Author's Note: This is a post-epilogue scene based on Coeur Al'Aran's "Arc Royale." It's probably not going to make the most sense if you haven't read that story first, for context, but of course you don't have to.
-oO0Oo-
A disused classroom was just tidy enough to serve as a meeting place. No chairs were pulled out. No concessions to comfort were made. This would, after all, be a short and uncomfortable conversation, and the room was chosen for the fact that it was conveniently present.
The uniformed woman standing imperiously across from Emerald Sustrai, much less so. But of course, Winter Schnee's position as an Atlas Specialist and right hand of General Ironwood came with responsibilities, as inconvenient as they were for Emerald's purpose. Emerald, on the other hand, was just a shell-shocked criminal looking to reform, with no purpose to occupy her time other than brooding over recent events. Before Emerald could do anything with her life in the aftermath of the attack on Beacon and the war of alternate Jaune Arcs, she desperately needed closure regarding her own assigned champion. Winter Schnee was apparently the only person who might be able to give her that.
"I can hazard a guess as to why you've been hounding me." Winter sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Emerald nodded, before opening her mouth to speak. Winter preempted her, however.
"Ashari's world was very different from our own." Winter began with clinical detachment. "I hope you understand that our world could never be like his. That dwelling on what-ifs is pointless and will, in all likelihood, make it worse." Her expression softened, then. "That being said, I knew this was coming."
"Then you'll tell me? What did he say? Why did he talk to you?" Emerald asked impatiently, hope lifting her expression for the first time since… Since a long time ago, or at least it felt like it. A hungry gleam shone in her red eyes as they met Winter's steely blue.
"Yes." Winter answered. "As I've told you, Jaune Ashari found and adopted Emerald Sustrai in his world, while here I can only assume it was Cinder Fall who found you." Emerald nodded. "He raised that Emerald, and loved her as his own daughter." It was easier, far easier, for Winter to speak of these alternate selves as if they were different people entirely, and not myriad twists and reflections of their own reality. Winter could still barely imagine a world different from the one she'd known her entire life. "Ashari saw an echo of his daughter in you and, rather than fight as the gods intended, he decided to protect you, specifically. To try freeing you from Cinder's control."
"That isn't everything." Emerald prodded, stepping closer as she crossed her arms. "There has to be more you didn't say back there. What else did he tell you? Why did he talk to you in the first place?" Emerald asked again, slumping and leaving her face shadowed by her green hair. "I won't stop until I know everything. I can't."
Winter took a deep breath and clasped her hands behind her back. A frown of contemplation sat on her features, but eventually, she relented.
"In his world, Ashari married Winter Schnee, and they had another child, together. He refused to actually fight me out of sentimentality. Instead, he bargained for your safety."
Emerald gasped and stepped forward, reaching her hand out towards Winter. "Then you-"
"This is not Ashari's world." Winter interjected firmly as she stepped back and swiped her hand in front of herself, as if she were parrying a physical blow. "I remain a Schnee. You remain Emerald Sustrai. Our world's Jaune Arc is not Jaune Ashari, and I am neither his wife nor your mother." Winter bristled with mortification at the thought. Emerald, by contrast, deflated.
"I…" Emerald began, swallowing her tears. "I just don't know what to do, you know? I have nothing left now." her voice cracked as she pressed on. "I loved Cinder, and I thought… that she loved me. But she planned out my murder, gave the order, and the closest thing… The closest thing I'll probably ever have to a dad…" Emerald broke into sobbing. "He died because of me! If I'd been smarter! Or faster! Or if I'd just cared! He'd-"
Something landed on Emerald, and she started and looked up. Winter had crossed the room and awkwardly clasped her shoulder.
"He'd be gone either way when the war ended, but remember he's not actually dead. None of them are." Winter quietly stated. "He deserved better, but he made do, and he accomplished his own mission." Winter squeezed Emerald's shoulder reassuringly as Emerald continued to cry. "Honestly, Ashari's history is not something that I've fully processed, and I'm not comfortable talking about it, least of all with you. At the same time, I can't blame you."
"To my knowledge, half of teams RWBY and JNPR have lost parents themselves. If you need to talk to someone, there can't be any harm in approaching them." Winter paused for a moment, before reconsidering. "Though you probably shouldn't discuss this with Arc himself, or Belladonna either for that matter." Both Emerald and Winter winced at the idea of bringing Emerald's alternate-universe angst to either their own reality's far younger Jaune, or the girl who was very awkwardly dating the boy out of some strange fascination with how many of her own alternate selves had fallen for their respective Jaune Arcs.
Emerald let out a small, bemused chuckle at the thought of how certain things seemed to happen everywhere regardless, and wiped her eyes with her hand as she came to an idea. "I just might do that." she croaked blithely, shrugging out of Winter's grasp. "In fact…" Winter did not like that smirk Emerald was wearing.
"What." Winter flatly demanded.
"Oh, I was thinking about what to do now." Emerald deflected. "Find a real home. Get a legit job. Do right by my parents." Winter caught the insinuation and was unamused at where she saw this discussion going. "If the Specialists will take me, I figure they're kinda like the family business."
Winter frowned. "Sustrai, you cannot force a connection." she barked, as if giving orders to a subordinate "You're looking for something to latch onto, and that's understandable, but it cannot be me. I refuse." Emerald flinched.
"I guess… That was my mistake." Emerald sighed, a note of defeated resignation in her tone. "I'm sorry. You're a military woman and you're only going to get busier, and I've been wrapped up in what I want and didn't even think of how you would feel. What you want. I'm acting like… like Cinder." A shudder of revulsion crossed the girl's frame, and she held her face in her hands.
Winter supposed it was a good thing that Emerald wanted to move forward, and better still that she aimed to fight for humanity in what would be its hardest battle yet to come. "I'm sure you'll find what you need, Sustrai. Just don't go looking for people who don't exist. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to resume my work." Emerald nodded and stood aside, a look of… not quite comfort, but not quite pain either, on her face, and let Winter pass through the door, leaving her alone.
As Winter strode down the hall, she considered the strange situation one final time. The girl was certainly gifted and capable of going somewhere over the next few years, though the role of Specialist probably wouldn't suit her. Hopefully, the next person Emerald gave her heart to would not be horrifically manipulative, but that was firmly none of Winter's own business. Specialist Winter Schnee crushed the thought like a smoldering cigarette butt, and marched onward.