Chapter 18: "Interlude"
Hello everybody, long time no see! Another chapter here brought to you by your friendly neighborhood author. Now, I know that you guys were expecting "Alice in Woderland", and it's coming, but it's also very slow-going. With me back at school, I have so little time to write nowadays. Doesn't help that I'm majoring in History, and that focuses a lot of energy in writing essays (which actually makes great practice). And I do think this interlude is necessary because it has a lot of exposition that would've been incomplete and just weird if I just added it to part of the next arc, so I felt that separating it was for the best. Also, I think a lot of you were a bit confused by the title of the next arc, so here's a couple hints: many characters in RWBY are based off of fairytales, and Jaune is going to unexpectedly become a father.
Now then, on to the reviews!
thegermankaiserreich: Sure. I never really liked the boat ride from the new version anyway. The old one, with Mr. Wonka's commentary, was way more awesome.
Tanya von Degurechaff: I was planning on doing the opening part of Terminator Genesis actually. I don't think someone had Jaune be a T1000 (or really any Terminator), but I don't wanna do the entire movie, and the opening scene of Genesis was so cool when I saw it in the theaters. The rest of that movie can suck eggs though.
Brigdaddy1: I did, but I'm not a huge fan the movie. The love subplot felt a bit forced (really dude, falling in love with your dead wife's sister?), the way the movie called those people working his farm 'free' (they're in South Carolina, no way they were 'free' anything), and the boy trying to scare the women about how the British would come to their house and... well let's just say that he should really get his head checked (that's your family you're telling that to, for God's sake!). I'm a History Buff, so seeing a lot of incorrect historical events play out just makes my brain itch. I know that they were taking creative liberties to make the movie sound 'exciting', but real historical events can be just as exciting (like the Battle of Bunker Hill [wrong hill by the way]). It's the same reason why I won't touch Kingdom of Heaven.
primus101: *Shush* No spoilers.
BlackPhantom247: Oh, I'm familiar with it. And no, 40K is not going to be making an appearance (at least the mainstream version). I'd rather not have Chaos finding out about the Nexus. If the Joker, who's mortal, can interact with the audience in his universe, then you can be sure that the Ruinous Powers would as well, and to a worse degree. Although I will agree with you: their views would be heavily affected, just not in the way you may have envisioned.
warrior of six blades: Don't worry, it will be more lighthearted. I guarantee it.
Wolfang21: Glad you enjoyed my alterations with the last arc. As for Kung Fu Hustle, I was thinking Junior would fit more since his goons do look like members of the Axe Gang, even having axes as their more popular weapons (Roman was going to be that accountant dude who 'felt sick' when ordered to kill). Tyrian is the toad master (he's certainly crazy/dangerous enough), and Salem & Oz are the landowners. That swap is just too funny to resist XD
Horrorfan247: So long as I know the material, sure. That may sound weird, but trying to make a reaction from something I don't know anything about would make the whole thing a pile of shit, no matter how awesome the material may be. It's like trying to build a desk: if you don't know what you're doing, you'll just do it wrong. So lay 'em on me, just know that I may or may not agree.
JaCk-o'-LaNtErN 91: Thanks, Nel was always my favorite, personally (being grown up, yet still having that childish attitude was too cute for me). As for the reveal, I actually needed it to happen. With how strange some of the future scenarios can go, having the Arcs be as integrated as they were shown would give me a lot of wiggle room to work with.
Corvus Ravenesqu: I actually didn't think that when I wrote that scene. The eyes were simply him tapping into his hollow side for some more power. I had to do that since he just got off his ship, and was a bit nauseous. Then he had to fight multiple Huntsmen, White Fang, a half-Maiden and Salem. He needed something to tip the scale in his favor, I apologize if you felt that way.
Legion 5173: I always try to read all the reviews you guys send, even if I can't reply to all of them. As for the request, I never watched jojo to be honest. The art style was very off-putting for me that I just never got around to watching it. So, sorry, but I can't.
BlackPhantom247: Thinking about it. Loved Atlantis to be honest, and I don't think it gets as much love as it should. Jaune would make an excellent Milo, maybe have Weiss as Kida. Imagine how embarrassed she'd be if I do the swimming scene: "Oh, I swim pretty girl- Pr-Pretty good! Pretty good! Good, swim good, pretty good. I swim pretty good." Ahh, I can already see the girl yelling at her other self to cover their body, hahaha!
Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the show!
Disclaimer in the prologue.
As the screen was about to start up a large portal appeared overhead, dropping off another group.
And this group was noticeably large. Out of the portal, and landing in a comedic heap, were Kali & Ghira Belladonna, Willow & Whitley Schnee, Klein Sieben, two young girls, and lastly Maria Calavera who luckily landed on top of the pile with a laugh of joy.
As the group untangled from each other and looked around their new surroundings with awe and suspicion, Jack sighed in irritation at this. Grumbling, he paused the viewing and turned the lights back on. He looked at the two children who were looking around at all the cool weapons and lights with bemusement, 'Oh yeah, that's gonna go down real well.'
Blake stood up along with Weiss and Winter as they saw their families there.
"M-Mom? D-Dad?" Blake was afraid. Afraid of what they'll think of her, afraid of seeing the disappointment in their eyes. 'It's what you deserve.' Her conscience said to her as her parents turned to her. Though that fear turned to confusion, then embarrassment.
Kali looked around, worried as to the hell just happened to them, when she heard the voice of someone she didn't expect to hear again for a long time. Quickly turning around, she saw the scared face of her baby girl. With tears brimming, she squealed and ran towards her whilst screaming "Kitten!" loudly, followed by giving her daughter a very tight hug.
The hug only got tighter when her husband joined in with a laugh of joy at seeing his precious little girl again.
Blake was surprised, 'Why are they hugging me? Shouldn't they be angry?' She felt the tears of her mother on her shirt, and felt even worse. 'I'm sorry.' Even though she was a bit embarrassed by their open affection, her partner snickering off to the side wasn't helping, she returned the family hug with gusto. Whispers of "I'm sorry" could be heard as the Belladonna family was reunited once more.
Meanwhile, Weiss and Winter went to their family.
The two noticed their brother frowning at them, while Willow was looking around for her bottle that she dropped as she fell into the portal in a daze.
"Good day, dear sisters." He says as he brushes off some imaginary dust from his vest. "May I ask why I have been summoned from my studies so rudely?"
The two sisters sighed as they still didn't like his attitude, but controlled themselves as they remembered the words from the letter Weiss received. 'Speaking of which...' Weiss thought as she looked to her mother who was walking towards some of the shelves.
"Go to her sister." Winter whispered, smiling as Weiss looked back in shock. "I will handle this, you go and help her." Weiss nodded and went to their mother. Winter then turned back to her annoyed younger brother, and began to explain the situation to him.
Weiss stopped behind her mother and said "Mother." Willow looked back, and she held out the vial. "Here you are, Mother. I managed to acquire your favorite brand." She didn't like lying to her mother like this, but given how intoxicated she looked, she felt that this was the fastest route to curing her.
If she was sober enough, the older woman would've doubted her daughter based on the small size of the 'bottle'; but she wasn't, so she didn't.
Without hesitation, and only giving a mumbled "Thank you", she took the vial and chugged the whole thing down. Immediately, the affects started to work. Her inebriated state was going away, and the damage done to her body from years of alcohol abuse was leaving her system. It took a few seconds, but eventually Willow Schnee was back to a healthy state of body and mind.
Looking down at herself, she was examining her movements with wonder as she felt newfound energy coursing through her. 'I haven't felt this fantastic in years.'
Weiss teared up at the miraculous recovery her mother had, and immediately hugged her in joy.
Willow still didn't know what was happening, or where this new power came from, but once she heard her younger daughter's soft cries, she forgot all about her confusion and hugged her back, soothing her little girl with kind whispers and gentle kisses to her brow.
the parents looked on the families with smiles, they didn't want to spoil this moment.
Sienna and Ilia wanted to talk with the founders of the White Fang, but they were content to wait.
Eve wanted to go over there and finally destroy the Schnees once and for all, hut held herself back as she knew that Jack's new servant would stop her. Susanoo looking directly at her and that smirk made her even more pissed.
Their friends were happy for Blake and Weiss; Ruby, Yang, and Nora even snuggled up to their own mothers as they watched the heartwarming sight.
Klein, after helping Maria find a seat, much to her amusement, was tearing up at finally seeing Willow showing love for her family once more.
The old woman didn't know what was happening, but having a kind gentleman wait on her felt nice. 'My old bones could get used to this.'
The new children were still looking around, not really caring for what was happening around them.
Whitley was looking at his eldest sister with some worry, wondering just what she was smoking as she explained their 'situation' to him. 'I fear her time in the military may have caused her mind to become... erratic.' He thinks as she finished. 'I think that she needs to unwind a bit, maybe find a nice man or something. Clearly, being alone and married to her work has had some adverse affects on her.'
Qrow didn't know why, but he felt like laughing at Winter.
Once everyone settled down a bit, Jack stood up and cleared his throat, earning everyone's attention.
"Ok," he said, addressing the new people, "I know that many of you new people are confused. Allow me to explain just where you are, and why you have been summoned."
(15 minutes later)
After explaining the situation and reasons for being there to them, and reassurances from the audience to back him up, the new people were floored. They looked around. A Nexus of the Multiverse? A way to see multiple dimensions and futures? A prophecy directed on a young boy? That was awesome! At least, for the girls it was. The others were shocked that a mere teenager was so special to the gods, that he had an entire nexus dedicated to himself. And that he attends the same school as their families.
Willow, Kali, Klein, and Ghira were actually quite proud that their daughters/charge are friends with someone so important.
Whitley was jealous that he didn't get the chance to introduce himself to him, and not at all too happy that his sister has such a powerful ally now. 'If he has an ancient prophecy dedicated to him, then he must be special. No doubt Father wishes to know about this.'
After giving them a few minutes to process this, Jack clapped his hands with a slight smirk, "Alright, now that that's over, why don't you guys introduce yourselves?"
Whitley scoffed at the man, "And why should I listen to you, peasant?" That last part earned many sweaty brows from some in the audience, while the White Fang members glared at the rudeness of this boy.
Jack narrowed his eyes at the rude kid, "Listen up, shit stain." The boy sputtered in indignation as a few of the immature people snickered or laughed. "The only reason why I'm letting that slide is because whoever grabbed you felt that you needed to be here. As for why: it's common curtesy, and I'm a god and can easily disintegrate you if you don't. Now I suggest you play nice because I will not hesitate to smear your dead carcass all over my nice clean floor." The guy may be pretty laid back most of the time, but he's still a god, and his kind have never been known to take personal slights lying down.
Whitley was angered by the man's words, and was about to retaliate, but his sisters immediately clapped their hands over his mouth and dragged him to a seat while profusely apologizing to Jack. The rest of the audience were pale as they shook in their seats in fear. Throughout Jack's little rant, a malevolent aura was seeping out of him and was felt by many.
Seeing this, he sighed and reigned in his aura. "Sorry about that. Now, to prove that I'm telling the truth, and because I'm such a nice guy, allow me to perform a 'miracle'." He waved his hands a bit, looking a bit comical as a result, and suddenly Maria and Klein were engulfed in light. Once the glare died down, and everyone couldn't see spots anymore, they saw that the two were now much younger than before, about mid-twenties at best. They still wore the same clothes, but they had expanded to fit their younger selves.
Maria and Klein were examining their young bodies with awe. They then looked at each other, and couldn't stop the blush from forming. 'My word, her eyes are enchanting/Mama likes.'
Everyone else looked shocked. The Schnees were surprised to see their beloved butler look so young again, though the blush at seeing Maria made Willow and Weiss giggle a bit.
Qrow felt that he knew this woman from somewhere, but couldn't quite place it. (Remember, she doesn't have her mask, nor her original outfit)
Ozpin's eyes widened at seeing another silver eyed warrior, same with Summer as Ruby just looked confused. Salem though, narrowed her eyes.
After calming down from the spectacle, the new people began introducing themselves.
*Clears throat* "Hello everyone, my name is Ghira Belladonna, and this is my lovely wife Kali." Ghira introduced themselves first as they sat near their daughter, while Kali waved a hand at everyone with a happy smile as she snuggled Chibi Blake close to her chest.
'Oh Monty, she's soooo cute!' Kali inwardly squealed as the tiny version of her daughter was struggling to breath from her snuggle of doom. Kali giggled as she hugged her tightly.
Ilia pouted as she missed her chance to play with her Chibi again while Sienna giggled at the sight. They were slightly worried as they saw the Chibi's face turning an unhealthy blue, and exhaled in relief when Ghira managed to take her away from his now pouting wife.
When he thought no one was looking, the bear of a man gushed at the relieved Chibi, showering her with love as he remembered when his baby girl was little.
Blake's eye twitched as she felt like she was being replaced with her Chibi version.
Willow, sitting next to her children stood up. "Good day everyone. My name is Willow Schnee." She waved her right hand as she sat next to her family. She smiled as she looked at everyone.
Her son stood up and bowed his head, still not liking his situation but decided to be courteous to the other guests as he was raised to be. "And I am Whitley Schnee."
Eve was just glaring at the Schnees sitting there, angry that she couldn't lay waste to their cursed line.
Maria chuckled a bit, and with the help of a rejuvenated Klein, got up and said, "Hey guys, I'm Maria Calavera." Qrow gaped and sputtered at the name, now recognizing his idol. She didn't notice Salem looking suspiciously at her as Klein helped her back to her seat. *Chuckle* "Well, well. Aren't you a nice, strong, young man." She grinned as he blushed.
Klein blushed a bit, and with an unconscious flexing of his younger pecks said "It is my pleasure, my lady. The name is Klein Sieben, at your service." He bowed at the waist as she sat back down and took her right hand, gently placed a kiss atop it. His actions earned some quiet giggles from the Schnee women as Maria grinned at his boldness.
Jack looked to the two girls, and said "You wanna introduce yourselves too?", earning the attention of everyone.
The slightly older looking one scoffed. She had long black hair done in a low ponytail and a pair of bangs framing her face, a slight pale complexion, and violet purple eyes. For clothes, she wore a long sleeves black battle kimono which reaches down to just below her knees; dark purple leather breastplate, vambraces, and greaves; black fingerless gloves and knee-high boots; and a katana strapped to her back. What caught the attention of many, especially the thieves, was the thin silver circlet with a small amethyst gem which matched her eyes in the middle placed gently on her head. The girl crossed her arms and looked to the other one.
The second girl had short but wild black hair, a darker complexion, and blue eyes. She wore a simple miko styled dress with a similar circlet but with a Citrine gem instead (1), but the white replaced with black, and boots instead of sandals. She also had a katana strapped to her back. What many noticed was the pair of cat ears sitting proudly atop her head as they wiggled in merriment.
The slightly younger girl placed a hand over her lips and giggled, the long sleeve of her dress covering the smile. "Come now, big sis. Where are your manners? We are guests here after all." She says, still covering her mouth with her sleeve but still being heard by everyone. She then removed her hand and placed it on her cheek, *Gasp*"What would papa and grandma say?"
The other girl grumbled and sighed. She bowed her head in defeat, "Fine." She growled and looked at the audience with a glare as she puffed her chest out a bit in pride. "I'm Robin Arc, 8 years old, daughter of Jaune and Raven Arc, and Princess of the Arcadian Empire." Robin rolled her eyes, asking "Happy now?" sarcastically to her sister.
The other girl giggled, "I am, thank you for asking." She turned to the stunned audience and bowed a bit in greeting. "And I'm Altani Khan, 8 years old, daughter of Jaune and Sienna Khan, and Princess of Menagerie." (2)
Everyone's jaws dropped. Yang looked at her new sister with shock and anger, feeling betrayed that her mom had apparently got it on with her friend. 'Ew, gross.' Now she felt a sick, getting thoughts of how she came to be trapped in her head.
Ruby was confused, tilting her head a bit. 'So, is Robin my sister or...?'
Coco looked at the clothes, and thought they looked good. "They definitely look like princesses." She whispered to Velvet who giggled a bit.
All of the White Fang members couldn't believe it.
Weiss and Winter were green in the cheeks as they felt like they were going to throw up, though they also felt a bit jealous.
Willow raised an eyebrow, wondering if the mothers were with them right now. 'Going by the love in their voices when speaking his name, this Jaune Arc is obviously a better father than my useless husband. And knocking up two women in a similar time frame, I'm actually jealous.' Thinking of how Jacques failed as a father, and as a husband, she blushed a bit as she imagined how well this young man was in managing to satisfy two women. 'He must have amazing stamina.'
Nora laughed and raised her fist. "Go fearless leader, go bag those MILF's!" she shouted, much to Ren's and her parent's mortification as many turned to her with scandalous expressions.
Pyrrha was twitching a bit, knowing that there were even more children of her love's that weren't hers. 'You've gotta be kidding me! Where's my kid? Can't I ever catch a break?'
Most of the adults who knew Raven looked at the shocked woman with disgust.
Qrow and Ozpin felt like they were about to be sick. Summer and Glynda were disappointed in the woman for robbing the cradle.
Many of the male villains felt very inadequate right now. The only exception was Hazel who just smiled at the new children, their little conversation reminding him of the ones he had with Gretchen when they were at that age.
Emerald and Neo just hugged their children. Cinder though, felt her eye twitch. 'When is it going to be my turn? Where's my children?'
Salem didn't care.
Terra and Saphron didn't really know what to feel. 'On the one hand, Jaune was an adult here, he's old enough to make his own decisions. On the other, these women look old enough to be his mothers.' Adrian looked at the new girls with fascination.
Tai felt a bit sad that Raven had moved on, but then hugged Summer close as she rubbed his back and whispered reassurances to him. 'She abandoned me, abandoned us.' He thought as he smiled at his wife. Bending down to her ear, he whispered "Fuck her, as long as I have my Sweet Rose and children in my life, I'm happy." His wife grinned and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.
Vernal was a bit upset that she apparently didn't hook up with Jaune in that future, but she was at least happy that he was part of the tribe. 'Or is the tribe part of the Arc Clan?' She wondered, thinking that either way, they'd be protected.
Raven was looking at her daughter and couldn't believe what she saw. 'This is my daughter?' She looked at her closely and could see the posture she held, could feel the power within her, and instantly Raven felt proud. 'She's strong.' She grinned at seeing her daughter glaring at everyone.
Sienna was stunned, 'That's my daughter? She the same age as the other one?' She blushed a bit as she thought of how that happened. She looked at her daughter, and couldn't help but smile a bit as she saw her little Faunus ears wiggle again. 'She's adorable.' Eve, Ilia, and even Velvet and Blake couldn't help but think the same.
Kali and Ghira were surprised that Sienna had managed to marry a Human, let alone had children with one. Though they felt that this would help with bridging the gap between their two peoples. 'Especially when they share a bed with another- wait a minute, what did she mean by Princess of Menagerie?' They thought.
Whitley scoffed, "What rubbish. There are no princesses in Remnant anymore. You are delusional."
The new people didn't want to agree with the rude boy, but they couldn't fault him for his disbelief as there hasn't been a royal line since the Great War.
Those who knew better flinched as they remembered what they saw.
Robin and Altani glared at the little snot, preparing to strike him down for his insolence.
Before it could come to blows though, Jack stepped in. "Ok, that's enough. Look, you guys haven't seen that future. Trust me, what they're saying id the truth." He then spent several minutes explaining what the last viewing was about; and as he continued his tale, the more horrified the people became.
"And that's basically it." Jack finished, the new parents throwing up as they heard of their children being slaughtered like animals.
Klein cried as he heard his charges, and really like daughters to him, fall.
Willow and Whitley were horrified, clutching their daughters/sisters tightly as if they would disappear if they didn't.
Maria was deeply saddened by the actions of the Arcs, though she also understood why. She has been around for a long time, and has met many Arcs over the years to know how they think. She knows that they would only do something like this if they thought that they were in danger. 'The constant assassination attempts couldn't have helped.'
Ghira was enraged by this. After calming his devastated wife, and placing Chibi Blake near his seat, he expressed how much he wanted to make that boy pay for his actions.
Robin scoffed as her sister giggled, earning his attention. "Do you think this is funny, children?" He asks in a calm voice.
Robin smirked, "Oh yeah." she says, walking over to her mother with Altani doing the same. "There's no way you'd stand up against my dad." She stopped before her grinning mom, and glanced to the side and saw the Faunus glaring at her. She mockingly grinned, "He would tear you apart."
As he was about to say something, a heavy pressure suddenly filled the expanse. The increase in gravity caused him, and many others, to stumble as they tried to adjust to the pressure. The new people couldn't understand where this was coming from, but it felt like the gravity in the place had increased dramatically. The ones who felt it before could only brace against it. The pressure slowly lifted.
Seeing the man stumble, she chuckled as she reigned in her spiritual pressure. "Ya see?" She turned to face him as she raised her arms to either side with a condescending smirk on her face, "If you couldn't even stand up to my power, restricted as it is, what makes you think you'll do much better against my dad?"
She then went to sit next to her mom. Raven was positively gushing at the power her little angel of death had unleashed. 'And she basically said she was holding back. She's perfect.' She smirked at her child, "I didn't know my child could be so powerful."
Robin smirked back as she hugged her, earning a return side hug from her mom and a glare of jealousy from her unknown half-sister. "Oh please," she whispered, "that was but a tiny drop in the lake. I'm way stronger than that." She grinned as she looked up to see her mom give her a beaming smile filled with motherly pride.
Yang gritted her teeth, seeing that brat get what she always wanted when she was little. Though the small display of power she showed made her realize just how weak she is in comparison. 'Seriously, I'm twice her age!'
Altani meanwhile, walked up to Sienna and tilted her head a bit. Smiling at her mama, she looked at her with a shy demeanor, earning a small, if slightly worried, smile in return. "May I sit next to you, mama?"
Her cute and shy look made Sienna forget the power display from her daughter's sister, and she couldn't really refuse her daughter's request when she looked like that. Sienna nodded, earning a quick "Yay!" and Altani quickly sat next to her and snuggled her waist, purring a bit as she nuzzled her face close.
Sienna didn't know what to do here, but seeing her child acting so cute was too much. The purring didn't help her resist as she hugged her kitten close and hummed a little song to her.
The other people were either intrigued by the child's power, or downright terrified by it.
Cinder was pissed, believing that Robin should've been her child. 'That power belongs to my baby girl.' She really wants a daughter.
The students were terrified of the girl's power, and scared to ask just how strong the Jaune of that future was.
The new people were shaking at the display, not wanting to experience that again.
Ozpin and Salem felt fear strike their hearts, but strangely a bit of pride as well. Same with Saphron, seeing her niece with love and a bit of fear.
Jack was glad that he managed to have Adrian immune to the effects of that display on time. 'Wouldn't want the little guy to be afraid of his cousins, now would we?'
The rest of Jaune's children feared their new 'sisters', even more so when Altani looked over to them with a confused expression. 'Why is she staring at us?!'
"Hey, sis." Altani said, getting a rude "What?" in return. "Do you feel that?"
Robin sighed, looking at the other girls with a slight glare as she did sense something strange, and familiar. She sensed that it was coming from those girls. (3)
Jack coughed into his hand, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, so now that we're all caught up, let's continue, shall we?" Many nodded their heads, looking like bobbleheads as they did.
Taking a moment to see if any more unusual things would drop down on them, he lowered the lights and turned on the screen again.
END
Hope that you enjoyed this interlude. Again, I do apologize, but with my hectic schedule I have a lot less time to write and I wanted to at least post something this month. Plus, as I said before, all this was originally for the upcoming arc, but as you can see, it would take up a lot of space. Hope you guys understand, and like the new additions to this fun trip.
1. Citrine: a popular yellow gemstone. Named after the French word citron for lemon, this stone is known for its beautiful yellow-brown hue.
2. Altani: A heroine of the Mongols, and the wife of Genghis Khan's adopted brother. Robin: A bird, not the Robin from Batman. The reason for her yellow gem is because she has Jaune's eyes, and wanted something to remind her of her mother (you know, besides her little cat ears). I figured that Robin would want to have a similar style to her mother, especially with her katana. And the Miko dress for Altani makes sense to me since she's the Princess of a country that looks like it could be a territory of Japan.
3. Yes, they now have Reiatsu. Why else do you think they held their heads after those girls made them glow? To get some new voices in their heads. If they were 'Canonized', then they would certainly get the power of their dad as well. If they didn't, then there wouldn't have been a reason for the pain.