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Jaune Arc was on his knees...
Standing in front of him was his sister, Saffron Cotta Arc, and she did not look happy.
"So, Jaune? I have so many questions right now and you are going to answer them!"said Sacfron in a steen voice.
"I understand, but I'll doubt you will believe me if I tell you the truth."said Jaune, as how in a million years was his sister going to believe that he was in another world all this time instead of being at home with them, his family!
"I feel so bad for Jaune."said Cat Viper, who was currently enjoying a tuna fish sandwich provided to him by Terra Cotta Arc, Saffron's wife.
"She just really missed him and is just glad that he is alive. She is just scolding him for not telling his family that he was alive sooner."said Terra, knowing that all in all her wife Saffron was super happy to find out that her little brother was alive.
"So, how do you suppose we get to Atlas?"asked Ruby, as the next step was to get to Atlas to get the help of General Ironwood and his forces.
"I think you're going to struggle with that, young lady."said Maria, confusing the whole group.
"What do you mean?"asked Qrow, wondering what they meant by that.
A chartwell later at the Argus military base the gate was shot in front of them in a very rude manner..
"Come on! You didn't even hear what we had to say!"said Yang as she held the bars of the gate.
"Our orders are clear! The Mistral - Atlas borders are closed!"said an Atlas guard
"Please, have a good day."said another Atlas guard, who look like he could be his twin brother.
"But-."protested Yang.
"A good day!"said the Atlas guards at the same time.
"Hey, if you don't want to believe that I'm friends with Ironwood-"said Qrow, before he was interrupted.
"General Ironwood!"said the Atlas guards.
"Yeah, General Ironwood then fine. We have Weiss Schnee with us and we're just trying to get her home."said Qrow, hoping that Weiss's status will help her get them past the border.
The two guards looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the group.
"Approach."ordered the guards, making Wiess reluctantly go up to the fence so they could get a better look at her.
The guards looked at her very closely before responding.
"Very well. You may speak to our commanding officer."said one of the guards.
"We will go fetch her at once."said the other guard.
"Hup, hup, hup, hup, hup, hup, hup!"they said at the same time as they began marching away in a ridiculous manner...?
"They were king of..."said Blake, who couldn't finish her sentence.
"Super weird. Uh, yeah."finished Ruby, who quickly figured out what Blake was going to say.
"Hmmm..."said Maria.
"What's wrong?"asked Oscar.
"Well... I may know this commanding officer.
"That's good then. If she's your friend then maybe she's more willing to help us."said Ruby optimistically.
"I wouldn't exactly call us friends."stated Maria.
"Acquaintances?"inquired Weiss.
"Not quite."stated Maria.
"Colleges."said Blake.
"Warmer."stated Maria.
"Enemies."suspected Yang.
"That's the one."answered Maria.
"Wait what?!"asked Oscar with worry.
"Yes, I come through here about once every ten years to get my eyes checked out in Atlas...You bring on authorized cashews on one flight once, and suddenly you're on the extra screening list for life.sakd Maria, as Oscar looked at her like that was the detail she should have shared beforehand.
"You have got to be kidding me."said Qrow, as he had a feeling this old grudge was going to affect their passage to Atlas.
"Now let's not give up hope yet. Maybe she's dead."said Maria, before the gate suddenly opened and the two guards stood before them once again.
"Introducing!"
"Special operative!"
"Caroline Cordovan!"stated the two guards as a woman about Maria's height stood in the middle of them.
That is when Carolina approached Maria.
"Witch."stated Caroline.
"She devil."retorted Maria.
"Hmm... I see you have chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time."said Caroline, referring to the group.
"Oh Cordo. You know they say time changes people. But I see you still have that stick stuck right up your-"said Maria, before Ruby interrupted her as she was about to finish her sentence.
"Hello, miss Cordovan. Ah, my name is Ruby Rose and I was hoping you would hear me out."said Ruby, trying to reason with the special operative.
"You civilians are clearly incapable of understanding our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this, slowly, with smaller words...This base, that relay Tower, the very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas. And it is my duty to uphold them as I am the only one with the wit and tenacity for such a task."said Cordovan confidently with a bit of narcissism.
"Such wit!"
"Such tenacity!"
"Or maybe Atlas wanted to get you as far away from the kingdom as possible."stated Maria, deciding to insult her longtime enemy.
"Ahhh! Your just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This City wouldn't have even been here in the first place it wasn't for Atlesion ancestors, and what do we get in return?! The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats! "said Cordovan with anger.
"Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with the fall of Beacon. We were there."said Ruby, trying to reason with the special operative..
"No one is happy about the Atlas border situation or the embargo. But I know that General Ironwood is just worried. That it's why we need to talk-"said Weiss, before she was interrupted.
"The General is no coward! Atlas is strong! If all the kingdoms plan to make it our enemy so be it! Atlas will prevail!"stated Cordovan with confidence.
"Atlas will prevail!"said the guards, repeating the words of their Superior officer.
"Do you guys seriously need to do that?"asked and annoyed Yang.
"Hmm...If Miss Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then of course the Atlas military will escort her home. But bikini will not be responsible for her friends of... questionable character."said Cordovan, looking at Blake when she said that.
"What is that supposed to mean?"asked Weiss, offended on Blake's behalf.
"It means we're done here!"said Cordovan, before she shut the gates rudely in their faces.
"I don't..."said Weiss, unsure what to do.
"Weiss, we told you we would leave your side for a single second. We we'll find a way to Atlas, together."said Ruby, as she placed her hand on Weiss's shoulder.
...
[Cotta-Arc Household]
"Man, Saffron just barely let me go."said Jaune, who has been scolded all morning and didn't even notice when his friends left and returned.
"I need some fresh air."said Jaune, as he had been cooped up all morning and he could use some fresh air.
That is when he noticed that Ruby was talking to Maria.
"The others went to get food for the night."said Ruby, as she sat down to speak with Maria.
"Why not go with them?"asked Maira.
"I don't know. It's just that this whole situation feels like one bad dream. Jaune doesn't have any plans of staying and helping us fight Salem. First it was Salem, and now these beings from another world are threatening us as well. I feel like I can't do anything."said Ruby sadly.
"You know, you don't give yourself enough credit."stated Maria.
"Thanks."said an appreciative Ruby.
"That was not a compliment."said Maria.
"Uh, what?"asked Ruby.
"If I have to explain it to you then it will just defeat the purpose. But if you're tired of not knowing anything, how about we discusse those eyes of yours."said Maria, as Jaune was always curious as to why Ruby's silver eyes were so special.
"Oh, uh, yes ma'am! I would be honored."said Ruby, feeling like this old woman can finally explain to her why her eyes are so special.
"Sit down for Pete's sake!"said Maria in a scolding manner, before Ruby sat down in front of her.
"Let's start with what do you do know. Tell me?"asked Maria.
"Uhhh, silver eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors, or something. And at the fall of Beacon I turned a giant headless wyvern into stone."said Ruby, as that is all the knowledge she currently had.
"Oh boy."said Maria, realizing she had a lot to deal with.
"Look, if I already knew everything I wouldn't be asking for help."said Ruby in her own defense.
"Yelling."said Maria harshly, getting Ruby's attention back to the subject.
"It's not your fault. I had my father there to teach me, and even he didn't know all the answers, but what he told me makes sense, given what I have seen."
"Was he a huntsman to?"asked Ruby.
"It really wasn't an official title back in his day. I only knew him as an old Soldier, and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours. But I scored higher on the license exam than any other huntsman or huntress that day"answered Maria.
"Who are you?"asked Ruby, wondering who exactly was Maria.
"I was known by many names back in my day. But you probably have heard of the grim reaper?"asked Maria.
"Your the grim reaper! Oh my, I have heard so many stories about you!"said Ruby, as she remembers her uncle Qrow telling her stories about the legendary huntress known as the grim reaper.
"Heheh, I'm nothing more than a shell of my former self."said Maria sadly."But I believe we have other things to focus on."
"Sorry...So, getting back to the situation involving my silver eyes."said Ruby, realizing she got off track.
"Anyway, that day I scored higher than any hundreds or huntsman. Heh, my father would have scolded me for showing off. My father was never able to find much information about our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shown like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world against the darkness. He found so little that in fact it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare? Unless, something was actively seeking to destroy them."said Maria as a butterfly landed on her fruit.
"Salem." answered Ruby, knowing that Salem was the reason.
"I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know it wasn't enough. I owe my life to my training and my semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your most powerful tools."
"What is your semblance?"asked Ruby as a fruit fell from the tree nearby.
"Reflexes."answered Maria. Hard to explain but I can sense things better than most and see attacks almost before they come."
"That sounds like Jaune's observation Haki."said Ruby, as the ability sounded similar.
"Combine that with my training and my secret ability to turn Grimm into stone, or blind them, or vaporize them, and that's how you become the grim reaper."said Maria with a bit of snark.
"So, how long do you plan to hide in the shadows?"asked Maira, as Jaune stepped out of his hiding spot.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but it sounded like an interesting conversation."said Jaune apologetically.
"So... how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?"asked Ruby, as that power would give them an edge over the Grimm.
But that thought was interrupted when Maria hit Ruby on her on her head with her cane.
"First, stop thinking like that! I want you to think of all the times you have triggered your powers."said Maria, wanting Ruby to recall the emotions she felt.
"What did those moments have in common?"
"I was scared and stressed. Is it emotional? Like unlocking a semblance?"asked Ruby.
"There is more than that."said Jaune, remembering it took him a while to understand how to unlock Haki.
"It's emotional but it's more than that. Think, what is it that you wanted?"asked Maria.
"... I wanted to protect my friends.."answered Ruby.
"Exactly. It is the desire to protect life which fuels the light inside of you. Make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or at the very least an enemy of destruction. The creatures of grim were made by the brother of darkness, but your light comes from his brother."said Maria, revealing that silver eyed warriors had the power of the brother of light.
"How do you know that?"asked Jaune.
"I always knew how to use the light, but never why it only worked on the Grimm."
"Then let us ask the individual who knows."said Jaune, as he began to make his way inside.
"Jaune, Where are you going?"asked Ruby.
Jaune who made his way into the living room and picked up the relic of knowledge, just as everyone was returning with the food.
"No!"said Ozpin, as he quickly tried to take away the relic away from Jaune.
"What is the big deal!"asked Jaune.
"That relic is useless for another century as all the questions have been used."said Ozpin as he tried to wrestle the relic away from Jaune.
"What is the meaning of this? If the questions are used up then why are you so upset?"asked Jaune, as the relic of knowledge fell out of his hands.
"I'm not hiding anything! But you certainly are hiding things from your closest friends, Mr Arc!"stated Ozpin.
"I'm not hiding anything!"said an offended Jaune.
"Enough!"said Ruby, revealing that she was holding the relic.
"Miss Rose, please hand over the relic."said Ozpin, as he slowly approached Ruby.
"Ruby, ask the relic and you will know for sure!"shouted Jaune, figuring that the relic of knowledge could help them figure out if what Maria said was true or not.
"No! You two have hidden things long enough. Relic of knowledge, what is Ozpin and Jaune hiding from us!"said Ruby, as The relic began to glow.
"No!"shouted Ozpin as pain as he ran towards the relic, only to be held down by Cat Viper.
"Now sit still until we figure out what is happening!"said Cat Viper.
Jaune meanwhile clenched his fits as he braced himself for reliving the memory he would be shown as soon the entire room was enveloped in a mist...
And before them a Giant blue woman appeared.
"It has been a long time, old man."said Jinn, the spirit that resided within the relic of knowledge
Short chapter but I hope you liked it!