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Chapter 25: The Oncoming Storm
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Sun Wukong backed away suddenly as Team RWBY and friends sprang back to life. Blake backhanded the monkey-man in surprise. Ozcar Pin sat sadly on the ground for some reason. Qrow stood against a tree, and the rest of RWBY stared at each-other in disbelief. Cardin and Russel stood of to the side, they both looked shocked and sad for some other reason. An old woman eyed Sun for a moment before looking away, Sun didn't know where the elderly woman had come from. Maybe she was also on the train when it jumped the tracks.
"So this is it, then. This is us losing. This is what us losing looks like.", Yang noted angrily.
Ozcar sat up for a moment, "Now, Miss Xiao-". He was promptly punched in the face again by Yang.
"You all heard the magic bong genie, right? Salem can't be killed! We can be killed, though! We can all get killed together!", Yang roared, her eyes turned red.
Weiss went over to comfort Yang and maybe cool her down a little bit. Ruby walked over to Ozcar and knelt down next to him.
"Professor, what is your plan for defeating Salem?", Ruby asked quietly.
"I... I don't really have one.", Ozcar noted sadly.
A fist and a glass bottle suddenly slammed into Ozcar Pin and sent him flying. Qrow held onto the object and shook in fury.
"I followed you, Oz! I followed you to hell and back! You gave me a place in this world! I thought I was finally going to be doing something good!", Qrow raged.
"You are doing something good, Qrow!", Ozcar cried.
"We're not doing anything! Anything we do does nothing! The witch can't die, the Relics are already safe and sound and will just call down the fury of the Gods on us if we find them. I'm cursed! You're the worst thing that's ever happened to me besides being born!", Qrow slurred in drunken fury.
Blake stared at the ground and then at Sun. "What are we going to do now?". Sun shrugged.
"We have to keep moving. The storm is picking up and it's going to be dark soon.", Ruby said.
"And we all have to stay calm! All this yelling and bad attitudes is going to attract loads of Grimm.", the old woman, Maria as she had been introduced, said.
"She's right. We can all talk this over when we meet up with Jaune in Argus.", Ruby noted.
Team RWBY and friends began their travel towards the farm Cardin had mentioned. The few of them that were tired or injured rode on the sled and the others walked alongside it, taking turns on and off as to not overburden Yang's motorcycle. Sun walked over to Cardin.
"What's up with you? You don't seem to share the same feelings that everyone else does.", Sun said.
"I guess the others just saw whatever they asked. I don't care about Ozpin or any of that nonsense, I just care about my friends and family... I saw something else.", Cardin noted.
"What did you see?", Sun asked.
"Well...", Cardin began to say. A few images flashed through his head. He had asked where the rest of his team was. He hadn't seen them since the Fall of Beacon and simply assumed they'd made it out of the carnage like he did. Jinn had shown him what had happened to them. He saw bronze and gold armor laid to rest in the dust, a skeletal hand clutching a sword. A small belt buckle with a dove on it around the skeleton's waist. Grimm walked around the ruined landscape. Cardin also saw a small memorial, a set of ruined dark-gray armor next to it. A memorial to a cowardly boy who had stood up in the darkest moments, fought and had fallen like so many others during the Fall of Beacon. "...I saw what great things my Team did.", Cardin said shedding a bitter tear to his lost friends.
"Oh... I see...", Sun said quietly. He thought briefly about his own Team off on their own adventures. He knew where Scarlet was, but wondered where Sage and Neptune had gone. He hoped they were still alive out there.
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In a dimly lit cave, Roman Torchwick made his escape. He'd waited until the thing had gone to sleep. He tip-toed slowly out of the cave and towards Neo, who stood near the entrance.
"...", Neo said.
"Shh... She's... sleeping?", Torchwick noted. He looked back at 'Cinder' and shuddered. Cinder Fall was now almost completely Grimm. Her skin had become white and cracked like an eggshell revealing jet-black flesh underneath. Cinder's legs had elongated and bent backwards, giving her a double-jointed knee. Her hands were now four-fingered claws and her feet matched with claws almost 7 inches in length. Cinder's tattered dress still clung to her body, now stained with blood and grime. The previously short horns had grown into long white ones like that of a Satyr, twisting upwards into points. Cinder Grimm slept restlessly.
"...", Neo stated as she pointed away from the cave and towards a waiting airship.
"Good idea.", Torchwick noted.
The sound of the airship departing awoke Cinder Grimm from her slumber. Orange burning eyes scanned the now empty cave in anger. She stood up, now almost 2 meters in height and let out a roar.
Torchwick grabbed his hat in fear and attempted to pull the headgear over his face. A roar filled his ears, it sounded like a low guttural growl combined with the wail of a woman in agony before climbing into a primal crescendo. He just turned and looked at Neo who was currently trying to hide inside his coattails. He just pulled the tiny girl into an embrace and stared at the cave as it quickly disappeared as their airship sped away.
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Ren and Nora sat on Pyrrha's couch. They wore different clothing, deciding to wear their old outfits from their time at Beacon for some reason. Both of them seemed out of breath. Pyrrha sat across from them and Jaune took center stage.
"Right, so Pyrrha and I went to a Temple. A normal Temple, not a special one or anything. And we figured some stuff out.", Jaune noted.
"Was it a fertility temple?", Nora asked.
"No!", Pyrrha exclaimed.
"It was a Temple of Destiny. Or something. I saw some things. Basically we're screwed, Salem can't be killed and Ozpin is a compulsive liar. The only thing those Relics do when put together is ensure the old Gods are coming back and killing us all, so we've decided to go and get them for ourselves. We're going to keep them from both Ozpin and Salem. We're going to have to play along with the old man so he doesn't think we've turned on him. Also, Pyrrha is a Maiden and I am a Time lord.", Jaune noted.
"You're a what?", Nora asked.
"I'm the lord of time. My Semblance can control the flow of time. I can reverse it by a few moments and anything I have in physical contact goes back with me. That includes people.", Jaune said.
"Ohh... So that's why you were so mad at Rhames on the train. You could've prevented Ruby's section from derailing.", Ren extrapolated.
"Can you give us an example?", Nora asked.
"Of course!", Jaune said. He immediately pulled out Unforgiven and shot Nora in the head and killed her. "Wait... That didn't work. She can't see it if she's dead...", Jaune thought as he froze time; his teammates had recoiled in horror and pulled their weapons on him. There was a blur and a shattering of the scene in his vision and he was back in time again.
"Can you give us an example?", Nora asked.
"Of course! Rhames is going to come through that door and he's going to split his bounty with us. He's been working as a Huntsman and he'll ask if we have any booze.", Jaune said.
As if by magic, Rhames walked through the front door. "Ah, hey guys. Just got back from my mission. I got paid a lot and we had a rule on Team MRJJ... Always share the loot, so I'm splitting the reward with you guys."
Jaune motioned to Rhames' entrance.
"Also, I know you guys are a little young, but do you have any beer? Or wine? I need to relax, the life of a Huntsman is rough.", Rhames asked.
"My mother has some Ouzo in the kitchen. Please don't drink all of it.", Pyrrha noted.
"Oh my gosh! You can see the future!", Nora exclaimed, completely oblivious to Jaune's previous actions.
"That is incredible. Have you used your Semblance for anything notable?", Ren asked.
"Yeah, well... I guess I saved Pyrrha's life a few times. Kept her from getting horribly killed and stuff...", Jaune said.
"Ooh! You can do that?", Nora said.
"I can save all of you from certain death. Go ahead, go ahead and shoot Ren right now. I'll just zip us back and nothing will have ever happened!", Jaune said.
"Nooo... I can't do that! That's just mean!", Nora said.
"Yeah, but you could. We could just go around killing everyone and then reversing time so it didn't happen. Do you know how cathartic that would be?", Jaune stated.
"It sounds like you've done this already, Jaune.", Ren noted.
"Ehh, it doesn't matter. So what do you think? Let's grab the Relics for ourselves and hide them away. Screw Ozpin and Salem, let's just do this ourselves. The old man couldn't be arsed to help us, so we're taking control of our destiny!", Jaune said.
"I don't know... Pyrrha what are your thoughts?", Ren asked.
"Well, we should really wait until RWBY is here to make a final decision. But, that doesn't mean we should just sit around and do nothing. We can really do anything! Why don't we make sure we have safe passage to Atlas?", Pyrrha noted.
"Sounds like a plan.", Ren said.
"Yeah, they're not gonna let us through. There aren't any ships coming in.", Rhames noted.
"Well, I guess we're just going to see if we can change their minds...", Jaune noted.
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Emerald, Mercury and Grimm:Lock finally stood in Vacuo, the endless sands stretching out before them. They had boarded a boat to Vale and watched as a tortoise Faunus beat up a rotund plumber in the middle of the town square. Vale City had been mostly rebuilt, but the Plumber's Union and the Constructor's Union still waged some kind of war with each-other. Emerald used her Semblance and hid the group long enough to avoid the drama; it seemed that Professor Peach had a short relationship with the Plumber in question and her new boyfriend took offense to that and had apparently insulted the stout tradesman in some way.
After leaving the dramatic drama club of Vale City, Emerald and Mercury and their new best friend Grimm:Lock boarded a train to Vacuo. Their trip was restless as another group in the room next to them continuously argued with each-other about everything. The words, 'learn by doing' were burned into Emerald's mind as it was the only thing the group screamed about. Mercury was also kept awake by the same loud banter next door and recounted that one of the members in the room was referred to as the 'guy who screwed the whole team'.
After the horrible train ride, the three minions disembarked at the 'End of Line' train station outside of Shade Academy. Emerald looked at their map.
"It looks like it's just a short walk to the Academy. We'll be there in no time!", she announced.
"Uhh, Em. We're in the middle of the desert and it's like, as hot as the surface of the sun here.", Mercury replied.
"Grimm:Lock think heat nice!", the large Faunus announced.
"Em, let's just rent a car. There's a kiosk over there with car rentals.", Mercury pleaded.
"Fine.", Emerald relented.
Emerald and Mercury approached the kiosk, it was a small electronic screen and it displayed several off-road vehicles for rent. Emerald pressed the first button for a 3 seater.
"Oh whoa! Who is this unauthorized person tryin' to use my kiosk!? You have to be Huntsman Certified to use Scooter's vehicles!", an electronic voice said in a sleazy redneck drawl.
"Goddammit!", Emerald cursed.
"Screw it! Let's just steal one-", Mercury said as he grabbed one of the vehicles and was immediately electrocuted into unconsciousness.
Emerald let out a loud groan of exasperation. "Grimm...Lock? Just grab Mercury and drag him along. I guess we're walking...".
Grimm:Lock just grabbed Mercury by his arm and dragged him along. Sand was quickly packed into Mercury's underpants as the simpleton Faunus obeyed her instructions literally. Emerald sighed and just started walking.
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Taiyang cursed incoherently under his breath. He was forced to come to the train station. He was forced to meet up with some younger Huntsmen. He was forced to pay for his own return tickets to Vale and then back to Patch. He held onto his Bo staff that doubled as a rifle and walked reluctantly to meet his new teammates.
"Oh come on!", a voice yelled.
"What!? I'm not Rhames, but I think I'm just as good!", another rebuked.
"Guys, I hope our new guy is competent. We should've 'learned by doing'.", another voice squawked.
Taiyang just approached the three 'Huntsmen' cautiously. Raven hadn't given him any information other than there would be a big one, and angry one, and a birdie one. He looked at the 8ft tall goliath of a man, the shorter and angrier one and the pigeon Faunus. He sighed for a long time and felt as if Raven was punishing him in some way.
"Hey, guys! I'm Tai, I guess I'm your new teammate?", he announced.
"Oh great, look at this! We're working with the elderly now!?", the shorter angrier one noted.
"I'm not that old...", Tai said.
"Minstrel, have some respect!", the larger one said.
"Jonk, he's old. He's older than that Qrow guy we met. Look at his zip-off Dad shorts!", the angry one noted.
"Guys, that's Tie-angle uhh... Zoo-Ling? He's a well known Huntsman from Patch!", the bird Faunus stated, butchering Taiyang's name.
"It's Taiyang Xiao-Long! And I'm not as old as Qrow!", Tai yelled.
"Javelin, we got it. He has a weird name and he's even older than we thought. Welcome aboard Team Mirage!", Jonk announced.
Taiyang just sighed and hoped his train ride to Vacuo would be one of peace and getting to know his new teammates. It wasn't. They all bickered so loudly the group in the room next to them banged on the door repeatedly requesting them to be quieter. They only got louder. The poor girl on the other side of the door just broke down into loud sobs that could be heard through the walls. Taiyang felt a little sorry for all of this.
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In Atlas, General Ironwood paced around his office. He had sent out a few requests to various corporations for 'designs' for new 'incarceration services'. Merlot Industries had responded first with a long and detailed letter regarding why there weren't able to perform the 'tasks' that were required; the letter was also filled with euphemisms about Ironwood needing to oil his iron wood. Tassiter Arc currently sat patiently in the office.
"Arc, have you made any progress?", Ironwood asked.
"Why, yes. We have. We've created a... 'Moonshot Cannon' of sorts. It can fire a small capsule directly into geo-stationary orbit around the planet. You'll never have to worry about criminals escaping! Because they won't!", Tassiter Arc noted.
Ironwood scratched his head at this. It would probably work against the target Ozpin and everyone else was trying to defeat. He stroked his chin in consideration, but then remembered that Tassiter Arc was the psychopath who genetically engineered a diamond-encrusted pony for his son's birthday.
"Have you tested this?", Ironwood asked.
"Have I tested it? Of course! Uhh, by the way I hope you don't expect the 'Sorceress' Adel back anytime soon. We sorta lost track of her pod after launch... I'm sure she'll be fine!", Tassiter stated.
"Tassiter, you idiot! She was supposed to be the next in line Maid- err... She was very special to me. Find her!", Ironwood bellowed.
"Right away... Yep. Definitely...", Tassiter Arc mused.
High above the planet, Adel hurtled through orbit at almost 22k miles per hour. She screamed as the view of the planet and the stars strobed against the view port of her pod as it tumbled end over end.
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Meanwhile, back in Argus, Team JNPR headed down to the docks of Argus. Rhames lead them there himself; he'd been there previously and had hunted a 'suspicious individual'. A long bridge lead across to the Atlas military base on a small island adjacent to the mainland. The base was built into a rocky outcropping and had a few other islands tied into its property. The group of Huntsmen approached the main gate of the base.
"They're not going to let us in. I already asked.", Rhames noted.
"Yeah, they won't let you through because you're just some random Huntsman. I'm Atlas nobility! They absolutely cannot refuse the Heir of Hyperion. If they do, then I'll buy them out and turn this base into a shoe store or something!", Jaune noted.
"Well, I guess we'll just follow your lead, Jaune. You're the Team Leader... Just don't do anything stupid.", Ren noted.
Jaune went first, two guards took notice of him and ran over to him. The guards were wearing rather exaggerated outfits that seemed almost too big for them. They looked like a bunch of idiots.
"Halt! This area is restricted!", the one guard said.
"Nobody move!", the other guard said.
"Yeah, great. Hey. I'm Jaune Arc and I write your paychecks, now lemme through!", Jaune said.
"Jaune Arc!?", the guards both said in unision.
"Yeah, that's me. Now open the gate and step aside. I have important business in Atlas.", Jaune said snidely.
"Do you have identification!? We will need you Atlas ID and serial number!", the guards announced.
"Oh for the love of...", Jaune cursed. He searched his wallet, but didn't find his ID. He must've left it in his bags back on the train. "Nope, you don't need that. I own you. You're gonna let me through."
"No entry without ID!", the guards refused.
"Oh come on! Open the friggin' gate!", Jaune raged.
Pyrrha stepped forwards and turned to the guards.
"We're in a hurry. We need to get to Atlas. I'm a... I'm a Maiden and I need to make sure General Ironwood is protected.", she said as she flourished her Maiden powers. The guards stepped back in awe. Jaune smiled as he knew they had won.
"No ID. No Entry! We do not take 'party tricks' as proper authentication!", the guards refused.
Jaune simply stared at the guards in exasperation. Were they serious? He'd make sure once they got to Atlas, he'd buy out this base and fill it with funny costumed characters, then he'd make them dance for him every time he was there.
"Alright! Great! Success! You're pissing me off! Here's your PRIZE!", Jaune yelled as he pulled out Unforgiven and shot the first guard in the face. He turned and shot the other guard as well as he turned to his fallen comrade.
"Pyrrha, kill these idiots!", Jaune raged.
Pyrrha's Maiden powers burst forth like a tidal wave of destruction as the entire military supplement descended on Team JNPR. Diamond weapons were conjured and lightning struck out against the waves of Atlas soldiers that came to defend the gate. Everything was going relatively well until Nora was shot to death. Then Ren fell, also succumbing to a hail of bullets fired from a battalion of Atlesian Knights. Rhames still fought on, he used his ring and conjured the ancient powers within. Thing were going badly. If they died here, Ruby and her own team would most likely be run out of town just for knowing them. Jaune reached outwards and froze time again. He held onto Pyrrha's arm as he did so.
"This didn't work. Plan B!", Jaune noted as he swirled the Spartan back in time a few moments.
Pyrrha noticed as tunnel-vision narrowed her sight and her and the view of the battle began to blur. There was an effect like shattering glass and the furious battle scene exploded into shards. For a moment, she saw Jaune standing alone and sad at her statue, tears crept from his eyes in remembrance to the fallen spartan. Another blur and she was back in time with him. Jaune still held onto her shoulder.
"No ID. No Entry! We do not take 'party tricks' as proper authentication!", the guards refused.
"Alright... Great... Success! You're really pissing me off. Go get your superior officer!", Jaune raged.
"If you insist! You will not be allowed entry!", the guards rebuked.
The two strange guards hopped away in unison both chanting 'hup' and 'atlas' as they ran into the base. Team JNPR was left alone at the front gates.
"I have a feeling that a frontal assault will only get us killed. Let's try to be diplomatic.", Pyrrha noted.
"Gee, I wonder what made you think that?", Jaune said.
Ren, Nora and Rhames just stared at the duo.
"You tried that just now, didn't you?", Ren said.
"Maybe? Maybe not.", Pyrrha said.
"What the hell is going on!?", Rhames asked.
"Oh, nothing. Jaune can control time. It's his Semblance. He can do stupid stuff and just reverse time so he didn't do stupid stuff. It also means he and Pyrrha can do other stuff over and over...", Nora stated.
"Ooookay... Should I wonder what the other stuff is?", Rhames noted.
"Nope! It's just stuff they can't do at Pyrrha's mom's house!", Nora exclaimed.
Rhames just stared at the Gunslinger and the Spartan strangely and then caught on. He facepalmed and took sudden interest in the ground.
Tiny fast footsteps heralded the arrival of the Argus Base's commander in chief. A very small and old woman stood at about knee height on the other side of the gate. She looked smug and didn't pay much attention to the group of Huntsmen on the other side.
"You cannot enter. And you are not allowed passage to Atlas. End of story. Go home.", the short woman announced.
"Oh hey! Auntie Cordovin, pleasure to see you here! Let's have a nice civil chat.", Jaune goaded.
Cordovin shuddered, it was Jaune Arc. The boy who had found her to be interesting, if interesting meant an interesting object with which to play a brand new game called 'gnome tossing'. It involved physically throwing her as far as possible. A game that soon followed her to her professional career as she was tossed as far from Atlas itself as possible while still being within their government.
"Oh, Jauney! It's been so long! How are you? I'm sorry... I've just dealt with a lot of riffraff over the past few months...", Cordovin apologized.
"So how about you let us through to Atlas. If you don't... Then I think when I finally get back to Atlas, you're going to have a new career. A great career as an athlete. I think I'm going to call it Cordovin Ball. You get to be the ball.", Jaune said.
Cordovin shuddered again. She wouldn't last more than a few weeks in Jaune's new 'sport'. She did like her career in Argus and it meant she could enjoy her few months until retirement relatively stress-free. If she refused, she would get early retirement, but she would also be very dead.
"Y-Yes. Of course. When do you want to leave for Atlas? We can leave right now!", Cordovin stuttered.
"Well, I was just here to make sure you were going to let us through, that's all. I have some more friends who are trying to get to Atlas and we need your full cooperation. If you refuse...", Jaune said.
"No! Not a problem at all! Everyone is welcome! Even the Faunus! Just find me directly when you want to leave! Please...", Cordovin said.
"And I thank you! I'll be leaving now. Have fun.", Jaune said.
Jaune turned and walked away from the gate. He grinned at his teammates and lead them away from the military base. Pyrrha just gave a subtle smile and followed him away. Ren and Nora stood in mild surprise and Rhames had no idea what had just happened.
Behind them, Cordovin turned to the two dumbstruck guards.
"What!? I used to babysit him. He's a monster! I've got 4 months until retirement and I'm not going to let him ruin this for me! Treat him like he's royalty, for gods sake!", Cordovin exclaimed.
The two guards took their orders. "At once! He is royalty! He is Atlas!".
Cordovin shook her head. She was actually missing her arch-rival and her cashews for some reason. "Only four more months... Then I can retire. Only four more months... Then I can retire to a nice tropical land where nothing ever happens and drinks flow like rivers...", Cordovin thought.
Chapter End. Remnant is dark and full of terrible things. 2 new things. Out of time and out of mind.
I am currently editing and re-uploading my earlier works: RWBYlands: The Huntsmen Collection. I also post on Reddit r/FNKI regularly for fun. Look for u/C4PTNK0R34, that's me. I'm the crazy British/Korean/American guy in a wizard hat.