Journeys on the Jellybean

by Mudsaur

Look, this is another reaction-RWBY story, do I really need to spell it out? RWBY, (J)NPR, more to come, watching movies of alternate universes of themselves, you know the drill. I update Fridays, I write more than is probably appropriate for a standard chapter length, and I aim to make my reader's laugh their guts out because what's life without dancing and giggles? Come and read.

1. Prologue

Yes, it's another one of those goddamn RWBY-reaction stories that are a dime a dozen at this point.

Fuck it, though, these things are addicting to read. And good motivation to do a little writing, as well. I've seen others write these stories, seen where these stories work or do not work, and hope to create something modestly enjoyable for anyone whose looking for a dumb, half-baked write-up.

So, indulge. You're reading a reaction fanfiction, so you must be bored. Enjoy a few minutes to yourself. Grab a hard drink, drink responsibly, and relax…

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

Prologue

If Jaune Arc had to give today a fair scoring, he would say it was a very pleasant seven. And that was a very big deal.

Why was today given such a nice scoring beyond his usual five-mediocre or six-pleasant? Well, to start, it was just after eleven in the morning. Just before noon and prior to where the summer sun would become too disagreeable to wear his favorite hoodie any longer (he loved his hoodie and refused to be parted from it for longer than needed). The wind was steady and carried a relaxing smell from the local beaches. Not a cloud in the sky nor a hint of rain to be had for the next week or so. Classes were off and Vale' midtown was not yet packed with lunch-rushing parties or Vytal Festival tourists looking to scramble to the sights and wonders the city had to offer. Everything was peaceful and a new comic just came out, so Jaune had reason to take a short leave to attend to hobby-based needs. Away from the Academy, the stress, and his team for a short while. Just a little Arc-oriented time to himself.

That was usually enough to give any day a nice seven in his book.

But it got even better. Locked to his lips and glowing like a newly made Lien chip, Jaune Arc was stilling grinning with pride from his survival of Vale's near-apocalypse of last Tuesday.

"Well, okay," Jaune would admit sheepishly in his retelling of the past Tuesday, "maybe 'apocalypse' is too strong of a word…"

But it had certainly felt like it at the time.

The Breach was what all the headlines were calling it. An attack by outside sources with the intent to cause panic and mayhem to the local populous by an invasion of foreign forces and enemy combatants. Not exactly world-shattering, but when a giant hole opens in the middle of the downtown area and monsters the size of buildings come crawling out, it becomes difficult to differentiate planet-ending circumstances from dangerous-and-loud-and-worrisome-but-ultimately-manageable settings like his peers.

News outlets couldn't seem to get enough of a story from the whole experience. Which, Jaune would admit, was probably fair. It wasn't as if it was an everyday occurrence that a Kingdom's major city was invaded by (as quoted by headline newscaster Lisa Lavender) 'dastardly international terrorist groups' and 'town-devouring Grimm' at the same time. Add in Beacon Academy Huntsmen-in-training (and Huntswomen, Jaune's close friend, Ruby, would always point out with a cheer) whom quickly moved in to stop the invasion in force alongside the full Atlesian Knight force to pick off the rampart Nevermores and Beowolves like knifes to butter and the creatures fell with ease and it all made for very good television.

And it got even better from there.

I slayed a Grimm…! Jaune thought to himself giddily for the hundredth time or so. A big one!

He had. Single-handedly. Not the prettiest of kills but it was dead and he was not and that's what counted. Or so his partner/friend/secret-trainer told him afterwards. She'd been very proud of him too.

So that was why today was a seven. He was alive, he killed Grimm, he had a new comic to pick up and-

"Hey! Look out!"

SNAP!

It was the sound like a whip cracking that caught his attention more than the warning.

Jaune's eyes went up with a start. A big, brown object was falling towards him, empowered by gravity. Twenty, fifteen, ten feet above – the object wasn't stopping.

Jaune was frozen stiff.

Then the object landed.

Phht-CLANG!

The noise was loud and shook the entire sidewalk. The pavement underneath it was cracked with the weight of the fallen object and ivory keys from the near half-ton piano were spilling out and around the collapsed musical instrument.

And by some miracle of the world, the heavy device had landed awkwardly on its side. Pointing up, vertically, before falling down with a crash sideways.

Opposite the direction of a very pale-faced, very wide-eyed Jaune.

"Holy shit! H-hey! You okay down there?"

The voice came from able. Jaune's eyes creaked up to where a pair of men in workman overalls stood over the balcony of an apartment, looking down in shock at what they saw.

Despite his stiffness form, he managed a nod.

"Oh, thank God! Haha, phew!" One the men laughed, wiping sweat from his brow. "You are one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?"

Jaune wasn't too sure about that in that moment. He felt like he might have needed a change of pants…

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

After one long explanation and a big apology from the two workers and their boss (in which Jaune discovered with great relief that his pants were not in need of a good washing), the young man was once again headed down the roadway towards his destination.

Some time lost, a near-death experience avoided, still a solid seven for the day.

And then, along came a truck.

SQUEEEEEK!

"You'll never catch me alive, coppers!"

Jaune heard more than saw the oncoming vehicle careening aggressively turning the corner his way before he could figure out what was happening. Heavy gunshots and squeaking tires were the first sign something was off, followed by the sirens.

"Stop and pull over the vehicle!" The electronic voice from one of cop cars ordered out.

The gunman, poorly-shaved and balding, leaned out of the passenger seat window of his truck and howled like a lunatic. "Hahahaha! Kiss my ass, pansy-ass! Torchwick's out of town and it's anarchy in the kingdom! Free Dust for everybody!"

More quick gunshots. The gun, simple and dark in its design, was either aimed to fire into the air or towards the police vehicles following the yellow truck closely behind. His getaway driver moved their vehicle with less control and more desperation to avoid the closely following squadron of cars behind him. Clearly, one of the two was not having the time of their life.

To the side, Jaune was watching it all with some perplexity. It was like watching a movie. Fascinating and bizarre to see it all in person.

"HAHAHAHAHA-"

POP!

"-HAHAhaaeh wha-?"

One of the back tires of the vehicle popped. Or exploded, more like.

Jaune couldn't be sure if it had simply gone out for being an older model vehicle with a bad back set or if the cops had attempted to shoot out their attacker and hit one of the tires instead. Everything was so loud and quick, who was to say? All he was sure of then was that the screeching of tires was now mixed with the sound of grating metal against concrete as the truck took a sharp turn to the side off the road. Sharp and lacking in control, Jaune was only momentarily able to read the terrified expression of the driver before realizing a couple tons of steel was now careening directly into his spot on the sidewalk.

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

"Son, I don't mean for you to take this the wrong way, but you might be the luckiest bastard I've seen in my whole life."

The police surround the ambulance van all laughed alongside their older counterpart. Patting and laughing between themselves as they stood beside a still-shellshocked Jaune, who sat comfortably inside the vehicle with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a cup of hot-something-chocolatey in his hands.

"I still can't believe it, really," the older policeman said again for maybe the fifth time. "I mean, just look at it. I'll be."

He gestured to the sitting yellow truck. Or, 'sitting' wasn't exactly what it was doing. More like embedded, actually. An embedded yellow truck. Into the brick wall where the boy stood before. Twelve feet into the air.

To Jaune, the whole situation was a difficult one to understand.

"Y-yeah," he swallowed more chocolatey-goodness to smother his nerves. "That's really somethin'."

The truck had indeed hit the sidewalk with every intention of making Jaune's day take an astounding turn for the worse. Only, at the last moment, for the two front tires of the truck to hit the curb and pop just like the one in the back with an ear rattling sound that echoed for blocks around. What happened after didn't seem to go with how Jaune's limited understanding of physics worked until Dust was added to the mix. Strange as the world worked, the local authorities hypothesized that the sound of the tires giving out at that moment had rattled the vehicle so intensely that it ignited some of the already temperamental green Dust – Wind Dust, specifically – located in the trunk (that the criminals had all-too intelligently decided to steal in the middle of the day) which then lifted the back of the vehicle into the air in that precise moment so that the front of the truck was pointing downward while the tail of the car floated to the sky. Carrying the rest of the metal machine with it.

And float it did. Just four inches over the blond boy's head and right into the building behind him. Smashing into it with all the remaining forward motion that compelled it onward to begin with.

Four inches. That's all it was between getting a very close shave or a narrow avoidance.

"You've got some real luck in you, son. Heh. Damn fine luck. If I were you, I'd consider going out an' grabbin' a lottery ticket tonight. Triple rollover, you never know. Today might just turn around for ya real nicely, hmm."

Jaune scoffed behind his cup.

Luck, huh? He didn't feel too lucky right now.

"Ah, come off it. I'm sure that was nothin' to you Beacon boys, am I right?" One of the female cops said with a smile, slapping Jaune on the back comfortingly. "Compared to the Grimm, what's a couple of lowlifes and a truck to you, huh? Probably could have taken that vehicle all by yourself without a scratch, I bet."

Maybe one of his friends could have done that. Yang, definitely. Nora, no problem. Jaune though?

"Oh yeah. No problem at all."

Sarcasm, it turned out, was a second language to the cops. "Hoh-ho-ho! Did you hear that? I knew I liked this kid! Beacon, tough-as-nails, blond. Heck, if I were twenty-five years younger, I'd go out and buy you a stiff one after work."

Her coworkers laughed. "Oh please, Margey. You and everyone else wanted a Beacon kid when we were young."

"Mm-hmm."

"Absolutely."

"Not gonna lie, those muscles got me through my teen years."

"What about those legs, huh?"

"No. Abs."

"Oh, I do love the abs."

"Abs are nice, but not as nice as some of those rear-quarters, though."

"Oh, remember that girl? 29th Vytal Festival? In Vacuo? Those legs and that butt that kingdoms would go to war for? God, I love the Vytal festival."

Jaune wasn't really paying attention to their banter. They were probably just trying to comfort him. Or maybe just hang out with a future Huntsmen. Even one in-training was probably a break from the monotony of an otherwise boring weekend for them.

Boring for them. Not so boring for him.

Keep it a seven. He told himself, drinking the last bits of his comfort drink down. Keep it a seven. Grab the comic. Grab a burger to go. Maybe grab that lottery ticket. Head for a shuttle back to school. Go to my room. Pray the world doesn't end for the rest of the day. Cry and then get ready for training with Pyrrha later.

It was a good, solid plan. He'd lost somewhere just short of an hour from the cops hanging around him, but it was all fine and good. He still had the day to himself. Quick ins-and-outs, he'd be back to his normal routine at Beacon and safe and sound before the sun even reached its zenith.

Everything will be just fine. What could go wrong after all that?

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

Apparently, a lot, actually.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

Out from a nearby sewer drain, not a block from the nearest comic store, a great black hand with claws the size of Jaune's entire head pushed open carefully the cover over itself and allowed a great, white bone mask to look out carefully to its surroundings with dangerous red eyes.

As it turned out, while most of the Grimm had been summarily wiped out during the Breach, a few of the smarter variants had seen the turn in their initial invasion and set about finding places to hide. Just a few Grimm, it seemed. An odd, skinny Beowolf here. A pair of Boarbatusks there. Some smaller Nevermore had made a nest on an older women's small garden scarecrow and refused to leave until authorities came to shoo them off.

All in all, minor nuisances with no casualties and very minor property damage. Everyone assumed they were gone by now.

This Beowolf, however – twelve or thirteen feet in height, muscular, and sporting several sharp bone structures around its body at various harsh angles – escaped from it's dank abode by almost casually brushing aside the concrete around itself to rise at full height beside the boy. It wasn't quite the size of the big Grimm Jaune had killed before, but the teen could be forgiven for not being up for measuring the drooling, hateful beast in front of him at the moment as its red eyes fell on him.

The street they were on wasn't empty. In fact, several people were already screaming, panicking, or calling for help once the Grimm fully made itself known to those around it with it's high-pitched howl to the skies above. The Beowolf seemed perfectly content to ignore the rest of the fearful populace surrounding it in favor of the (relatively) much calmer boy in front of him.

"GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…"

The Grimm was stalking toward him. Slowly. Dragging out the moment. Giving Jaune a moment to really dig into his self-esteem.

"The universe hates me," he mumbled to himself, stepping back. "There is literally no other reason why all this crap to happening to me now. Absolutely none."

Of all the days he decided to go casual in his wear and leave his precious sword at home. Now he was going to die because Ruby wanted to look over his precious weapon and think of ways on how to turn something boring and plain into something not quite as boring for him.

She mentioned she'd do it free of charge and he relented without a moment's thought.

"And what a great idea that was," he continued to growl. "Jaune, you dumb, greedy bastard. You just had to indulge her, didn't you? Had to fall for the puppy eyes, didn't you?! Give her your only weapon to defend yourself with- oh, sure! Where's the harm in that?! Damn it, you have seven sisters! Puppy eyes have only ever lead you into more and more problems and you know that, you absolute MORON!"

At the end of his self-loathing rant, the Beowolf decided then to leap for his throat.

"Please desist with all hostilities."

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!

Not for the first time today, more gunshots echoed through Vale. Loud and continuous and very, very close to Jaune.

To the Huntsman-in-training's credit, he kept his eyes open the entire time the Beowolf was leaping towards him. Less out of a sense of courage or wanting to see his last moments, truthfully, but that's the excuse he would give if anyone asked. Still, his eyes were open and watching every moment as several small splashes of the black creature's burst open and knocked its initial leap wide from its intended spot of landing.

Death had been avoided again.

"Please desist with all hostilities."

More gunshots. The Beowolf howled and wailed as its flesh was splintered and torn to shreds.

Jaune felt no pity for it as he pressed himself to the wall, watching now to make sure the thing died.

"Please desist with all hostilities."

The mechanical, electrical voice repeated its command over and over again to the street. Half-a-dozen robot soldiers – Atlas's latest Knight-series soldiers – never missed a shot as their weapons repeatedly discharged into the black hide of the Beowolf. At no time stopping or showing mercy until it finally began to fade away into black mist from the once active street.

Jaune was somewhat taken aback by that. It was, of course, not the first time he'd seen a Grimm die. But it had evaporated into the usual black mist of its kind so quickly. Not even so much as a piece of hair or part of its mask behind to signify it was once there. Nothing save the gaping hole it made in the street.

"Please desist with all host-… Hostilities have been desisted. Threats have been neutralized."

'Neutralized'. Was that the new 'no kill like overkill'? Cause if it was, Jaune was all for it. Neutralize away.

"Damage to local area caused by neutralized threat," the lead Atlesian Knight pointed its head to the hole in the concrete. "Sending request for repairs to be made to local experts. Three units will remain to direct traffic and prevent unnecessary dangers to civilian population." As the drone spoke, three of its compatriots formed a light encircling of the Beowolf's hole. "Area is now secure. Civilian population may now return into the localized area. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the full experience of the Vytal Festival."

And like that, the remaining Knights walked away. Not so much as a word to ask how he was, if he was injured, or so on. Nope. Just done in out, nothing else to be done.

"Thanks?" Jaune muttered with shaky breath. He looked over to the remaining Atlesian Knights, unsure if they even heard or understood what he was thanking them for.

"Move along, citizen. And please continue to enjoy the full experiences offered by the Vytal Festival."

Are near-death situations part of the festival experience?

He didn't want an honest answer to that question. With his luck, the robot would offer calculations and statistics pointing to the fact that, yes, they were.

Instead, like twice now before in so many hours, Jaune pried his very stiff and very nervous frame from the sidewalk and pressed forward in his crusade to get his comic book. Some might have even called it courageous to keep going after all that.

Not Jaune, though. Jaune Arc was just stubborn and stupid at times. A dangerous combination, his sisters would tell him.

"Okay," he breathed out. "So, todays been…eventful." That was one way to put it. "I'm feeling like a three right now. Yep. Definitely a three. Maybe I should just skip the burger and head back to Beacon after this." He was still getting that lottery ticket, though. "And hey, maybe there's some good that will come out of this? I mean, who can honestly say they almost died three times in the middle of Vale like this?"

He forced himself to laugh at his bad commentary, already imagining how such a story would go when he told it to the others later.

Nora would have a riot from this and try to one-up him somehow. Ren would probably not believe him (or maybe he would; it was hard to say what that guy was thinking sometimes). And Pyrrha would just make sure he never went out without a guard from then on. Such thoughts made Jaune laugh a little bit easier again. He really had the best team. And when he told this story Team RWBY, oh-ho-hooo boy!

I can only imagine what they'll say. Yang'll laugh. Weiss will just say I need to be careful. Ruby will just laugh with Yang. And Blake, she-

He never finished the thought. Why? Well, a hand of the universe ripped open creation from a dark alleyway behind a tacky comic store and plucked Jaune from Remnant's surface before anyone down or up the street could notice.

…

…

…

No, really.

The hand, for what else could it be described as, looked to be made from starlight and the black emptiness of oblivion. It looked as if were not entirely solid and almost liquid-like in its composition. Barely holding its weird makeup together. Its business with the boy was handled and done in a moment's moment of time; wrapping its odd fingers around, never letting go of its target and returning to nothingness with its passenger without so much as a shift in the wind or garnering the attention of Vale's inhabitants on the sidewalk. Not even Jaune seemed aware of the danger. Smiling and relaxed on happy thoughts as he disappeared from the world without even an instance to shout or to process the confusing situation happening then.

Maybe if he had that second, he might have found it somewhat funny how a nice seven had turned so quickly into a negative forty-two.

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

The Beacon Academy library was a quiet place…

"I use 'Nevermore Migration' to prevent air traffic in Atlas. Three turns of no aerial maneuverability or trade."

…most of the time.

"Hmm, sound. I play 'Counter Intelligence: International Propaganda'. Four negative populous-happiness points to Mistral."

"Let's see…ah-hah. Ruby and Weiss don't have enough diplomacy points to counter it. Riots occur. Military units are grounded three turns. Towns lose two defensive points per population point."

"D'oh!"

"I told you to just keep hitting Vacuo! Pyrrha has no idea what she's doing over there!"

"H-hey! That's not…en-entirely true…"

The library was made for the student body to indulge in their workloads, homework assignments, or simply study in private. It functioned like most libraries, admittedly, but with a surplus amount of information related to Grimm, Grimm-killing techniques, Grimm behavioral patterns, Grimm categories/sub-categories/mutated-categories, Grimm hierarchies, Grimm theories, Grimm-related historical events, and so-on so-forth. Which, in all fairness, was fine and very appropriate for a monster-slaying academy. None of the students ever seemed perturbed by the extensive amount of info laying about related to the nightmarish creatures of the world. It was all very sensible.

"Well, I, uhm, for my turn, I consolidate my populous to…to…"

"Deal with my 'Grimm Scourge' from four moves ago?"

"Handle the influx of population points from 'War Refugees'?"

"Or how about de-poisoning your water supply from 'Mistralian War Orchestrator'? Which, just as a reminder, deals one-point-five times the anxiety and plague damage in desert-tile territories. Which is all you have."

"…Yes?"

To be certain, plenty of students were sitting and diligently working on anything and everything they could to further their careers. But there were times when students needed a place to simply relax. Away from classrooms, bedrooms, and other stressful areas. And with the upcoming Vytal Festival, such places were becoming quite packed and limited for the local student population. Which is why the library could be an excellent place to go, so long as everyone was willing to follow the rules of being respectful and courteous to those trying to have a moment's time of peace and quiet.

"Alright, Pyrrha's pretty much a dead fish in the water-"

"N-Nora!"

"-Renny, what's next?"

"Hmm. Use 'Rebellious Thoughts' on Atlas. That'll freeze them for the next four turns."

"Ha! Shows what you know. 'Rebellious Thoughts' only has a two-turn effect."

"Unless it's Atlas. It has 'National Pride of the People' bonus and detriment effects. Any population-based cards will have their effects multiplied by two."

"Oh. Right."

"Atlas will only be able to fortify and defend. Can't attack."

"Ruby made her sister mad, so Mistral's out for a bit dealing with the counter intelligence."

"Ha! See what happens when you mess with your big sis?"

"Yang, we're all being beaten by Ren and Nora, King and Queen of Vale. This isn't the time to brag."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have attacked our coast trade routes then!"

"Weiss is the one who attacked! And only after Blake used 'Faunus Revolution' in our southern province!"

"Precisely! My actions were purely defensive and reactionary to when you broke our defensive pact to deal with Vale before moving on. But no. You betrayed my trust at the first chance you could, Blake!"

"It was worth it to see your face. I regret nothing."

Not everyone respected the divinity of a quiet library, of course. And a pair of teams in particular made that painfully clear.

At one long table on the second floor, surrounded by bookshelves and windows to a pleasant and warm afternoon sky, was a board game laid out over the dark maple wood. It was a fair-sized game, with a large depiction of the world as it's front picture. Tiny little figurines and cards were scattered about the board with seven teenagers surrounding it, eagerly looking over the game with analytical gazes at both the contents at play and their opponents to the side.

To one end of the table was the infamous Team RWBY, playing as emissaries and empresses, respectively, over the kingdoms of Mistral and Atlas, also respectively. The young and spry team leader Ruby Rose and the prim and proper Weiss Schnee had made themselves known by their economical strategies to outplay their opponents. The mysterious and aloof Blake Belladonna alongside her teammate, the blunt and bodacious Yang Xiao-Long, had opted for a more vicious and head-on tactic of military might with their Atlas capital grounds. The two kingdoms seemed ever at war with the other, but was all in good fun.

Spunky, talented and fairly attractive, Team RWBY was becoming somewhat known within the halls of Beacon to upperclassmen and beyond. Yang, brazen as ever, was all for the attention. Ruby was shy to it, Weiss took it in stride (and with a bit of pride), and Blake simply would shrug and find a book to read. The four were close, even with their individual personalities, and had face many dangers already in their first year of the academy. They were expected to do great things.

On the other side, Team JNPR, minus one team leader, sat with either great confidence, practiced calm and clarity, or disparity at the impending doom of their kingdom. The first pair were the longtime childhood friends, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren (more commonly referred to simply as Ren). They – or rather, Nora – had declared themselves royalty of Vale and had managed to balance out a strategy that was both expansionary and well adjusted for potential attacks from enemy forces. They were winning easily as they took advantage of the turmoil of their opponents' eagerness to bait and destroy one another, taking land and resources without repercussions, and showing Pyrrha how poor governing decisions could lead to the downfall of a nation. Nora would say it was providence that declared their victory. Ren would say it was just luck and Team RWBY being self-destructive.

And then there was the last of the team JNPR, sitting at the table alone. Pyrrha Nikos was a genius in every right. Physically, mentally, was beautiful to boot. Championship fighter and expert Grimm destroyer with worldwide fame on the side. She was humble and smiled warmly to near everyone and encouraged the best in others. A personality people gravitated towards, with a reputation which made people eager to know her. She held Vacuo's capital in the game and…that was it. She had never played the board game her friends had eagerly asked her to join them with and it showed. They're usual player, Jaune, was away for the day and so Nora figured to invite their charming teammate and friend along instead, believing she would make for at least a passable opponent instead. And if they didn't offer much in the way of guidance and instead threw her into the deep waters without a life vest? Well, they were sure she'd be fine. Probably.

"I have to be honest, P-Money," Yang smirked cockily without any real malice to the fidgeting redhead. "I don't think I've ever seen a kingdom fall as quickly as yours has. I'm actually kind of impressed."

"This game is a lot tougher to play then Jaune made it out to be…"

"'Remnant: The Game'! Take no prisoners, show no mercy!" Ruby cheered. "It takes a calm, clear, well-functioning mind to be able to defeat any and all opponents in your way and grow your vast and powerful empire! Only the strong will survive!"

"It has a simple premise that I find has a certain charm to it," Weiss admitted, lifting up the box and looking somewhat impressed by it. "I am always for a good strategy test and found this to be just what I needed to ready myself for next month's first rounds. It's wide variety of ways to win are also particularly appreciated."

"Phht, more like convoluted," Nora smiled with glee to the other team, standing up to jump on her chair. "The only good game of Remnant: The Game is when all opponents have been put into the grave as you cackle over the skulls of the deceased!"

"Nora," Ren spoke up, tugging at his friend's fingers and she gloated. His eyes were staring off to the side. "Perhaps we should settle down a bit-"

"Don't worry about this too much, Pyr." Nora nodded to her teammate. "We'll get you to be a mean-bean, Remnant-destroying machine when Jaune gets back. We'll make you so good, these four will weep at the prospect of the Arc-Nikos front that will badger down their defenses and conquer their lands!"

"Oh?" Weiss smiled dangerously, crossing her arms and looking up to the girl. "Is that a challenge for next time, then? I can't imagine that blockhead would ever pose a threat to my perfect economic strategy of warfare."

"Uh, Weiss, we're actually in third place. And our economy is failing because Ren played 'Mountainous Trade Route Collapse'. We're only not in last because Pyrrha is…Pyrrha."

"I, I'm sorry?!"

"Hmph. Shows what you know." Weiss huffed and looked over her still-alive-but-hurting Kingdom. "I promise, the Mistralian people will rally behind us soon enough! And then, we'll take the fight to those ruffians!"

"Everyone," Ren looked over Team RWBY. His face only slighted twisted in worry, but that was enough to know something was off. "Please. We should-"

"Ho-hoh-hoh! Now this has been a good day!" Yang laughed, putting her hands behind her head, enjoying the show. "Rubes got Weiss-cream all fired up and playing a board game, Blake is actually not nose-deep in a book, and I finally found something Pyrrha doesn't excel at. Today's turning out pretty great!"

Blake shrugged from her spot. "You told me I might get to see Weiss upset about losing at a board game. That wasn't something I could pass up on."

"Is that why you went back on our deal?! To upset me?!" Weiss cried out, eye twitching to her teammate.

Again, Blake shrugged, though now with a hint smugness. "All's fair in love and war."

"Yes, Ms. Belladonna."

The occupants of the table, minus one silently groaning Ren, jumped in their seats at the piercing voice to the table's side. Glancing over to the owner of the voice stiffly and with worried looks on each of their faces.

Standing tall and intimidating over the table was none other than Professor Glynda Goodwitch. Head of the combat specialty department and vice-headmistress of Beacon. Resident hardass and especially stern in the face, even in the most comfortable or quiet moments of the week. She held a pair of books in one hand, recently checked out, and looked down on her seven students with a distinct lack of approval with their board game.

"I do believe you are correct on that front. All is fair when it comes to love and especially war." She raised her hand slowly, a riding crop of all things appearing between her fingers, and slapped it to the table. "And would you all agree that it would be fair of me to give you all a week's detention for disturbing the peace of the library?"

Blake shook only slightly under her gaze. "I, I think that punishment may be disproportionate for just being a little…" She trailed off as the professor's eyes narrowed. "I, I mean, no! Ma'am. It wouldn't."

"No, it would not." Glynda agreed, nodding and straightening her position. "And lucky for you all, I have somewhere to be or I would write you all up here and now. Take your game and your antics and find a more appropriate spot so as not to disturb your fellow students again. I don't want to hear about you all being loud in here again." And once again, her eyes narrowed down at them all. "Understood?"

"Y-yes, Ms. Goodwitch!"

"I'll be good! Promise! Won't happen again!"

"We've been bad, please don't hurt us…"

Adequately pleased that her dominance would not be challenged and her will would be done, Glynda gave them all a nod and proceeded on her way.

Yang frowned as her teacher went, then shrugged helplessly. "Well, there goes that idea."

"Agreed. It is unfortunate," Weiss nodded, moving first to clear off the board quietly. "But we can try this again some other time, I suppose."

Blake, unexpectedly, looked a little annoyed at the end of their game. "You're just happy you didn't have to lose before we played our next card and wrecked your government's infrastructure."

"Hmph. I haven't the faintest idea what you're blabbering about."

"So, does this mean we tied?" Pyrrha asked, gathering what few pieces and cards she had in one hand and giving them over to Nora. Her expression was visibly elated. "I didn't lose?"

"You survived until the game was shut down, unceremoniously, by Hurricane Goodwitch. No winners, no losers."

"I'll take that! I'm okay with that- happy, even!"

Ruby watched it all and laughed behind her fingers while the last of the game pieces were shuffled back into their box. They all had fun in their own little ways, even if it had ended so abruptly. Nora acted out the tragedy of how their kingdom had fallen to such an unexpected calamity with Ren. Weiss was trying to argue with Blake how her economic strategy would have insured their survival were it not for the treachery of Atlas. And Yang poked at a smiling Pyrrha over having found a flaw in the otherwise perfect girl, who seemed fine with the prodding regardless.

As they made for the exit, quieter than they had been since entering, Ruby would remark how the day had turned out well for herself. Homework finished, friends smiling, dinner was advertised to have fresh-baked cookies and strawberries for dessert – what wasn't there to love? But a small part of her did wonder back to wondering where missing Jaune Arc was in all of this. He would have loved to play a round of Remnant with so many people. He'd gone to pick up his comics earlier – promising to share them with her – and hadn't come back since. He wasn't even answering his scroll, the loser. He'd get a piece of her mind later for it all. It was nothing to worry about, of course, but he was still missed all the same.

But for now, as the double-doors were flung open by her sister, Ruby still smiled and enjoyed the moment of respite. It was a fine day all around.

"Yo," Yang called from in front of everyone, "did we go out the wrong door?"

Every teen stopped in their tracks in front of Ruby, who held up the back of the party. She blinked, confused at her sister's words at first, until she realized that she was very, very right.

This wasn't the outside of the library at all.

There was no sun. There was no blue skies or trees. The floors had turned to clean dark marble; not the all too familiar concrete or earth of the outdoors. And the room seemed very, very different compared to the library they came from.

It was a hall of some kind. An entrance hall, to be more accurate. Wide and accommodating, with large, chiseled pillars around the room to hold up and equally ornate ceiling from above. Beacon had its fine architecture and design, no question of that, but the room the seven teens had stepped into was undoubtedly a level above even the most impressive of craftsmanship that Beacon had to offer. Widely expanding outwards from the doorway, a pair of stairways, similarly of marble-make, led to a second floor up above. The lights in the room were low and simple, but bright enough to give the room a clean glow and allowed easy visibility. Especially when the seven finally noticed the sound of rushing water towards the middle of the two staircases; a fountain had been made in between them.

The seven staired with wide eyes at their new surroundings, stepping more to the center. Even the air felt cooler than in the library.

"Oooookaaay…" Nora spoke up first. Her eyes were to the top of the room, looking from fine pillars to ceiling to anywhere that looked even vaguely different from Beacon. Which was everything. "I don't remember this being here before…"

"That's because it wasn't." Blake said back to her. Her eyes were narrowed and looking to every dark corner. "That door was to the outside. But this place," she hesitated then shook her head. "This doesn't look like anyplace in Beacon I've ever seen."

"It kind of reminds me of my house," Weiss said quietly. "But, somehow, a little nicer."

"Hello?!" Ruby suddenly shouted. Her friends all jumped and turned, wide eyed, to her. "Is anyone there?!"

"Shhhh!" Yang leapt for her sister, covering her mouth as the girl wailed under the manhandling. "Ruby, what are you doing?! Haven't you seen any horror movie ever?!"

"Mghflhmm?!"

"You speak first, and then the crazy killer with the Grimm for fingers comes out of nowhere and rips your intestines out!" Nora explained helpfully.

"Mfh?! Wefllufh?!"

"Yeah, cross my heart! He goes after the most innocent of the group of teenagers first just for kicks!"

"Mffhnl!"

"Can we all please stop screaming?!" Weiss asked irritably, hands to her waist and glaring at the more rambunctious members of their little group. "And Yang, please let go of your sister. I think she's having trouble breathing."

"Wha- oh, shit! Sorry!" The hand was removed from the starting-to-turn-blue Ruby, who gasped in great gusts of air afterwards.

"Regardless of wherever we are," Ren spoke up, giving a one last look to the second floors then back to group as a whole. Even his usual stoic expression seemed strained. "I think it would be best for us to return to the library for the time being."

"Yes, I agree," Pyrrha nodded, turning towards the still open doorway and walking at a brisque pace. "Everyone, back to the library, now-"

Click-BANG!

Pyrrha jumped back from the sound. No closer had she gotten but a few feet from the door and the freedom of the library that the doors decided then to close with a great crash. They shuttered for only a moment before settling into place, cutting off the light and view of Beacon's library entirely.

Everyone was quiet from such a clammer.

"Oh, this is also what happens in every horror movie ever!" Yang's hands went into her hair, curling around her locks as she resumed her scanning around the room again. "Okay, very funny, haha! Come on out now so I can break your jaw in!"

"Shush, Yang!" Ruby whispered angrily, grabbing onto her sister and shaking her. "Don't make the crazy axe-slasher-murder man with Grimm-fingers come out! I don't wanna die!"

"We are six Huntresses plus one Ren! I like our odds!"

"No, Yang! Bad Yang! Bad!"

"Please, I've seen the movies! If you call out the crazed maniac, you have, like, plus ten-percent chance of beating the tar out of him! It always works!" She turned her head back to the ceiling. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, freak!"

"Would someone please help me out here?!" Ruby called out to her compatriots. Pyrrha and Nora were trying the doors, bashing their bodies into them in hopes of breaking their way out. Ren and Blake looked down to the locks of the doors, seeing nothing exceptional about them but wondering why it seemed durable enough to hold back both Huntresses as easily as they were.

And Weiss was admiring the fountain.

"This is remarkable craftsmanship," she whispered. "I should find out who does their work."

"W-Weiss?!"

"Hmm?" The heiress turned her head around. "Oh, uh, yes. Bad Yang. Bad. Go to your room."

"Olly olly oxen bitch!" Yang ignored them. "Come out and play!"

Ruby muffled a scream of irritation at the massive amounts of unhelpfulness from everyone around her. And they called her slow – you were supposed to group up together in these situations and not be calling out the bad guy! Every action movie ever taught her that much!

"Hello?"

A voice called out from the second floor. Everyone paused what they were doing. Muffled though the voice was, they heard it all the same.

"Hello? Is someone- is anyone there?" Again, the voice cried out. A man's voice.

"Hello?!" Yang yelled back. This time, Ruby didn't stop here. "I'm here! Who's talking?!"

"Oh!" The voice shouted it. "Oh crap, this is too soon. Oh, I mistimed this, oh crap, I'm not ready. J-just one moment, please!"

It was silent after that. The teens remained still, listening for more sounds.

"Oh, the system worked too fast," the voice echoed quietly around them. It didn't sound as if he were talking to them, however. "I should have just waited until after the shower. Oooh, stupid stupid stupid! Impatient, that's what you- where are my socks? Where are they- ouch, stubbed my toe! Stubbed my- oh, found them!"

The teens started to look less alarmed now. Yang even looked confused, looking over to the four at the door, who looked similarly unsure before staring down at her sister still clinging to her waist. Ruby offered her a shrug as best she could.

"Good first impressions mean everything. Good first impressions mean everything. Good first impressions, gah, dad would be so upset right now!" The voice continued, now sounding louder and less muffled. Its owner was getting closer. "Just remember, smile, be polite. Smile, be polite. Friends are only strangers you haven't-"

There was a loud ding on the second floor. Everyone turned their gazes towards the sound. The largest door on that level that they could see swung open and a figure came practically barreling through it. The new figure, dressed in a long, dark robe, ran straight into the railing of the small balcony which overlooked the room and came to a sudden halt. He was tall and the robe was well-adorned with vibrant patterns, looking less like a common cloak and more like some fashioned dress from centuries before. The figure wore it well, as an afterthought to some in the room, with a pair of fine leather gloves on his hands and the robes hood cast over his head, covering his face from the faint light of the room.

Such an outfit might have been unsettling in such an unusual spacing. But then, the new, cloaked man started to huff and wheeze on the balcony.

"He-hello and we-w-welcome to – oh, I need to hit the gym later – helloooo and good evening!" The figure straightened himself up, standing upright and forcing back his panting. His voice was loud, almost grand-sounding and excited to boot. "Welcome to the Jellybean! I am your host, the captain of this vessel, and it is my very good pleasure to meet you finally in person, Mrs. Saphr-"

At the top of the steps, the new arrival stiffened.

"-rrrroooh you do not look like her…" The figure stood at the top of the stairs, looking down for a long moment. He rubbed his eyes then looked again. "Oh, there's more than one of you, too. And none of you look like her. Well, except maybe that one," he pointed to Yang, "but you're not her either. Ooooh dear."

Every Beacon student watched as the figure took a step back. He wobbled in his spot, almost as if he were going to be sick.

"Where did I make the mistake?" The dark-cloaked man whispered to himself, but with how the room was designed, his words echoed easily so everyone could hear. "I asked for those with familial relationships, not for- oh, wait, did I write familial or familiar? Oh crap, I probably wrote familiar. That's why the system pulled…"

The figure turned his head back around. The teens still stared his way. Nora waved by the doorway.

"Hi," she greeted him. The figure at the balcony hesitated before, awkwardly, waving back.

"G-greetings," he offered back. "Wait, do teenagers say greetings? Or is that too sixteenth century? Am I making this first impression worse? Oh, momma, I am, aren't I?!"

"No, no, you're doing great!" Nora lied easily, giving him a thumbs up. "B-minus for execution, but A-plus for effort!"

The figure seemed to perk up. "Really?" He asked. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad-"

"Wait, wait, wait! Stop! Hold up! Please!"

Yang was shouting from the middle of the room again. Though this time, her efforts were more to a general part of the room rather than the entire wherever they were. Ruby had let go at some point but remained next to her sister regardless. Unlike her older sister, however, she seemed less upset by everything going on around her and just confused.

"You there!" Yang pointed up to the figure. "Talk slowly! What's going on here? Where are we? And most importantly, who are you?"

The figure stared down to Yang from the balcony. "O-okay," he nodded her way. "S-should I come down there or st-stay up here or-" Yang just pointed to the floor beneath here. "Yes! Understood! Coming, coming!"

The figure made his way down the steps, taking two at a time. He looked awkward doing so, as if he wasn't used to taking stairs in the first place.

"Okay, okay, I'm here!" The figure spoke happily, lifting his arm and waving over to Yang. "Greetings!"

"No," Yang brought her arms together, cracking her knuckles. Even without weapons, she was more then capable at the moment. "You. Answer my questions. Now."

The figure sagged a little, his arm falling down to his side. "Oh, uh, okay," he paused. "Which one did you want me to answer fir-"

"You. Name. Now."

"Yang, you're being rude, you know," Ruby whispered at her side.

"Shh! I'm trying to keep the element of control here!" Yang whispered back.

"Still, you could be nicer about it. He looks scared of you."

"That means it's working!"

"I, I'm sorry, do you two need a minute to talk or should I-" The robed man tried to ask.

"No. Answer my question."

"My name or who I am?"

"Yes."

The figure in the robe tilted his head. Then he looked to Ruby. "Is she always like this?" He whispered with a hand over what the others could only guess was where his mouth was.

Ruby, somewhat taken out of the tense situation, could only groan loudly. "Oh, you have no idea," she rolled her eyes. "It's always been like this. Since we were kids, it's always 'me first, 'cause I'm the oldest' and 'I just need fifteen minutes to do my hair' or 'I'll tell you what a fletcher is when you're older'. It's a lot to deal with."

"Oh, my word, yes!" Weiss yelled from the fountain. "Don't get me started on her! The two hour showers every Saturday are a nightmare to deal with alone! And I only have to ask, why? Why do you need to be that long under water, Xiao-Long? I know you don't forget during the week, since that's a whole other conversation in and of itself!"

Yang blinked. What was going on now? "W-wait, this isn't the time to-"

"And sometimes she'll take your makeup without asking." Blake added in, still kneeling by the doorway. "Sure, she replaces it, eventually, but when I need eye-shadow and lipstick and it's nowhere to be found, I have half a mind to start training your dog to take his potty breaks on your bed."

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa! That's a little extreme there, partn-"

"Yang can be overly competitive, too."

"Wha? Pyrrha, you too?!"

"Sorry. It's true, though. Your eyes turn red during a game of pinball last week when you said you'd either beat Ren's high score or die trying." Pyrrha smiled, embarrassed. "We had to carry you out of that arcade, kicking and screaming. It was like dealing with a child, and I'm not even a parent yet."

"O-okay, that was a bit extreme on my part, but-"

"Oh! Remember that time you accidentally spilled a whole carton of milk on Ruby's cloak right before Professor Port's class?" Nora shouted beside her partner, laughing boisterously. "Hahaha, that was great! I mean, terrible, 'cause Ruby looked like we forgot her birthday and told her we had send Zwei home because he was a very bad dog, but it was still funny!"

Ruby turned her head around with a snap, looking at the smiling, bubbly girl at the door. "Wait, what?! That wasn't you?!"

"Nora!" Yang screamed/cried. "What the hell?! I paid you to take the fall for that one!"

Nora blinked at her. "Oh. Right. You did. Forgot you did that."

"Yaaaang! That took me a week to get the stains out! It smelled bad!"

"I want my money back!"

"I want a new sister!"

"Hmm. We all do have unique experience relating to Yang, don't we?"

Yang's eyes widened. Her eyes turned down to the last friend she had in the room, who looked to be thinking deeply on the matter of the curious circumstances that came with being Yang Xiao-Long's friend.

"Ren? Buddy? Pal? No-grudge-holding-awesome-man-who-makes-pink-extensions-look-good?"

"You once punched me with a turkey," Ren recalled after a moment. "Right into the tables in the cafeteria. We were all having fun. You looked like you wanted my blood." He rubbed his shoulder of a phantom pain. "That was…an interesting experience."

Betrayal. Betrayal of the worst kind.

"Man, you guys are great!" The elephant in the room, by sound of his voice alone, seemed to be smiling. "I always enjoy roast-shows on tv. Hey, anyone want me to grab some popcorn?"

"Would I?!"

"Nora, no! Shush!" Yang raised her hands, eyes turning a bloody red. "And everyone, stay focused! We need answers here, people! Not popcorn!"

"Phht, speak for yourself. Popcorn makes everything better."

"You!" Yang reached over to the cloaked figure in the room, grabbing the collar of his cloak. "No more games, no more distractions. Who are you?"

The figure cocked his head to his head to the side. "Wait, didn't I answer that alr-" Yang's eyes seemed to sparkle with anger. "I-I-I mean, I'm the captain!" The man – the captain – amended. "The captain of the Jellybean!"

"What jellybean?"

"Not what jellybean. The Jellybean." The captain specified, lifting his arms around the room. "All of this. This is the Jellybean. The greatest ship on this side of creation."

Yang raised a blond eyebrow. "You named your ship Jellybean?"

The captain nodded. "Yes, in fact, I did." He sounded proud.

"Why?"

"Why else? Because it's shaped like a great, big jellybean, of course!"

Blake scoffed to the side. "Of course."

"So, we're on a boat?" Ruby asked from the side. Everyone once again turned their heads around the room, looking over everything. They couldn't feel the sway of the ocean or nothing. Must have been a big boat.

The captain shook his head. "'Fraid not. You're standing on a ship here."

Ruby frowned. "Ship, boat, is there really a difference?"

"In this case, a world of it."

"How did we wind up on your ship?" Yang then asked. "Actually, what happened to the library?!"

"Dimensional break across universes," the captain answered easily. His words caused the sisters to blink at his word choice. Even Yang's eyes turned back into a confused violet. "From what I gathered, the ship's system broke into your library's door structure and flipped the entry points temporarily from schoolyard to my ship. Very temporarily. It's probably fixed without any issues by now." He paused in thought. "Probably."

"Dimensional breaks? The ship's system?" Weiss asked from behind, disbelief obvious in her tone.

"Yeah, the Jellybean's system," he yelled back, deciding to follow up on the easier of the two questions to answer. "Kind of like an artificial intelligence system that runs through my ship. A very complex thing that is very on-the-nose when you request something from it."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked the next question, walking over to the sisters and looking the captain over.

At that, the captain acted sheepish. "The Jellybean's AI…it might have made a teeny, tiny mistake with bringing you all."

Pyrrha's head tilted slightly. "How so?"

"Well-"

"Wait a minute, hold on a sec," Yang shook her head, tightening her grip on the captain's collar. "Are we really believing this guy at this point? Dimensional breaks? AI systems? That's all a bunch of science-fiction stuff. A load of baloney, made for movies, way outside of any possibility."

The captain's stance straightened somewhat. "Do you like movies?" He asked.

"Wha?" Yang blinked up to the taller captain's hidden face. "I mean, uh, well, I guess I do-"

"Oh, that is good!" The captain shouted delightfully. "Very good, actually!"

Yang, again, was at a loss for words. Most of the teens had come over at this point, standing in a loose circle around their…technically-kidnapper? He wasn't acting like much of a threat if he was.

"Anyway, to answer your question," the captain began again, "I know this is all very strange, and I do apologize for your impromptu abduction, but it's all true. My ship was only looking out for my best interests and took you all at the best moment it could find to plop you down here." He pointed down to the marble flooring of the entrance hall. "I may have given it a somewhat-loose request to produce…well, people of a unique standing." He held back specifics. Everyone could tell. "I didn't mean for it to grab you. Any of you, honest. It was just an accident."

His voice lacked any stutter and sounded smooth and honest. Though definitely an unusual character, none of the teens doubted the truth of his words. Or, at least, that he believed his words entirely. Which just made the whole situation stranger.

"And let's see here, what was your last question?" The captain's hand went under his hood, looking to stroke his shadowed chin. Even as close as Yang was, she could not make heads or tails of his features. "What was it, what was- ah, yes! 'What's going on here'?" He seemed to be smiling again, patting Yang's hand happily. "Well, simply put, I am in need of your assistance."

Yang raised a brow. "You need our help?" She asked skeptically.

"Yes, indubitably! See, I was trying to get, uh, someone else to help with my work, but I wasn't able to get her, it seems." The captain seemed almost embarrassed admitting this. "Buuuut, this might just be a veritable phoenix from the ashes kind of situation! More people might just be what I need to make my work finally come to fruition!" He laughed. "Oh, this might work out even better! Maybe the system didn't make a mistake! Oh, sweet Jellybean, I could kiss you!"

"What sort of help were you looking for?" Pyrrha asked, always looking to help others.

"Well, I'm glad you asked! See, what I need is actually simple, I-"

"Okay, okay! Stop, everyone, just stop, please." Weiss stepped forward to stand beside Yang. "Look, this is starting to get peculiar now, okay? I don't know what has gotten into your head that we would ever help you with anything after you took us from our school, but let me make it clear that everything you said and especially all of this," she gestured to the entrance hall of the Jellybean, "is still very, very weird!"

With collar still held tightly by Yang, the captain turned his head to Weiss. "Yeah, I know," he nodded. "So, will you help me? I promise it's very easy work."

Weiss's expression curled. The nerve of their abductor. "N-no! No, of course I will not!" She shouted to his face, which caused him to visibly slack in his posture. "What I plan to do, now, is head back to my dorm, file a report on a crazy man who thinks he's part of some sci-fi program, and then try and forget about this whole, crazy happenstance to the best of my ability."

The captain's head cocked to the side. "Sci-fi prog…wait, you think this isn't real?" He looked around at the others. "Does anyone believe me?"

The teens looked between one another skeptically. "Well," Blake spoke up, "I do admit this place is definitely not at Beacon, but…I have to admit, what you've said isn't really believable."

"Bu-b-but I pulled from your library! Like, poof! Now you're here! On the Jellybean!"

"Ye-yeah, that's true," Pyrrha spoke up, looking almost apologetic at her lack of belief in his story. "I mean, I know we're not at Beacon any longer, but there are several ways that could have happened. Semblances, for example, are barely understood and have far reaching capabilities. It-it's possible you just have a unique one like that…"

"B-but I don't have a Semblance!"

"We can't really prove that, can we?" Pyrrha asked softly as if speaking to a child. The captain visibly deflated further with each word.

"B-but I swear! Everything I've said is the truth, honest!"

"It may be something you believe, captain," Ren was stoic in the face, but not unkind in his tone. "But that doesn't necessarily mean what you believe is true."

The captain was quiet for a moment. "Why can't you just trust me?" He asked, tone pitiful.

"Trust is earned, I'm afraid," Weiss stated, her tone turning slightly snobbish as she crossed her arms. "If you want to begin with gaining our trust, my first suggestion is helping us with unlocking those doors so we may get out of here."

Weiss pointed to the main doors of the hall, still shut and unmoving despite Nora and Pyrrha's batterings.

The captain stared at the two doors. "They're already unlocked."

"We tried opening them before," Pyrrha told him. "But they were locked tightly. We kept pushing at them, but they wouldn't budge at all."

"Did you try pulling?"

The room went quiet. "Pulling?" Pyrrha repeated.

"Yes. See how the doors are lined?" He gestured to their edges. "Those doors open inwards, not outwards. You probably pushed them in when you came on the ship, didn't you?"

Again, the room went quiet.

Weiss narrowed her eyes in the direction of Nora and Pyrrha, who seemed to be doing everything possible to avoid her gaze by either turning their eyes to the floor to whistling a soft tune off-key. Blake and Ren were little different in a similar regard, though both had the decency to pull at their collars or rub at their eyes irritably.

"Seriously?" Weiss cried out. "Seriously?!"

"I-it is a simple mistake plenty of people make every day-"

"Unbelievable." Weiss groaned with a shake of her head, moving past the darkly-dressed man and her compatriots and heading for the doors. "This day just keeps turning stranger and dumber and I feel like I need a long, cold shower after all of this."

The captain stiffened as she passed. "Wait, you should-"

"Enough of this silly game we're all playing here for this man's benefit," Weiss's fingers touched the doorknobs and twisted them until an opening 'click' was heard. "It's time we go home, get this man some help, and move on with our-"

Weiss swung the doors open and stepped out without hesitation.

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

There was no flooring outside the doors of the Jellybean.

There was no gravity, either. No objects to bounce back sound, either, so everything seemed muted outside the doorway for a limited space around the vessel. The only light was that of the ship itself and far away nebulas, stars and other spatial patterns that surrounded the known universe, which offered minimal amounts of luminescence to begin with.

Weiss, so confident in herself and her resolve, stepped forward without hesitation or consideration of what might have even happened next. She threw the doors open and stepped out uncaringly quick to the dark heavens of space. She did so with only a moment's awareness of just what her legs were already in motion of moving towards. Her eyes widened, her arms tried to grab hold of the swung open doors, and her back attempted an impressive reversal of motion that ultimately led to no change in her direction in the end.

"WEISS!"

Those were the last words she heard before sound no longer came to her ears. Her team leader's shout was desperate and frightened, but ultimately helped little as she fell from the ship.

It was like falling in water as a toddler, she would reflect. She screamed, but no sound came out. She waved her arms and legs about, trying to control her descent from the ship to no avail. She could breathe, small mercies allowed, which went against all logic of what limited knowledge the people of Remnant had which said space held no oxygen whatsoever to allow a human to survive to begin with. And yet, she did not have her lungs collapse in the slightest like what was theorized. She was simply falling from the ship. Slowly. Spinning vertically. Occasionally turning around to see the ship – which, indeed, did bear the shape of a large, flushed jellybean – float further and further away with her teammates and friends waiting at the entrance of the vessel.

They looked to be screaming something. Weiss couldn't tell what. She couldn't even hear her own screams.

It was around her fourth spin in space that she started to feel dizzy. Thoughts of falling forever. Lost amongst the stars. Never seeing anyone or anything again. So many people never knowing how she disappeared by the actions of an apparently very honest space traveler. Her spirit felt like it was eroding quickly, which brought some uncomfortably painful tears to her eyes and dark thoughts to the forefront of her mind.

She was going to die, she thought to herself. She was going to die because she was stupid enough to take a long step out the front doors of a spaceship and not realize it until it was too late.

Those were her thoughts up until the man in the dark robes flew down towards her, grabbed her by the wrist, stopped her spinning, and pulled her to a stop.

"Weiss!" She heard him. The captain. She heard his voice. "Weiss, stop screaming!"

She didn't have time to reflect on how the stranger knew her name. She hadn't introduced herself. Was it because of Ruby's scream? Weiss didn't care. She kept shouting to him but no sound escaped her lips. She was still mute. At least to herself.

"Weiss, lis-listen, I need you, I need, I, can, shhh, please!"

She kept screaming quietly. Up until the man put his gloved hands to her lips.

"Oh, sweet Goldalune, that's better," the captain sighed deeply. "Okay, listen Weiss, just relax. Really, nothing to be afraid of here. We're heading back to the ship right now and then you can scream your heart out. Cool?"

He removed his hand slowly from her mouth. It was a rude gesture, but with the present circumstances, she felt she could allow such brazen actions to pass. She nodded to him.

"Good," he said, "one sec." He had her wrist still in his hand while the other pointed back to his ship. She didn't feel a tug or hard pull from the man as he looked towards his ship. That would suggest gravity was around them. Instead, what Weiss saw was the Jellybean coming closer and closer by the second. She wasn't entirely sure if the ship was moving or if they were, but the faces of her friend's, joyful and excited and cheering, grew closer and closer until the captain stepped back into the doorway and pulled her along with him.

Gravity was the first thing that hit her. Then Ruby, Yang, Nora, even Blake after that.

"Oh my God, Weiss!" Ruby cried on her shoulder. "You, you jumped out into outer space! Are you nuts?!"

The others said similar things. Nora sounded like she was trying to declare that Weiss was the new crazy one of the bunch, Yang just slapped her on the back hard and told her not to do stupid things like that again, and Blake just welcomed her back with a smile. The whole experience hadn't last longer then two minutes, in truth, but felt like hours.

"Mr. Captain, sir?" Pyrrha spoke quietly to the side. Weiss only just heard her. "Thank you. For saving my friend." Ren simply nodded to the man respectfully.

The captain of the Jellybean simply shrugged. "Don't mention it," he told them, though he almost sounded embarrassed then. "Was, you know, happy to help or somethin', I don't know…"

The hugs lasted a good minute longer. Eventually, the teams settled again, with happy smiles turning to jokes and pokes at Weiss's expense. The four girls eventually dislodged themselves from the frantic hug-session with the Schnee heiress, allowing her to breathe for a moment and think over what had just happened.

"It-it's," Weiss swallowed a lump in her throat. "I-I-I was in space," she breathed, not even believing her own words. She wiped away her tears. "A-actual space! And the ship, it-it looks like a jellybean! It's pink! And small!" Her eyes widened, looking once again over the grand entrance hall. "It's small. It's smaller on the outside."

The captain stood above them all, looking down at Weiss. She looked up to meet his gaze, even though she couldn't see his eyes.

"That it is," the captain said kindly, nodding. "Kinda cool, right?" He looked back to the doorway, where Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby had moved over to. Staring and looking very carefully out the doorway and into space. Ren and Blake had decided to take a more cautious approach from behind them, with Nora deciding to get on all fours and look downwards from the doorway. "Uh, be careful not to fall out and don't forget to close up when you're done. Space can leave a nasty draft in here if you're not careful."

Space could let in a draft. Weiss was learning all kinds of things today. "I, I can't believe it."

"Like I said, this is all weird."

"H-how am I not dead?"

"What, from space?" The captain asked, to which Weiss nodded. "Ah, right. Space usually kills people. I suppose that explains your screaming earlier." He coughed into his hand, sounding slightly sheepish. "Ahem. Well, the Jellybean, like I said, is a very good ship and has a lot of fantastic features." He pointed to the door. "And one of those nifty features, as you've already experienced firsthand, is a fulltime, atmospheric bubble surrounding it's outer shell."

"An atmosphere…bubble?"

"Or a sphere. Whichever you prefer to call it, but I just call it a bubble myself," the captain continued to explain, still watching as the other teens continued to look out over space. "It's a feature meant primarily for repair purposes. If I need to jump out for whatever reason to fix something, I can do it quickly and without worrying of about needing some suit or, you know, dying." He explained before laughing lightly. "Buuuut I kinda found that use to be a bit boring and not really necessary since the ship repairs itself most of the time, so I kind of just use it more for fun now."

Weiss stared at him. "Fun?"

The captain nodded. "I mean, you saw it all, right? It's really cool out there," Weiss wasn't sure if she had time to appreciate the wonder of it all, what with her spinning and panicking as she was. "I used to go out and just stare at it all while thinking about what I'd have for dinner later. It's a nice place to relax and just breathe." The man took a deep breath and released it, as if to explain exactly what he did. "Forewarning, it's a bit chilly out there. Recommend a jacket next time."

That actually brought a laugh out of a couple of the teens at the door. Even Weiss felt a twitch to the side of her lips, though she smothered it under the overwhelming understanding of the situation they were currently in.

They were in space. This was a spaceship. A spaceship with a living space much larger than the confines of the ship would allow with its design. This was the captain of something tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years beyond anything the world of Remnant had to offer. Her family's company and country were definitively considered the leading party in regards to technological advancement throughout Remnant. It was even part of her culture to feel superior by that fact alone.

But in just a few moments, this ship had made her feel so small. So vulnerable. And her people's achievements? Disgustingly pathetic.

It was a shock to her.

"Can you bring us home?" She asked. This whole moment was an experience she couldn't believe. Couldn't have devised in her wildest imagination. She needed time to process. Preferably in a small dorm room with a soft pillow waiting for her. "This is a ship, as you said. You can pilot it I imagine?"

The captain looked down to her again. He responded back slowly. "…I can."

"Then can you take us back? Please?" Weiss took a deep breath, letting it out with a controlled breath. She tried to regain some of her regal control. "I think I would like to return home now, if you would be so kind."

The captain turned his eyes to the floor. The action was telling to Weiss. "I…I am sorry," he said. "I can't."

"What do you mean?"

Weiss and the captain looked up from the other's gaze. The Beacon students at the door had turned around then, interested now in the conversation before them. Blake had her eyebrow raised and staring intently in their direction.

"What you said. That you can't. Why is that?"

Once again, the captain was the center of attention. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, looking to the floor of the ship. "I…I can't bring you back to your home." He told them again. "At least, I can't yet. T-the ship won't let me."

"Can't?" Ruby spoke up. "Or won't?"

The captain shrugged. "Truthfully? It's a bit of both." This confused some of them, so he explained. "I can't send anyone off the ship because the ship won't let me. It's programmed to complete the mission we have, using whoever comes on the ship to help. It won't leave the airspace we're in right now and it won't open any portals back to Remnant either."

Remnant. How weird. It didn't occur to the group in full just how far away they might have been from home, even now, gazing into the stars. This ship really wasn't their home.

"This is why I wasn't happy when you guys came along. I can't help you guys get back home – a-at least not yet," he repeated quickly. Some of the expressions of the teens had started to look a little downtrodden. "I can return you guys back. Eventually. That I promise. It will just take a little time, I'm afraid."

"How much time?" Ren asked, arms crossed and looking very analytical.

The captain shook his head. "I haven't a clue," he admitted. "Could take days. Weeks maybe. A month?"

"A month?" Pyrrha repeated back, shaking her head. "I-I'm sorry, captain, but we can't be here for a month! We, we have to get back home! We have friends, schoolwork, a festival coming up! Our absence will be noted if we don't return soon!"

At that declaration, however, the captain just waved his hand in her direction. "Nah, that won't be something you have to worry about."

At that, Pyrrha blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Like I said before, the Jellybean is a great ship," he pointed his finger to the ceiling. "Time, space, those aren't concepts that mean too much onboard here." Pyrrha's face showed she was still confused. "What that means is that you don't need to worry about time here. The moment you guys came on and the D-break closed to your world, Jellybean here should have started the time compression function immediately." Still, some looked confused. He sighed, rubbing his eyes before looking to Weiss, who had found the strength in her legs again to stand. "Ms. Schnee," he said respectfully, "would you be so kind as to check your phone for me?"

She tilted her head. "Phone?"

"Oh. Uh, scroll. I meant your scroll." The captain clarified, which Weiss did. "Got it open? Good. Check the clock."

She did. "What about the clock?"

"Check the seconds now."

She did. Thirty-seven seconds. Twelve minutes into the hour.

Thirty-seven.

Thirty-seven.

Thirty-seven…

Thirty…

Weiss eventually looked up from her device. "It's not working," she said.

"No, it is," the captain looked to the other students. Others had their scrolls out, as well. "Everyone? Do you have something similar?"

Nora blinked down to her device, shaking it to her ear for a second, then looking it over again. "Mine's not ticking."

"The second's frozen." Ruby stated. The others looked to her. "My scroll's working fine, but the second isn't…" She thought for a moment on the captain's words. "Time…are we frozen in time?" Her words made everyone glance back to the captain with evident astonishment.

If there was any skepticism to her declaration, the captain dashed them away with but a nod. "Very good, Ms. Rose," he sounded almost proud of her. "That is very close to exactly what is going on right now. Time compression; the condensing of time itself in a select location compared to another." He waved to the ship. "The Jellybean's time is being sped up significantly compared to Remnant's right now. A minute in your world would be roughly…"

The captain paused.

"A minute would be…would be…gah, hang on, I did the math earlier."

He brought his fingers close to his head, lifting up fingers as he mumbled quietly.

"Okay, carry the one here. Four there. Multiplication and then- ah-hah! Got it, got it, a day! One day in here is one minute on Remnant!" He seemed almost proud of his quick math. "Time compression at its finest!"

The captain was an unusual fellow. None of the teenagers could deny such a fact after talking with him for only a short time. Still, they gathered what he was saying.

"A minute out there," Ruby said slowly, looking back to the frozen second on her scroll, "a day in here…"

"Bu-but you can't compress time!" Weiss stated. Her whole world was being overturned today, but she was still willing to fight against something that seemed downright impossible. "Time is a concept, not a tangible thing! You can't compress concepts!"

"You can't?" Yang asked, confused. "But didn't you do that when we went up against Torchwick that one time? With the giant mecha thing?"

Weiss pursed her lips. "Not exactly," she said slowly, carefully. "What I do isn't time compression. It's time dilation. And before you say anything, yes, I know it doesn't sound like there's a difference, but there is. What I do is similar to speeding up someone's reactions or mental understanding of a particular moment. It's more mental and physical manipulation, rather than concept. Like speeding up electrical signals being transmitted to the brain and down to the rest of the body. It's a body enhancement, not actual time manipulation."

Blake nodded. "I remember that. When Weiss sped me up against Torchwick, it felt like the world was slowing down around me, but I think I knew subconsciously that it wasn't the case. Weiss was just using her Semblance to improve me, somewhat. I was actually pretty tired after she did that, too."

Weiss nodded appreciatively to her teammate. "A common side effect. You're basically pushing your body way beyond anything you could before and then feeling the after effects afterwards. Time dilation in a single person, or even a group of people, is doable, but it isn't actually messing with time itself. The world doesn't stop because I use a bit of dust and my semblance in conjunction. It's just a fancy way of making someone extra-aware of their surroundings and knowing their body's full capabilities for a limited time span."

She pointed up to the captain.

"What he's suggesting this ship can do is…is…well, it goes beyond anything remotely what I or even my sister could manage with all the dust in the world!" Weiss admitted loudly. "Time isn't something that can be manipulated like that. I mean, no offense, but are you sure what your ship can do isn't just some really incredible form of dilation?"

The captain, to his credit, looked to be thinking about her words. "This is some really heavy thinking I wasn't expecting to do today."

"Tell me about it," Nora grumbled, looking dizzy. "Ren, you're smart. Explain it to me later?"

"I'll do my best."

"To answer your question as best I can, Ms. Schnee," the captain began, reaching for the heiress's scroll gently. She allowed him to pull it from her fingers, as he raised it to the teams watching. "I can't actually say one way or the other if you're right in your regards. What I know is that if you were right and this was some advanced form of your own time dilation abilities," he pointed to the frozen second on her scroll, "then you would be correct in that this phone- oh, sorry, this scroll would move remarkably slower for yourselves."

Weiss nodded. With an advanced form of time dilation, a second could look like several, or even an entire minute, with the proper control.

"However," the captain continued, "the rest of your scroll is functioning without any hitches." He clicked a few buttons. The screen moved quickly and normally without issue. "I could click on your music, your calendar, your contact list – everything pops up just fine." He handed the scroll back to the young woman. "All except the seconds on your phone."

Weiss took back her phone. Her expression looked to be trying to figure out some difficult puzzle. "Yes, you're right," she admitted, "but why is that, actually?"

"Part of the compression process," the captain answered. "It's a way to help anyone caught in its field of effect to adjust easier. Like with yourselves," he gestured to Weiss's body. "While you're here, your hair will still grow. You'll get hungry, you'll still need to breathe, you'll want to take showers – you'll have needs like you would have anywhere else." Weiss took a second to wrap her head around what he was saying and nodded after. It sounded simple enough. "But internally? Even if the rest of your functions as it should, your lungs? Your heart? Liver, brain, intestines, everything that's under your skin will all be slowing down on its aging to a crawl." He explained carefully. Some understood what he was saying. Others tried to wrap their minds around it all. "Basically, you're aging as the rest of Remnant would. It's to make sure that, once I get you back to your academy, it will be as if nothing has changed for you at all." He stopped for a second. "At least physically. And just in regards to your aging process. You all won't come out looking like old ninnies by the end of this all, I promise."

Once more, everyone was quiet. Pondering his words.

"Okay, so I'm still going to look this awesome even once we leave here," Yang said to herself. "Definitely a good thing to know."

"So, it's a matter of compressing our internal clocks." Said Ren, surprising everyone. His face was curled and analytical. "And not just for us, but our devices, as well." His scroll still had thirty-seven seconds and hadn't moved yet.

The captain nodded to the boy. "Very astute. Yes, it's a very precise bit of compressing. Your bodies aren't moving fast. You're just on a ship which is making time act differently. Making it all wibbly-wobbly and tangible. It's something I don't entirely understand myself, but I promise it's safe and only beneficial to you all."

It was all so much to believe. To understand. And the students had no way to verify if their capturer was being truthful or not.

"Mr. Captain," Ruby spoke up again. She looked shy next to the taller man. Shy and with mild culture shock to the world around her. "I have a question I'd like to ask, if that's alright."

The captain's form seemed to beam with delight. "Oh, its fine! Happy to help! What's your question?"

To be honest, there were a million little question marks floating around Ruby's noggin. She picked one that seemed the most pertinent in that moment. "What is it you need our help with?"

It was a simple question. But the most important one that needed answering.

If what the captain said was true, they weren't getting off the ship unless whatever he needed doing was done. They needed to address the question mark-shaped elephant in the room, and the sooner it was talked about, the sooner the teams could find a way home. Points to the shy Ruby for being the one to take the step forward in asking it.

"Oh," the man said, surprised. "Good question. Very good question. Very important question, in fact. And one that's going to be a little funny to answer." He scratched under his chin in thought. "Well, the thing is, I needed you guys to help me with a little project that requires your attention with."

"You mentioned something like that before," Blake spoke up.

"Yeeeeaaah, but I mean your attention in a more literal way then you probably get."

The teens raised their eyebrows. The captain hesitated again, taking a deep breath and breathing it out slowly.

"I need your help," he started slowly again, "with watching something in particular with me."

Pyrrha's head quirked to the side. "Watching something?"

"Mhm. Some-things, actually. Plural."

"What kinds of things…?" Yang asked carefully. The answer she got was not one any of the students expected.

"Movies, Ms. Xiao-Long. I want you to watch some movies with me."

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

"So let me get this straight," Weiss started after some moments of processing. "You broke dimensional barriers across universes."

"Yes."

"Essentially abducted us from our school and ferried us onto your spaceship."

"Accidentally, but still true."

"Which looks like a giant jellybean."

"And is named the Jellybean."

"Yes, thank you Nora."

"Anytime."

"All so you could ask us to…to watch some movies with you?"

"React, laugh at, have fun with, basically have the time of your lives while watching movies with me." The captain nodded. "I mean, it sounds really pathetic when you put it like that, but…" he shrugged. "That's basically it."

Weiss stared at him. Stared for a very long moment.

"Am…am I in a coma?" She asked honestly. "Is this all a dream? Did I slip into a coma right after that board game? Because that sounds more believable than all of this."

"What kind of movies do you want us to watch?" Pyrrha asked, actually curious.

"P-Pyrrha? Are you actually believing him?!"

"Hm? Well, kind of?" Pyrrha fidgeted under Weiss's gaze. "I mean, with everything else that's going on, is it really so hard to believe?"

"Can we watch a few action movies?" Nora asked, her smile boisterous and her expression excited. "Adventures, fantasies, sci-fi, horror, I'm a pretty big fan of any good movie."

The captain nodded. "I'm sure those genres can be arranged."

"Haha, sweet."

Nora adapting to all of this was no surprise. She was insane. The insane adapted well to environments which lacked any sort of logic.

"Oooh, I don't like horror," Ruby shook her head. "Give me a good hero-flick any day. The more explosions, the better!"

"Mhm, same!" Pyrrha agreed with the younger girl. "I always find the story of the heroes beating the bad guys to be some of the finest cinematic experiences to be had."

"Spruce Willis is the bomb. He never does wrong."

"I think Jaune is a fan of his movies, as well."

"Snort, of course he is. Jaune's got good taste."

Oh no. The madness was spreading.

"Eh, those superhero flicks are a dime-a-dozen these days," Yang waved her hand in a wishy-washy movement. "The movies where the hero goes against impossible odds? Bleeding and struggling the whole way until he kicks ass and looks good doing it? No superpowers or aura involved? That's where the cinema really shines."

The others turned toward Blake. Her eyes fell to the floor, cheeks slightly pink. "I, I prefer to read books…"

"Everyone's insane." Weiss nodded, mostly to herself. "I'm the only sane person left on this ship."

"Ren's still sane," Nora spoke up, pointing to her friend.

Weiss looked desperately to him. Like a woman at sea, trying desperately to grab hold of a lifeline. Ren met her gaze with pursed lips and a shrug.

"I live with Nora. I've learned to adapt to change and absurdity."

Weiss could almost cry. "Your temperament is incredible and I have nothing but the utmost respect for you."

"Man, you guys are really funny!" The captain chuckled, looking to everyone who excitedly talked about their favorite genres. "And I'm glad you like movies. Or, most of you, anyway. I'll explain what we'll be doing in a minute, but let me show you where this all will be happening in the meantime, hmm?" The captain gestured for the students to follow him, moving to the stairs and seeming confident they would do so.

The students were hesitant for a moment, looking between one another. Ruby was the first to step forward.

"Come on guys," she said, eyes forward as she followed the dark robes of the captain. "Nowhere else to go but up."

The others still stood still for a moment. But then, Pyrrha stepped forward, followed alongside by Nora who dragged Ren along with her, just to be sure he wouldn't remain.

Yang looked over to Blake, who looked apprehensive. Yang just smiled with a chuckle and shrugged her shoulders. "She's right," Yang said. "Onwards we go." Yang lightly jogged to pass by Team JNPR's members to walk beside her sister and have her back.

Blake, pursing her lips, looked to the only remaining member of her team. "What do you think?"

"I think this day could not get any crazier if we tried."

Blake looked back up their leaving friends. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."

Blake followed after that. Weiss huffed, crossing her arms, but relented in following her unwittingly naïve friends to their possible doom. All the while, she kept her eyes peeled for any funny business from the robed kidnapper.

The eight of them came to the door which the captain had come from when he entered the entrance hall from before. He pressed a little button to the sides of the doors, which revealed with a small 'ding' that the doors were, in fact, a rather large elevator. Just wide and spacious enough for them all, in fact.

"It grows with the number people it needs to fit," the captain explained when Yang commented on its size. He walked into it, followed by the teens. "Just another feature of the Jellybean to make life easier."

"Gotta say, I kinda love you named this place the Jellybean." Nora snorted, laughing as she took her place.

The captain laughed too, embarrassed. "I was young and silly. But now, I'm not so young anymore." Weiss was the last into the elevator. He didn't miss her glare and careful watch on him in such a closed space. Nor the others, for that matter, but they seemed more at ease to imagine he wouldn't act inappropriately then. "Alright. Theatre room, please!"

The doors closed quickly.

They elevator moved with barely a sound as it ascended. The teens only know they were moving because of the barest shift in their stances that suggested they were moving at all.

"The movies are…well, I call them movies," the captain began, "in truth, what you will be experiencing will be temporary showcases of other, alternate universes through a device that will look remarkably similar to one of your Remnant movie theatres." He explained.

"Alternate universes?" Pyrrha questioned innocently.

"Yes-"

The elevator shaft suddenly lurched. It wasn't moving upwards anymore. In fact, it seemed to be moving sideways now. The teens blinked at the sudden, unorthodox movement shift of a device that usually only went two directions. The captain seemed unperturbed.

"-alternate universes from the one you all live in. A universe where history or happenstances have been changed by numerous factors I can't even begin to reiterate on."

The elevator stopped again. Then, it descended. Quick and fast. Stopped and then went forward at near-breakneck speeds. Every Beacon student perched themselves down and held to the sides of the elevator desperately to prevent falling or being pulled back by the speeds.

"These universes will have curiosities that may be unclear to you all in some capacities, but you needn't worry. I'm well-versed in tens-of-thousands of unique histories and will be happy to clarify on any matter that may seem strange or unusual to you all."

The elevator stopped. Twisted in what felt like a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree spin and moved forward again.

"You will all view worlds that are similar or extremely different to yours. Geographical, philosophical, emotive – I ask you to be understanding regarding any and all of these differences. What might seem unusual for you all might simply be a day-to-day norm for the people of the world. And what might seem normal to you, might very well be a crime to another. It's best to be openminded at all times."

This kept going for another twenty seconds, still pushing the students to the far side of the elevator with great force, before finally coming to a complete stop without warning. Everyone was thrown forward. The elevator only pinged above their heads.

"Theatre Room. Please step off carefully."

The captain did so first. He didn't seem remotely put off by the experience.

"This elevator is weird," Nora could only remark, eyes spinning as Ren assisted her off. "Weird and mean."

"I think I want to take the stairs next time," Weiss commented with a pained sound to her voice.

"Yep, I'm with Weiss," Yang shouted, dizzy as well. "That thing was evil, I swear it was."

"Yang, your elbow is pushing into my spine."

"What, oh! Sorry, Rubes!"

"What is everyone still doing over there?" The captain asked loudly, standing some meters away and watching them readjust themselves. "Keep up, slowpokes! Time is wastin'!"

"Yeah, wasting slowly." Blake rolled her eyes, legs shaking as she brought herself upright.

She was the first to see that the new room they'd come to was very unique and different to the entrance hall before. While still fantastically designed as if money were of no consequence in its creation, it looked very much like the entrance of a movie theatre itself. No surprise in that regard, seeing as that was what the captain said would be their destination, but with popcorn machines, soda dispensers, several candy slots and other various food items laid about that seemed unusual to have inside a theatre. From caviar dispensers to a lobster tank, this seemed more like a movie for the Schnee family then for the common man.

And right at the end of the room, between all the food and drink machinery, were a pair of silvery doors. The captain waited patiently just before them.

"Ah, good! You're all up now," he clapped his hands together excitedly. "So, just to make sure we're all aware, these," he gestured behind him, "will be the doors to the movie we will be watching soon." Obvious, but no one commented as much. "The full wealth of the ship will be at your disposal in the meantime. Feel free to use the bathrooms over there," he gestured to the side, "if the need arises."

He went quiet for a moment, waiting for anyone to speak up or ask a question.

Surprisingly, it was Ren who stepped forward, raised hand at his side. "Excuse me, captain."

"Hmm? Yes, Mr. Ren?"

"I have a question."

"Oh? Well then, please, ask away."

Ren looked past the man to the silver doors behind him. He eyed the doors with a neutral expression before looking back to the captain.

"Why?" Was all he said.

The captain was understandably confused. "I'm sorry? Why what?"

"Why are we doing this?" Ren clarified. "What is the purpose of watching these movies? Is there a reason for it?"

The captain himself went stiff. "There is." He answered.

Ren waited for further answer. He received none. "Could you explain what that purpose is."

Once again, the captain hesitated to answer, letting out only a long, tired breath. "I'm afraid the purpose for why I'm doing this is…"

"Complicated?" Ren offered.

"Hmph. Even 'complicated' seems like an understatement for just how complicated everything is." The captain groaned, rubbing a gloved hand over his face. "Look, I wish I could explain everything, I really do, but it might ruin the project if I do. I know it's a lot to ask, but just trust me that my silence is only for your benefit here."

His words did nothing to assuage any fears the others might have had. Except Ren, who simply nodded. "Alright. I'll allow your reasons to remain yours."

"You have no idea how much that means to me."

"I have a question!" This time, Nora had her hand raised high.

"Oh, really?" The captain remarked, surprised. "Um, sure. What's your question, Ms. Valkyrie?"

"Okay, so, yeah. How do you know my name?" Nora asked innocently. The captain had been calling them by name for some time now. Always very formal, with either misters or misses. She was curious.

Again, the captain paused. "Yeah, wow, you both asked some very difficult questions." He said, then offered nothing else.

Nora realized this and pouted. "So, you can't answer it?"

"No, no, I can," the captain admitted, shifting once again on his feet. "I…oh, I admit this is a bit embarrassing. I wanted to keep this under wraps, but I-I'm something of a fan of you all. A big fan, in fact." The teams stared at the man with small amounts of surprise. "I've known about your adventures for a long time in here. Your defense of your city against terrorists. Against the Grimm. Against the evils that would bring down your kingdom from the inside – you, you all are an inspiration to me." They couldn't see the smile on his face but they could feel it through his words. "An inspiration to be better then who I was the day before. To keep fighting forward. Your activism does nothing but showcase your bravery and selflessness in the face of danger. I may not know any of you personally, and I certainly didn't expect any of you to come aboard with me, but…but I admit, I am very happy to have you here, all the same."

The Beacon students weren't expecting such an answer. The captain sounded so happy and pure in his admiration, it made some of them turn slightly pink in embarrassment. Some beamed with pride. Others felt some genuine appreciation for the kind words. A couple smiled and nodded in thankfulness.

Nora just blinked. "Oh. So, you're a stalker."

The Beacon students stiffened where they stood, turning their attention to Nora. The brazenness of that girl.

The captain, meanwhile, jumped in surprise at the words. "S-s-ss-s-st-s-sta-STA-STALKER?!"

"Are you sure you didn't intentionally kidnap us?"

"M-M-M-MS. VALKYRIE?!"

"What? It's fine. I'm a stalkable kind of girl, I get that. I mean, just check out my goods-mmph!"

"Okay, okay, ignore Nora here, please," Yang pushed Nora to the side, where Ren was wise enough to wrap his hands around her and cover her mouth to prevent further undo remarks. "Alright, enough dawdling, my scroll's clock is probably at thirty-eight seconds by now, is there anything else we need to know about these movies before we go in? Like, this isn't going to be some super elaborate sex dungeon we're walking into, is it? 'Cause if it is, I'm gonna be pissed."

Ruby smacked her hand to her forehead, glaring to her sister while their kidnapper, now host, simply tried to laugh off any awkward situation. "Uh, well, actually, yes, Ms. Xiao-Long. I mean, no to the sex dungeon parts, but there is one last think I feel should be brought to everyone's attention before we start."

Once more, he had the student's attention.

"These movies will be going over various locations and histories, like I mentioned, but they will have one thing in common. The focus of these viewings will be over a particular individual and his adventures throughout space and time. I thought it might be best for you all to be aware of this before we start the viewings."

"And who might this person be?" Asked Blake, wondering who the now apparent star of their movies was about to be.

The captain turned his attention to her. "It's someone you know, actually. A friend of yours from Beacon." Some of the teens looked puzzled for a moment before the captain cleared any confusion from their minds. "I am referring to 'Jaune Arc' of Team JNPR. He'll be the 'star' of these viewings."

The captain allowed the information to sit with them for a moment. The declaration was met with mixed responses.

"Are you kidding me?!" Weiss scowled up to the captain. "Why him?! Why not anyone else but him?! Why couldn't I be in a coma?!"

"Fearless Leader will be the star of the show!" Screamed Nora excitedly. "Oh my God, this gonna be great!"

"Interesting." Said Ren simply.

"Jaune will be in these movies?" Pyrrha looked visibly elated. "W-well, this should prove interesting."

"Vomit boy?" Yang asked, surprised but smiling a little wider now. "Oh, this oughta be good."

"We get to see Jaune's from other universes?" Ruby wondered aloud, imagination going wild. "Whoa. That sounds so weird and cool at the same time."

Blake simply narrowed her eyes but shrugged regardless. It made no difference to her.

The captain chuckled under his hood. "Glad most of you are fine with the arrangement-"

"I'm not!"

"-but now, without further ado, how about we get settled in, hmm?"

"Sounds good to me."

"I call the most comfortable chair!"

"No, I do!"

"I'm pretty sure they will all be the same."

"Geez, now I have to spend time watching a scrawny blond dolt tell bad jokes and flirt horribly on a movie screen. This is my personal hell."

"Hmm."

"Oh, this is all so super weird," Ruby said with a small smile. "Spaceships. Alternate universes. Time control stuff. Movies with Jaune in them. I feel like I'm gonna wake up any minute and realize I was dreaming about all of this, Mr. Cap…"

Ruby paused in her step.

"Mr. Cap…Cap…"

The silver-eyed girl looked stumped for a long moment. Her mouth moved but no other words wanted to come out. And then she realized something. Something about their kidnapper she hadn't gotten an answer for yet. Something she didn't know.

Her eyes went up to the figure under the hood. She couldn't see his nose. His chin. His eyes. Nothing. He was blank man to her, but still she felt his gaze on her. His absolute focus.

"Hey, captain?"

"Yes, Ms. Rose?"

"Quick question. What's your name?"

She asked quietly. No push. No ulterior motives. Not even an outright eagerness to have her question answered. Just a pure, innocent question that she wouldn't have cared if she got an answer to or not. Regardless, everyone once again turned and listened carefully.

The captain was quiet like the questions that came before, but this time was a little different. He didn't stiffen up. He didn't look away. He simply stared down at the young girl in the red cloak for a very long, very quiet moment. She could only here his breath as he seemed stumped by the question.

"My name…"

The captain spoke finally, but his tone was different. Deeper. Harder. Firm. So unlike the lighter tone from before. He seemed to swallow something in his throat. A light shake of his head, shuffling his robes. And then, finally, he turned and moved to the silver doors.

"I can't answer that. My apologies. If you must, call me 'Captain' for now."

And that was that.

The captain, now reaffirmed in his naming of 'Captain,' opened the doors with a small touch of his hands and entered into the theatre quickly.

No one reacted very much to what he said. Small shrugs, some lack of care, a roll of the eyes at the drama, but no one saw what Ruby Rose saw in that moment.

The theatre's food hall was well lit. The man's cloak hid his face behind a wall of shadow. But still, in that moment, that single, quiet moment, she thought she saw the light glisten off something reflective where a cheek bone might have been on a regular face.

Then she saw something fall to the ground, as well. It hit the marble flooring and remained there still.

A single, small droplet.

Or, more accurately, a tear.

\-\ JELLYBEAN /-/

Don't judge me, I was bored and I kept seeing these stupid kinds of stories everywhere. They are horribly addicting and I hate them. Except the people who were writing them really had some…let's say 'simplistic' styles of writing and be generous with just that. Kind of compelled me to give this story-type a go and see if I couldn't make it more detailed while also being funny on the side.

I probably failed. Write a review and tell me how much I suck below.

Also, I know this is the prologue and it has way more words than a prologue should ever have. It's kinda my mental issue where I have to write way more than I need to and I can't stop until I'm satisfied. Which usually happens when I hit around 15k words or so. I have a problem and there isn't a shrink qualified enough for my hot-mess of a brain.

Believe it or not, there was an additional 3k I took out because I just didn't think it fit with how the story was going and I think it flowed better as a result. May throw it in somewhere later on or so.

Anyway, I'll try to update this on Fridays 'cause Coeur Al'Aran doesn't update on those days. Makes it a nice treat for those waiting for his other RWBY stories to update, then.

Lastly, see you all next week. Already have the chapter written, so expect something around 16k words to pop up on your computer.

Sorry, not sorry.

Oh! And as always, if you have a recommendation or request, hit me up in a review. Can't promise nothing, but if I get enough requests for something specific, I'll see what I can work out. Might be tricky, but if I like what I'm hearing then…who knows? Won't do Lord of the Rings, though. Favorite movies of all time for myself, but someone else, who inspired me to start my own personal shitfest, is already handling that one just fine.

Peace.