Chapter 47 - Clearing Chats & Credit Checks
"So... this is New Vegas." Jaune murmured, looking around the walled city. "... it's, uh, well... it looks like it's seen better days?"
"It's a dump." Pyrrha stated bluntly, never once relaxing her guard as she led him through the slums, past the ruined buildings and the homeless beggars lining the streets (along with far worse). "When people talk about Vegas, they usually refer to the Strip. That's further in, with all the flashing lights and casinos and the big fancy buildings you saw from outside."
"Well, I mean... its not that bad..." Jaune tried to put it tactfully.
"Yes it is, Arc." Pyrrha just rolled her eyes, before glaring at a thug who looked like he was getting too close to her and her charge.
"Maybe a bit of a touch-up, a paint job and renovation here and there...
"And someone to take care of all those drugged-up Fiends with energy weapons right outside the walls." Pyrrha added drily. "Might as well ask for caps to rain from the fucking sky, Arc. Now let's hurry the fuck up; the faster we get to the Kings, the faster we can get an escort through Freeside."
"Do we really need an escort, Courier?" Jaune raised an eyebrow, having seen the Courier in action before.
"It's just polite, Arc." Pyrrha explained. "The Kings run Freeside, and I'm not interested in starting a war with them... why are you staring at me like that?"
"You... know how to be polite, Six?" Jaune asked, feigning shock.
"Fuck you, Arc." Pyrrha swore, slugging him hard in the shoulder, before wincing as she cradled her hand. What the fuck was his body made of?
"You know, you've been a little bit... grumpier, since we left Boulder City." Jaune frowned. "Has something been on your mind?"
"It's nothing, Arc." Pyrrha growled, too quickly.
Jaune could tell the Courier was lying through her teeth, and wondered if he should press it.
"You can tell me, you know." Jaune offered, trying not to push too hard. "Not like I've got anyone else to tell your secrets to, anyway."
Pyrrha fought down the instinctive urge to point out he'd had that hooded brunette to talk to, knowing that he had a point.
If only that damn trader and his daughter at the 188 hadn't said anything, hadn't snidely commented on how close the two had seemed (or asked if they were heading to Vegas on a fucking honeymoon)... hadn't reminded her that her journey with him was coming to an end pretty soon.
As soon as they got into the Strip and found that schmuck Benny and got the chip back, she'd be making the delivery, and her partnership with him would be over.
"The trader just pissed me off." Pyrrha admitted, giving a technical truth. "It's really nothing, Arc."
She'd known their partnership would only ever be temporary, even if the kid had somehow grown on her like rust on metal in the two weeks or so they'd been working together.
She should never have let her guard down.
Better to put the barriers between them back up, so that the inevitable goodbye wouldn't be so bad later.
"Well, if you say so..." Jaune dropped the subject, seeing that the Courier wouldn't relent. "Anyway, who are the Kings?"
"They're the gang in charge of Freeside." Pyrrha explained. "And they're... well, they're a weird group, to put it lightly."
"Six." Jaune deadpanned. "We've stopped a war between Nightkin worshipping a skull and religious ghouls. Weird's pretty much the default state of things for us."
Pyrrha fought to suppress the snort of laughter.
Damn it, Arc, you're not making this easy for me!
"Well, even for the Wasteland, they're weird." Pyrrha insisted, before elaborating: "Firstly, they have the man and skills to impose order in Freeside, if they really wanted to... but they refuse to take a more proactive role in running Freeside."
"So they profit from the chaos?" Jaune asked, wondering why Pyrrha thought it was weird. He didn't approve, but he knew that there were groups that thrived off of conflict and uncertainty; he still remembered how Yang had described Riften.
"That's the thing; they actually make an effort to patrol their turf." Pyrrha shook her head. "They do seem to care about the people, and the King allows the Followers of the Apocalypse to operate as well in Freeside, but he makes sure the Kings' efforts are purely reactionary."
"Oh." Jaune could now see why Pyrrha couldn't understand it. "Did he ever say why?"
"Eh, something about how, and I'm working from memory here, "No man has the right to tell other people what to do"." Pyrrha quoted, recalling some of the Kings she'd done a few jobs for. "They believe in an idea, "where every man is free to follow his own path, do his own thing... where every man is a king in his own right"."
"That doesn't sound too bad..." Jaune murmured, before adding: "In theory, at least."
"I'll give the Kings this much..." Pyrrha grudgingly conceded. "Those crazy fuckers do walk their talk. Back when House first emerged, about 7 years ago, he offered the tribes settling the Strip an ultimatum; work for him and be a part of New Vegas, enjoying the luxuries and technologies he provided, resettle, or die."
"I'm guessing they refused?"
"Well, that's why they're in Freeside and not the Strip, Arc."
Jaune whistled, quietly impressed. "Well, I guess I can understand where the Kings are coming from, choosing freedom over safety"
"Really, Arc?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.
"Yup." Jaune closed his eyes, recalling the blonde buffoon with more dreams than sense. "My folks, my family... they never wanted me to fight. My father even refused to train me, despite being a good warrior himself. But... I wanted to be a hero too. So, one night, I ran from home..."
"Arc..." Pyrrha whispered, her previous impression of him shattered.
She'd been wrong.
He was the opposite of her.
Where she'd been trained to be a one-woman army, and kicked out of her tribe, he'd never been trained, and had instead run away from his tribe.
And yet...
Despite not having any training, he was still somehow the best swordsman she'd ever met.
Despite not having any training, he was still extraordinarily talented in survival.
Despite never having been prepared for the harshness of the Wasteland, he still acted like the Lone fucking Wanderer.
And, even if the reasons were different...
"So that's why you can't go back, isn't it..."
Jaune just smiled sadly, and shrugged: "Actions have consequences, I guess."
Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat in sympathy, before she forced herself to look away, apologetically muttering: "I'm sorry..."
Damn it, Arc, you're not fuckin' making this easy for me!
"Anyway..." Pyrrha coughed, changing the subject. "We're here, Arc."
Jaune looked up and down at the building they'd stopped at, the "King's School of Impersonation", and then at all the identically-styled-and-dressed black-coiffed guards in black leather jackets and blue jeans, before blinking.
Well, they weren't that bad...
-ACCIDENTAL CLEARING, LAND OF DARKNESS, REMNANT-
"So, let's get this straight." Pyrrha massaged her temples, wondering why the day was so weird.
"You're from another reality called Nirn." Yang Xiao-Long's head was hurting. "And you're the daughter of Raven Branwen of Skyrim and Tai Xiao-Long of Bravil, but this version of Tai never remarried after Raven left..."
"And Jaune did actually die in Beacon." Ruby's tears were flowing. "But he suddenly woke up in your world, specifically in a town called Helgen, as it was under attack by a dragon, and so you saved his life?"
"Pretty much, yes." The Dragonborn answered nonchalantly with a shrug. "I know it sounds weird-"
"Understatement of the year." Yang Xiao-Long muttered under her breath.
"Piss off, milk-drinker." Dragonborn Yang flipped her off. "Anyway, why would I make up a story that unbelievable?"
"... she... does have a point..." Pyrrha reluctantly conceded, torn between her defensive skepticism (hope and denial just hurt too much after a while) and her fervent desire to believe that her partner, her team leader, her first love, had actually somehow... survived the Fall (for lack of a better word).
To believe that he hadn't died because of her destiny.
"Only Team JNPR know that I unlocked Jaune's Aura, during Initiation." Pyrrha continued pointing out, growing more and more convinced that the unknown woman in front of her was right, that Jaune had somehow made it through the Fall. "And she did somehow kill Salem, despite having no Aura... and there was all that weird stuff she did when fighting and escaping us."
"Who in Oblivion was escaping from you lot?" Dragonborn Yang scoffed, crossing her arms. "I just didn't want to hurt Jaune's friends, that's all."
"Oh, you want to go again, bitch?" Yang Xiao-Long growled, stepping forward.
"Yaaannnggg..." Ruby whined, stepping between the two blonde brawlers. "Anyway, Pyrrha, what do you mean, you unlocked Jaune's Aura during Initiation?"
"He..." Pyrrha couldn't help the heat rising to her face. "You know how Jaune's family never wanted him to be a Huntsman, but he did?"
"Yup?"
"So he ran away from home and applied for Beacon... without any training, or even any knowledge of what Aura was." Pyrrha admitted. "So, when I became his partner during Initiation, I unlocked it for him."
Ruby's and Yang's jaws dropped to the floor, at the realization that Jaune had gone through Initiation without Aura, and had been admitted to Beacon without any training or knowledge on how to be a Huntsman, as suddenly a lot of little inconsistencies began making sense, like his initial performance in combat and class, as well as the fact that the Arcs hadn't known about his fate until Pyrrha had told them, and the fact that they'd admitted they hadn't trained him or even wanted him to be a Huntsman.
Dragonborn Yang just pinched the bridge of her nose, as fond exasperation filled her chest. "So, Vomit Boy's always been an idiot, huh..."
""Vomit Boy?""
"... why do you call Jaune "Vomit Boy", Other-Yang?" Ruby asked meekly, wondering why she used their nickname for Jaune.
"When I first saved his life, he threw up on my boots." Dragonborn Yang smiled softly, recalling the fond and cherished memory.
The three natives of Remnant stared at the interdimensional interloper.
"Oh, Oum, you too?" Yang finally asked.
Dragonborn Yang raised an eyebrow. "Too?"
"He, uh... did the same thing with us, when we first met." Ruby shyly admitted.
"Gods damn it, Vomit Boy..." Dragonborn Yang let out a long-suffering sigh.
"It's not his fault he suffered... uh, suffers, from motion sickness..." Pyrrha weakly tried to defend her partner.
"No, no, Doppelyanger over here has the right idea." Yang said, jerking her thumb at the Dragonborn, who merely snorted as the other two groaned.
Yang grinned, glad to finally have a fresh reaction for once. Maybe the other her wasn't so bad after all, even if she did seem feral and barbaric. Giving her sister and her usual sparring partner a look, she decided to kill two birds with one stone: "So, what happened after Vomit Boy threw up on your boots?"
Ruby's and Pyrrha's ears both perked up, and Dragonborn Yang's smile only grew warmer, as she recounted her first days in Skyrim.
"Well, when we first met in the land of Skyrim, he was raving about fire, a tower, and a dragon, so we naturally assumed that he knew something about the return of the dragons -oh, yeah, that dragon attack was the first recorded dragon attack in thousands of years, by the way- and we asked him about the dragon.
"Instead of giving us any useful information about our current situation, he instead told us that he was from another world, where creatures of shadow and nightmares roamed a world illuminated by a broken moon, where magic didn't exist but Aura did. We were skeptical, but he convinced us by demonstrating his Aura and his shield-sheath... thing.
"We went to give a warning to the Jarl of Whiterun (that's the lord of the land for you) about the return of the dragon, when a watchtower was attacked by a different dragon.
"Back then, we didn't know what we were dealing with, and even a lesser dragon like that one was almost invincible. But beat it we eventually did, with the help of the local guards. Jaune landed the final blow with an enchanted sword, after protecting me from the dragon as it broke my spine and tried to roast me alive, before channeling his Aura into me to heal me-"
"Enchanted sword?"
"Channeling his Aura into you?"
"Vomit Boy killed a dragon? Seriously?"
"Oh, right, I forgot... Jaune said Remnant doesn't have magic..." Dragonborn Yang recalled, frowning at the interruptions. "... by the way, so what was up with that witch who called herself "Queen of the Grimm"? Jaune told me a bit about Semblances, but I don't think he ever mentioned anything like a nigh-immortal regenerating hag who could toss fireballs and command the Grimm..."
"Oh, right..." Ruby murmured. "Uh, funny story... turns out, Remnant used to have magic! Like, millions of years ago! But we only found out after the Fall of Beacon, so I guess Jaune wouldn't have known about that..."
Dragonborn Yang just groaned, wondering why Remnant seemed more complicated to her than Skyrim, before continuing on: "Anyway, Nirn has magic. Jaune found an enchanted sword in an ancient tomb, before we ran into the dragon. And, for some reason, he could activate the sword's enchantment by channeling his Aura into it. He stabbed the blade into the dragon's neck and conjured forth a burst of ice into the wound, injuring the beast enough for him to decapitate it with a final swing."
Yang let loose a low whistle, unable to comprehend Vomit Boy of all people killing a dragon. Sure, she'd seen his Scroll's recording, of him holding out against Cinder Fall, but that had him relying more on cheap tricks, his shield, and his Aura to buy time. Maybe dragons in Nirn were just weaker?
"Wait, but you said he used his Aura to heal your broken spine..." Pyrrha pointed out. "And he also used it to protect himself from a dragon and activate the sword's enchantment?! And he was fine afterwards?"
"Yes?" Dragonborn Yang confirmed with a nod. "Why wouldn't he be?"
Pyrrha fought to keep her eyes from bugging out. The amount of Aura needed just to heal such a grievous wound would have been insane! Trying to do it after fighting a dragon and channeling it into a sword... she'd always known her partner had had an exceptionally large Aura pool, but that was just ridiculous!
It was just like her partner, though, to do something ridiculous without even noticing (like attending Beacon without knowing what in Oum's name Aura was), just because he didn't know any better.
Warm pride filled her chest.
"Anyway, after that... we found out I was something called a Dragonborn, when I ate the soul of the slain dragon, and accidentally Shouted him into the sky." Dragonborn Yang continued on, seeing that the Amazonian wasn't pressing for further details.
""What.""
"I'm sorry, what?"
Dragonborn Yang sighed. This was going to be a long day.
"Stop interrupting me for five minutes and let me finish!" Her eyes flashed red, as flames suddenly burst into existence around her. The tale of her and Jaune was an epic saga, that the even bards did not do justice to. She was impatient to tell it.
"Woah there, chill out." Yang held out her hands, trying to calm Doppelyanger down, even as Pyrrha and Ruby instinctively reached for their weapons. Sure, she was the most skeptical of the trio, being the least biased of them when it came to Jaune, but she couldn't deny her curiosity regarding Doppelyanger and Vomit Boy (not to mention the fact that she knew her sister and P-Money needed to hear it more than she did)."Don't get so heated up! You need to calm down!"
Ruby and Pyrrha both groaned, but the tension was broken, as Dragonborn Yang rolled her eyes and canceled her accidental Flame Cloak.
Why couldn't more people be like Doppelyanger, reacting to her puns with something besides exasperation?
"Anyway, we were hailed as heroes throughout the city of Whiterun, before we left to learn more about being Dragonborn." Dragonborn Yang began again, before pausing to glare around, daring anyone to interrupt again. As the trio kept their silence, she quickly continued: "The Greybeards didn't teach me much, before giving me a final quest to retrieve a horn from the tomb of their Founder, and that's when the fun really started.
"First, we ran into armed cultists, who declared me the False Dragonborn and tried to assassinate me. We quickly took them out and dispatched of them.
"Then, we came across a burned-out building, on the way to the tomb, and from there stumbled into a warband of vampires, looking for something in a nearby cave."
"Vampi-"
"Shhhh." Ruby shushed her sister before she could interrupt, wanting to hear the rest.
"We killed them all, and then, in the cave, we found another vampire, a girl named Serana who'd been sealed within the cave for centuries. The only reason I didn't strike her down immediately was because Jaune started talking to her first.
"From her, we ended up stumbling into an ancient vampiric conspiracy, to block out the sun and subjugate all mortals. The shadow war that followed took us all across the land of Skyrim, climbing the highest peaks and delving into the deepest depths, venturing into the Soul Cairn, stopping the resurrection of an ancient tyrant, and finding creatures long thought extinct and long-forgotten ruins, as we raced to retrieve the keys to deciphering the prophecy the vampires were using; three fragments of creation known as the Elder Scrolls.
"After managing to gather the three Scrolls, we read them, and learned what the prophecy truly called for - Serana's blood, and the bow of the God of Time and the Sun. And so we retrieved it, and then made preparations to lay siege to the vampires' fortress.
"Returning to Whiterun to hire mercenaries for the battle, we received a surprise from the greatest blacksmith in the land. Using the bones of the dragon that we'd first slain, he molded it like clay in the Skyforge, the Funeral Pyre of Fallen Heroes, before quenching it with Stalhrim, the ice of the Divines. From it's remains he crafted my gauntlets, and a blade of dragon's bone for Jaune, which Serana then imbued with an ancient and potent enchantment of primordial chaos.
"With our new might, we easily tore through the vampires' defenses, purged their nest, and cleansed the land of their filth. Serana's father, the lord of the clan, was the last to fall, burned to ash by the hallowed weapon of the God of the Sun.
"With the vampires stopped and the war ended, Jaune and I resumed our quest to stop the dragons. Following a vision from the Scrolls, we arrived at a small inn called Kynesgrove, and soon learned the truth behind the dragons; that something was resurrecting the dead dragons, returning them to life.
"Alduin, Bane of Kings, the ancient shadow unbound. First-born of Akatosh, God of Time and the Sun. Greatest of the dragons. The World-Eater.
"Contrary to legend, the ancient Tongues, the mighty warriors of old who overthrew the tyranny of the Dragon Cult and freed men from the yoke of the serpents, were unable to properly vanquish Alduin, even with their secret weapon. Instead, they used the power of an Elder Scroll to throw him forward in time... to when Jaune and I had just arrived in Helgen.
"Taking the Elder Scroll that banished him, we travelled to the Throat of the World, the highest point in Tamriel, and the site of the Battle between Alduin and the Tongues.
"Using the Scroll, we were given a glimpse into the past, into that battle, which allowed us to learn the secret weapon to defeat Alduin.
"Alduin, Firstborn of the God of Time, of course noticed our meddling with Time, and so he moved to intercept us, to halt our attempts at learning his weakness.
"He was too late by a minute, and with the power of Dragonrend he was humbled, brought down to our level. Still the most powerful dragon to have existed, but he was merely a dragon, and no longer a god in his own right.
"Me, Serana, and Jaune were able to defeat him in battle, but before we could land the final blow, Alduin recovered from the effects of Dragonrend, and attempted to escape to Sovngarde, where the souls of the glorious dead of the Nords go to, planning on devouring their souls and recovering his strength.
"... Jaune insisted on going after him, to save the souls in Sovngarde. He promised me, gave me his word, that he would be fine, that he would return to me, and so I let him. I couldn't have known...
"He intercepted the World-Eater as he flew away, and used an experimental teleportation spell Serana had developed, to try and send Alduin back.
"Instead, somehow, Jaune Arc will send Alduin to Remnant, some time in the future, where they will arrive outside a walled city surrounded by the seas to one side and hills and mountains to the other.
"There, before Alduin can lay waste to the city, a team of four warriors will distract him, before Jaune challenges him once more.
"The two fight briefly, both still recovering from the earlier fight at the Throat of the World, and Jaune launches a desperate gambit, knowing that only I have Dragonrend, and only I could stop Alduin once and for all.
"He allows Alduin to grab him with his mouth, to almost bite him in half, before using the power of his sword to briefly incapacitate the World-Eater. As they fall, he uses the teleportation spell once more, to send Alduin back to me. Unfortunately, as the spell teleports them back, Jaune will finally succumb to his wounds, and be separated from the World-Eater.
"That was six months ago, from my perspective, and I know this story because I followed the World-Eater to Sovngarde and killed him for good there. Since then, knowing that he survived, I have dedicated all my time and efforts into finding a way to get him back, to fulfil his oath to me.
"Unfortunately, when I finally arrived here... well, I seem to have arrived early, and in the wrong location, being attacked by that creature who called herself Queen of the Grimm..." Dragonborn Yang finished up lamely.
The ending to the saga really needed work... well, she could work on it when she had her Jaune back, and make sure to give it a happy ending.
There was a very long silence, as three women from Remnant stared at the Dragonborn, and processed her story.
What in Oum's name had they even heard?
How were they supposed to react?
Where should they even begin?
Finally, Pyrrha spoke, breaking the silence: "So... what is a Dragonborn?"
"It means I'm a mortal blessed with the soul of a Dragon." Dragonborn Yang shrugged. "Allows me to absorb the souls of dragons that die, and gives me the ability to Shout like they do."
"Dragons... Shout, in Nirn?" Yang asked her Doppelyanger.
Dragonborn Yang just rolled her eyes, before facing away from them, and Shouting: "FUS RO DAH!"
A wave of pure force smashed through the forest around them, flattening trees and sending logs (and a few unlucky Grimm) flying away.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
A wave of fire scorched the cleared ground.
"Okay, I think we get the picture." Pyrrha quickly said, as the Dragonborn opened her mouth once again.
"The Voice. Shouts. Dragons alter reality with words." Dragonborn Yang explained. "Mortals can learn it, if they have the favor of the Divines, though it takes lots of time and effort to learn to use even a single Word, let alone a full Shout."
"Woah... that's so cool!" Ruby exclaimed, eyes sparkling. Yang Xiao-Long balked; her baby sister hadn't said that about her for a while. "So, what's the secret weapon that defeated Alduin? What's Dragonrend? And how did you kill Salem?"
"Dragonrend is the secret weapon. It's a Shout, designed to strip the immortal and divine aspects from a dragon, making them easier to kill. As it turned out, it worked just fine on self-proclaimed Queens of the Grimm who had been... what was it? Cursed by the gods with immortality?"
"Oum, that worked?" Yang Xiao-Long murmured in disbelief, unable to shake the feeling that Salem's death had been... anti-climactic. They'd been fighting her for years (and for Uncle Qrow and Ozpin, even longer than that), and sure, it was good that she was gone... but at the same time, she'd been killed by essentially the one person in Remnant she'd had no effect on. "Also, what was that about vampires...?"
"Skyrim had a vampire problem." Dragonborn Yang shrugged.
"What, like immortal blood-sucking creatures of the night?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.
"Yes. Gods, Jaune was just as surprised..." Dragonborn Yang muttered, shaking her head. She'd even left out the part about rhe daedra, just to save time...
"Sounds like it was a pain in the neck." Yang Xiao-Long couldn't help but remark.
"Guys, you're missing the main point." Pyrrha said, before looking back at the Dragonborn. "We know Jaune will be returning to Remnant. Is there anyway we can know when or where? And... how can you be sure this... Alduin, didn't... I mean, doesn't, kill Jaune?"
"I interrogated Alduin before I vanquished him, and confirmed the information with Akatosh." Dragonborn Yang stated easily. "Alduin is many things, but he never lies. Too arrogant to bother. Unfortunately... Alduin's full powers only work back in Nirn. If it was Nirn, he'd have been able to pinpoint the exact date, time, and location. Here, all he could give wae the description of the city."
"A walled city surrounded by the seas and mountains, right?" Pyrrha double-checked, and as Dragonborn Yang nodded, she asked: "That... narrows it down, I suppose. Do you know how the spell he used works? ... actually, how did Jaune even use magic?"
"Serana, the vampire, crafted the spell scroll. Jaune just poured his Aura into it, to shape it and power it." Dragonborn Yang thought about it. "It works based on the caster's mental image. That's why we couldn't just use it to get to Remnant; we didn't know what Remnant looked like."
Ruby, Yang Xiao-Long, and Pyrrha exchanged a look. If it was based on Jaune's thoughts and memories...
"Then... it's probably Argus. That's where his oldest sister lives..." Pyrrha murmured.
"Alright, then tell me how to get to Argus, and I'll wait for the World-Eater." Dragonborn Yang grinned viciously, glad to finally have a proper lead. She wouldn't fail her Jaune this time.
Pyrrha and Ruby barely heard her, as the full weight of her words hit them.
Jaune wasn't just alive, he was coming back.
They didn't know when, but they knew where.
They could make preparations, to save him and welcome him...
And if the Yang in front of them was telling them the whole truth (which they desperately wanted to believe)...
What in Oum's name had Jaune gotten up to, and been through, over there?!
Unfortunately, Yang Xiao-Long spoke next, unable to resist the scent of sweet juicy gossip (like a fly to rotting meat): "You know, it sounds like you're going very far for Vomit Boy, Doppelyanger. Is there a story there between you two?"
"I've already told most of it, honestly." Dragonborn Yang was, by nature, blunt, direct, and honest to herself. She'd begun to realize and accept her strong attraction to the blonde fool who'd stuck by her before he'd disappeared, and the past six months of absence had made her heart grow much fonder.
There was no hint of embarrassment or shame, no hesitation or weakness in her voice, only wistful desire and nostalgic warmth as she recounted: "He owed me a life debt when I saved him at Helgen, and he repaid it when he saved me at Whiterun. After that, he was my Housecarl and student, and I his Thane and mentor, in the strange and unfamiliar world he found himself in. And as he'd grown and distinguished himself, during the Vampire Crisis... we became close.
"Before the end, he was my partner, my closest confidant and dearest companion. I would do anything for his sake, if it meant ensuring his happiness and his company... and I won't let him break his oath to me."
"... uh, wow... that's heavy..." Yang replied, after a pregnant pause filled the air. She'd just been looking for some teasing material, not an Oum-damned proposal! Heedless of the growing danger, she muttered: "Maybe I should start calling him Lover Boy again... anyway, does he know how you feel? Have you ever told him?"
"I was planning on telling him after Alduin had been dealt with, thinking there would be a later..." Doppelyanger admitted sadly. "And I doubt he knew... Serana told me I was pretty overt with my affections, but Jaune somehow never noticed. Now, what did you mean by "again", Alternate Me?"
At that moment, Yang Xiao-Long knew exactly what it meant, to hold a Sabyr by the tail.
"Uh, well... I mean, you should have seen him when he was pursuing a girl?" Yang gulped.
Doppelyanger's gaze doubled in intensity, but her voice was cold and quiet: "Jaune told me he'd never had a girlfriend before..."
"He didn't! It was just a crush that he got over!" Yang frantically defended herself.
The next moment, she truly learnt what it meant to be between a rock and a hard place, as a piercing gaze shot through her, aimed at Doppelyanger.
"Excuse me, but that's my partner and student you're talking about." Pyrrha snarled, having reached her limit when she'd heard the interdimensional intruder calling Jaune her partner. "His love life is none of your business."
"He was your partner." Dragonborn Yang pointed out coolly. "He's mine now."
"And what kind of a partner are you, then?" Pyrrha demanded. "You let Jaune fight dragons and vampires who wanted to destroy the world!"
"I didn't let him do anything." Dragonborn Yang growled. "The fool attracts trouble like flies to honey! He stumbles and trips upon trouble! At least I taught him to be tough, to take care of himself! And you let Jaune fight during the Fall!"
"He pushed me into a locker and sent me away!" Pyrrha defended hotly, before remembering what the Dragonborn had said. She couldn't imagine Jaune, the innocent naive blonde boy she knew and love, slaughtering his way through cultists and vampires. "And you've turned him into a killer!"
"I have, yes." Dragonborn Yang conceded. "And he is all the stronger for it. Would you rather he be coddled like a child, unable to defend himself? Is that not why he left his family?!"
Pyrrha's jaw dropped, not having expected the attack from that direction.
Yang finished her off with a simple declaration: "It matters not to me that his hands have been stained with the blood of monsters and the guilty; I would accept him regardless."
Pyrrha gnashed her teeth. She would not hand her partner over to this... this... this serpent!
"And so would I." Pyrrha shot back, refusing to back down. "You've known him for half the time I have; I accepted him even when he admitted he was a cheater and a fraud, who'd gotten into Beacon with fake transcripts! Even if he's killed before, I'll always have faith in my partner and team leader!"
After all, it wasn't like her hands were clean, either. Cinder had died by her blade, at Haven. She'd just been caught off-guard by the sudden knowledge that her partner had been forced to take a life.
Yang Xiao-Long watched the pair bickering with a growing feeling of excitement and apprehension. True, this was the best entertainment she'd had since Beacon, but if the pair didn't cool down, they'd probably attract every Grimm in the Land of Darkness, if they didn't kill each other first. She turned to her sister, to make a snide comment, to point out that they should probably intervene.
Instead, she found her sister staring at the pair with dull silver eyes, as her pupils rotated in opposite directions and her brain overheating as she tried to process their words.
Her first and best friend, that had died to save her, was not just alive, but was somehow coming back to Remnant...
And the Other-Yang wanted to take him away from her again? Just like that?
When even Yang or her social awkwardness hadn't?
She didn't know what Other-Yang felt... but she knew she felt it strongly.
She didn't know what Pyrrha felt, either... but she knew she'd never seen Pyrrha this vicious or defensive since the Fall.
And she didn't know what she felt... but she wasn't going to let them get in between her and her first friend, the only one in Beacon who she'd been able to share her love of dorky hobbies with.
Not before she said sorry.
Not before she shared the latest comics and games with him.
Not before she got to see her Dork Knight again.
Wordlessly, Pyrrha drew Crocea Mors, Dragonborn Yang raised her fists, and Ruby's hand reached for Crescent Rose.
Yang Xiao-Long, all but forgotten by the three, couldn't help the cold sweat running down her back, having seen Doppelyanger smash through the walls of the Evernight Castle with a few Words.
As the tension in the clearing grew, Yang began desperately praying to the Brothers (even though she knew they'd abandoned Remnant) to do something, anything.
"Hey, Yang, who are you talking to..." Blake Belladonna stepped into the clearing, before dropping Gambol Shroud in shock.
"Blake? Why'd you suddenly stop..." Myrtenaster and Weiss's jaw both dropped, as she followed Blake's lead.
Ren and Nora soon followed her lead, and the sudden arrival of newcomers broke the dangerous tension.
Yang quickly began to pray to the Brothers for a billion lien as well.
-STRIP SOUTH GATE, FREESIDE, MOJAVE WASTELAND-
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Pyrrha swore, as she tried reasoning with the Securitron Greeter to gain access to the Strip. "Since when do I need to fucking pay to do my goddamn job?!"
"Submit to a credit check or present your passport before proceeding to the gate." The robot repeated monotonously. "Trespassers will be shot."
"You've said that already!"
"Courier..." Jaune admonished, trying to get her to relax before she did something drastic. "Why don't you try showing them the delivery order?"
"Right, right... thanks, Arc." Pyrrha took a deep breath, before taking out the delivery order and trying again, as politely as she could (while ignoring the amused face of the King ganger who'd escorted her and Jaune to the gate): "Look, see? I'm with the Mojave Express, running a delivery for Mr. House? Now will you let me in already?!"
To her surprise, the robot actually took the piece of paper from her and scanned through it, before appearing to think for a moment.
No way, was it really...?
Then it asked: "Do you have the requested item in your possession?"
"FUCK!" Pyrrha roared loudly.
"The, uh, requested item was stolen from her." Jaune stepped in, trying to peacefully talk to the robot. "The guy that stole it from her, he's in the Strip. Just give us an hour, and we'll show it, I swear!"
The robot took a moment to consider it.
Then it repeated: "Submit to a credit check or present your passport before proceeding to the gate. Trespassers will be shot."
To emphasize his point, the other robots guarding the gate raised their weapons as well.
"Okay, we get it." Jaune said quickly, pulling the Courier away as she glared at the machines. "We'll come back later..."
"I swear, Nightkin and religious ghouls have more brains than these fucking hunks of junk..." Pyrrha murmured, as soon as they were safely out of earshot, before looking up at Jaune. "I guess even you can't talk your way out of everything, huh, Arc?"
"Never said I could, Six." Jaune just rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what's the plan? How many caps do we need to pass the credit check?"
"We'd need two-fucking-thousand caps to pass the credit check, Arc. Each." Pyrrha informed him. "If I had that kind of caps, I wouldn't have taken this fucking job."
"And where would we get a passport?" Jaune asked, hoping it'd be a bit easier than becoming the Wasteland equivalent of a goddamn millionaire (or close enough, in terms of lien).
"A legitimate one? Somewhere between Paradise and Fantasyland." Pyrrha grunted, though his words made her slowly consider what she knew.
She'd heard rumors from the underground grapevines, of counterfeit passports and forgers.
She'd never seen one, of course, but she wouldn't be surprised if some did exist.
And if they did exist, where else would one get them, but right under House's nose, next to where they'd be needed?
At the very least, it probably wouldn't hurt to discreetly poke around, and it would definitely be easier than somehow getting four thousand caps...
"You've got an idea, don't you?" Jaune asked, knowing the thoughtful look on the Courier's face.
"Hypothetically speaking, Arc..." Pyrrha began. "If you were looking for a forger here... where would you go?"
"That's easy, Six." Jaune answered quickly, remembering how he'd gotten his fake transcripts. "Ask the local gang boss for a referral..."
Pyrrha's eyebrow shot up.
That... was fast.
Suspiciously fast.
Just one more question to be added to the massive pile that she'd be throwing at him later.
Instead, she schooled her expression, and shook her head in disappointment.
"I was afraid you were going to say that..."
"Why?"
"Who runs Freeside again, Arc?"
"... oh no..."
Author's Note: Something something fear the Remnant sections something something three days something something no chapters for a while.
In all seriousness, though, I really was not expecting this chapter to come out this fast, and I definitely wasn't expecting the Remnant section to be quite so long as it turned out. But, for some reason, as usual, once my fingers hit the keys, they just keep going until there's a damn monstrosity staring at me.
Help. The plot fairy won't leave me alone again.
I feel like I've been saying this a lot recently, but once again, I'm not making this up. There really are a gang of anarchist Elvis impersonators who fight for independence and complete personal liberties in the slums of New Vegas called the Kings.
Yeah, I feel like Dragonborn Yang lays it on very thick, when she tells the tale of Jaune Arc of Remnant and Yang of Bravil, the Interdimensional Interloper and the Last Dragonborn. But she's a Nord. They put a lot of stock in their stories. She's also probably just slightly miffed that Jaune's been reduced to a footnote in her legend, rather than being credited as an equal (he's seen as merely the companion to the Dragonborn, and to be fair a magic sword and Aura really aren't that exceptional to the people of Skyrim, since he only started using Fake Excalibur at the tail-end of his adventures in Skyrim, and what Aura does can be replicated by Masters of the School of Restoration or Alteration. Sure, the latter are rare, and finding a Restoration & Alteration Master who's also a decent swordsman at 18 is probably one in a million, but compared to the Last Dragonborn and the World-Eater...), and so she takes the chance to embellish his tale when she finally gets to tell it.
To be fair, though, she was too busy looking for how to get Jaune back to actually correct the record for the bards.
Probably figured she could do the latter after she had the former with her.
Also, in all honesty, the forging of Fake Excalibur really should be a lot more than it seems.
In-game, sure, its just a really good sword, with a legendary improvement and a Chaos enchantment.
In the lore, though? Dragons are essentially demi-gods, children of Akatosh. The supposed best blacksmith in all of Skyrim took the bones of a demi-god, molded in the heat of the Skyforge, which is said to predate even the Dragons and the Elves, which is used by the Companions as the funeral pyre for Harbingers, cooled by Stalhrim, the divine ice, and imbued with primordial chaos, before being wielded by an interdimensional interloper capable of overcharging it to ludicrous levels and controlling and forming the chaos with his soul and will. It is a blade that has drank the blood of ancient vampires and the manifestation of the apocalypse, which tears through the hide of the World-Eater and Hellfire power armor with little difficulty.
Where am I going with this? … honestly, I've got no clue myself. Just thought it was a fun fact to point out. I'm pretty sure nothing will come of it in the Fallout-verse. Not like a significant fraction of the Brotherhood believing in it is going to do anything to it. The Fallout-verse doesn't run on belief... as far as I can tell...
Also, like I've mentioned before... DovahYang's got issues. Major abandonment issues. It's really not the healthiest thing in the worlds. But Skyrim doesn't seem to have anything in the way of psychotherapists, and Serana's only been enabling her, being too guilty to intervene, so... well... I'm surprised I don't see any Yangdere jokes, to be honest.
As for Ruby Rose... I've honestly got no idea. Pyrrha's the green-eyed monster at the moment, but for Ruby it's probably a mix of abandonment issues from a missing mother, guilt from watching her best friend die, and a little bit of a complex from not actually being able to make strong friendships til she came across the Dork Knight himself. Is it romantic? Is it platonic? Somewhere in between? Relationships are complicated...
All I know is that, while Ruby might let Pyrrha hog her partner, Other-Yang definitely isn't getting him back without a fight from her.
And yes, you really do need to clear a credit check or get a passport to get to the Strip in Vegas. Despite it being your job to do so. I honestly figured it was just House testing the Courier's resourcefulness, since he's found out through Victor (the cowboy robot who helped Jaune get Pyrrha to Doc Mitchell) that Benny, the person he was grooming to be his right-hand man, had effectively betrayed him, and House is now considering the Courier as a replacement (yes, it's canon that he's found out about Benny by the time you reach the Strip).
As for the people who ask me what the final pairing is (besides LIBERTY PRIME × Penny Polendina)... I don't even know who the final girls are yet! If I had a final relationship in mind, it would be very hard for me to fairly give each girl a chance, knowing that it would all ultimately amount to nothing. That'd be too bittersweet for my taste.
Instead, I was planning on simply writing out all the stories, letting each of them build a relationship dynamic with Jaune, and at the end see how things go. Hopefully it'd feel more natural that way.
Also, props to Guest Reviewer "Oops", who suggested "Doppelyanger". I am definitely getting a lot of mileage out of this pun.
