Welcome back guys. Time for our next movie, and it's one of my favorites.
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RWBY Watches Classic Movies
Chapter 61
"And now for something a little bit different."
"What do you think he means by that?" Yang asked Blake, who simply shrugged.
"… in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea."
-Ozma, 360 BCE
"Oh my- Really?" Weiss complained loudly.
"The hell's with you Weiss Cream?" Yang asked, somewhat surprised.
"Atlantis? Really? It's a fairy tale. A myth!"
"It's a movie, Weiss. Now shut up and eat your Skittles." Ruby said sternly, surprising everyone.
The scene opened on a shot of a tranquil ocean near dusk. Suddenly, a massive explosion lit the horizon, the shockwave driving away the clouds, allowing one to actually see the shockwave as it did so. Large, stone fish-like constructs raced from the explosion- some kind of air force, perhaps- a mighty wave rose up behind them.
"You fool! You've destroyed us all!" a pilot of one of the smaller fish-like craft yelled at one of his comrades in a language no one in the audience understood, not even Salem.
"The wave is gaining! We have to warn Atlantis!" another yelled as the mighty force of nature began to overtake the craft behind them.
"Is this thing animated?" Weiss said in exasperation. "Are we seriously watching a children's movie?"
"Cartoons aren't just for kids, Weiss." Yang said.
"True that." Blake agreed. "I can think of quite a few animated shows that are definitely not meant for children."
"And then there are some with subtext that you don't even notice until you're our age."
"Will the parents in the room please back me up here?" Weiss asked.
"Sorry, kid, but I agree with them." Taiyang said. "I have an extensive list of cartoons from my childhood that I still enjoy as an adult."
"Same here." Kali agreed, with Summer and Ghira nodding along. Weiss looked to Winter, who simply shrugged. She sat back down and sunk into her seat in dejection.
Those at the very front raced across the ocean to the shoreline, and then over rolling, grassy hills to a large, advanced-looking yet ancient city. Over the city, red beams of light scanned the streets. As the remaining craft blazed past the sentry towers, one of the guards manning it looked to see what could cause such haste- upon seeing the massive tidal wave, he turned to a primitive paging system.
"Everyone to the shelters! Repeat, everyone to the shelters!"
"I'm actually interested in this." Velvet said, taking a small notepad from an internal pocket in her vest. She borrowed Blake's pen and began taking notes. "Most of the stuff you hear about Atlantis is pseudohistory or pseudoscience- meaning that any presented evidence lacks any kind of standard or criteria- but this is presenting us with something that at least looks historically accurate. For the time period."
"I think I even see some Faunus running around there." Blake commented.
His voice somehow echoed across the city, causing panic as the wave eclipsed the sun, the red beams of light providing the only real source of light. As the citizenry panicked, a soldier led what was clearly the rulers of the city through the streets. They all had fair skin and predominantly white hair. The mother pulled her frightened daughter along, urging her forward, but the young girl was fighting her daughter. The girl had dropped her doll was simply trying to get it back, not realizing the danger such actions presented.
"Pyrrha! Just leave it! there's no time!" the girl's mother said, kneeling down before her daughter to try and emphasize the point.
"Oh, good, another one starring me." Pyrrha grimaced.
"You don't like being in these?" Nora asked.
"I'm sorry. I lived my entire life in the spotlight and eventually began to resent it. Old habits, I guess."
The red light washed over the woman, who looked up as the light turned pale blue-white. Her eyes filled with the same light and the crystal on the necklace she wore lifted into the air. Her husband, a bear of a man whose white hair was streaked with red, turned and saw what was happening to his wife, and instantly knew her fate.
The lights converged on Pyrrha's mother as the people continued to flee to safety. They merged into a single fine beam of light centered on the crystal necklace and let out a burst of light before forming another large beam. Pyrrha's mother began to lift into the air, taking her daughter's bracelet as she did. Pyrrha grabbed for her mother as she was pulled into the light.
A barrier of light began to surround the citadel of the city as people and aircraft tried and failed to make it in, but there was nothing more that could be done.
The wave crashed into the city, destroying the stone architecture of statues and homes, and drowning the poor souls left in its way. The shield finished forming over the heads of Pyrrha and her father and the entirety of what was under it sank into the ground as the waters overtook what remained of the city. Minutes later, all that remained was still ocean waters beneath stormy skies.
"That was a little hardcore for a children's movie, don't you think Weiss?" Yang asked, ribbing Weiss, who simply turned her nose up at the blonde.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
City of Vale
1914
The streets of Vale were bustling with people, and not a car in sight. Deep within the city's natural history museum, Jaune Arc stood behind a podium before a group of old men, the museum's board of directors and trustees. Behind him stood a map of Remnant, and next to him was a chalkboard that had runic symbols written on it with the words 'EDGE OF MISTRAL' written beneath them. He himself was dressed in a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows under an olive vest, black dress pants and shoes, and a red bowtie around his neck.
"Alright, looking like another Arkos movie." Nora said.
"Our ship name is our team attack name?" Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Keep It Simple, Stupid." Nora told him.
"What even was that attack supposed to be?" Ruby asked.
"Y'know, thinking back on it, I can't really remember beyond using our shields for something." Jaune said with embarrassment.
He coughed, clearing his throat. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. First off, I'd like to thank this board for taking the time to hear my proposal. Now, we've all heard the legend of Atlantis, a continent somewhere in the southern area of the Great Ocean, that was home to an advanced civilization possessing technology far beyond our own." He tapped on a marble bust next to him with a wooden dowel. "That, according to our friend Ozma here, was suddenly struck by a cataclysmic event that sank it beneath the waves.
"Now," he pulled a set of large cards from within the podium and began to flip through them rapidly, "Someone of you may be wondering 'why Atlantis? It's just a myth, right? Pure fantasy.' Well, that is where you would be wrong. 10,000 years before the Ancient Vacuans built the pyramids, Atlantis had electricity, advanced medicine, even the power of flight! Impossible, you say, but no, not for them. Numerous ancient cultures around the world agree that Atlantis possessed a power source of some kind. More power than steam, than-than coal! More powerful even than our Dust-powered internal combustion engine. Gentlemen, I propose that we find Atlantis, find that power source, and bring it to the surface."
"So his plan is to break the world of its' Dust dependency?" Weiss asked. "I don't see that happening."
"And why is that, Ice Queen?" Jaune asked.
"For the same reason it hasn't happened already; money." She explained, "The dust industry is the biggest and possibly the most important in the world. Though the SDC is the biggest and most well-known, there are dozens of other Dust manufacturers across Remnant. If you introduce something that can even compete with them, they will do whatever it takes to bury it so they can maintain their control and, more importantly, their wealth."
"Awfully pessimistic, don't you think?"
"It's how the world of the rich and powerful works, much as I hate it."
He turned to another card. "Now, this is a page from an illuminated text describing a book called 'The Shepard's Journal', said to be a first-hand account of Atlantis, and it's exact whereabouts. Now, based on a centuries-old translation of a Solitan text discovered near the city of Argus in Mistral, historians believe the Journal resides in Mistral." Jaune rolled his eyes at this. "But, after comparing the text to the runes on this Solitan warrior shield," Jaune grunted as he hefted the shield, "I discovered that several letters had been mistranslated. So, by changing these letters," he crossed out all the letters in Mistral except for the M "and inserting the correct ones, we find that the Shepard's Journal, the key to Atlantis, lies not in Mistral, but in Mantle." He wrote the name out.
"Pause for effect." He muttered to himself before he put down the shield. "Ah. Gentlemen, I'll take your questions now." A phone rang out behind his chalkboard. Like an actual bell phone, not a scroll. "Uh, will you gentlemen just excuse me, for just a moment?" he walked around the chalkboard and picked up the antique-looking phone. "Cartography and linguistics, Jaune Arc speaking." He said proudly. An angry voice came from the ear piece. "Oh, yeah, sure. Hang on just a sec." He set the receiver down and walked to the other side of the room, turning on the rest of the lights in the room as he went. The board room was revealed to be a boiler room that doubled as Jaune's office, if the maps and books lining the walls were any indication. Jaune walked past his faux board- which consisted of skeletons, masks and busts wearing hats- up to the boiler.
"Okay, a mock presentation. That makes more sense." Weiss commented.
"Pardon me, Mr. Belladonna." He said to a mask as he moved it aside. He twisted a few valves on the boiler and gave it a solid whack with a wrench, making the old beast roar to life. "How's that? Is that better?" he asked into the receiver. The loud voice muttered an affirmative and thanks. "Uh, yeah, no problem." He walked back to his presentation and picked up where he left off. "Now, gentlemen, if you'll look at this map that I've drawn up, I've plotted the route that will take myself and a crew to the southern coast of Solitas to retrieve the Journal."
He was interrupted when a cuckoo clock alerted him to the time; 4 pm, 15 minutes before his scheduled meeting with the board.
"Ah, show time." he said as he gathered up his things. He took a deep breath. "Alright, this is it, I am finally getting out of the dungeon. Before he left, he stopped at his desk and looked at the picture of him, his sisters, and their Grandpa Johnathan. He smiled, remembering that day. He was seven at the time. Grandpa John had taken him on his knee and given him his own pith helmet. Unfortunately, Jaune's head was still a little too small, and when he put the headgear on, it slid down on his head.
"That is both my luck and my Grandpa John for you." Jaune smiled wistfully.
Jaune took out that same helmet and put it on. As it always did, it slid down on his head. As Jaune adjusted it on his head so that he could see, a letter tube arrived at his chute. He took the letter out of the case and read it aloud.
"Dear Mr. Arc, this is to inform you that your meeting today has been moved up from 4:15 pm to 3:15 pm." Jaune frowned and looked at the clock, already reading 4:05. "What?" Another letter arrived. "Dear Mr. Arc, due to your absence, the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend. Mr. Schnee's Office? They can't do this to me!"
The board members laughed as they left the message office, Jacques Schnee in the center, the clear leader.
"Oh, for the love of…" Weiss sighed, knowing exactly whose idea that letter stunt had been.
"I swear, that Arc boy gets crazier every year!" Ghira Belladonna said.
"If I ever hear the word Atlantis again, I'll jump in front of a bus!" Raven Branwen joked.
"Ha! My wife will push you." Ghira joked, giving Raven a small shove.
"Mr. Schnee!" Jaune yelled, chasing after the board members, umbrella and maps in hand. "Members of the board! Please, wait!"
"Scatter!" Jacques yelled. The individual board members ran in different directions, most of them making for their personal offices. However, Jaune knew that Jacques had the most influence, so he followed the white-haired man as he ran out of the museum to his waiting car.
"This museum," Jacques said once he was safely in his car, "Funds scientific expeditions based on facts, not legends and folklore. Besides, we need you, here. We depend on you."
"I know that look." Weiss said, "Jaune, I'm sorry in advance for what is about to happen."
"What?" What is about to happen?"
"You do?" Jaune asked apprehensively.
"Of course." He smiled. "What with winter coming, that boiler is going to need a lot of attention."
"Boiler?" Jaune said, confused for a moment, as Jacques signaled his driver to go.
"That son of a…" Jaune said indignantly.
"Sorry." Weiss winced.
Recovering quickly, Jaune ran after the car, easily keeping pace with it. He pulled out a map and showed it to the man. "But- but there's a journal! It's in Mantle! I'm sure of it this time!" Jacques irritatedly closed the blinds next to him. He jumped when he saw Jaune laying on the hood of his car. "Sir, I really didn't want to do this, but," he pulled a piece of paper out of his coat pocket, "This is a letter of resignation. If you reject my proposal- woah!" the driver swerved several times, causing Jaune to slide off the car. "I'LL QUIT!" he roared.
The car stopped and backed up towards him, Jacques Schnee looking at him with cold eyes.
"I mean it, sir. If you refuse to fund my proposal- "
"You'll what?" Jacques said, calling his bluff. "Flush your career down the toilet just like your grandfather? You have a lot of potential, Jaune. Don't waste it all chasing fairy tales."
"But I can prove Atlantis exists."
"You want to go on an expedition? Here." He took a 25 lien coin from his wallet and tossed it at Jaune. "Take a trolley to the river and jump in! Maybe the cold water will clear your head." He signaled his driver, who intentionally drove into a puddle and splashed Jaune as he left.
"And now I want to take a swing at your old man." Jaune growled.
"Welcome to the club, we have jackets." Weiss said.
It was with broken spirits that Jaune returned to his apartment that stormy night. It was a modest thing, the best he could safely afford on his salary. One bedroom, one bath, with a combined living room-kitchen. Being a single man's place, it was naturally in a state of organized chaos, with a worn couch and a single chair surrounding a coffee table.
"I'm home!" he called out to his ever-faithful chocolate lab puppy. "Emma? Where's my little bear?" He tried to turn on the light, but nothing happened. He lowered his head with a sigh. Either he had forgotten to pay the electric bill, or the storm had caused a blackout. Considering the lights were on in the hall, he was leaning towards the latter.
Lightning flashed and he noticed a female form standing by the window on the other side of his apartment.
"Jaune Arc?" she asked in a sultry tone.
"Who the hell are you? How'd you get in here?" he asked, his body too tired for fear or anger, and so just settled for irritation.
"I came down the chimney. Ho, ho, ho." She sat down in his chair, the ambient light letting him get a better look at her. She had dark, smooth skin, with stripe-like tattoos running down her subtly muscled arms. Her hair was black in the light, but he knew he saw a pair of cat ears sticking up from her head. A faunus, a rarity outside of Menagerie. She wore a low-cut, sleeveless black dress with a slit that exposed a fair amount of leg.
"My name is Sienna Khan. I'm here on behalf of my employer, who has a most intriguing proposition for you. Are you interested?"
"Your employer?" Jaune asked as he started to look for his emergency flashlight. "Who is your employer, dare I ask?"
"I'm not sorry about this," Yang said, "Blake, your godmother is hot."
"Yang!"
"I'll take it." Sienna grinned, knowing full well that Ilia's nose was probably bleeding right about now. She may have eyes for Blake, but she also had a thing for cat faunus in general.
The next thing Jaune knew, he was being driven past a metal gate emblazoned with a stylized 'B.O.' above it and a sign that read 'OOBLECK', up to a mansion atop a hill. The inside of the mansion was covered in large portraits of a man with green hair and large thick glasses, and several forms of antique weaponry. Servants were waiting at the door to take their coats for them.
"This way, please." Sienna said, leading him through the foyer. "And don't drip on the Caravaggio." She led him to an elevator. "Step lively now, Mr. Oobleck doesn't like to be kept waiting." As the elevator began descending, Sienna began to fix up his appearance as best she could while also giving him a short briefing. "You will address him as 'Mr. Oobleck' or 'Sir'. You will stand unless asked to be seated. You will keep your sentences short and to the point. Are we clear?" Jaune gulped nervously in response. Once the elevator had stopped, Jaune stepped out and Sienna couldn't resist adding, "And relax, he doesn't bite. Much." She closed the door and rode the lift back up.
A lot of you guys knew this was coming, and for that I am proud. Personally, this one of my top 5 favorite Disney movies, with Kida being my all-time favorite Disney princess.
I don't have too much more to say, so I'll see you all again next week.
Be sure to Follow, Favorite and leave a Review, and I will catch you later.
Next Update: 2/18/20