[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!

[AndrewJTalon]

Okay. The Emerald Festival is kind of like Saint Patrick's Day and Mardis Gras for Vale. It is a week long festival celebrating the liberation of Vale from a siege by a Mistralian invasion force. After the force was routed and destroyed by allies, everyone got REALLY freaking drunk and partied for a whole week. The Emerald Emperor (Ozma's host at the time) got so drunk he handed out all the emeralds in the treasury to the people, and many other embarassing things.

(To this day, Ozipin still doesn't imbibe unless absolutely necessary).

So the week long celebration involves a lot of drinking, partying, and handing out green beads.

The Party was meant to be a preliminary one for the week long festivities. And in each timeline...

Ruby: Tried to sneak some booze, Yang kept her from it, and she got upset and stormed off. Jaune caught up with her. After some talking about her age and stress, she admitted she cared about him more than a friend but didn't know what to do or if he would even feel that way back. Jaune said he did care about her deeply, and did find her attractive. He agreed to go out with her, but slowly to make sure they didn't ruin their friendship. Ruby is very happy.

May: May had some booze, got a bit buzzed, lashed out at her team and staggered off. Jaune helped her, and talked to her. They bonded over their social isolation and decided to become friends, real friends. She asks him out on a date, and he says only if she's sober. Something she remembered the next day. He asks her, and she shyly agrees to go out to the festival with him.

Pyrrha: Got enough alcohol she finally cornered Jaune. Her advances scared him a little and he pulled her out for some air. Pyrrha broke down, admitted she loved Jaune. She had for a long time. She just couldn't figure out how to say it! Jaune admitted he did care for Pyrrha very much but thought her above him. She said he wasn't. But Jaune said they should take it slow, since they were both new to this. Pyrrha agreed happily and passed out. Jaune carried her home.

Arslan: Pyrrha drank to get her courage, but drank too much. Some boys tried to take advantage of her, Jaune and Arslan intervened. They put Pyrrha to bed, and talked. They got to know eachother through their mutual faith, and when Arslan realized he was the son of THAT Nick Arc, she wanted to be much closer friends with him. Jaune agreed and it grew into a romance from there.

Cinder: Got drunk, made out with Jaune. Ended up passing out. He carried her to a bed but she held onto him. They woke up together, still clothed. Cinder acted bashful and decided to use this to get closer to her targets, but eventually fell for Jaune. She finally admitted this at the Vytal Festival when she was about to get into Ozpin's office.

Emerald: It is a bit confused thanks to the fairy tale Amethyst's parents told her, so simplified: Cinder got drunk and told Emerald she never cared about her. Emerald ran off, destroyed. Jaune found her, and despite her anger and sorrow, he comforted her. They opened up to one another, and saw eachother a few more times. Emerald realized she couldn't go through with the plan anymore, and changed sides. Cinder, Mercury and Neo fled, and Cinder would meet her end years later thanks to Nora's hammer.

Weiss: Got a bit buzzed due to seeing Neptune flirting and carrying on with girls. She headed off. Ran into Jaune, who was getting some air. She awkwardly vents about Neptune. Jaune nods. Weiss says she heard from Yang that Jaune made Neptune go dancing with her. She asks why. He says all he wants is for her to be happy. Weiss finally sees that all his courtship attempts, while lame and full of bravado, were genuine. She asks if he'll walk with her under the moonlight and he agrees. They go on their first real date a week later.

Blake: Blake imbibes some drink and then wanders outside, her ears twitching. Finds Jaune, who was a little morose from his drinking. Jaune says it's fine if she removes her bow: He knows she's a Faunus... Honestly he's known for a while, thanks to the Faunus back in Radian. Blake is a little confused and curious. She asks him about his past, and he shares. She then shares her own story. Before the two of them know it, they're talking in depth. They actually become friends, and bond on their common interests. It takes longer for an actual romance to happen between them but it does.

Yang: Yang is a bit frustrated with being hit on constantly. She also tries to keep Ruby from drinking, but Ruby tells her off, that she's not a baby anymore and Yang isn't her mom. Hurt, Yang goes out to get some air, meets Jaune outside. He says he'll listen to her problems. She admits she's wanted to go on dates and be more social, but she's always had to worry about Ruby. She had to be her mom, and now she's growing up and she feels a bit lost. Jaune says he gets it, he was babied a lot growing up, but he doesn't resent his parents or family, and Ruby doesn't resent Yang either. They talk more, getting past their mutual defenses. Yang is a little more impulsive and asks Jaune to go out with her for fun sometime, now that Ruby can handle herself. Jaune agrees. Yang claims it isn't a date... But it turns into one.

Winter: Came to the party to talk to Weiss. Finds her drinking, is outraged and breaks it up. She and Weiss fight, say terrible things. Weiss storms off. Winter meets with Jaune, and Winter opens up to him. He listens and comforts her genuinely, saying he knows Weiss could never hate her big sister. His maturity and compassion impresses Winter, and she makes it a point to see him in the weeks leading up to Vytal. She doesn't summon up the courage to go on a date with him until years later in Atlas, and Jaune asks first.

Glynda: Broke up the party. Jaune covers for his friends' antics, and Glynda makes him her personal assistant for his detention. He helps her with paperwork, immensely thanks to the software he got from his sister-in-law, and they begin to bond and become close. Romance is very slow burn for these two, it isn't until Atlas they actually admit to their feelings and it isn't until Jaune returns aged up they start their relationship in full. But it starts here.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Of course the kids have some childhood traumas unrelated to their parents' sex lives...

- - -

Arc Farm, Radian, North Sanus

Thirteen Years After Salem's Defeat

- - -

Aura Sensing was not too hard for anyone to learn. Even people without a lot of Aura after unlock could figure out how to sense strong sources of it nearby. With enough practice, you could even sense certain things about the person: If they felt familiar or not. How strong they were. It wasn't as precise as Aunt Ruby's Silver Eyes or Aunt May's Aura Sight, but it did give advantages to those who knew how to use it.

Though at the moment, Ash Arc-Fall couldn't think of any. Not with this hulking brute of a man in the bedroom he shared with his sister. A man who was covered up in armor with a gasmask, and his gloved hand over Ash's mouth.

"Make a sound, and you die," the man husked, a gunsword in his other hand. Ash glanced over at his sister. She was waking up slowly. Her eyes locked onto the man and went wide. "Quiet! Or you both get it."

Ashley couldn't help a whimper, but obeyed. Ash's heart was racing, his eyes glancing all over the house. He tried to focus over his fear, tried to sense his family. His little sisters and brothers were still asleep nearby. Their parents were out-A meeting at the town hall. He forgot what it was for. Aunt Saphron, their babysitter... Aunt Saphron was downstairs-Her Aura was faint, but she was alive.

"Stand up," the man growled. Both twins glanced at eachother, a silent conversation held. They slowly stood up, sliding out of their beds. The man backed away, keeping his gun on them. He tossed them both jackets.

"Put them on," he growled.

"Where are we going?" Ash asked shakily. The man was masked, but he could feel the hatred burning behind those lenses.

"Where I say so," he growled. He gestured with the gun towards the door. "Go. Quiet. Slow."

The twins slowly came together. Ashley reached for his hand, and he took it. He opened the door and walked ahead, slowly, just as instructed. The man followed, his footsteps nearly silent on the carpet.

We have to warn Dad, Ash thought frantically, We have to get a message... An alarm... Something...!

Ashley clung to him, trying her hardest not to cry. Her mother had told them sometimes you had to be strong, you had to not cry, for people you loved. Ash swallowed hard as they made their way down the steps.

He looked into the living room. Aunt Sapron was sprawled on the floor, unconscious, but there was no blood. He swallowed hard.

"Is she okay?" He whispered. The man laughed unpleasantly.

"She'll be just fine, as long as you brats cooperate," he hissed. They headed for the door, opening it. They shuffled out onto the porch, down the steps to the ground. Their mother's flower beds were waving slightly in the summer breeze. Ashley tightened her grip on him.

"Why do you want us?" Ash tried.

"Your parents made plenty of enemies, brat," the man growled. He poked Ashley in the back, and she yelped. Ash held her tightly and turned, glaring at him.

"Don't touch her!"

The man laughed and backhanded Ash. The twins nearly went sprawling, but stayed up, stay together. The man shook his head.

"I'll do worse if you don't move. Go!"

They marched, into the Arcadia woods. Over the empty fields. The man never lost sight of them, never tripped up. They headed to the old Arc Manor Fort, deep in the woods near the tall CCT receiver tower. They walked the dirt road, some old bricks still there from when the great domed fortress was first built.

Now it was a ruin, the roof mostly gone, trees and flowers growing on the inside and out. The man kept them going, past the statues of Arc ancestors, towards the crypt. It was the only part of the ruin still used, marble stairs with two stalwart stone knights on either side, guarding it with real swords held in their stone grip.

"Stop," the man ordered, and the twins froze. They turned. The man walked up, thumbing a communications device that blinked green.

"Our ride is almost here," he sneered. "Don't try anything funny."

The man's Aura was strong. Not as strong as his mother or father's, but powerful. So powerful Ash discarded fighting him immediately, despite how his sister clung to him in fear. He took a breath.

Find an advantage, he thought, recalling his mother's words.

"Why us?" He whispered. "You could have taken our other siblings."

The man chortled behind his mask.

"Oh, they'll all join you soon enough," he growled.

The buzz of a stealthy airship registered overhead. The man looked up as a Bullhead appeared. He scoffed.

"About damn time," he muttered, as figures dropped out of the ship, "You sure took your sweet-!"

He leaped and dodged just before Jaune Arc's sword would have split him in two. He leaped out of the way of a fire blast from Cinder Arc-Fall, and scrambled to the children.

"MOM! DAD!" Ashley screamed. Ash tried to run, tried to pull her towards their parents-The masked man appeared like a shadow right behind them, and seized them with one large, muscular arm around their necks. He yanked them tight against them, and they slapped and beat on his armor to no avail.

"Let them go," Cinder snarled, red hot flames burning in her hands. Jaune's Aura burned like a small sun as he pointed his sword at the man.

"Now," Jaune added, cold and hard as steel.

The man laughed.

"I can end them both in an instant," he bragged.

Cinder sucked in a breath, her flames burning white even while her face was a stony mask of contempt.

"Hurt them, and there will be nowhere you can hide from me," she promised, death dripping from her voice.

"You think I care?! My goddess will revive me! My goddess will let me be born from the Shadows anew! You betrayed her for nothing."

Cinder's eyes narrowed. Jaune grit his teeth. The man's voice held a smirk as he tightened his grip.

"Yes... Even killing me after your brats are dead wouldn't soothe the pain, would it, traitor?"

The pain... The pain was so much! He was crushing them like an iron press! Their fists grew weak, their struggles slowed.

Aura... His life... Aura... We need...

He felt Ashley's hand in his. He felt power... Something spark between them...

We need... His strength, he thought woozily, we need it... Take it from him... Don't wanna... Die...!

"Though I suppose you can always make m-" The man staggered in the middle of his insult. He shook his head. He looked up in shock.

"What-What are you-?!"

MORE! Ash heard in his head. A thought he echoed. TAKE MORE!

"Y-You... No... NO-AAAUUGGHHH-!"

His Aura fell, faster, faster... Gone. He crumpled behind them, falling to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Ashley and Ash still held onto eachother tightly, the flow of Aura fading.

They saw Aunt Saphron, awakened, run into the citadel ruins. She was panting hard. She saw them, saw the downed man, saw their parents, and ran towards them. Their mother Cinder followed almost immediately, dousing her flames.

"ASH! ASHLEY!" Cinder cried. Her arms were outstretched. She wrapped them both in a tight hug, one Saphron joined.

"No, wait!" Jaune cried. Ash and Ashley were confused for a moment-Why was their father holding back-?

They felt Aura flow into them. Aunt Saphron collapsed, her face pale. Cinder gaped in shock, her own face paling, her Aura dying-

"MOM!" Ash and Ashley screamed in horror, as Cinder Fall-Arc fell to the stony floor.

- - -

Their father healed Saphron and their mother, as the twins sat nearby the entrance to the crypt on a fallen piece of marble. They relaxed a little as both Saphron and Cinder stood back up, none the worse for wear. Jaune smiled reassuring at the twins, walking over slowly.

"It's okay, kids, it's okay," he said. "I think... You need to calm down, all right? Can you do that? Deep breaths, for me, both of you, you're safe..."

The twins breathed in and out, slowly. Ash recalled some meditation exercises Uncle Ren did, and his heartrate slowed. He felt Ashley's slow as well. Only then did their father reach out to hug them. They were slow to return it. Waited...

They felt no Aura flowing. They wrapped their arms around their father and cried. Jaune sighed, stroking their heads. He turned back to his wife and sister, smiling gently.

"Their Semblance?" Cinder guessed, sounding amazed but also worried. Jaune nodded.

"Stressful situations do tend to activate them," he said. "It's safe now."

Cinder and Saphron joined the hug, their warmth reassuring. Still, Ash looked up and sniffled.

"M-Mom... Auntie... I'm sorry... We're so sorry..."

"We didn't mean to," Ashley whimpered. Cinder Fall-Arc smiled lovingly, tears in her own eyes.

"No... No, you were very brave," she whispered, "Mom... Mom is very proud... And very happy..."

"It's all right," Saphron said gently, with a kiss to the foreheads of both children, "What matters is you're safe."

They stood there, silent in the tomb, the corpse momentarily forgotten.

But they never did fully escape that night.

- - -

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Wonder if there's any of these were Jaune went full doomslayer on a bunch of people? Maybe some Adam fanatics?

 

[FinalFormer]

Cross-posted From the SpaceBattles Thread

Childhood Memories: Burn Bright

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Arc-Fall Household , Radian, Vale. Ash and Ashley Arc-Fall. Ages: 16.

"No. Absolutely not."

That was the harsh response Ash and Ashley Arc-Fall got from their mother Cinder Arc. The twins had told their mother that they have decided to go to Beacon Academy to become Hunters. They both had given it some thought. They were sure of it. This is what they wanted to do!

"But Mom--!!"

"We're not having this discussion again." Cinder immediately cut off Ashley. The talk of the twins future was always a touchy subject. Her and Jaune certainly had a few fights about it.

"We've already been accepted," Ash boldly stated. Cinder turned to her son, her eyes wide with shock. Him and Ashley walked over to the door to the patio. "We signed up a few weeks ago. There's nothing you can do about it."

The door slammed shut. Cinder stood there silently, unsure what to do.

"Oh, I know that look," Her husband, Jaune Arc, had entered the room. "Are you plotting or are you brooding?"

Cinder let out a small laugh. In the many years they've been together, she had gotten used to Jaune's terrible sense of humor. He hugged her from behind.

"Am I a bad mother for not wanting my kids to follow in either of our footsteps?" She turned to hug Jaune.

"No. Unless you want them to commit a terrorist attack, then we're gonna need to have a family meeting," Jaune jested. Cinder lightly slaps his arm, looking up at him with a pout. "Let's give them a couple of minutes to cool off. We'll talk it out like a family, ok? Something tells me they made up their minds a long time ago."

Cinder sighed in defeat. He was right.

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

It was the dark of night. No sounds but the crickets chirping and the crackling of the fire pit. Ash and Ashley sat next to each other outside their house. They were looking up to see all the stars twinkle in the blackened sky. The cold breeze brushed past them. It was nice to enjoy nights like these.

"Are you two ok?" Jaune asked, concern in his voice.

"Is she still mad?" Ashley asked.

"No. I don't think so," Jaune scratches his head. "You guys really caught her by surprise with that announcement."

"I don't understand why. I thought she'd be happy." Ash lowered his head.

"It's not like we don't understand where she's coming from," Ashley lamented. "But can't she see that we're ready? We've been training with you and Mom and Grandpa!"

"What happened to us... We don't want it to happen to anyone else." Ash spoke up. When they were eight years old, a man broke into their home and held them hostage. Cinder believed he was someone she might've wronged long ago. The day had caused the twins to see what evils hid in the shadows of the real world.

"What if they try something like that happens again? What if another kooky cult guy comes to our house and takes Ember or Dawn? What if they attack Aunt Ruby? Or Aunt Nora and Uncle Ren?" Ashley clenched her fists.

A proud smile formed on his face. Jaune had seen the look in their eyes before. It was the look he had when he told his mother that he wasn't going to be a doctor.

"There's no stopping them, hon. There's nothing we can do." Jaune looked over at the patio door. It was slightly ajar. Cinder had been listening to them from the other side. Her arms were crossed. Her face was unreadable. It was kinda scary.

"If I find out that Ozpin is behind this, I'm pulling you both out. Is that understood?" Her tone was even, but the threat was clear.

"Wait, you're letting us go to Beacon? Seriously?" Ashley asked, excitedly. She couldn't hide her excitement.

"No matter what I say or do, I know I can't change your minds," Cinder sighed. She walked towards her children and placed a hand on their shoulders. Her left on Ash andher right on Ashley. "But as your mother i can still ask you to make me a few promises for me."

"Sure. Whatever you want, we'll do it." Ash said, hoping that she wasn't going to ask for something ridiculous.

"Promise to call us whenever you have any spare time. And promise me that the two of you will increase the lengths of your sessions with your therapist." She was also going to ask Ashley to make sure Ash didn't get into any girl trouble, but this was a serious moment. Plus, knowing her husband, Jaune was probably going to ask the same thing.

"Yeah." "Ok." Both twins answered. Before they knew it, Cinder pulled them into a hug. She poured every ounce of affection she could into it. These two wonderful kids had been the culmin of her and Jaune's love and happiness and she wanted them to know that.

"And promise me... Promise me that you'll both keep each other safe. That's all I'll ask of you." Cinder hugged her children tighter, tears rolled down her face. The twins leaned into the hug.

"We will, Mom." Ash and Ashley said at the same time.

"And, Ash, if you could do me a favor and make sure Ashley doesn't get into any boy trouble, I'd really appreciate it." Jaune cut the tender moment swiftly. Ashley's face turned a deep red.

"WHAT!?" Ashley stamped her foot.

"Yes, sir. I won't let you down." Ash jokingly saluted. Ashley began hitting his arm.

Cinder wiped the tears from her face. She watched as her family squabble between themselves. She would cherish moments like these for the rest of her life.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I feel like, after all the stuff the twins went through, Cinder would be a bit overprotective of her kids. But unlike Isabel, she would have a little bit of faith in her kids. Also, I meant to get this out on Monday but got a bit of Writer's block.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It wasn't that Team SSSN was dawdling, no. Sun just decided they weren't in any real hurry.

"Come on, Sun," Neptune groaned, as he and Ilia led their team, "We're gonna miss everything!"

"I will admit," Sage said, adjusting his vest, "I am eager to see these fights. Though I don't understand why they're fighting right now."

Sun grinned.

"It's absolutely simple," he said.

"You'd know that all right," Scarlet murmured dryly. Sun laughed, taking no offense.

"They gotta establish the pecking order!" Sun said cheerfully. "All henhouses do it-Urk!"

Ilia elbowed him, despite her bondage. Sun shrugged.

"What? It's how the hens figured things out in Papa Sanzang's chicken roost!"

"It still feels offensive," Ilia sniffs.

"But Sun's a Faunus too," Neptune pointed out, "Isn't it offensive when a Faunus says stuff like that?"

"I... You...!" Ilia grimaced. Sun laughed and patted her back. She pouted, but leaned into him more.

"All that aside," Scarlet said with a frown, "I don't mind not getting too involved. One, it's RWBY and JNPR: They're chaos magnets."

"That makes them fun!" Sun enthused as they rounded the corner to Training Field 12.

"And two," Scarlet shook his head, "I don't think I want to know too much about my future."

"You've got eleven different choices," Neptune stated firmly as they came in sight of the bleachers and field, "Why stress about it?"

RWBY were already in cots on the sidelines, while Pyrrha, Arslan, May and Emerald were on the ice covered field with a tall blond man they knew to be Jaune's father.

Neptune grinned.

"I bet I score with a lot of hotties, known as the greatest playboy to walk Remnant!"

"He says when Jaune Arc has a harem," Sage deadpanned.

"It's not a harem!" Neptune growled.

"It really is," Scarlet observed. Neptune snorted.

"Please, like he's gonna go from goof to playboy overnight. He's not even gonna-"

"Uncle Neptune?"

Neptune paused and looked at the source of the voice. A beautiful dark skinned girl in robes like Arslan's (though white and blue trimmed) stood there. Her hair was a bit longer than Arslan's and her eyes were a vibrant blue. She smiled warmly. Neptune blinked, but soon regained his composure.

"Ah... You must be Arslan's daughter."

"Y-Yes, I'm Petra," she introduced herself. Neptune smiled in his usual charming way, adopting a pose a male model would envy for the sheer level of boy band charisma it emitted... In his mind, at least. His teammates and Ilia thought it made him look like a butler in a host cafe who was trying way too hard.

"I'm very pleased to meet you at last-"

Petra broke from her mother's traditional stoicism with a big grin, and unleashed a tight, happy hug on the flummoxed Neptune.

"Uwah?!"

"Oh, um, I-I'm sorry," Petra apologized, letting go and blushing a bit. She took a deep breath and regained her center. "I just... I never got to meet you! This is incredible!"

Neptune blinked.

"Er... You never got to meet me?"

"Yes," Petra said with a smile and nod, "You died in the war against Salem, saving Father and Mother! They named my brother after you! You have a statue in New Atlas and Argus!"

Neptune reeled, eyes wide, face pale.

"I... I'm dead?!"

"In my timeline, yes," Petra said. She winced. "I apologize for my lack of tact... Are you all right?"

Sun grinned and clapped his best friend on the shoulder. Sage, Scarlet and Ilia lingered nearby, Ilia staying closer to Sun per her usual. And because of the length of her leash.

"Hey, there are still ten more futures you could have become a mega playboy?" Sun offered.

"Shut up Sun," Neptune mumbled, as Sage and Scarlet looked torn between amusement and pity for their friend.

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

"Do you ladies want the field cleared before we start?" Nick inquired while gesturing towards the ice pillars and pockmarks on the ground.

"Could we have a moment to discuss this?" Arslan asked as she glanced to her right towards Pyrrha. The warrior nun had instinctively taken the leading position as the group had set out from the stands, but the redheaded amazon had power walked to Arslan's side and had been trying to subtly get ahead of the chocolate skinned lioness for most of the distance they had covered from the stands. She had never seen such behavior from her rival before, but she didn't have time to dwell on that now.

"Take all the time you need," Nick allowed with an indulgent wave of his hand, "I want to see all of you at your best after all."

"Thank you Brother Arc," Arslan gave a slight bow before leading the other girls a few yards away from the blond paladin and initiating a huddle.

"Why wouldn't we want a clear field?" Pyrrha asked as she positioned herself directly across from Arslan in the circle, her gaze filling with a familiar steely grit from their tournament matches.

"It depends on how May wants to play her role," Arslan answered before turning her eyes to the sniper. "Do you want an open field or do you want elevation and cover?"

"Elevation and cover," May replied after a moment of thought. "While a flat field means Mr. Arc can't hide behind anything it also means we'll all be on the same plane, meaning I won't have an angle to fire if you guys are between me and him. If I climb one of those pillars there's a chance I'll have a good angle to fire from even if you guys are in melee."

"Then we'll keep the field as it is right now, and with that we have a plan," Arslan nodded in satisfaction.

"We do?" Emerald raised an eyebrow. The amount of skeptical sarcasm she packed into those two syllables was honestly impressive, yet the other girls gave her a variety of looks showing they didn't appreciate the feat. For a moment Emerald bristled and looked like she was going to say something else but she glanced towards the stands were her daughter was sitting then to the lower technical area where Jaune tended to the losers of the last match and she let any snide remarks she might have had die.

"We have the outline of a plan," Arslan amended before elaborating: "May's primary focus is on ranged combat, my primary focus is on close quarters. Judging from your weapons and from what I saw from you during Haven's combat classes you're an all-rounder like Pyrrha. Brother Arc will have already intuited those facts just from looking at us, and since we know he knows that we can put ourselves in his shoes for a moment and see what his best course of action will be."

"And we can plan around that!" Pyrrha exclaimed as the strategic gears in her mind started to turn.

"Exactly," Arslan agreed with her rival before returning her focus to May. "If Brother Arc manages to get close how long do you think you could last against him?"

"Not very," May sheepishly admitted, "His reflexes are too good and he hits too hard."

"And how easily do you think you could get away from him?" Arslan further inquired.

"It would be hard," May shrank a bit as she was being honest with her weakness.

"And that's what he'll try to exploit," Arslan theorized with a confident conviction. "May's sniper rifle is a serious threat that he has no good answers for if we can stop him from using aura blade techniques, so it's in his best interest to take her off the field as quickly as possible. As such May is now our VIP, and we need to keep Brother Arc as far away from her as we can."

"I guess that makes sense," Emerald crossed her arms over her chest as she frowned, "How are we doing that?"

"My plan is fairly simple," Arslan explained and instructed. "May? Pick out your sniper's nest and get there as fast as you can the instant the match starts. I'll engage Brother Arc in close quarters and do my best to keep him in one place, and you'll unload as many shots into him as you can. Pyrrha? Emerald? I want the two of you to assume guarding positions so you can intercept Brother Arc if I fail to keep him locked down. If I do manage to keep him locked down feel free to add your fire to May's if you see an opening."

"Are you sure you can pin him in place solo?" Pyrrha shifted forward with a questioning glint in her eyes, "He'd have a harder time getting away from two of us than just one of us. I should join you."

"And if Brother Arc managed to slip by the both of us anyways we'd have only one person on defense," Arslan shook her head, "And Emerald can't both flanks by herself."

Emerald bristled again as if she was going to claim that she could, but with another glance towards her daughter and future husband she apparently thought better of it.

"Well if only one of us can lock him in place it should be me," Pyrrha argued as she shifted her grip on her shield, a hardness taking shape in her expression. "He doesn't know any tricks that will bypass my semblance, and that gives me a significant edge against him in melee."

"That would be a suboptimal play," Arslan frowned as a subtle edge creeped into her voice. She took a deep breath and clamped down on that before she continued, "You can start your engagement with him at a longer range than I can, which means you'd be better at cutting him off than I would be if he gets away from whoever's keeping him in one place. So I'll charge forward, you'll stand guard."

"Alright I guess," Pyrrha acquiesced with a dubious tone.

May nervously glanced between the two of them, hoping the crack she had just seen wouldn't pop up again in the imminent match. Emerald also noticed the crack, and if one knew where to look they would see the gears turning behind her eyes as old instincts took note of it.

"Look, If we're going to win this we need to be team players," Arslan reasoned in the most placating tone she could manage, "And being team players means we need to assume the roles in the plan we're best suited for, and that isn't always the role we want."

"And the fact that your role is the one you want is just a coincidence?" Emerald needled as she gave her ammunition one last check.

"I will not lie and say yes," Arslan sighed, "The fact that my skills line up with the combat roles I enjoy the most is a deliberate aspect of my training. However, it would be irresponsible planning to not put myself in the role I've trained for."

"You're not wrong," Pyrrha allowed even as her voice grew sour.

"Look, I'm not planing on being a glory-hound today. If I really end up needing someone's help I'll give you a signal to join me in the melee," Arslan offered.

"What kind of signal?" Pyrrha asked.

"If I need your help I'll make this sound," Arslan then made a series of catlike trilling noises a normal human throat could never hope to reproduce. She then turned her gaze to Emerald, "If I need you I'll do this," a series of felid chattering sounds spilled fourth. She looked to May, "Now I'm not planning on calling you to the front line, but for completion's sake this is your call," the chirping sounds a cat makes when a bird is outside the window was the next sound she made. "Now is everyone good with the plan?"

Sounds of affirmation were given as the other three girls nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Then let's do this."

The huddle was broken, and they took their spot across the field from Nick Arc.

"So what's the verdict?" The blond swordsman asked.

"We'll fight with the field as is," Arslan answered.

"And you're all ready?"

"We are."

"Aright! Let's get this match underway then!" Nick glanced in Nora's direction and gave her a big thumbs up.

The gong rang out to begin the match, and everyone moved.

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

Everyone's Aura was back to full, and so Jaune sat down on the bleachers. The kids scooted some distance away to join their other siblings, probably feeling the awkwardness and not wanting to get involved. Jaune couldn't blame them: He didn't like it when his parents fought either.

Yang and Weiss took his sides this time. Ruby and Blake stood there for a moment, under increased scrutiny from their fellow future brides. Blake then moved towards Jaune's lap, but Ruby elbowed her aside. She glared at her team and sat down on the blushing Jaune's lap, imperious as a queen... Before she pouted.

"I'm not talking to any of you," she groused. Blake's ears flattened, while Yang and Weiss both looked abashed. Jaune coughed, but per many times previously, he hugged Ruby from behind. He bore with the aura of feminine envy and outrage as well as he could.

"I mean, you guys got really close," he said encouragingly, "And I know my dad. He was having a great time!"

"That helps?" Yang asked dryly. Blake scowled at her and then Weiss. She crossed her arms under her chest.

"We did have a workable plan," she said.

"Well, it didn't work," Weiss said airily.

"It didn't work because you two-two poopheads wanted to show off!" Ruby cried.

"Ruby!" Yang scolded, though she still looked guilty.

"You were all rather distracted by more than the fight," Winter finally spoke. Jaune almost jumped: The Atlasian Specialist had moved to a seat behind them completely silently. She raised an eyebrow.

"It's not good to let your emotions dictate how the battle goes," she said.

Yang scowled.

"Hey! My passion is how my Semblance works!" She beamed and squeezed in closer to Jaune. "You like my passion, don't you Jaune?"

"Er, well, y-yes," Jaune said, uncomfortably aware of Ruby's presence on his lap.

"And that helped us how?" Weiss deadpanned. Yang snorted.

"Who was the first to get Aura broken?"

"You-You slattern!" Weiss hissed.

"What does that even mean?!" Yang demanded.

"It means she thinks you're a slut," Blake deadpanned.

Yang's eyes burned red.

"Oh does she?!" She snarled, as Weiss winced and held herself behind Jaune. Ruby glared with Yang, while Blake smirked just a bit.

Winter stared intently at Jaune. Almost like she was assessing him. Her initial meeting with him had been... Awkward, to say the least. They knew eachother so little.

What would the man she... They married do? He asked himself. He coughed nervously. He squeezed Ruby's arm, and looked at the others.

"Let's not do this, okay?" He asked with a gentle firmness that felt right once he found it within himself. Ruby flushed, but nodded.

"Yeah," she murmured. She still glared at the others though. Yang sighed and rubbed her bicep, as Weiss coughed.

"Sorry Weisscream," Yang muttered.

"Sorry Yang," she said softly. "And Sister, for being so...Improper in front of you."

They looked at Ruby and Blake. Ruby huffed while Blake smirked slightly.

"I don't have anything to apologize for," Ruby stated.

"Neither do I," Blake said.

Yang and Weiss scowled. Jaune held in a sigh.

Winter chuckled.

"I've heard worse with the Specialists, believe you me," she said gently. Her eyes had an approving look in them as she assessed Jaune. He hoped she approved.

"Well," Blake said, moving towards Jaune's back, "I do hope the others put up a good fight against your father-"

She paused as Winter moved behind Jaune, and hugged him from behind. Weiss' eyes nearly bugged out, as though her sister had transformed into a Grimm Beowulf. Blake's jaw dropped. Yang and Ruby stared.

"Well, um, ahem," Winter said, her arms arranged awkwardly around Jaune's shoulders, "I've... Never actually done this before. Um... How am I doing?"

Jaune coughed violently, his face bright red.

"I uh... F-Fine?"

"Well," Blake mused, "Where am I going to sit?"

"Find somewhere else," Ruby huffed, "I'm not moving!"

Despite her cold appearance, Winter was definitely... Warm and full and-Okay, yeah, not gonna think about those. Or Yang's... Those. Or Ruby's... Anything...

"ARC!"

"What?!" Jaune yelped, casting eyes to the source of the shout. Neptune stood there with Petra. The blue haired young man gaped in shock and horror that was so overwrought, it was like a Mistralian boy band lead posing for a cover. Sun, Sage, Scarlet, and Ilia lingered behind him. Sage looked slightly embarrassed, Scarlet sighed, Sun continued to grin, and Ilia looked rather awkwardly at him, then Blake.

"You... You...!" Neptune cried.

"Uncle Sun! Uncle Neptune! Uncle Scarlet! Uncle Sage! Aunt Ilia!" Shouted the various children. Neptune gaped at them, as Petra smiled and shrugged. Sun laughed and patted his shoulder.

"See? You're fine in those other timelines!"

"Yeah!" Xia enthused, "Though... It's kind of weird to see you with hair!"

"Oh, totally," Nicholas added, shooting a little grin and wink to his mother. A look Weiss returned with gusto.

"With hair?!" Neptune cried, covering his head with his hands.

"Isn't that better than dying?" Sage asked.

"At least I died heroically-WITH HAIR!" Neptune moaned.

"Seriously? You dated him?" Yang asked Weiss. Weiss flushed, and nestled a bit closer to Jaune.

"It was a youthful indiscretion!"

"It was two months ago," Blake deadpanned, settling on sitting next to Yang and reaching across to grab Jaune's hand.

"Still counts!"

Further talk was put on hold as the gong rang out to begin the match, bringing everyone's attention to the field.

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

May turned and sprinted towards the most sturdy looking ice pillar and swung her rifle around into its' ax mode to use it as a tool for her ascent. The young sniper made good time going up all things considered, but the action would be well underway once she reached the top and was ready to start shooting.

Emerald took a defensive position on the side of the field closer to the stands her daughter and the other family members were watching from. Pyrrha took her defensive position on the other side.

And Arslan? Arslan shot forward, a snarling roar placed somewhere between a lion's, tiger's or a jaguar's spilled from her lips. The warrior nun channeled all of her anxiety, all of her excitement, and all of her other rolling feelings into that roar, making it reverberate across the training field and cut through the noise of the crowd in the stands. Funneling all of her feelings into that roar centered her emotionally, leaving her in a mostly zen headspace that would let her use her semblance Pneuma with near maximum efficiency.

She deployed her weapon from her sleeve, keeping it in its' dagger form as she prepared for the clash as she had already envisioned the blond swordsman either catching her weapon or batting it aside leaving her open to attack, and that was something Arslan didn't want to risk at this juncture of the battle.

Now on paper the idea of engaging Brother Arc in a straight sword fight was a terrible idea. His bastard sword had a significant reach advantage over her dagger, and on top of that the man out massed her by a significant margin. Fencing against him with those severer disadvantages was a recipe for a quick defeat, and Arslan wouldn't have even considered attempting it without her mastery of Pneuma.

Nick thrusted at her with Nogg and Arslan was able to parry it with her dagger, though the differences in reach meant she wasn't able to properly counterattack at their current distances from each other. Arslan opted to use the opening of her parry to step closer to the blond swordsman, and Nick responded by swinging Nogg around to strike at her head. This she blocked as she stepped in again, and as Nick helicoptered Nogg around to hit her on the shoulder Arslan flared her aura to tank the hit, allowing her to step close enough to stab her dagger into the man's sternum making his aura flare in turn.

She was now too close to him for him to swing his sword around like normal and so Nick did his best to backpedal away from her, but Arslan wasn't about to let him do that. She advanced with his retreat, slashing and stabbing with each step. She managed three solid hits and two glancing ones, and a vicious grin broke across Nick's face as he grabbed Nogg halfway up the blade with his off hand and shifted his rhythm to go on the offensive.

The man's half-swording technique was admirable. With one hand on the handle and the other on the blade he had effectively shortened the length of his weapon to match the uncomfortably close quarters fight her dagger was designed for. Half-swording at this close range also meant that Nick was striking with Nogg's crossguard and pommel as often as he was the tip of his blade. Arslan in turn punched and kicked as often as she slashed and stabbed. The two combatants' auras flared with each impact in a bout that looked more and more like a knife fight than a sword fight with each passing second.

More than once Nick threw out an attack meant to drive Arslan back and create distance between them, and Arslan took each of those hits instead of ceding ground. And that wasn't all, as Arslan didn't hesitate to let herself get hit if it meant striking Nick in turn. Many mighty blows rained down upon her, her aura visibly flaring with each hit.

Up in the stands her seemingly unusual strategy stood out, and Neptune grimaced with some worry.

"She's really strong, but she's never been as much of a tank as she supposes," he muttered, "She's better using her speed-Why is she taking those hits?"

Logos frowned a bit, leaning forward. He then nodded in approval.

"Ah-She's deploying her Aura as a shield for brief moments," he said, "Reinforcing her defense but preserving her Aura reserves by only projecting enough Aura to stop a blow-And no more."

"It's not just that," Ruby's eyes glowed slightly as she watched with more than just her normal vision, "She's only projecting her Aura in the areas she's going to get hit, and nowhere else."

"What? How?" Yang exclaimed with bewildered surprise. "To do something like that at the pace of this fight is absurd!"

"It's the semblance we share in action," Petra explained as awe at her mother's performance filled her voice. "Pneuma gives the user near perfect control over their own aura so long as they can keep themselves emotionally centered. This not only allows us to master complex aura techniques significantly faster than normal, but also allows us to use our aura so efficiently that every technique we've mastered only requires a minuscule fraction of the aura it would normally take to pull it off. What mother's doing here? I'm still learning how to do that," Petra breathed in amazement, "Her control is incredible!"

Ren, observing the fight, nodded in approval. His own Aura control had led him to develop a similar technique, and he was now seeing a potential refinement or evolution in action. He was keen on talking with Arslan after the battle... Assuming Jaune didn't take up too much of her time.

Still this impressive display was something that could not be maintained forever; it would only be a matter of time before Arslan slipped up and took a hit she wasn't ready for. If she wanted to win the duel she would need to change her tactics.

Winning the duel wasn't her goal. Keeping Nick Arc in one place was her goal.

The sound of gunfire echoed across the training field as Pyrrha and Emerald each finally managed to draw a bead on the blond swordsman that wouldn't hit the chocolate skinned warrior nun. Not all of these shots hit their target, both girls were trying hard to not hit Arslan after all, but enough of them did to split Nick's focus. The swordsman tried to twist so Arslan was between him and the two huntresses firing at him, but Pyrrha and Emerald were far enough away from each other that he couldn't completely block both of their angels of fire.

This twisting about gave Arslan just enough breathing room to shift the rhythm of aggression by degrees into her favor. What was once block-block-attack-block-block became block-attack-block-attack and was starting to become attack-attack-block-attack.

Then the first sniper round thundered across the training field. May had finally reached her sniper's perch and had found her opening to join in.

Nick swung his sword to block that bullet instead of Arslan's next thrust, letting her land a solid hit on his sternum. More shots from Pyrrha made him twist away as he blocked Arslan's next slice only for another sniper round to slam into his shoulder. Emerald opened again fire thanks to the changing angle of the tussle, landing a hit before Nick blocked her second shot with Nogg leaving him open for a slash to his bicep. A third sniper round came in that Nick then deflected with his sword, leaving him open to another jab from Arslan's dagger.

The Golden Lion of Haven Academy felt a grin tug at the corners of her lips. The impromptu team she lead was in a good position now, if they could keep this up they could win!

It was at that point that someone made the mistake of trying to win a little harder.

Pyrrha heard a series of catlike trilling noises. If the crimson haired champion had been slightly less eager to jump in she might have noticed a few oddities surrounding the call, such as it having zero variation from the example call Arslan had given in the huddle and how it sounded like it came from only a few feet away instead of more than a dozen yards down the training field. If she was less enthusiastic in her charge she might have noticed how Emerald had glanced at her like she had just committed herself to a snap decision. If she had put less enthusiasm into her war cry she might have noticed how surprised Arslan was at her sudden arrival.

Suddenly inserting herself into the melee forced Arslan to backpedal a few steps, removing the lioness from her place inside Nick's guard. Swords clashed with Pyrrha adopting an aggressive cadence taken straight from her most difficult tournament matches. She struck high, then low, then high again with Nick blocking each strike even as he danced so Arslan was between him and Emerald's line of fire. He moved his head to the side to dodge one of May's sniper's rounds even as he outright parried Pyrrha's next strike and swung Nogg in what would have been a devastating counterattack. Pyrrha subtly tapped into Polarity to insure that Nogg hit her shield Akouo even as she spun her blade Milo around in a swing aimed at Nick's shoulder. When Nick attempted to bat her blade aside with his free hand she used Polarity for a fraction of a second to adjust Milo's alinement so his hand met the edge instead of the flat, nicking away at his aura as he sent her swing wide.

As Pyrrha whirled her shield around to bash at the blond swordsman as part of a twirl the man leaned back away from the bash before thrusting Nogg at the young spartan's core. Pyrrha subtly flexed Polarity to nudge the thrust off course but as she did so Nick flared his aura just enough to overpower that nudging, landing a solid hit against her breastplate.

Pyrrha staggered for a moment in surprise realizing that he had somehow grokked the trick she pulled with Polarity after only two exchanges, something that (as far as she knew) had eluded every other opponent she had faced up to this point. Would the man be able to overpower less subtle application of her semblance? Only one way to find out.

She pressed the attack again.

Arslan in the meanwhile wasn't going to let this unexpected usurpation by her rival just slide. While the sensible thing to do would be to effectively tag out and let Pyrrha fight him solo for a bit the lioness instead vented her frustration with a low and guttural growl. Somewhat centered again she too pressed the attack, going at Nick from his left as Pyrrha was already attacking from his right.

Emerald took this time to replenish the ammunition of her revolvers while doing her best to keep a sense of smugness from her face. It was time to see how deep the crack she noticed during the team huddle went. May in turn frowned as she adjusted her calculations to account for shooting into a three person melee.

Nick swung Nogg in wide arcs meant to create distance as he backpedaled, keeping both girls in front of him even as they advanced. Arslan shifted her dagger into its' rope dart configuration and hurled it at the man. Nick nocked the dart off course while Pyrrha rushed forward in an attempt to take advantage of any gap in his defenses the deflection might have caused. A gap had not been created. Nick deflected her strike and caught her shield with his off hand when she tried to swing it into him, and the only reason he didn't pull Akouo right off of her arm was because of how strongly she surged Polarity as she pulled away.

Returning her weapon to its' dagger form Arslan did her best to make her way inside Nick's defenses again, a task made significantly more difficult by the fact that the man was now wise to her strategy and Pyrrha's own efforts were getting in her way. With every other attack Arslan attempted she had to pull back because Pyrrha was there attempting her own attack. Pyrrha in turn found herself having to pull back every other attack as well as the chocolate skinned warrior nun got in the way of her own attacks.

After five such exchanges the two rivals locked gazes and glared their frustrations at each other, yet instead of fostering resentment or bitterness a sense of understanding flowed between them and their eyes widened in epiphany. The two of them had clashed so often in the arena that you would be hard pressed to find anyone who knew the other's fighting style better. The two of them turned their focus away from what they were planing on doing and towards what their rival was about to do.

Pyrrha would charge in using her shield to block as she thrusted low, and so Arslan would throw her rope dart high to distract Brother Arc. Arslan would rush in and try to catch Nick's sword in a bind with her dagger, and so Pyrrha would shift her sword into its' javelin configuration to stab at him while he couldn't deflect. Pyrrha would try to catch his sword with the notches of her shield and so Arslan would try to dance around him to kick at his knees to put him off balance.

As the two of them pressed on their rhythms came closer and closer together, and Nick's grin grew bigger and bigger to see it happen. The two of them were making it difficult for him to launch and effective counterattack as each girl moved in the gaps the other provided. Then May's sniper fire rejoined the equation, and the blond swordsman found himself purely on the defensive.

He blocked a swing from Pyrrha's sword, he defected a strike from Arslan's rope dart, he moved his head out of the path of May's next shot, he sidestepped Arslan's attempted kick, he caught Pyrrha's sword in a bind just long enough to push it out of alinement before he redirected a punch from Arslan with his off hand and ducked a bit to go under a shot from May. This whirlwind of motion remained in one place in spite of his best efforts to disengage, and joyous laughter started to escape the man's lips.

Another sniper round ripped through the air and Brother Arc was forced to block this one, leaving a massive hole in his defenses that Arslan immediately zeroed in on. The chocolate skinned lioness coiled her body and sprung forward with her dagger outstretched ready to drive it into the blond swordsman's exposed-

CRACK!

-Pyrrha had seed the exact same opening at the exact same time and moved to exploit it in the exact same way at exactly the same moment. The two rivals collided headfirst into each other and fell to the ground in a tangle of dazed limbs that could do nothing to stop Nick from charging away down the training field.

Up in the stands Xander sighed, "I should have seen that coming."

"What do you mean?" Julian looked his way.

"Mom and Aunt Arslan have always fought so well together... Unless Dad was involved," The redheaded boy muttered. "Then they just start stepping on each other's toes."

"Oh, you too huh?" Petra asked in interest.

Amethyst frowned, her Aura flaring a bit. Ash and Ashley yelped and scooted away from her. She grinned.

"Oh! That's MUCH better! Now I can follow along!" She looked over at Ash. "Is-Is that how you make your senses work better with Aura?"

"Maybe with a little less flare?" Ashley asked sarcastically.

"It's really astonishing how fast she figured it out," August murmured, his eyes glowing gently thanks to his Semblance, "Though her control needs a little more... Finesse."

Jaune chuckled in pride, and shared his smile with Amethyst. She blushed proudly.

Back on the field Emerald confidently strode into Nick Arc's path, shifting her revolvers into their sickle configuration. With a smirk she flexed her semblance, and Nick Arc's world became more interesting.

The blond swordsman saw another Emerald step out from behind the first, and then two more Emeralds stepped out from behind those two. Four became eight, eight became sixteen, sixteen became thirty-two and so on until a hundred Emeralds stood before him, each brandishing their weapons, Thief's Respite, in a different way. Some had their weapons in their holsters with their hands resting on their handles like they were gunslingers in an Old Vaquero film. Others had Thief's Respite in its' kusarigama form casually twirling the twin blades around on their chains. Most still brandished the weapons as sickles, each adopting a different combat stance as each and every Emerald sized Nick up.

The hundred Emerald's all charged with variety of different war cries, each moving about to have a unique angle of approach towards the blond swordsman. Nick's eyes narrowed as they darted back and forth as the Emeralds closed in from almost every possible direction, quickly picking out which ones would get to him first. The man's muscles visibly tensed, and then he moved with blinding speed.

Nick flipped Nogg around and grabbed it with both hands on the blade, one hand close to the tip and the other close to the crossguard. He then spun around with a scooping motion towards one of the few directions the hundred Emeralds weren't charging from, driving Nogg's pommel into the real Emerald's navel.

The scooping motion continued lifting Emerald up and forcing all of the air was forced out of her lungs. The action ended with Emerald held aloft folded in half balanced on Nogg's pommel. Thief's Respite clattered to the ground as the green-haired girl desperately gasped with bulging eyes.

".....how.....?" She managed as all the other Emerald's vanished from Nick's view.

"You overplayed your hand," Nick quickly explained as he started to spin, "It would have worked better if one of the you's was the real you, once I realized the others were fake I just looked for the one spot you were trying to keep me from looking at and there you were."

With that Nick brought the spin to a halt, tossing the dark skinned thief a considerable distance where she hit the ground and rolled; only coming to a stop once she had rolled out of bounds.

Up in the stands the eliminated girl's daughter was given sympathetic looks.

"Sooo, I'm guessing that's pretty bad, huh?" Amethyst asked with a severe wince.

Ash and Ashley sighed.

"She always bit off more than she could chew," Ash grunted.

"Seriously, she would have slapped the back of our heads for making a mess up like that," Ashley huffed.

"Mom would do worse though," Ash opined.

"Oh yeah," Ashley nodded.

Back on the field May rapidly switched out the ammunition of her rifle. Once the new magazine had slotted into place she flipped the switch that allowed for semiautomatic fire; with nobody between her and Mr. Arc she didn't have time for precision and needed weight of fire if she wanted to stand a chance. Pyrrha and Arslan were still disentangling themselves from one another after all, so nobody would be able to help her if she failed to slow the man down.

She fired three shots at him in rapid succession and he dodged the way she hoped he would. In a matter of seconds the man was taking cover amidst a section of icy ruble that he undoubtedly thought would give him an avenue of approach where she couldn't shoot at him. Now she just needed to disabuse him of that assumption.

May's eyes glowed faintly as she channeled her semblance, letting her clearly see the man's location within the ruble as he moved through it with surprising speed an grace. She needed to act quickly. May aimed at an ice pillar next to the rubble and fired. The bullet ricocheted off of the pillar down into the icy rubble, grazing Nick's shoulder. Having found her range May unloaded her ammunition into the ice pillar as quickly as possible, sending a literal hail of bullets raining down on Nick's location.

Every ricocheted shot landed in the moving area she aimed for, keeping Nick in the splash zone as he ran even though not every bullet actually found their target. Still a significant number of them did hit the man and took noticeable chunks out of his aura, staggering him more than once and slowing his approach.

Unfortunately it didn't slow him enough and he was soon clear of the rubble charging towards the pillar she was perched upon at speeds surprising for a man without a movement based semblance. Fortunately May wasn't caught off guard and it didn't take any real effort to adjust the lead on her shots to match this unexpected burst of speed. Unfortunately she didn't have another good angle to ricochet her shots from, leaving her to shoot directly at the man giving him the opportunity to deflect all of her bullets with his sword.

And deflect those shots he did, his blade a while of motion even until he jumped halfway up the pillar and drove Nogg into the ice as his first anchor point to climb up the frozen structure. May hissed in frustration as the man's jump had bee perfectly timed for when the last bullet left her magazine, meaning the moment of vulnerability of the climb was the same moment she needed to reload. Even as she ejected the old magazine and inserted the new one she could tell the man would reach the top before she'd be ready to fire, meaning she was at a crossroads: try to fight the man tall enough to outreach her ax on a platform waaaay too small for such a fight or...

"Just run away, Mom!" August shouted from the stands in a way that cut through the din of the crowds and the battle.

"You can do it, sweetie! Whatever you choose!" Saia shouted encouragingly. "Nick! Don't hurt her too badly!"

...Yeah fleeing was good. May jumped off the opposite side of the pillar the instant Nick reached the top, flipping her rifle around and switching it into ax mode to dig the blade into the ice. This slowed her descent just enough that she could comfortably hit the ground running as soon as she reached the bottom.

Her feet moved as fast as they could carrying her away from the pillar in the general direction of Arslan and Pyrrha, who had only managed to get to their feet a few moments before. A mighty thud from far too close behind her let her know that Nick had already joined her on the ground by simply jumping down not really needing to do anything to slow his own descent, prompting the young sniper to try running twice as fast as she normally could in the hopes that the man wouldn't be instantly right behind her.

She didn't create enough distance fast enough. Her hearing combined with a feeling in her gut told her Nick had already closed the gap between them and was swinging his blade at her right side. Adrenalin made her aura surge as she spun around and just barely managed to block with the shaft of her ax, yet the impact was still strong enough to send the girl sprawling on the ground.

May rolled as she tried to recover, and managed to get to her feet in time to block Nick's next strike. Unfortunately her footing was still unsteady so she was sent sprawling again. Fortunately she landed in a crouch that let her get back to her feet almost immediately and with much better footing this time, letting her block and deflect Nick's next two attacks.

The third attack was a spinning thing that hooked under her ax's beard and ripped it from her grip, sending the weapon flying through the air a good ways. It landed within the bounds of the arena, but that didn't exactly help her with Nick right in front of her spinning his sword around for another swing.

With a startled squeaking noise May backpedaled quickly as Nick swung and thrusted at her with Nogg, the young sniper barely avoided getting hit by the skin of her teeth. Running backwards was of course less than ideal and it only took a half dozen steps before she was tripping over her own feet sending her careening through the air...

...she didn't hit the ground though.

Arslan was now there, scooping the sniper up and running off with her while Pyrrha engaged Nick directly with an old Argusian war cry. The chocolate skinned warrior nun effortlessly slung May over her shoulder while dashing towards the sniper's lost weapon, snatching it up without stopping as she barreled towards another of the ice pillars. When she reached the icy construct she channeled her aura through her feet and started running up the vertical surface like it was a floor instead of sheer wall of ice. Within moments she had reached the top with May and deposited the girl on the perch that could be found there.

"You good?" Arslan asked.

"Yeah," May managed to nod as she took her weapon in slightly shaking hands while returning it to rifle mode.

"Good," Arslan commented before turning and launching herself from the top of the pillar, tossing her rope dart out ahead of her to spear the ground. Channeling her aura through the rope to make the dart act like an anchor allowed her to pull herself down through the air at speeds faster than she could fall, and as she impacted the ground she flared her aura again to soften the force of the impact.

With that she ran to join the melee between Nick and Pyrrha, sending aura through her rope again to harden the dirt around her dart into a stone that was pulled free from the ground as she ran. Spinning that stone about as a flail she hurled it towards Nick as her opening move in this part of the bout. The blond swordsman still noticed it coming in spite of Pyrrha's best efforts to keep him focused on her, leading to him smashing the aura fused stone with the pommel of his blade.

Pyrrha tried to take advantage of the opening this move caused, and she managed to land two solid thrusts before the man twisted in a way she wasn't ready fore and grabbed her forearm and swung her at Arslan. The warrior nun caught the crimson haired champion and set her on her feet before charging forward as she shifted her rope dart back into a dagger. It only took a second for Pyrrha to reorient herself and join her rival in the charge.

The two of them reached the blonde swordsman at the same time and they once again tried to move in synchronous support of one another. Pyrrha struck low as Arslan struck high. Pyrrha struck high as Arslan struck low. A dagger and two swords met in a dance of steel that once again put Nick on the defensive, and May's sniper rounds joined in again.

As Nick deflected a bullet from May's gun Arslan and Pyrrha once again saw an opening they could exploit, but neither of them dove in as they sought to exploit it this time; they weren't going to embarrass themselves by knocking their heads together again. Arslan heaved a deep breath as she channeled her aura through her arms and out through her hands in a technique that created a pseudo-fireball of pure aura energy that she launched at Brother Arc's chest. Pyrrha shifted Milo into its' rifle mode and fired off three bullets laced with fire dust.

The two of them once again proved to be in sync in the most unfortunate way: the timing of their attacks lined up perfectly, meaning Pyrrha's bullets hit the tightly bound ball of destructive aura energy that Arslan had thrown. This caused the pseudo-fireball to detonate violently with enough force to blast back all three combatants.

Only Nick stayed upright while Arslan and Pyrrha were sent sprawling onto the dirt of the training field. And with that Nick decided it was time to end things, throwing Nogg towards the ice pillar May was perched upon embedding the blade in the icy construct at what he considered a comfortable jumping hight. With that he rushed forward, only slowing for a second to lean down and grab both Pyrrha and Arslan by their ankles before they could get back up resulting in him dragging the two of them behind him as he barreled to his destination. Once he was a few yards away from the pillar he leapt into the air towards the embedded Nogg, letting his aura tank the bullets May was hailing down upon him.

At the apex of his jump Nick threw Arslan and Pyrrha forward, and while this reduced his forward momentum a bit it still wasn't enough to keep him from reaching the place where Nogg stuck out of the ice. As for the Golden Lion of Haven Academy and the Invincible Girl? The two of them tumbled through the air towards the edge of the field. Both of them attempted to right themselves and land before they went hurtling out of bounds, with Arslan throwing her rope dart at an ice pillar and Pyrrha harnessing polarity to grab her own shield to spin it in the way she wanted to go. The two of them proved to be in sync in a bad way once again as the both tried to move in the same direction causing the two of them to collide in the air and tumble to the ground, only rolling to a stop once they were out of bounds.

Nick hit the pillar at the same time the two rivals hit the dirt, pulling Nogg free and scrambling up the icy tower as May emptied her current magazine. The sniper girl gulped as she realized there was only one course of action available to her as Nick crested the summit.

"I FORFEIT!" May shrieked before he could land a knockout blow, "I SURRENDER!"

Nick sheathed his sword, and Nora rang the gong to end the match...

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

I kinda wanna see a chapter of Neptune despairing over whatever hilarity that happened to him in the other timelines

 

[TheFabulousCustodes]

"Yeah!" Xia enthused, "Though... It's kind of weird to see you with hair!"

"Oh, totally," Nicholas added, shooting a little grin and wink to his mother. A look Weiss returned with gusto.

"With hair?!" Neptune cried, covering his head with his hands.

"Isn't that better than dying?" Sage asked.

"At least I died heroically-WITH HAIR!" Neptune moaned.

Click to shrink...

I kinda wanna see a chapter of Neptune despairing over whatever hilarity that happened to him in the other timelines

Click to shrink...

In my head, Neptune winds up looking like Kirk Van Houten, Millhouse's Dad, from the Simpson's.

Thanks for the new chapter!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune was once again called upon as a medic. Pyrrha, Arslan, and Emerald had taken very little damage in the fight (overall). May had taken none. But he still topped them all off as they sat in a group on the bleachers near RWBY. Emerald herself sat a bit further away, due to the glares she was getting.

Arslan was the first to speak, her eyes narrowed but her voice calm.

"We did have a workable plan," she stated flatly.

Emerald puffed herself up a bit, despite the glares. Her defiance remained intact.

"Yeah well... You two got so involved you didn't even think about how to work with me!"

"But you're the one who betrayed us," Pyrrha scowled. May joined them, though she looked more disappointed than anything else.

"You didn't listen to me," Emerald insisted.

"You don't listen to anyone," Pyrrha retorted.

"I can appreciate the fact you struggle with trust," Arslan said, "But this was not a good time to show it."

May fretted, looking utterly helpless. Nearby, Yang smirked a bit.

"So, we're not the only ones with a teamwork problem, huh?" Yang observed.

"You caused that problem!" Ruby argued back angrily. Yang winced a bit, as Weiss and Blake glared at her in turn.

"It wasn't deliberate!"

"It was!" Weiss growled.

"Well so was yours!" Yang shot back.

The arguments got worse. Jaune again felt Winter's eyes on him, as well as his father's. He took a deep breath and held up his hands.

"Ladies! Ladies, please," he stated, "Let's not get bent out of shape over an exhibition match, okay? We... We all have a lot to work on."

"Some more than others," Pyrrha muttered, green eyes boring into Emerald. The green haired young woman flinched, but still glared back. RWBY grumbled amongst themselves, still shooting angry looks at eachother. Arslan was focused on calming herself, already meditating, while May looked rather helpless.

Nick Arc walked up, a broad smile on his bearded face. Nora bounced up alongside him, while Ren followed closely. The blond man planted his sword in the grass before him and nodded to his son's future brides.

"Ladies," he said, "You all did quite well! Except for when you lost. That wasn't good. But I'll be here to train with you, Jaune, and anyone else who wants to get better!" He grinned at Winter.

"Just give me a breather, and I'll be ready to fight you too, Specialist Schnee!"

Winter perked up, a small smile on her face.

"I appreciate that, sir," she said, even as Weiss and the other girls scowled at her.

"And after that, you'll fight Professor Goodwitch?" Jaune asked, a bit worried. Nick laughed out loud, and reached out to pat Jaune on the shoulder.

"Oh, I know how that would turn out. She'd wipe the floor with me. Would be fun, but not very productive! She has different challenges. But Specialist Schnee!" He pointed his finger at Winter. "You're very good. You'd have to be, if Ironwood made you his second. That means you've got great potential! Just like all you girls!"

"Oh...! Well, um, thank you sir," Winter returned gratefully.

"Great! I really want to see your sword style! Rapiers versus broadswords is a favorite challenge of mine!" He nodded once more. "Anyway, the rest of you should all rest and regroup. Jaune? A word?"

"Sure Dad," Jaune said with a nod. He smiled warmly at all the girls, which got him a lot of warm looks back. Emerald in particular seemed very pleading, which he returned with a reassuring nod and warm look. May flushed and hid her face. Yang winked and mimed a kiss, while Blake stared intensely. Pyrrha blushed and beamed at him, while Arslan nodded and smiled through her own red face. Ruby beamed happily, while Winter was guarded but approving. Weiss looked almost apologetic, which he nodded to.

The groups dispersed, angry looks still being shot between them. Winter began to stretch and warm up, while Saia tended to May. Ruby and Yang conversed, while the Schnees all gathered for some tea. Emerald and Amethyst communed, Cinder's twins with them. Arslan and her parents talked, while Neptune and the rest of SSSN plus Ilia mingled with them and Blake. Pyrrha, Athena and Orestes chatted a bit, all looking awkward but a bit better than last Jaune had seen them. Nora flounced from group to group, dragging Ren along. And the other spectators seemed to begin to break up, though Velvet and Cardin were still recording. Penny herself stayed a respectful distance away, watching him with her usual gentle smile.

Nick led Jaune over to the center of the field, and he planted his sword down in the soil. He smiled gently at Jaune.

"Well! I think things went pretty well, don't you?" Nick asked Jaune with a happy smile. Jaune grimaced as he looked back at his future brides, all still shooting eachother hostile looks when they weren't talking with their families.

"That went well?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

Nick nodded.

"Oh yeah! A lot better than I thought it would!" He said cheerfully.

"I guess I still don't see the point of all this, Dad," Jaune sighed, "I mean, I'm glad I finally got to fight you-I've wanted to since forever-And to meet your approval. But why fight my har-the ladies? We still have a lot of problems."

Nick nodded sagely.

"Some lessons are harder to get than others. It took a lot of fights for me to get it, too," Nick said. He smiled at Jaune. "But now that you all know where you stand with one another against one enemy... You can start to come together to fight your real enemies."

Jaune stared, and his jaw dropped. Nick smiled almost cheekily.

"And to save your other wife."

"It... We still have a long way to go," Jaune stammered. Nick nodded, his eyes scanning the brides and their arguments.

"That's absolutely true. You still have a lot of issues to work out. But I didn't master the sword in one lesson. Neither did you. You won't solve everything in one battle. But you can figure out what you did wrong, what you did right, and do better next time."

He grinned at his son, leaning against his huge sword.

"Life is like that: You will fight a battle, physical or otherwise. You'll get your butt kicked, you'll try to figure out what you did wrong, work on getting better, and do better next time. Every battle in life, whether it's against an implacable enemy or figuring out how to make your wife happy, is like that."

Jaune gaped in astonishment. Nick chuckled sadly and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry if I never made it clear, son. Fighting is my whole life, it's how I see everything. And it's how I solve a lot of my problems. I'm not good at using weapons like words or ideas... But I can use the weapons I am good with to hopefully get across what I mean." He hesitated.

"So... If I've not made things clear to you... It's because I'm not great at fighting with words or emotions. I am kind of an idiot... I never wanted you to think I thought less of you-"

Jaune smiled warmly at his father. He reached out to hug him.

"No... No, I got it Dad," Jaune whispered, "Loud and clear. Thank you."

Nick chuckled, and hugged his son back.

"Aw... Hugs are nice," he said happily. He gently pushed Jaune away. He got into a fighting stance, his grin confident and eager.

"Well, let's get ready to rumble! I can't wait to see how well Specialist Schnee fights and-!"

"NICHOLAS JACQUES ARC!"

Nick winced, and turned as he smiled nervously. Isabel was storming onto the field right towards him, Glynda and Arjun trailing behind him. Ghira, General Ironwood, Kali, Taiyang, Qrow and Ozpin all trailed behind them. Taiyang and Qrow were shooting very sympathetic looks towards the bearded swordsman... As he cowered before his furious wife.

All of a sudden, everyone's attention was back on the field and all the streams went back online.

"Eep! Yes dear?" Nick meekly asked.

"HOW COULD YOU SIGN A BUNCH OF BETROTHAL CONTRACTS FOR OUR SON WITH ALL THESE WOMEN?!" Isabel bellowed in rage. Many jaws dropped in disbelief. Pyrrha looked at her mother in disbelief. Athena herself swooned, while Arslan's parents were in shock. Willow took the yelps of her daughters in stride, her keens eyes locked onto the confrontation. Blake looked thrilled. Emerald and May were deeply confused, while Saia held up a hand over her mouth to hide her laugh.

"Wait, you what?!" Jaune shouted.

Neptune's eyes bugged out as he threw his hands up in the air.

"I KNEW IT!"

Ruby turned to look at her father and uncle.

"Wait, seriously?! How?!" She cried.

Taiyang rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Qrow shrugged, a small smirk on his face.

"Lots of alcohol was involved, believe you me," he stated dryly.

Nick, still cringing, looked down at his wife's hands. They formed symbols in their old sign language.

Only he, Saia, and Arjun could deduce the meaning: "I'm sorry, play along please."

In a moment, Nick became thoughtful and scratched the back of his head.

"Well...I don't remember doing that..." He then snapped his fingers and grinned stupidly. "Oh! Wait! Now I do! But come on, honey! It was all with people we knew! Well, sort of knew! Well, I knew them! For... Five minutes at least?"

He smiled at his wife, whose face turned red.

"AND NOW HE'S ENGAGED TO ALL OF THEM?!" She bellowed. Nick winced, but then shrugged almost desperately.

"Come on, they're already getting along great! Besides, you wanted more grandchildren, right? Your face lit up when you saw Adrian! Now we get even more grandkids!"

Isabel looked momentarily thoughtful.

"That's true," Isabel said aloud.

Then the rage returned in earnest. Jaune backed away, still in utter disbelief.

"BUT HOW COULD YOU DO THIS WITHOUT TELLING ME?!" Isabel demanded, shaking her fist.

Nick grinned, closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Easy. I didn't say anything about it!"

He gave her a thumbs up. Her right fist clenched.

"YOUUUUUUU-!"

Her left hand spelled out another message:

"Really sorry, I love you."

Nick smiled back in total understanding and signed back:

"I know. I love you too."

"FOOOOOOOOOL!!!"

Isab's fist hit Nick's jaw so hard, he flew right through the wall she merely dented with Mombi's face a few decades ago with a loud crash. Stunned silence filled the training field. Jaune looked at his mother in disbelief... Who quickly winked at him. That let him relax a bit inwardly, though not much when he realized why she went so over the top.

Outwardly...

"You did it again, Dad," Jaune sighed, as Velvet and a few other students recording things began to chat excitedly.

Yang's eyes were filled with stars.

"I wanna learn how to do that!"

Nora grinned and shook her hammer.

"ME TOO!"

"Get in line," Arslan and Pyrrha murmured, then they looked at each other.

The future children, for their part, looked rather bored save for Leander and Leandra, who were grinning broadly. Sun was gaping in disbelief, Ila sharing his expression as she clung to him. Neptune was being held back by Scarlet and Sage.

"LET ME AT HIM! HE'S TOO DANGEROUS TO LEAVE ALIVE!" He ranted.

Glynda facepalmed. Arjun met his wife's eyes and shrugged. She chuckled a bit.

Winter, standing nearby, winced.

"Ahem... Under the circumstances... Perhaps I will fight him later?" She asked.

Saia nodded sagely.

"A wise decision. I've been around Isabel when she's this angry before. It's best to just not get involved."

Arjun headed off to check on Nick, grumbling a bit under his breath. Ghira and Kali went to Blake, capturing her in another tight hug. Ironwood went to speak with Winter and Theodore, while Ozpin lingered with Goodwitch at his side.

Taiyang and Qrow joined with Yang and Ruby. They walked over to Jaune, giving the still panting Isabel a wide berth. Taiyang beckoned to Xia and Julian. Julian used his Semblance to teleport next to them, while Xia ran up quickly.

"Hey," Taiyang said with a tense smile, "Listen: Qrow and I are heading out on an important mission."

"But you just got here!" Ruby whined. Taiyang nodded.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But it's really important. Before we go though..." He worked his jaw, "We need to see Raven."

Yang tensed. Xia's fists clenched. Ruby and Julian both looked worried. Qrow sighed. Taiyang looked over at Jaune.

"And since you're involved and part of the family now," he said, "You should come with us to see her."

Jaune slowly nodded, holding back his nervousness.

"I... Yes sir," he said. He immediately felt Yang's hand reach for his, and he took it out of instinct. Ruby did the same with his other hand.

Ozpin walked up with Glynda. He looked over to his deputy.

"Family business. Would you mind explaining it to the others and handling things until we return?" Ozpin asked.

Glynda managed a nod. She smiled gently at Jaune, something he returned. She turned and headed over to the other future brides and children. Ozpin turned his attention back to the Xiao-Longs, Roses, and Jaune.

"I will be there with you," Ozpin said gravely. He looked at Isabel. "Would you mind coming with us, Isabel? To deal with the other matter and ensure nobody gets hurt?

"Well, nobody else," Qrow quipped. Isabel nodded, fully calm and relaxed.

"Of course."

"Good," Ozpin said, and his grim expression did nothing to ease Jaune's anxiety, "Then let's go."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The trip down into the basement of Beacon Tower was silent. Even Yang and Ruby had nothing to say. Isabel looked a bit tense. Taiyang worked his jaw, at times looking like he might say something, before thinking better of it. Qrow was grim. Ruby was nervous, and holding hands with Julian. Jaune stood next to Ozpin, while Xia stayed near Yang. Her expression was stormy, but she resisted anyone's attempts to get closer. Quite a feat in the packed elevator.

Jaune himself didn't know what to think. There was a lot of tension in the Xiao-Longs and Roses, and he didn't think anything he said would help. So he stayed silent.

The elevator doors opened. Ozpin led the group out into a world of metallic green machines, pipes, and pillars. It was so quiet, the air so thick, and the lighting, while bright, was in a strange tone. It almost felt like stepping into another world.

They made their way through the pillars, took a turn... And came to a black, wrought iron cell in a small clearing amid the machines and pillars. A metallic X-shaped cross was at the back, a small toilet, sink, and cot were at the sides. In the center sat a beautiful, curvy woman with wild black hair. She wore a simple jumpsuit, and black metallic manacles on her wrists. She seemed to be meditating as the group approached.

"Let's do this one at a time," Ozpin murmured, "We shouldn't crowd her. Isabel? Would you check on her vitals?"

Isabel slowly nodded.

Yang took a breath to protest, but Qrow shook his head.

"One at a time," he said quietly.

Isabel approached the cell, her boots making soft sounds on the floor. Raven opened her eyes-They were red, the same red as Yang or Xia when they activated their Semblances.

Isabel stopped a foot or two from the cell bars.

"Hello Raven," Isabel said.

"Isabel," Raven stated flatly.

"I'm going to check your vital signs, make sure you're all right," Isabel said quietly. "Please extend your hands."

Raven glared at her.

"Why do you care? I did try to kill you today, if you'll recall," Raven hissed.

"Because it's my job," Isabel said calmly.

Raven continued to glare. She turned her head and glared at the others, all gathered at the pillars. Her eyes scanned each one, her gaze intense and scrutinizing. Jaune felt like straightening up out of habit, while Yang tensed.

"Who are the new brats?" She asked at last.

Taiyang cleared his throat.

"I told you, Raven. These are our grandchildren," he said, "Ruby's son Julian, and Yang's daughter Xia."

Raven's eyes widened briefly.

"How-?"

"X-Ray and Vav, issue 198," Taiyang supplied with a small, nostalgic smile. Raven blinked, then snorted.

"Time travel," she muttered in disbelief.

"And you said it was worthless knowledge," Qrow said, with a hint of smug. Raven ignored him.

She glared at Jaune. "And I suppose you're the father of both?"

Jaune slowly nodded. He felt Yang and Xia grasp his hands on either side.

"Yes ma'am," he said quietly.

Raven snorted. She glared at Yang.

"So... There was no point to it, was there? I was thinking of coming to you. Offer to let you join my tribe. Learn true strength, but you're just as weak as the rest of them."

Yang's jaw dropped.

"M-Mom, I-That's all you have to say?!" She demanded. "Sixteen years after you abandoned us, and that's it?! That's all?!"

"You're an embarrassment," Raven hissed, "I was right to leave you behind. With the rest of you weaklings."

"I-I'm not-!" Yang tried angrily. Taiyang held out a hand, and with a scowl she stopped.

"We win the war with Salem, Raven," Taiyang tried with an encouraging smile, "We beat her! In eleven futures! We have proof! We can show you-Hell, just look! Grandkids!" He gestured to Julian and Xia. Julian managed a small smile.

"Yeah Granny Raven. We-We beat her. The world is safe," he said.

Raven was silent for a time, considering. She then shook her head.

"I don't believe you," Raven huffed, "I don't believe that these children could do that! There is no stopping Salem! Nothing but survival!" She glared at Yang, who shrank back. Qrow sighed, looking resigned. Taiyang was grim. Ruby looked around in concern, not sure what to do, while Julian winced. Isabel was carefully blank, clearly using her Semblance to keep her emotions in check, while Ozpin was unreadable.

He tightened his grip on Yang's hand. Anger swelled inside of him.

"But only for the strong," Raven growled, "And you clearly aren't it. I knew you couldn't handle it, Tai. You were pathetic, entrapping me. And you, Qrow, you betrayed all we stood for, just to be Ozpin's pet!"

Taiyang sighed with the exhaustion of a fight had so many times it wasn't worth it to engage. Yet still he tried.

"You didn't think that at the time," he said quietly.

Raven shook her head.

"I... I was mistaken," she insisted, "And I corrected the mistake."

Yang seethed, but again Taiyang held up a hand and she paused. Her grip on Jaune's hand tightened.

Qrow snorted.

"I saw a better way, Raven. Something you could never do. And my way worked out fine, unlike yours."

Ravne ignored him and glared at Yang. "You were the worst of all. A weakling! Begging for toys and attention, never even trying to fight-You're an embarassment!"

"Mom, I-" Yang tried, but her brashness was gone. All that was left was hurt and pain. It looked completely wrong on her face. Rage ignited in Jaune's chest.

"You were a mistake," Raven hissed, "A lowly pathetic-!"

"SHUT UP!" Jaune shouted. The sound echoed through the basement. All eyes went to him, but despite his nerves he kept up his glared.

Raven glared back at him.

"What did you say-?!"

"We won in eleven futures!" Jaune insisted, this courage. He tightened his grip on Yang's hand, and she looked at him in shock. "We save the world! We did... We did what you couldn't! And Yang and Ruby and everyone else-They did it! They saved the world! You don't get to-to insult them just because you were wrong! You're the weak one!"

Yang looked at him with wide, shining eyes.

Ruby nodded, still intimidated but holding fast. She stepped up, smiling briefly at her sister before turning back to Raven.

"Yeah! Mom-Mom didn't die for nothing! We know so! You shouldn't be a-a jerk! We have proof! So why are you doing this?!"

"She died for nothing," Raven growled, so vehement that Ruby nearly faltered. "I don't care what you tell me: Salem cannot be defeated and there is no way some weaklings stopped her! Our way is the only way-!"

It was then that Xia moved. Her Aura flared like the sun as she crossed the distance to the cell in an instant. She yanked Raven forward, slamming her against the bars before she grabbed her throat and lifted her up. Isabel, blindsided, tried to reach for Xia but she flared her Aura in warning.

"XIA!" Jaune shouted.

"Kid, let her go!" Qrow shouted. He moved to strike, but Ozpin held up a hand. He looked at his boss in disbelief.

"Let her go!" Taiyang barked. He also tried to move in, but Ozpin held him with a glance. He glared back. "Ozpin!"

"Wait," Ozpin ordered, "You too Isabel."

"I can't just-!" Isabel tried as she was on her feet, but Ozpin shook his head.

Taiyang seethed, Qrow grumbled and Isabel looked on helplessly.

Ruby was chomping at the bit, Julian not much better. Yang looked conflicted. Jaune stared in disbelief at his daughter.

Xia ignored them, glaring up into Raven's eyes.

"You wanna know your future, you old hag?!" Xia demanded. Her teeth ground audibly as she tightened her grip, and Raven grabbed onto her fingers in a futile effort to free herself. "You couldn't move on. You couldn't accept it. So you kidnapped me, tortured me, abused me, because you thought I would keep your shitty little band running."

"Xia, let her go!" Isabel tried, but Xia didn't listen.

"My parents came for me, they rescued me. They gave you a chance-every fucking chance-To change your ways-And you tried to kill them instead," Xia seethed, "And you wanna know how you end?! How the Great Raven Branwen died?! Armless, tossed into the bottom of a cave, unmourned and forgotten."

Raven was wheezing. Her struggles got weaker. XIa snarled.

"Now I'm strong, and you're nothing," Xia growled. "Now I'll-!"

"Xia," Yang said, soft and quiet, "Let her go."

Xia turned and glared back at her parents.

"She-!"

"She hasn't done any of that," Jaune insisted, Yang's grip giving him strength, "Don't do this, please."

"Let her go," Yang insisted softly. Her hurt turned into contempt and pity as she looked at her mother. She looked back at Xia and shook her head.

"She's not worth it," she stated.

Xia took deep breaths, her Aura crackling with energy. She looked back at Raven, weak, helpless, her eyes wide in shock and fear.

Her arm trembled... Before she let Raven go. The black haired woman fell to the floor, coughing and wheezing. Xia sucked in a deep breath, before she turned and stormed off.

"Xia, wait!" Jaune shouted. The young woman didn't listen, flying off. Qrow cursed as she opened up a wall and darted through the hidden door.

"How'd she figure that out-Oh, right, future," he muttered. He, Taiyang, Yang and Jaune ran after her. Ruby hesitated for a moment, before shooting off in a cloud of rose petals. Ozpin sighed, and waved his hand. The cell door unlocked, and Isabel quickly went in to treat the wheezing, crumpled Raven.

Julian lingered while Isabel's hands glowed with Healing Dust. Raven's breathing became more regular, and the bruises around her trachea vanished. She sat up, and scooted away from Isabel with a cough.

"Get away from me," she muttered.

"You're welcome," Isabel muttered back, her expression a mixture of exasperation, anger, and pity.

Raven couldn't look at her. She looked up at Julian, still standing there. She glared.

"You have anything to say?" She demanded.

Julian took a deep breath. He walked up to her. He rummaged in his pockets, and pulled out some pictures.

"I printed these off my Scroll, Granny Raven," Julian said quietly, "I-I wanted to share them with Granny Izzy, Grandpa Nick, Papa Tai and Grunkle Qrow... And-And you."

He held them out. Raven glared. Isabel glared back.

"Take them, Raven," Isabel ordered. Raven mechanically held out her hand. Julian set them in her hands. She pulled them closer to herself and began to flip through them. Her eyes widened slightly.

"I... I know how things went in Xia's timeline," Julian said kindly, "But in mine? You're part of my family. Aunt Vernal married Uncle Whitley and Aunt Penny, and they have a lot of kids, see? You... You kind of got back together with Papa. I don't know much about it. You do come to social gatherings. You're like, succool and reserved, but you're actually nice. You helped teach me how to fight with Grunkle Qrow! Not a lot, but you told me how to get better so I wouldn't die. And even if you'll never admit it, you love Summer!"

"Summer?" Raven whispered. Julian flipped to a picture of an older Ruby, older Jaune, and older Yang. In front of them was a younger Julian, about five years old, with five younger siblings-Two of them twin babies held by Jaune and Ruby. Yang held her own daughter, about three years old, with a proud smile as she leaned against Jaune.

Raven stared intently at the photo. Julian scratched his cheek.

"She's sweet and fun. Hotheaded but very nice. Acts like my big sister sometimes," he mumbled, "You visit her and teach her how to fight and sometimes you-you even smile at her sometimes."

Raven remained silent.

He sucked in a breath.

"What I'm saying is... Yeah. Things went bad in Xia's timeline for-for you. And her. But in mine? You... We're all happy. So... You have a choice. You've always had one."

Raven remained silent. Ozpin stepped up.

"I believe the rest of your family will need you, Julian," Ozpin said quietly, "And Isabel? I need you to examine another patient."

"Yes sir," Julian said. He turned and vanished in a cloud of yellow petals. Isabel rose, and stepped out of the cell. The door slammed shut behind her.

"Just point me where I need to go," Isabel said, glancing at Raven with a bit of pity in her gaze. Ozpin nodded and pointed ahead. Isabel headed off, her footsteps receding.

"I'll leave you to it, then," Ozpin said quietly, "But this isn't over."

He turned and left. The taps of his cane were loud in the quiet. Raven didn't look up, her red eyes locked onto the images in her hands.

After a moment, she lifted them, grunted. Tried to summon the strength to tear them apart...

She let out a breath. She set them down in a corner of the cell, and moved to the opposite. She laid down on the cot and stared at the walls.

The photo left on top was of her and Taiyang, dancing at a celebration. The slightest hint of a smile was on her face in the photo.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Any motion other than hatred for Raven!? What witchcraft is this!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

This is canon to all timelines for May's past.

- - -

Several years ago...

Twelve year old May Zedong had been happy. Maybe she wasn't rich like the girls she saw on Scroll broadcasts, with their many dresses and fancy cars, but she was happy. Her mother and father, Parvati and August Zedong, were farmers in their little village in Vacuo. They worked their tiny patch of land with a tractor and animals, grew and sold vegetables in the market, raised hogs and chickens. She had known nothing but a simple but comfortable house, laughter and joy. Her mother was a wonderful mechanic who fixed other machines in town for good pay, while her father, when not working the fields, would hunt wild game and make her clothes out of the furs.

She would laugh and play with other children her age when she wasn't doing chores or doing to the village school. They had been so happy.

This night though... Everything had changed.

She woke up to shouts and clanging alarm bells. She peeked out her window: She could see fires on houses nearby their farm. She saw dark figures roaming the streets, and coming towards their home. Her eyes widened in horror as red eyes glared back.

Grimm...

The door to her room burst open. Her father and mother stood there, both armed with rifles and axes.

"Come on May, we need to get to the shelter," her mother said, already holding up a jacket. May got dressed quickly, and pulled on the jacket. Her father handed her one of the rifles, the best looking one, which she took with shaking hands. It had a strap, so she slid it securely over her shoulders onto her back.

There were crashes and smashes and snarls from downstairs. Her father cursed.

"Damnit... Roof! Out the window!"

They dashed to the window in her parents' bedroom. Outside and below them was the connecting roof, a sheltered walkway that led to the barn. There was a storm cellar there, filled with food and provisions just in case of a disaster. They sprang out onto the roof, and ran.

Inhuman shrieks filled the night air. May looked and screamed: Nevermores dove for them. Her father and mother opened fire on the flock, their rifles shooting them down.

"MAY!" Her father shouted, "FIRE! USE THE GUN!"

May trembled. The monsters swarmed, their red eyes burning in the night. Her arms twitched, as though trying to obey the order... But she couldn't. She fell to her knees and shook like a leaf.

"MAY!" Her father shouted.

"I-I can't!" She cried. "I can't-I can't!"

August's face... Was filled with guilt and regret. He glanced to his wife. She nodded grimly, and turned to May.

"MAY!" Her mother screamed. "GO!"

"Wait-MOM-!"

Parvati shoved May off the roof. She fell in a tumble, shakily getting to her feet. She looked up in horror as her parents kept firing. Her father waved a flashlight around, deliberately drawing more attention to himself.

"GO! GET TO THE SHELTER!" Her father bellowed. "WE'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! RUN! STAY ALIVE, NO MATTER WHAT!"

May, shaking, still managed to turn and run. She knew the path by heart, dark or day... But as she turned the corner, she saw several Beowulves snarling and clawing at the shelter entrance. They turned and roared at her.

No... Nononono...!

She turned and fled. She hopped the fence, fleeing into the nearest field. She heard the Grimm follow her, their padded feet loud against the grass and brush. She wept as she fled, running for her life, her heart pounding in her ears.

Gotta get away... Gotta get away...!

She tried to circle back, head back towards the farm house. She caught sight of the waving flashlight and gunfire again. She hopped the fence and ducked into the bushes. She saw her parents still fighting, her mother using an axe and her father wielding twin guns in his hands.

She saw a Beowulf lunge... And her father went down, his head grasped in its jaws. There was a splash of red and...

May's jaw dropped. Her mother screamed.

"AUGUST!"

Two Beowulves brought her down, and she fell silent. Only the growls of the Grimm and the wet crunching of bone and flesh could be heard. Flames ignited somewhere in the house, and tongues of fire erupted from the windows. Smoke began to blot out the stars overhead as the farmhouse burned.

May collapsed onto all fours. She looked at the ground, silent, her tears falling like waterfalls to the dirt ground. She heard growls. She shakily looked up.

The blood stained Grimm were stalking towards her, their red eyes gleaming.

For a moment... May did nothing. She stared back at her death, and did nothing.

Get up, a voice whispered in her head. Still she did nothing as the Grimm advanced.

Get up...

They licked their jaws. May's fingers gripped the dirt.

Get up... AND RUN!

She found her will. She stood up, turned and ran. She hopped over the fence, the entire pack of Grimm now after her. She ran through the trees, taking scratches onto her arms. She climbed over another wall, and another, goats fleeing in terror. The Grimm paid them no mind, only focused on her.

The moon peeked out of the clouds, and she skidded to a halt with a cry. Below her was a huge expanse of nothing. She could hear running water, faintly hear the river in the gully below.

She looked back over her shoulder, panting hard: The Grimm were still advancing, still hungry for her. Hungry for her soul.

Jump, the voice whispered again.

I'll die! May thought.

You'll die if you stay, the voice whispered again, but you might live if you jump. So jump...

She turned back towards the river. The Grimm were seconds away.

JUMP! NOW!

She leaped, feeling jaws snapping at her body as she fell. She dove towards the river. Her eyes were wide open as she screamed.

I don't want to die... I DON'T WANT TO DIE... I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I'LL STAY ALIVE!

She shut her eyes tightly.

I WON'T DIE!

She fell, fell... Before she was jerked violently and stopped. She panted frantically, looked behind her.

The rifle, the rifle she had forgotten, had mechashifted into an axe. An axe that had snagged onto a tree branch. Said branch creaked ominously, but it held.

Desperately, May reached up and grabbed onto the branch. It was agonizing having to hold on like this. She pulled herself, slowly, painfully, to the cliff face. Her waving feet found footing, solid rock, and she struggled free. She landed hard, shaking. She fell to her knees... But the stone outcropping held. She clung to the side of the cliff, weeds in the rocks her anchors. She looked up. The Beowulves snarled distantly overhead, their red eyes glowing...

But they did not advance.

She bowed her head, breathing hard. Her heart pounded in her ears. She turned and sat down. She reached behind herself, and pulled the axe free. She held it tightly, and stared out into the night. Her mind was a blank.

She must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing she knew it was light and the sound of an airship's engines filled her ears. She looked up, startled, as a Vacuoan gunship flew in the bright blue sky overhead.

For a moment, she hesitated. She was cold. She was alone. The farm... The farm would be gone by now.

She had nothing...

Stay alive... Stay alive...

May squeezed the mechashift weapon in her hands. Clumsily, she groped the weapon for the shift mechanism. It transformed into the rifle, a little dirty but functional.

She pointed the gun up at the sky, and pulled the trigger. The loud retort of the gun echoed through the canyon.

I won't die...

She pulled the trigger again, firing another shot. The airship began to turn.

I won't die...

She fired again, and now the airship was definitely flying towards her. She fired again.

I won't die... I'll stay alive... I don't know why yet but...

May Zedong looked up, face grim, as the airship descended towards her. The hatch opened, and a Huntsman in black military gear reached out to her. Shakily, she lifted her hand to take his.

But I'll stay alive until I find out why.