"Quiet."

"Just saying~!"

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Cinder Fall

- - -

"Based on what the twins and Emerald have told me... Cinder just needed one person, just one, in her life to... To care about her. To help her. To-To help her not be evil. Grandpa George was that for you. You and Mom taught me to be that person for others. So... So I'm going to try to help her. To save her. Not just for our kids, but for her as well."

Cinder Fall was not often found sitting on her bed, her Scroll the sole source of attention, in total darkness. It was something for melodramatic teenagers or lost souls.

She had... She had stopped being lost a long time ago.

"It's going to be very dangerous, Jaune," said a kindly sounding woman's voice.

"Exceedingly," Glynda Goodwitch added.

Cinder could hear Jaune take a deep breath.

"I know... But I have to try."

She heard a creak outside the door. She summoned the power of the Fall Maiden, using telekinesis to rip the door open and seize whoever was eavesdropping. He yelped as she yanked him inside with her power. She slammed the door shut and formed a glass knife to hold to his throat.

"H-Hey! Easy! It's just me!" Mercury Black sputtered. Cinder didn't pull the knife back, instead glaring in pure hatred down at him.

"How much did you-?!"

"Let's just say enough, huh?" Mercury shot back with a scowl. Cinder gritted her teeth. First Emerald, now Mercury?

Emerald... Emerald had been safe out of her devotion. A devotion she dropped in an instant for her brat. Mercury she'd kept in line out of fear, but now he was... He was...!

Mercury stared at her. He sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils and looked her right in the eyes.

"Look, Cinder... You're down enough followers, right? Just let me say my piece. Then you can kill me."

Cinder's jaw dropped. Cynicism, snark, those were things she expected. Mercury sounding... Tired like this.

"Are you the shortstack brat playing a bad joke?" She demanded. Mercury rolled his eyes.

"You could feel up my chest if you really don't trust me-OW!"

She'd dug the knife in against his throat as a warning. He held up his hands.

"That enough proof?" He asked flatly.

Cinder pulled the knife away. She backed off, stepping onto the floor with a scowl. Mercury sat up, rubbing his throat even as his Aura flared to life to heal him.

"Speak then," Cinder spat contemptuously. Mercury slowly shook his head.

"You've been treating me like a dog since the day we met. Go fetch, roll over, play dead-"

"That's all you are to me," Cinder seethed, "All Emerald was-"

"All Arc is?" Mercury shot back. Cinder grit her teeth furiously, fire flaring to life in her palms. Mercury for once was not cowed. He still met her eyes, calm and unwavering.

It was one of the most terrifying sights she'd ever seen in her life.

"He... It changes nothing-I'm just gathering intel-!"

"You're crying, Cinder," Mercury pointed out softly, "And for once? You're being a shitty liar."

Cinder narrowed her eyes. She flared her flames white hot, trying to intimidate him. And while he hesitated for a moment, Mercury's gaze didn't waver.

"We have a way out, Cinder," Mercury said quietly.

"It's one possible timeline out of eleven!" Cinder seethed. "In most of those I die-!"

"But in one of those, you live. I live. Emerald lives," Mercury insisted. "Salem's gone! We're not her slaves anymore-"

"I'm not her slave!" Cinder snarled, unleashing a fire blast over his head. He didn't even flinch.

It hit her like a Goliath Grimm: He wasn't afraid of her anymore.

"Cinder," Mercury said quietly, "I've been listening in too. Your kids... They love you. They love me. They love Em. We're free... Maybe we're even happy. I-I don't know what that feels like. What that's like... But maybe we have a chance to experience it. Maybe we can have that."

He leaned forward just a little. Cinder was the one to flinch away this time.

"In one future timeline-" She protested.

"Isn't one enough?" Mercury demanded.

"It doesn't matter-!"

"You wouldn't be so damn worked up if it didn't!" Mercury shot back. "Those are your kids... And you care about them. Despite everything, you do. Don't lie to me, Cinder."

Cinder trembled a little. Mercury sucked in a breath.

"... So what do you want to do, Cinder?" He asked softly. "What do you really want? What we've been doing? Or a happy ending?"

Cinder's lips trembled.

"... I-"

Her Scroll went off. Both Mercury and Cinder started. She recovered first, and pulled out her Scroll. She paled at the caller ID... But answered anyway.

"Y-Yes, Mother?"

"Cinder," Salem spoke, "I've learned that things have become more complicated at Beacon. Some formidable fighters have appeared, and they have Raven Branwen with them. She appears to have Maiden Powers."

Cinder felt ice fall into the pit of her stomach as she looked over the datasheets Salem sent to her.

"... All of them?" She whispered.

"It would seem this Jaune Arc is better connected than we thought," Salem said smoothly, "I'm going to have to rethink many things. In any event, I don't expect you to take on all these powerful fighters on your own. You've failed me enough already."

Cinder winced. Salem didn't seem to notice as she continued.

"So I'm sending you some back up. A few mercenaries who are interested in the former members of Teams STRQ and AARN. Lionheart found them."

"Lionheart?" Cinder asked, her nose wrinkled in distaste. Salem nodded.

"I expect his treachery to be discovered soon. I'm making use of him before his expiration date."

Salem smiled dangerously.

"And I'm sending along another Maiden Candidate."

Cinder shook her head rapidly.

"Th-There's no need-I can handle-"

"I was a mother too once, Cinder," Salem said, soft and deadly, "Your thoughts and feelings betray you. You will bring me Jaune Arc. And you will cut out this weakness if it becomes necessary. Is that understood?"

A terrible silence fell. Cinder slowly nodded.

"... Yes Mother."

"Good... Be sure to give them all the information you have gathered. If you perform well enough, I might just let you get the rest of your power. Do not fail me again."

The transmission cut off.

Cinder bowed her head. The flames died away, leaving them in darkness. Only then did she looked up into Mercury's face.

She hesitated, before she spoke in a low, sad tone:

"People like us don't get happy endings."

Mercury slowly nodded, holding in a sigh.

"... All right," he murmured.

Cinder turned away.

"Talk to Roman, see what he can do for our guests," she ordered.

His face like stone, Mercury turned and walked out the door. It shut tightly behind him, leaving Cinder alone in the dark.

- - -

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-posted from the Spacebattles Thread.

Glimpses Into Another Time: Happy Endings

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Radian, Gallia, Vale. 2 Years After The Defeat Of Salem.

In her bedroom, Emerald Sustrai stared at a locket that was gifted to her by the woman she once called 'mistress', debating whether or not to discard it. It was beautiful, but it held too many bad memories.

"'Us'? There is no 'Us', Emerald. There has never been an 'Us'. There will neve be an 'Us'."

Hearing those words from her mistress stung. That party at Beacon was the day Emerald learned how Cinder really felt about her. The woman she worshipped like a goddess saw her as nothing more than a pet. In hindsight, it should've been obvious, now that Emerald had given it some thought. Cinder had made so many false promises, stringing her along like she was some hopless, lovesick girl...

Ok, maybe she was, but it still hurt to be treated like that.

Emerald left the party to wallow in her sorrow, to curl up into a ball and push down her emotions. But fate decided not to kick while she was down that day, because she was followed by a certain blonde knight.

"Um, hey," Jaune Arc let his presence be known, albeit in his awkward way. "I.. heard what Cinder said. I'm sorry."

"I don't need your pity." Emerald spat. She knew he had a problem with taking 'no' for an answer, so she hoped her attitude would be enough to get him to fuck off.

"You're right. You don't," Jaune then sat down next to her. Was he seriously this dense!? "But you do need a friend."

It was at that moment Emerald's heart latched onto Jaune. At first, she used him as a life preserver. His kindness was healing that void Cinder left, putting her broken heart back together piece by piece. But soon, the need for comfort blossomed into something more. Emerald had fallen in love with Jaune. And he had fallen for her. But that love wouldn't go unnoticed. Cinder had given Emerald a choice: Kill the boy and redeem herself or die along with him.

Emerald made her choice when she told Ozpin what Cinder and Salem had planned for the Vytal Festival. It had taken quite a bit of convincing, but her Scroll had everything she needed to earn his trust. With the attack on the Vytal Festival was successfully thwarted. But it wouldn't stop there, knowing that Haven Academy was her next target, Ruby and team JNPR went on a journey to Mistral to stop Cinder. Naturally, Emerald went with them. And it was there that Emerald had her final confrontation with Cinder.

Knock Knock

Emerald turned, snapping herself back to the present. She's more than a little nervous today.

How could she not? It was her wedding day.

"Come in." She invited the person who knocked into the room. The door opened, revealing her soon-to-be Mother-in-law, Isabel Arc.

"I knew you'd look amazing." Isabel beamed. She had given Emerald her mother's wedding dress. She had hoped to see one of her daughters wearing it, but they all bought ones of their own and Tangy made it explicitly clear she wasn't settling down any time soon.

"You think so?" Emerald smiled.

"Of course I do," Isabel walked up to her. "You're going to knock Jaune's socks off. If he's anything like his father, his jaw is gonna fall completely off when he sees you!"

"Yeah, but he always does," Emerald says dryly. "But I appreciate the visualization." She turned back to the desk, the locket stared back at her. Almost like it was mocking her. This didn't go unnoticed by Isabel.

"That looks lovely. Why don't you put it on?" Isabel suggested.

"I'm... I don't...," Emerald struggled. She wanted to talk to someone about this, but she didn't want to say anything that she couldn't take back. Isabel had always treated her like a daughter, so who better to have a peptalk than her? "Isabel, can I ask you a question?"

"What's on your mind?" Isabel raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Emerald looked at the locket once more. "I've been wondering if... If I deserve this. All of this. A happy ending."

Isabel knew about Emerald's past. Everyone in Jaune's family did. She, along with a few of her son's friends, were apprehensive of their relationship at first. But as time went on, Emerald had proven her love for Jaune was true. But there was one person that lingered in the back of the thief's mind.

"Is this about Cinder?" Isabel asked.

Emerald winced. Cinder's last words have been haunting her for the last few weeks, causing her to worry when the other shoe will drop.

"People like us don't get happy endings, Emerald."

Cinder had sounded so sure of this, even as she died. But every day with Jaune had proven her wrong. So why was she thinking about it now? She found that locket at the bottom of her jewelry box. It brought up a few emotions along with it.

"Whatever it is, I don't think it really matters," Isabel said, her tone warm. She poured a glass of water for Emerald and herself. "To dwell on the past is to deny yourself of the future. I'm sure whatever Cinder said to you was only said to scare you. To make sure you always see her whenever you look over your shoulder."

Isabel words filled Emerald with relief. She really was the mother she never had. She took a sip of water and a smile formed on her face. "You're right. Maybe I'm just stressed out. All the planning, all the messages from Weiss, the pregnancy te--." Emerald immediately covered her mouth. Dammit! They were supposed to announce this at the reception!

The sound of glass shattering on the floor startled her. Isabel's mouth was in a perfect O shape.

"P-P-Pregnancy test?" She uttered, a wide smile was forming on the Arc matriarch's face. Tears stared to fall down her cheeks. She looked like her entire body was vibrating with joy. She ran over to the former thief and held in a (surprisingly) tight bear hug. "I can't believe it! Does this mean I'm--!"

"Yes! But when we tell everyone, act surprised!" Emerald said struggling in her hold. She just noticed that time. She was gonna be late for her own wedding and she'll be damned if she's gonna let Mercury hold it over her for the rest of her life. "Mrs. Arc, we have to go!"

Isabel let her daughter-in-law go and gave her one final once over. "Yes! Yes, you're right! Can't think about spoiling my grandkids just yet if my son isn't married! Now, let's go get you married!"

Isabel grabbed Emerald's arm and dragged her out of her room. Emerald began to laugh at her Mother-in-law's switch in demeanor.

With every step she took, Emerald started to imagine the life she and Jaune would make, free from Cinder's shadow. Whatever future they will make together will be made with their own two hands.

Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

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

Wanted to take my time with this one.

In the Cinder omake, she was talking to Nick, so I thought Emerald should talk to Isabel. Hope you guys enjoy.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Glimpses into Another Time: Oh... That Day

- - -

Beacon, Vale

- - -

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

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

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

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

"Cinder?!"

She froze, as did Mercury and Emerald.

No...

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

No no no...

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

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

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

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

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

She clenched her fists.

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

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

"No," he whispered.

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

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

Mercury stepped up.

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

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

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

"I want to hear it from her."

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

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

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

Cinder trembled.

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

"But Cinder-" Emerald tried.

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

"It was...!"

She gritted her teeth, her eyes still low.

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

"Why?" Jaune asked. Cinder scoffed.

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

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

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

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

Cinder's eyes widened.

"Wha-?"

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

Cinder grit her teeth.

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

She ignited her Semblance, fires burning in her hands.

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

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

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

"No!" Jaune growled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jaune stared at her for a long moment.

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

No, please...!

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

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

"Wha-What are you doing?!"

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

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

Jaune stared into her eyes.

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

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

"Fool," she snarled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"NO!" Jaune shouted back.

She began to sob,

"JUST GO! JUST GO!"

"NO!"

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

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

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

"NO!"

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

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

"I do!"

"You're an idiot!"

"I know!"

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

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

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

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

He stroked her long hair comfortingly.

"I know..."

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Ozpins



- - -



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



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



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



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



The other was studying Weena's face.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Just as he did now with Weena.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Weena looked at Ozpin in concern.



"What have you been giving him?"



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



"Bad?" Ozpin asked.



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



Ozpin braced himself.



"And the bad news?"



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



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



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



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



Ozpin nodded slowly.



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



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



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



Ozpin coughed.



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



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



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



Weena looked back at their son. She smiled quietly.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



"How many of those sayings were yours?"



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



- - -



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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I'm helping," Qrow added gruffly.

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

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

"Sunrise tomorrow, the old clocktower, bring-"

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

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

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

"By beating him up," Yang scowled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

At The Brunch Part 2

- - -

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

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

She shook her head rapdily.

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

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

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

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

"Really?!"

"GAH!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Isabel blinked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yang's eyes were sparkling.

"Really?!"

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

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

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

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

"You can look too, Glynda."

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

Emerald grinned.

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

- - - -

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

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

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

"Yes," Arjun stated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"HEY!" Nolan growled.

Brawnz pointed at Roy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Before Arjun smiled at the three boys.

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

"Hell yeah!" Brawnz shook his fist.

"Until death!" Nolan added.

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

Arjun nodded again.

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

The three young men blinked.

"Huh?"

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

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

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

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

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

His eyes narrowed.

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

"Yes sir!" All three yelped.

Arjun smiled.

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

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

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

"Yeah!" Nolan nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-Posted From The Spacebattles Thread

Childhood Memories: Birthright

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Uh oh. Busted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"How so?"

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

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

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

Somehow, Arslan made the resulting snort seem dignified.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

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

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

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

Jaune shook his head.

"I haven't really done anything."

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

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

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

Ironwood nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Sir, maybe you shouldn't-"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jaune nodded back slowly.

"He is," he agreed.

Willow sighed wistfully.

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

Willow stared intently at him, all business.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taiyang scoffed.

"It was eight!"

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

Willow sighed longingly. She then beamed at Jaune.

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

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

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

"MOTHER!" Weiss and Winter gasped, scandalized.

"GRANNY!" Nicholas and Theodore groaned.

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

- - -

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

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

Penny looked right at him, her smile unchanging.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Penny nodded.

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

She paused and then blushed quite prettily.

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

Damn that's cute, Whitley thought.

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

Which is when Ruby Rose approached. She smiled awkwardly.

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

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

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

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

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

Whitley gulped and held his hands up.

"I-I am! I am!"

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

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

Whitley gaped in disbelief.

WHAT?!

Ruby blushed.

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

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

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

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

How was I even doing that?!

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Dvipa, near Mistral

- - -

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

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

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

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

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

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

His Aura surged... And he fired!

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

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

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

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

The Colonel snorted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He gave the White Fang terrorist a scowl.

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

He held the rifle up with a shrug.

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

"Colonel!"

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

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

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

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

"Very well."

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

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

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

Zaroff huffed.

"And?"

"And you owe me," Lionheart growled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zaroff paused.

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

Lionheart nodded.

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

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

"The hell is wrong with that one?"

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

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

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

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

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

"You're serious?"

"Deadly serious," Lionheart stated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- - -

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

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

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Huba da wah," Moses managed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dorothy gulped.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not noticing a damn thing.

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

- - -

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

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

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

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

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

A holoscreen activated, and a familiar leonine face appeared.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Testoasa scoffed, his breathing low and mechanical.

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

Lionheart scowled.

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

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

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

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

"I have heard that before," Testoasa snorted.

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

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

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

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

Save for a woman he desired.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yet... The idiot had beaten him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We have a deal."

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

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

- - -

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

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

City of Viriathus, Lusitania Province, Vacuo

- - -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He looked to his female assistant.

"Zhu?"

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

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

She smiled cheerfully at the dying man.

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

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

"You never let me have any fun!"

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

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

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

Zhu nodded a few times. She gasped.

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

She growled.

"Branwen. Arc."

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

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

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

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

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

Marfim grimaced.

"Arc and Branwen?"

Zhu nodded like an eager child.

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

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

Marfim, unperturbed, slowly nodded.

"How long will you be gone?"

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

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

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

"Uh, Boss...?"

Marfim sighed and rubbed his forehead.

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

He paused.

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

- - -

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

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

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

 

[AndrewJTalon]

When The Schnee matriarch started making blatant inquires about his parents and their relationship an incredibly mortified Weiss and Winter had done their best to redirect the conversation to something else. After it became clear that Willow would not be deterred Nicholas and Theodore had provided some interference that had given Jaune a good reason to excuse himself from the table, to the relief of everyone not named Willow.

This left Jaune free to properly introduce himself to the last parent he hadn't met before today; Athena Nikos, the mother of his partner Pyrrha. Jaune made his way through the ballroom to the table the two were sitting at with his potential son Xander and the family's honestly ominous looking butler. The four of them saw his approach and rose from their seats, stepping away from the table and meeting him halfway.

"Jaune," Pyrrha warmly greeted him. The fond affection in her voice, the small smile on her lips, the soft look in her eyes, they were all things he had seen from her before. Breaker above he really was oblivious; her feelings had been clearly spelled out on her face this whole time.

"Hey Pyrrha," Jaune smiled back at his partner, "This is your mother?"

"Yes," Pyrrha tilted her head towards the retired actress, "This is my mother Athena."

"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Nikos," Jaune put on his best smile, but that smile became politely confused as he tried to interpret Athena's expression.

The redheaded actress was smiling a bit too wide, her eyes were a bit too big, and on top of that she was cupping her cheek with her left hand while using her right hand to muffle the giggles escaping her lips.

"It's a pleasure tah meet ya Mistah Arc," Athena preened with sparkling eyes and a cutesy voice. "And I must say you're easy on the eyes. I can totes see why my Pyr-Pyr took a liking tah ya, and I hope you can make her the world's luckiest gal!"

"Uh, I'll do my best?" Jaune answered as he looked to Pyrrha trying to gage if her mother's behavior was normal. Unfortunately Pyrrha seemed just as bewildered as he felt.

"Granny, you said you'd try to be yourself," Xander supplied from Athena's left.

"Whaaat? This is totes me!" The scarlet haired woman giggled.

Her blue haired butler placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "You're using the word 'totes' ma'am."

"I am?" Athena's head whipped around to look Orestes in the eye, "That's totes not something-" Her face morphed into a comical exaggeration of mortification. A haunted whisper escaped her lips, "By the rainbow wings of victory I'm defaulting to Dolly. Why am I defaulting to Dolly? I only played her in a single holiday special! Why aren't I accidentally defaulting to Aurora? I played her for five seasons and three movies! AND AURORA TALKS NORMAL!"

"Umm..." Jaune looked to his son and partner for some kind of explanation.

"Apparently having a difficult time expressing oneself is something my mother and I have in common," Pyrrha winced with sympathy she was surprised to feel.

"I lived and breathed Aurora for years! I only narrowly avoided being typecast as her character's archetype, and even then a third of my characters were still some kind of variation of that archetype! I've only played six characters like Dolly, and-" Athena stretched out her hand towards Orestes and the man handed her a paper bag. The actress' rant died as she placed the bag over her mouth, breathing in and out of the bag until she visibly calmed.

"Are you alright ma'am?" Jaune asked with clear concern in his tone.

"Considering what I've learned today? No. I'm not okay, and I haven't been for a long time," Athena answered as she pulled the bag away from her face. "It's a long and involved story that we don't have time to get into here. Perhaps we'd be better off with you telling me about yourself? I'd like to know the young man that captured my daughter's heart; do you know how that happened?"

Jaune closed his eyes in recollection, and after a moment's thought he knew where to begin; "Pyrrha chose me as her partner. Initiation's set up to make each partnership as random as possible, but your daughter threw her spear at me and pinned me to a tree to make sure she could get to me before anyone else. She singled me out because I was one of the small handful of people who had no clue who she was before meeting her, and I'm eternally grateful she chose me out of the clueless people she met that day because I didn't belong here at that point."

"Don't sell yourself short Jaune," Pyrrha fondly smiled as she remembered that day. "You came up with a plan to kill the Deathstalker chasing us that took perfect advantage of our team's strengths within moments of meeting all of us. That was really impressive and is solid proof that you deserved your slot here."

"I was still in way over my head," Jaune explained to Athena even as Pyrrha's encouraging words warmed his heart. "My transcripts shouldn't have gotten me in; all I knew about swordplay was that the pointy end goes into the bad guys and all I knew about shields was that it was better to have one than not have one if your sword can be used one handed. I started out as the dead last in combat class, yet in spite of all that Pyrrha saw potential in me. Potential I wasn't seeing in myself at that point. She offered to tutor me in the art of swordplay, but I refused out of my own personal hang ups."

Jaune internally cringed at the memories, but he kept it off his face as he continued; "Reasonably speaking she should have given up on me at that point, but she didn't. She waited for me to get over myself, and when I did she stepped right in to support me. I'm no longer the dead last in our combat classes and it's all thanks to her efforts."

"I can't take all the credit," Pyrrha gently objected, "You're an exceptionally fast learner Jaune; you've mastered things in a few months that would take other people years to get the basics on."

That praise brought a small smile to his face before he continued, "To bring us back to your original question Pyrrha told me yesterday that she's been in love with me since the day we met. I don't know when that initial infatuation turned into something more tangibly real, but it did and now hindsight is making me feel like an idiot for not noticing before everything that went down yesterday."

"So how did you not know?" Athena frowned as she rolled Jaune's words around in her mind, "From what you've said it sounds like my daughter was sending you clear signals from the beginning."

"Dad was just... ya know... dense," Xander supplied from the side. "And it probably didn't help that the examples of romance he saw growing up were all very overt; nobody's learning subtle flirting from Granny Isabel and Grandpa Nick."

"Hey," Jaune objected for his parent's sake, but it wasn't a heated objection.

"Well, if we ignore that romantic density for a moment," Orestes moved forward from his position behind Athena, "It sounds like you genuinely appreciate your friendship with Pyrrha. And since that's the case I'm glad to make your acquaintance." The bodyguard extended a hand to shake, which Jaune took without prompting. "Though now that you know her true feelings I'm curious, what are your intentions going forward?"

"My intentions..." Jaune took a moment to sort his feelings into words. Orestes keeping the handshake going the entire time, which was weird but it didn't stop Jaune from answering; "My intentions are to do the right thing. For everyone. I won't give up on anyone, especially not Pyrrha, because she never gave up on me."

A blush grew on Pyrrha's face as Jaune's words set her heart to singing. The other potential brides that were close enough to subtly eavesdrop stopped being subtle, each and every one of them now keeping a blatant eye on the conversation.

Orestes broke the handshake with the nod of someone reaching a conclusion; "I suppose that's as definitive of an answer that you can give right now considering the circumstances." Then his expression became stone faced, with a dark menace in his eyes that made Jaune's blood run cold, "Though I should warn you that the heart of a woman can be easily bruised if it's handled carelessly, and those who play careless games with the Nikos' hearts have a bright future exploring local lakebeds with a nice set of concrete galoshes."

Jaune looked the blue haired bodyguard up and down as he began to wonder if the man in front of him had actually fitted someone out with a set of concrete galoshes before. Pyrrha's jaw dropped as she felt a sudden urge to stand between Orestes and Jaune. Athena blinked owlishly as if she was seeing her butler for the first time.

Xander snorted, "Yeah Uncle Orestes is always like that." The boy's flippant tone popped the tension in the air like a needle in a party balloon. Everyone relaxed while Orestes pouted at having his intimidation undercut so quickly.

"Well Pyrrha, I'm glad you've found a boy that's trustworthy," Athena concluded from Orestes extended handshake. "I just hope the two of you can be patient with me; this all feels rather surreal right now."

"Right, patient. We can be patient." Pyrrha smiled, but Jaune could see the tension behind it. He probably needed to talk with her about that later, let his partner unpack some of her feelings away from her mother.

Such thoughts were put on hold when the main doors of the ballroom opened and the voice of his godmother called out:

"Jaune!" Saia Sarkara warmly smiled as she strode into the room with May following close behind, her figure hidden by her mother's. The Queen of Pandu continued as the two of them approached the blond swordsman; "I hope I'm not interrupting? If I am I promise this wont take much time."

"I think we're good," Jaune glanced at the others for conformation with nobody objecting that conclusion. "What do you need?"

"Like I said it won't take long; I just need to formally introduce May as my daughter Maia," The Queen then stepped aside with a dramatic flourish; "Behold! The Lost Princess of Pandu!"

May glanced around bashfully as she stood there in a very modern take on the national dress of Pandu. A vermilion sari was draped over her shoulders over an equally red top that left her arms and midriff rather exposed with a floor-length skirt tightly hugging her hips. Intricate patterns that represented a long awaited betrothal had been lovingly painted on her hands and arms, and it was taking all of May's power to not fidget in fear of smearing the paints that were already well dried.

Jaune felt his mouth go dry seeing May in this new outfit. It was... well it wasn't obscene. It just kind of felt like it because May's normal outfit covered so much more of her and...

...How in God's green world did her hoodie hide an hourglass figure so perfectly... pronounced. Her hips were wide in a way that promised easy deliveries while her abdomen curved in a way that made her bust look even larger than it actually was, and that bosom was generous enough to not need any help whatsoever. Like seriously those melons were almost the size of her hea- GET A GRIP JAUNE! Don't make this weird.

"Hey," Jaune managend.

"H-hey," May managed back. "Um, It's nice to- WAH!"

Saia casually hooked her right foot in front of May's leg while placing a hand between her daughter's shoulder blades, pushing the girl forward and making her fall. Jaune moved out of reflex, and managed to catch the falling girl before she hit the ground. This left the young sniper pressed against Jaune's chest as she blushed a crimson as deep and vibrant as her sari.

"Oh dear how did that happen?" Saia asked so innocently that anyone who hadn't seen her trip up her daughter would have believed she was completely uninvolved. That innocent facade was ruined by the fact that almost everyone in the room had been looking their way when she had acted. His various future children stared with wide eyed surprise, his potential brides were glaring daggers, and his potential in-laws were creasing their brows with disapproval.

About the only people not staring Saia and May down were his own father Nick and Qrow who were still arguing about who landed the killing blow on the Kraken. As a result the tension of the room skyrocketed exponentially.

This was a complicated problem, and Jaune couldn't help but worry that this was a preview of how messy things could get going forward. He wracked his brains for a way to defuse the tension and he was coming up-

"NORA SMASH!" Nora jovially shouted as she drove her fist into the Kraken model, spraying egg everywhere. "Hah! Now I'm the one who killed the Kraken! Remember that next time you tell the tale!"

"Nora!" Ren whisper-shouted as he tried to pull her away from the mess she had made.

"Ha!" Nick let out a booming laugh at the hammer-wielder's antics before promising, "I will remember it! In fact, I think you should tell it next at your wedding reception!"

"My wedding reception?"

"Yes," Nick grinned. "Once the adoption's finalized we can take you and Ren down to Radian and rent out the old chapel where everyone in our family's gotten married for the last six generations! Heck, we might be able to get old Parson Brown out of retirement to do the ceremony and after that you can use the old family lake house for the honeymoon!"

Nora squealed in excitement while Ren's eyes grew wide.

"Nick!" Isabel scolded, "Don't promise her things before we've adopted her!"

"So we are adopting her," Nick grinned.

"I didn't say that," Isabel pinched the bridge of her nose.

And with everyone's attention on that the tension in the room disappeared and Jaune sighed in relief. He'd have to get Nora the ultimate wedding present as thanks.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Nora and his father had provided a big enough distraction for Jaune to make for the ballroom exit. He managed to get past the bickering members of May's team, out into the hallway, and then went into an adjoining courtyard. It was small, open to the sky above, and had a small but elegant marble fountain trickling happily.

He sat down on a stone bench, took in a deep breath, and let it all out as he leaned back on his hands.

"You all right, Mister Arc?"

"Gah!" Jaune jumped. He looked over his shoulder. Glynda Goodwitch stood there, looking somewhat amused.

"Uh, y-yeah, I'm fine," Jaune nodded quickly, "Just fine. How are you?"

Glynda smiled very softly. It was, frankly, the first time Jaune had ever seen it on the woman's face. It made her look even more beautiful.

"About the same," she admitted quietly. Jaune winced then slowly nodded.

"Yeah," he mumbled, "Just... Needed some time alone."

Glynda sucked in a breath.

"I... Needed the same," she admitted. "I can go if you-"

"No! No, no, that's fine!" Jaune insisted, waving his hands, "I mean, um... It's more I just need some... Peace and quiet."

Glynda nodded again. Jaune scooted over and patted the bench.

"If you want to sit?"

"I would appreciate it," Glynda said. She walked over, and sat down next to him with the same elegance she did almost everything. The two sat in silence for a time, just watching the water fountain. Water shot into the air, and fell in a brilliance cascade down the many stone layers back to the bottom pool.

A bird chirped nearby. Jaune smiled and closed his eyes.

"It's nice," he said finally.

"Mm," Glynda agreed, "I meditate a great deal. Helps me focus."

"Same," Jaune admitted, "I do it with Ren every morning. Helped me get my Aura under control."

Silence fell again. Jaune tried to focus on Ren's teachings. To not overthink, to not stress out, to just be. To be here, aware, but not stressed. Not tensed. Just existing.

He snuck a peek at Glynda: She was doing the same. Her eyes were shut, and while she was still poised, she looked far more relaxed than he'd ever seen her.

She then opened her eyes and stared at him. He flushed and looked away.

"Er, sorry," he mumbled. "I've uh, I've never seen you... Relaxed. Or smiling."

She stared at him longer, her expression unreadable. He coughed.

"Y-You look... Really beautiful."

A blush emerged on her cheeks. Jaune coughed, and held his hands up.

"Er, um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-!"

"We are married with several children in a future timeline, Mister Arc," Glynda said wryly, a hint of amusement in her eyes, "You need to stop acting like an awkward 12-year-old on an ice cream date."

"Y-Yeah, but..." Jaune grimaced. "I dunno... That's kind of the problem."

Glynda was silent. Jaune worked his jaw.

"I mean... You probably know about my childhood and all?"

"I was friends with your parents, so I did keep up," Glynda said quietly. Jaune's eyes bulged out.

"W-Wait, you were?! You did?!"

Glynda chuckled.

"I knew you were a fraud from the moment you walked into Beacon Academy, Mister Arc," she said with a small smile, "But the Initiation is the real test. You passed. So you were accepted."

"O-Oh," Jaune grimaced. "I-I see... Well... I guess you know why I'm... Ya know..."

He bowed his head.

"And I apparently help save the world in the future," he sighed.

"Not alone," Glynda said encouragingly. Jaune nodded.

"I-I know. It's just overwhelming. I literally just figured out my Semblance yesterday. My kids, my... You all... My parents..."

He rubbed his face and sighed heavily. Glynda hesitated a moment before she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her. Glynda's green eyes held him spellbound as she spoke.

"Your father started out as a brain damaged orphan raised by a crazy old paladin in an abandoned church. Your mother started out as an arrogant control freak desperate to provide for her four younger siblings and restore honor to her family name. Your godparents started out as exiles with only the clothes on their back and prices on their heads, their own country turned against them. And I... I was a reckless, foolish young woman who abused her powers and lashed out at the world. One who... Who said terrible things to her parents."

Glynda sucked in a small breath.

"Things she never got to apologize for," she added. The fountain sounded very loud in the sudden silence as Jaune paled.

"M-Miss Goodwitch," Jaune whispered, his voice thick with compassion. He reached up to squeeze her hand. She squeezed his back.

"We know that in eleven futures, the world is saved and you have a happy ending in each," Glynda said quietly. "It will be difficult, but knowing you can succeed helps immensely. It's helping me immensely."

"I suppose it would," Jaune said softly. He looked back at the fountain. "At the same time... Now we're not sure if those endings will happen. And... And I can't just choose one. I can't just sacrifice everyone else."

Glynda nodded slowly.

"I know," she said, "We had a similar conversation."

"We?"

"Your wives," Glynda explained. Jaune blinked.

"O-Oh... So um... What did you conclude?"

Well..." Glynda took a deep breath, "I believe we're going to do our best to... Share time with you. As best we can."

Jaune's jaw dropped.

"I uh... Um..." He slowly nodded. "O-Okay."

Glynda raised an eyebrow.

"To get to know you better," she said, "Anything... Untoward is out of the question."

"Of-Of course!" Jaune said with rapid nods of his head, "Absolutely!"

He tried to pull his hand away... But Glynda held fast. That tiny smile reappeared on her face.

"Again, acting like an awkward 12-year-old is not the way to do things," Glynda said, stern but almost playfully so.

"Y-Yes, Miss Goodwitch," Jaune said. He coughed at her look. "Er... Glynda?"

Glynda was thoughtful. She nodded as though approving of how he said her name.

"Yes... Jaune," she said quietly. His mouth went dry.

Wow... I-I think I like her saying my name...

"AHEM."

Glynda and Jaune looked to their right. Penny was in front of... All of the rest of Jaune's future wives (sans Cinder, for obvious reasons). The gynoid herself was beaming like the sun as the other women glared.

"As you can see, Friends," Penny announced, "Friend Jaune and Professor Goodwitch are not engaged in coitus!"

"W-We wouldn't be!" Glynda sputtered. "It would be inappropriate!"

"You're holding hands," Blake stated flatly, "That appropriate for a teacher to do?"

Glynda scowled.

"I am one of the potential future brides," Glynda stated firmly, "I have as much reason and right to spend time with him!"

"Perhaps I can set up a schedule!" Penny said cheerfully.

"A schedule for what?"

All eyes turned to the other side of the courtyard. Sun and the rest of Team SSSN was standing there, Illyia with them. The chameleon Faunus was still in handcuffs but didn't seem unhappy about it.

Ruby acted first to try and save the situation.

"Penny don't-!"

"For Friend Jaune to have equal time with all of his future wives!" Penny said cheerfully.

Neptune's eyes bugged out. Scarlet's jaw dropped. Sage blinked rapidly. Illiya gaped. Even Sun, who was somewhat aware of the time travel situation, gasped in disbelief.

"HIS WHAT?!"

Jaune sighed and buried his face in his palms.

"Um..." Ruby coughed. "If it helps? I already told Coco about the situation, so the whole school probably knows by now... That better or worse?"

"RUBY!"

Jaune moaned.

- - -