A/N:
Hi friends!
Welcome back to RWBY: The Selection!
Sorry for the long hiatus (though not nearly as long as the hiatus before the EPICNESS that is Volume 8 am I right?) it's been very chaotic and complicated at home recently, but things seemed to have calmed down for a bit, and a few of my classes (that RAMPED UP the last few weeks) just wrapped up on Friday, so I am excited to get back into the fanfiction-ing :D
Today we've got some Port and Oobleck (because there truly is not enough Port and Oobleck and I dearly miss them) followed by a much-hyped Jaune chapter, so stay tuned! If you've been keeping up with the story until my hiatus and don't want to go back for context, here are some points that have come up in recent chapters that may be relevant to this one:
1. Earlier this week, Ruby asked Oobleck how old Queen Salem was, and he was *shook*
2. The Kingdom of Remnant (Vale, Mistral, and Atlas) is at war with Vacuo
3. Qrow is on a mission in Vacuo, and Watts has disabled his scroll
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and PM'd me!
To Ravell Aqim, thank you for reaching out on PM 3, and HA on that comment! Too many romance novels indeed...
To Helping Hand, I did see your PM, and thank you so much! So sorry for not mentioning it last time. I LOVE the ideas you sent over :D once again, I can't include all of them, but I really especially like your take on some Jaune powers and family moments :) Salem is one of the most feels-worthy characters in my opinion, so, whatever the ending may be, expect some Salem feels :)
To Kalbario, good spot! I feel bad for Jaune too, not going to lie... and that "bruh" made me laugh XD Thank you for the reviews!
To Mado Scientisto, thank you so much! Your reviews always make me smile :D glad to bring out a laugh!
To Guest, I love how anti-monarchy you are. It's so golden XD Thanks for the reviews!
As always, please feel free to review with any thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns.
Without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter 52: Port
On a good day, Peter Port understood 75% of the words that left Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck's mouth.
The two had been teammates long ago, famed Huntsmen fighting Grimm, protecting the citizens of Remnant, and training a future generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Even back then, Oobleck had a tendency to convey far too much information in far too little time, but, as they trained and grew and worked together, Port slowly began to understand how Oobleck's mind worked, such that, on a good day, he had a pretty firm grasp of what was going on in his friend's head.
Today was not a good day.
"Yes, but when you really think about it, Peter, Queen Salem's age doesn't make any sense! Why aren't there academic papers published about this mystery? Why isn't anyone questioning this? Why haven't I questioned this?"
"Barty," Port sighed. They had been in the Huntsmen Professors' lounge for at least an hour, during which Dr. Oobleck had drawn diagrams, scoured library archives, and performed far too many calculations, all while Port watched, sipping his coffee and occasionally questioning his friend's sanity. "It's rude to speculate on a woman's age."
Oobleck shook his head, ignoring his friend. "We know that Queen Salem and King Ozma ruled over Remnant for at least the past fifty years, but the caste system has been around for three hundred years," Oobleck insisted. "And look," he pointed to an old photograph in a dusty book. "Queen Salem and King Ozma," he read the figure label, "cerca 283 AGW."
Port peered at the textbook. "It is an impressive lookalike," he noted. He looked closely at the 283 AGW Ozma. "This king is taller than the late King Ozma though."
"Yes, but look here," Oobleck flipped the book forward several hundred pages, landing on another picture of a royal couple, this time a portrait, rather than a photograph, covered the page. "Queen Salem and King Ozma," Oobleck read, "cerca 217 AGW."
Port raised an eyebrow. Again, Queen Salem looked identical to how she looked now, but King Ozma had a different hair color. "Maybe the name is hereditary?" he suggested.
Oobleck took the book back, flipping to the very end. "The name isn't hereditary, Peter," he snapped, slamming the book on the table. "It's the same king and queen, dating back hundreds of years." He pointed to the portrait on this page, showing a new iteration of Queen Salem and King Ozma, this one from 0 AGW, the year of the Great War: the year that the Kingdom of Remnant was founded.
Port had to admit, it was a little strange that an identical Queen Salem could be in every single one of these pictures, but that 'King Ozma' differed so much from generation to generation.
"Are you sure this source is credible?"
Oobleck sighed. "I'm not sure. I called on colleagues in Vacuo for the copy."
"Colleagues in Vacuo?" Port gaped. "Barty, surely this is just propaganda."
"It's entirely possible," Oobleck admitted, "but I don't have an alternative explanation. I tried to contact the author to ask her to elaborate on her source, but no one's heard from her in years."
"Also Vacuan?"
"No, from Vale. She died in a Grimm attack three days after publishing this, and the presses stopped with this particular history book."
Port shook his head. History books and the publishing industry weren't his area of expertise. "What does this mean?" he asked, gesturing to the photo. He was still trying to wrap his head around how Queen Salem could be in a portrait from over three hundred years ago and still rule today.
"I don't know," Oobleck admitted, "and I have a Ph.D. I've contemplated reaching out to more colleagues, but I don't want to send anything on a scroll until I know more, and I've contemplated asking Queen Salem herself, but-"
He was cut off by the snap of a door as Glynda Goodwitch entered the lounge from the balcony outside. She looked tense, with a scroll in her hand and a stern look on her face.
"Glynda," Port greeted heartily, while Oobleck scrambled to hide his research. "Having a good day? It's nice to be off from Huntress training. Although I must admit, I'm growing rather fond of some of my students. It'll be a shame when all but one are sent home."
Glynda scoffed. "It'd be a much better day if people actually had the decency to check their scrolls."
Port and Oobleck exchanged a look of confusion.
"Who isn't answering their scroll?" asked Port, his mustache twitching.
"An old friend," Glynda admitted. "He's never been particularly good at communicating," she added under her breath.
Port nodded sagely. He'd been in this situation many times before, and he knew exactly how to help his colleague. "You're having relationship troubles,"
"Excuse me?"
Port could see Oobleck slap a palm to his face, but he continued nonetheless. "Glynda, men and women are vastly different creatures. To you, communication may be this constant game of hard-to-get, and clinginess, and signs of liking someone, but to us," he winked at Oobleck, who shook his head in disbelief, "it's much more simple."
Glynda glared at him.
"If an 'old friend' doesn't text you back, it doesn't mean he doesn't like you," Port continued. "He could just be busy, or drunk. I wouldn't worry."
"Being drunk is a likely possibility," Glynda acknowledged, "but when you go dark in the field for nearly a week it's hardly an excuse."
Port and Oobleck exchanged looks of confusion. They weren't aware of anyone recently sent out on a field mission by the Queen.
"Might I inquire, who is this friend?" asked Oobleck, tilting his head.
Glynda gave him a stern look. "That's none of your business."
"Was I at least right that he's giving you relationship troubles?" Port asked with a wink.
"That's even less of your business," Glynda snapped, "but, no. Relationship troubles are the least of my worries right now."
