RWBY: Lost and Forgotten
Chapter 40
Chrome
"I can't believe it. You... You're the Grimm Reaper, you were a legend! And then you disappeared..." Qrow said, astounded at Maria, the old lady's, story.
"How exactly does a legend just disappear?" Oscar asked.
"You never used your name, never showed your face. Lots of us thought you were just layin' low. Eventually, we just came to accept that you were probably dead. But the stories about you, I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper." Qrow added.
"Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way." Maria said.
"How can you say that?"
"Child, a Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end. But after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight. Afraid someone would find me again, finish what the others started. You shouldn't aspire to be like me, especially when some of you are clearly stronger already." Maria replied. "It's... comforting, seeing that your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape."
"Well, maybe you can do something now. Teach me to use my powers the way you did." Ruby told her.
After she said that, her scroll rang. "It's Jaune!"
Yang stopped her bike, looking back in surprise. "How?"
"Hello?"
"Ruby! Oh, thank you! I've been checking my Scroll for your signal since we made it to the city!" I heard Jaune say through the scroll.
"The city? Wait..."
She looks at the little signal symbol under Jaune's portrait, watching it get better as she points her Scroll toward the road ahead. A hill where the snow ends. Yang proceeds forward to drive us up the hill. At the top of the hill, a walled city was in the distance along the ocean.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived in Argus." Yang said.
Arriving just outside the city, we got off the bike as Yang disassembled the flatbed. "Cute! Boy! OZ!"
"Hm?" I looked back just in time to see Oscar get tackled by Nora in a hug. "Oh, come here!"
Jaune and Ren also arrive.
"Are you all okay?" Ren and Yang share a quick hug.
"We were so worried!" Jaune and Blake hugged as well.
"It's been kind of a crazy trip." Yang told them.
"That's an understatement." Weiss said.
"No kidding..." I crossed my arms.
"Wait, who's the old lady?" Nora asked.
"I'm so glad you're all safe." Blake said.
"Seriously..."
"Ah! You're gonna love this place!" Nora told us.
I placed my hands in my pockets as I followed Nora and Ren.
A few minutes passed as we found a trolly and boarded it. "It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be." Yang said.
"It's actually one of the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant." Ren told us.
"No way! But wait, wouldn't it be harder to settle something this big away from the main Kingdom?" Ruby asked.
"Well, it was, until Mantle showed up. Early settlement attempts by Mistral didn't go well. But colonists from Mantle were able to help them brave the cold climate and return for goods that Solitas couldn't provide." Jaune explained.
"The two nations worked together to create a hybrid city. While it falls under Mistral domain, Atlas keeps a military presence here to help keep the people safe and keep trade between the two nations steady." Ren added.
"Well, until recently..."
The trolley makes a stop and everyone hopped off.
"We should probably start looking for a ship." I said, glancing at the ocean.
"So, where have you guys been staying?" Oscar asked.
"Uh..." Jaune chuckled nervously.
"There you are!"
As the trolley leaves, a blonde woman stood with her baby son in her arm on the other side of the street waving to Jaune.
"Is that...?"
"Hey, Saph." Jaune smiled and waved back.
Ruby looked from the woman to Jaune a couple of times. "Your sister?" I asked him.
"One of them..." Jaune replied before heading towards her. "Come on."
Later, all of us were inside Saphron's house, the name of Jaune's sister.
"I can't believe I'm meeting your sister! I have so many questions." Ruby said.
"Oh, I can give you the rundown later!" Saphron said.
"Will you guys knock it off?" Jaune asked.
"What? I love telling stories about my baby brother." she squeezed Jaune's cheek.
"I am not a baby!" Jaune said after getting Saphron's hand away from him. "That is a baby." he pointed at Adrian, Saphron's son.
Yang and Weiss get all wide-eyed as they fuss over Adrian. Both of them making baby talk, as well.
"So Saphron, you're the only Arc living here?" I asked.
A picture on the bookshelf of the Arc siblings all together can be seen, with a young Jaune at the center with pigtails and a deadpan expression while holding a sign that says "HELP" on it while his sisters do various crazy things around him.
"Yep! Moved the second I could. Jaune and I are the only two living away from home." Saphron said. "I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis."
"I, uh..." Jaune groaned.
"Aw, you didn't deny it!"
The two siblings play fight with each other by pulling each other's cheeks. Suddenly, the door opened to a dark haired lady with glasses carrying an armful of groceries.
"Everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta." Saphron said.
"Hello!"
"Hey there!"
"Nice to meet you."
"Why, hello there! Wow, quite a party, you weren't kidding. Hun, can I get some help please?" Terra asked Saphron.
Saphron quickly ran over to help Terra in the kitchen.
Later on, Jaune, Nora and Ren helped make sandwiches for everyone.
"And you're sure it's alright if we stay with you?" Weiss asked.
"Of course, we're happy to house Huntsmen and Huntresses." Saphron replied.
"You all risk so much to keep people like us safe. It's the least we can do." Terra added. "Especially for such an elite Huntsman like yourself." she said to Qrow. "Although, I will say I was surprised to learn you had students helping you. Is that even... legal?"
Ruby nudged Qrow's arm to get him to pay attention. "Uh, of course. Think of it as an extended training mission. Trust me, I was a professor. Even went to the same academy as them. Let me tell ya, these kids are way better than we were at their age."
Jaune, Ren and Nora walked back into the room with plates full of sandwiches. Ruby gasps happily upon seeing them.
"Well, not better than me specifically, but a lot of students-"
"Shut up, there's food!" Ruby shouted.
Yang offered me a sandwhich but I declined. "I'm not hungry."
"Excuse me, I'll be right back." Terra suddenly left the room. "Hello?"
"Is everything okay?" Blake asked.
"Oh, yeah, it will be. Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower. Unfortunately, the military's radar system is also housed there." Saphron said before making baby talj to Adrian. "Guess what's been on the fritz lately and who's getting falsely blamed."
Terra peeked back into the room. "Me."
"So, what's your plan for tomorrow?" Saphron asked.
"Well..." Ruby swallowed her food. "We're trying to make our way to Atlas. We'll probably start with the military base."
Nora and Ren share concerned looks.
"So, we kind of already tried that, and... it didn't go... super great."
"Come on, it couldn't be that bad..."
The next day, we all walked up to the Atlesian Military base on the island off the coast of Argus, only for the gates to abruptly close on us before we could even enter.
"Great..."
End of chapter 40