Remnant Goes to the Movies 8

Disclaimer; I do not own RWBY or the movies within. Wish I did, though.

Author's Notes; Sorry for the excessive delay in getting this chapter done. This chapter will have the appearance of another writer's OC. I hope the writer don't mind my using.

Universal Soldier 3

Five minutes later, 'Racer' sighs, his anger having expended through his rant, before speaking again.

"Time to resume." As the audience retakes their seats, he notices Ruby looking at him. "Can I help you with something, Miss Rose?"

"Umm, just how old was Jaune when…"

"He was 19 years old when he became a UniSol." Ironwood's jaw drops at that.

"He was in Special Forces at only 19? That's just about on par with Specialist Schnee." Winter gives a soft blush and gazes towards Jaune as Ironwood goes on. "He must've seriously impressed them."

"Oh, he did. He might've started roughly, but they saw his potential and notified the properly relevant channels. As such, he was headhunted." Ruby's eyes can only be wide in sheer awe, getting Weiss to lightly giggle, happy to see her leader/friend in far better spirits before she chimes in herself.

"Do you have any movies in which nobody dies?" At the query, 'Racer' can only smile softly.

"I've some, Miss Schnee." Ruby smiles widely at that.

"Great. Can one of them be next? I think right after this one, a movie with death will be a little much." Weiss nods in agreement.

"I think I can alternate somewhat." Ruby smiles widely even more before going back to her seat, not seeing 'Racer' shake his head. 'She, like others in her aspired profession, deals death to Grimm, but yet can only take so much movie death. What're the odds?' With that thought, he resumes the movie.

A seedy-looking bar is then seen, a mix of customers and employees outside in the dark of night.

TYLER UTAH; DAY THREE

Their attention is gained by the large truck rolling to a stop away from them. As the trailer expands, the crowd can only watch, wondering just what is going on. The driver's door then opens and Tyrian climbs down from the cab of the truck. Someone can be heard laughing as the crowd watches him walk up to them before he yells out.

"I'm looking for a deserter! He's traveling with a female P.O.W.!" One of the customers has a reply for him.

"Beat it, asshole." Two other customers throw their emptied beer cans at him, one of them smirking before he notes the ear necklace.

Leonardo Lionheart, Headmaster of Haven Academy, can only blink at his other's first appearance.

"Nice necklace. I got one just like that made out of noses."

Lionheart can't help but grimace in revulsion at the very thought.

Lionheart lightly swats the other can thrower on his chest as some of the others laugh before Tyrian brings up a foot and kicks three of the men before speaking to Lionheart.

"Now, they're in this white and yellow Buick with no front or rear window." Tyrian reaches for Lionheart's head as he asks, "Does that refresh your memory?"

Inside the trailer, Watts' left hand brings out an M67 fragmentation grenade before he turns to GR74 and goes to in front of him.

"This has 'bad idea' written all over it." Roman's remark gets Neo to nod and Watts to frown.

"On the contrary. It's a foolproof idea. All my other has to do is get out of the blast radius."

"If your other can't, then it's a bad idea. If not deathly dumb." Neo nods again in agreement with Roman's retort. Watts, however, scoffs.

"What would you know? You're just a thief."

"I also know a thing or two about survival instincts." Watts scoffs again.

"GR74, Sergeant Callows has issued an order. Will you obey that order?"

"Yes, sir." At the reply, Watts lightly jiggles the grenade before speaking again.

"He would like for you to hold this for 30 seconds and then drop it." Crisply, 74's right hand comes up, palm up and fingers open, and Watts puts the grenade into 74's hand and, hoping to make a quick getaway, pulls the pin. Only for 74's grip to snag onto Watts' fingers before 74 starts counting.

"1… 2… 3…"

Back outside, Tyrian's dangling Lionheart upside-down by an ankle as the latter speaks.

"I know which way they went."

"Yeah?"

"You got a pencil?"

"Sure. By the way, I like your belt. Can I have it?"

Not waiting for a reply, Tyrian undoes Lionheart's belt and brings it out of the belt loops.

Back in the trailer, 74's still counting and Watts is still trapped in the grip.

"25… 26…"

Back outside, an explosion at the truck gets everyone's attention. Tyrian can only have a befuddled expression on his face.

Watts can't help but facepalm and Roman cackles, Cinder lightly giggling as well. Tyrian, however, rolls his eyes at his other's expression.

Inside a supermarket, dragging can be heard before customers and employees turn and gape in horror. 74 and 55, looking quite dead, are being dragged along the floor before Tyrian yells out to the stocker.

"Hey! Where's your freezer?!" The stocker looks and silently points in the direction.

Oscar Pine, a young farm hand, can only blink at his other. Sky and Russell, however, both grimace at their others having died earlier.

Inside the freezer, Tyrian savagely kicks a pair of hanging pieces of meat aside before setting down the UniSols.

The scene then changes to a group of buildings.

CLINTON UTAH-VETERAN'S HOSPITAL

Vernal and GR44 both exit the car, Vernal the driver side, 44 the passenger side. Veterans can be seen walking along the sidewalk before the inside of a house's door can be seen, Vernal pressing on the doorbell.

A young woman dressed as a housekeeper steps to the door.

"Can I help you?"

Penny's eyes go wide at her voice and appearance before lightly grimacing.

'I hope my other doesn't wind up like the last one.'

"Ah, yes. We would like to speak with Dr. Oobleck." Vernal's reply gets Penny to retort with a query.

"Do you have an appointment?" As 44 shakes his head in negation, Vernal speaks as she looks back to him.

"Yes. Yes, we do." At that, he changes to a nod of confirmation.

Vernal can only facepalm before chuckling haplessly.

"I guess they didn't work out the script beforehand."

Not quite sure, Penny speaks again.

"Follow me."

"Thank you." As Penny leads them, she turns to the sitting area.

"Wait right there."

"Okay, thank you." As Penny moves along, Venal notices the mirror and goes to it. "Oh, Oum… Oh man, I'd kill for a cigarette right now."

"You would kill someone for a cigarette?" 44's query gets a quick response from Vernal.

"No. It's an expression. You know? A figure of speech. I mean, I wouldn't actually kill someone for a cigarette. I might hurt them real bad but I wouldn't kill them." 44, however, goes to a window and sees Penny walk up to a man entertaining a child by pushing their tire swing.

"Dr. Oobleck."

"Yes, what is it?"

"There's a young couple here to see you." After Oobleck turns around, their eyes making contact, 44's mind is awash with images.

He on a gurney, surrounded by a surgical team. The whole scene is chaotic before he grabs hold of a surgical mask and brings it down. Revealing Oobleck's face.

"It's alright, Jaune. It's alright. It's alright."

The scene changes again to when Jaune's younger. A woman's voice calls to him.

"Jaune!"

The scene switches to a farmhouse, with nine other people outside it. Three of them considerably younger than Jaune.

"It's us, honey! It's us!" Mrs. Arc is heavily ecstatic.

The scene then goes back to inside Oobleck's house, 44 on his back before he speaks again.

"I… I saw it." Vernal's face comes back into view, concern on it, as he speaks more. "I remember home."

"Is he alright?" At the voice, Vernal turns and sees Oobleck. "Let's get him into the bathroom and cover him with ice."

The scene goes back to the freezer, with Tyrian viciously kicking 55 in a bid to get him back on his feet. There's a solid tone emanating from 55's thermal monitor.

"I'm fully-dead now, you freakin' psycho." Dove's comment gets Tyrian to grit his teeth in annoyance before Dove goes on. "No amount of kicking's going to change that whatsoever."

"I said stand at attention, Private! Get up!" Outside the freezer, a still-soot-covered GR74 grabs a slab of raw beef and, not minding the revulsed expressions on some of the customers' faces, starts eating it before Tyrian yells.

"Dammit! The whole fucking platoon's dropping like flies!" Tyrian kicks the door open and notes the people watching him. "What the Hell are you staring at?! Don't you have any idea what it's like out there?! Do you?!" Not waiting for a reply, he goes on.

"Well I'm fighting this thing man and I kick ass! You kiss ass! And I'm busting heads!" The crowd can only be petrified at the unhinged man as he goes on, madly gesticulating with his words throughout. "It's the only way to win this fucking war. And these shitheads… these yellow, traitoring motherfuckers… they're everywhere." The more the crowd hears, the more they're convinced he's off his rocker.

Cinder snickers, rolling her eyes.

"I've known that about him right from the start." Tyrian shrugs while cackling madly, prompting Salem to sigh and facepalm. Cinder doing the same, rolling her eyes still. "He's way off his rocker. Way, way off his rocker."

"And I, Sergeant Tyrian Callows of the U.S. Army..." His eyes are alit in glee at the thought of killing more 'traitors' as he waves his right hand, palm down. "I'm going to teach them all." A Police Officer comes out of the background, pistol in hand, before he yells out.

"Hey, freeze!" Another P.O. comes out, yelling as well.

"Get down!"

Tyrian, however, draws his DE and shoots them both in the head before two other Officers enter the scene. He shoots them both in the head as well before spreading his arms out akimbo.

"See? They're everywhere."

The scene goes back to Jaune as he looks himself over in the bathroom mirror before Vernal's voice can be heard.

"How could you, a Doctor, be a party to this?" The barely concealed angry disgust in her tone gets a sigh from Oobleck.

"I've been asking myself that question for years." The scene goes back to Oobleck's sitting room before Vernal speaks again, her voice somewhat neutral.

"Tell me how it worked."

"By hyper-accelerating the bodies, we discovered we could turn dead flesh into living tissue." Rising to his feet, thermos in hand, he paces and sips as he goes on. "But, to make the process work, the bodies ran at dangerously high temperatures. Needed to be constantly cooled. The brain sedated, controlled. Otherwise, they would eventually stroke." Still not fully understanding, Vernal can only ask.

"What are you saying, Doctor?" Before Oobleck can reply, Penny can be heard.

"Dr. Oobleck." Oobleck looks toward Penny before speaking again.

"Excuse me." Stepping away from Vernal, he goes to Penny. "Yes, what is it?" What Penny says is hushed, but she can be heard at the tail end.

"Maybe you should see it."

"Thanks." Going to a television, Oobleck turns it on, with it already set for the news.

"Officials believe Colonel Rainart was shot and killed early this morning. Authorities are still looking for reporter Vernal Branwen, believed to be linked to the two deaths"

"They've set you up." Oobleck's words get Vernal to look at him.

Back in the room with Jaune, the television can be heard going on.

"The robbery of the Hayes supermarket turned deadly, when three armed men entered the supermarket earlier today." The scene goes back to the television, showing Tyrian shooting the Police Officers. "The leader of the gang was videotaped…"

"Regressive-traumatic recall." Oobleck's words gets Vernal's attention.

"What?" Oobleck can only sigh at that.

"Trauma inflicted at the time of death. In Jaune's case, he wanted to go home. When he awoke as a UniSol, he returned to that single emotion. As for Callows, he thinks he's still in Vietnam, fighting the insurgents. He doesn't realize he's alive."

"He's not." Jaune's words get their attention before he goes on. "He's dead, just like me."

The scene goes to the outside of a bus stop, with Jaune poring over a map, Vernal standing outside before she sighs.

"This is insane." Stepping over to him, she goes on. "You heard what the Doctor said. You need medical help. I think you should turn yourself in and get started on your treatments again."

"And then?"

"Well, then, we expose everything. Dr. Oobleck will help us."

"I just want to go home." Jaune's reply gets Vernal to lightly scoff.

"You don't seem to understand. There's a chance you won't make it."

"I'm already dead." At Jaune's passive and even tone, Vernal can only remove her sunglasses before she strides up to him.

"No, you're not, dammit. You are not dead, alright? You're alive and that's precious." Vernal's voice is filled with emotion as she goes on. "You don't just throw that away." Heat in her eyes, she hears the PA call out as Jaune brings out a bus ticket and hands it to her.

"Now boarding… Los Angeles direct… via Kingman, Needles, Barstow, Victorville and San Bernardino. Now boarding."

Vernal can only blink before speaking, looking at him in the process.

"A bus ticket?"

"To Los Angeles." Vernal exhales sharply at his words before speaking again.

"Well… wh-what is this for?"

"You are safe now. He's only coming after me."

"You know, you're making a big mistake here."

"You've got your story. That's what you wanted."

"You think…" The PA interrupts her before she can go on.

"Last call. Los Angeles express. Now boarding. Last call." Walking around Jaune, seeing that he's intent on her boarding the bus, Vernal puts on her sunglasses and gets her jacket and bag from the loaned car as the PA goes on.

"Passengers bound for Los Angeles now boarding. Last call." She and Jaune make eye contact once more before she goes around the front of the bus and steps on.

"What're you doing?! Stay with him! You two belong together!" Vernal's yells get blinks from everyone, prompting her to go beet red. Only for Raven and Pyrrha to softly chuckle, causing Vernal's blush to go even redder.

Jaune brings out the map again, intent on waiting until the bus rolls out before moving on himself. Vernal's bus then starts rolling, getting his attention. Only to see that Vernal's not on the bus.

"Yes! Now go over to him and give him a great big lover's kiss!"

Vernal's yell is accompanied by a bright red blush, yet with a gleeful smile on her face. Raven arches her left eyebrow in amusement, getting Vernal's notice. Along with her blush going redder, only for it to intensify with Pyrrha's giggling.

Before he can process what'd happened, the other bus rolls on. Revealing a swarm of Police cars and Officers behind her. Jaune's face takes on a dismayed expression. Vernal notes Jaune's expression and turns around. Upon seeing the Police, she puts her hands up in surrender.

Vernal can only facepalm before muttering.

"Should've stuck with his plan, other me."

The scene goes to a desert highway, a convoy consisting of two white Sheriff's Crown Victoria sedans and a dark blue International Harvester jail bus before the scene goes to inside the bus.

"You should have left me while you had the chance." Jaune's words can only have Vernal be incredulous at that.

"What? Miss all the fun?" Giving him a faint smile, she sees him look over toward her before checking his thermal monitor. Yellow is lit.

Vernal can only roll her eyes before smirking.

"Your idea of fun and mine are two, far way different things, other me."

Reaching to his hand, she gently clasps it, letting him know she's there with him. With him returning the gesture.

As the convoy moves along, a horn can be heard, getting Jaune and Vernal's attention. They look to the far back and see the UniSol truck barreling toward them.

Frown on his face, Whitley speaks up.

"I know it's late, but just how did the Police know where to find Vernal and Jaune, anyway? Did the Dr. call them?" The query is valid, prompting 'Racer' to pause the movie.

"That's an excellent question, young Whitley. However, that info's been lost and pondered about." Giving a shrug, 'Racer' resumes.

"Oh, shit." Vernal's utterance is quite perfect.

Inside the truck, a belt of 7.62x51mm ammo attached to an M60 is seen. Just as a transmission from the jail bus is heard.

"I'm taking them to County now. I'll get there just after lunch." Tyrian reaches to the radio as the truck nears the rear Sheriff's car, Jaune and Vernal both seeing it before Vernal repeats herself.

"Oh, shit."

The Deputy in the rear car waves for the truck to pass, only for the truck to draw even nearer. Inside the truck, Tyrian looks aside at 74 before speaking.

"Get rid of him." 74 deftly turns the wheel and starts rolling past the car before the scene goes back to Vernal.

"Oh, shit." The scene goes back to outside.

The truck then slams itself into the side of the Sheriff's car, forcing it, in a bastardized, yet textbook, PIT maneuver, off the road and into a ditch.

"Got you now, boy." Tyrian's words are full of menace as the scene goes back to Vernal. The front of the truck looming ever closer to them as she speaks.

"Cripes. He's coming right for us."

The truck slams into the back of the bus, knocking them to the floor before the truck slams into the bus again. Tyrian then looks aside and picks up the M60 before the scene goes back to inside the bus.

"Hey, driver!" Vernal's yell is followed by Jaune trying to bring her down to the floor when he sees Tyrian with the M60. "Get us out of here!"

Jaune's just barely in time as Tyrian opens fire onto the bus. The truck wheeling to alongside as Tyrian fires. As bullets fly, shattering the glass, the scene goes to the front Sheriff's car, its siren wailing.

The Sheriff can only say one thing.

"Holy shit!"

Tukson arches an eyebrow at his other's response before shrugging, finding he'd react the exact same way his other did. Blake arches an eyebrow before shrugging, Sienna and Adam echoing it.

The driver of the jail bus brings out his 9mm S&W 39 pistol and starts to take aim. Only for bullets from the M60 to make impact with him. As the gun falls from his lifeless hand, his head falls to the horn, causing it to sound as Sheriff Tukson looks back.

"Excuse me!" Tyrian's voice gets their attention as he goes on. "You should check on your driver, pal! He don't look too hot!" Tyrian laughs as the now-driverless bus hits a bump in the road before going out of control.

Back in the bus, Vernal falls to the floor with a yelp.

"Aah! What do we do now?!"

"We have to stop the bus."

"Oh, gee. Great idea. What a concept." The sarcasm in her voice is merely a cover for how frightened she is.

"Yeah… I'd be sarcastic as well in that kind of predicament."

As the bus continues careening along the road, Vernal notes Jaune digging his fingers into a seat cushion.

"What are you doing now?" Jaune brings out a small sliver of metal before Sheriff Taiyang comes back into view before he yells out.

"What the Hell?!"

As the bus careens off the road, bouncing, the truck following, Tukson wheels his car around, intent on following as best he can. Only for the car to stall.

Tukson facepalms at his other's misfortune.

As the truck roars after the bus, Jaune goes to the gate separating the front from the back and edges the sliver of metal, fashioned into a twin loop, into the gap between the gate and partition. The truck then rams the bus, knocking Jaune away from his work and Vernal back down to the floor.

"Unh!"

"Aah!"

The truck rams the bus again and again, with Tyrian's face entering view before the view goes back to outside the bus and the truck. As the truck pushes the bus along, Jaune gets back up as Vernal speaks again.

"Is it working?!"

As the truck pushes the bus along, only for the bus to break away from it, Tyrian's hand comes into view, along with a group of M67 grenades. He plucks one out of the group, pulls the pin and slightly exits the cab as the truck goes alongside before throwing it.

Vernal hears the grenade entering through one of the broken windows and looks back, seeing the grenade under one of the benches, before recoiling.

"Oh, Oum." Tyrian's voice can next be heard.

"Do you want to play catch?!"

"Oh, my Oum."

Recovering somewhat, she gamely grabs the grenade as Jaune still toils with the gate and tosses it back outside, barely in time as the grenade blows after it leaves the bus.

Tyrian throws in another grenade and Vernal spots it before repeating what she just did. As she goes for the grenade, Jaune manages to hit the gate's external release latch.

"Oh shit… I can't find it… oh Oum." She finds the grenade and is barely in time to throw it out before it blows and Jaune goes through the open gate.

"Are we having fun yet?!" Tyrian's query is followed by him throwing more grenades, yet they fall short of getting inside. "Whoo! Haa!"

Jaune moves the dead Deputy aside before sitting in the seat and taking hold of the wheel just as Vernal comes through the gate. As Jaune steers the bus, the truck follows before Vernal speaks.

"Oh, my Oum." As the truck doggedly pursues the bus, Jaune speaks.

"You jump."

"Wait. Wait a minute. What about stopping the bus? I mean… I liked that idea."

"You jump!" Vernal looks back at him at that.

"I'm not going anywhere without you."

At that, the bus is rammed from behind before Tyrian briefly comes back into view before the truck can be seen again. Its front bumper brushing against the rear bumper of the bus.

Jaune manages to make a slight distance away from the truck as he picks up the dead Deputy's weapon and looks back at Vernal.

"We jump together." Vernal nods back at his words.

"Okay. Together." With that, Jaune opens the door and Vernal goes to the doorway of the bus. "Okay. Okay." As she sees the desert roadway go by below her, she adds, "Oh, shit."

"Yes, Vernal. That does seem to be the exact thing to say when you see something like that and you don't exactly have a landing strategy." Raven smirks at that. Vernal echoes the smirk, nodding.

As Vernal looks out, Jaune lunges from the seat and pushes her out before sitting back down.

"Aah!" As Vernal tumbles away from the bus along the roadside, the truck goes past her, intent on the bus as the latter goes toward a cliff.

"Target fixation. A real problem on the battlefield. Callows is so fixated on Jaune, he doesn't register Miss Branwen at all." Ironwood's words get Tyrian to cross his arms in annoyance. Vernal, however, sighs at Jaune's brusquely over-chivalrous action and blushes.

"Who'd have thought he'd be my ideal of a dream guy?" Jaune blushes as Pyrrha giggles softly.

Tyrian throws another grenade that, when it blows, destroys the right rear hub, knocking the bus into a left-rollover and Jaune out of the seat.

Inside the still-moving cab, upon seeing the undercarriage of the bus, Tyrian yells out to 74.

"Get him! Hit him hard!"

74 rams the undercarriage and, as Vernal watches, has the truck push the bus toward the cliff before Jaune emerges from one of the windows, positions himself in front of the driver's side of the glass, primes the 9mm and takes aim, center mass at practically point-blank range, at 74 before opening fire into the windshield.

As the bullets penetrate the windshield and impact with 74, blood flies onto the inside of the glass. Tyrian can only watch as 74 dies behind the wheel.

"Unh!"

74 then collapses onto the steering wheel, causing the horn to blow as Jaune looks behind, sees the cliff fast approaching and runs off to the rear end of the bus. Tyrian, however…

"Get up, soldier! Get the fuck up!" Tyrian whacks the corpse of 74 and looks to see the cliff approaching. Jaune, however, jumps off just as the pushed bus and driverless truck go over the edge of the cliff. Inside the truck, Tyrian screams.

"Aah!"

Cinder snorts mirthfully before punning.

"Tyrian sure 'went over the edge' that time. Of course… that's not really new." Yang cackles while nodding in approval. Taiyang and Rhodes guffaw while Cinder's EAF cringe and glare at her. Noticing, she nonchalantly shrugs. "You kinda met him. I thought you'd have, at the very least, thought the same thing." The EAF just glares and she waves them off.

As the truck makes impact with the face of the cliff, the cab crumples up and the trailer is severed from the fifth wheel. The cab, trailer and bus all come to a rest together before the trailer and cab explode.

At the top of the cliff, Vernal gets to her feet, sees Jaune appear and goes over to him. The two then meet in a relieved embrace. Vernal then tenderly pecks Jaune on his cheek twice.

Vernal grins widely.

"Yes, yes, now confess your undying love for him and take him!" Ruby can't help but blink, innocent curiosity in her silver eyes as she looks over to the bandit girl.

"Take him where, Vernal?"

Vernal blinks at Ruby's innocent question before smirking and going over to her. She then whispers into Ruby's left ear and grins at the beet red blush that emerges, relishing it, before Ruby screeches out.

"FIIIILLLLTH!" Vernal bursts out laughing and sighs.

"You're much too pure, Little Red." Roman chortles at that.

"She sure is!" Gleam in his eye, he adds, "Maybe what she needs is a boyfriend. Perhaps… Jaune there. He'd be quite a catch for her."

Neo silently giggles and nods in agreement, Vernal, Pyrrha and Cinder echoing it. Ruby blushes even more before muttering under her breath.

"Nope… Nope… Nopity… Nope… Nope." Cinder and Pyrrha both eye her before smirking, the former turning to the latter.

"Does she have a crush on him too?"

"Maybe." Ruby's silver eyes go wide before she shrieks, her blush reddening even more.

"We're just friends!" Qrow chortles softly at that.

"That's what they all say, pipsqueak." Weiss giggles softly before sighing sadly and in shame. She then clenches her fists and grits her teeth.

The warm moment is abruptly brought to an end, however, as Tukson's voice is then heard.

"Freeze!" Vernal turns back toward the voice and sees the Sheriff's arrived as Tukson goes on. "Now hold it right there!" Tukson then starts making his way over to them from his cruiser, its lights flashing and his 9mm S&W 39 pistol aimed at them.

Tukson feels his right eyebrow twitching in irritation.

"What? No 'What the heck was that about', "Who the heck was that nutjob' or 'Thank Oum you two are okay'? Nothing like that at all?"

"Unfortunately, however, that Sheriff seems to have forgotten that suspects are people as well, Tukson. Incidents like that… don't really matter to him." The comment from 'Racer' gets Tukson to facepalm.

Vernal lifts her restrained wrists from behind Jaune's back and turns around in sheer disbelief at the uncaring tone in Tukson's voice before he yells some more.

"Turn around! Get down on your knees right now! Put your hands over your heads! Put your hands over your head!" He then taps the muzzle of his pistol against the back of Jaune's head. Remembering Shay, Vernal decides she doesn't like that and lunges into Tukson's side, knocking him down and out.

"Good. Maybe your other will get an attitude adjustment." Raven lets a snort of mirth escape at Taiyang's words to Tukson, the puma Faunus nodding his agreement.

"Indeed."

Jaune can only look perplexed at what Vernal had just done before she shrugs and speaks.

"I got into a lot of rumbles with three of the neighborhood boys that were like brothers to me." Not giving him a chance to respond, as he's still stunned, she adds, "Come on. Let's go." Getting up, she goes to Tukson's unconscious form and searches him as Jaune gets up himself. "Keys. Come on, get up. Here we go. Thank you." She then gets up, keys in hand, before she ushers Jaune over to the car.

"Come here. Come on, let's go. Get in the car. I'll drive. I'll drive. Come on. Get in the car. Hurry up." Once both have closed the doors, Vernal looks over at Jaune and adds, "I'm going to take you home." Jaune's face twitches slightly before she smiles softly and goes on. "Buckle up."

The two then make their getaway, with Jaune reaching for his seat belt. The scene then changes to where the car's been stripped of its lightbar and Department markings, rolling along an unpaved driveway.

MERAUX, LOUISIANA – DAY FIVE

"I guess wherever they are is pretty big to be skipping day four like this." Qrow's comment gets a slight nod from 'Racer' as the movie goes on.

The car then comes to a stop just past a station wagon parked in front of a two-story farmhouse. Jaune and Vernal look out the passenger side before Jaune opens the door and exits, Vernal following suit. Both walk to the front of the farmhouse when they see a curtain quickly drop aside and barely hear excited voices within. Next thing they know, the main door opens and seven women gleefully bolt out, with another one following sedately, yet curious, behind them.

"BROTHER! YOU'RE HOME!" Jaune blinks before they dogpile him in a mad embrace, giggling all the while. Vernal blinks haplessly in sync with the eighth woman that had exited as one more woman exits. Vernal speaks up.

"Mrs. Arc?"

"Girls? What's all the…" Mrs. Arc gasps upon seeing a face she'd longed to see ever since he'd left home. "Jaune… ce n'est pas possible. John, come here!" The women quickly make way for their Mother before she wraps Jaune in her arms. "Oh, Jaune! Oh! Jaune!"

Mrs. Arc starts sobbing as Mr. Arc walks up and sees Jaune for the first time in years as the eighth woman's eyes go wide before she beams. Vernal can only be bashful, yet happy, at the reunion.

The scene then goes to inside, with framed photographs, Jaune looking at them, his sisters and sister-in-law, Terra as he later learned, quietly and giddily watching him, while Vernal's on the phone. While they're giddy to have him back home, given he'd been MIA ever since he was 19 in Vietnam, they're polite enough to wait until Vernal's off the phone.

Terra and Saphron both blink at not seeing Adrian on the screen before recalling one particular detail and blushing.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean Jacques isn't there? Well, where the Hell is he? I don't care what you've heard. It's not true." As she speaks, Jaune picks up a photo from the shelf and looks at it while Mr. and Mrs. Arc speak. "No. Okay. Uh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'll meet them there."

Mr. Arc walks up, dish in hand as the view goes to the photo. Jaune, Tyrian and three others in their platoon in happier times before Vernal's voice is heard again.

"All right." Thunder rumbles as Vernal hangs up the phone. At that, the sisters dogpile Jaune again, asking him to tell them stories of Vietnam. Much like Terra, Vernal has a faint smile of amusement on her face before she sighs.

"I'm going to have to get going. A news van from the network is meeting me at the Sheriff's Station. They still don't believe me but, uh, I think we'll be able to change their minds." Noting Jaune's demeanor, his sisters noticing as well, she asks, "You okay?"

"So many things are missing. So many things I remember. So many things… I - I can't."

"Jaune… it has been 25 years." Jaune slightly looks aside before speaking again.

"Such a long time - 25 years."

His sisters nod in agreement before gently hugging him, tears of joy falling from their faces. Terra lightly brushes her own tears away.

"I'll never get those years back." Jaune's comment only gets a tighter hug from them. Vernal smiles softly before she speaks.

"Look at it this way. You look great for a 44-year-old."

"He's actually that old?! While he doesn't look a day over 19?!" Roman blinks before shrugging. "I guess that time of being on ice helped significantly. I might want to do that myself."

"Indeed, Mr. Torchwick. However, cryonics for future revival is horribly expensive and tends to be referred to as quackery by most of the scientific community. Hence its viability for freezing for treatment after revival classed as only being fictional." Roman nods his understanding.

Jaune lightly exhales as Mr. Arc walks up to them.

"Care for a cup, Miss Branwen?" As thunder is heard, Vernal looks toward him slightly.

"Oh, um… no, no, I uh… I better get going. They'll be waiting for me." Getting up from her seat, she goes to the door as Mr. Arc speaks again.

"Be careful. It's turning into a downpour." Vernal turns back to him before speaking again.

"Okay." Mrs. Arc chimes in herself.

"Au revoir, mademoiselle."

"Thank you. Thank you." Mr. Arc gives their reply.

"You're welcome." Gathering her things, she notes Jaune and his sisters standing before each sister gives her a hug, with her returning with a warm smile on her face before one of them, Saphron, speaks.

"Thanks for bringing our goofball home. While it would've been nice for him to be at the wedding, we left a seat open for him." Terra nods in agreement.

"It was my thanks for him." Saphron kinks her head in curiosity before Vernal looks at Jaune. "Are you going to be all right?" Terra and the Arcs watch the scene before Mr. Arc steps away as Jaune gives his reply.

"In time." At that, Vernal gets to the door and opens it. Lightning strikes down before Vernal pauses and looks back at him.

"You know something? I haven't smoked a cigarette in almost two days. Maybe I'll quit."

"No 'maybe' about it. Ughk! Such a filthy, wasteful and disgusting habit." Vernal's words get a nod of agreement from Raven.

Jaune and Vernal both exchange a soft smile before the latter speaks again.

"I'll see you." With that, she exits and closes the door, Jaune looking somewhat down before Terra and his sisters hug him again.

Once she's outside, Vernal moves as quickly as she can, while avoiding slipping, to avoid getting drenched. Once she gets to the car, she gets in and reaches for the ignition switch. Only for the keys to not be in place.

"Uh-oh. That's not good. Were they dropped somewhere? Or did… triple uh-oh." Vernal's shakily uneasy words get Raven to nod in agreement. Cinder following suit. Tyrian, however, giggles gleefully at the implication, prompting another facepalm from Salem.

"Where's the key?" Thinking she'd put it in her pocket, she searches by feel while griping. "Oh, come on. Shit." When she makes to close the door, a hand stops the door's movement and Tyrian is quickly seen as he crouches down slightly. The car's keys in hand.

"Looking for something?"

Back inside, Jaune is back at the mantle, putting the picture back into place. His sisters and Terra had moved on to their own devices, as had their parents. The power then suddenly goes out. Sounds of struggling and breaking are then heard. Uneasy, Jaune turns away from the mantle.

"Ma?" Stepping gently as lightning flashes and thunder roars, Jaune nears the kitchen, asking, "Mom? Sisters? Pa? Are you there?" When the kitchen fully comes into sight, he can see flame coming up from the stove and the kitchen's a mess. With a broken plate on the floor.

Mrs. Arc then comes into view, her hands tied behind her back, Terra and the Arc daughters tied up as well, their mouths gagged, muffling their angry yells. Mr. Arc is then flung to the floor of the barn before Tyrian steps away from them and toward a bound and gagged Vernal. He then yells out, his DE in hand.

"Arc! Arc, can you hear me?!" As Tyrian yells, the view goes from him to Jaune, the Arc parents then back to Tyrian. "Nice farm! Exactly how you described it back in 'Nam!" The view then goes back to Jaune as Tyrian goes on. "Why don't you come out here and join our little family reunion?!" The view goes to Vernal before she's hoisted to her feet by Tyrian.

"Unh! Unh!"

"I mean what the Hell are you waiting for, farm boy?!" Jaune comes back into view as Tyrian yells on. "Are you deaf?!"

Tyrian then comes back into view, Vernal's neck in the crook of his arm, as he aims the DE at a generator and opens fire on it, blowing it up. Jaune then comes back into view, opening a cabinet and bringing out a break-action double-barrel shotgun as Tyrian yells.

"Get your ass out here! We have some unfinished business, you and me!"

Qrow grins softly in nostalgia at the sight of the shotgun, Raven echoing it.

Opening the breech, Jaune checks it before closing it back and stepping outside, shotgun in hand. As Jaune comes into view outside, the view goes back to Tyrian as he yells out.

"Wow, she really has beautiful ears!"

Unbidden, Vernal covers her ears while giving the psychotic Faunus a dirty look.

"You're getting nowhere my ears, you sick nutjob!" Tyrian cackles while shrugging and Salem sighs.

'Why, oh, why does the Tyrian on the screen have to echo the one here in the audience?! Why?!'

Jaune then comes back into view before he speaks.

"Sarge, you want me? I'm here. Let the girl go." Tyrian coming back into view with the ending words, he gives his retort.

"Don't tell me what to do, soldier. I give the orders around here. And you're going to have to learn that." As Tyrian speaks, Jaune puts the shotgun down onto the trunk lid of the Crown Vic. "She's a fucking gook traitor. I gave you an order to kill her. Now you're going to have to fulfill that order, Private."

"Callows, the war is over." The view goes back to Tyrian as he speaks.

"Not for me." He then roughly shoves Vernal against the Crown Vic's left front fender, getting a grunt from her before she slides down onto the ground as he goes on. Stepping close to Jaune with each word. "Not for her. Not for you."

Once Tyrian's close enough, Jaune flings his fists into Tyrian's face before punching him even more. Only for the lunatic to start laughing as the punches have very little effect.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" As Tyrian laughs, Jaune punches him below the belt before rearing for another punch. But when he sends his fist forward, Tyrian catches it and starts crushing his fist. He then strikes Jaune, hard, before flinging him to the barn door. Vernal can only sob helplessly as Tyrian steps toward Jaune before struggling to get to her feet.

"You can't run from this war, soldier." Tyrian's words toward Jaune as he steps to him are cold and certain as he goes on. "Not under my command. Huh." Lightly pushing Jaune's hand as he tries to raise himself up away, Tyrian can only look down upon him in 'pity'.

"You've grown weak." Jaune's thermal monitor starts beeping as Tyrian goes on, opening Hazel's stolen uniform tunic, revealing the strength enhancer syringes. "You should have taken your… medication."

Vernal's able to get to her feet and moves to where the farm's hay harvester is sitting, turns and starts grinding the rope against one of its spikes. As she does so, Tyrian injects the enhancers from one of the syringes into his torso before withdrawing it and breathing deeply while Jaune looks aside and spots a piece of lumber before grabbing it.

He then swings it at Tyrian, only for him to block it, shattering it, before punching Jaune and throwing him back out into the driveway. Jaune has the wind knocked out of him and is trying to regain it as Tyrian steps toward him.

"Come on! Get up and fight!" Frustrated, Tyrian grabs Jaune by the back of the shirt's neck and shoves him headfirst into the Crown Vic's left rear window, shattering it. Bringing him back out, he goes on.

"Now I'm going to teach you about the Chain of Command, Private!" Slamming Jaune into the car's bodywork, he adds, "When I say 'Jump', you say 'How high?'. Got it?" Slamming Jaune again as Vernal comes back into view, still working on the ropes, Tyrian asks, "Got it?!"

Tyrian comes back into view before flinging Jaune away from the car, yelling.

"Try to get it into your fucking head!" As Jaune struggles to regain his bearings, Tyrian hoists him back up and starts dragging him over to where Vernal is. "I gave you an order, soldier. Now let me see you waste that gook traitor." Hefting him to where Jaune's face is facing Vernal, Tyrian brings out his DE as she helplessly whimpers.

"Now where will we shoot her?" The view goes back to Vernal as he goes on. "In her stomach?" Pulling the hammer back, he aims the laser sight at her stomach before saying. "Nah." Raising the sight up, he asks, "In the chest?" At her wide eyes, as she keeps working on the ropes, he says, "No. I think we should shoot her… in the head!"

His eyes wide in deranged glee, he aims right at her forehead. Not wanting to see it coming, she closes her eyes while still working on the ropes.

"Ready?" He then yells, "Fire!" Pulling the trigger, the hammer falls, but the gun doesn't go off. Tyrian looks 'slightly baffled' before grinning. "It's empty!" Vernal finally succeeds and bolts away as Tyrian 'playfully' yells, "It's empty!"

As Vernal runs, Jaune is thrown aside before she looks back to him and screams.

"Jaune!" As Jaune moves to get up, Vernal screams as Tyrian brings out an M67 grenade and looks aside at Jaune. "Oh, Oum! Oh, Oum, help! Somebody!" Jaune looks toward Vernal, her noticing. "Jaune!"

"Run!"

"No!"

"Run!"

Tyrian looks back toward Vernal as he pulls the main pin of the grenade. Noticing what Tyrian aims to do, Vernal starts running as Jaune hoarsely yells for her to run. Just before Tyrian throws the grenade at her. Vernal screams as the grenade detonates, destroying the pickup truck on the farm.

Vernal cringes at the way her other had seemingly gone out.

"Which is worse? Knife to the back of the head while being held or grenade while running?"

"It is a toss-up to be certain." Raven's reply gets Vernal to nod.

"No!" Tyrian, however, is jubilant.

"Wahoo!"

Overcome with rage he'd failed yet again, Jaune rises from the ground, flames rising along with him before he charges at Tyrian, with Tyrian noticing before Jaune gives the psycho a spin kick that connects with the left side of his face.

"Yeah! That's the way, noodle!" Mercury, wide grin on his face, notes Emerald looking toward him in disbelief. "What? That was a great kick, Emerald." She facepalms, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, hiding a slight grin. Marcus noticing and lightly smirking.

'Sure you two aren't like that.'

"Unh!"

Jaune gives him another kick, this time to the right. Jaune moves to kick Tyrian again, only for Tyrian to grab his foot and twist. Jaune, however, reminds Tyrian he has another foot by kicking him in the face again.

Mercury guffaws and Emerald bursts into giggles before the latter looks toward Jaune.

"Ever think about being a physical comedian, Jaune?"

"Nope. Not really. Besides, how would I go about it?" Emerald shrugs, a soft smirk on her face.

"You're funny enough to be one. That's what counts." Mercury nods his rare agreement with her, giving Jaune a thumbs-up. Prompting him to sheepishly rub the back of his head. Marcus just lightly chortles.

"Well, that's the spirit, soldier!"

Reaching down, he grabs Jaune by the shirt and lifts him up from the ground before throwing him into the barn, where Terra and the rest of the Arcs are still bound. Seeing them, he's filled with relief they're alright. The relief fades, however, when Tyrian comes into the barn.

"I mean, this is a serious matter, Private." Jaune gets to his feet as Tyrian goes on. "I can't believe you got your poor family involved in this too." Striding toward him, Tyrian adds, "I've got a little secret for you, boy. You're up for a court martial." As Jaune backs away, Tyrian asks, "You ready to go to trial?"

"Give me your best shot."

Yang laughs raucously, Cinder right behind her, before the former speaks.

"That's the way! Never back down before that worthless psycho, Jaune!"

As Tyrian makes to punch Jaune, he ducks and moves around Tyrian as Tyrian's fist meets the barn wall. Jaune, however, snatches a syringe from the tunic.

Ironwood's eyes go wide before a calculating grin arises.

"He's evening the odds as much as he can."

Tyrian notes his position and back-kicks Jaune in his chest, knocking him into one of the pens. As Jaune makes contact with the barn floor, the syringe leaves his hand and lands in a puddle. Looking back, he sees Tyrian making his way to him and moves for the syringe. Just as Tyrian reaches him, he snags the syringe and jabs it into his chest just as Tyrian looks to the Arcs and Terra before he speaks again.

"Gee, I'm sorry about this, but you're all sentenced to death."

As he finishes speaking, Jaune presses the remaining amount of the plunger down before Tyrian brings him up, facing him.

"Say good night, asshole." Tyrian then flings a fist toward Jaune, punching him repeatedly. Only for Jaune to catch his fist before speaking again.

"Good night, asshole."

Tyrian laughs uproariously, clutching his ribs.

"Well… I did say for him to say that!" Tyrian breaks into crazed laughter and Salem facepalms while her shoulders shake in mirth. Watts and Hazel, however, roll their eyes while smirking and Gretchen lightly giggles.

Bringing up the syringe, Jaune notes Tyrian looking and seeing he's indeed missing a syringe and drops it before Tyrian's shocked eyes and headbutts him. As the impact knocks Tyrian away, Jaune goes after him. As Tyrian punches toward him, Jaune intercepts with his left hand and punches Tyrian's midsection three times and face once with his right fist.

Spotting a pipe overhead, he jumps up, grabs it and kicks Tyrian with both feet. As Tyrian is knocked back even more into a pen, Jaune goes in before Tyrian looks overhead and sees a pipe. Bringing the pipe down, he swings it at Jaune, hitting and knocking him away onto the barn floor. Tyrian follows after and jabs one end of the pipe down at Jaune's head, only for Jaune to avoid it and kick Tyrian in the face.

Jaune wheels around and back-kicks Tyrian in his midsection, knocking him away and into a storage area before he goes after Tyrian. The two smash each other against the walls of the storage area before Tyrian strikes Jaune's back twice with his right elbow before Jaune recovers and gives him a right hook. Tyrian punches Jaune, spinning him, only for Jaune to punch him while in the spin.

As Tyrian as knocked back, Jaune goes to right in front of him and punches Tyrian ten times before moving back from him. As Tyrian regains his bearings, he notes Jaune moving back toward him quickly just before Jaune high kicks him out of the barn and onto the muddy ground.

"Get him, Jaune! Get that psycho!" Ruby's shout is nodded at by an approving Weiss. Cinder's evil stepsisters both gush at how strong and cool Jaune is, getting their Mother's shock. Cinder, however, smiles softly as Rhodes lightly ruffles her hair.

Jaune exits the barn as Tyrian eases himself onto his feet before the latter groggily speaks again as the former comes into view.

"You're dead, soldier."

"No. I'm alive."

At those words, Jaune Tyrian right in the face before giving him a spin kick before another kick right in the face. The spikes of the harvester are right behind Tyrian as Jaune kicks Tyrian in the midsection before the face again, knocking Tyrian back onto the harvester, the spikes spearing right through him. Tyrian screams in pain before glaring at Jaune balefully one last time before his eyes roll back and the back of his head meets the harvester's upper drum.

Wanting to confirm the kill, Jaune edges slowly toward him. Just as he draws near, Tyrian reaches his left hand up and grabs Jaune by the neck before bringing his face down to one of the spikes protruding through his chest. As Jaune's face edges closer to the spike, Tyrian purses his lips, mockingly 'kissing' toward him.

Jaune moves his free hand to the hand holding him and twists, breaking the elbow, eliciting another scream from Tyrian.

As Tyrian screams, Jaune goes to the harvester's ignition switch and starts its motor before looking at Tyrian once more.

"You're discharged, Sarge."

Unsure what Jaune means, Tyrian blinks at Jaune before Jaune moves the control lever for the drums, getting the drums to move. Taking a screaming Tyrian into motion as the spikes tear him into pieces. Pieces which fly out of the harvester's discharge chute.

Tyrian's face goes pale, yet his smile widens even more at his on-screen counterpart's final demise. Cinder, however…

"Now that machine can really blow chunks." Yang and Taiyang both laugh and Rhodes guffaws. Ruby and Weiss, however, are both looking a little green before they look away.

As the harvester's drums spin, Jaune goes back to the barn to free his family.

"Oh, son." Mr. Arc's words are soft, yet proud before Jaune speaks again as he finishes untying Mr. Arc.

"You okay, Dad? Mom? Sisters? Terra?"

"Don't worry about us." Mr. Arc unties Mrs. Arc before they go to work untying their daughters and Terra while Jaune goes to where Vernal's body is. As he gently clasps her hand, she coughs.

Vernal's eyes go wide at her other's survival before they start shimmering with tears of joy.

"Are you okay?"

"I've uhh… I've a little bit of a headache, but…" Vernal eases herself upright in time to see Terra and the rest of the Arc family emerge from the barn before she asks, "Where is he?" Jaune gives her a cagey expression before his reply comes.

"Around." Not wanting to know what he means, she asks the big question.

"How do you feel?"

"Like a 44-year-old." Vernal smiles softly at that before they embrace. During their embrace, the screen goes dark.

Vernal smiles widely before looking at Jaune and purses her lips at him before speaking.

"There may not have been any lip-locking, but an embrace is good enough." Raven cackles, Pyrrha and Cinder both softly giggling.

"Well now, that was… a thing." Yang stretches before looking toward 'Racer' and asks, "What's the next one?"

"It's named 'Down Periscope'. Basically, Jaune is an unconventional submarine Commander in a diesel submarine up against a nuclear fleet for an experiment of sorts." Ironwood's attention is grabbed at that.

"What sort of experiment?"

Much to his consternation, 'Racer' doesn't reply. However, 'Racer' looks toward Weiss and steps to in front of her, getting her attention.

"What's going on, 'Racer'? Why're you in front of me?"

"I think it's time for Bleiss to come out into the open. Don't you?" Weiss' eyes go wide in sheer shock before Jacques looks her way.

"You mean that foolishness that Weiss was talking about having an imaginary twin sister until she turned ten?!" Blinking, he then asks, "How'd you know about it?! There're no records or anything about 'her' whatsoever!"

"I have my ways. Come on out, Bleiss, you've people waiting to meet you for real."

"It's about frickin' time, man!" At that, Weiss' eyes glow before a feminine form takes shape in front of her.

Aside from the coal black hair, red eyes, black corset and short skirt and no scar over her left eye or tiara in her hair, she's a dead ringer for Weiss. Along with a softly seductive smirk she immediately aims at Jaune.

"Hi, handsome." She quickly sees him blush and giggles. "So cute!"

"B… Bleiss?" Weiss' tone is tentative before Bleiss looks back to her and smiles 'warmly'.

"Hello, twin sister. It's nice to finally meet you face to face." Her smile lightly fades at the scar over Weiss' left eye before returning. "That scar makes you look bad-ass." Looking to Nicholas, she adds, "Hello, Grandfather."

"Hello… Bleiss." Nicholas is stunned before Bleiss lightly giggles and next looks to Willow.

"Hi, Mom." Willow blinks before looking around, getting a puzzled blink from Bleiss. "What're you looking for?"

"A bottle of brandy. Even though 'Racer' said this is a dry theater, there's got to be some leeway." At that, 'Racer' cheerfully pipes in.

"Nope! Fully dry." Willow starts trembling before 'Racer' goes on. "All that bottle is doing is making you and your offspring miserable. Of course, you do have a valid reason for taking it up." Casually hiking a thumb over toward Jacques, he goes on. "But you can't let 'him' have the satisfaction…"

"Now see here!" Jacques' voice is full of rage as he goes on. "What goes on behind our doors doesn't concern you!"

"I've heard that malarkey many times before from others before one of two things happened. They either wind up killing the victims of their abuse or are killed by them in self-defense when they've had enough. So don't think for one minute you're immune, Jacques-ass." Jacques bellows in anger before lunging at 'Racer', only for 'Racer' to dodge and crouch to behind Jacques, index fingers clasped together. "Now for something special! 1000 years of death!"

At that, 'Racer' rams his fingers up into Jacques' ass, getting a scream of agony from him and cackles of glee from Bleiss and the Faunus as Jacques clasps his agonized rear, running around screaming. Bleiss shrugs it off, yet still cackles before she goes to Winter and Whitley.

"Hello, big sis, little bro."

"Hello… Bleiss." For once in her life, Winter's military training fails her for none of her lessons entailed imaginary siblings appearing out of nowhere. Whitley, however…

"It must've been very lonely for you."

"It was just as bad for Weiss, if not more. Thinking of…" Going back to Weiss, she asks, "Who's the dead man that caused you to get that scar?"

"Father."

"Oh, yeah. 'Sperm donor', more like. Always having you, big sis and little bro go to all kinds of 'lessons', some of which are okay for everyday life but others… not so much. Not very 'Fatherly' in my book."

Adam lightly chuckles, getting Sienna's attention.

"What is it, Adam?"

"Just thinking that Nicholas, Whitley and now Bleiss are my favorite Schnees."

"Even if Bleiss is imaginary and likely to fade away when we leave here?"

"Even if, Lady Khan. Even if." Sienna mulls it over and shrugs just as Jacques collapses from his pained running. "How do you like that, Lady Khan? A pain in the ass for a pain in the ass." Sienna cackles while nodding and Ilia and her parents both cackle as well.

Bleiss, however, pays no mind as she goes to meet Weiss' team and their sibling team. With one person clear on her mind.

"Hello, 'Cookie Addict', 'Udders', 'Kitty Cat', 'Supercharged Nut', 'Huntress Champ', 'Tranquil Calmer' and 'Super Stud'. It's nice to finally meet you." Ensuring to gaze into Jaune's eyes with each word, she straddles Jaune and locks her lips onto his.

Author's Notes; Sorry again for the delay in getting this chapter done. But between laptop crashing at worst possible times, hecticness at the station, writer's block, station being shut down in the middle of June, starting a new job on a part-time basis while hoping to get full time status on station's last day… I don't know when I'll be able to write again.