AN: Sorry this took a little bit of time. I got busy with trying to finish up everything for my thesis.

Chapter 124

"You know, if my school had a secret underground vault, I probably would've actually gone," Sora said as he, Cinder, Ash, and Neo rode down an elevator into the Vault underneath Haven Academy.

"I doubt you would have known about it," Ash said. "After all, it's a secret."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sora conceded. "…So, uh, how far down are we going?"

"The vault is located deep inside the mountain," Cinder said. "So there's still a ways to go."

"…Great," Sora said, slumping his shoulders in boredom. He suddenly felt a weight on his left arm, and turned his head to see that Neo was tightly hugging his arm to her chest. She had a serene smile on her face with her eyes closed. "Oh, are you nervous, Neo?" Sora asked, and the girl's eyes suddenly opened. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe." Neo's smile suddenly changed, and she gave him an annoyed look before shoving him away and standing with her arms crossed and a pout on her face. "What?" Sora asked, prompting Cinder to chuckle. "What's wrong?"

"It looks like you still have a lot to learn about girls," Cinder said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked. Before Cinder could answer, Ash chimed in.

"It looks like we're here," she said. Sora looked out at the landscape before him.

"Whoa…" he said in awe at the giant stone door and large tree. Taking a closer look around, he could see extensive damage to the surrounding area. "What happened here?"

"A battle," Cinder said. "Between myself, Raven, and… Aqua. This was where I turned Aqua into a Heartless."

"I see…" Ash said. Neo looked between the two of them in confusion. Cinder sighed.

"I suppose I should start there," she said as the group stepped off the elevator. "I know she looks an awful lot like her, but Ash isn't Aqua. At least… Not anymore." Neo tilted her head. "When I fought Raven and Aqua, my left arm had been replaced with a Grimm arm. It impaled her, pumped her full of darkness, and turned her into a Heartless." Neo's eyes widened briefly, before she just looked sad. "When that happened, Aqua turned into a… What was it called? A Nobody?"

"Yeah," Sora said with a nod. "A Nobody is what's left behind whenever someone with a strong heart turns into a Heartless. Their body and soul are left behind, and they can sometimes get back up and start walking around." Neo's eyes widened and she suddenly looked excited for some reason. Cinder's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the girl's change in mood. "But, without a heart, they can't feel any emotions, and Ash also lost her memories of being Aqua. So, she decided to be her own person and changed her name." When Sora mentioned that Nobodies can't feel, Neo visibly deflated, but nodded in understanding all the same when he was done talking. "But, hold on, why were you fighting Aqua?"

"That was the main thing I needed to explain to you," Cinder said as the group approached the large stone door. "For the last 11 years of my life, my mind was being controlled by someone else. A woman, named Salem." Sora noticed Cinder's hand clench into a fist.

"Salem?" Sora asked.

"Who's that?" Ash asked.

"She calls herself the Queen of the Grimm," Cinder explained. "As her title suggests, she has control over all the Grimm." Neo raised a skeptical eyebrow. "She used one of those Grimm, a parasite that imbedded itself in my brain, to control me. That's how I was when I recruited you and Roman. I got the two of you involved under her orders." Neo looked at her contemplatively.

"What did she want you to do?" Ash asked.

"…She wanted me to attack Beacon Academy," Cinder said shamefully. "Specifically, she wanted me to steal the powers of the Fall Maiden, and use them to open the Vault located underneath the school, and take the Relic it hid. A Vault much like this one."

"What's a Maiden?" Ash asked.

"They are supposed to be the only four people on Remnant besides Salem and Ozpin that can use magic."

"So, what happened?" Sora asked.

"Thankfully, I failed," Cinder said. "While I was able to get the Maiden's powers, Ruby was able to stop me before I could find the Relic and deliver it to Salem. However, I seriously injured Aqua in the process, and Roman died during the attack."

"Oh…" Sora said, looking sadly at Neo. The girl looked at Cinder angrily.

"Afterwards, I was taken back to Salem, and the parasite was strengthened. I had no control over my body. She sent me to negotiate with a bandit leader named Raven Branwen, who was hiding the Spring Maiden, and get her to open this Vault. Except, Raven betrayed us. She was the Spring Maiden the whole time, and she attacked me. I was forced to fight off both her and Aqua. Aqua freed my mind, but then my Grimm arm turned me into a Heartless. I don't know what happened to Raven, but if Ruby and the others are going to Atlas, they must have the Relic, and are trying to secure it."

"What are these Relics?" Sora asked.

"To be honest, I don't know," Cinder said. "Salem never told me what they were or what they did, but I do know that if she gets her hands on all of them, something terrible is going to happen. That's why I want to find Ruby. Together, we might be able to stop her. And I can get payback for all my years of slavery to her."

"Count me in," Sora said. "I don't really know much about this place, but I can't just stand back and let someone like her have her way."

"Thank you," Cinder said.

"I don't really have anything else to do or anywhere else to go," Ash said. "It makes sense that I should stick around as well."

"Are you sure?" Cinder asked. "Salem has the White Fang on her side, too."

"You're lying!" a new voice suddenly shouted, and the group quickly turned around, seeing a woman approaching them. She had dark skin, dark hair, and had feline ears on her head, and was wearing a long brown robe.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, summoning his Kingdom Key.

"Hold on," Cinder said stepping in front of him. "That's Sienna Khan."

"Who?" Sora asked.

"I'm surprised you've never heard of me, whelp," the woman apparently named Sienna said. "I'm the High Leader of the White Fang."

"Former High Leader," Cinder said. "Adam usurped you."

"Yes, I'm well aware," Sienna snapped. "But do you really expect me to believe all this magic and Maiden mumbo jumbo?"

"Considering it's true, yes," Cinder said. "I recruited Adam to join the attack on Beacon, and Salem promised him to help destroy Haven."

Sienna growled. "So you're the one that turned Adam against me."

"Under orders from Salem, yes," Cinder said.

"Enough!" Sienna yelled, and a knife attached to a chain flew out of her sleeve towards Cinder's face. Cinder quickly summoned her Keyblade to deflect the attack. "Stop making up excuses! The Grimm have no leader! You indulged Adam in his fantasies, and then he turned on me! This is all your fault, so stop deflecting the blame!"

"That's rich," Sora heard mumble under her breath. "Fine, you want proof that what I said was true? Here you go." She turned around and pointed her Keyblade at the large stone door. A beam very familiar to Sora shot out from the tip of her weapon, and the door magically lit up and started opening.

"Woah…" Sora said, as the door opened and revealed a desert on the other side. Neo and Sienna watched it with wide eyes.

"This isn't possible," Sienna said as she stepped inside, and realized that it seemed to be a pocket dimension created through magic. She stepped back and forth several times to confirm it. "What is this?"

"It's the Vault that previously held the Relic of Knowledge," Cinder said. "The Spring Maiden was able to open it, and Team RWBY took the Relic and are headed towards Atlas with it."

"…This is really magic," Sienna said.

"She was telling the truth," Ash said. Sienna stayed silent, still in shock over what she was seeing.

"So, it sounds like Salem took over the group you used to run," Sora said. "You wanna come with us? Help us take her down?"

"…No," Sienna said. "No, I have no interest in this Salem woman. The only one I'm after is Adam. I heard that after he betrayed me, he went to attack Haven. So I came here to look for any clue as to where he went."

"Wouldn't he still be with the White Fang?" Ash asked.

"Not after he failed so spectacularly," Sienna said. "The White Fang won't have him back after that. Especially since I had expressly told them that attacking Haven was a bad idea. So I need to find him."

"Well, the girl I'm trying to find, Ruby Rose, is teammates with Blake Belladonna," Cinder said. "From what I remember about Adam, he was obsessed with her. Finding Blake might be your best bet to finding Adam."

"And besides, travelling together is fun!" Sora said.

"'Fun' isn't exactly the point of why I do things," Sienna said. "…But I must admit, you have a point. If Belladonna really will lead me to Adam, then I suppose I could tolerate you."

"Thanks?" Sora said uncertainly. He then looked to Neo. "What about you? Do you wanna come with us?"

Neo looked him in the eyes, and nodded.

"So, where to?" Sienna asked.

"First things first, we need to find a way to Atlas," Cinder said.

Everyone listened with rapt attention as Miss Calavera finished her story. She had been a fierce some Huntress with full control over her Silver Eyes once known as the Grimm Reaper. She had been ambushed by a group of bandits, probably working for Salem, and their leader had cut out both of Miss Calavera's eyes before she managed to kill her.

"…I went into hiding soon after," Miss Calavera said, finishing her tale.

"I can't believe it," Uncle Qrow said, looking almost star-struck. "You… You're the Grimm Reaper, you were a legend! And then you just disappeared…"

"How does a legend just disappear?" Oscar asked.

"You never used your name, never showed your face," Uncle Qrow said. "Lots of us thought you were just laying low. Eventually, we just came to accept that you were probably dead. But the stories about you, I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper."

"Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way," Miss Calavera said.

"How can you say that?" Blake asked.

"Child, a Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end. But after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight. Afraid someone would find me again, finish what the others started. You shouldn't aspire to be like me, especially when some of you are clearly stronger already. It's… comforting, seeing that your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in a better shape."

"Don't say that about yourself," Tifa said. "I don't think anyone here blames you for staying alive."

"It's kind of you to say, but I'm not so sure I believe that."

"Well, maybe you can do something now," Ruby said. "Teach me to use my powers the way you did."

"Yeah, there you go," Riku said. "Think about this way: If you had decided to stay out in the open, and Salem's people actually succeeded in killing you, then Ruby wouldn't have anyone to teach her about her eyes."

Miss Calavera chuckled. "Who would've thought that a bunch of kids would be trying to cheer me up?"

Before the conversation could continue, Ruby heard her Scroll ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, and gasped when she saw the Caller ID. "It's Jaune!" she said excitedly, causing the others to express confusion.

"How?" Weiss asked.

"Who cares?!" Ruby said excitedly before answering the call. "Hello?"

"Ruby!" Jaune said, his voice filled with relief. "Oh, thank you! I've been checking my Scroll for your signal since we made it to the city!"

"The city?" Ruby asked. "Wait…" She held her scroll in front of her face, and saw her signal strength growing as they continued down the road. After several moments, Yang parked the bike on the crest of a hill, overlooking a fortified city on the coast.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Yang said. "We have arrived in Argus."

"Alright, that ought to do it," Yang said as she locked Bumblebee in a garage. "So, where did they say they were going to meet us?"

Before Ruby had the chance to answer, she suddenly heard a loud voice.

"OOOOOOOOSCAAAAAAAAAAR!" Nora's voice yelled. Everyone looked over in confusion, only for a pink blur to tackle Oscar to the ground in a hug. "Oh, come here!" Nora said excitedly, peppering his face with kisses.

"Are you all okay?" Ren asked as he, Jaune, and Cloud approached the group.

"We were so worried!" Jaune said.

Cloud marched right up to Tifa.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Cloud asked. "Why weren't you with us?"

"I saw someone headed towards the back of the train, and went in to stop them," Tifa said. "The train separated before I could."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Cloud demanded.

"It was spur-of-the-moment," Tifa said. "Why? Were you worried about me?"

"Of course I was!" Cloud yelled. Tifa's eyes widened, before she smiled at him. He cleared his throat. "Your strength is an asset to the group.

"Sure," Tifa said with a smile.

"I'm just glad to be back in civilization," Riku said. "We had a day."

"Well, you can tell us about it later," Jaune said. "Let's show you around first."

"Ah! You're going to love this place!" Nora said, leaving behind a very dizzy Oscar.

"It'll be nice to finally put my feet up," Miss Calavera said.

"Wait, who's the old lady?"

"It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be," Yang said as the group rode a trolley around Argus.

"It's actually one of the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant," Ren said.

"No way!" Ruby said excitedly. "But wait, wouldn't it be harder to settle something this big away from the main kingdom?"

"Well, it was, until Mantle showed up," Jaune said. "Early settlement attempts by Mistral didn't go well. But colonists from Mantle were able to help them brave the cold climate and return for goods that Solitas couldn't provide."

"The two nations worked together to create a hybrid city," Ren said. "While it falls under Mistral domain, Atlas keeps a military presence here to help keep the people safe and keep trade between the two nations steady."

"Well, until recently…" Nora said.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Riku asked.

"Things between Atlas and the rest of the world have been tense since Beacon, especially here in Mistral."

"Why?" Tifa asked.

"During the Fall of Beacon, Atlas's robotic soldiers were hacked into," Weiss explained. "They went haywire, and attacked their allies. Because information has been difficult to come by after the CCT went down, a lot of people don't know what happened and think that Atlas turned on Vale."

"But it was all Salem?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah," Ruby said before the group hopped off the trolley.

"Jaune, how did you know all of that?" Weiss asked. "You've never been the best student."

"Well, maybe I did better than you thought," Jaune said, puffing out his chest.

"…Our hosts told us all that," Cloud said.

"Hey!" Jaune yelled at the betrayal of his fellow blond.

"I figured," Weiss said.

"So where have you guys been staying, anyway?" Oscar asked.

"Uh…" Jaune said, chuckling nervously. "About that, I finally remembered why the name Argus sounded so familiar."

"There you are!" a new voice called out to them from across the street. The group looked and saw a woman with long blonde hair and carrying a baby boy in her arms. She was smiling at them and waving.

"Is that…?" Yang asked.

"Hey, Saph," Jaune said, waving back to the woman. Ruby gasped, looking back and forth between Jaune and the woman excitedly.

"I can't believe I'm meeting your sister!" Ruby said excitedly in the living room of Saphron's house as her son Adrian played on the floor. "I have so many questions."

"Oh, I can give you the rundown later!" Nora said conspiratorially.

"Will you guys knock it off?" Jaune asked grumpily, crossing his arms.

"What? I love telling stories about my baby brother," Saphron said, squeezing Jaune's cheek.

"I am not a baby!" Jaune said, flailing his arms at her. That is a baby!" He pointed at Adrian, who giggled at him.

"Awwww!" Yang, Weiss, and Tifa said, fussing over Jaune's nephew. Ruby was confused when she saw Uncle Qrow scowl, and get up out of his chair.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked.

"Just want to get some fresh air," he said, before walking out the front door.

"Is he okay?" Saphron asked.

"…Not really," Ruby said with a sigh.

"He lost his wife very recently," Cloud said.

"Oh! That's terrible!" Saphron said.

"…Yeah. It was…" Ruby said sadly. The door opened again, and Ruby turned, hoping that her uncle had come back, but instead she had a dark-haired woman wearing glasses and carrying bags of groceries.

"Everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta," Saphron said, prompting the others to greet her.

"Why, hello there!" Terra said. "Wow, quite a part, you weren't kidding Hun. Are you sure we'll even have room when your other friend shows up?"

"Oh, it'll be fine," Saphron said, waving her wife off.

"You have another friend coming?" Nora asked.

"Yup," Saphron said with a smile. "And I have a feeling you'll want to meet her."

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked. Before Saphron could answer, the door opened again.

"Hey, Saph, I'm here!" a voice called out.

Ruby's eyes widened.

She recognized that voice.

Everyone turned their heads to look at the door, and saw, frozen in surprise, was a young woman with fiery red hair and vibrant green eyes, wearing jeans and a sweater. She was holding a bundle of blankets in her arms, and her mouth was hanging open.

"Pyrrha?!" Everyone shouted in shock.

"H-Huh?" Pyrrha asked, looking around the room before her eyes widened when she saw Jaune.

"Surprise!" Saphron said happily.

"P-Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha said. Jaune clenched his fist and stood up from his chair. "Wait, Jaune, I can explain!"

"Really?" Jaune asked. "You can explain just dumping me and going home without any good reason?"

"W-Well, yes."

"Well, I'd love to hear it!" he shouted. "Because if you think—"

He stepped towards her angrily, but was stopped when the bundle of blankets suddenly moved. A small tuft of red hair poked out, and with a long, satisfying-looking yawn, a baby stuck his head out from inside the bundle. He opened up his big blue eyes, and looked at everyone curiously.

"Um, is that a baby?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, Jaune, it's a baby," Pyrrha said.

"Why are you holding a baby?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath and held the baby out to Jaune. "Jaune, this is Achilles. And… he's our son."

…

"WHAT?!" Everyone except for Saphron shouted in surprise.

Well, Jaune didn't say anything either.

He just fainted.

AN: And there we go, the moment so many of you have been waiting for, the moment that Jaune finally learns he has a son.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not too satisfied with the scene at the beginning after Sienna shows up, but it'll have to do. I hope you all understand everyone's motivations.

I want to remind everyone that this story has a Tv Tropes page!

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!