Ugh, this chapter turned out to be awful. There was too many things we wanted, but can't deliver since it just sounds bad...

Yikes, let this be marked down as one of my failures. I'll try to improve in later chapters.


"We are deceiving them."

"We are not."

"We simply did not tell them."

"It was intentional."

"For most, but not all."

"And we shall move on."

"We shall."

/-/

Ozpin took a long drink from his mug, setting it down on the table once he was finished. "So, what do you make of these presentations our Hosts has given to us?"

"Worrying in some respects." Glynda replied, "But also intriguing. However, I am a bit puzzled…"

"Well, our Hosts did say that we will be watching things beyond or within our realities. Whatever that means." Qrow was about to take a drink out of his beer, but it was snatched by Glynda. "Oh, come on. I'm still sober!"

"And you'll stay like that until I say so."

Winter smirked as the drunk man slunk his head onto the table, silently brooding as their conversation delves onto Team SLVR.

"I have no knowledge of this Team SLVR or the academy they had trained in if any. There may be several teams throughout history that were called Team Silver, but judging by their weaponry, I highly doubt they are from older times."

Ironwood rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "There is a possibility that we were watching an alternative universe, though I would have never thought I would say something like that…"

"What makes you say that, sir?"

"The moon. Of course, it could just be the rotation cycle, but I am not well versed in astronomy."

They mused on Ironwood's suggestion for several seconds before moving on.

"And this group called Pandora?"

"Hard to say, Oz." Qrow produced another beer bottle and drank from it. His peers weren't all too happy with his action but allowed him to finish his drink. "We didn't get much of 'em, but it looks like they were holding something valuable. And I don't mean, lien tons. I mean power. Like you know what…" The four maidens and relics. Maidens wielding magical powers and divine relics that are capable of changing the world; for better or for worse.

It was Winter's turn to speak up, "They also seemed to possess some capabilities to mass-produce androids. At least, that is the impression I was given."

"Why is she here?" Qrow complained as he disliked the Atlesian being in on this. They have the tendency to drain the color out of everything. It was a pity he couldn't get rid of Ironwood…

"She's here because I trust her, Qrow." Ironwood shot back.

Winter straightened her sitting posture at that with a dignified expression. "I am honored, General."

"Don't inflate her ego." Qrow groaned as he produced another beer bottle to warm himself from the ice-cold. "If you excuse me, I need to go warm myself with booze."

Ozpin sighed, "Qrow, please."

"Relax, Oz. We're stuck in this strange, but wonderful world almighty beings that can-do things we can't even dream of. What am I supposed to do?" He took a swig out of his bottle.

"Keep a calm and clear mind," Glynda said coldly as she yanked the bottle from his grip. "You're lucky my semblance isn't working here, Qrow."

"Yeah. Semblance. Semblance…" Qrow eyes widen with realization. If semblances don't work here, then that it means his Bad Luck charm wouldn't be working here as well. It was a shame this wasn't back at Remnant, but he might as well make the best of it.

"Something wrong, Qrow?" Everyone wondered what went through the drunkard's mind.

"I just realized my semblance doesn't work here." He chuckled to himself, "Eh, forget about that. So, Pandora… We're talking about Pandora, right?"

"We were discussing if Pandora is a threat should they exist, or a possible ally," Winter said flatly. What goes through Qrow's mind is a mystery to her. That is if he even has a functioning one, to begin with.

"Right, right. So, mass-produce androids? You think some shady group is able to make good combat androids?"

Ironwood pulled up several clips on the television in front of them. "There were a handful of instances where we were presented with androids possessing combat capabilities that rivals hunters-in-training, Qrow." The large man pointed at the Sword and Shield Droid. "These were two were the most notable ones."

"They look nothing like the ones Pandora uses." Qrow pointed out, comparing the Armors to the Sword and Shield Droids. "How do we know it's theirs?"

"It's just speculation." Ironwood admits, "But it doesn't help that Atlas does not have this sort of combat capabilities for our military androids."

Qrow gave Ironwood a deadpanned look. "Oh, so nobody should have made something that's superior to whatever you Atlesians make?"

"Qrow." Ozpin shook his head.

"Alright, alright." He raised his hands, "I thought you guys said that the androids were being remotely controlled or something."

"That was a possibility." Winter cut in, "But that would require a lot of open flat space to maneuver for the users, which may or may not be viable."

"So…?"

"It is all speculation." Glynda sighed as she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "We are merely assessing the potential threat."

"Exactly." Ironwood nodded, "Imagine what would happen if our enemies got their hands on this sort of technology?"

"I feel like we're overshooting things here, Jimmy." Qrow's casual remark at the general annoyed Winter to no end, but she held her tongue.

Ironwood was used to the nickname and continued, "Pandora seems to possess the resources to fortify their strongholds with combat androids and used them as common foot soldiers. And their members, at least, the only one we saw so far is proven to be skilled."

"Okay…?"

"… You're not getting the picture are you, Qrow?"

Glynda sighed as the two continued to verbally spar with one another. Wishing for a second she was down there, handling the students instead of dealing with this mess.

/-/

"For the last time, Ruby. I will not let you tailor my combat dress, nor will I be wearing a belt of your design." Weiss shoved the drawing design back to her partner as she pouted.

Ruby clutched her drawing with a sinister look and glanced at Blake. "Ooooh, Blaaaake?"

"My name is not Blake." The cat faunus replied instantly as she hid behind Yang. Hopefully, Yang can convince or satisfy whatever armaments Ruby wanted to add on.

"Yaaaang?" Ruby did just that, looking towards her sister.

Having dealt with her little sister before, Yang calmly asserted the situation. "What do you have for me, Rubes?" She didn't mind adding this so-called Synchronized Dust Projection Jacket to her outfits, but Yang doesn't know a thing or two about utilizing Dust the way that Simin guy does.

"Boring!" Nora jumped in as she swallowed another patch of pancakes that she kept conjuring. "When are you going to make my weapon more explodey?"

"No!"

Her teammates piled on her, trying to prevent her from reaching Ruby as they desperately don't want to see Nora wielding any more destructive armaments. It was already bad with her current weapon; they don't need Ruby kicking it up several notches!

"Nora, look. Pancakes and a sloth." Ren frantically said, summoning the said food and creature.

"Sloth!" Nora bounced away to get a closer look at the sloth, taking Team JNPR with her.

"Crisis averted," Coco whispered as she wiped sweat from her brow, knowing full well what Nora was capable of.

Everyone nodded in agreement, except Ruby, who simply pouted. "Why won't you let me make more stuff for you guys?"

"Uh, hello? Because you always overdo it?" Weiss replied as she rolled her dice, moving her pieces across the Monopoly board. "Pay up, Blake. Rents due."

Blake clicked her tongue. "Typical Schnee…"

"I resent that." She replied coolly as she accepted the play money from her teammate. "The Schnee Real Estate follows all regulations and does not engage in illicit practices."

"Does the Schnee Dust Company even have a real estate branch?" Sun asked Blake as her eyes twitched.

"I wouldn't be surprised." She hissed.

The teams happened upon a board game called Monopoly and found it interesting to play. The overarching goal of the game is to cause the other players to go bankrupt, which Weiss has no trouble doing so as she quickly picked on up on how to play the game.

"I can't believe Ice Queen, of all people, is dominating us at a board game." Yang moaned as she landed on a Go to Jail tile. "Come on!"

"It's a game about slimy business dealings. Of course, Weiss would catch on quickly." Blake grumbled as she sulked on her seat. "No offense, Weiss."

"None taken." Weiss replied happily, "We should develop a board game like this one back at Remnant…" She mused on that thought. "One has to appreciate the strategic negotiation and resource management of this game. I'm certain it would be popular in no time."

Everyone turned and stared at the heiress, not liking her expression. "When you say, 'create a board game', do you mean blatant copyright, or…?"

"The former."

"…"

"What? This game doesn't exist in our world! Surely, copyright infringement doesn't apply."

Ruby stared in shock at her partner. The rule-abiding heiress, with her strict personality and orderly beliefs; thinking about performing piracy?! "Who are you, and what have you done to my partner?!"

"I am your partner, you dolt!"

/-/

Unknown factors have always annoyed Cinder to no ends. It doesn't take much to ruin a plan. No matter how well a scheme could be built, it was still a house of cards. All it takes is a small gust of wind from anywhere, and it all comes toppling down.

Such are the likes of Team SLVR and Pandora.

Of course, as their Hosts had stated; they could simply be watching an alternative reality. It wasn't hard to believe that, considering they were the subject of their reality-warping abilities. However, it was a lot to consider. Cinder's mind was bouncing all over the place with this revelation now that she got time to sit and think about it. She was torn between delving on this topic of Team SLVR and this mysterious group called Pandora or passing it off as another reality.

Regardless, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Emerald asked with concern.

Ah, her ever so faithful servant… "I'm fine, Emerald. Let us enjoy this moment to ourselves as we await our Hosts' next presentation."

"Huh, I wonder what they'll show next," Mercury said as he relaxed on a sofa.

"You shall soon see." The Hosts returned, "Enjoy yourself for a few more minutes, we will then return you to the theater so that we may continue."

Then, there are the mysterious 'Hosts" that Cinder is deeply intrigued about. They referred to themselves as 'we' instead of 'I', which means that there are multiple entities at work here. Do they share a single mind? Perhaps a hive mind? What are they? Gods? Something greater than gods? Cinder doesn't know, but it was starting to give her a headache the more she thought about it.

/-/

The casts found themselves back at the theaters in their respective seats, feeling refreshed and curious about the Hosts next presentation.

"So, what will we be watching?" Coco asked.

"We will be continuing where we left off before we move onto something completely different."

That didn't really answer her question, but Coco figured that it's best to just sit back, relax, and enjoy.

"I assume that we are continuing where we left off with Team SLVR?"

"Not entirely."

Everyone frowned, "So, we won't be watching the continuation from our last presentation?"

"It is best if we show you." The screen darkened as the next presentation started. "We apologize for rushing this, but we must continue."


NEXT: "Charcoal" Trailer


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