AN: Sorry this took so long. I got LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and it kind of sent me into a spiral of obsession with Star Wars like when I was a kid. So the time that I would have normally spent writing this I instead spent watching all the movies again. I don't care what anyone says, the prequels and the first two sequels are great movies.

Anyway, onwards!

Chapter 125

"Jaune!" Pyrrha said in concern as the blond boy hit the floor.

"Oh!" Saphron said, looking at her brother. "This might not have been to best idea."

"A BABY?!" Nora asked loudly, running up to Pyrrha and looking closely at Achilles. Jaune let out an "oof" as Nora stepped over him, but remained unconscious. "You had a BABY?!" Achilles giggled as Nora got in his face. "Oh, he's just so cute!" Achilles babbled happily, reaching out towards her. "Can I hold him? Can I, can I, can I?!"

"…As long as you're careful," Pyrrha said.

"Please! Careful is my middle name!" Nora said, taking Achilles into her arms and cradling him with a genuinely shocking level of care. "Hi, there, Achilles," she said. "I'm your Auntie Nora. I am going to be the best aunt EVER!"

Pyrrha smiled at seeing her son laughing so happily, but at the same time, it was comforting to see that Nora hadn't changed in the slightest.

She just went ahead and assumed that she was going to be Achilles's aunt.

She wasn't wrong, but it was still funny.

"Oh, I want to see him!" Ruby said excitedly, joining Nora in cooing over Achilles. "Can I be an aunt, too?!"

"Of course," Pyrrha said, greatly pleasing the red-cloaked girl.

Ren walked over to Pyrrha, making sure to step around Jaune. "Congratulations," he said. "I must say this is unexpected."

"Thanks," Pyrrha said with a smile. "It's really nice seeing all of you again."

"It's nice seeing you, too," Yang said.

"You were the last person we were expecting to see on our trip," Blake said.

"And I think I'm even more surprised that Vomit Boy has so much game," Yang said teasingly.

"I'm sure my baby brother is full of surprises," Saphron said.

Pyrrha took another look at Ren and noticed that he was missing the pinkie finger on his right hand. "Ren, what happened to your hand?" she asked in concern.

"…It's a long story…" Ren said. "We'll tell you later."

Pyrrha looked over and saw that Jaune was being laid onto the couch by two people she didn't recognize. One was a man with spiky blond hair and a large sword on his back, and the other was a black-haired Faunus woman with a cat tail.

"So, this doofus is that kid's father, huh?" the blond man asked.

"Come on, be nice," the Faunus woman scolded.

Pyrrha tilted her head in confusion. "Um, I don't believe we've met."

"Oh, sorry about that," the woman said. "We should have introduced ourselves earlier. I'm Tifa Lockhart."

"…Cloud Strife," the blond man said. "I'm a mercenary. Ruby hired me."

"And I'm Blake's friend," Tifa explained. "I was also looking for Cloud for a long time, so here I am."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Pyrrha said, the sentiment being returned by the two newcomers. She also noticed two other boys she didn't know, one with silver hair, and one with brown hair who was watching Nora play with Achilles with a smile and slight blush on his face.

"My name is Riku," the silver-haired boy said. "The others talk about you a lot. It's nice to meet you." He gestured towards the other boy. "That's Oscar."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Pyrrha said.

"Hey, Pyrrha!" Ruby called out. "Do you think I could feed Achilles?"

"U-Um," Pyrrha said, her face turning red. "That…uh… would be a little difficult…"

"Why?" Ruby asked, tilting her head innocently. Next to her, Yang burst out laughing, evidently having realized what Pyrrha was talking about.

"W-well…uh…" Pyrrha stuttered, before Yang decided to put the poor redhead out of her misery by whispering something into Ruby's ear.

The younger sister's face turned as red as her cape.

"Ew!" She exclaimed, causing the other girls to laugh along.

Jaune slowly opened his eyes, seeing Ruby and Nora playing with a small red-headed baby boy.

His son. Achilles.

He shook his head to avoid the shock making him dizzy again now that he was able to process it.

He and Pyrrha had… well, um, you know… back at Beacon, and all these months later, he finds out that she had his child.

Did she know that she was pregnant when she left?

"Are you okay, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, the boy finally realizing that she was sitting on the couch next to him.

Jaune sighed deeply. "I don't really know," he said, his eyes locked on Achilles. "Am I correct in assuming that he had something to do with you leaving me after Beacon?"

Pyrrha looked down in what he assumed (and a sick part of him hoped) was shame. "…Yes. I found out during the Fall that I was pregnant. That's why Professor Ozpin hesitated when he was going to transfer Amber's powers to me."

Jaune's fists clenched. "You knew we were having a baby, and you didn't even say anything to me? Why? Did you have so little faith in me as a father that you thought it would be better that I didn't know?"

"No, that's not it at all!" Pyrrha said. "It's just…"

"Just what?" he snapped, starting to lose his patience.

"I didn't want you to have to choose to stop being a Huntsman."

"…What?" Jaune asked, his anger subsiding, to make room for confusion.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I was going to quit being a Huntress, but I didn't want you to have to make that choice, too. Being a Huntsman was your dream, and I didn't want to be the reason you gave up on it. But I've regretted having done that for a long time. I was going to tell you as soon as I was able to, but then Saph sprung this whole thing on me. I'm sorry you found out this way." She sent a glare Saphron's way, and Jaune couldn't really say he disagreed with the sentiment.

Of all the times for Saph to pull her usual big sister shenanigans, this really wasn't a good one.

"You really should have given me the choice," Jaune said.

"I know," Pyrrha said. "And I'm sorry. But I never intended to keep you out of his life. I just… I don't know what I was thinking."

Their conversation was interrupted when Nora tackled Pyrrha in a hug.

"I can't believe I forgot to hug you!" the energetic ginger exclaimed. "Your little baby boy is just so cute! Hi, Pyrrha! I missed you!"

"I missed you, too, Nora," Pyrrha said with a chuckle, patting Nora on the head affectionately. Jaune looked over, and saw Yang using her Maiden powers to create snowflakes, mesmerizing Achilles. "So, what are all of you doing here, anyway?"

"Oh, that is one CRAZY story!" Nora said, plopping down on the couch like a mother about to tell her children a fairy tale. "It all started when we decided to go to Mistral…"

"…And then we got here yesterday, and tried to talk to the person in charge at the base, but they wouldn't let us in," Nora finished. "So then we came back here, and here we are."

Pyrrha sat on the couch, looking blankly at Nora. The others had since calmed down to listen to Nora's retelling of the events, and Achilles was back in his mother's arms.

"…Well…" Pyrrha said, not quite sure what else to say about anything her friend had just told her. "This is certainly a lot to take in."

Salem, the Keyhole, the Gods. A part of her wanted to believe that it was just Nora's over-active imagination, but the fact that Ren wasn't interrupting her like he used to spoke of how serious she was actually being.

"Yeah, basically everyone reacted that way," Weiss said with a laugh.

"And it's all true?" Pyrrha asked.

"All of it," Cloud said. Pyrrha looked contemplative for a second, and then glanced at Oscar.

"So, you really have Professor Ozpin in your head?" she asked.

Oscar looked uncomfortable at the sudden attention. "…Uh, yeah," he said.

"Can I talk to him?" Pyrrha asked. "I have some things I want to ask him. He picked me to be the next Fall Maiden, so I want to talk to him."

"…Um… You can't," Oscar said. "He's, uh, not here right now."

"Where is he?" Ren asked.

"He ran away," Yang said. "After we found out he's been lying to us."

Sora stepped into the tavern, taking a look around for his group's newest companion. After scanning the room for a few seconds, he finally spotted her eating alone at a table in the corner. She had a hood up to hide her face, but he still recognized the chain at her hip. He approached her table.

"Hey, Sienna," he greeted, making the Faunus woman jump.

"Not so loud!" Sienna said, through grit teeth. "The whole point of trying to keep a low profile is so people don't recognize me."

"Oh, sorry," Sora said sheepishly, taking a seat across the table from her.

Sienna sighed. "So, what? Did Cinder send you?"

"Well, you've been refusing to stay in the same room as her, Neo, and Ash, so we just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Clearly I'm fine," Sienna said. "So buzz off."

"Well why are you avoiding us?" Sora asked.

"There are a lot better ways I can think of to spend my time than with a bunch of humans," Sienna said. "I know I agrees to travel with you, but I have my own goals. We're not friends, so don't pretend that we are."

"I know we aren't friends yet," Sora said.

"There's no 'yet'!" Sienna said, but Sora ignored her.

"But that doesn't mean we can't become friends."

"Look, I know all of you are strong, it's part of the reason why I chose to accompany you, but I'd prefer if we kept our relationship strictly professional. I have no intention of trusting any humans anytime soon."

"I know you've had it rough—" Sora said.

"You know nothing," Sienna interrupted him again. "I know what you're about to say. 'I know that other humans have mistreated and abused you, but I'm different'. Please, do you really think you're the first human to say that to me? Trust me when I say, it's better for all parties involved that you don't try to get friendly with me. I won't have it, and my patience is short these days. Now, if you'd please, leave me to finish my dinner in peace."

"…Fine," Sora said, standing up. "But just think about it. Traveling is always better with friends."

"Just go away already!" Sienna snapped, and Sora hastily made for the exit.

"Everything we did was for nothing!" Jaune shouted as he punched the wall, surprising the others.

"That's not true," Blake said.

"Really?" Nora asked. "Cuz it sure sounds like it."

"We can't give up hope," Riku tried to argue.

"If Salem can't be killed, how are we supposed to win this?" Ren asked.

"We'll think of something," Riku said.

"'Think of something'. Great plan," Jaune said.

"Look, none of this is great, we know," Oscar said. "But we're not the bad guys here."

"Are we sure about that?" Jaune asked, levelling a vicious glare at Oscar.

"What?" Oscar asked.

"He's in your head, isn't he?" Jaune asked, marching towards the farm boy. "Did you already know about this?"

"He didn't know any of it!" Weiss said. Jaune didn't listen to her, instead grabbing Oscar by the collar and shoving him up against the wall.

"How much longer can we even trust him?!" he shouted.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled, trying to stop him.

"How do we even know it's really him?! What if we've been talking to that liar this whole time?!"

The sudden sound of wailing caught Jaune's attention, making him stop and turn to see Achilles crying his eyes out, Pyrrha glaring fiercely at him.

"You're scaring him!" Pyrrha scolded, before turning to leave the room, doing her best to placate the boy.

"I…" Jaune said, looking ashamed at making his son cry. He turned to look back at Oscar, and saw him cowering in fear. Jaune's eyes widened, but then a fist crashed into his cheek.

Jaune fell to the ground, and saw Nora standing angrily over him.

"Keep. Your hands. Off him," she growled angrily, before gently taking Oscar' shoulders and going upstairs with him. Jaune looked around, and was greeted by the disappointed looks of the rest of the group. Cloud scoffed and walked out the front door, Tifa following after him in concern.

"…I'm sorry," he said shamefully.

"Come on, please…" Ruby said, stepping into the back yard with her scroll to her ear. After ringing for several seconds, she took a look at the screen, confirming that Uncle Qrow hadn't answered her. "Where are you?" She asked in concern.

"Trouble with your uncle?" Miss Calavera asked, startling Ruby. The older woman was sitting next to a small table.

"…Yeah," Ruby said. "I'm starting to get really worried about him, and I don't know what to do."

"He's a grown man," Miss Calavera said. "He can make his own bad decisions."

"It's not just that…" Ruby said, sitting down on the porch. "I don't know what to do about anything… What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don't even have a plan? And how can we help Riku get home? Uncle Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin hasn't come back and even if he did, I don't know if I could trust him. And there's always Jinn, but… we only have one more question we can ask her. I feel like I'm letting everyone down…"

"You know, you don't give yourself enough credit," Miss Calavera said.

"Oh… Thanks," Ruby said with a chuckle.

"That wasn't a compliment," Miss Calavera said.

"Uh…What?"

"If I have to explain it to you, it will just defeat the purpose. But if you're tired of not knowing anything, how about we discuss those eyes of yours?"

"Oh!" Ruby said, standing up excitedly. "Yes, ma'am, I would be honored!"

"Sit back down, for Pete's sake," Miss Calavera said, and Ruby did as instructed. "Let's start with what you do know. Tell me."

"Uh… Silver-Eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors. Or something," Ruby said. "And at the Fall of Beacon, I turned a giant Wyvern into stone."

"Oh, boy," Miss Calavera said, shaking her head.

"Look, if I already knew everything I wouldn't be asking for help!" Ruby yelled, crossing her arms and pouting.

"You know, I came out here to get away from all the yelling…" Miss Calavera said.

"Sorry…" Ruby mumbled.

"It's not your fault. I had my father to teach me, and even he didn't have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given what I've seen."

"Was he a Huntsman, too?" Ruby asked.

"It wasn't really an official title back in his day," Miss Calavera said. "I only knew him as an old soldier and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours, but I scored higher on the license exam than any other Huntsman or Huntress that day."

"You must've been proud," Ruby said with a smile.

"Heh, he would've scolded me for showing off. He'd never been able to find much information about our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shone like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world onto darkness. He found so little, in fact, that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare? Unless something was actively seeking to destroy them."

"Salem…" Ruby said.

"I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know, it wasn't enough," Miss Calavera said. "I owe my life to my training, and my Semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your most powerful tools. Well, that and those Keyblades of yours."

"What is your Semblance?" Ruby asked. Just then, a lemon fell from the tree above their heads, but Miss Calavera caught it without even looking.

"Preflexes!" Miss Calavera said happily. "A silly little name I came up with. Hard to explain, but I can sense everything better than most and react to attacks almost before they happen. Combine that with my training and secret ability to turn Grimm to stone, or blind them, or vaporize them… and that's how you become the Grimm Reaper!"

"So, how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?" Ruby asked, only to get smacked in the head by Miss Calavera's cane.

"First, you stop thinking like that!" Miss Calavera scolded. "I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What did those moments have in common?"

Ruby thought back while she rubbed her head. The only times she had used her eyes had been when she saw… Mom… buried under rubble at Beacon, and when the Apathy made Yang collapse. "I…was scared, and stressed. Is it emotional? Like unlocking a Semblance?"

"It's emotional, but more focused than that," Miss Calavera said. "Think, what is it you wanted?"

"I wanted to protect my family," Ruby said. "I was afraid I was going to lose them."

"Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother."

"Right, the Master of Masters had silver eyes," Ruby said. "I was actually wondering about that. He looked a lot like me. I wonder why."

"Well, he was turned into a human," Miss Calavera said. "Maybe you're descended directly from him."

"…Maybe," Ruby said, not really sure what to think about that possibility. "Anyway, where do we start?"

"Well, not here," Miss Calavera said. "The light will only work in the presence of Grimm. Meaning the only practice that you get will be trial by fire. But, what you can do is focus on creating a state of mind that you can tap into when you need it. Don't think about your light as a means of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant."

"Do you think my eyes will work on Heartless?" Ruby asked. "From what the vision told us, they're a part of the God of Darkness's body, but my eyes have never activated around them, even when my family was in danger."

"It's an interesting question," Miss Calavera said. "I had never even heard of these Heartless creatures until I met you kids, so I couldn't even begin to answer that question. But it's worth considering."

"Ruby!" Nora suddenly shouted, stepping into the back yard.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Oscar's missing!"

AN: I can't tell you how many times I forgot Riku existed when I was writing this chapter. It's why he's in this chapter so sparingly. I would write a chapter, realize I forgot he was there, and then had to rewrite some parts to give him something to say. I never forget Sora exists in the scenes that he's in, since his group has only five people and one of them doesn't talk, but Ruby's group has gotten massive since it has the addition of Cloud, Tifa, Riku, and now Pyrrha. It's hard to keep track sometimes.

I have a feeling next chapter will be a bit heftier, just because I actually have a lot of ground to cover in the stuff I planned out.

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

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