The last thing Ruby remembered is gushing to her teammates about how awesome it is for Shirou to fight in the Vytal Tournament tomorrow before going to bed. Suddenly, she found herself wearing her usual combat attire and seated in a red cinema seat with a big silver screen in front of her. Her teammates and many other people are here too, all displaying a similar level of confusion on their face.
"Where are we? What is going on here?" General Ironwood immediately rose from his seat and asked while he turned his head to look around.
Uncle Qrow wasted no time to reply. "Calm down there, Jimmy. Oz, what's going on?"
"I don't know, Qrow," Headmaster Ozpin replied, "I remember going to bed, but I suddenly woke up sitting here with my usual attire on me."
Jaune looked confused. "I remember going to bed, too. I was brushing my teeth, and then I'm suddenly here."
Meanwhile, Ren is dealing with Nora's antics as usual. "Oooh, mass kidnapping, Renny! Do you think we will be sent to another world and be heroes like that novel Blake has?"
Ren shook his head. "I don't think so, Nora. As far as I can tell, we are kidnapped to a cinema."
"Wait, is that…" Yang squinted at the seat in front of her, "Raven?"
Raven and two other women were also seated in the front row of the theatre. One of them has short brown hair and icy-blue eyes, while the other has a large scar over her face. "What's going on here? Is it an ambush?" Vernal shouted. Raven and the girl with a scar simply looked around, surveying their surroundings.
Raven's eyes widened when she saw Yang, but she moved on and called Qrow when she saw him. "Qrow?... What the fuck did Ozpin do!?"
"It's not Oz, Rae!" Qrow paused, "This wasn't you, right?" He whispered to Ozpin.
Ozpin shook his head. "No Qrow...This was not me."
Weiss smiled when she saw her sister sitting beside General Ironwood. "Winter! How are you here? Do you know where we are?"
Winter replied with a worried expression. "Negative, Weiss. Last thing I remember is processing the paperwork on The Dauntless. Suddenly, I'm sitting here beside General Ironwood."
Suddenly, the silver screen lit up. Drawing the attention of the (literally) captive audience. On the screen, words were displayed.
Please stay calm and stay seated. An explanation will soon follow.
General Ironwood refused. "This is too suspicious. We should find the exit, Winter can you contact the Dauntless?"
Ozpin however, suggested otherwise. "James, I believe we should follow their instructions for now. Whoever brought us here so seamlessly, probably has the ability to do much less pleasant things than force us to watch a movie."
"Fuck those guys," Sylvia said as she cracked her knuckles eagerly, "lets find the fucker and cave his skull in!"
Before Raven could answer, the words on the screen changed.
This is about Shirou.
Vernal glared at the screen before growling. "What did you do with him?"
Please stay calm and stay seated. An explanation will soon follow.
"Vernal." Raven's tone warned Vernal to remain calm. "He's alive, but I can't use my Semblance to get him." Slyvie exhaled a relieved breath, while Ruby wondered how Raven's Semblance told her that Shirou was alive with such certainty.
Professor Goodwitch raised her voice. "Students. Follow the instructions for now, but stay alert!"
All the students replied. "Yes professor!"
When everyone is properly seated, the words on the screen changed again.
Humans and faunus will go extinct in the next century due to a catastrophic event.
Several gasps were heard from the students, while the adults narrowed their eyes.
Qrow nonchalantly took a drink from his flask. "Why should we believe you?"
We are presenting you with knowledge so that you can prevent the event from happening. Our only goal is the survival of humanity.
"And how is this about Shirou? What does he have to do with the extinction of mankind anyway?" Raven demanded. Yang has many questions that she wants to ask Raven right now. Why did she abandon her? What's the relationship between Raven and Shirou? Why does Raven and her companions care so much about Shirou? Is… is Shirou really Raven's son?
What will be shown is the single most important event in Shirou's life before he met you.
Raven's eyes widened.
"Winter, write down everything you can about your observation of the Sword Hunter. Consider this task of extreme importance." General Ironwood commanded. Winter nodded, and took a notepad and pen out of her coat.
Qrow put down his flask with a grimace. Maybe Shirou's past will hold the key to having his cooperation, and he can't afford to get drunk for something this important.
"Oooh! Is this Shirou's origin story?" Ruby asked, when she realized she drew every eye, she wilted and muttered, "Every hero has an origin story."
Excitement and anticipation filled Jaune's face. This is his idol's origin story! He will get to know more about the Sword Hunter, and maybe he will learn how he became so strong.
Ren decided to focus on this so-called 'most important event' in the Sword Hunter's life. He says that he is not a hero, yet he runs around Remnant saving people from Grimm. Why? Maybe this experience will answer that.
Blake furrowed her brow and, taking a deep breath to steel herself, decided to ask some questions. "So, why are you showing us Shirou's past instead of fixing the catastrophe yourself? Who are you, anyway?"
Our ability to act is limited. Our only goal is the survival of humanity.
"So you're prepping us to do all the hard work for you, huh? How kind of you." Raven spat sarcastically. Several people in the theatre frowned at this, not liking the implication of being used by an unknown force.
We will show you the Fifth Holy Grail War in the city of Fuyuki.
Ozpin narrowed his eyes, while he was not surprised at never having heard of 'Fuyuki'; the idea that there was one war, let alone five, that he had not heard of? That he found worrisome.
The viewing will now begin.
"I'm so excited for this!" Ruby squeaked.
Raven, Vernal and Slyvie leaned back at their seats, staring at the screen. They too are curious about the past of the tribe's second best warrior/cook/mechanic, often wondering where he even learned such a diverse skill set.
It was a thrust like lightning.
AN: Huge thanks to Santo for helping me beta this chapter. However, he says that he is busy and will not be able to help me furthermore. I am recruiting a beta to help me fix my grammars, point out my mistakes and help me with my shortcomings in general.
