Chapter 61 - This Story Ain't Big Enough For A Multi-Dimensional Midnight Science-Fiction/Fantasy Feature
The tension in the air was so thick it could have been called Jaune Arc if it was blonde, as Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos, and the Doppelyanger quietly eyed one another cautiously, just waiting for someone to be the first to make a move.
Meanwhile, Weiss, Ren, and Yang watched apprehensively from the sidelines, while Nora watched with less apprehension and more excitement, and Blake rapidly scribbled in her notebook, as the five of them wondered what would happen next.
And, of course, seeing as how the day had been so far... the last thing any of them expected happened next.
A massive orb of blackened purple flames suddenly materialized into existence over Doppelyanger's head, and they heard a faint sound of screaming before a hooded ravenette suddenly descended from it as the three women instinctively jumped back.
Dragonborn Yang's eyes widened even further, though, as she recognized the familiar bloodsucking leech falling out of the Conjuration spell.
"Serana?!" She couldn't help but ask, as the vampire quickly waved her hand and concentrated her magicka, using her telekinesis on herself to stop herself from turning into a smear on the ground.
As she rotated herself upright with another gesture, and gently lowered herself to the floor, she frantically took a look around at her surroundings, before turning her glowing yellow orbs to the person who had called her name.
"Yang!" Serana exclaimed happily. "Oh, by the blood of my ancestors, am I glad to see you..."
"It's only been a few hours, hasn't it?" Dragonborn Yang shifted uneasily, not used to the sincere tone Serana was using. "What happened? Has something gone wrong?"
"A few hours?" Serana echoed. "Yang, you've been gone for months! Anyway, things are going real bad back in Tamriel! In your absence..."
Serana blinked, as she finally noticed the other people in the clearing with them.
""...""
"Uh... Yang?" Serana asked. "Who are these? Where's Jaune? And why does that girl look a lot like you?"
"... Serana, Jaune's... friends, from his world." Dragonborn Yang finally sighed, gesturing to the people around them. "Jaune's friends, this is Serana, another companion of ours."
"You mentioned her before..." Weiss observed. "The vampire that helped you defeat the others, right?"
"Close enough." Serana smiled at the young woman, making sure not to bare her fangs. "And my other questions?"
"Vomit Boy hasn't arrived yet." Dragonborn Yang answered bluntly. "Ozpin threw me into Remnant too early."
"... wait, did you just say Ozpin?" Ruby blinked, relaxing her guard.
"You know Ozpin?" Serana asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He was our headmaster!" Nora shouted with a nod, as Dragonborn Yang's eyebrow rose along with Serana's.
"... guys, it's probably not our Ozpin." Blake pointed out, as Weiss and Ren nodded in agreement. "Like how Doppelyanger isn't our Yang."
"Doppelyanger?" Serana repeated quizzically, looking between her and Yang Xiao-Long. Finally coming to a conclusion, she snapped her fingers: "So, that's this reality's version of you, Dragonborn? This is fascinating..."
"It was pretty obvious the Ozpin we know isn't the same one they know." Dragonborn Yang shrugged. "The Hero of Kvatch is a mad god over two hundred years old, after all. I doubt their headmaster is anywhere near the same age."
The members of Teams RWBY and JNPR exchanged looks, wondering what all that talk was about mad gods, and if they should mention that their headmaster was technically thousands, if not millions, of years old.
"Anyway, Serana, what happened back in Tamriel?" Yang changed the subject before anyone else could speak. "What's going on?"
"The Dark Brotherhood murdered the Emperor." Serana dropped the bombshell, meaningless to Teams RWBY and JNPR, but Dragonborn Yang knew the ramifications. "Cyrodiil's descended into civil war, and the Thalmor are marching an army into the White-Gold Tower, officially to restore order. And without you, the dragons have rebelled against Odahviing and Paarthurnax. You're the only one who can convince the Greybeards into calling a truce between the Legion and the Stormcloaks, and get the dragons to calm down, before the Thalmor destroy us all!"
"Wait just a Divine-damned minute..." Dragonborn Yang held up a hand, as she pinched the bridge of her nose with the other, trying to process everything Serana had just told her. "What do you mean, before the Thalmor destroy us all?! Those elves are bastards, sure, but they're not that strong, right?"
"It's not what you think." Serana shook her head. "Akatosh told me the Thalmor's true plan. They want to destroy the Towers that maintain reality, in order to transcend the Mer back to divinity."
"... are they crazy?" Dragonborn Yang finally asked.
"They're elves, so..." Serana rolled her eyes. "Anyway, between your pull with the Greybeards, your reputation as Dragonborn, and your influence as the Arch-Mage of the College, you're our best bet at rallying the people of Skyrim before the Thalmor destroy Cyrodiil."
Dragonborn Yang felt conflicted at the news. On the one hand, Cyrodiil had been her home. Her pa was still there. She still had friends in the Fighter's Guild of Bravil. And the dragons had been her responsibility.
But on the other...
"What about Vomit Boy?" Dragonborn Yang asked quietly, torn by her attachment to her Housecarl, her partner, her Jaune.
"Honestly, I thought you'd already found him by now." Serana admitted sheepishly, before adding in a conspiratorial whisper: "Akatosh and Ozpin even had a bet on how many kids you'd have..."
"... if they weren't gods..." Dragonborn Yang hissed, clenching her fists. Sure, she felt no shame in admitting her intentions with Jaune, but to hear that that pair of fossils were making wagers on her lack of a love life...
Then her face fell, as she looked around her, and said: "But... I can't just leave... not without Vomit Boy..."
"Yang, it's Jaune." Serana pointed out. "You know he has Aura."
"It's Vomit Boy." Dragonborn Yang retorted, folding her arms as she slowly made up her mind. "You know his luck."
"For blood's sake, Yang, Alduin told you he didn't kill Jaune!" Serana argued.
"But what if he's badly injured?!" Dragonborn Yang countered. "You know how dangerous his world is!"
"You know he wouldn't want you to let Tamriel burn because of him!"
"And you know he's an idiot!" Dragonborn Yang refused to backdown. "He needs me!"
Serana sighed, and explained: "And I can send you back to Remnant once it's done, Yang. For Oblivion's sake, with a bit more research, I can probably combine it with a tracking spell and Jaune's Aura to send you back to Remnant when he's here, okay?"
"... ugh, fine!" Dragonborn Yang finally relented, knowing that it was true that Jaune would, indeed, want her to help. "So, how are we going back to Nirn?"
"Well, I was thinking of asking Jaune to channel Aura into the scroll..." Serana admitted sheepishly, before looking around at the confused members of Teams RWBY and JNPR. "Umm... I don't suppose you could help us with that?"
"Oh, of course not!" Pyrrha shook her head politely, stepping forward. "Any friend of our leader is a friend of ours, right guys?"
""...""
"What was that part about your reality being in danger?!" Weiss shrieked at the Doppelyanger, unable to help herself. "How are you so casual about this?!"
Dragonborn Yang and Serana shared a look, before she shrugged, and off-handedly said: "It's Tamriel. And like I said, Jaune, Serana, and I fought vampires who wanted to blot out the sun, and a dragon whose purpose was to eat the world."
"Yeah, Weiss Cream, get with the program." Yang couldn't help but tease the diminutive white-haired heiress. "It's only the end of the world, like always!"
"Damn it, Xiao-Long!"
"Well, in any case..." Ren said, as he and Nora stepped forward.
"Pass us that scroll, and let's go to another world!" Nora declared excitedly.
"You... want to come with us?" Serana raised an eyebrow.
"It's what Fearless Leader would have done." Nora stated firmly, as the rest of Team JNPR nodded in agreement.
"Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, huh..." Serana recalled with a small smile, shaking her head.
Ruby Rose remembered those words too, the day she'd made her first friend, and clenched her fist as she made her decision. "Then I'll come too. Jaune was my best friend."
"... well, I'm not leaving my baby sister behind." Yang shrugged, joining Team JNPR and Ruby.
Weiss and Blake exchanged looks, before sighing, and joining the blonde brawler.
"I guess we're coming too, aren't we..."
"... did Jaune ever mention he was this popular with women?" Serana whispered to Dragonborn Yang, as she took a look at the people around her.
"No..." Dragonborn Yang forced out through gritted teeth. "No, he did not."
"So, we just pour Aura into this scroll?" Nora asked, holding it up.
"Yes." Serana nodded, grabbing hold of the other end. "Just pour Aura into it, and I'll focus on the destination."
Nora closed her eyes, and concentrated.
Seconds passed.
The wind blew.
Nothing else happened.
Serana blinked.
Nora let go, panting heavily.
"That's... not nearly powerful enough to break the dimensional barrier." Serana commented, as Ren moved to his girlfriend's side, to check on her.
"... right..." Blake snapped her fingers in understanding. "Um... based on Doppelyanger's stories... we think Jaune's Semblance might be Aura Amplification..."
"Semblance?" Serana blinked, trying to recall the term.
"Their special powers, leech." Dragonborn Yang explained. "Anyway, the point is, Vomit Boy's Aura might be dozens, if not hundreds, of times more potent than any of theirs."
"... then we're stuck here." Serana whispered, horrified.
"That... might not be the case..." Ruby murmured, pulling out the Relic of Creation. "Let me just leave a note for Uncle Qrow, in case we're gone longer than expected."
-FIVE MINUTES LATER-
"Girls!" Qrow called out, as Winter and Oscar followed him into the clearing. "Ruby?! Yang?!"
"Weiss?!" Winter shouted out as well, unable to help her worry.
"I don't get it... where could Teams RWBY and JNPR disappeared to?" Oscar wondered out loud. "We saw Salem's dead body, and Ozpin felt the Relic of Creation being activated in this area..."
"Hang on, I think I've got something!" Qrow shouted, as he bent down and picked up a piece of paper, before reading it out loud:
"Uncle Qrow, have gone to another dimension to help Other-Yang and a vampire fix a problem involving elves and dragons. Will be back soon. Love, Ruby."
""...""
Silence filled the clearing.
Finally, Qrow exploded: "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
-VAULT 21, FREE ECONOMIC ZONE OF NEW VEGAS-
"Wait, did you just say aliens?" Ruby Ironwood repeated as she sipped at her bottle of Nuka-Cola, and stared wide-eyed at her first and best friend.
"You're joking, right, Arc?" Sarah asked incredulously, her bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla sitting forgotten on the table. Jaune had always had a habit of defying any and all common sense, but even so... "Aliens abducted you from Adams just as the nukes hit? Really?"
"I'm serious!" Jaune protested, leaning back in his booth, poking at his bowl of milk and Sugar Bombs ("100 percent daily value of sugar!" had been advertised on the cereal box, much to his delight). He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the non-functioning portable teleportation homer for the pair to see. As the pair turned their attention to the sleek silvery device silently humming in his palm, he explained: "See! This is a teleportation homer! It's linked to one of the ship's teleportation matrixes."
Ruby and Sarah stared at it, before sharing a look. Certainly, they'd never seen anything like it before, and Ruby couldn't even recognize the metal. Oh. she and the scribes would love going over it with a mass spectrometer!
Then again, she could easily say the same thing about Jaune's sword and shield.
"... it's Jaune." Sarah finally muttered to herself with a nod, finding that more than enough of a reason to accept what the hell was going on here.
Ruby just giggled, before asking: "So... you were on the ship for 4 years, then?"
"Yup." Jaune drawled out. "Apparently I got frozen as soon as they abducted me... and I woke up about 2 months ago."
"Did the aliens wake you up to do some experiments?" Ruby inquired jokingly, remembering all the cheesy sci-fi shows she'd watched in the Vault.
"Not that I know of..." Jaune frowned, unable to recall anything between Adams and the breakout. "I was woken up by accident, when some escaped prisoners staged a breakout and woke up the inhabitants of the cryochamber for reinforcements."
"Prisoners?" Sarah interjected with a raised eyebrow. "A breakout?"
"Other people the aliens had abducted." Jaune clarified. "Most of them were from... before the bombs fell, I think. Anyway, after that, I joined them, and after a few days of guerilla fighting we finally seized the bridge and took over the ship."
"... of course you did." Sarah grumbled. "Why am I even surprised..."
"It's Jaune." Ruby whispered back, before continuing the conversation. "And then you came to the Mojave?"
"... I guess you could say that?" Jaune answered shiftily, after a suspicious pause.
Sarah just sighed, as Ruby whined: "Jaune..."
"Okay, okay." Jaune laughed, rubbing Ruby's head. "There was a second mothership in orbit over the planet as well, and it didn't take our take-over well... so it tried to blast us to smithereens while teleporting aliens into the ship to recapture it and kill us."
""...""
"Well, we managed to destroy it in the end with our own ship." Jaune finished lamely. "And then I ended up somewhere near Goodsprings."
"... don't think about it too much." Sarah told herself, rubbing her temples.
The sheer absurdity of aliens, technologically advanced enough to have abducted people without being noticed for at least 200 years, being defeated by the same people they'd been abducting was one thing.
Losing a ship-to-ship battle against said people, though? Who couldn't have had the bridge for more than a few hours, and could definitely not have been more experienced pilots or weapons officers than the aliens themselves?!
"It's Jaune..." Ruby said sympathetically, patting the Elder on the back. Then a thought hit her, and she asked: "So... if I used that teleportation homer... I could get to your ship? Like, right now?"
"Uh... about that..." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "This one was actually keyed to an alien scout ship that I was using, and, well... someone tried to nuke the Long 15 about a week ago, so..."
"... don't tell me..." Sarah groaned, as Ruby yelped in surprise.
"It was the only thing I could think of, to intercept the nuke!" Jaune defended himself, pointing at them with a spoon full of cereal. "I couldn't let the missile hit, right?"
"..." Sarah studied Jaune's features, looking for any sign that he was just pulling her leg. When none were found, she threw her hands up in the air, and complained: "I fucking give up. It's you, after all..."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jaune protested with a pout.
Ruby giggled, but gently grabbed his hand, and reminded him with a stern pout: "Jaune... I know you're the Invincible Boy and all, but still... remember what I told you, after you saved our lives at Project Purity?"
Jaune just looked away guiltily, and decided not to mention that he'd escaped the radiation by jumping out of the ship while it had been in space.
"By the way..." Ruby remembered something. "How was Utah, anyway? And why did you return so early? We were told by one of House's cowboy robots that you'd be there for at least another two weeks-"
"Jaune." A voice coldly cut her off, and the trio turned as Pyrrha slid into the booth, accidentally bumping shoulders with Jaune.
"Oh, hey Pyrrha." Jaune waved at her pleasantly, and she beamed at him, ignoring the irritated looks the other two women were giving her.
"Do you mind?" Sarah glared.
"We're kind of in the middle of something." Ruby added, keeping her voice level only because Jaune was watching them.
"House has an urgent request for you, Jaune." Pyrrha stated, stealing some of his cereal. "And he emphasized that it was very urgent."
Jaune looked forlornly at his Sugar Bombs, but got up, knowing that House wouldn't do anything without a good reason.
As he squeezed past Pyrrha, however, and tried waving at the women, he noticed that Ruby and Pyrrha seemed to have locked eyes with each other, staring intensely at each other. He looked quizzically at Sarah, who just sighed and waved back, before gesturing at him to go first.
Jaune simply shrugged and acquiesced, making his way out of Vault 21, and thus missed it when Ruby finally snarled: "Partner-hogging hussy."
"Irreverent heathen." Pyrrha spat as she nodded back.
"What?" Ruby deadpanned.
"You heard me, bitch." Pyrrha sniped venomously, before clicking her tongue in disapproval. "Casually touching the Arc-Angel like that..."
"Why can't I touch my best friend?!" Ruby shouted back, before blinking, as her brain finally processed what the older redhead had said. "Wait, did you just call him... whuh?"
"You call him your "best friend", and you don't even know about his divinity?" Pyrrha merely shook her head at the younger ravenette, feeling a smug sense of superiority.
"Divinity?!" Ruby echoed in shock. "Are you delusional, you old hag?!"
"I'm pretty fucking sure I'm right, you blind, blasphemous harlot." Pyrrha snapped.
Sarah just slumped into her seat, as the two began quarreling loudly, wondering why the legends about Jaune kept growing more and more out-of-hand, and praying Reddin and the other Pendragon cultists never learned about this.
Jaune, meanwhile, simply whistled in blissful ignorance as he made his way to the Lucky 38, pausing to wave and nod gratefully at Veronica, who was looking around the Strip in awe, and ignoring Reddin, who was protesting furiously as she was dragged out of the Tops by Dusk and Sydney, while Colvin and Vargas looked on with disapproval at the now-broke Paladin, who had almost pawned off her laser rifle, confident that her hot streak had just been one spin away.
It was nice to see that the place hadn't been too badly affected by the NCR's complete military withdrawal; he'd honestly thought that most of the business on the Strip had come from off-duty soldiers, but the place was still pretty lively, and the casinos still seemed pretty crowded.
Upon reaching House's tower, and taking the lift up to the penthouse, Jane ushered him into the usual meeting room, and he took a seat in front of the large console as House's face appeared on a screen, and cordially greeted him: "Mr. Arc, very good to see you again. Excellent work on the Dam; dealing with both the Legate, General Oliver, and the Brotherhood of Steel."
"Told you the Brotherhood weren't so bad." Jaune said, with just a hint of pride.
"... that remains to be seen." House said cautiously, knowing full well of the dogmatic adherence to doctrine the Western Brotherhood possessed. But he would at least concede that the Eastern Brotherhood, at least, did seem to be a bit less heavy-handed in their dealings, having noticed the diversion of supplies to humanitarian camps in Legion territory through quiet observation of the movement of men and material. "But still, I am a man of my word, a contract is a contract. As long as they do not breach its terms, I will abide by it. And speaking of contracts... I do still need to remember to schedule a meeting with Elders McNamara and Lyons, if only to finalize a proper, binding agreement between us."
"I've never met Elder McNamara..." Jaune admitted with a shrug. "But if he's following Sarah, I'm sure it'll be fine. Anyway, Pyrrha told me you had something for me?"
"Ah, yes." House nodded. "Eight days ago, my sensors detected the detonation of a nuclear device somewhere above the Northwestern Mojave, specifically the area currently known as the Divide. More curiously, the blast also contained trace amounts of an energy signature I've only observed once before..."
House's voice trailed off, as he noticed Jaune looking away awkwardly, and put two and two together to get four.
"Mr. Arc, would I be correct in assuming that you and Miss Nikos were somehow involved in this?"
Jaune winced, feeling like he was back in Beacon, admitting to Glynda Goodwitch that he'd forgotten to do his homework, as he admitted: "... long story short, Pyrrha was lured to the Divide by another survivor, who ended up almost nuking the Long 15. So... I intercepted the missile with a small alien ship."
"... well, I suppose I should thank you for ensuring the continued existence of Miss Nikos, Vegas's tourist economy, and the Long 15, Mr. Arc." House expressed his gratitude, after he'd finally digested what the hell had happened. "And I do suppose that explains why you returned to the Mojave from west of Primm... but what about the trip to Utah?"
"Oh, we split up originally." Jaune shrugged, before elaborating: "I went to Zion, and came into contact with the New Canaanites, while Pyrrha went to investigate the Divide. When I learned that the survivor might have been a Legion assassin, though..."
"... your loyalty is as impressive and commendable as ever." House acknowledged with approval. "And in any case, even though Caesar's Legion has gone the way the Dodo, your original task was still accomplished. Reports from caravans say that the White Legs were routed from Zion, with their war chief fleeing in disgrace, much like General Lee Oliver. More importantly, you stopped the Long 15 from being nuked, and managed to return to the Mojave just in time to intervene in the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. I typically don't believe in luck, Mr. Arc, but you may yet change my mind."
"Oh, stop... it really wasn't anything that big..." Jaune said bashfully, still not used to sincere praise. "Anyway, was that all?"
"Not quite, Mr. Arc. You see, the nuclear blast also knocked some satellites out of orbit, and one managed to survive re-entry and crash-land in a former drive-in, south-west of Nipton. Besides the possibility of scavenging the satellite for parts to make new space-faring technology, the satellite might also contain trace amounts of the energies from the destruction of the alien ship. Unfortunately, the drive-in is too far away for me to reliably control my Securitrons, and I don't know who made the satellite... or what asset-denial protocols it might contain.
"My next assignment for you, Mr. Arc, is to get me the satellite, or even just a piece of the hull for analysis, so that I might be able to make a scanner capable of specifically detecting and tracking the aliens' energy signatures, and both figure out where they came from, and if they come back."
-LUCKY 38, FREE ECONOMIC ZONE OF NEW VEGAS, FOUR HOURS LATER-
"You wanted to see me, House?" Pyrrha asked, as she was ushered up quickly by a worried robot (or at least, as far as she could tell).
"Indeed, Miss Nikos." House answered gravely. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, concerning Mr. Arc."
"Jaune?" Pyrrha focused immediately. "What happened to him?"
"I'm sure you're aware that I sent him to perform a simple task for me, right?" House inquired in response.
Pyrrha nodded wordlessly, having been informed by Jaune just before he'd left.
"I'll just let you listen to the recording of our radio conversation." House continued, before Jaune's voice came out through the console: "Alright, House, I see the satellite... uh, it appears to be projecting an eyeball on the screen? I think I see some words on it, "BIG MT"... hold on a second, what in Oum's-"
"That was an hour ago." House concluded. "After that, I mobilized my Securitrons in the region to perform a thorough search. For all intents and purposes, it seems that Mr. Arc has disappeared into thin air... I tried to have one of my Securitrons touch it, too, but while it doesn't seem like it was destroyed, it's transponder is sending me an "out-of-range" message."
Pyrrha's fist clenched, before she forced herself to relax and take a deep breath.
She'd already been impulsive once, and Jaune had almost paid the price.
Moreover, it was the Arc-Angel, after all.
He'd been nuked and came out just fine.
She just needed to have faith that he'd be fine again... though she'd still be going to get him back as soon as fucking possible.
"Big MT?" Pyrrha finally asked, deciding to turn her attention to his last words, looking for clues as to his whereabouts. "Like the Big Empty?"
"No, Miss Nikos..." House shook his head patiently, knowing how linguistics had evolved since the War (so many idioms involving fish and cats having been consigned to the dustbin of history). "Big MT as in the Big Mountain Research and Development Centre... though I will concede that your name for them is certainly far more fitting. Thieves of intellectual property and infringers of copyright, the lot of them. Did you know that they even bought models of the PDQ-88b Securitron units in an attempt to "reverse-engineer" and "improve" upon my designs, and re-sell them?!"
Pyrrha wasn't sure what copyright or intellectual property was, but everyone knew about Big Mountain, the Big Empty. A massive crater where nothing existed, and nobody ventured in or out.
Just like the Divide.
And Jaune had still gone in after her.
She couldn't do any less for the Arc-Angel.
"I'll get him back." Pyrrha declared, getting up, already planning her next course of action (namely, getting out without having to deal with that blasphemous heathen).
"Miss Nikos, please don't tell me you intend to touch the satellite as well." House remarked with a sigh, having expected this outcome. "While I do not know if this was an intentional act, or if there even exists any more life in Big Mountain, they were involved in some projects of rather... controversial natures. It's more than likely that some of their former experiments still roam the ruins."
"Don't worry... I'm not crazy." Pyrrha rolled her eyes, stopping at the threshold of the room. She was only human; Jaune would probably chastise her if she did something so reckless. "I'll just head there from the Divide."
At least Ulysses would be easier to handle than Ruby Ironwood.
Author's Note: I'm not even going to insult my audience's intelligence by pretending this isn't how the next dimension jump occurs. It's the end of an arc, there's a Remnant section after Oum-knows how long... well, in any case, this is how Old World Blues ties into the Fallout Arc-hive.
And this is also why Coco mentions that nobody's seen or heard from Teams RWBY and JNPR since the Triumph (i.e. the name given to Salem's final battle). God, the amount of work I have to do to justify throwaway lines... this is why planning in advance is smart, people! Don't ever do as I do; I am a horrible example! Also, as was mentioned in Chapter 24, Serana kept Jaune's Aura crystal, which she used with the Staff of Magnus to channel it's energies into Aetherius, and reverse the flow of energy of the Sun. And since the original dimensional transfer spell was her own invention, and she's been working on a tracking spell as well... well, in this case, she uses Akatosh to track Dovah-Yang's dragon soul, because a) she thinks the two are together, and b) she specifically needs Yang to handle the current crisis.
And yes, the Think-Tank did actually attempt to build their own Securitron models, which go up to a Mk VI OS. And given the existence of a Securitron deconstruction plant... it's safe to assume the Securitrons weren't originally theirs. Also, nobody besides Ulysses, Elijah, and Christine Royce know about the Think-Tank. As far as the entire Wasteland knows, it's just a massive empty crater where people occasionally disappear around.
And I felt like this was a good way to contrast Dragonborn Yang with Courier Pyrrha. Same outcome (deep attachment), very different outlooks (Courier Pyrrha has faith that Jaune can survive nukes, Dragonborn Yang has faith that Jaune will always stumble into trouble).
Also, to clarify what I meant by stakes in the previous chapter... I don't meant what's at stake in a battle; after all, Jaune saved Skyrim no less than 3 times in his 2 months there (Potema's Summoning, Dawnguard-Volkihar War, Dragon Crisis). What I meant is Jaune's personal stakes in it; his investment in the battle (knowingly or unknowingly), the consequences of his actions bearing fruit, and what the battle means to him as a character. Sure, he could trip over a plot to end the world, like in Skyrim, and he'll always want to try and help people (that's kind of what he's been clinging to, after all, to keep himself moving forward, and stop himself from falling into despair over how much he keeps losing with each jump), but what is his attachment to the world? What would it mean to him if it ended? How do his prior actions come back to haunt him? And how will what he does affect the events in the future?
And, while the next world will not be the final world... we are approaching the final world. Why? Because I do try to give all the characters in the story some screen time, some development, and if I keep introducing more characters and worlds, it's going to be even more of a bitch to balance. Also, just a head's up: the next world is not Weiss-slayer. I repeat, the next world is not Weiss-slayer.
Don't expect the next chapter for a while, though.
And, as it's the end of the arc, as usual, I'll just plug my ko-fi here. I'm not even going to bother with the usual disclaimer, though; clearly I can apparently put out over 40 chapters in 2.5 months for free, and whether or not I get tipped will not change the fact that I upload as and when I please.
