"I see the lovers have come to join us" Yang said with a wink as Weiss and Jaune entered the big hall.
"Shut up!" Weiss coldly replied and huffed, crossing her arms and trying to hide the clear blush on her face.
All of Team RWBY, including a still recovering Winter. Nora and Ren standing in the middle as Qrow and Megumi stood near the door leading outside. The outside was beautiful but you couldn't go far due to a seemingly invisible barrier placed around the property, presumably to keep outsiders out of wherever they were.
Jaune tried to surmise where exactly they were. They had been the mountains for a long time now. A giant mansion in the mountains which seemed to be almost unreachable by outside forces. The last few months being kept here had certainly taken its toll. Yang had been taking most of it out on the punching bags in the gym. Blake mostly kept to herself, the revelation of her former lover had been part of a multiverse wide spanning organization of evil. Ruby had also been surprisingly keeping to herself, she wasn't her normally bubbly self. Ren and Nora had gotten closer to one another and Qrow was…well…being Qrow.
Megumi stood right next to Qrow and Jaune was always puzzled by him. He was a man of few words and kept mostly to himself. He knew Qrow and him worked together for this mysterious other group apparently opposing the Collective.
"Okay what is this Qrow? Why where we supposed to meet here?" Yang asked rather impatiently, placing her hands on her hips.
"Just wait a moment. He always likes to make a grand entrance" Qrow spoke up and not a few seconds later, the big doors of the mansions opened and a figure jumped through the air and landed with a pirouette right at the center.
Everyone aside from Qrow and Megumi looked at the figure in pleasant surprise. Unsure of what they where witnessing when they saw the clear image of a man, looking to be in his late twenties with spiked white hair and his eyes covered by dark shades. He was also dressed in a black uniform similar to Megumi.
The man smiled and made a gesture as if he was looking for an applause, which he did not end up receiving. Instead he saw himself met with an array of eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty.
"Well so much for my dashing entrance" the man spoke with a broad smile.
"Told you they wouldn't be impressed boss" Qrow replied sarcastically. The man pointed with both hands at Qrow as he spinned in his direction "and I told you I would have done this regardless. We need to liven things up around here."
"Okay wait just for one minute…" Weiss said as she spoke up first "boss? Who is this man?" asking what everyone else was thinking.
"Ah yes I didn't introduce myself," the man spoke up as he spun around before raising his hands in the air "greetings Team RWBY and more. My name is Satoru Gojo and yes I know please hold back the applause, we can do that later."
Again he was met with surprised faces and raised eyebrows. Ruby was scratching her head unsurely and Weiss tried to wrap her head around the idea of what this guy was trying to say.
"Wait" Yang said as she took a step forward "so you are Satoru Gojo? The one that Thanos is so afraid off?" she asked with disbelief.
"Yup all me baby!" Gojo replied pointing at himself "took him and his first Collective on a long time ago when they came to my world. They didn't stand a chance."
Weiss sighed in irritation. The audacity of this man was infuriating her to no end. It almost reminded her of Whitley.
"Uncle Qrow you can't be serious? This is the guy that took down the Collective!" Yang said.
"I couldn't believe it either kiddo" Qrow responded as he took a sip of his canteen.
"I'm sorry but I have a hard time this guy took down the entire Collective by himself" Yang said confidently. Gojo smiled at her and instead said "how about this? I let you have a free shot at me. Then you will see for yourself. So hit me with your best shot."
And with that Gojo placed his hands behind his back and stood there with a confident smile and posture. Yang grinned and wasted no time getting her arm ready and bolting forward, aiming her metallic hand straight for Gojo's face.
Anticipation was building up in the entire group as they waited for the impact….which never came.
Yang, with her eyes wide in complete disbelief looked as she saw that her fist made no contact with Gojo. It was like there was a small invisible wall separating herself from him, not allowing her to make contact.
"How is this….?" Yang mumbled.
"That's only a fraction of my powers. But suffice it to say it's hard to kill an opponent you can't hit isn't it hot shot" Gojo said as he smiled at Yang.
"Okay enough of this. We have a lot to explain, especially you boss" Qrow said as he moved forward and grabbed his niece and moved her slightly backwards. Megumi joined the group as Gojo alone was standing in the middle overlooking the entire group.
"Ah yes indeed you all have many questions I take it."
"Yeah as to why we have been stuck in this place for the past two months. Why are you keeping us here and what is going on!"
"All excellent questions which I will try to answer but first….let us have some coffee. Everyone follow me to the dining hall."
As everyone sat in the giant dining hall of the chateau, Gojo stood with a mug of coffee in his hand with the label "Kiss the Chef" over it. Of which he smugly sipped as he looked over the entire group that was waiting for him to answer the burning questions on their waiting mind.
"Well where do I begin?" Gojo wondered out loud.
"How about the beginning" an annoyed and angry Weiss scoffed.
"Oh yeah that!" Gojo said as he raised a thumbs up to Weiss and placed his mug on the table before him "well it started about five years ago when the Collective first came to my world. In Shibuya I encountered an old enemy or well old friend but it was my enemy inhabiting the body of my former best friend. Quite a story as well I'm sure you all love to hear about it as well."
"JUST GET ON WITH IT!" Weiss yelled out angrily as she stood up before Jaune placed his hands on her shoulders and softly told her to calm down and made her sit back down gently. A sight not unnoticed by the others.
Gojo's smile faded a bit and he adjusted his dark shades a little before he spoke again. This time in a surprisingly more serious tone.
"Well as it turns out this enemy, known as Kenjaku was in fact not alone. He had aligned himself with a very powerful group seemingly coming from all sides of what we know as the Multiverse. He came with five other powerful individuals. Under the leadership of one powerful being."
"Thanos?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes indeed," Gojo responded "Thanos had assembled a powerful cabal of people, including Kenjaku. Alongside him where also from what I hear a familiar face amongst you many, like a certain Adam Taurus" he looked at Blake knowingly, who turned her head away in discontent, something that made Yang who was sitting next to her rather upset.
"The reasons they showed up that night are unknown. All I know is how it ended. With me mopping the floor with them, which is unsurprising. The only surprising part is that they all managed to escape with their life. Although I heard I managed to put one out of active commission."
Gojo waved his hand towards Megumi, who walked towards him with many documents in his hands, which he handed over to Gojo.
"So for the past five years I have been keeping track of everyone associated with the Collective in hopes of finding them again and finishing what I started. But they have been laying low until very recently, when they mounted an attack on your world."
"The attack on Atlas" Winter said as she sat at the back of the table.
"Bingo! The first time I have seen them make an attack in a long time. Qrow and Megumi have told me what they came there for but to this day we have no idea whether they succeeded in their objective."
"They came there for the Relic of Creation. But we don't know why?" Jaune said as he stood up. As soon as he did Gojo eyed him up and down.
"Ah Jaune Arc is it? I want to have a word with you in private if that is alright?" Gojo asked. Jaune was taken aback by the sudden request but still nonetheless nodded.
"Regardless of all of that, the reason I have you stationed here, this unreachable safe haven between worlds is for your own protection while me and the boys here tried to see if we could track down the Collective because we have no idea of their whereabouts since the attack on Atlas. You are safe here and that's all that matters."
"Safe! Why won't you let us join the fight then. Aren't we already involved to some degree" Yang said as she stood up from her seat.
"Because…" Gojo paused a bit as he grabbed one of the documents in front of him "some of you have personal connections to the Collective." He flung one of the documents Yang's way, who grabbed it in both of her hands and she looked it over before opening. In it was a picture of Raven Branwen, her mother, and all the info seemingly gathered about her. With a big stamp saying STILL ACTIVE placed on the side with her personal info.
Yang's face fell slightly as she read up on the page. Blake placed a hand on her shoulder before a document was flung her way as well. It landed on the table right in front of her and flew open, displaying a photo of Adam Taurus with the words DECEASED clearly printed next to it.
Jaune looked as Gojo placed the documents all over on the table for everyone to look at. Blake and Yang had recoiled at seeing their respective documents concerning what was clearly a very personal connection to them. Jaune found himself looking across all the documents on the table, about ten or such where sprawled around and he grabbed the once closest to him. Opening it up he was greeted with a face that made him recoil.
Weiss looked over at Jaune and saw the photo of herself on the file. Or rather the other her. Her face lacking the scar and dressed in her all too familiar military outfit. The words STATUS UNKNOWN in big letters on the side.
"You all to some extend hold a very personal connection to the members of the Collective. Not through any faults of your own. We couldn't have predicted that Qrow's sister would be a part of it, nor miss Belladonna's crazy ex."
Blake recoiled a bit in uncertainty, her cat ears going down.
"Would you stop with that! We already have it hard enough. We aren't all untouchable like you!" Yang pointed out angrily.
"Exactly hence why you are here and not out there joining the fight. To keep you safe and make sure the Collective cannot use those personal connections against you."
Ruby looked over the files and opened one more of them. One which was labeled as DECEASED and it featuring a read haired smiled woman in a suit, labeled as a COLLECTIVE ASSOCIATE as opposed to full members from the other files she had seen. She turned it towards her uncle and asked "what happened to her?"
"She was an associate working with the Collective gathering fearsome beasts known as Devils from their world for the Collective's employ. She went down during a mission a good three years ago during a mission me and Megumi partook in."
Ruby turned to Megumi with curiosity and asked him "what happened?" but she was not met with a response. Instead a seemingly despondent looking Megumi walked away instead.
"That mission is a sensitive issue for him. Better don't ask him about it" Qrow replied.
Ruby looked as Megumi walked away "what happened?" she asked her uncle who only replied with a sigh "it uhm….it went…the mission went all wrong…and he lost someone."
The silver eyed huntress watched Megumi out of the room and wondered whom he had lost that after three years it still affected him that much.
Winter walked over to Gojo and asked him "what about Atlas. I am a high ranking military member there and I have been stuck here getting better. And while I appreciate the hospitality I have my duties there and I should be allowed to return."
"We have not returned to Atlas since the attack took place. I was planning to send Megumi and Qrow there sometimes soon, maybe we could discuss this matter privately" Gojo told her with a sly smile on her face that made Winter want to kick him if she could. Gojo then turned his attention back over to the table and spoke.
"Look everyone I know you have many questions and I wish I had more answers or was at the very least able to allow you to go back to your world. But the circumstances are a bit more complicated. Take a few more days to relax and take your mind of off things and I will see what I can do for you soon."
Gojo smiled at everyone as he put his hands behind his back and began to walk away from the spot he had been standing in for the last few minutes. Leaving the entire group to debate on their own.
Jaune looked over on the file about the other Weiss. The one with whom he had experienced nights of intimacy he never would have imagined, with whom he fathered a daughter to whom he was now fully responsible. Her file read that her status was unknown and it lit up the still lingering questions in his mind. Was she still alive? And if so was she out there looking for her daughter? And what would happen if she where to find them?
Jaune felt a hand on his shoulder and instantly turned around looking into the covered eyes of Satoru Gojo "may I have a word with you Jaune?" he asked.