AN: Hey guys! Thanks for all of the feedback in the Reviews, it really means a lot. And I definitely didn't expect such a massive amount of them to come up! A very pleasant surprise to say the least. Now to answer any questions and/or concerns about where I'm taking this story:

I saw this concern pop up multiple times, so I'll just say it as a whole. This fic will not be only Jaune-centric universes. While Jaune will serve as a focus for most, I do have plans for them to view universes that focus on other characters within the cast. Hell, at some point, I might let them view into our own universe. Our Earth's history, and our mythologies. But rest assured, Jaune won't always have the spotlight on him.

As for why it's usually always Jaune, I have somewhat of an idea. It's because Jaune, at least near the beginning of the series, is pretty much a blank slate and an underdog. Everyone loves an underdog. Plus, his existence as a "blank slate" allows for so much experimentation and ideas as to where his character can be taken. That just isn't as possible with many other characters, as their own characters are more developed (?) and harder to tweak without getting readers angry.

I will be taking some requests, but within reason. Please do not put down massive lists of possible stories for me to work with. I understand that there are a few that I could do for sure, but it's a hassle to work through it all. I do have a list of sorts for the universes that I will show them, so those will be taking precedence.

Muffinlord4life: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. And regarding the idea of being Jaune-centric just read what I said up there ^

alaude hibari: Sorry to disappoint you I suppose? I've already answered a lot of this up there ^, but to clarify, No he won't be like this in every universe. I can't promise that there might be a few in which this is the case, but it certainly won't be all of them.

HalloweenJackal0w0: Thank you for the suggestion! I'll be happy to take a look and see how I can work it into the story. And damn, I forgot about Blink! I should find a way to fit it into the story in some way, but I did say this first one would be a bit darker.

armentho: Ooh that sounds like a good one to look into, I'll be sure to try and work one out at some point.

NoNameNoBrain: Thank you for the compliment! Also, I like your name.

Stratos263: Thank you! And while I haven't watched Berserk yet, I'll definitely find a scene or two that I can put in.

Freddie46: Ooh Watchmen would be a great one to put in...

book lover reader: Um...I'm sorry? I already said my part on the subject up there ^ so if you want to stick around, sure but whatever I guess.

merged zamasu: I have not seen DBS so I'm not sure. I'll try to find the scene for that, so we'll see.

xirons20: See the above ^

the Composcreator: Ooh thank you for the offer! I'll definitely take a look at your fic for a future reaction. As for the others, I'm not entirely sure, but we'll see.


Disclaimer: I, Beowulf the Divine Emperor, do not own RWBY or any crossover material that is used in this story. I only own my OCs and my own twist on the genre of Reaction Fic. RWBY is owned by the late, great Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. All other material falling under "crossover" belongs to their respective owners. In this case, Doctor Who: The Sound of Drums is property of the BBC.

This has also been beta-read by Sixsamchaos. So please do take a look at his work as well!


"I'll show you a mere glimpse, at how bad Jaune Arc can be..."

The group leaned forward in curiosity as the screen's light began to dim slightly. An evil Jaune Arc?

"The Reality this universe is part of is actually a favorite of mine...so much time and effort poured into it. So many events in this world, it's honestly hard to keep track. I'm just going to show you a little moment from it." Beowulf mused, resting his chin on his clawed, gauntleted fist.

"What about the rest of it?" Ruby cocked her head curiously.

Beowulf chuckled sheepishly. "The timeline is...convoluted to say the least. If I were to show you the whole of this Reality, we'd be here for ages."

Yang smirked a little, feeling a bit confident in her prediction. "Sounds like you're stalling Wulfie~." She spoke in a sing-songy tone.

Their host huffed in slight annoyance. "Just for some context, this universe tends to focus on Ren as a time-space traveler. In this realm, he calls himself the Doctor, and currently is in his 10th incarnation."

Ozpin perked up slightly at 'incarnation.' "When you say incarnation, what do you mean?"

"You see, Ren's species, known as Time Lords, has the unique ability to cheat death by completely changing his appearance and personality." Beowulf explained.

"Wait, species?" Winter asked curiously.

Beowulf smiled. "Correct Ms. Winter. A completely different species from Humans. Faunus do not exist in this Reality, and in fact, neither do the Grimm." Everyone's eyes, especially the Belladonnas', widened in shock at such a possibility.

Quickly getting over her disbelief, Blake furrowed her brows in confusion. "But you still said species..?" Beowulf grinned at the cat faunus's catch.

"Is Renny going to be a bug-eyed alien?!" Nora gasped.

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes dismissively. "Of course not. It's highly unlikely that Ren will an alien like one of those old cheesy movies or those alien abduction stories from Vacuo. (1)

"Actually Weiss, Ren is an alien in this." Beowulf confirmed with a smirk. Nora grinned in excitement as everyone else gaped in surprise.

"But he will appear human."

"Awww..."

Jaune, however, was confused. "Wait, you haven't mentioned me yet. Where do I come in?"

Beowulf's smile morphed into a grimace. "You, Jaune, are also a Time Lord, known as the Master." A chill went down the gathered collective's spines.

"W-what does that mean?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly. Beowulf bit his lip a little before turning back to the screen. "It would be better to show you I suppose..."

Everyone nodded and turned back to the screen, a slight sense of unease gnawing at them as they watched.

President Ironwood of Atlas and a large group of armed Atlesians acting as his escort approached a much older-looking Jaune and Pyrrha, similarly surrounded by Valean soldiers. All were wearing formal clothing and coats to deal with the slight chill. Ironwood and Jaune wore black coats, whereas Pyrrha wore white.

Jaune mock-saluted Ironwood with a small smirk on his face. "Mr. President sir!"

Winter looked at her superior. "You are President of Atlas, sir?"

Ironwood nodded, similarly surprised. "It appears I am..."

Taiyang watched the screen with interest, as did Qrow. "Why are Jaune and Pyrrha meeting with the President of Atlas?"

Beowulf simply gestured for them to keep watching.

Ironwood did not look amused. "Mr. Saxon. The Valean army will stand down. From now on, UKIT has control of this operation."

"UKIT?" Ozpin glanced at their host in confusion.

"Stands for 'Unified Kingdom Intelligence Taskforce.' They are in charge of defending the planet against all threats, especially extraterrestrial. Ren was actually a founding member." Ren seemed impressed with his counterpart's actions.

Blake tilted her head in confusion. "Why is Ironwood referring to Jaune as 'Saxon'?"

"It's an alias. Harold Saxon."

Jaune seemed to blink in mocking surprise before responding in a low, somewhat joking tone. "You make it sound like an invasion."

"First Contact policy was decided by the Four Kingdoms 25 years ago. You've just gone and ignored it."

Qrow smirked at the other Ironwood. "No wonder Jimmy looks pissed. Him and his protocols."

Glynda and Ozpin, however, did not share Qrow's sentiments and frowned. In any other case, they may have let the lack of attention to protocol slide. But for something like First Contact with aliens? That was just disrespectful and very dangerous.

"First Contact huh? So the people of Remnant are going to be introduced to aliens?" asked Yang, so far unconcerned with everything. No evidence of Jaune being evil so far.

"There have been many alien invasions and encounters over the years, but this is the first time that official contact will be made," clarified Beowulf.

"Well you know what it's like...new job, all that paperwork. I think it's down the back of the couch. I did have a quick look, I found a pen, a sweet, a bus ticket..." Jaune went off on a little tangent of his own, completely unapologetic and disrespectful to Ironwood.

RY of Team RWBY and Nora laughed a little at the blatant disrespect, while Qrow smirked more and more. "I'm kind of liking this version." Winter sighed, facepalming a little.

"Of course you would..."

Everyone else, however, were more on edge. Something wasn't right about how Jaune was acting...

"And er...have you met the wife?" Jaune pulled Pyrrha over, who smiled and held out a hand to Ironwood. She clearly heard the words that Jaune and Ironwood had been exchanging and didn't care a single bit.

Pyrrha blushed deeply, as did Jaune. "W-wife?!" She glanced at her crush, who was just as red in the face as her. Despite the small bit of unease, everyone laughed at the duo's embarrassment.

"Ah young love." Ozpin smiled.

Ironwood looked at the two in suspicious, guarded confusion. "Mr. Saxon, I'm not sure what your game is, but there are provisions back at the UK to have you removed from office, unless you are very, very careful. Is that understood?"

Jaune widened his eyes comically in disbelief, before miming to zip his mouth shut.

Nora turned to her team leader so fast, it was amazing she didn't get whiplash. Her eyes were bright in awe. "Are you Vale's Prime Minister?!"

The nerdy knight just gaped at the screen, just as confused and amazed as everyone else. "I...guess I am..."

Yang whistled with a smirk. "Well damn Vomit-boy. Looks like you made it in this life."

Beowulf simply grimaced in anticipation.

Meanwhile, many of the adults frowned deeply. "He has something up his sleeve. He definitely shouldn't be so carefree about losing his position...right?" Kali looked to her husband.

Ghira pressed his lips together. "No, no he shouldn't." The former White Fang leader affirmed, while Willow nodded in agreement.

"Jacques, that asswipe..."

The Atlas President ground his teeth a little in annoyance. "Are you taking this seriously?"

Jaune nodded, still exuding an air of 'I don't give a damn about any of this,' one which Ironwood pointedly ignored.

"To business. We've accessed your files on these...Toclafane." Ironwood spoke as Ruby, Ren, and Sun appeared on the screen. Ruby wore a red leather jacket and jeans, Ren wore a pinstriped three piece suit with a long overcoat and sneakers, and Sun wore a large Army greatcoat. They seemed to stand quietly in the background, watching the proceedings with quiet anger.

"Hey! There's me, Jaune, and Sun!" Ruby pointed at the screen in glee.

Yang watched in curiosity. "Wait, why are those two with Ren?"

"In this universe, Ren has a habit of traveling with companions, like Ruby and Sun, who joined up with the two later."

"What do you mean by 'companion'..?" Yang, Taiyang, and Qrow seemed to glare slightly at Ren, who started sweating a little.

Beowulf looked at them in confusion. "Companion as in a friend who he travels with." The glares ceased and Ren gave a sigh of relief. His parents smiled and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

Pyrrha watched the three on screen, her eyes furrowed as she frowned. "You all seem really angry at Jaune it looks like."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, quietly wondering why.

"But first contact cannot take place on any sovereign soil. To that purpose, the aircraft carrier Valiant is en route. The rendezvous will take place there at 8 AM."

Jaune tried to speak with his mouth closed, mumbling obnoxiously.

At this point, everyone, including the students were frowning at the other Jaune's behavior.

"No offense Jaune, but your other acts like a jerk." Ruby said bluntly.

Jaune simply nodded. "Agreed..."

"You are trying my patience, sir." Ironwood seemed to be 5 seconds away from strangling the Prime Minister.

Jaune held up a finger to forestall any other talk before unzipping his mouth. "So, Atlas is completely in charge of the situation?"

Ironwood snapped a little, foregoing any formalities. "Since Vale elected an ass? Yes! I will see you on board the Valiant."

"It's still will be televised though...won't it? Because I promised and the whole world is watching!" Jaune smiled.

"...Not only did he break protocol like that, but he also promised that it would be televised?!" Ironwood and Winter scowled at the onscreen Jaune, while Weiss frowned in disappointment.

"Looks like he's an even bigger dolt in here than he was when we first met!" Weiss proclaimed. Both teams immediately glared at her as Jaune winced slightly, scratching his head sheepishly. "Erm...no offense."

"None taken I guess."

"Since it's too late to pull out, the world will be watching," spoke Ironwood in a harsh tone, turning back to Jaune. "Me!"

With that, Ironwood turned away, Jaune's smile still on his face before turning a bit sinister.

Ozpin frowned at Jaune's facial shift. "I do not like that..."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Something definitely wasn't right.

Now everyone stood on the aircraft carrier Valiant, a massive carrier that amazingly, was in the sky, not the ocean. Jaune sat in a chair next to Pyrrha and some other dignitaries as Ironwood seemed to talk himself up to introducing the Toclafane to Remnant. Camera crews were stationed near Ironwood, ready to capture the moment.

Ruby, Sun, and Ren were also present, still in the background and completely unnoticed.

The group's eyes gaped in awe of the Valiant. Ironwood was especially enraptured. "An aircraft carrier in the skies...incredible."

Beowulf chuckled and nodded. "In the absence of Grimm and other issues, tech has advanced far more than you would believe."

Blake watched the three onscreen in confusion. "Wait, how are they on there with Jaune and Pyrrha? They aren't dignitaries, and no one's noticing them."

"Each of those three are using a gadget called a perception filter. It doesn't make you invisible, but as the name suggests, filters your perception, making you unnoticed. Provided you don't do anything that draws extreme attention," explained Beowulf.

"Wow..." Ruby said to herself as she geeked out over such an invention.

Ren seemed to be slowly moving towards Jaune, just as Ironwood spoke with a confident, charismatic smile. "I now present to you all, the Toclafane." He said, gesturing as the Toclafane in warps of light, small technical noises sounding from them.

The Toclafane appear to be spherical in appearance, just over the size of a human head and made of a strange metal. Lights danced up and down grooves in the Toclafane's metal shells.

Ren stopped for a second, narrowing his eyes slightly in suspicion, before continuing towards Jaune.

The screen then showed the people at home, viewing the spectacle in awe and disbelief.

Everyone gasped at the appearance of alien lifeforms (Jaune and Ren didn't count). They looked so otherworldly and strange.

"Oooh wow! Look at that, guys! Aliens! I wonder what those shells are made of, maybe they're something like the metals back home!" babbled Ruby, talking a mile a minute in her excitement.

"So these are the aliens that Jaune wanted to introduce to Remnant? Don't see a problem so far..." Pyrrha looked on in confusion.

Beowulf grimaced more, knowing what would happen. "You'll see..."

Glynda, however, was preoccupied with something else. "Why did Mr. Ren look so strangely at these...Toclafane?"

"In this universe, Ren has been traveling through time and space for over 900 years...and he knows such a race doesn't exist. They're a myth from their home planet." Suspicion began to mount regarding this new race of alien. The group glared at the spheres with skepticism.

Ironwood turned to one of the spheres closest to him with a nervous smile. "My name is James Ironwood, President Elect of Atlas, and designated representatives of the United Kingdoms. I welcome you to the planet Remnant and its associated moon."

A displeased male voice with a metallic, electronic edge came from one of the Toclafane. "You're not the Master!"

Another metallic voice came from another, this one female. "We like the Mister Master~."

The male voice came again as the sphere swerved towards Ironwood somewhat threateningly. "We don't like you!"

Everyone began to grow concerned for Ironwood's wellbeing as the Ironwood onscreen began to show more and more unease.

Summer held Zwei in her lap as the dog growled at the Toclafane. "Something isn't right..."

Their host simply nodded, a grim expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Jaune steepled his fingers, raising his eyebrows comically at Ironwood's predicament, smirking a little. Ren, however, continued his approach towards Jaune.

"I can...be Master, if you so wish. I will accept mastery over you, if that is Oum's wi-."

The male Toclafane interrupted with an exasperated, condescending tone. "Man is stupid. Master is our friend."

"Where's my Master? Pretty please?~" The female spoke again.

Jaune grinned, throwing his hands up and rolling his eyes. "Oh all right then, it's me!" He said with a wide smile, standing up and sliding in front of the cameras, waving his hands. "Ta-da!~"

"What is he doing?" Weiss said in annoyed confusion, as Blake leaned closer, her instincts on high alert saying that the situation was not good at all.

Beowulf simply gestured to keep watching.

The Prime Minister of Vale laughed. "Sorry sorry, I have this effect, people just get obsessed." Jaune grinned as he gestured with his hands wildly, as Ren tensed, looking around at the guards, dignitaries and camera crews.

"Is it the smile?" Here Sun and Ruby glared at Jaune, frowning deeply as if wishing Death to strike him down right then and there.

"Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I dunno! It's crazy!" Jaune kept grinning as he addressed the public through the cameras.

"Geez, Arc must have done something really bad to piss you guys off," noted Qrow as he took another swig from his flask.

Ozpin's grip on his mug tightened as the tension seemed to grow. "Please be quiet Qrow."

The avian Hunter, noticing how tense his friend was, fell silent.

"Saxon, what are you talking about?" Ironwood frowned down at Saxon from his position on the small staircase.

Jaune crossed his arms, his grin now replaced with a chilling frown of utter contempt.

"I'm taking control, Tin Man. Starting with you." He turned to one of the Toclafane.

"Kill him." Jaune snarled. The Sphere sprouted razor-sharp spikes from it's underside before vaporizing Ironwood with a red laser blast. A death scream ripped itself from Ironwood's throat as he disintegrated.

Everyone gasped and gaped in disbelieving horror at the sight of one of their own being killed like that. Ironwood gripped his metal arm tightly, the metal creaking slightly as he stared at the screen in shock at such a sudden, violent death. Ozpin's eyes widened at the visual of his friend being vaporized, reduced to ashes in a split second. Glynda gasped in horror, a hand covering her mouth as she glanced at the dead man in question. Qrow was actually speechless for once. While he didn't necessarily like Ironwood, he was still in shock over so quick and horrific a death.

Ruby burrowed her face into Yang as the blonde brawler herself gaped blankly. Summer and Taiyang did much the same as their children while Zwei growled and whimpered slightly. Weiss stared at the screen in a horrified stupor, as did Winter, while Willow held Weiss gently, hiding her own panic and fear. Blake's eyes were wide in horror, her hands covering her mouth as she had a sudden vision of a certain bull faunus. Ghira and Kali pulled Blake close as they stared in shock at the screen.

JNPR was not faring much better. Jaune was wide-eyed at his other's actions, staring blankly at the screen. Pyrrha gasped in shock and fear, pulling Jaune close for comfort. The usually happy-go-lucky Valkyrie was now silently staring at the screen, her usual demeanor completely replaced with numbness and terror as she pulled Ren in for her own comfort. Ren was in his own stupor alongside Li and An Ren.

Beowulf, however, simply scowled, his eyes glowing a little as he narrowed them at the screen. His hands gripped the armrests of his throne tightly, small cracks forming in the crystal. "You guys better steel yourselves, 'cause it'll get a whole lot worse..."

The rest of Remnant gaped in shock at the President of Atlas's murder by these otherworldly beings. And at the command of Vale's Prime Minister no less! Back on the airship, the armed guards of Vale were aiming their weapons at the people on board, shouting orders to not move.

Jaune laughed with sadistic delight, his eyes wide with madness as he clapped at it all. As if it were a spectacle for him to enjoy. He turned back to Pyrrha, who was seated with a surprised, but unnerving smile towards him.

Meanwhile, Sun held Ruby protectively while Ren grew more and more nervous at the sudden panic.

"H-how could he and I just..." Pyrrha had no words, and neither did anyone else.

"Now then!" Jaune quickly ascended the steps of the staircase before turning to address the cameras. "People of Remnant, please attend carefully. Stop him!" He added at the end as Ren suddenly lunged forward, the perception filter in hand as two guards seized him. Ren struggled in their grip, glaring hatefully up at Jaune.

Jaune grinned his mad little grin. "We meet at last, Doctor! HAHA, I love saying that!"

Ren, no, the Doctor, growled in anger and defiance. "Stop it! STOP IT NOW!"

The Master sneered down at the Doctor. "As if the perception filter was going to work on me," he taunted, before turning his gaze to Ruby and Sun.

Weiss was now barely over her shock, glaring at Jaune, no, the Master onscreen. "Wait so he knew they were there the whole time?!"

Yang growled as she held Ruby, her eyes flaring red for a second. "That bastard..."

"And look, it's the girlie and the freak!" He taunted with a sneer some more, reaching into his pocket as he spoke. The Doctor snapped over to them, eyes wide in fear and worry before turning back to his longtime enemy."Although, I'm not sure which one's which."

The blonde bombshell's eyes were staying red as she gritted her teeth at the screen. "I'll kill him!" No one got away with insulting her friends like that! Much less insulting her sister!

While agreeing with her, Summer muttered quietly to Taiyang, "We need to work on her temper a bit." However by now, everyone was over their shock and openly glaring at Jaune's counterpart.

Suddenly breaking into a run, Sun sprinted towards the Master. The Master, however, was quicker, pulling a slim yellow-silver stick of metal which extended out from his pocket and pointing it at Sun's heart, firing a laser that stopped him dead.

"AHH!" roared Sun in pain before collapsing dead on the floor.

"Sun! No!" Blake cried out, small tears starting to form in her eyes. Ghira and Kali comforted their daughter as they snarled at the Master's actions.

Jaune was still gob-smacked by his other. He wanted to be a hero, but this version of himself? This version was nothing short of a villain. "H-he's killing people left and right...w-why?!"

Beowulf simply grimaced and gestured to keep watching, inwardly saddened. "Sorry guys. Be careful what you wish for..."

The Master looked pointedly at the Doctor, brandishing his device. "Laser screwdriver. Who'd have sonic?"

Any other time, Ruby would be geeking out over the device. But now, she was just scared of the Jaune on the screen.

"And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I GET TO KILL HIM AGAIN!" The Master roared in sadistic delight, his eyes wide and wild.

"Wait what? Sun isn't dead?" Weiss asked in confusion. Everyone looked towards their host for the explanation.

Beowulf rubbed his forehead, his features one of annoyance. "Oh no he's definitely dead. He just doesn't stay dead. He's a space-time anomaly. Immortal...and a headache to look at for beings like me..."

The group nodded in semi-understanding (along with a few weird glances at their new friend) before turning back to the screen.

"Master, just calm down," the Doctor pleaded, "Just look at what you're doing, just stop! If you could see yourself..."

The Master just seemed to be getting more and more annoyed as his rival spoke. He sighed and looked towards the cameras. "Oh do excuse me, bit of personal business. Back in a minute." He began walking down the stairs towards the Doctor. "Let him go." He called to the guards.

Complying quickly, the guards flung the alternate version of Ren to the floor.

Nora growled at Jaune's counterpart, the Master. "He better stop right there!"

In any other case, Beowulf would have smiled at her protectiveness of her friend and crush. But here he just winced slightly. He knew that the Master wouldn't stop.

"Why is Mr. Ren trying to reason with this tyrant?!" Glynda asked angrily, her disgust at the Master's actions clear.

"Because they were once friends." The otherworldly host spoke quietly, but everyone heard it all the same.

"What?! Then why are they fighting each other?!" Yang couldn't understand how a friendship could go so sour...

Beowulf's shoulders sagged a little. "Just keep watching..."

"It's that sound, the sound in your head. What if I could help?" The Doctor looked up at him pleadingly as Ruby looked on with worry.

"Sound? I don't hear anything..." Ruby made a face of confusion.

Beowulf's eyes shone softly, tinged with sadness. "There it is. The reason why they fight each other."

Everyone turned to the man in confusion as he explained further. "In this universe, Jaune and Ren are Time Lords. As a rite of passage, as children, they were taken to the Untempered Schism, a tear in the fabric of space-time." He paused, his gold and platinum orbs distant and dimmed slightly.

"Imagine that. A child, staring into the raw power of time and space. Some would be inspired, some would run away, and some? Some would go mad." The room was dead quiet. Beowulf had even paused the viewing for this.

"S-so Jaune...went mad?" Pyrrha spoke hesitantly, glancing in worry at Jaune.

Beowulf nodded solemnly. "He looked into that Schism, and he heard drums, a neverending drum beat of four." He began to tap out the beat on the armrest of his throne. "Incessant, and unrelenting...the Master was convinced that it was a call to him, the call to war..." He stopped tapping. "And he went mad, an insatiable need to conquer, to rule, to be the Master."

Ozpin frowned deeply, looking down in shame and guilt at himself, thinking of one particular person that had been dealt a similar hand in life. "Salem..."

Some of the adults, along with Ruby, looked at the Master in a slightly new light, one of pity.

"Poor Jaune..." said Ruby in a quiet voice.

Beowulf just resumed the viewing, gesturing for everyone to continue watching.

The Master sneered with disdain. "Oh, how to shut him up?!" He spoke, miming a babbling person with his hands. "Oh I know! Memory Lane!"

He sat down on the steps to get eye-level with the Doctor. "Professor Watts."

Ironwood and Winter paled slightly. Something that Beowulf, Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda all took note of.

"Remember him? And his genetic manipulation device?" A flashback showed, showing an aged man with a large mustache dressed in rich clothing entering a device that glowed and pulsated before emerging, much younger than he was before.

Everyone gasped at the reversal of age and the technology. "Whoa..."

Qrow smirked a little at Glynda. "Seems like you could use that tech a bit."

The deputy headmistress simply scowled at Qrow while Beowulf smirked a little. "You wouldn't want that used on you, believe me. The tech was faulty and it turned Watts into a monster."

Beowulf quickly paused the viewing before summoning up a 3D image of the transformed Watts, a horrific scorpion-like being that towered above all of them.

Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Jaune gagged a little at the picture while the others looked with a face of disgust.

Resuming the viewing with a little chuckle at having grossed out his audience, Beowulf winced a little. "Oh...Nora will not like this part..."

"What you think that little Yang got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time..." Ruby turned her worried gaze to the Master, her features now showing shock at having gone so far as to manipulate her family.

Ruby was...angry. Very angry. Her silver eyes glared hatefully at the Master onscreen, and for the first time that she could think of, she truly, truly hated someone.

Yang was also not amused in the slightest. Her eyes flared red as she growled at the screen.

Taiyang glared at the alternate version of Jaune with paternal rage. "How dare he toy with my family like they're nothing!"

Summer joined Taiyang in the familial anger-fest, but also held him gently, trying to calm him down.

Zwei the corgi simply growled in anger at the man onscreen, enraged at this man who was hurting and manipulating his owners.

"...and if I can channel all of that Watts technology into one little screwdriver..." the Master grinned sadistically, holding up his laser screwdriver in front of the Doctor. He paused, feigning disappointment, "But...ohh if only I had the Doctor's biological code..." He said in mock-sadness, drumming his fingers on his chin.

Nora's eyes were glued to the screen, terror and worry plain on her face to see. Li and An Ren watched with similar emotions as their son's other was threatened.

The Master suddenly brightened up, grinning triumphantly. "Oh, wait a minute, I do!" He got up from his seat, strolling over to a metal briefcase on the table while Ruby looked more and more concerned for the Doctor's wellbeing.

"I've got his hand!" The mad Time Lord declared, opening the case to show a hand inside of a bubbling mixture of liquid.

"Wait but Ren has his hand right there?" Jaune said in confusion, pointing it out on the screen.

"Ren had regenerated recently when his hand had been severed, allowing him to regrow it," explained Beowulf.

Ozpin blinked. "Regenerated?"

"Part of his 'reincarnation' process...it's a long story..."

The Doctor looked at the hand in frightened concern, looking up at his nemesis. The Master continued, adjusting something on his screwdriver. "And if Watts made himself younger...what if I reverse it?"

Everyone flinched in their seats.

"No..."

"He wouldn't!"

Beowulf smiled humorlessly, his mismatched eyes smoldering in anger as he clutched the armrests of his throne, "He would."

The Doctor's eyes widened in fear as the Master finished with his tinkering, the tip of the screwdriver extending out.

"Another...hundred years?" The Master turned his weapon onto the Doctor, activating the Watts tech inside of it...with horrifying results.

"NO!" Nora cried out in terror at her best friend being attacked.

The Doctor began to convulse erratically, his motions simply blurs as screams of agony wrenched themselves from his throat. As Sun slowly got up from his death, Ruby came in close, finding it extremely difficult to watch the Doctor's pain but unable to look away.

Sun gasped softly, pulling Ruby close and pushing his vortex manipulator into her hands. "Teleport."

Ruby seemed torn, looking between Sun and the Doctor. "I...I can't!"

The Master smiled with cruel delight as he twisted the screwdriver maliciously, further aging his enemy.

"STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" screamed Nora, unable to bear the torment that her best friend was being put through on the screen.

Jaune snarled in rage at his other. "That bastard!"

Pyrrha was gripping the couch armrest with such tightness, it was amazing it hadn't snapped, her eyes transfixed on the horror onscreen.

Ren winced at the Master's relentless attack. To have 100 years worth of body degradation hit all at once...ouch.

Ren's parents were of similar emotions with Nora and Jaune. Li was silently digging his nails into his palms in rage, while An had her hands over her mouth, eyes wide in horror at her baby boy being so ruthlessly attacked.

Team RWBY was not doing much better, all of them straining to keep their rage in check, as were the rest of the adults.

Beowulf growled in rage at the Master's cruelty, his eyes glowing menacingly as the sclerae of his eyes flared blood-red for a split second and his visage began to warp, flicker, and contort into something...more, ethereal smoke beginning to float off of him, before he caught himself and regained control, shifting back to normal with his guests none the wiser.(2)

"We can't stop him," Sun gasped out, looking Ruby in the eye. "Get out of here."

The Master continued to grin as he made the Doctor suffer, his screams now growing louder and more painful in nature.

"Get out..." Sun made a weak smile.

Pyrrha watched the Doctor's torment with a unhappy look on her face, before the Master finally relented, deactivating his screwdriver.

The Doctor slowly pushed himself up from the floor, aged at least 100 years old physically, gasping as he sought to push himself upright.

"Dear Oum..." gasped Glynda in horror.

Nora was now holding Ren in a death grip, unwilling to part for even a second, whimpering slightly.

Ruby crawled over to the aged Doctor, carefully checking him over. "Doctor? I've got you."

The Master smirked once again, taunting Ruby. "Ah, she's a would-be doctor. But tonight Ruby Rose, we've flown them in! All the way from Prison!" He gloated, gesturing towards the back of the room.

Yang, Summer, and Taiyang were coming in, flanked by guards and bound in cuffs.

"Mom!"

Summer looked teary-eyed. "I'm sorry.."

"Summer was suspicious of the Doctor, so she kept giving the Master information on Ruby, not that she knew this would happen," Beowulf clarified quietly. Not that it would have mattered.

The rage that was directed at the Master on the screen was almost palpable.

Ozpin's grip on the mug was enough to strangle anyone in seconds. "Monster..."

Beowulf flinched almost imperceptibly, but Ozpin, Ruby, and Jaune all noticed, choosing instead to focus on the viewing.

"The Toclafane..." The now-ancient Doctor rasped, his gaze on his arch-nemesis. Ruby crouched next to him, concern clear in her silver eyes. "What are they?"

The Master crouched down next to his foe, gesturing for the Doctor to repeat himself.

"Who are they?" A faux-solemn look crept across the Master's features.

"Doctor, if I told you the truth..." he placed a hand over the Doctor's chest. "Your hearts, would break."

"What are they?" asked Blake.

Beowulf avoided her gaze. "I...I haven't the heart to tell you..."

The three Toclafane from before now floated above the Master. "Is it time?" the male voice asked. "Is it ready?"

"Is the machine singing?" came the female voice. The Master checked his watch, a smirk curling his lips as he looked back up at the mysterious spheres.

"Two minutes past."

Summer watched in concern and worry. "He's not done? What more will he do?!"

Their host kept watching the screen in tired sadness.

The Master ran up the stairs, back into view of the cameras. "So, people of Remnant! Basically, um..." He paused, making a mockingly sheepish grin. "End of the world!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted in shock.

"He's going to destroy the world?!" Yang gasped in a mix of despair and shock.

Beowulf shook his head. "No. There would be no value in destroying Remnant. Subjugating everything however..." His grip on his armrests tightened.

He held up his screwdriver, a mad grin on his face, as he roared. "HERE! COME! THE DRUMS!"

A song by the name of Voodoo Child started playing on the Valiant's loudspeakers as the scene showed a machine that seemed to burst as it activated.

The Master slid down the stairs to one of the porthole windows, his grin widening with glee as he watched a massive rift tear itself open in the sky, thousands and thousands of Toclafane spilling out of the tear, lightning and thunder arcing across the rift.

All the while, Pyrrha danced a little giddily, her husband joining her as the Rose-Xiao-Long family watched in horror alongside the crippled Doctor and reviving Sun.

All of the gathered audience made faces of horrified despair as the tear onscreen spilled Toclafane out like water from a torn bag.

"S-so many of them..." Weiss stared in awe and fear at such a powerful force.

Beowulf nodded, growling at the screen. "The Master utilized a device known as a Paradox Machine to rip open a tear in space-time to bring the Toclafane through. That was the device you saw earlier."

The Master pulled Pyrrha to the main window, watching as the streams of floating Toclafane burst from the rift above them. Pyrrha watched in awe as the Master simply looked on in smug contentedness.

"How many do you think?" He asked his wife.

"I...ah, I don't know.." She replied with a voice shaky with excitement and multiple other emotions.

He smirked. "6 billion," spoke the Master in a smug tone, flipping a switch on the controls of the carrier.

Color drained from the assembled group's faces. Ozpin's inner circle in particular watched in fear.

Ironwood's usual composure was completely gone. "A-an army...6 billion strong...we could never oppose such a force..."

The headmaster of Beacon gripped his mug tightly, fear flickering in his eyes. "These beings must never find their way to our world..."

"But what will he do with all these Toclafane?!" Ruby cried out in worry as the Toclafane onscreen made their way down to land.

Jaune grimaced, glancing at Beowulf. "Make an example." Everyone looked to the blonde knight, their expressions made from a mix of confusion and concern.

Beowulf nodded grimly. "If dictators want power by force, they make an example to keep people from stepping out of line," He gestured to the screen. "And the Master is about to make one of the largest ones I have seen in any Reality..."

The Master grinned, "Down you go kids!"

Heeding his command, the Toclafane descended with haste. People ran out of their homes and places of work or leisure, looking up at the skies in confusion that gave way to terror.

The spheres began to open fire on the innocent civilians, sprouting spikes and going on killing sprees. Screams of terror could be heard en masse, a heartrendingly horrifying noise.

Blake was on the verge of tears. This version of Jaune was too much. It was almost like...him. "Adam...could you do something like this?"

Everyone sat transfixed on the horror that was taking place before them.

Back on the Valiant, the Master turned to Pyrrha. "Shall we decimate them?"

Pyrrha seemed almost uncertain, remaining silent.

The Master paid this no heed, nodding to himself and smirking. "That sounds good. Nice word, 'decimate'." He turned back to the view in front of him, his voice now amplified greatly as he spoke to the Toclafane.

"Remove one-tenth of the population!"

Everyone's blood turned to ice in their veins. "WHAT?!"

"ONE-TENTH?!" Weiss screeched out, her eyes wide in horror.

Jaune was thoroughly horrified and disgusted with his counterpart. He gritted his teeth in fury as he glared at the screen, shouting. "One-tenth just to make a fucking example?!"

Blake sobbed into her parents' arms. This was just too much.

Ozpin and Glynda gaped at the display of inhumane cruelty, the former's grip on his mug now starting to form cracks in the ceramic.

Qrow sat numbly in his seat, his flask completely forgotten as his red eyes were fixed on the screen.

Ironwood's gaze snapped over to Beowulf, who was slumped in his throne, his eyes dimmed as he appeared to look far older than his visage suggested, weary and saddened. "How many people?"

Beowulf raised an eyebrow, silently asking him to clarify. The general growled a little, his nostrils flaring in anger. "What is the population of Remnant in this universe? How many people?!"

The host slumped back even more. "7 billion." He spoke quietly, almost a whisper, but it carried through the room just enough.

Everyone flinched as if they'd been struck, the full force of the Master's command finally coming through. Blake sobbed even more while Yang held Ruby closer. The horror turned to almost blinding rage as simple math revealed the horror in its entirety.

700 million. 700 million would die by the hand of the Toclafane, and by extension, the Master.

"What a disgusting monster," Weiss spat hatefully, her lip curling in angry contempt.

Beowulf just sat in his throne, looking down at the palm of his hand. "What would you all say if you saw the amount of blood on my hands...? This monster..." He clenched his hand into a fist, turning away with a stony expression.

"Enough of that. It wasn't your fault." He told himself.

The other part of his mind, apparently playing as the devil on his shoulder, seemed to sneer. "Keep telling yourself that..."(3)

Reports from across the planet started coming into the Valiant.

"Valiant, this is Argus! We're being slaughtered down here! Valiant, report! Help us! For Oum's sake, help us! They're everywhere!"

A single tear rolled down Ruby's face as she turned to the aged Doctor, his face set and grim. The old man nodded. She stood slowly, her hand sliding from her friend's.

More and more reports came in, many of them muddled together as the world screamed out for help.

"This is Vale, Valiant. This is Vale calling, what do we do? They're killing us!" Ruby slowly backed away from the Doctor, Sun's vortex manipulator in her shaking hands.

She gave a sorrowful glance toward her family, all of them watching in worry. The report from Vale continued. "The Toclafane are all around! They're killing us!"

"What is Ruby doing?" Summer asked, a quiver in her voice betraying the worry she had for the daughter onscreen.

Qrow's eyes widened. "She's leaving..."

Ruby closed her eyes and activated the teleport feature. Sun and the Doctor watched as she vanished, before turning to each other. A sense of understanding went between them before the Doctor turned to his nemesis, visible anger showing as he beheld his victorious foe.

"Why am I leaving? I could have stopped him right there!" Ruby cried out in anger at her counterpart.

"No you couldn't have," Beowulf said sadly.

"Yes I could! I could have ran up there and-"

"And done what? Gotten shot down by his bodyguards? Or maybe by his screwdriver? Or maybe he'd be so cruel as to age you to the point of death?" Ruby paled at Beowulf's words. Yang glared at the host as Summer and Taiyang comforted the little reaper.

Beowulf, however, showed no satisfaction in having won the little argument. His eyes, once bright with joy and laughter, were dimmed. "No, in this case, retreat was the only safe option."

The adults nodded in agreement, though none were pleased or happy with it. "Fight and die or run and live huh?" asked Jaune with a humorless grin.

Reappearing on a hilltop, Ruby got to her feet, her eyes wide in horror as she beheld a truly frightening sight.

Swarms of Toclafane blacked out the sky as screams of terror were heard everywhere. And before her was the once-proud city of Vale, now burning as the Toclafane swarms fired laser blast after laser blast down at the running civilians.

Her silver orbs slowly hardened in cold rage and determination as she watched Vale burn. Glancing up at the sky, she hissed out an unheard message for everyone she cared for onboard the Valiant. "I'm coming back!"

She turned away, running into the woods away from Vale.

Everyone watched silently as the atmosphere turned to one of despair. The Master had won. What could the Doctor and his friends do now to beat him?

Beowulf sighed quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I should show them a happier one next for sure..."

Meanwhile on the Valiant, the Master and Pyrrha had lifted the Doctor up and now stood on either side of him, holding him up. The Master smirked as he made his nemesis watch all the destruction that had been wrought upon Remnant.

"And so it came to pass, that the human race, fell. And Remnant, was no more. And I looked down upon my new dominion, as Master of All...and I thought it...good."

The screen went white before dimming as the orb manifested from the screen, floating back to its place in one of the pillars.

Jaune fell back into the couch, drained. "I really hope they're not all like that..."

Everyone sat, nodding in agreement as they too were quite drained from the experience. Blake's eyes were bloodshot, as were Nora's. Nora in particular seemed to be clinging to Ren, who was comforting her.

Beowulf looked at his guests and winced slightly. "I was hoping to make them comfortable. Not a good start. Though they did ask for it."

He spoke quietly towards Yang and Weiss. "I hope that gave you enough of a glimpse into how evil Jaune could be in other universes."

Yang shivered a little, holding her sister closer and thankful that she was sitting down. If she were standing, everyone would find that her legs were shaking in fear.

Weiss stared blankly at the screen, still trying to comprehend the vastness of what she had just seen.

The host sighed a little before turning to the group as a whole. Ozpin stood up slowly, his voice laden with weariness. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we could all use a happier universe to view next."

Beowulf gave him a weak smile. "Agreed." He got down from his throne, slowly approaching a certain Valkyrie who had a grip on her friend.

Nora was terrified. That much was very obvious. Ren was still trying to calm her down, whispering things into her ear like "That wasn't me Nora" or "It's okay Nora, I'm here." She just tightened her grip, refusing to let go.

Jaune tried to reach over to console her, only for her to hiss at him angrily. She knew that the Master and Jaune weren't the same being, but in her current emotional turmoil, she didn't care.

She felt someone kneel down next to her and she turned to glare at whoever it was. That glare faltered when she realized it was Beowulf next to her. His mismatched orbs shone softly and warmly as he smiled gently. Holding out a gauntleted hand, his smile turned playful as a spark began to form above his palm.

Slowly, a small gem formed above the being's palm, colored green and pink with sparks of said colors flickering within. She gasped a little in awe as everyone else looked over to see what was happening. Even Ren's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

On the gem's surface were Ren and Nora's emblems with a twist. The Lotus emblem was on top of Nora's Hammer emblem. She looked up at Beowulf in surprise, as did Ren.

The mysterious being smiled, gently grasping the friends' hands in his own, before allowing the gem to float over to rest above their palms. The two friends looked down at the gem before looking back at Beowulf in amazement and confusion.

He simply smiled, making eye contact with the two. "I believe you two have something to say to each other?" Beowulf's voice resonated a little within their heads, making them flinch for a second.

Ren and Nora looked at each other before turning to Beowulf. Nora nodded quietly.

Waving a hand off to the side, one of the double doors on the walls creaked open a little. The man tilted his head towards the doors with a smile, as Nora got up and gently pulled Ren through the doors.

As the group's gaze followed them through the doors, Ren's parents turned to Beowulf curiously. "What happened?"

Beowulf's eyes twinkled with light. "Something that was a long time in coming." He smirked knowingly at Pyrrha. "Just like you and a certain knight."

The Invincible Girl blushed fiercely, before gasping in awe. "Wait how did you..in my head?"

"Telepathy. Comes in handy." Beowulf grinned at the group's dumbfounded expressions, before moving in front of the group and manifesting a table, which formed a hologram above with with chairs around the table. The holographic words read, Civilization V. (4)

"So while we're waiting on them, anyone up for a game?" RWBY and Jaune raised their hands, along with Winter. Ironwood looked at his subordinate in surprise, as did Qrow. The Ice Queen wanted in on this game too?

Beowulf chuckled, his mismatched eyes twinkling. "This should get their minds off of it a little. Let's have some fun with this."


Meanwhile, Ren and Nora looked around their surroundings in amazement. Ren in particular was awestruck.

The door Beowulf had ushered them through had led to a massive garden. In fact, it could barely be called a garden. They had stood on a little cobblestone path that led to a clearing up ahead. Rich green foliage blocked any other view. Seeing nothing else to do, they had followed the path into the clearing. And stood dumbfounded in wonder.

Thousands of plants could be seen, sitting behind a stone wall encircling the clearing. Many of the plants crept on top of the wall, as if eager to be seen by whoever had come into the garden. Stone benches sat in circles around the center, which was occupied by a massive garden fountain, fashioned from gold. Wondrous trees with leaves of gold, silver, and bronze stood tall and firm further off around the clearing, as well as around the cobblestone path that continued further.

Above them was a clear view of the heavens above. Millions of twinkling stars, a multitude of colors shown above them, all spiraling in a beautiful nebula.

Nora 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the beautiful fountain, and the stars above, while Ren looked closer at the plants, amazed by the variety.

One seemed to look like a rose, only with shimmering colors as if it were reflecting the skies above. Another seemed to be a mix between a rose and a sunflower. Another appeared to be crafted from moonlight and lace. And so many others that captivated the young man.

Feeling a tapping on his shoulder, he turned to Nora. The hyperactive hammer maiden blushed slightly, still looking down at the gem gifted to her by Beowulf. "Renny, can we talk?"

Ren paled inwardly. Ah yes, the infamous "can we talk" line. He nodded, his stoic expression still in place.

Nora exhaled shakily, as if steeling herself. "That's strange..." thought Ren. Nora was never nervous. She was the most happy-go-lucky person he'd ever met, one of the many reasons he lo- liked her.

"We'll always be friends right Ren-Ren?" Masking his surprise at such an out-of-the-blue question, Ren nodded.

"Of course we will. Nora, we've been friends since we were children."

"I know! We've been together for so long. But not together-together, because that'd be weird right? I mean together as in friends 'cause we're best friends and you make me pancakes with syrup and everything and you've been there for me for so long and-" At this point, Nora was talking too fast to understand as she gestured wildly, even for the young teenager to process.

He grabbed Nora's shoulders gently, pinning her in place. "Nora, slow down. Breathe."

Nodding and catching her breath, Ren asked quietly. "Now, what are you trying to say?"

She looked up at him shyly, a rosy tint coloring her cheeks. "W-we've been friends for a long time Renny. And you've been so kind to me even though I can be such a handful, like making pancakes with syrup for me, being my bestie, and..." Her expression faltered. "...Kuroyuri...you saved me Ren."

The hammer-maiden leaned closer, her eyes dim and distant. "And just seeing you there...just screaming in pain and I couldn't..." She stopped, holding herself as if chilled. "I couldn't do anything but watch..."

Ren watched in concern as his childhood friend seemed to be splitting apart at the seams. She squeezed her eyelids shut, small tears spilling out. "I kept thinking what would happen if something like that happened? If things changed...and this war that Wulfie says is coming, what if you..." She couldn't finish the sentence, a choking sob cutting her off.

A pair of arms pulled her into a hug, warm and tender. She looked up to see a surprising emotion on her best friend's face: tenderness. "Listen to me Nora. Nothing is going to happen like that. Okay? We'll be fine. We'll always be together."

"But not together-together." She said quietly to herself.

Ren's expression shifted through multiple expressions, doubt, uncertainty, and finally determination. "No...not together-together. But why not?"

The Valkyrie froze in Ren's arms, looking up at him in shock. "W-what? 'Cause i-it would be weird!"

"Weird is good sometimes isn't it? Besides, why would it be so weird?" Ren's tone was strangely driven and insistent.

"B-because we've-"

"Because we've been friends our whole lives?" Her eyes widened further, her mouth moving with no words leaving it.

Ren kept going, looking into those turquoise eyes with his own pale pink ones. "That could make things perfect Nora..." he said, cupping her cheek gently. She leaned into his hand, savoring his warm touch.

"We've known each other for so long Nora, and I know I couldn't imagine a life without you. You make me happy just by being yourself. So happy and caring..."

The blush on Nora's face was growing exponentially; she was almost as red as Ruby's cloak. "I...bu...you..." she stammered out.

Ren leaned closer, and she leaned back slightly, panic and joy warring on her face as he spoke. "Nora..."

"Yes Ren...?"

He smiled and tapped her on the nose.

"Boop."

Nora stiffened, staring blankly at Ren for what seemed like an eternity.

"...Nora?"

"EEEEEE-!"


A smile split Beowulf's face as he watched the board from his side, everyone else frowning deeply at him.

Yang growled in annoyance. "What are you smiling about Wulf?!"

His only response was a smirk. "Looks like our two friends have come to an understanding. That, and we're waiting on you to confirm everything Yang."

The blonde brawler blushed and scowled before turning back to the board.


It had taken about half an hour for Nora to calm down, only for her to tackle Ren to the ground, kissing with as much energy and joy she could put in. And much to her happiness, he responded with equal affection and energy. After another half-hour, this one spent with just cuddling and enjoying the others presence, the two lovebirds finally made their way back through the garden through the doors...

...and were greeted with their host looking at Jaune, RWBY, and Winter with a smug smirk while the four members of RWBY raged...or rather as Yang and Weiss did. The others, mainly the parents of the group, were smiling at the children.

"You have to have cheated! There's no way you could beat ALL of us!" Yang roared as her hair glowed and her eyes were red. She was the best in playing World of Remnant, and this guy just showed her up in a similar game?! (5)

Weiss scowled, "How can you be so good at this game?! You wiped us off the board! COMPLETELY!"

Beowulf just smirked even more, his eyes twinkling. "When you've lived as long as I have, and fought as many wars as I have, you'll find that you learn a lot about strategy."

He stood up from his seat, the board vanishing in a puff of black smoke. Turning to face them all, he spoke further. "It's one of the many things I'll be teaching you all during your time and training here, along with some friends of mine."

"Especially you six. We need to talk." The godlike being's voice echoed within Pyrrha's head, making her flinch slightly. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Ozpin, Ironwood, Qrow, Glynda, and Winter had also flinched slightly. While Beowulf's voice had been stern with no room for argument, she had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't really meant towards her.

"Well how old are you then?" Ruby asked innocently, tilting her head like a child.

The man paused, rubbing his chin in thought. "Hmmm...think it was...11,119 years? I lose count sometimes..." He muttered to himself quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Ozpin's eyes bulged in shock, as did everyone else's.

"11,000 years?" Qrow asked, glancing at his flask. "I could really use a drink about now..."

"He's even older than me and Salem!" Ozpin's grip on his mug slackened a little.

Glynda stumbled a little at the revelation, her mind absently thinking. "Bartholomew would be chomping at the bit to talk to this man..."

Blake, having kept a slightly better composure than the other students, added her little tidbit. "Well...you certainly look good for someone over 9,000 years..." (6)

Her peers slowly turned to look at her. She blushed faintly. "What? He is!"

The man smirked cheekily. "Why thank you Blake. Though honestly, I'm the one of the younger Plasmatores. I'll explain later!" He added quickly at the sight of more confused faces. (7)

Jaune and Pyrrha, however, had caught something else. "Wars? You've fought in wars?"

Beowulf's smile faded slightly, his eyes darkening. "Yes..." and just like that, the grin was there once more. "But enough about me! How about we talk about a certain pair of lovebirds?"

He smirked towards Ren and Nora, who had been quiet throughout the exchange. Nora's face burned bright red while Ren gave a small smirk. He gently took her hand in his. Jaune and Pyrrha smiled at the two, as did the rest of the adults. Li and An Ren in particular had happy, contented smiles on their faces, happy for their son.

Yang whistled with a smirk of her own while Ruby rushed in for a hug and a rushed "Congratulations!" Weiss simply smiled at the pair, as did Blake.

As the two walked back to the couches, Beowulf gave them a warm smile, his hands in his pockets. "Now that we're all back, we can continue. First of all, I am very sorry you all had to see that dark universe."

Everyone stiffened slightly, with Nora grabbing Ren's hand and squeezing. "We will be getting back to that one later. Don't worry though! There's a happy ending!" He quickly reassured them all.

"...sort of happy." He muttered to himself, too quiet for anyone to hear, before straightening again. "But in order to make up for it, I'll let someone choose the next one to watch."

"Namely..." His gentle gaze settled on Nora, whose smile widened considerably into a wild grin. (8)

"Oooh! I get to pick the next one we see?" Beowulf nodded, before kneeling down in front of her, holding out a palm with three floating orbs hovering above it. One was colored silver, pulsing with flashes of pale blue, another was reddish-gold, with flashes of white, and the final one was purple with black flashes.

Their host grinned his fanged grin, his eyes twinkling with starlight. "Take your pick Ms. Valkyrie!"

Nora seemed to pause, her hand hovering over the three before pointing to the red orb. "This one!"

The grin widened. "Good choice..."

With a flick of his wrist, the orbs dispersed as if possessing minds of their own. The red orb moved towards the screen, hovering in front of it as it awaited further command. The other two orbs floated back towards the walls, fixating themselves back into position.

Beowulf melted into shadow before reforming next to his throne, throwing himself onto the chair such that his head was on one armrest and his legs dangled off the other armrest. Clicking his fingers, he conjured up some popcorn and soda for everyone to partake in.

Summer and Taiyang glanced down at the popcorn before looking back up at their host. "You didn't really give popcorn for the first viewing. Why this one?"

The man smirked playfully as he conjured up some popcorn for himself, laying the container on his lap and grabbing a handful. "Mm, 'cause iff fun to eaph phophcorn and waffh aphion mofies!" he said, his mouth filled with popcorn.

The Atlesians present (excluding Willow) wrinkled their noses slightly in disgust, while the others giggled, cracked a smile, looked confused, or a mix of the three. Ren smiled a little before translating. "He said, 'It's fun to eat popcorn and watch action movies.'"

Catching some funny looks directed at him, he glanced at Nora, who was already stuffing her face a little. "She talks a lot with her mouth open like that.."

Ruby and Yang grinned widely. "Oooh, is this going to be an action-y universe?" Ruby asked, brimming with excitement.

Beowulf, who had now swallowed the mouthful of popcorn, nodded. "Yep! At least a certain scene from the universe," he flashed a smirk at Nora. "Like I said, good choice!"

As the rest of the group took their seats, the self-proclaimed 'Plasmator' dimmed the lights. "Shall we begin?"

The students gave a loud, enthusiastic 'yes' while the adults nodded, with Zwei adding in his little bark of agreement. Beowulf turned to the screen as the orb floated into the screen, once more making it ripple before shining with white light.

"Hopefully Nora and Yang don't get too many ideas from this one..."


AN: Huh...this went on a lot longer than I intended initially. But anyway, there you all go! The first viewing of a world...that wasn't so happy, but we'll get back to it at a later date.

Once again, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Reviews and constructive criticism are writer food, so please feed me XD.


Footnotes:

(1) Considering that Vacuo is mainly desert and a lot of alien stories in the world involve said deserts, thought it would be a nice little tie-in.

(2) Oooh looks like our otherworldly host has a little something...different lurking underneath huh?

(3) A few more little hints towards Beowulf's past and backstory. Wars...what fun.

(4) Civilization V is an RTS video game, which I would highly recommend for anyone. Long, but very fun and rewarding. It's one of my all time favorite video games, and a blast to play against friends, or against AI. Just...don't go up against the AI for India...

(5) While I'm not entirely sure how the World of Remnant game works, it seems pretty similar to a strategy game, so I sort of equated the two.

(6) I am so sorry for this two-word reference. I will say however, that his age is of partial significance, but you'll see that later down the line.

(7) You'll be seeing more of this throughout the story, but to clarify, Plasmator is a latin word for "Creator, maker, former, or fashioner" This is what beings like Beowulf, and the "others" he mentioned in the previous chapter are called.

(8) Considering that Nora was the one most frightened by the viewing, I thought it would be only fair that she would pick the next universe.

Well, that's that. Thanks again for reading guys!

Toodles,

Beowulf.

Next time:

"Ah, this will do. It's just you...and me. Time to raise some hell!"

...

"I've waited a long time for this!"

"And you're going to get what you deserve!"