Pyrrha was just barely foaming at the mouth when everyone returned. "What did I miss?" Goodwitch asked her students.
"Nothing much. Dad and Raven were married, Jaune and Yang were friends." Ruby said, not wanting to think about them sleeping together.
"Really good friends." Blake snickered, ignoring the Sun Wukong trying to gain her attention.
"Question: I am unsure of which universe to show you guys from here, so I'm going to give you an option. Do you guys want to see a universe you've already seen, or a new one?"
The viewers look at eachother. "A vote?" Ozpin put forth, and most everyone agreed
"Those in a favor of a new universe to be viewed, raise your hand."
Ruby, Wiess Pyrrha, Kali, Ghira, Ozpin and company, and all villains except Neo raised their hand.
"I think that that is a majority in favor of a new reality, so i'll put one on." orb said, flipping through a tome of some kind
The screen started up with Jaune, Ruby, Ozpin and Sun walking into an open bar in the desert of Vaulco. Jaune wore a black Jacket and pants, and was seriously jacked. Really, everyone but Ruby was surprisingly jacked.
"Mama likey." Yang drooled as Ruby blushed. Pyrrha was drooling and laughing almost posessivly as well.
"Looking good, Oz." Qrow quipped, looking at buff ozpin.
The four of them sat down at a bar, where Ozpin showed the bartender a photograph. "We're looking for this building. Have you seen it?"
The bartender just shook his head. "Damn." Sun said, tsking. "How the hell are we going to find Salem?"
Jaune sighed as he looked around, Star Platinum looking with him. The four of the asked around, looking for anyone who knew of the mystery building
"Woah, what is that?" Yang asked, seeing the Blue and Purple stand.
"That is a Stand, the physical manifestation of someone's fighting spirit. They have a variety of abilities dependent on the user, including but not limited to Telepathy, time stopping, pyromancy, creating sounds, etc. And no, you cannot gain stands in your world." Orb gave a brief explanation of what a stand was. Much to Cinders disappointment that she could not gain a stand
"I know where that building is." a voice from behind them said. Arthur Watts sat at a table, a cup and bottle on it. The four walked over.
"I will offer you 500 lien for its location." Ozpin said, pulling out his wallet.
"I'm sorry, but I won't take your money."
"1000 than."
"You don't understand, Ozpin. I am a gambling man. I just love the thrill of it." Watts said with a gesture.
"We don't have any cards, sorry." Sun said, sitting down.
"A bet can be made on anything, Mr Wukong. Like that dog over there." watts smiled, pointing to Zwei.
"Zwei!" Ruby cried out, noticing the dog.
"I have two pieces of Meat here. And if I were to toss them at him." Watts said, throwing the two steaks into the street "which one do you think he'll take? I'll wager you my soul." Watts smiled good naturedly, like it was a joke.
Sun looked at the two hunks of meat, the dog also noticing the treat that had been laid out for him. "The left one there." Sun pointed to a slightly larger chunk of meat. The dog scampered forward, taking the left piece in his mouth.
"YES!" Sun said, standing up and pumping his arms. The dog then scampered to the right piece of meat, gathering both slices.
"No! Damn it." Sun said. Watts only tsked apologetically as his stand came out, ripping the soul from Sun Wukong.
"Gahh! An enemy stand user!" Ruby said, jumping behind Jaune.
"What in the fuck is that?" Yang yelled in unison with her mother. Most everyone else just squinted at it in utter confusion.
"That is a stand. This particular stand is called Osiris." Orb responded
"What did you do, you bastard." Jaune said, squaring up to the gambler. "He's gone cold!" Ruby cried, holding Sun in her eyes.
"He lost the bet, jaune. We wagered our soul. It's not my fault that he lost." Watts smiled as Zwei jumped into his arms. "My dog, Zwei."
"You bastard, you cheated!" Ruby said, about to hit the gambler.
"Ahhh, so? Either way he lost. And you can't get him back if i'm dead." Watts smirked. "The only way to get him back from me is to win him back."
Everyone adopted a stern face as Ozpin sat down. He poured a glass of alcohol on the table, up to the top.
"You are familiar with surface tension, correct?" Ozpin said, looking intensely at Watts.
"What are you planning, Ozpin? Never took you for a gambler." Ironwood said as Winter nodded in agreement. Ozpin just shrugged, sipping his coffee.
"Yes, I know of the idea. May I inspect the glass and coins?" Watts said, amused. He inspected the glass and coins, picking them up.
"Very well, we will drop pennies into the cup until the surface tension breaks, letting the water overflow." Ozpin said, dropping a bunch of pennies onto the table. "You first."
"I'm a master at this trick. Given the size of the glass, the cup can only hold about 12 or so pennies." Ozpin smirked, dropping a penny in.
Watts picked up a penny, carefully putting it in. it sank quickly with a clunk.
Ozpin smiled knowing that at this rate he would win. Another penny fell to the bottom, then a couple more. Ruby bit her nails at the tension, while Jaune merely stood, unaffected. Watts rested his chin on his hand, leaning to the right.
Ozpin put another penny in, secretly adding more Liquid to the glass
"Smart Gramps. Using a bit of cotton to add more liquor. So much for not cheating." Jaune said, noticing the small bit of cotton that was hidden behind the coin.
Winter frowned a little, "never took you as the cheating type, Headmaster." She said, looking at the grey man
"My friend's soul had just been sucked out of him. I believe that this version of me is willing to do anything to get him back." Ozpin stated calmly
Watts smiled, grabbing five pennies. The shaking hand that held them dropped it in. everyone stared as the glass wobbled as the liquid threatened to overflow, but stayed solitary. There were 12 coins in the glass. Ozpin was shaking visibly, sputtering a "wh-what?". His shaking hand picked up a coin, and he struggled to put it over. Ozpin was visibly shaken, and he trembled as he tried to place the coin. He collapsed over, and Osiris took his soul, molding it into a poker chip like it did with Sun Wukong.
"What? The glass has not overflowed!" Ruby said, pointing at the filled cup.
"Well, you see, Ozpin gave up. He admitted defeat in his soul, and Osiris took it for that." Watts smiled. Jaune picked up the cup, noticing a bit of melted chocolate at the bottom.
"So that's how he did it. He placed chocolate at the bottom of the cup, tilting it just slightly." Jaune thought. "Yare Yare Daze. you put chocolate at the bottom of the cup." Jaune said, putting it down.
"But how did he get it to melt Jaune?!" Ruby said, clinging to his arm.
Jaune was silent for a moment. "He leaned to the side, letting the sun melt the candy." He finally said, glaring at the gambler
"Heheheh, smart cookie." Watts smiled
"He really is like that. You'd be amazed at how hard it is to pull something like that over him." Blake said to her mother, who looked at her like she was about to ask a question. "Although he's really more of a dork than this."
"So, will you play a game with me? You still need to win your allies from me." Watts smiled.
"Yare Yare Daze." Jaune sighed as he sat down. "How does poker sound?"
"Very well. I should warn you, I excel at poker" Watts said, smiling as he shuffled a deck of cards. He put the deck down, about to deal.
"Wait." jaune said, causing Watts to stop. "Draw the top card." Watts' eyes raised as he drew, looking at it.
"You currently have the six of hearts in your hand." Jaune said sternly as Watts huffed, eyebrows raising. He smiled as he revealed the card, which was indeed the six of hearts.
"Woah, how did he know it was that?" Sun said in awe.
"Jaune has always been observant, but this is a whole new level for him." Pyrrha smiled, daydreaming about jaune. "If only he'd notice me." she grumbled.
"The cards, from top to bottom are Queen of Diamonds, Ten of Spades, Two of Clubs, Five of clubs, Ten of Hearts, Four of Clubs, King of Spades, Jack of hearts." Jaune said as Watts flipped those cards over, showing Jaune to be correct.
Most everyone was impressed with this ability. "How in the world did he?" Raven said, liking this version of the blonde. He was strong. You could feel his intimidating strength from the screen.
"Very impressive parlor trick. But what does that prove?" Watts asked, confused.
"My stand has incredible eyesight and precision. You try to cheat, and I will know of it." Jaune said, a stern and grim expression on his face. Watts sighed, running his fingers through a book. Page 534, no. Page 557. Watts looked to reveal that it was page 557 that he had opened to. He might have extreme eyesight, but I have the ability to feel the ink on paper. I'm on my A game today. Watts smiled.
"Ok, that is impossible. No one can do that. Feeling ink? Impossible!" Weiss exclaimed. Winter put her hand on her shoulder, calming her down. "I agree, it is impossible, but we must take this at face value." she said calmly.
POKER: A game where the players aim for various combinations of five cards that rank higher points than the other. After two rounds of betting and one round of discarding cards for new ones, the hands are revealed. However, once gambling is involved, it becomes a complex psychological game. The narrating voice of Peter Port said.
Many members of the audience visibly reacted, praying that he would not say much more.
Watts began to deal. Jaune eyes narrowed as Star Platinum struck out, grabbing the dealer's hand.
"Gheahhh!" Watts yelled as his fingers were broken. "My fingers, why did you break my fingers?"
"You cheated. Look at the deck. Notice anything strange?" Jaune said, this last bit directed at a shocked Ruby. the camera zoomed in on the deck, the second card sticking out.
"The second card is sticking out! He tried to double deal you!" Ruby said, gripping Jaunes arm.
"Tsk. very well, I will accept my broken hand as punishment for trying to cheat you." Watts said. "However, I cannot deal like this."
"Ruby, go ask one of the other patrons to deal for us." jaune said. Ruby brought over a little kid and asked him to deal.
"Sure thing miss!" he said as Watts handed him the deck. Five cards were dealt out. "Very well, I'll start off with one Sun." Watts said, tossing the blue chip. Jaune matched him silently with one of his own unmarked chips.
"I will discard two cards." Watts said, receiving the replacement cards.
"I'll take three." Jaune said curtly, giving the boy three from his hand. His eyes never left the gambler, and his lower face was hidden by shadows.
"My, my, what a scary expression. You must have a good hand. I think I'll play it safe and bet only one Sun." Jaune only glared and met the wager. "Now, we reveal our cards."
"Nine over eights, two pairs." Jaune said, putting the cards down.
"I'm so sorry." watts smirked, slapping his cards onto the table. "Two pairs, queens over jacks." Watts smirked as he raked in the chips.
At this rate, if neither of them fold, they will lose three chips per round. Ruby thought, biting her finger from the tension.
"Next hand please." Jaune said, the edge in his eyes visible. The child dealt another 5 cards. The camera shifted to over Watts shoulder, revealing his hand card by card, showing three kings in it. "I will take one card."
The camera panned to Jaune, his cards untouched on the table.
"Jaune, are you not going to look at your cards?"
Jaune sat there, shadows blocking the bottom half of his face. "These cards are fine." he said solemnly.
"WHAT? WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HE DOING?!" Qrow yelled, almost falling out of his seat. Winter immediately admonished him
"It does seem strange that Mr. Arc is not going to look at his cards." Glyna said, adjusting her glasses.
"I'M ASKING IF YOU ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THOSE CARDS OR NOT!" Watts yelled, pointing at Jaune.
"These cards are fine, I'm keeping them." Jaune said sternly, as Ruby gripped his shoulder. "Ruby, I have a favor to ask."
"A-a favor?" Ruby asked. Jaune nodded. "Of course. But if I may ask, why are you not looking at your cards?" Jaune only remained silent.
"Don't ignore me Jaune, are you going to look at your cards or not?!" At this point Watts was standing up in rage.
"These cards are fine." Jaune said once more.
"HRK!" Watts said, before shaking his head. "Very well, I will play one chip."
"I will match you, and raise you the rest of my own soul." Watts tched once again, meeting Jaune immediately. "And the entirety of Ruby's Soul."
"WH-WHAAAAAT!?" Watts yelled
"WHAAAT?!" Yang and Tai yelled, while everyone was flabbergasted at this lack of fear.
"Kids got guts." Roman whistled.
Watts shook his head. "If Jaune wants me to bet my soul, I will gladly do so. Watts. You are a calm man, every move you make is calculated. I am not built for gambling, I would lose my cool far too quickly. I don't know what Jaunes cards mean, but I have the utmost faith in him." Ruby said, falling into Jaunes lap. He smiled, patting her head gently. "Thank you Ruby." Jaune said. Watts shook his head again
"Your welcome." Ruby blushed, imagining that she was in that lap. Tai and Yang looked at her, so shocked at their precious little rose being corrupted by the powers of love.
"I see. You've lost your senses in the tension. Very well. I will match not only your and Ruby's soul, But I will raise you Ozpin's as well!" Watts said, confident.
"BUT Jaune doesn't have any more chips to play!" Ruby said.
"That's not true. You have a soul to wager. Rather, Pyrrha's, who is currently hospitalized in Aswan." Watts smiled evilly, having backed Jaune into a corner. "I will need a promissory note of course. Then my stand can do it's work." he gave him a pen and piece of paper, and sat back. Now, let me watch you falter, Jaune. You surely can't still be cool about betting your friend's soul, who is not even here. I will watch that poker face crumble into fear.
"Done." Jaune said, finishing writing something.
"Jaune! You're betting the soul of a person who's not even here!" Ruby admonished, scolding Jaune.
"Is that too selfish of me?" he asked. Watts choked on air, not believing that he was seeing.
The scene cut to the child, who was smirking at Watts.
Don't worry Mr. Watts, I did exactly as you said. I dealt the bonde a hand of crap. There is no way he can win this,
"Hey, what! The kid's evil!?" Tai said, shocked at the revelation.
The thought changed to Watts' voice. "Heh, you thought you were smart, bringing in what you believed was a neutral party. I was shocked into a state of disbelief with his abnormally bold decision to not look at his cards, but it matters not. Everyone in sight works for me, Watts. You cannot escape, no matter who deals. I have four kings, and only three hands can beat that. Four aces, a flush, and five of a kind, using the joker. It is impossible for Jaune to have any of those hands-" he looked up to see Star Platinum flash, lighting a cigarette.
"Wha-What? What did you just do Jaune?!" Watts said, practically frothing at the mouth
"What do you mean? Are you feeling well?" Jaune said, breathing out the smoke.
"You lit a cigarette! You- you." The gambler sputtered. There's no way he could have switched the cards without me noticing, could he?
"Holy shit that is an amazing bluff." Qrow said. Roman could only agree with him. Mercury gave a silent whistle at the sheer balls of this man.
No, he could not have changed out all five from under the eyes of me, Watts, the undefeated gambler! Jaune sipped on a drink that had not been there previously. Ruby could only giggle a little as she sat in his lap sideways, legs dangling off the arm of the chair. "A drink? When did you?!" watts practically screamed. How dare he bluff me. It must be a bluff. It can't be anything else. No, I have to end this. "Very well Jaune, My cards are."
"Hold it" Jaune interrupted. "I still have a right to raise."
"R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-Raise?! You have nothing left!" Watts yelled, shocked. "You have nothing else to raise!"
"He's going to force him to fold." Mercury said in realization, staring at the sheer confidence this kid radiated.
"How? He hasn't even looked at his cards yet." Emerald said, not yet understanding what Jaune was doing.
"I will raise you my mother's soul!" Jaune said boldly, standing up and slamming the six white chips down.
"Jaune! Mrs. Arc's Soul!" Ruby said, still somehow incontact with Jaune by gripping his arm.
"I came to Egypt to save my mother. If I fail here, she will die. It might be an easier death than what awaits her anyway." Jaune explained to Ruby. "But, You, Watts! You still have to match my mother's soul! And for that, I demand that you tell us the secret of Salem's Stand!" Watts fell out of his chair, gasping.
"Well, Watts? Do you call or not?! Let's hear you say it loud and clear!" Jaune demanded, staring the gambler down. Watts was hypervenelating at this point, gasping for breath. I'll call damn it! I'll take this bet. There's no way he can beat me. I must call.
Ruby stared at the gambler as he struggled to stand back up. "Judging by his reaction, he knows the secret of Salem's stand. But betrayers will be killed…
"cah-Cah-Cah-" Watts started, trying to make his way to his feet. I have to call. Call! Call damn it! I'm terrified, it's hard to breathe. I- I- I. Watts thought as he passed out, the crumpled cards falling from his hand.
"He's out cold…" Ruby said as the souls of their friends returned.
"What Happened?" Sun asked, confused and looking around.
"There are balls of steel. But this? Balls. Of. Fucking. Titanium." Qrow said, earning Winters disapproving glare.
"Man, that was intense…" Sun said, sipping a soda. He was still trying to get close to Blake.
"Man, that was so cool! Could we see more of this one later! I love the stand things!" Yang said excitedly.
"Yeah. great universe. How do you guys feel about Racing?" Orb asked, smiling.