The dinner table was abuzz as the currently present members of Team RWBY and the fully reunited teams of JNPR and SCRN all talked over each other indistinctly. The mood was quite cheery, with the children all smiling and laughing. "You mean to tell me you just TOSSED the map when you saw an abandoned city?" Yang laughed at Jaune.
"Yeah, I know. I wasn't really thinking at the moment." Jaune explained as Yang, Weiss and Ruby laughed while he smiled and giggled sheepishly. "Lucky Ryu thought to grab it before following." He added.
"Yep. He's probably the guy at this table with the most sense." Dante agreed.
"You don't last long as a ninja without a cool head." Ryu declared.
"Hey, but you made up for it, Mister Muscles! You shoulda seen this guy take a giant Grimm head on!" Nora told them all.
"I couldn't have done it without Ruby wearing it down." Jaune shared the praise.
"Uh, me? Did you see Ren during that fight? He was out of control!" Ruby declared.
"I'm sorry, I may have lost my temper momentarily." Ren apologized.
"No, no! Out of control as in 'awesome'!" She explained.
"Oooohhh." Ren realized, then smiled. "Thank you." He accepted happily. Everyone at the table burst into laughter.
As dinner continued, Weiss told the story of how she told off Henry Marigold and Dante broke the trophy wife's wrist. Ruby gasped at this. "You did not!" She declared.
"Of course. I couldn't just let him disrespect the memory of our old school." Weiss stated.
"I'm just glad Dante put that lady in her place." Yang voiced her opinion.
"Indeed. Thank you for defending my honor, my friend." Kratos said gratefully.
"Something certainly had to be done about her, but wasn't breaking her wrist a bit much?" Pyrrha asked.
"Hey, it's like I said when she tried slapping me: it was self-defense." Dante defended himself once again.
"I say that old crone deserved a broken jaw instead of a broken wrist." Bayonetta declared.
"I can only imagine the look on father's face when he found out we were gone." Weiss said with a smirk.
"Looks like I was wrong. You Schnee's know how to party after all." Nora said with a smile. Offended by this, Weiss summoned her Boarbatusk right next to Nora. The Grimm summon growled, causing Nora to yelp and fall into Ryu, who held her close. Weiss, Yang, Jaune and Ren all laughed as Ryu rubbed her back to calm her down.
Several people had finished their meals at this point, including the four members of team SCRN, who now looked looked to the member who gave the team it's N, Kratos. "So, what's with the beard, man. You decide to go for a lumberjack look or something?" Dante asked.
"That would explain the new axe." Bayonetta agreed.
"Well, believe it or not, doctors and nurses generally are not allowed to shave a comatose patients face. So it grew while I was unconscious. And now that I'm awake, I've found myself rather accustomed to it." Kratos explained.
"You could say it... grew on you!" Yang said, to which everyone groaned.
"I believe it's given you a look of stoicism and wisdom. I certainly approve." Ryu declared.
"It does look quite impressive. I believe I'm a fan, brother." Pyrrha told the former Spartan.
"Really? Then maybe I should think about growing a beard?" Jaune said in a flirting manner.
Everyone looked at him for a moment before giving a collective answer. "No."
As dinner nearly finished, Yang showed off her robotic prosthetic arm to the rest of the group. All of them reacted in awe. "It's not a replacement for the real thing, but I'll make sure to make good use of it..." She declared.
"That's amazing." Jaune said.
"Incredible." Ren agreed.
"I wish you hadn't lost the first one, but it is still quite impressive." Pyrrha said.
"It always felt like your fists were made of steel whenever you hit me. Now one of them really is." Bayonetta said.
Ruby got all starry-eyed and quickly zoomed over to her eldest sister's side to admire her arm.
"And it's just as strong?" Ruby asked, holding Yang's arm up.
"Hm, sure is." Yang confirmed.
Suddenly, they heard a bang on the table. Nora had her arm out, ready to arm wrestle. "Wanna bet?" She challenged.
"It would be wise to test its full capabilities." Kratos said.
"Maybe it's got a vibrator function." Dante added.
"You did NOT just say that!" Weiss snapped at her brother. She then turned to the hammer-wielder. "Nora, please, now's not the time..." She tried to reason with the orange-haired girl, but despite her protest, Yang and Nora arm wrestled.
Jaune, Pyrrha, Ryu and Ren cheered on Nora while Ruby and Bayonetta cheered on for her sister along with Dante while Kratos decided to remain impartial. Weiss looked on disdainfully.
"Don't let her beat you! You can do it! Come on!" Jaune shouted.
"You can do this! Show 'em what Team JNPR's made of!" Ren cheered.
"Go all out, Nora! You have our support! That and your strength is all you need!" Pyrrha cried out.
"I believe in you, Nora. You can do this! I know you can!" Ryu told her.
"You've got this, Yang! You're my twin! You can't lose!" Bayonetta told her.
"C'mon, sis! Aw, you can't lose to a girl in a skirt!" Ruby screamed.
"You wear a skirt, Ruby." Weiss said with a deadpanned expression.
"Weiss, you're not cheering loud enough!" Ruby yelled she shook Weiss, who was still frowning.
"Come on, Weiss." Dante said, patting her back, before leaning in. "Give your future sister-in-law some support." He told her, causing her to flush deep red. Dante smirked and turned back to the event. "You got this, Yang! Take her down!" He cheered for Yang as well.
"It definitely feels like the original, I'll give you that!" Nora declared.
"Yep. But, it does have some new features!" Yang informed her.
"Heh, oh yeah?" Nora questioned.
A robotic sound was heard coming from Yang's arm and suddenly, Nora was knocked back to the wall, holding Yang's detached arm in her hand. Nora groaned in pain while the others looked on in concern, except for Yang, who had a smug grin on her face. "Of all the features I'd expected... That wasn't among them." Kratos stated.
"Did she... win?" Jaune asked.
"That feels like cheating." Ryu said.
As Nora came to, she realized she was holding Yang's robotic arm, causing her to scream and throw it away from her. Yang laughed while she caught her arm.
The attention returned to the team of Revived now as everyone had one massive, ringing question on each of their minds. "So, each one of you lived on a different planet before, but then you died, so now you're here?" Ruby asked.
"That is essentially the case, yes, dear sister." Bayonetta said.
"I still think it's crazy you all died! How does that even work?!" Nora questioned.
"Well, when your body stops working..." Dante started.
"Well, I mean, of course we know that! But how did you end up on Remnant?!" Nora asked.
"On that front, we know only as much as you. Ozpin has the theory that the Revived were brought to Remnant upon their deaths by the God of Light in order to balance out the scale of this war between him and Salem. We each gained our memories back as we entered into deadly, or at least combat-oriented situations." Ryu explained.
"So, then... what are all your stories?" Yang asked, looking to Bayonetta at first.
The younger twin noticed this, but rolled her eyes and started the explanation. "I was born to a clan of witches long ago that worshipped the darkness and allied with demons... So, really it's ironic the god of light chose to have me revived. Anyway, I was born from the forbidden union of Umbra Witch and Lumen Sages, who worshipped the light and allied with angels. Eventually, this led to a war that destroyed both clans and my best friend stabbed me in the chest with a dagger to seal me into a tiny ruby. Then I woke up 500 years later after being pulled out of a coffin at the bottom of a lake and I had to fight angels every day for the rest of my life, or demons would drag me down to Hell. But, along the way, I did save the world once or twice from my father, who was corrupted by a demon to recreate the ultimate goddess, then later, that same demon when he tried to become the embodiment of chaos." She explained, leaving everyone's jaw dropped.
"Guess I'll go next then. Way back when, demons invaded the human world to take over, but my Pops, Sparda, fell in love with my mother, Eva and betrayed the demons, sealing them back in the underworld with a good chunk of his own power. Eventually, they had me and my twin brother, Vergil. But then dad disappeared shortly after we were eight, then some demons popped up for some payback and killed our mother." Dante said, everyone wincing or gasping in horror. "So, I turned into a demon hunting badass for some revenge of my own. I thought Vergil had died, but he showed up a few years later... but he was evil and working with a creepy, bald priest and tried to open up the Demon Realm to get our father's sword and get uber-powerful. So, I met a chick with more guns that Ruby, beat up some demons and the priest, then fought Vergil for the sword, but I lost him in the Demon Realm. About a year later, some demon chick who looks like my mom tells me the Demon King who had my mom killed was trying to break free, so I went there, beat up his goons and managed to convince the demon girl to be on my side and destroyed the demon king's body. Then took down a cult worshipping my dad and some rich a-hole who wanted to be the next demon god. Then, I got stuck in hell and died fighting the soul of the demon king. That's where I died." He explained.
"Amazing. I thought our life was hard with father, but yours old one was so much harder." Weiss said, hugging her "little brother".
"I was born to a Ninja clan who descended from dragons and were entrusted with weapons made from the dragon gods: the Dragon Sword katana I wield, which I still have no idea how it ended up in our world, plus the Dark Dragon greatsword, with the power of an evil Dragon. It was stolen by Vigoor Empire and the Fiend who led them, their Emperor, so I had to go after them, destroying their human soldiers and Fiends alike until I reached the emperor and destroyed him, before my uncle, Murai, came and took the sword, becoming a fiend as well. I destroyed him and the sword afterwards, then I had to stop the resurrection of the Arch-Fiend by my clans ancient rivals, the Black Spider clan, killing the four greater fiends and the clan's leader Genshin, before finally slaying the Arch-Fiend after my own blood restored it to its true form. Then a group of terrorists mixed alchemy with the Fiends to control the world. I laid waste to them as well and a few years later, lost my life fighting Fiends for an entire day." He explained.
Everyone was a little shocked Ryu killed a large number of humans, but they still accepted him. "It's alright, Ryu. That's not who you are now. Besides, all those guys sounded like total jerks!" Nora said, everyone chuckling at this.
"I cannot disagree with that." Ren said, before turning to Ryu. "But while you may not have been a hero, you were far from a simple murderer as well. You fought for what was right, just as you do now." He told his fellow ninja, who was like a brother to him.
"Thank you. All of you." Ryu said.
"I can only hope you'll be as forgiving to me." Kratos said.
"It was another life, Kratos. No matter how bad it was, you're different now." Jaune told him, along with Pyrrha, who smiled and nodded.
"Very well." Kratos agreed. "I was born to the Spartans, a people who prided themselves on war and conquering. I was the child of the king of the gods, Zeus, to a mortal woman, Callisto. Eventually, I would become a general amongst their army, who numbered in the thousands. We aimed to take all the land we could, but eventually encountered the Barbarians, who nearly wiped us out. In desperation, I prayed to the god of war, Ares for salvation in exchange for my life and he slaughtered their army. I became his champion and did his bidding, eventually ravaging a village who prayed to Ares' hated sister, Athena, but Ares tricked me and had brought my wife, Lysandra daughter Calliope to the village, where I murdered them in a blind rage with my own hands, after which the village permanently covered my skin in their white ash." He explained.
"No..." Weiss said in horror.
"From then on I swore to destroy Ares, serving the other gods to attempt to rid myself of the nightmares I had of my atrocities done in Ares' servitude. Eventually, Ares attacked Athena's capital city and I was tasked by all the gods to destroy him, which I did with the help of Pandora's box, growing to the size of a giant to match Ares and slaying him with the sword of the gods. But while they forgave my sins, they refused to take my nightmares. So I attempted to take my own life by diving from a mountain. But they saved me, instead offering me Ares' position as god of war. I took it, but after releasing the power of Pandora's box, which housed the good and evil of the world, Zeus was corrupted by the evils and betrayed me, forcing me to put my power into the Blade of Olympus and making me mortal again. He killed me, but I was saved by the Titans and sent to the temple of the Fates, to take control of time itself and faced Zeus again, but my sister, Athena sacrificed herself for him and revealed he was my father." He went on.
"How could they be so cruel?" Ren questioned.
"From there, I returned the Titans to my time and we waged war on the gods, but they betrayed me as well, so with the help of Athena's ghost, I slaughtered god and Titan alike, but in doing so, doomed my world, as no forces of nature remained to keep it in check. Athena then came to take the power of Hope, which she'd stored in Pandora's box and I'd had all this time. But if she was allowed to have it, she would rule the world, so I impaled myself with the Blade of Olympus to release the power and give mankind a chance and finally ended the life I should've long since lost." He explained.
Everyone was once again left in shock at this. "Wow... That's a lot for anyone to go through. More than you ever should have. I'm sorry." Yang said.
"I've made peace with it. Like you said, it is no longer who I am." Kratos declared.
"Well, I'm glad that all of you are here in our world now. As friends and family." Ruby stated, looking to the boys of the Revived team, then her Revived sister, who she hugged. "But all of those would make TOTALLY awesome video games!" She declared, to which everyone laughed.
Later on, Jaune helped clean up the dishes. "Gyah... We ate it all..." He groaned, picking up the pot holding all the bowls. "Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick..." He said.
"Easy there, Vomit Boy, I believe in you." Yang teased.
"Be thankful more of us showed up, or you would have definitely lost your dinner." Bayonetta taunted.
"Oh, we're doing nickname throwbacks now. Wonderful." Jaune said sarcastically as he began walking away with the dishware in his hands.
"The mark of a warrior is humility. Light jabs on occasion help to keep you humble. We all could be reminded of this, you most of all." Kratos told him.
"Hey, last I checked, you weren't always the most modest guy, either." Dante said.
"Compared to you, just about everyone is free from vanity." Ryu countered.
Weiss giggled. "I mean, the Ice Queen seems to like it." Nora declared.
Weiss stopped giggling and Ruby burst into laughter at Nora's remark, along with Dante. Weiss smiled nonetheless. She rolled her eyes at this. "I so did not miss you people." She declared.
Nora gasped. "Oh my gosh, she really does like it! What went and warmed your heart while you were gone?"
"Hey! You make it sound like I used to be terrible." Weiss said in shock.
"Nah. Just a lot to deal with it once." Yang told her.
"Hmph!" Weiss huffed as Yang playfully stuck her tongue out at Weiss.
"Oh, come on, sis. It's all in good fun. And you're back with Ruby, so you don't have to keep calling her name every night." Dante told her, to which she repeatedly slapped his shoulder.
"It's been a long time. We've all grown in our own ways." Ren declared.
"You really think so?" Ruby asked.
"Well, think back to when we were all at Beacon, would you say you ever did anything foolish or embarrassing? Or do you think you were perfect?" Ren questioned.
"Oh gosh." Weiss groaned as she buried her face in her hands again.
"I may have been a little too gung-ho from time to time." Yang admitted.
"Heh, you? I tried to 1v1 a Nevermore on the second day of school." Ruby reminded her.
Jaune walked back into the room at this moment. "Yeah, well... don't even get me started." Jaune groaned.
"Well that embarrassment - that desire to go back and tell yourself not to be so stupid - that just proves you're not the same person you used to be. You're smarter, you're kinder, you're stronger and you're not done growing yet. None of us are." Ren declared.
"Even with a literal lifetime of experiences, I can tell you there is no end to what you can learn in life. The best thing you can do is learn from your mistakes in the hopes of never repeating them again." Kratos added.
There is silence for a brief moment. "Yeah, turns out Ren and Kratos can get real deep when they feel like talking." Ruby stated, to which everyone giggled.
"Well, hold on, I thought I was pretty great in school!" Nora declared.
"Even at the dance? When you spilled punch all over yourself in front of-" Yang began, before being interrupted by Nora.
The hammer-wielder in question was loudly playing "Shine" over her scroll, causing Yang to cover her ears. "Yes, especially the dance! Thank you, Yang!" Nora shouted loudly while Ruby laughed.
"It's like Ren said, we're not done growing yet. That little mistake is just one step closer to making you a better Nora." Ryu told her.
"Awww!" Nora said adorably, hugging him.
"How can a bunch of kids possibly make so much noise eating dinner?!" Qrow complained from off-screen as he and Oscar were seen standing next to Jaune. Nora pressed her scroll to stop the song. Oscar gave a small laugh.
Everyone relocated to the second-floor living room, with Weiss and Yang having finished being filled in on what everyone else knew so far. "So, the Maidens. Magic. Salem. It's all true?" Weiss asked.
"Uh-huh." Ozpin confirmed.
"Miss Xiao Long, is this more or less what your mother told you?" Ozpin asked.
Yang didn't respond, still having her arms crossed. "Yes. For once, she used her time for something useful. Of course, she was still trying to swing it to make herself seem like the victim. Of course, nothing is ever HER fault." Bayonetta said in annoyance.
"And you're trying to make her sound worse than she was being. You both forgot something." Yang said, looking at her sister first, then to Ozpin. "You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother." She snapped.
Ruby gasped at this. "The bird thing? She made a bigger deal about it than it was, now you are, too." Dante said.
"It's still important, Dante. It's something they need to know." Weiss told him.
"To me, it sounds like your mother is trying to use your feelings as a weapon. She is trying to manipulate you." Kratos told her.
"And Ozpin hasn't done the same? I admit, trying to become the next Maiden and taking on Cinder was a mistake, but he made it sound like I'd be saving the world, when really, I'd be fighting a losing battle even greater than the one I had against Cinder." Pyrrha countered.
"What is she talking about?" Jaune asked.
"Oh, great." Qrow grumbled.
"Hm, that's not a secret I thought she would give up so easily. Your mother must trust you a great deal." Ozpin admitted, to which Yang scowled at him.
"My ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn't without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens, I too possess a certain... "magical' power." Ozpin explained as he stood up and walked next to Qrow. "Using this power, I was able to gift the Branwen twins the ability to 'see' more, to move freely and be unburdened by their natural bodies. I... well... gave them the ability to turn into birds." He admitted, then chuckled. "Rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isn't it?" Ozpin asked.
"I don't see why. I was able to do it in both lives. It's a nifty little trick." Bayonetta said.
(Wait, what?) Oscar asked mentally.
"Uncle?" Ruby asked.
"You turned them... into birds." Ren asked in awe.
"Alright, now you're just messing with us." Nora said, not believing it.
"What else is new?" Jaune questioned angrily.
"For not telling you he gave them an ability with no drawbacks whatsoever? Tell me how that's messing with us?" Ryu asked. Jaune had no answer for that.
"He's telling the truth. We saw it. Yang's mom... changed, right in front of us." Weiss told them.
"Why would you do something like that? I mean, what is wrong with you?" Yang demanded.
"Yang, that's enough! We made a choice. We wanted this." Qrow told her.
"Exactly. I don't see what there is to be mad about. Besides, clearly they can change back as they want. And I can change into a bird as well, an ability I've ONLY found to be beneficial." Bayonetta added, to which Yang finally relented.
"May I?" Ozpin asked Qrow, who nodded. "Granting this power to them was no trivial task, and I can assure you it was not done frivolously. I required assistance in gathering information on Salem's plans, as well as searching for Maidens when their hosts became unclear." Ozpin explained.
"Okay, so, have you done this with others? Like General Ironwood? Or Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby asked.
"As helpful as that might be, unfortunately, it is not that simple. My power is finite and, if I'm being honest, dwindling. The amount that I gifted to Qrow and Raven was, all things considered, rather miniscule. You see, centuries ago, I sacrificed a great deal of magic to four young women, who I hoped would use my gift for good. They were the first Maidens." Ozpin explained as everyone was silent for a moment. "Miss Xiao Long, it was never my intention to lie to you. To any of you. There are just some matters that I prefer to... 'play close to the chest'." He added, looking to Qrow. "I believe that's how you phrased it?" He asked.
Qrow chuckled at this. "Yeah." He confirmed.
"Keeping your cards close. It's a trick every gambler should know. And from the sound of it, you and Salem have been playing the world's longest game of poker with the prize being the world. Well, I'd much sooner have you win that pot that Salem." Dante said. That helped with a lot of people's indecision. Sure, Ozpin's methods up to now have been shady, but they definitely didn't want the world in the hands of the ultimate evil.
"Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self-interest. Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave, now is the time. There's no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat." Ozpin told them.
Everyone was silent as they ponder Ozpin's words. "Very well, then." Ozpin said.
Yang suddenly stands up. "Yang?" Ruby asked.
"If Ruby and Bayonetta are sticking around, then I will too. If there's one thing I know about Ruby, it's that she somehow always knows the right thing to do. And Bayonetta's my twin. I'll always have her back." Yang said as she smiled at her sisters after saying that. "But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies. No more half-truths." She demanded.
"I suppose that is rather reasonable. It would be nice to finally have everyone on the same page." Bayonetta agreed.
Everyone remained silent. Ozpin and Qrow exchanged a brief look with each other. Ozpin pondered Yang's words for one last moment, before responding with a smile. "Understood." He said, to which Yang sat back down.
"So... what now? I mean, what can we do?" Jaune asked.
"Mm, that is a difficult question. One that I believe is best answered tomorrow." Ozpin stated.
"What do you mean?" The blonde boy asked again.
"The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with hardships and peril. However, it's been far too long since you have all been together." Ozpin explained as he put his hand on Yang's shoulder. "Please, take tonight, enjoy this moment." He told them, to which Yang smiled.
"That sounds lovely." Pyrrha said.
"We all need nights like this, a time of rest, relaxation and levity, so that we are ready for whatever dangers we may face." Ryu stated.
Suddenly Oscar's eyes glowed, with Ozpin giving him control back to his body. Oscar realized he had his hand on Yang's shoulder "Geh!" He cried out and quickly took it off and nervously held his cane in his hand.
Yang and Weiss laughed at him, before hearing a noise from Nora as she suddenly realized something. "Oooohhh. Raven? Qrow? They're birds! Cracked it!" She declared proudly, putting her hands behind her head and crossing her arms. Ren shook his head at Nora being slow on the uptake.
"Then, I guess you don't know what Ryu's name meant back on our world? Dragon Falcon." Dante told her.
"A dragon and an awesome predator bird! That's just unfair how cool that is!" Nora complained as Ryu chuckled.
At the Branwen Tribe camp's entrance, Shay D. Mann and two other bandits stand guard, conversing with each other. Suddenly, a voice called out from the forest. "Hey ugly!" The voice called.
With Shay and the bandits' attention drawn, Mercury and Emerald walked out from the forest toward the camp's entrance. "Is Raven Branwen home?" Emerald asked sassily.
Shay sighed at this. "Ya know, I've had a real bad week. So I think I'm gonna take it out on you-" He began, but stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Cinder, Azula and Watts walk out of the forest and joins the two of them. "Hmph, doesn't look like he wants to cooperate, Boss." Mercury called back to Cinder.
Azula stepped forward. "Then I believe it's my turn. I've always been very good at getting people to do exactly what I want." She said, walking towards then with her broadswords and laughing darkly... with bursts of fire coming from her mouth after every laugh.