Chapter 13! Oh man, I hope Jaune is lucky enough to survive.
Nerdy: bruh, he has 8 girls. The likelihood is low lol.
REVIEWS:
Anikong: Yeah buddy, Jacques' getting what is coming to him! As for Winter...We already have someone for her.
MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs: Not rude man, but adding salt to the injury.
Guest: Thanks for pointing it out, we will see when we can go back and fix it.
Ok, going down the list so far Jaune made sure to check Cinder, Blake, and Salem, those three being done and now able to go down the list once more. Yang and Ruby send him a text on Ruby's scroll, stating that they are ready for their dates, which got him thinking about what they meant. Until another message popped up.
"You will be doing us at the same time, so bring your A-game, Lover boy~" That had Yang written all over it and Jaune felt his heart nearly explode from his chest at what it meant. He was going to date both Yang and Ruby at the same time?!
He was currently heading to General Ironwood's hotel for that game of chess of theirs he invited him to yesterday, but this needed to be attended as well, so he sent a message on a special group chat he made so keep in contact with his team which, by now, had Ash, Ren, Roman, Hei, Sun, and Neptune in it. And the latest addition? Believe it or not, he even added Cardin to it. His former bully has been proving himself more and more as time went by, and he was asking for advice, so he told him that this will help him get experience as well for when he gets himself a girlfriend.
He was curious what kind of girl would have him as Cardin was not really a perfect gentleman.
He eventually reached the front of the hotel, marveling at the building as he recognized it as one of the 5-star hotels in Vale. This was likely where Ironwood was at, so he went inside, an employer coming to him to greet him.
"Good day, Sir, what can I help you with?" They asked, keeping a polite and proper tone.
"Good day as well. I am here to meet up with General James Ironwood, he invited me." Jaune said, to which the employee raised their eyebrow, looking over to the desk where his co-worker dialed up a number on their phone.
"Please wait one moment, Sir." They told Jaune, then the employee sitting at the desk looked back at them, nodding their head. "It looks like the General truly is waiting for you, Sir. Forgive our skepticism, but General Ironwood is one of our top VIPs, hence why we can be secretive about it. Hope you understand, there are a lot of jackals in the media out there wanting a good story."
"I understand. Mind leading me to his room then?" He asked, to which the employee turned to the side, allowing him to go forth.
"After you, Sir." They said, leading Jaune to the elevator and up to the 12th floor, the door eventually opening to reveal the neatly decorated hallway. They walked through it until they turned a corner, seeing what Jaune assumed to be the General's door if the armed guards were anything to go by. "Room 128."
"Thank you." Jaune said, then the employer left him, going back to the lobby. Jaune went forth, walking up to Ironwood's door, the guards seeing him and reacting.
"Stop! We are sorry, but this floor is off-limits. Mind telling us why you are here?" The guard asked him, the other one readying their weapon. Then the door opened and a known voice was heard.
"Stand down, he is my guest," Ironwood said, to which the guards stood aside.
"Of course, Sir." They said in unison, allowing Jaune to go inside Ironwood's room, at which point his jaw dropped as he saw the room. It was fitting for the general, that was for sure, seeing all the expensive furniture and decor and even a king-sized bed.
"So, Mister Arc, I guess you are here for our game of chess then?" The General asked, looking at Jaune as he placed himself at the table, a board already prepared on it. "I was expecting you."
"Sure, General." He replied, taking a seat as well, choosing to take the white pieces while Ironwood took the black ones. Already a clever move by the man, choosing to go second. But he didn't want to lose easily, so he simply made his move. "I must say, it is not every day a student is invited to talk with the head of both the military and academy of Atlas."
"I guess that makes you lucky then, Mister Arc," Ironwood said, moving his own piece. "I must say this is a novelty for me as well, but all of the days from Ozpin's little reveal had been novelties so far. Salem being contained, married to you, his disease, the return of the Fall Maiden, the changing of the Fall Maiden - a decision I am not still completely agreeing with - and lastly, the plot to take out Jacques…" He sighed. "Quite the week, but it sure beats doing paperwork all day."
"I guess." Jaune replied, examining the board a bit. "Also, no need for formalities, Sir, Jaune is fine" He then made his move, earning an arched eyebrow from the older man before him.
"In that case, I have nothing against you addressing me as simply Ironwood or James." He replied, moving his own piece and making Jaune click his tongue. "But no nicknames like Qrow Brawnen."
"Understood, James." Jaune said, then he moved his own piece, deciding to try a little gamble. "I must say, everything was not really planned. The whole marriage thing just happened."
"Due to alcohol, I am aware." James said as he moved his piece, taking one of Jaune's pawns in the process. "I must say, I didn't believe it at first, but looking at Qrow I imagine alcohol can really make someone unwind and forget about stress. Still, it makes people sloppy."
"I assume you drink as well then?" Jaune asked, making his move and managing to take one of Ironwood's rooks. The General saw this and arched his eyebrow again, deciding that going easy against Jaune might be unneeded.
"Yes, I do. But I do so moderately and rarely since I have a lot of duties to attend to." He replied, moving his piece and seeing Jaune's eyes widen a bit, the boy realizing he was being tested at first. No more baby steps, time to go hard or go home on this game. "But I did hear about how you planned to offer them all dates in an attempt to offer equal treatment to them all, correct?" Jaune nodded, moving his own piece. "This is where I am a bit confused. The girls are all different in their own ways, some sophisticated like Weiss, others more carefree like Yang." He said, addressing the girls by their first names. Jaune didn't mind that, it must be a sign he was more relaxed.
"I am actually not entirely alone in this," Jaune revealed as Ironwood made his move again, the man looking at the younger boy before him. "I have some friends and acquaintances to help me out. I think you heard of some of them, some are ex-associates of Salem. Roman Torchwick is an example, then there is Hei Xiong, AKA Junior and his nieces along with Neo." Jaune made his move but did see the General's slightly agape mouth.
"And you are telling me you associate yourself with such dangerous criminals?" He asked, looking at him with skepticism. He did make his move, an aggressive one to relay the message to Jaune. "Did you even know them personally beforehand?"
"Only one of them, and I didn't know about him being one until the whole marriage thing. His name is Ash Auburn, and he infiltrated Beacon to keep an eye on everything and warn Roman about any attempts to stop his Dust robberies." He revealed, making his own move against the General. "However, I can assure you they were being pressured by Salem to do everything. Now that everything is settled, I was told by Roman they will go back to their normal illegal activities, meaning things will be easier."
"That still doesn't make them model citizens." Ironwood countered, making his own move again. "They are still criminals who need to be punished by law."
"That they are." Jaune said, calmly as he made his move again. "But compared to what they were doing under Salem? They calmed down. Heck, Roman was even talking about retiring a few times."
"A retired crook is still a crook," Ironwood said with hostility as he made his move. "Regardless of where he runs, we will catch him and-"
"Do you even have evidence against him?" Jaune asked out of curiosity, catching the General off-guard. "Not to be rude, but Ozpin pretty much gave him and the others a fresh start if he returned the Dust, which he did, so any evidence so far is no longer valid. Be them physical ones, testimonies, or witnesses."
Ironwood sighed. "Damn it, Ozpin." He swore, not seeing Jaune make his move. "Anyway, who else do you have in your group?"
"My teammate, Lie Ren, Ash Auburn, Cardin Winchester, Sun Wukong, and Neptune Vasilias." Jaune said, listing them "They each brought their own contributions to everything, although Cardin is the latest addition to it all. We usually try to plan things out so I do not blow it, something I find really important if I am to fix the current mess."
Ironwood made his move again, humming in thought. "And what would this mess be? Apart from the scandalous marriage, that is."
"Well, not everyone was fully on board with it." He revealed. "At first, a part of them wanted to divorce at once, and Weiss still wants to! But because not everyone is in mutual agreement, a divorce is not possible. Same with Ash, who is being stopped by the twins and Neo" He made his move again, smiling as he saw the board. "Check, General"
Ironwood raised his eyebrow and examined the board, indeed seeing himself under check as Jaune's bishop had a clear line to his king. But he was not born yesterday, so he decided to use castling to save his king. He left his rook exposed, but even if he took with the bishop, Ironwood knew Jaune needed to keep that one piece. "I see. That is indeed a problem. Care to share some of your plans?"
"Well, it is simple; each girl will have a date and-"
"I mean, how did you decide in which order. " Ironwood clarified the question, to which Jaune looked a bit awkward, even him moving the piece seemed off. "Jaune?"
"We...rolled a dice to decide the order at random." He revealed, once again stunning Ironwood.
"Are you serious? A dice?" He asked, watching Jaune nod. The man pinched the bridge of his nose, not bothering to make his move yet. He then let out a chuckle as the thought traveled through his mind. "And you have been planning based on this random order? I must say, it does reflect reality a bit as you can never know what life might throw at you. Planning even for the undecided, yet random events." He then moved his piece. "Check, Jaune."
"Is it?" Jaune asked, making James look at the board once again and see a shocking thing. By moving that piece he exposed his King and there was no way to cover it or move it somewhere else, effectively placing himself in a checkmate situation. But the same was true with Jaune, as the piece he just moved, coupled with a move he was about to do next turn, would have placed the boy in checkmate.
The game was at a standstill now. "You can retreat your piece, General, and do another move, it is no problem-"
"No, no," James said, placing a hand over his King, toppling it over. "This is a checkmate for me, Jaune. Well played. You chased my King into a corner from which it couldn't escape and even prevented me from seeing it. Even if I made a move against you, the only possible one would result in checkmate for me. Making your opponent defeat themselves...Clever."
"Thank you, James, it was a good game," Jaune said, getting up and shaking Ironwood's hand.
"Indeed it was, Jaune, indeed it was. Now, how about we sit down and have another chat? This time, about your dating plans? Who is next?"
"Curious, James?" Jaune asked.
"Quite so. This is a new field of strategy altogether, requiring a separate type of skill from the military ones. I see it as a refreshing experience if anything." The General said. "So?"
"Well, originally it was supposed to be Ruby, but it seems she and Yang are going to be teaming up against me." He said. "To be frank, Yang was originally against this whole ordeal, and after a problematic event, in which she punched a tooth of mine out, she calmed down and decided to try it out. Although, she did say I needed to build up some muscle if I was to be her husband."
The General chuckled. "I imagine. I know her father, Tai Xiao Long, and I know how that man is. So if anything, seeing his daughter inherit him a bit is to be expected. Still, you are at a numerical disadvantage."
"They also sent me details. Apparently, they want to spend a day at the gym as well." He said, cursing his luck a bit.
"And no field advantage," Ironwood said. "They are really pinning the odds against you. How are you planning to deal with that?"
"I do not know." He admitted, then he looked at his scroll. Ok, this might be awkward as the mother of all awkward situations, but he needed his council here. "Do you mind if I call the others? Including Roman and Hei?"
Ironwood thought about the proposal for a bit, trying to decide if letting criminals into his apartment would be a good idea. But then he recalled the situation. "Why not?" He sighed with a bit of a forced smile. "Not like I got any sensible secret military files in my room for either of them to steal and they would be outnumbered by the others and my guards."
"Great!" He cheered, then he got his scroll out, preparing to dial them. "Wait, you weren't serious about the files, were you? That was just a sarcastic joke, right?"
"Yes." He said, easing Jaune's concern. "The files are actually with Winter a few rooms back." And now he tensed up.
"No word about it." Jaune said, to which the general nodded, then he made the call, summoning his council to Ironwood's hotel room. Safe to say they were all surprised on different levels. The first to arrive was Ren, who simply gave the General a respectful bow before taking a seat. Jaune and Ironwood decided to move things to the bedroom where they will hold the meeting, using the bed and chairs as sitting places to decide.
After Ren, Neptune and Sun arrived, the boys who usually acted very carefree, tensing up at the sight of Ironwood, with Sun actually trying to hide his tail out of fear. Luckily, Ironwood assured him there was no issue regarding his Faunus heritage and even told him it was a pleasant sight. A rehearsed phrase to use on TV, but it worked. Lastly from the relatively good guys, Cardin showed up, having left his weapon and armor at Beacon and showing up in usual clothing. He always stood proud, but once again, the sight of Ironwood made him feel like an ant. Ironwood heard of him and was a little less welcoming to the former bully, but not to the point he was rude.
Then came the misfits. Roman, Ash, and Hei arrived at once and Ironwood immediately locked eyes with them. Roman actually accused Jaune of setting up a trap, thinking the General was not home, but Ironwood cleared the situation to the thieves. After that little awkward talk, they all finally sat down to decide the situation, although Ironwood was curious.
"I do find myself asking why you are helping Jaune here, Roman." He asked the thief who then looked at him with a calm face, if not a bit irked.
"It is quite simple, Tinman!" He replied, using a rude nickname for Ironwood. The General, in turn, was not affected. He expected such a rude comment. "Look, Jaune's marriage here actually got those broads off my back, meaning I can steal what I want from whoever I want! No need for a big-time Dust heist anymore, which I assume is good for you as well, no?"
"For Vale, that is" Ironwood replied.
"Oh, same thing." Roman said nonchalantly. "Thing is their evil schemes of world-domination or whatever are no more, so I can be at peace. Well, granted something does not happen that makes them return to me, in which case I will be in shit up to my neck. So there is my reason. Happy wives, happy Roman."
"It does make sense" Cardin said, siding with Roman. "Help someone so it works for you."
Ironwood hummed, then he leaned back on his chair. "Very well then. Shall we move on to the subject at hand then?"
"Yes." Jaune said. "Alright guys, I got a message from Ruby and Yang, apparently regarding their date. We do not need to hide who was the mole anymore." Everyone looked at Ash, the boy raising his arms in defense.
"That black cat was playing dirty, every single one of you would've chirped as well if you were in my shoes!" He said, defending himself.
"Regardless, Yang and Ruby are going to be dating me...both at once, at the gym" Jaune said, watching everyone put on their surprised faces, minus Ironwood who knew.
"Well, this is certainly unexpected. " Ren said, actually sounding concerned. "Those two, despite their close relationship, are not really alike. And the place seems more like something Yang would choose, not Ruby."
"Do you think she is forcing her again as she did when she tried to leave?" Jaune asked, worried.
"No, I think it is something else." Ren said, relieving them.
"Those two have always been close and still are, despite the revelation of being cousins instead of sisters." Cardin said. "Rumor travels, especially when Valkyrie is on the job"
"Makes sense." Jaune said, noting it down to talk with Nora about keeping secrets better next time. "Still, why the gym and why a date with both?"
"I think it has to do with their upbringing." Hei said, adding his own input. "The blonde used to come a lot to my club, asking about her mother. But believe me when I tell you I knew nothing about her."
"Raven Brawnen, the current leader of the Brawnen bandit tribe." Ironwood said, attracting everyone's gaze. "Ex-member of Team STRQ and the twin sister of Qrow Brawnen, aunt to Ruby Rose, biological mother to Yang Xiao Long, ex-wife of Tai Xiao Long. She is a wanted person."
"You...sure are well informed." Sun said with a cold sweat.
"Her people raided Argus, or at least tried to, some time ago." Ironwood said. "I kept my eyes on her since."
"Wait, so you know where she is, currently?" Jaune asked in surprise, to which the General seemed to fall silent.
"We have been tracking their movement, yes, and I do know of their current location in Anima. I did not bring it up to her daughter because, assuming she does inherit from both parents, I am certain she will waste no time chasing her." He said. "Raven Brawnen is no model mother, Jaune. If Yang were to simply chase her, I am afraid Raven might put a blade through her own daughter."
Everyone muttered and looked at each other hearing that, Jaune staring with wide eyes at the revelation. "There is more...Something I couldn't connect until recently when I learned of Salem and the whole Maiden shebang from Roman." Hei said. "About three years ago, reports of a strange girl with surreal abilities came to my attention from my sister-in-law's network of information. You know her as Little Miss Malachite, Ironwood. We didn't make much of it at the time, especially after Brawnen took her...But now I am certain of something, and it is a big problem which adds onto the earlier point."
"Wait, you are not saying that the broad has-"
"Killed and took the powers from the previous maiden?" Hei said, cutting off Roman and catching everyone off-guard, Cardin especially. Jaune will need to debrief him later as this all seemed confusing as fuck to him. "I fear so. Ever since that day, reports of unnatural weather phenomenon during her raids became more common and one survivor even said something about her having blue fire around her eyes."
"Well, isn't that fucking great!" Roman said, sarcastically. "As if one powerful hoe wasn't enough to plague my dreams at night, now there are more! Any ideas on how to get rid of her knowing she can do hocus pocus?"
"That is a very worrisome issue indeed." Ironwood said, grabbing his scroll. "I have to contact Ozpin at once and tell him about this, hopefully, get help to capture her."
"Hey there, what is this about?" Jaune asked, seeming shocked. "She is Yang's mother! Why are you guys acting as such because she is a Maiden?"
"Boy, you know not of her reputation"
"Or met her, for that matter." Ironwood said, adding to Hei's previous words. "Raven has always been a wildcard, Ozpin admitted so himself! This is why he never revealed every single secret to her, trusting her brother more. Although I did ask Ozpin if Raven would be a candidate for Maiden once and he told me it was out of the question. He saw how Raven was, knew of the twisted philosophy she lived by. He might have been able to make Qrow change and see the right path, but Raven was dead set on it all."
"Is her lifestyle that bad? I mean, she is just a bandit" Sun said, apparently not reading the room.
"She thinks the weak ones are due to the reaper's scythe while the strong drive on their corpses," Ironwood said, silencing the room. "But she is twisted, confusing strength for power."
"If she had been as strong as she claimed to be then she'd be here now, fighting alongside her brother." Ren said, catching on to their words. "But she isn't, right? She is scared, and that makes her dangerous."
"She is highly volatile," Ironwood said again, having sent Ozpin the message. "If theory serves its purpose, she is this way out of fear for Salem."
"But Salem is no longer an issue, right?" Neptune asked, looking at Jaune and pointing at him. "He has her under check!"
"But she might not know that," Hei said, countering Neptune's words. "Which might be for the best. If she found out Salem was 'tamed' she might lose that fear and act more boldly. Brothers know what that woman might do if she did. I will call my sister-in-law and tell her to offer me as much intel on her as possible and I will hand it over to you...for a price."
"Of course you'd want to make a profit of it all." Ironwood sighed.
"Say what you say, Tinman, but we are still crooks." Roman said. "Granted, I agree, Hei. I think a discount is in order."
"Very well then. But only because I do not want such a woman to one day rain down fire on my club"
"Well, now that this issue is talked over, can we return to the matter at hand? Namely, the beauties Jaune here is taking out to town?" Ash said, bringing back the topic to its original goal.
"Right. Since I assume Yang was the one to plan this, for the most part, I at least assume she has Ruby agreeing to it" Jaune said. "If so, then she might have another goal in mind with this date."
"I agree." Cardin said. "This seems somewhat fishy."
"Maybe she wants to see how he is around Little Red? You know, like a single mom looking for a good father for her children." Roman pointed out, to which Jaune snapped his fingers.
"That's it!"
"Jaune! You sly blonde, you already put a bun in her oven?" Roman asked back.
"What?!" Jaune said, slightly freaking out. "No! It's Ruby! If the stories I heard so far are true, then Yang, as the older sibling, a role I can relate to, has likely needed to take care of her!"
"It does sound plausible." Ironwood said. "Yang must have had to grow up faster than most due to the absence of a maternal figure in their life and needing to make sure Ruby doesn't suffer from it as she did."
"Which means this is not a normal date, but a way for her to measure if Jaune is good enough for Ruby!" Neptune summarized, actually surprising them. "What? I am not all good looks and no brain."
"Still, that does sound correct." Jaune said. 'Yang is likely trying to see if I am good for Ruby, to see if I am not some leecher. It is a test."
Roman snorted. "One you are bound to pass. You are one of the purest and naive guys I know, Arc! I don't see her finding you as a bad man."
"What about a weak man, though?" Hei said, bringing up another point. "Since her mother is from Anima, it is safe to assume she has the genes, meaning she might be like the women there. She is picky of her husband."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ren asked, this being the first time he heard of it despite him being from the same continent.
"It means that unless Jaune here can prove he is the one wearing the pants she might take the top position a bit too often." Roman finished. "But in this case? If anything were to happen to Red, then she might blame Jaune for not being strong enough."
"My word, she does inherit Raven as well." Ironwood said.
"Guys, relax!" Sun said, going over to Jaune and throwing his arm around his neck. "This is a date at the gym! I will take it upon myself to ready our friend here as a fellow blonde!"
"Are you sure? We might need to keep watch in case of anyone trying to jump Jaune." Cardin said. "The gym is not exactly a private place to be, being quite public and often used."
"Which is why we need to get it 'closed down for maintenance of equipment'" Sun said, a sly smirk on his face as he turned to Ironwood. "Think you can convince Ozpin of that, Big J?"
"Big J?!" Ironwood gasped slightly hearing that, Sun shrinking at once.
"General James Ironwood, Sir, I meant!" The monkey Faunus corrected himself.
"That's better and yes, I think I can get Ozpin on board with this. It seems he has been willing to pull a lot of strings lately for this thing, reasons which I understand, so why not pull some as well? Believe it or not, with Salem away, this fixes up a bunch of stress issues for me as well, meaning that this marriage is now one of my top priorities!"
However, back at Beacon, in Team RWBY's room, the council of the wives was underway, with Nora once again at a table with a hammer in hand which she knocked on the wood. "Alright ladies, the council is in session! As you all know, Yang and Ruby here are starting their own little date with the Fearless Leader and husband of eight wives! As such, it is our duty to make sure it goes well. So ladies, let loose your opinions!"
"Uhm, do we really need to talk about mine and Yang's plan?" Ruby asked, raising her hand shyly.
"To be fair, sharing with us is not needed per se, but if Jaune is going out of his way to assure equality among us all then we should respect it by also treating each other as equals." Blake said, but Emerald snorted.
"Says the cat who blew him" The girl said, Blake turning her gaze towards her with narrowed, irked eyes.
"Look, we all got something from him, a kind of first." Cinder said. "I got the first date, Blake got the first...sober taste, and Salem got a taste of his dancing"
"Which is very energetic and fun." Added the Queen of Grimm. "The way he was leading me and throwing me around. The bold moves; it might have been the bit of alcohol he had that made him so bold, but I am certain he was mostly sober at the time!" She sighed. "He certainly knows how to tire a lady out"
"So this is more or less us discussing those things so we know what to try out, correct?" Yang asked. "I mean, I know I won't be doing any dancing with Vomit Boy any time soon, but maybe I can do other things if he proves good enough. Maybe a kiss on the cheek?"
"Oh please, are you some shy school girl?" Asked Melanie, one of the twins. "I knew you to be a lot bolder, blondie. Where is the hoe who literally grabbed Junior by his balls?"
Yang blushed at the implications of that. 'Hey! It's not that easy! I don't see you getting all lovey-dovey with Ash!"
"Because he is still avoiding us like the plague and so far only Neo has been able to get seconds." Militia said, eyes turning to the short mute in the room who simply brought out her scroll.
"What can I say? I like having my fun and he did nearly get me pregnant." the mute said via the text of her phone. "Thank the Brothers it was a safe day."
"Ugh. Such distasteful talk!" Weiss whined. "I don't know why I am even here! I do not agree to this marriage, so why do I have to be here, again?"
"Because like it or not, you are in the same boat, Ice Queen" Yang said. "Besides, he did say that stuff about taking down your pops, so that has to mean some stuff, right?"
"As if he can even get close" She said, dismissing the possibility. "I did do research and found out that the Arc name IS powerful, but will it be enough to sway the SDC sales? I doubt it"
"You cannot dismiss the possibility" Pyrrha said, her tone sounding a bit off as if she was a bit angry. "Jaune is willing to do so much for us and yet you still treat him badly. Can you at least try to tolerate him?"
"That dork has been chasing me around all the time so far!" Weiss said. "He kept trying to court me, but I assure you that, even now, he is simply after my wealth and name"
"He is not that kind of man, Schnee." Pyrrha said to her, a dangerous aura radiating from her. "You know it, Yang knows it, we all know it! He is not that shallow of a man. I am certain he cares for us all, deeply so!"
"How could he?" Weiss asked, the argument heating up. Everyone could tell this was getting too heated, but Weiss didn't care. All she cared about was proving her own point. "He took advantage of us all when we were in a state of vulnerability, took all of our maidenhoods without a second thought, and even had the gall to write our names on condoms to keep track of all who he eloped with!"
"He was just as drunk as all of us!" Pyrrha snapped back at Weiss, the heiress flinching at the outburst. "So don't go around, parading yourself as the victim when you were just as guilty! Jaune was just as drunk as all of us, so do you really believe he would be able to do something like this in the first place?"
"They do say alcohol can release the truth beneath" Weiss said. "My mother revealed herself as the weak and pathetic woman she is and Jaune is no-" Her words were interrupted when another aura was felt, but compared to Pyrrha this was a complete monster. They turned their eyes to the source, looking upon Salem. Her posture showed calm and control, but as she looked at them they could see the anger in her eyes.
"That is enough from both of you" She said, taking control of the situation. Everyone fell silent, letting Salem speak. "Look at you, bickering about something already done. The past is the past and it cannot be changed, instead, we should look at the present and future. This is a lesson he showed me."
Weiss looked at Salem with surprise at her words, since they were from Jaune. "Weiss." Salem called out her name, the girl looking at the immortal witch before her and feeling...small, helpless. She felt trapped, a hummingbird in its cage again. "You said yesterday to your sister that you will try to fix things with your mother this weekend, correct?" She asked, the girl nodding. "If you are, why insult her even now? Take this from me not as a woman, but as a mother. There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing your child."
"What? What do you mean?" Weiss asked.
"Your mother is suffering not from her loveless marriage alone, but also because you pushed her away." She said, once again catching Weiss off-guard. "So please, do not insult her any more. I am certain that, if you let her, she can be the loving mother you need."
"I...I understand." The heiress said.
"But with that being said, do not compare her to Jaune." Salem added. "Your mother fell to the bottle because of heartache, because she was pushed there by your father, and later, by you. But that is by no means your mother, just as Jaune is by no means some leech looking for either your money or name. Actually, it is the opposite in a way since he kept his name and you got his."
Weiss then gasped as she recalled that detail, remembering what her new name was. Arc-Schnee. Jaune's name was still simply Arc, nothing more, meaning he was only a Schnee by having Weiss as his wife. He didn't take her name…" He...didn't take my name." She muttered.
"No, he did not." Salem said again, the aura from earlier fading slowly. "He took none of our names. And that, Weiss, is a decision taken during the ceremony. We took his name, the name of Arc, a prestigious family with a large influence in the world of Huntsmen, and made it ours by vows."
"I...I was wrong?" She asked, looking up to Salem.
"Afraid so" She said, then watched as Weiss took a seat again, her head supported by her hands.
"Weiss?" Ruby said, going towards her, but she was stopped by Salem.
"Don't. She needs time to think. Let's just ignore her and return to our council." Salem said, as mean as it might have sounded, but everyone knew she was right. Besides, Weiss likely couldn't hear them anymore as they went into her own little world within her mind to rethink everything. Pyrrha too decided to sit down, calming herself.
"Well, now that the drama has blown over, care to tell us how you are going to tease Jaune, Yang?" Emerald asked the blonde, who showed a toothy grin as she went to her closet, pulling out her gym clothing.
"Oh my!" Salem said surprised.
"Now that is how it's done, blondie!" Melanie said.
"Y-Yang! Are you really going in that? Oh no...You got one for me too?!" Ruby asked in a mix of fear and embarrassment.
"Yup! Although you can relax, Ruby, yours is not going to attract eyes like this baby here." Yang said, looking down at her clothing.
"Well, it certainly is a good idea to test his endurance." Blake said. "Word of advice, Yang, you might need to take responsibility if your teasing gets out of hand"
"Relax, Blakey, I got it all under control! Vomit Boy will be wrapped around my finger before he knows it!"
Discord Link: /aw5ZNvH37B
Another chapter is done and ready, guys! This took less time than usual because I had some more spare time, but don't believe it to be a good sign. It was just luck. The next Arc of Hell chapter will take a while longer to write as well, but we are getting there, don't worry.
Nerdy: you like to blue ball the audience don't you?