Chapter 36: "Door to Heaven" Pt. 2
Hi everybody! So glad you guys loved the beginning of this universe, also, really happy so many of you approved of Stargate. I used to watch the movie all the time growing up, even the shows (I would always hurry home to watch the newest episodes on tv). Now, to the reviews my friends!
Alexdel27: Who said anything about one? ;)
Chimamire009: *Blinks* I have no idea what I just saw. What is this?
Phoenix Warehouse Productions: No, he's not related to Jaune like that. I was just poking fun at how so many background characters in RWBY look alike. I always found that weird, and I wanted to have a bit of fun with that. Also by this point, any new character that shares a resemblance to Jaune, the audience will quickly assume is his child. I wanted to play on that and show that even if they resemble him, that doesn't automatically prove they're his.
Mr. Author-97: Yes they will. The only thing I'm on the fence on now is if I have them appear when they're eight-years-old or two. Really, a toss-up at this point.
BlackPhantom247: There's a thought. Though none of the Arcs from either side were wiped out. They just, stopped fighting when they saw how many of their numbers were lost (granted, this was after the final battle and the last enemy leaders were killed, but still). 'The Great Heresy' sounds a bit too aggressive for two peoples trying to come back as one after a great war (like the North after the US Civil War not wanting to alienate the South).
GGWP Dragon: Never played the games, so I can't really go into that series, sorry.
Wolfang21: Yeah, not going to let something like that happen on my watch. Wouldn't make sense anyway (I mean, with Ruby as a mother/aunt, the kids would have gun safety drilled into their heads). Besides, who said there's not gonna be any drama? It may not be in the viewing as much, but it will be with the audience.
MamaSaki: Not really a fan of those types of movies. I tried watching Rocky once, but I got bored and changed the channel. I may get flak for that, but it's true. Never could get into it.
Guest: I'm not familiar with that. Code Geass never caught my attention growing up.
WearyCurmudgeon: That's true. As for the gods, well, that's sort of why the Arcs are so adamant in protecting the Faunus. Not because the Brothers may've created them as a weird test for Humanity (wouldn't surprise me, the pricks), but rather in the previous Ages, Faunus never existed. There was the First Age with the Ancients and their advanced knowledge, then the Second Age with Humans and Magic. Now the Third Age with Aura and Dust, but what about the people? How are they different from the previous two? It can't be Humans, they had their time. Can't be the Arcs, they're relics of the first Ages. What's different is the introduction of the Faunus. The Arcs believe they're supposed to be the next step in their evolution (considering the advanced senses all Faunus have, and the different ones in each subvariant [different animals], it makes sense for them to think that), so the Clan has been trying to protect them, as their successors should anything happen to them. Eh, you'd think so, but with the world at peace, and no one left to challenge them, the Arcs have sort of stagnated (they rule the world, and the Grimm are gone, creating better weapons wouldn't be a big priority to them). So the Hornets are really the most advanced fighters the Arcs have at the moment, despite its age (the systems are better, and they can fly through space, but it's still the same frame). Those three respect strength, and having someone who could stand up to them without fear would make them be less antagonistic (plus, his stamina would force them to accept anyway if they don't want to constantly be in wheelchairs). Hmm, that's true. I guess the 'Arcadian Civil War' is gonna stick then, straight and to the point.
Guest: Cartoon cat? Trevor Henderson? I have no idea who any of these people are, but 'Revenge of the Arcs' is over and done. There is no true 'peaceful' Remnant, that is an impossible reality. This current world is the most peaceful I would ever make (world peace/unity, no Grimm, no Brothers to fuck things up), and even that's all about to change (if you have any knowledge of Stargate, you'd know what I mean). Every possible future has this, or similar, outcomes. No matter what the immediate future becomes, whether Jaune does good or evil tasks, it almost always goes back to the Stargate universe and more chaos. It is inevitable.
Again, really happy you guys enjoyed this universe. Hope you enjoy this chapter, got a little surprise here. Now, on with the show!
Disclaimer in the prologue.
After hearing that bit of news, the reactions were predictable. The heroes cheered, while the villains cursed. 'The Grimm were destroyed! Again!' Members of both factions thought for differing reasons.
It took a while, but the cheering and cursing finally died down, and the viewing continued.
The scene switches to show a car driving down a long windy road before stopping at a military checkpoint in front of what looked to be the side of a mountain or large hill site. It approached the guarded entrance, and the gates opened before it as the sentries saluted.
The screen goes over to show the hand of a soldier swiping his ID card through a scanner in front of an elevator, the name visible as "Major Adams".
The scanner beeped calmly as it verified his identity.
The screen pulls back to reveal the same soldier that greeted Adrian as he steps inside the elevator and presses the button for 'level 28'. He waited a tick before Adrian stepped inside, standing next to the man as they smile in greeting, before Adrian violently sneezed.
Adams winced. "Cold?" He asked as he stepped back just in case, not wanting to get sick as well.
Adrian shakes his head as he pulls out a handkerchief and blows his nose. "Allergies." He smiles sheepishly, "Always happens when I travel."
"Huh," Terra blinked, "you know, I completely forgot he has that." She looked at her son, who looked back and gave a little wave. "Wonder why he wasn't sneezing when we first came here."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "You really think I'd allow something like that to happen? The Nexus makes it so that any sicknesses aren't a thing." 'Granted, it was so that I don't get sick, but, best not to mention that.'
The elevator doors open and they both exit, Adams holding the door open for Adrian to pass through first. "There you go." (Klein: "What a nice young man.")
They walk out and pass by other personnel who wished to use the elevator.
Adrian nervously greets the others as they pass by, the personnel greeting him back as they stepped in.
As the two walk through the main corridor, a male Faunus and Human woman carrying tablets rushes over to them. "Doctor Arc?" the man asks as they fall into step.
Adrian nods, "Hello."
He smiles, "Dr. Drake Ramoray, nice to meet you." (1) Drake offered a hand to shake, which Adrian readily took.
Adrian looked around, "What is this place?" He didn't know where he was, though felt it looked similar to where his mom worked. (Terra: "It does look similar, I'll give him that.")
The woman smiled. "Nuclear missile silo."
Saphron felt her spine stiffen as Altani and Robin paled.
At the young man's incredulous and fearful look, she smiled and shook her head. "Now don't worry, it's been completely converted. Dr. Pamela Ivy, but you can call me Pam." (2) She too offered a hand to shake.
Ruby blinked. "What's a 'nuclear' missile silo?" She knows what a missile is, just not what nuclear meant.
Robin shivered, her mother raising an eyebrow at her, and answered. "It's a weapon of great destructive power. Able to wipe out a whole city in a flash of light."
Everyone looked at her in horror, a few wondered why the Arcs even created such a thing. Then remembered the hologram of the large wolf, and its purpose, and realized that the Arcs had always been innovating and improving the art of war for centuries.
Salem felt a bit numb, but proud of the Arcs' accomplishment. 'Not even Magic has the potential to deal so much destruction so quickly.' She licked her dry lips, and looked to the scared girl. "And how many of these missiles are there my dear?" She wanted to know if she could use these to threaten Ozpin for the Relics.
Ozpin and James had the same thought, for they were wondering how to safely destroy these weapons.
Robin though, shook her head. "I don't know, a dozen maybe? It's hard to tell since the Clan never had a reason to use them."
That made all the heroes and more than a few villains to sigh in relief. 'The Arcs never felt these missiles were needed. But how to make sure they never do?'
While Salem was a bit disappointed by the low numbers, she felt a dozen would be more than enough to sow chaos amongst her enemies.
Jack shook his head as he hid a grimace. 'Fools, the Arcs have way more than that.'
Adrian smiled, "Hello." He glanced at the dark green hair, and thought, 'Yeah, that makes sense.'
Pan grinned catching the look. "Hi."
Adams reached the end of the corridor, where he opens double doors labeled "RESEARCH LABORATORY" with a smaller sign reading "Authorized Personnel Only". They went inside, where they see the cover stones that were found in the beginning of the viewing.
Mercury blinked. "Oh, so I guess those rocks were important." He tried to forget the whole missile thing and focus on something that wasn't as dangerous. He felt a pile of rocks was the ticket.
The young man stops and stares at the stones in wonder, to the amusement of the others.
Akila steps through the doors and approaches the stunned young man from behind with a smirk. "Good day, Mr. Arc."
Adrian yelped in surprise, hand over his heart as he turned around in shock. "Don't do that!" He blinked, "Oh, hello!" He said, trying to apologize for his earlier behavior while also ignoring the others snickering to the side.
The old woman shook her head, smirk still there. "Welcome our little corner of the world." she shakes his hand. "So glad you decided to join us. Now I won't have to lament over wasting my money for that ticket."
Adrian looked from Akila to the cover stones with wonder. "This is, uh," he grinned like an excited child, "wh-where did you find this?"
Akila chuckled, pleased with his curiosity. "Giza plateau, 25 miles off Memphis. 48 BU."
Saphron scratched her head, "I have no idea where that is." She felt a sense of dread come over her. 'Grandma would kill me if she heard that.'
Altani shook her head, agreeing with her aunt.
Terra didn't care for that, she was just happy to see her baby boy looking so excited. 'He really loves his job doesn't he?' She grinned, glad to know her son would grow up to work in a job he clearly enjoyed.
Adrian felt like his breath was taken away, "I've never seen anything like this before." He gasped.
At that, Akila laughed. "Haha! Of course you haven't. No one has!"
Adrian moves closer and touches the stone. 'It is clearly a millennia old at least based on the level of erosion.'
Drake took that moment to explain their findings. "Now there's two lines of hieroglyphs." He points to the inner section once he got the young Arc's attention. "Now the inner track has the classic figures, but the outer track is like the cartouche in the center. It's got writing unlike anything we've ever found before."
Adrian steps back to get a better look. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed something off. "These aren't hieroglyphics. Might be some form of hieratic or maybe cuneiform."
Ozpin and Glynda were impressed. "Well, color me impressed. Young Adrian managed to spot the difference with only a cursory examination." The former said, getting a hum of agreement from the latter.
Adrian's parents felt pride at the Headmaster's compliment. Their boy grinning as he blushed in slight embarrassment.
Pan nods, impressed at how quickly he managed to figure that out. "Yep."
Adrian moves to a blackboard, seeing that the hieroglyphs were written there, as well as other writings to show that they've been at least partly translated. He frowns, already spotting mistakes in the translations. "Well, the translation of the inner track is wrong. Must've used Budge. I don't know why they keep reprinting his books." 'And I'm considered the hack? That's bullshit.' (Saphron: "Language, young man.")
He starts erasing some of the translation.
Drake's jaw dropped slightly at the young man's action, before raising a hand as he tried to stop him before Akila stopped him. "Ex-excuse me. Wha-what are you doing? We've used every known technique-"
Adrian, filling in a few missing spaces, finally turns around and points to a still untranslated symbol. "That's a curious word to use here, eh, 'Quebeh'?"
A bit confused, the Faunus said, "Yeah...?"
The younger doctor nodded and turned back to the board, and went back to correcting the translation and filling the gaps. "Then an adverbial 'sedjem-en-ef' with a cleft subject. 'Sealed + buried.'" He wrote his translations down, never missing a beat as he adds the words to an untranslated section of the hieroglyphs. He crosses out 'coffins'.
Coco whistled. "Wow, look at him go. He's like a more understandable Dr. Oobleck." The students couldn't believe the ease in which Adrian corrected and filled in the translation, as if he spoke the language his whole life.
More and more, the Headmasters were hoping to get the boy into their schools.
Salem was cooing on the inside as she watched the young man show up that quack. She blinked. 'I really need to figure out why I feel like this.'
Indignant at the ease of the young man's work, Drake tries again. "Ex-excuse me. Wha-what are you doing?"
Adrian, not looking back, said "That's not 'coffins'." He just ignored Drake, muttering to himself as he crossed out the words 'Forever to Eternity' and replacing it with 'For all Time.' "'For all time.'" He shakes his head a bit in disbelief. "Who the hell translated all of this?"
Akila and Pam turned to Drake. The man gulped at the stares. "Uh, I-I did." (Nora: "Ohhh! Get wrecked!")
Adrian stepped back to view his corrections. *Sigh* "Well, this should read: 'A million years into the sky is Ra, sun god, sealed and buried for all time.'" He looks at the last words and shakes his head. "It's not 'Door to Heaven'. His…" He crossed out the label and replaced it with his own. "…'Stargate'." (3)
The students stood up and clapped at the young man's work. "Damn, that was awesome!" Yang grinned as she watched the man show up his new coworkers on his first day.
Penny nodded. "I will admit, that was extremely satisfying to watch." She smiled, "And to see him translate the language in a matter of moments, truly inspiring."
The teachers clapped, all of them thinking the same thing. 'If he ever saw this, Bart would've adopted the young man on the spot.'
Terra and Saphron cheered as their son completed the translation and hugged their son close. "Oh, you are so smart~! Just like your mamma!" Terra gushed while Saphron kissed the boy's forehead.
Said boy didn't know why his parents were acting like this. Not that he's complaining, he rather liked being spoiled like this. He just smiled and clapped his hands.
"I think this deserves a reward." Saph grinned. "Who wants some 'Honey Rings'~?" (4)
When she said his favorite treat though, his eyes widened & glittered like stars as he started to drool.
Saph giggled before thinking of the treat. A bowl of the stuff appeared, and she handed it to her happy son. "Enjoy sweetie." Adrian clapped his hands before diving into his reward.
Alice looked at her friend's treat with jealousy, before looking up at her mommy. Glynda saw this and did the same thing, her daughter squealing happily before she dug in as well.
Akila laughs at seeing the completed translation.
A somewhat smug Adrian turns back to face the others while Adams watches from further away with his arms folded. "Well, so why is the military so interested in 5,000-year-old Vacuoan tablets?" He asked, as if what he did wasn't a big deal. (Emerald: "He makes a good point, why would the military bother with something buried so long ago?")
"My report says 10,000." A voice broke through the conversation and everyone turned their heads to the source, only one was grinning at who was there. 'Uncle.'
There, shaved and with shorter hair, stood a grinning Jaune Arc in an Air Force dress uniform. He was standing in front of the door with a tablet under his arm as he watched his favorite nephew show the others up. 'I'm so proud.' (5)
Many of the women blushed, seeing Jaune looking all clean and professional. A few like Weiss and Winter loved the look, though not the shave.
Yang and Coco had a nosebleed as they saw their man in uniform again. Though not as skintight as the other one, he still looked very distinguished.
Chibi-Blake looked at her boyfriend and whispered, "We better get you a copy of that uniform." She lightly bit his earlobe, causing Chibi-Jaune to gulp as he tried to hide his blush.
James smiled in approval, seeing the various badges in his chest and wondering how he got them. 'Now there's a winning soldier.'
Adrian and Alice, too into their treats, didn't bat an eye at seeing their uncle/daddy again.
Too caught up in the reveal, no one caught the projected age of the cover stones.
Adams stands at attention. "Afternoon, Colonel." Jaune salutes back as he approached and gives Adams the tablet.
Akila raised an eyebrow. "Um, do I know you?"
Jaune shook his head. "I would hope not. I'm Colonel Jaune Arc from General Arthur's office. I'll be taking over from now on."
Adrian, getting over at seeing his uncle again after several years, blinked as what he first said came back to him. He turned to Pam, and in a low voice muttered to her, "10,000? That's insane, Pam. I mean, Vacuoan culture didn't even exist-"
Pam nodded, "We know, but the sonic and radio carbon tests are conclusive."
The man blinked at the evidence, and glanced at the stones. "Well, these are cover stones. Was there a tomb underneath?"
She shook her head as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh no, no, no. But we found something a lot more interesting."
Jaune, after conversing with Adams, turned to the two. "Excuse me. Sorry for the interruption, but this information has become classified." He turned back to Adams. "From now on, no information is to be passed on to non-military personnel without my express permission."
Adams nods in acceptance. Jaune, after giving a parting nod & smile to his nephew, turns and leaves.
Drake gulps and turns to his superior. "Akila, what's going on here?"
The old woman frowned. "I'm not sure." She walks out of the room, going after the retreating colonel. 'But like hell will I let this pass without a fight.'
Maria smirked. "Hehe, this one has a fighting spirit." Some of the students nodded.
Jaune was walking down a corridor when Akila approached from behind. "Colonel Jaune, I think you owe me an explanation. Two actually." She didn't miss his last name, thinking that he could be related to her new employee.
Jaune stops and turns back.
The old woman raised a finger. "First, I was told I had complete autonomy. Second, are you related to Adrian?"
Jaune shook his head. "Plans change." He glared at her. "And he's my nephew."
The mothers remembered how the old woman had a copy of little Adrian's record, and couldn't feel any real sympathy for her. 'That conversation was a bit too disturbing.'
The old woman matched his glare. "Why are you here? Why did they bring you in on this project?" She asked, pointing a finger at him.
Jaune glanced around the corridor for a second, before looking back at her and sighed. "I'm here in case you succeed." (Ren: "Well, that's not ominous.") He walks off and Akila groans in slight frustration.
The scene shifts to show an exhausted Adrian as he listens to a recorder detailing his findings so far at a table in front of the cover stones. The table is covered with reference books, papers, tomes, even candy wrappers and a coffee mug.
"Completed search of cuneiform and other pre-dynastic hieroglyphics. No matches whatsoever. I've exhausted all reference material in comparing the symbols on the cartouche against all known writing samples from the period, pre- and post-. Still no similarities... *Sigh* I'm never gonna get paid."
While the time lapse was a bit confusing, and his parents looked on in worry at the haggard appearance, the end of Adrian's recording got a few laughs in.
The students felt his pain. They remembered the long hours looking over material for their research papers… So many sleepless nights. They all saluted the young man.
Adrian shuts off the recording, yawning as he did. He goes over to the coffee pot to refill his cup, only to find it practically empty. *Sigh* "Of course."
He slowly shuffles out of the lab like a zombie with the empty pot in hand. A guard sitting by a desk with his feet propped up & reading a newspaper looks up and begins to admonish him before Adrian flashes his ID badge, and the guard settles back to his paper. (Maria: "Wow, such spirit.")
The tired young man goes to the water fountain and starts to refill the pot. Biting back another yawn, he glances around and takes notice that the front page of the guard's paper has an article titled "Orion Up-close" with a quarter page photograph of a star constellation. He stops filling the pot and slowly moves over to the paper, as if in a trance.
Many blinked at the weird behavior. "Uh," Nora said, "what uh, what's happening here? Is he ok?"
Whitley shrugged, "Perhaps it is the lack of sleep. His mind must not be working efficiently at the moment." A nearby Penny nodded in agreement.
Terra winced, remembering sleepless nights poured over constantly repairing the relay tower in Argus. She suddenly grinned in realization. 'With the money we received, I won't have to work at that awful job ever again!'
Stopping at the foot of the desk, he takes a moment to creepily stare at the picture, before he quickly grabs the front page out of the guard's hands and rushes back into the lab.
The guard sat there, blinking in shock at what the hell just happened.
Now that drew them for a loop. No one expected him to do that, and they were starting to wonder if the young man was losing his mind.
Adrian's head appears in the lab door window. "Can I borrow this?" He asked, his voice muffled by the door in front of his face.
The guard looks back and blinks again. Adrian raises a hand and waves, interpreting that being given permission.
Inside the lab, Adrian rushes over to his desk and grabs a marker. Uncapping it, he starts filling in the lines between the stars on the paper. Lifting up his completed work, he grins. He then turns and runs, climbing the stair-ladder in front of the cover stones and places the paper next to one of the mysterious symbols. The screen shifts to show his drawing and the glyph, the two being a near perfect match.
"Orion." He whispers with a grin as the screen pulls back to show the other symbols.
The teachers were stunned as they figured out his findings. 'That's-That's impossible!' A few thought as they couldn't believe what Adrian found.
The students cheered as they saw the young man figuring out the inscriptions. "Go Adrian!" Nora and Coco fist pumped.
Adrian looked to the two at the mention of his name, but seeing that they weren't talking to him, shrugged and went on to finish the remains of his reward.
The villains felt like their minds were braking. They didn't know what they just saw, but knew that it wasn't going to be good for them.
The children cheered at their cousin's achievement.
The scene switches over to show an exterior shot of the complex, showing that it was indeed a mountain. There, four cars drive through the gate before stopping at the entrance of the mountain. As soon as they did, several people stepped out.
The view goes back inside the base, where Adams hurries down a corridor.
Adrian follows the man, hands full of large rolled up papers and a mug. He gulps down the last of his coffee and leaves the mug abandoned on one of the pipes that line the corridor, hurrying to catch up. (Amber: "That's called littering!")
The scene shifts to show a briefing room packed with several military officers, Drake, Pam, and Akila. Just as they were sitting down, Adams and Adrian enters the room. Adams tries to lead Adrian to his seat, while the young man smiles at everyone. "Hi, hello."
Some of the officers nod in greeting as they sit down.
Adams points to a chair and smiles at the young Arc. "Right here."
Akila smiled at the eager looking young man, and points to an officer that gave many in the audience terrible flashbacks. "Adrian, I'd like you to meet General Arthur."
An older Arthur Arc approaches him and offers his hand, which Adrian eagerly shakes with a smile.
The students and teachers shivered in dread as the memories of the other possible future resurfaced.
Winter and Weiss felt their hearts hurt as they saw the older man with the Arc symbol on his uniform rather than the Atlassian one they knew for years.
James swallowed some bile that threatened to spill and took a deep breath. "I'm glad he got promoted. Despite what happened in that future, he's a damn fine officer, and he really does deserve the rank."
Whitley and Willow nodded as they smiled at the sight of the man. They never saw him participating in Order 66, so they couldn't really picture him doing those things. Thus, their view of the man was not as shaken as their other family had theirs.
The villains also nodded. Sure, they never met the guy before that slaughter, but what little they did see was proof enough to show that he was a dedicated and respected military leader. Cinder and Salem in particular thought it may be useful to try and bring the man into the fold, a backup in case their plans for Jaune Arc failed.
Adrian looked between the two. "Oh, hello." Then he blinked. "Oh, right. General."
Arthur smirked before moving to his seat.
Adrian tries to put down his things, nodding to another military man. "Hello." He tries to organize his papers, with some success. "Okay."
Arthur, sitting down at the head of the long table, says "So, you think you've solved in fourteen days what they couldn't solve in two years?"
Adrian stopped, and he turns to his now embarrassed coworkers in surprise. "Two years?"
Saphron smirked. "Never underestimate my baby." Her wife nodded with a smug grin.
Even Adrian, the little guy that he was, looked a bit smug as he looked at the people onscreen. "I smarter than you!" He grinned, earning giggles and "Aww's" from many of the children and parents.
Arthur smirked at the look, but knew they had to continue with this meeting. "Any time."
Just then, Jaune enters the room and stands in a corner, not wanting to miss a front row 'seat' to another showing of his nephew's genius. (Nora: "Aww, he looks so proud~!")
Adrian nods and starts passing around several of his rolled papers. "Um, ok so I have some stuff for you all to look at." The officers helpfully passed the papers around as Adrian continues. "Just, um, pass-pass them down please. Um, you'll have to share them, cause I um..." He chuckles nervously as he realized his mistake. "...Sorry, I-Sorry I don't have enough. But, anyway..." He sits and starts looking over his own copy. It was like the flicking of a switch, and the young man looked and started to sound more confident.
He circles the drawing in front of him with his finger. "Okay, all right so we're obviously looking at a picture of the cover stones." Those closest to him looked over his shoulder, while the others were forced to examine the copies they were given. "Now, on the outer track, these figures that you would believe to be words to be translated were, in fact..."
He stands up, and in his excitement quickly rolls out a star chart over the table, accidentally pushing some of the larger papers aside and into some of the people next to him.
Adrian smiles apologetically as some of the officers moved out of the way of the papers.
Terra and Saphron giggled at their boy's excitement, thinking of how he is now.
The teachers leaned forward in their chairs, some wanting to see what his findings were.
"Sorry about that." He quickly said to the officers, then indicated the star chart. "Were in fact, star constellations. Now these constellations were placed in a unique order, forming a map, or address of some kind. Seven points to outline a course to a position." He turns to the whiteboard behind him and tapes a picture of the cover stones.
Jaune grinned before lighting a cigarette, knowing the payoff will be soon. ("My baby brother smokes?! Like hell he will!")
Adrian glanced back to his audience to see if they were paying attention so far, then began to draw a cube shape on the board. "And uh, in order to find a destination within any three-dimensional space," he draws six dots in the center of each side of the cube and connects three sets of two into lines that each intersect in the center, "you need six points to determine the exact location." He finishes by drawing a final dot in the center, where the three lines connect.
Arthur raises an eyebrow as he sees the younger Arc finish his demonstration. "You said you needed seven points." He points out, causing Adrian to nod.
Adrian looked at the General. "Right, well no, six for the destination. But to chart a course," he goes to the opposite side of the board and draws a point and connects it to the one in the center of the cube, "you would need a point of origin."
Drake, feeling a need to correct the younger man, points at the taped picture. "Except, there's only six symbols on the cartouche."
Nora sticks her tongue out, while Ren glared at the doctor. "I'm sure he would've had an answer to that, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned the seventh point." He said, feeling protective of the young man's findings.
The teachers glared at the older Faunus, not liking the interruption, and agreeing with Ren.
Adrian raises a finger. "Ah, well, the seventh actually isn't on the cartouche, it's just below it." He circles an upside-down v, which has a symbol above its apex, and two human-like figures on each side of the "v" shape. "Right here, designated by a little pyramid with two, funny, neat little guys, and a little line coming out of the top." He then goes back to the board and draws a rough example of what he's talking about. When he finished, he laughs at his bad drawing.
No one else did.
He looked back, and seeing the serious looks, he cleared his throat. "Well, anyway…"
Akila smirked. "He did it."
At her confirmation, the students cheered, while the adults leaned back in amazement.
Ozpin gulped as he felt a chill run down his spine. 'How?! How does an ancient civilization as old as 10,000 years have the knowhow to plot out a course through space?! We can't even do it with our level of technology and Dust as a power source, so how did a people whose most advanced technology was the chariot succeed?!'
Adrian grinned at being proven correct. 'Finally, some recognition.' He saw a few officers looking at him impressed. His uncle looked at him with such pride in his eyes, that he felt close to bursting.
Drake on the other hand, shook his head vehemently, "No. That symbol isn't anywhere on the device."
The young Arc blinked, and looked at everyone in confusion. "Uh-what device? Um, what am I missing here?"
Arthur looks to Jaune, who shrugs and nods.
The General turns to Adams and nods, "Show him."
Pam squeezes Akila's hand as they both smile. Adams stands up and goes over by Adrian, pressing a button while giving the young man a nod.
The metal 'wall' behind the whiteboard rises up, showing everyone that said wall was a blast shield of some kind. Adrian looks out of the revealed window, and into the large room below.
There, he sees people walking around the same device that was found under the sands of Vacuo. A metal ramp was in front of it, with various personnel working on and some machinery around it. The sight of the device took Adrian's breath away. Meanwhile, Akila comes up to stand beside the stunned young man.
"What is that?" He managed to say in his stupor.
Akila turns to the man, and smiles. "It's your Stargate." Adrian turns to her, and she motions him away from the window. "Come along, Adrian." She moves away, and after taking another look inside, he follows.
The sight of the ring had Velvet raise an eyebrow. "Well, at least we know what that thing's called." She felt a rush in her veins as she thought of the name.
She wasn't the only one, but they didn't know why. They also wondered how a piece of metal was connected to the scientist's theory.
The Arcs felt like they were about to witness something that would make every one of their ancestors proud.
A female voice was heard over the intercom as the scene shifts to a control room. "Personnel, report to command center." Just then Drake, Adrian, and Akila enter from the staircase at one end of the room.
Drake looks at the Stargate, before he turns to the staff. "Monitors up."
A blond woman with purple eyes, 'Violette' her nametag said, nods. "Monitors are up."
Many were confused at the low tech they were seeing. "What, where's the holographic monitors?" Yang asked as all she could see were flatscreen monitors rather than the hologram ones she was used to.
Bale nods. "And isn't this the future? Shouldn't they have more advanced technology than this?"
Ruby shrugged. "Maybe these guys are underfunded?" She didn't know the reason, but felt that hers was reasonable to assume. 'Besides, not like anyone else has a better idea.'
Again, no one sought to ask the resident god. Jack sighed as he lightly facepalmed, wondering what he was even doing here. 'Wait, I live here!'
Drake turns to a massive bear Faunus working at one of the stations. "Barrett, you may want to bring up the details on the center monitor, please." (6)
A bear Faunus with a pencil clutched in his mouth nods. "Yep. I've got details...on." He punches a few keys, and a computer monitor turned on, showing a computerized image of the Stargate with seven blank boxes to the right, where the word "Idle" in front of the image.
The scene shifts to show the Stargate as its inner tract starts to slowly spin, much to the audience's disbelief.
"Wait!" Weiss shouts as she points at the device. "I thought that thing was made of one piece of metal! That thing's a machine?!" Many of the others shook their heads, their minds not willing to comprehend the sheer revelations of such a device being created so long ago.
Weiss felt like her understanding of history was crumbling around her. "How?! How could a machine exist thousands of years ago?!" (7)
Salem and Ozpin were on the verge of a freak out as well. they couldn't think how any of this was possible.
Velvet gulped, "Hey guys?" Some of her friends looked at her. "What do you think that thing's for?"
No one had an answer to that, but remembered Adrian's theory, and the fossil that was dug up besides the cover stones. They really didn't want to know.
Qrow, meanwhile, took out his scroll and brought up its clock.
Tai raised an eyebrow at his friend, "What are you doing?"
The man shrugged, "What, this? I just want to know how long it'll take until the brat finds the symbol." At the confused expressions of his nieces as they looked at him, Qrow rolled his eyes. "Didn't any of you pay attention? They were working on that thing for two years, and the kid solved most of their problems in two weeks. Hell, he managed to translate the symbols on his first day."
Winter blinked at the drunk's rather reasonable explanation. 'Huh, I didn't think of that.' She looked back at the screen. 'It would be interesting to see how quickly this young man finds the missing symbol.'
Penny had the same thought, wondering what mysteries the Stargate held. 'Though judging by his findings, and its very name, I can think of a few things.'
Pam has now joined the others in the room. On one screen, close up images of all the constellation glyphs can be seen as the tract continued to slowly turn. Adrian notices one glyph in particular just in time.
"Hold it!" He shouts, the people stopping the Stargate's inner ring. "Wait." He quickly looks around, before spotting a marker in Barrett's pocket. "Do you have a...um...sorry."
The young man grabbed it and began to draw on the monitor, much to the Faunus' complaints. Adrian began drawing little stick figures on the screen. "Two figures on either side, praying beside a pyramid with the sun directly above it." He finishes his drawing by outlining the circle above the pyramid.
Saph grinned. "He did it!" She hugged her son close as she cooed at him.
The teachers looked at the screen with astonishment. They didn't think he'd be able to find the symbol so quickly.
Qrow looked at his scroll and smirked, "20 seconds, exactly." He laughed at the stunned expressions on that scientist's face. "That symbol was right in front of you this whole time!"
Drake looked on in amazement. "He's right. It was right in front of us the whole time."
Qrow grinned, feeling like the Faunus was talking more to him than himself. His family rolled their eyes, which he ignored.
Penny, Winter, and a few others clapped at the very good eye he had. "Impressive," Penny remarked, "he was able to spot the similarity remarkably quick."
Akila reaches for a phone, and dials an extension with a giddy smile. "General Arthur, Adrian has identified the seventh symbol!"
Back in the briefing room, Arthur, Jaune, Adams, and the rest of the military brass are still watching from the briefing room window, with the General on the phone.
Arthur smirked at the news, "That was quick, doctor. Go ahead."
Back to the control room, scientists were quickly pressing buttons and running to their stations. Violette pressed a few keys, and looked at the monitor over her head. "Programming seventh symbol into computer." The inner ring moved again, soon stopping at a symbol, and one of the crystals on the bottom right lit up. "Chevron One is holding. Chevron One is locked in place." The tract began moving in the opposite direction.
"What the fuck?" Whitley said, ignoring all the years of curtesy lessons as he looked at the screen in shock. "I thought those were Dust crystals." He didn't know what was happening, he thought those crystals were made out of Dust as decoration and later a power source when it was revealed that this thing was a machine.
He completely missed the shocked looks he received from his eldest sister, Klein, and his mother. Weiss was still freaking out, her partner trying to calm her down, so she didn't hear what her brother said.
Barret jotted something down on a nearby pad, then looked at the monitor to his side. "Power output at 23%." He said, the monitor next to him showing how much power was being generated from the Stargate.
Violette nodded as she too jotted something down. The tract stopped again, this time a crystal, chevron, on the bottom left lit up. "Chevron Two is holding. Chevron Two is locked in place." She jotted that down, and the Stargate began moving again.
Barret looked at the monitor to his side, "Holding at 35%."
Inside the gate room, a technician rushed over to an intercom and pressed a button. "All right, we've got a Condition Red in the room, evacuate all personnel." He said, the speakers amplifying his warning and the technicians hurried out of the room before the doors sealed shut.
Everyone was silent at what was happening. The Arcs felt their very souls sing to them, excited at what they were seeing. Meanwhile everyone else felt a sense of dread for the same reason.
Back in the control room, Adrian points to the Stargate in shock as more of the chevrons were lighting up. "Was that under the cover stones?"
Akila nods. "Yes. My father found it, decades ago. Made out of a mineral, unlike any found on Remnant."
Adrian looked back to the old woman in shock, before hearing Violette's voice. "Chevron Five, locked in place."
As she said this, Barrett called out that the output was now at 79%.
Just then, the room began to shake, like the beginnings of an earthquake, rattling coffee cups and equipment as the people tried to make sure nothing spilled or fell over.
Before anyone could ask what was happening there, a similar quake was happening in the Nexus.
"What's happening?!" Ruby asked as she tried to desperately hold on to her seat.
"I don't know!" Yang shouts as she tried to do the same.
The Chibi's held on to each other while trying to stay in their seat.
The animals all hid under their owners' chairs, shaking in terror.
The mothers all held their children close. But they were fine. Despite what was happening, no Arc, blood or adopted, could find it in themselves to be afraid of the earthquake.
They continued typing, trying to finish what they started. Violette shouts over the quake, the Stargate's sixth chevron lighting up. "Chevron Six is holding! Chevron Six is locked in place!"
Akila glanced at an amazed Adrian while trying to keep herself steady. "This is as far as we have ever been able to get!" She shouts in order to be heard over the noise, but was ignored completely. It was like Adrian was under a trance.
Many of the monitors began to spark, its screens turning to static as the output from the gate was starting to overload the entire system. The seventh chevron at the top of the gate is soon dialed, Remnant's point of origin proudly displayed. The shaking is so hard, anyone who remained standing had to hold onto nearby desks or walls.
Barrett saw from one of the still functioning monitors that the output was nearing at 100%, and he typed on the board as quick as he could to reroute the excess power in order to make sure that the generators didn't blow out. "We have to override manually!" The Faunus yells.
Violette shouts over her college, "Chevron Seven is locked!"
The shaking in the Nexus had gotten worse, matching the one that the facility was experiencing. Many of the pedestals had fallen over, its contents spilling over. Somewhere, a large explosion was heard as a green light flickered a short distance away. Many were hoping the quake would stop soon, but a new problem presented itself.
As if in a trance, every Arc child and Saphron stood up and started to slowly walk towards the screen. Even Alice and Adrian tried to follow them, but their mothers held them tight.
Terra looked at her wife in horror. "Saph, what are you doing?! Get back here please!" The other mothers also pleaded for their children to come back, but to no avail as they couldn't get up without falling over from the quake. That didn't stop them from trying though.
They couldn't hear them, the Arcs were looking at the screen with wonder as the Stargate filled the view. Their blood was singing to them, telling them that it would be over soon.
They stopped about two feet away from the seats in a rough semicircle, waiting.
Violette's voice called out over the pa system. "Chevron Seven is locked in place!"
The Stargate activated.
A giant vortex streams outward from the Stargate and punches through the screen, the monitor emitting sparks as it tries to keep the connection up. The energy wave quickly rushing out towards the Arcs as the mothers and heroes screamed in horror, trying to get up and pull their babies back from the torrent of energy.
But it never reached them. The vortex quickly stops a few inches away from them, writhing as some of the unstable energy surge starts to go back. It took a moment, but the vortex soon retreated as quickly as it advanced.
It withdrew back through the screen, the 'glass' looking as if nothing had happened as the viewing continued, but few paid attention to that. The shaking had finally stopped, and the mothers quickly went to their children and held them tight. Almost all of them with tears in their eyes as they tried to chastise them for their recklessness.
Raven felt like her heart was trying to escape her chest, a feeling all the other mothers shared. "Don't do that again, please." She whispered to her daughter, Sienna and the others doing the same. It was at that point that the trance ended, and the children were left wondering what just happened as their mothers held them close.
Terra ran over to her wife, turning her around and slapping her, before hugging her tight and cried over the stunned woman's shoulder. "Don't you ever do anything that stupid again. Do you hear me?"
Saphron blinked, the pain from the slap getting her brain to start working again. 'What happened?' She felt the tears soaking her clothes, and held her wife tight. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." Her response was mirrored by the children.
As everyone watches in the control and briefing rooms, the Stargate activates with a giant vortex streaming outwards, before going back and leaving a vertical wall of water in the former empty hole of the gate.
Akila says something unintelligible over all the other noise. Adrian smiled at the sight, "Beautiful." He said, not knowing he said it at all, before blinking and shaking his head.
Just then, over the tears and apologies, the stone tablet started to light up. Everyone looked at the slab in shock, some of the blocky words changing before their very eyes. After a few moments, the light retreated, leaving most of the marble words alone. But a few of them had changed. And they could read it.
"The Age of Two has reached its End…
Four Pillars guide the Blood through Ages Past…
…Through Ancient Rings the Fifth has been Found."
END
Cliffhanger! Ooh, ominous! Bet you guys never expected that! What happened to the Arcs? And what's the deal with the Prophesy Tablet? Curious.
List of current Jaune's children in the Nexus:
Neo: Lucy
Emerald: Peridot & Garnet
Vernal: Amber
Raven: Robin
Sienna: Altani
Glynda: Alice
1. Male ducks are called "Drakes". As for the name, it's from the show "Friends". The character Joey is an actor, and one of his famous roles is playing a doctor called Drake Ramoray (granted, he was a medical doctor, but eh *shrug*). I thought it was funny to connect the two.
2. Poison Ivy. I know her name is Pamela Isley, but I felt putting Ivy in would make sense for a person from Remnant. Plus, with her green hair, it fits more than an identity for a villainess.
3. And there you have it, the reason for my title of this movie. 'Door to Heaven' was the original name the Stargate went under, a translation by one of the scientists that was proven wrong. And this isn't even the first time I've mentioned that name. Remember Raven in the end of 'Revenge of the Arcs'? She mentioned that archeologists found something in Vacuo, them calling it the "Door to Heaven". That was what was found, the Stargate. As for why she only recently found out, well she couldn't be trusted until the end (and Jaune didn't know because he wasn't authorized to know at the time). Hehe, it all comes full circle!
4. Another name for Cheerios. I figured that toddlers his age can't eat candies or other normal sweets (he's two), but Cheerios are sweet enough that it could be considered sweets by themselves and he won't know better. My own niece and nephew go ape whenever they see the cereal in front of their little plates, so I can see Adrian doing the same if to a lesser extent.
5. In all my excitement, I completely forgot to mention the dress uniform. Since I couldn't find a style I really liked, I decided to stay with the US Air Force uniform (plus it looks cool anyway, so why change it?).
6. Barrett: means "Bear Strength" in German.
7. Some might think that these reactions are over the top, but think about it. If an archeological site published a finding of a jet fighter that had been buried for over 5,000 years, wouldn't you feel like calling "Bullshit"? And then feel scared as the findings were proven true? I sure as hell would.