Deep in the Grimmlands, within Salem's even larger castle, the Kings and Maidens were awaiting the arrival of their Queen. Some of them could only be there using Grimm Avatars, Grimm that looked exactly like them, only with the Grimm Mask.
Sarah was among them as an Avatar. She was next to Tyrian and Cinder. Goth was sitting next to Watts, a position he didn't exactly enjoy. Acedia was actually napping at the end of the table, sleeping next to Raven. Across from Raven was the King of the Sabyr, Siku, a beautiful woman who looked no older than Raven, with long, straight, black hair and a tanned complexion. Next to her was a large, fat man named Pembe, the King of the Goliaths. Giza was sitting next to him, but there were empty seats next to him.
"Hm, shame. It seems some of our 'family' has yet to appear," Watts said. As soon as he did, an Avatar appeared. "Oh, it seems I spoke too soon. Hello, Vodou. How did your little trip go?"
"Fémen bouch ou (Shut up)," he said as he sat next to Giza.
"Hm, how disappointing. And here I thought the Leonidas was superior to the Beowolf. It seems I was wrong."
"What the fuck did I just-"
"Calm down, Vodou." He growled over at Sarah. "Don't let him get to you." Vodou sucked his teeth as he grumbled in his native tongue (Remnants answer to Haitian Creole).
"Oh, no. Don't mind my... criticism over your failure in defeating and capturing one man."
"Why you-"
"Do you believe you have any right to make such a critic, brother," Sarah asked.
Watts looked at her. "I beg your pardon?"
"Let me ask you a simple question."
"Hmph, very well. I'll indulge a fellow scientist."
"Under who's rule does Atlas fall under?"
"Urk." Vodou smirked at that response.
"Well, Arthur? Care to answer my question?"
He fixed his tie. "Well, I may have... underestimated dear Jaune, but it's a mistake I plan on rectifying."
"And how do you plan on doing that, hermano? Jaune has only gotten stronger since he and his little pet fought you," Goth said.
"What's more, he has gained more influence and power," Hazel said. "All of Mistral is under his command. At the pace he's going, Vale may be reclaimed by him as well."
A yawn was heard. "You sound worried," a sleepy voice went. Everyone looked at Acedia. "Isn't Vale your territory, Brother Hazel? If it's you, it should be fine. Besides, I heard Raven's being sent there soon enough with Siku."
"I'm being sent to Solitas," Siku said. "My Grimm are most powerful there, and Mother wants me to raise enough forces to retake Atlas and Mantle. In short, I'm cleaning up your mess, brother."
Watts scoffed. "And how do you propose on defeating the Winter Maiden?"
"I fear no cold, not even the infamous ice of General Winter Schnee."
"She might not be the only one you have to worry about." Siku looked at Raven. "If she gets a call out to Jaune, he'll come running. He could be all the way in Vacuo, and he'd still risk everything to reach her."
"It seems you know much about my brother. Something I sadly cannot say, given that I have yet to meet him."
"I haven't met him either," Acedia said with a yawn as she lazily raised her hand.
"Nor have I," Pembe said. "Is he truly as powerful as I have been told?"
"Oh, he's probably much stronger by now," Tyrian said with a smile.
"He was easier to handle before," Cinder said. "But now, he's an actual threat. Someone not to be taken lightly."
"He is Mother's favorite for a reason," Sarah said nonchalantly, either not noticing... or completely ignoring the ire of her siblings. Though, she could probably FEEL Tyrian's glare.
"He's just the Beowolf King. How powerful could he possibly be," Giza asked.
"It's not just his Grimm, fré."
"Did you forget? Our hermano has the Sword of Destruction."
"And he's getting better at using it," Vodou said.
"All the more reason you lot should have succeeded in bringing him in," Watts said. "The more you fail, the more powerful he becomes."
"You do love bringing up others failures, Arthur," Sarah said.
"Oh, I most certainly do, it seems. After all, you have also failed in your mission."
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"
"Well, let me ask you a simple question: why... are you... not a mother yet?"
Sarah's eyes widened a bit before she regained her composure before anyone could notice her Avatar's reaction. "That is merely a secondary objective."
"Secondary or not, it is still an important task given to you by Salem herself. It is arguably the simplest as well. Why does it take so long for you, or any of the women in this room, to conceive the next generation?"
"Sounds like a pain. I'll pass," Acedia said.
"How uncouth," Siku said with a blush. Raven didn't respond while Cinder looked annoyed.
"There are just no good men around," Sarah said as she looked away.
"And what of Jaune?" Her and Raven's eyes widened while Cinder's hand twitched. "You are close to him, are you not? Why don't you use that opportunity to breed like you're supposed to?"
Sarah smashed a fist onto the table as she stood up. "Listen well, you pompous, arrogant, little-"
Sarah was interrupted by the sound of the doors opening, everyone standing at attention as soon as the doors opened... for Salem.
Salem walked to her end of the table, her back to the group. "Watts, this is the second time I remember asking this question." She then turned. "Do you find such malignance necessary, especially towards dear Sarah?" She then gestured for everyone to take a seat.
"My apologies, ma'am. I'm still not particular to failure."
"Then, like before, I see no reason for your cruelty towards your sister. She has not only infiltrated the Resistance, but is a high ranking member of the organization. She is a trusted ally, reveled as a hero, beloved by many due to her Semblance, and most importantly, has even stolen a place in the heart of our dear Jaune. Before, that was a feat only our precious Spring Maiden accomplished." Raven looked away. "So I'm curious, to what failures are you referring?"
"Well, you did mention Jaune, m'lady. If she is so close to him, so much so that he has feelings for her, then why have we not obtained the Next Generation?"
"Yes. Jaune Arc may very well be the key to the Next Generation. We'll need them if we are to destroy the gods," Hazel said.
"My thoughts exactly. Arc himself will be instrumental in that final battle. Sarah should have brought him here immediately."
"There are certain processes that cannot be rushed, Watts. Bringing back my prodigal son is one of those. Make no mistake, Sarah. You and Raven hold the key to our victory, but your relationship is a crippling weakness. One mistake, and you could lose any chances with him. Be sure to take precaution."
"Of course, Mother."
"Now then, Siku, are you prepared to return to Solitas?"
"Always, Mother. I have the boy under my watch as well."
"Good. If Jaune rescues him, our situation may become a bit more... complicated."
"It won't, Mother. I have read much about my brother. I refuse to be bested like those before me."
"Don't get too cocky, hermana."
"Our fré is strong. Even without that relic, he's a dangerous man to have as an enemy."
"Solitas may as well be the land of the Sabyrs. Though there are now Solitain Beowolves, they can't compare to my Sabyrs. I will retake Atlas, kill the Winter Maiden, and bring brother back to Mother. You have my word."
"Can you handle it," Giza asked.
"Why should I not be able? As strong as I've read this Jaune Arc to be, he is still only one man."
"One man? Did you forget about his little team," Watts asked.
"A human girl and a monkey faunus? Am I supposed to be intimidated?"
Sarah sighed. "It seems you haven't read the updated reports."
"What?"
"He has someone new with him." Siku looked at Raven. "A girl with Silver Eyes."
"There are still Silver Eyed warriors left in the world," Pembe asked. "I thought we hunted them to extinction."
"I suppose life does find a way," Watts said.
"So... I get to slay a Silver Eyed Warrior. Interesting," Siku said with a smile.
"It won't be easy." She looked at Giza. "After all... she's already dead."
Suki looked annoyed. "Explain."
"She's undead."
"What?"
"She was brought back to life by her grieving father using Dust. He went as far as to make her a living weapon. She can use the Dust in her body to perform feats comparable to that of a Maiden. You'd basically be fighting an artificial Maiden with Silver Eyes."
"Hm, that does sound complicated," Siku said contemplatively.
"Which is why I would like to ask to join Siku in Solitas to aid her, if you so deem necessary, Mother," Giza said.
"No. You are needed in Vacuo."
"Understood."
"However, Watts, given that Atlas is Siku's primary target, and your brilliance will be of use there, I will send you instead."
"Very good, ma'am."
"And Siku, if and when Jaune comes to Atlas's aid, if you cannot capture him, capture the Silver Eyed girl and bring her to me."
"You do not wish for me to slay her, Mother?"
"No. The fact of her being undead interests me. Her being a living weapons is even more so."
"Heh, it's not the first time some foolish scientist gave a weapon a soul," Watts said. "An absolute waste, if you ask me. It was a failure before and it will be a failure now."
"What do you mean by before," Siku asked.
"A fat imbecile created an android in the likeness of... a girl. Hm... Ma'am, how soon are we to depart for Solitas?"
"Why do you ask," Salem asked with... a knowing smile.
"There's a little project I would like to try my hand at."
"You are a vile man, Watts."
He looked at Cinder. "You don't seem to mind, Cinder dear."
"On the contrary... I love what you're planning. Also, ma'am, I would also like to join in the Solitas mission."
"Is that right?"
"The General and I have an interesting history, as do I and Arc. I'm sure he would be... ecstatic to see me again after all this time."
"Very well. I approve." Salem smiled at her subordinates. "It is true that Jaune has retaken much of Remnant, but through your efforts, he has become more in sync with the awesome power flowing through his body. Soon enough, he will truly be the King of the Beowolves, Master of the Sword of Destruction, and when he is finally back where he belongs... Remnant will be ours once again, our power will grow, and we will crush the gods beneath our heel, once and for all."
With that, the subordinates stood at attention, and bowed before their Queen.
Some time passed after the meeting.
In Salem's Palace, a woman was standing near a desk in what looked to be a library, or even an archive. She was a tall woman. Attractively so. She wore heeled combat boots that blended with her black leggings, the fabric covering her toned legs. She wore a dark green skirt with blades instead of frills at the end. She wore a dark green dress shirt, a golden tie, and a black overcoat. On her fair hands were fingerless gloves, allowing one to see her green nail polish. The woman had reddish-orange hair that reached her waist, her hair naturally curly. She currently had it in a ponytail to keep it out of her face as she read.
She was exceptionally beautiful, fair skinned, freckles sprinkled on her face, and hypnotic yet cold green eyes. She had a mature aura to her. Almost seductive. She was a dangerously beautiful woman who looked to be in her early to late twenties at most.
"Ah, so this is where you were," Arthur Watts said as he walked into the room.
"Hello, father," the woman said without looking up from the files.
"I see you are studying. Very good," Watts said as he walked up to the girl who was apparently his daughter.
"Just researching my... prototype. I must say... I'm disappointed. The Penny Project is full of flaws."
"Well, my dear, you must understand that your predecessor was developed by an imbecile."
"An understatement. Was he trying to develop a weapon or a next gen Huntsmen? From what I'm reading, he was better off developing the weapons and gear as standard issue equipment for the military."
"As I stated, Penelope, the creator was a fool. In the end... he only wanted a daughter. As I remember, he was... unable to create his own progeny the biological way."
"How foolish," Penelope said as she threw down the files. "The first model was a weakling. The second one was wasted potential. My predecessors were embarrassments. I'm almost ashamed to called Penny."
"Don't be, my dear. They were Penny Polendina. And who are you?"
She looked at her creator. "Penelope 'Penny' Watts."
"Precisely. You were created by a superior mind. The previous Penny models only had a few aspects that made her formidable. While you, you are a living weapon. From your boots to your very eyes to the blades you carry on your back."
"You even found a way to weaponize my fingers," Penny said as she analyzed at her fingernails in a way a vain woman would. "To be able to unleash energy beams from the tips of my fingers comparable to that of a plasma rifle. It shows how brilliant the mind of Watts truly is."
"And now you have that mind as well, child. That fool could have made his android as brilliant as can be, but instead made her no different from an adolescent child. Although, that doesn't even compare to the idiotic move of placing a fraction of his own aura into a machine."
"And what would you do in his place, Father? After all... you used blood to give me life."
"Yes. My blood... which is basically Salem's at this point," Watts said as he looked at his hand. "A true marvel. Just a single pint was enough to bring you to life. To power all of your systems. To make you surpass even my calculations. Most impressive of all... is the fact that you became like me, a Grimmkind."
Penny smirked as her eyes momentarily became Grimm before reverting back.
"It's a shame you cannot summon the Geist like I can, but I suppose limitations are always in order. After all, there can only be one Grimm King for each species."
"And what does that make me, father? A Grimm Princess," Penny asked with a raised eyebrow and a sassy smile, her arms crossed beneath her large bosom.
"Hm, I suppose that would be the most accurate term for now. Still, at the end of it all, you are still the greatest android Remnant has and possibly ever will know. After all, unlike that metal puppet, you were designed to fight a truly worthy foe."
Her demeanor became more stern and serious. "The Beowolf King, Jaune Salem Arc."
"Indeed. Make no mistake, child, he is a powerful enemy. Despite being the king of the most common species of Grimm, he has proven his strength time and time again. I dare say, and begrudgingly so, that he is the most powerful of the Grimmkind... for now."
"Most of the equipment you've given me is more useful for execution. Are you sure you want me to subdue him?"
"Oh, don't worry. He is... annoyingly tough. Have you read the files on him yet?"
"I have not, sir. Apologies."
"Well, I suggest you get on with it. The more you know, the more you'll be prepared to face him. I have much riding on you, my dear."
"Do you? Could that include the reason you gave me a fully functioning, artificial womb?"
"It does. You seem to know more than enough about the Penny Project created by that fool and your own machinations. You should study up on other subjects now, such as Salem's plans for the future and your dear 'Uncle Jaune'. I will be back in about an hour to check your progress," Watts said as he walked away.
Penny looked back at the various files stacked neatly on her table.
"Make no mistake, girl." She looked at her exiting father. "You hold the key to many a great success," he said before walking out of sight.
"Considering how powerful you made me, I would assume so." She then turned towards her files and picked one up.
"Hm... 'The Gods' Last Tale,' huh?" She then opened the file and began to read. Moments into reading it... she smirked, giggling a bit. "Oh. Interesting. Very interesting."
She then put down the file and grabbed one of the many files involving Jaune.
When she opened it and skimmed through it, she giggled a bit before looking down at her flat stomach... and gently patted and rubbed it. "So that's the reason. . . How amusing."
Penny was sitting in the archive room, her legs crossed in a way that showed off her natural beauty. She was watching videos of Jaune. She was unimpressed with his Beacon years. If anything, she found them amusing, almost cute. Though, she did find it attractive that he forged transcripts to get into Beacon. She respected a man willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. She guessed it was because she was her father's daughter.
However, she was honestly intrigued with his development. She watched videos on other Beacon teams, especially RWBY, but she couldn't find anything interesting about them. To her, they remained the same. Actually, she was disgusted with Ruby herself due to how close she was to the previous Pennys.
Jaune was the only one who caught her attention. He kept growing, improving, and evolving. The upgrades to his sword, the new gear, his adaptability, and even his skill. She was honestly entertained.
She had a good laugh at... the failed Siege of Salem.
She was having a blast, watching Hunters get killed, spirits getting crushed, and plans failing miserably. One of her favorite parts was watching Penny get destroyed by Cinder. She actually winced when she saw Jaune's arm get erased by Salem, an act that surprised her. "I guess I'm starting to like him," she thought.
Then, the real show began.
Jaune's development as the Last Huntsmen. His victories. His loses. His adapting to being a one armed fighter. She was intrigued by it all. She even whistled when she saw him defeat Tyrian.
Then, she saw how he awakened his powers for the first time.
"So, rage is the trigger. No, negative emotions. Rage just happened to be the trigger at that moment."
She then watched his fights after. His fight against Goth, which made his arm permanent. His fight against Cinder, which made her giggle due to his well-earned victory and the look on Cider's face as she retreated. And a fight she didn't like as much: his 'fight' against Mary. She didn't like seeing this... thing join Jaune.
"She reminds me of... me."
"In a way, she does."
She looked back. "Father. You arrived about ten seconds earlier than you said.
"Punctuality is expected of those like us, my dear. Being early is often recommended in our circle. No need to be something as gauche as, urgh, 'fashionably late'. Honestly, there is nothing sophisticated about intentionally making someone late. I see you are up to date with your opponent."
"Indeed," she said as she looked back at the videos, which was showing Jaune's most recent fight against Vodou. "It truly is fortunate that you made those fly-sized drones. Being able to watch my dear 'uncle' in action is quite educational. Although, I feel as if some data is missing."
"Oh?"
"I was informed by Her Majesty that he faced you as well." Watts cleared his throat as he straightened his tie. "I will not think less of you." He looked to see his daughter looking back at him. "You yourself stated that he is a worthy opponent. Show me how he bested you. The more data I have on him, the better."
Watts stared at Penny before he sighed and took out a scroll. He then placed it on the table and pressed some keys. The screen Penny was watching went blank before it showed a city. An impressive looking one... but nothing compared to the one floating above it.
"Behold, child, Mantle of Solitas. Before Arc showed up, this was MY kingdom, as well as the City of Atlas that flew above it. In fact, Atlas was my personal palace. And soon, it will be ours once more, especially when you kill the foolish general who now leads OUR kingdom."
"The current Winter Maiden, General Winter Schnee. She will be a troublesome opponent, even for me."
"Quite possibly." Watts typed in some more. "But HE is the priority."
"What of the girl next to him? Lyra Ren? If what I have been watching is true, she, along with the Faunus Sun Wukong and that poor imitation of a Maiden will be with him."
"That may be, but Jaune will always be the priority. You leave those three to Siku and myself (if necessary, he mumbled). You will deal with Jaune personally. Now then, my dear, class is in session. It's time you learned," he began as he and Penny looked up at the screen.
"How Jaune Arc reclaimed all of Solitas from the grasp of Salem."
A/N: Were you expecting an update this soon? Because honestly... I wasn't. Guess that's the perk of having more time on your hands due to hour cuts.
Anyway, I got an interesting review from a guest named Arsenal: With all the OC villains is there a chance of more oc allies. How crazy would it be to see Mark zhang's team SLVR here?
And I have to say... THAT IS A BRILLIANT IDEA! But, sadly, one I can't make a reality. We don't know nearly enough about their personalities for me to properly integrate them into the OMJ timeline. I mean, the R Trailer gave us a good idea, but not enough for my tastes. The only thing I can think of is kidnapping Mark himself and have him write out their scenes.
Ditto for Team DARK by Raxacory. A real shame, too. I would have loved for Team Dark to go up against Vodou, one of the darkest Grimm Kings due to his Semblance alone. Mostly because they have Raith on their team.
Anyway, sorry, Arsenal, but it just isn't in the cards. Only way that would happen is if I somehow teamed up with the creators, but there's no way that would happen.
Anyway, as you can see, I do read your reviews, and like Arsenal's, find them interesting or might gain some spark of inspiration from them. So, always, leave a review. I have more pre-made chapters to upload, but your reviews could always influence a different arc or saga I haven't worked out. Example, I never did make the Watts arc, where Jaune and Lyra take back Solitas from Geist King Watts. I want to do it, but it's definitely gonna be one of my most difficult arcs to date. Don't get your hopes up about it being made anytime soon.
I'm already working on another arc, and if you haven't noticed, this fic isn't following any continuity. I wasn't even planning to upload this much. It just happened because I ended up having more fun than I expected. In the end, this fic is still a roadmap for anyone who wants to take the journey.
All I can say is... enjoy.
Until next time.