A/N: Funny story, my tablet died on me while I was writing this, screen stopped responding and whatnot. All my stuff was gone in a flash; my music, my pictures, my saved fics, everything. Fortunately there was an early draft of this chapter I sent to a friend for feedback a few days earlier, so I didn't restart from scratch. Only mostly.
Meh: Dude, make a profile. That way I can respond to you sooner, you can see me verbally flagellate myself, and I can learn how to fix this story.
Guest: Same thing. Now, you and I know Ozpin is this powerful. Daniel however doesn't have the fourth wall to tell him this, so he has to make do with the testimonies of four lost and probably frightened teenagers. Needless to say, even he has his limits.
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Hours later..
A flash of light, and once again four figures were deposited on the bridge. Outside the window, the world known as Remnant peacefully turned, the many inhabitants below never suspecting the Prometheus blissfully floating in the skies. It was a view which caught the lead man's attention, letting him experience the same sense of abject wonder he felt whenever he traveled on the interstellar express. It was a feeling he never became tired of, no matter how bad his job got. Regretfully O'Neill had to sigh, muffling a grumble while he resisted the urge to sightsee.
Shifting away, the leader of SG-1 saw something which stopped him in place, to utter a concise, "Huh."
When Teal'c, Carter, and Daniel turned as well, they discovered Pendergast standing a couple meters away with his hands behind his back, glaring at the team.
"SG-1." the man's voice was chilled. "Welcome back."
"Is something wrong sir?" Carter inquired carefully, standing at attention. O'Neill shoved his hands in his pockets, raising his brow.
"What happened?" Daniel decided to ask, briefly checking for anything amiss. He exchanged looks with Teal'c, noting a faint hint of puzzlement on the dark skinned man's face.
"Only a matter of grave importance. As you are aware of, I am the commander of this vessel. Anything that happens here which can put the ship in jeopardy is my concern." Pendergast explained tightly.
"Then what is the problem?" Teal'c rumbled neutrally, matching his pose with concealed curiosity.
"While you were on the ground, Stargate Command sent a message via the subspace transmitter. Apparently the medical staff at Cheyenne mountain confirmed two visitors from this planet were infected with a retrovirus pathogen." His eyes narrowed. "I can assume both Sergeant Arc and yourselves are now contaminated, which by extension now includes an unknown but likely vast number of the personnel aboard."
"Oh." O'Neill hummed, his tension breaking. "I thought you were mad about the jello. I didn't take the last of it this time." he added quickly, swiping a hand in front of himself.
"You're not in the least bit concerned about a viral outbreak?" Pendergast questioned coldly, a hostile stare leveled on his counterpart.
O'Neill was unperturbed when he flopped his head to Carter, giving a lackluster wave of his arm for her to take over. The blonde was up to the task, standing tall under his attention. "Sir, may I see the message?"
When he gestured to the requisite terminal, she marched at his speed. Daniel elected to join them, to offer any expertise either could need. Meanwhile O'Neill and Teal'c remained where they were, the former starting to inch away before the Jaffa settled his unflinching gaze upon him.
"We must still give our account of the mission." he reminded.
The human groaned. "Yeah, that's gonna be fun."
Carter skimmed the document, as Pendergast and Daniel waited with vastly different levels of patience. When she was finished, she turned around with a mildly pleased expression. "That was an interesting discovery. Unfortunately the finding doesn't add any new information, we'll need a larger sample pool to find out variances-"
"Carter." O'Neill reminded loudly from where he was, halting the woman mid speech.
"Translation please?" Pendergast questioned impatiently.
Mustering herself, Carter explained. "As far as we can tell sir, the population of this world was infected by a retrovirus centuries, possibly millennia ago. The original four subjects that Doctor." she stopped to clear her throat, something unidentifiable flashing over both her and Daniel. "That Doctor Fraiser examined several years ago all shared the same foreign DNA in their genome. I suspected back then this pathogen was unleashed on a wide scale, since the nearest relative any of those four shared was easily twelve generations ago, if not more."
"Whatever happened, it was so long ago none of them could remember a time before it. They were actually surprised when they found out we weren't like them." Daniel added, briefly rolling his shoulders as he stood akimbo.
Pendergast frowned. "Is it contagious?"
"Not in the least sir, all the evidence suggests the strain died out a long time ago. These genetic scars are the only thing left of the disease. The biology wing of Area 51 were able to create a copy based off their DNA, which included samples from Sergeant Arc. However, they were unable to determine whether it was viable or not." Carter explained, gesturing to the screen as she spoke.
"If you're wondering, Hammond and the Joint Chiefs never gave approval for human testing." Daniel remarked as an afterthought.
This failed to remove the officers frown. "Why would they want to?"
Both members of SG-1 stared at him for a moment. The bespectacled man sucked in a breath before sighing. "You... didn't read the report about this place, did you?"
"Doctor, I've spent the past month getting lectured by an Asgard engineer in what passed for baby talk, mispronounced his name at least twice, then was given orders to travel a couple thousand lightyears with a crew and F302 squadron whose respective competency I have yet to judge. No, I haven't had time to read the report. Did you?" Pendergast's voice had become droll as he stared down the unintimidated civilian.
"Yeah, I wrote half of it. I was hoping someone else skimmed it on the way here." Daniel responded, completely at ease.
O'Neill closed in on the small gathering with Teal'c behind him, feeling left out. He deflated when his cleared throat failed to surprise any of them. "You really should've. Saw that sword the kid had? It wasn't for show."
"People here have the ability to generate some kind of naturally occurring force field which can negate incoming damage, save for directed energy weapons. Neither I or the Area 51 scientists are sure of how it works." Carter pursed her lips in irritation. "But we're mostly certain these genetic markers are responsible."
"Makes 'em all Jedi." O'Neill opined with a smirk. Behind him Teal'c stared disapprovingly.
"Inaccurate analogies aside sir." Carter started, heedless of O'Neill turning glum. "The primary reason the retrovirus testing at Area 51 never went forward was the sheer level of physical and mental conditioning needed to use it effectively. As a rule, a BGEF user..." she trailed off when blank looks met her.
"Biologically Generated Energy Field." Teal'c recited helpfully, ignoring Daniel's muttering about the acronym department.
"Right, although here its known as Aura. Anyway sir, a BGEF user requires years of training to manipulate one with any degree of skill, let alone to be considered ready for active combat. Even if the treatment worked, projected training to even activate the field would take an absolute minimum of five years, assuming it worked in the first place. The timeframe and unknown variables made the Joint Chiefs veto human testing." Cater finished, holding her arms in front of her as she waited.
Pendergast was still, frowning while he processed the information he was given. "So, the contamination risk..."
"None. Except for the usual disease barrier, but it looks like they have a pretty good medical system down there." Daniel said on Carter's behalf, jabbing a thumb in the general direction of the planet.
"I see..." Pendergast nodded, thinking carefully. When he raised a brow at her again, the blonde composed herself.
"I helped with the initial research at Area 51 Colonel. The notes are in my cabin, I felt the data results could've useful in one way or another. If you're curious sir, I'm not the one who coined the BGEF term." Carter answered the unspoken question, flashing an unhappy frown for a second.
"That explains it." he said, before turning back O'Neill. "Regardless Colonel, you should've informed me of something like this first."
"It was in the report. C'mon, even I read it." O'Neill shrugged easily, his half mocking tone fading when he saw his team glancing at him suspiciously. "I did, seriously."
"What was on page five?" Daniel probed.
O'Neill smirked as he stabbed a finger at the doctor. "A hand drawn picture of the planet, since none of the kids had a real map on em. After that was a summary of the political climate there." he said triumphantly.
Daniel nodded blankly. "Page seven?"
"How about." Pendergast interrupted the quiz. "We move on so I have something to tell the brass other than 'never mind' about the outbreak. You were down there for almost four hours."
O'Neill sighed as he dug his hands into his pockets, putting on a fake grin. "How did it go." he paraphrased, glancing to the Jaffa. "Hey Teal'c, wanna tell him how it went?"
"Poorly." he duly answered. Consequently, both Carter and Daniel coughed.
A dip of Pendergast's head prompted Carter to go on, the woman's voice showing a level of strain that certainly wasn't there a minute ago. "Headmaster Ozpin was a polite host, but he drove a hard bargain. And, well, our intel was wrong."
"Yeah, turns out that here, 'significant influence.'" O'Neill waggled his fingers in the air before dropping them. "Translates to basically the most powerful man on the continent."
"When Major Carter outlined what we desired for trade, Headmaster Ozpin offered fifteen percent of this world's Dust production to be available for purchase. The amount he indicated was in the hundreds of tons. In addition, he made it clear much of Atlas Kingdom's military equipment was open for negotiation." Teal'c explained, his customary stoicism unable to entirely mask his amazement.
"No big honkin space guns, but they still got a lot of neat toys. You know they have droids down there? I always wanted my own R2D2." O'Neill tipped his head back, grinning at the possibilities.
Pendergast frowned in thought. "What'd he want in exchange?"
As he feared, only Teal'c didn't turn away.
"Well sir..." Carter glanced to an interesting terminal, the Major's discipline keeping something as maudlin as sheepishness from taking over her expression. "While Ozpin did offer a lot, he made it clear he would only make a case to his counterparts if what we exchanged was of equal value."
"Such as?" Pendergast asked, an ugly feeling working into his gut.
"He wanted weapons."
The venom in Daniel's tone was enough to leave everyone in earshot taken aback, from Pendergast to a few airmen on the bridge. He glanced to each of them, his bespectacled gaze narrowed to a fine point.
"It was the first thing Ozpin brought up when I asked him what we could offer back." he explained testily.
O'Neill leveled a flat look on him. "Alright, I didn't do this down there since I was trying to leave a good impression. But since we're here, think it over." he crossed his arms, unmoved despite the unhappy look landing on him.
Carter cleared her throat. "Hate to say it Daniel, but he's right. Ozpin did make a valid point; Remnant is not like most worlds we go to. I understand where you're coming from, but things are different here. To be honest, the way he described the Grimm reminded me of the Replicators."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." O'Neill told her, before switching back to Daniel. "Look, I get why you're upset. You think they're gonna turn right around and take over their neighbors." he said, rolling his shoulders.
"Or destroy themselves. You know they're gonna ask for nukes." Daniel challenged.
"Stargate Command has given weapons to the Free Jaffa on numerous occasions, even following the disbandment of the alliance between them, the Tok'ra, and the Tau'ri." Teal'c informed.
"I objected to that too." Daniel said sourly.
O'Neill sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Daniel, I can always count on you to be my conscience. But right now, you really need to stop and look at the situation they got here. Do I need to remind you of the time you forced the brass to give the Russians Naquadah tech?"
"That was different." Daniel half growled.
"Giving the key to super nukes to same guys who held a gun to our heads for forty years, versus not helping out new friends." he held up his hands for both topics, waving them to get his point across.
"Did Ozpin mention what kind of weapons they wanted? Related to that, did you tell him our small arms are next to useless against the Grimm creatures?" Pendergast questioned, eliciting a derisive snort from O'Neill. "And while I'm on the subject Colonel, why are you having such a hard time believing Arc on that matter?"
"No, no, and because he's a kid." O'Neill stated flatly. "He's young, dumb, wants to impress me, and by extension Hammond, so he can keep his job. That's why."
"That's your reasoning?" Pendergast questioned, not quite disbelievingly.
"Seen it before, some new guy wants to be the best and ends up screwing things up. If he's lucky, the kid will only get himself hurt." he shrugged off. "Besides, they're just animals, nothing a lot of lead won't take down."
"I recall you expressing similar disbelief regarding the Kull Warriors apparent invulnerability." Teal'c reminded, making O'Neill roll his eyes.
"I was wrong then, and you got me to say I'm sorry. If that's the case here, then I'll apologize to the kid. Until then, I'll believe it when I see it." he declared, turning expectantly back to the commander.
"And nobody cares about us being arms dealers." Daniel muttered under his breath.
"We are likely to blame for the request Daniel Jackson. Stressing the danger of the Goa'uld would convince Headmaster Ozpin he have superior weapons to which to defend ourselves." Teal'c turned to speak, thus far the only one to stay in the same pose.
"What he said, and I'll raise you this: what if you're wrong? Heck, what if it was all a test? That Ozzy guy seemed like the wily type, I wouldn't put it past him if he asked about weapons to get a feel for what kind of people we are." O'Neill planted a fist on his waist, grinning at his deduction skills.
"Sir, I'm mostly sure he was serious about the weapons, although I could be wrong." Carter told him before going back to Pendergast. "On a better note, Ozpin did express interest in our medical sciences and power generators. Naquadah reactors and nuclear technologies are off the table of course, but there's no shortage of alternatives."
"Giving the people of Remnant a gate address to an uninhabited world remains an option, though we did not mention this to Headmaster Ozpin." Teal'c added, watching the commander relax after the second part.
Pendergast nodded, allowing a faint smile to cross his features. "Alright, not a total loss."
"You're gonna be singing a different tune in a minute." O'Neill said, casting a look on Carter.
Pendergast's smile dropped in an instant. "What do you mean by that?" he questioned sternly, turning to the Major.
"Yes sir, that..." Carter answered evasively, taking a moment to inspect the ceiling. Though highly disciplined, maintaining her expression without a blush was taxing her abilities to the limit. "To help break the ice, I suggested... a tour of the Prometheus."
Pendergast stared at her wide eyed, for a moment unable to speak. When he pointed to the floor beneath them, Carter nodded sheepishly.
"Obviously the reactor, weapons systems, and engines are off limits. The only sensitive areas Ozpin will be getting a good look at will be the bridge and possibly the hanger bay. Regarding security, if necessary we can just beam him off the ship." she offered in a consolatory tone, which did nothing to help the Colonel's deteriorating expression.
"Hey, don't flip out." O'Neill stepped into his line of sight with an open hand towards the greying man. "C'mon, we've had alien reps on the ship before. Nothing blew up last time."
"If you are referring to Tangrea, the ship's hyperdrive exploded before the representatives came on board." Teal'c said neutrally, raising his brow at Pendergast's twitching eye.
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Beacon, late afternoon...
It was a nice day, warm and comforting as the bright sun coasted across the skies. There were a few clouds on the horizon however, and the weather forecast hinted at rain in the near future. But to those out and about for their various reasons, it wasn't a concern worth caring about. From a gaggle of chattery first years to three outsiders arriving in nearby Vale, most judged it acceptable for an autumn day.
Beacon was not exempt from the pleasant weather, the light permeating inside the bowels of the combat school through every opening. Such was the case of a smaller room, sunlight streaming through several windows upon a marked ten meter circle. In this particular room, five guests watched a rare occasion with excitement. While not everything in the scarred Academy was fully functional, all but a couple of the sparing arenas were intact, available to students and guests alike.
On one side of the circle stood Jaune, features flushed as he panted hard. He carefully stepped to the side, gripping Crocea Mors tightly with the sword and shield held at chest height. The young man was staring resolutely at his opponent, ready for whatever she had in store. Her smooth movements wore his patience thin, but he didn't make a move yet. Not until the impromptu judge gave the signal.
Matching his combat stance with her own, Eliane was the pinnacle of calm. The blonde huntress had removed her cloak, keeping her dark colored outfit from boots to gloves. Her head was all the skin she showed, her uneven hair tied into a functional ponytail. While her brother was short of breath, Eliane appeared barely stressed. He had a sword and shield, both lacking any colors but silver and black; she had an artfully crafted blue and silver claymore, held away from her to almost trail the hard floor. The only thing they shared was a look of intense concentration.
Immediately outside the circle, Ruby took a deep breath as she swished her hand through the open air. "Begin."
Jaune was fast, barreling down on the taller girl in an instant. With a grunt he brought the shield up to intercept a fast swipe of the sword, Eliane using the chance to weave around him. Jaune caught the next blow with his sword, the sharp edge swatting aside the blade as he twisted around. Each slash was returned by his own sword, a grunt leaving him after each impact.
Suddenly Eliane backed away, holding her weapon in a two handed grip as she tracked his every move. "Your Aura is impressive."
She punctuated her sentence with a mad dash, Jaune deflecting the stab with his shield. The loud screech of grinding metal wasn't enough to distract either of them, as he swung Crocea Mors around to smack her back. Her Aura absorbed the blow, but it still managing to stagger her for a second. He tried to follow up on the attack, only to be met by a resounding clash of her own sword. The vibration traveled from the blade into his arm, causing the blond to wince. More importantly, it let her back away once again.
"Reaction time, overall speed, excellent." Eliane commented through her rough breathing.
Jaune charged again, darting to the side in the last second. Eliane was ready though, ducking under the attempted bash of the shield to meet his wide swipe. The clash of blades was loud, Eliane gripping her sword with both hands as Jaune put as much of his power into the attack as possible. For a moment the siblings were stalemated, both swords shaking under the strain.
Features wrinkled from effort, Eliane looked deep into Jaune's strained grimace. "Physical strength... vastly improved."
Without warning she drove a knee into his torso, slamming into his plate. While far from enough to stop him, Jaune still felt the air being driven from his lungs. Eliane used the opportunity to swing the sword around, forcing his temporarily slackened arm to go where she wanted to. A rapid swipe was met by his shield, leaving his body wide open for her to deliver a powerful fist in the center of his armor.
Forced backwards, Jaune went on the defensive as she swiped the sword at him. He blocked and parried the light attacks, but the sheer speed of the blows were too great for him to properly counter. In his haste he didn't realize she had caught Crocea Mors on the wrong angle, letting her contemptuously brush it aside. His eyes were wide as she whipped herself around to deliver a rapid kick to his stomach.
The young man was taken off his feet entirely, boldly sailing out of the arena to hit the much harder tile outside. He managed to keep ahold of his weapons the first time he bounced, but the second was too much. The shield and sword clattered to the floor, firmly out of reach. Skidding for a second, Jaune slid across the floor approximately three meters before he finally stopped. Only then did he go limp, flopping to a rest.
Several meters away, the audience stared breathlessly from their spots. Nora was the first to find her voice, slowly bringing her hands together and resisting the urge to clap. "Woah."
"Wow, you got destroyed." Yang chuckled, wearing a wide smile while her hands were on her hips. "And here I thought today was boring."
"I've seen fighting styles like this before, but not in action." Weiss commented, similarly amazed. Both Ruby and Ren nodded in agreement, the latter showing some worry when a weak groan left the defeated fighter.
Eliane jerked her arm; with a brief clack of metal the sword was broken apart, transforming itself into a recurve bow. After reattaching the weapon to her back, she calmly left the arena to her brother, not giving the observers a second glance. Jaune was sitting up on his own when she reached him, breathing deeply. With his hands propping his torso up, the young man tilted his head back towards his victorious opponent.
"Your swordsmanship needs improvement. You're committing at the wrong times, and using too much force too often. If you were my enemy, I would have killed you by now." Eliane told him neutrally, likewise winded. Jaune groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. When he looked up again, he found a gloved hand in front of him. "You need a lot of work."
He stared at the hand for a second, evidently considering the offer. With a sigh Jaune grasped the proffered glove, Eliane tugging hard to pull him onto his feet. "Missed you too Ellie."
The young man was thrown off balance when she unexpectedly let go, although he steadied himself after a moment. A glance confirmed she abandoned him for Crocea Mors, slipping her boot under the blade before flicking it upwards. He took a breath when she snatched the grip in mid air, turning the sword around so she could examine it more closely, like she had been wanting to do since she first laid eyes on the heirloom.
When he cleared his throat, she glanced over to find his open hand outstretched. "Give."
Eliane showed considerable reluctance at handing over the weapon, offering him the handle first while her hands rested on the flat edge of the sword. Jaune took Crocea Mors back, aware of how her eyes were roaming over the black vein in the center of the blade. That done, he briefly walked over to snag his shield, collapsing it over the sword while he strode to the others. He had to look back to Eliane, making sure she was trotting after him.
Yang and Nora were the first he passed, both girls smirking with their arms crossed. Nora clapped him on the shoulder, grinning when he winced. "Cheer up, you weren't that bad."
"You just suck in comparison." Yang half joked, even as he sent her a dry look. She laughed as he passed, dropping her arms to her sides when the taller woman followed him. "You're good." she complimented, sticking out her left hand for a high five.
A flicker of a frown crossed Yang when Eliane jerked away, backing away a step with her blue gaze now latched onto the other blonde. "I am good at what I do, yes."
Left hanging, Yang lowered her hand with a cough. "So, where'd you learn to fight like that?" she asked, perking herself back up.
"Were you taught by an old monk in the woods? Tell me it was an old monk." Nora butted in, fists quivering as she jerked closer. Doubt crossed her as well when she purposely edged away, keeping the orange haired girl at arms length.
"I learned some things from my father, but most of what I know comes from here." Eliane responded, gesturing around the room.
Yang tilted her head, her brow rising. "You graduated from Beacon?" she asked quickly, earning a brief nod.
"I was resting in Vacuo when I heard news of the battle. Seeing the damage in person is... sobering." she paused to shake her head. "You're a student here, how long have you been attending?"
Meanwhile Jaune stopped by Ren, Ruby, and Weiss, the former two offering what they could for sympathy.
"Don't feel bad about losing. Your sister is an experienced Huntress, you would've struggled even if you were fully trained." the white haired girl offered soothingly, causing the blond to stop and tip his head back. A quiet sigh left him.
"I think you did okay. You got in a couple good hits anyway." Ruby told him with an easygoing shrug, smiling reassuringly.
Ren quickly cleared his throat while he leaned down to her head, cupping a hand in front of his mouth. "You know she was holding back." he said softly, making her wince.
"I know, but I'm not gonna tell him that." she replied in the same way, holding a hand in front of her like he was.
"No, you're right." Jaune groaned, jerking his head back down. "She's always been the better fighter. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think there's anybody in this room who can beat Ellie in a one-on-one match." he said, rolling his shoulders while idly adjusting the sword on his belt.
Weiss huffed, although she frowned at the same time. "I'm afraid you're probably right. My technique may be better than hers, but she has strength and experience on her side." she said, casting a sidelong glance towards Yang and Nora. The two of them were still chatting away with the Huntress, a few seconds of observation revealing they were getting nowhere.
"We're rusty, that's a good enough excuse for why you lost." Ren offered, crossing his muscular arms.
Jaune sighed again, but he did give the three of them a small smile. "Its fine. I knew I was gonna lose the moment she suggested sparring."
"Why'd she wanna fight you in the first place? If I hadn't seen Yang in a few years, I'm not gonna want to beat her up right away." Ruby frowned, glancing around for support.
"My sister and I aren't on the best of terms, but Winter wouldn't suggest a duel within the first couple hours." Weiss opined as she crossed her arms, catching Ren nodding in agreement.
"Ellie is just that kind of person. To be honest I was hoping we'd talk over dinner or something, but I should've known better. Speaking of." he suddenly frowned, bringing up his wrist for the watch. "Pyrrha and Blake have been gone for a while now."
The lone door to the room opened just as he finished, causing seven pairs of eyes to abandon what they were doing to check on the movement. Swinging open, Blake was the first through the entrance. The two shopping bags she carried jostled as she walked, the faunus scanning over the room as she gave way. Pyrrha followed her in, carrying one shopping bag while she had the dark haired girl's book bag slung over her shoulder. Before going to the others she paused to shut the door behind her, a clack making sure it was firmly latched.
Meeting up with the group, Blake dug into the first bag to withdraw a bag of snacks, handing over the first to Weiss.
"Sorry for being late, someone lit a fire in the Academy shop." she apologized, taking a second to frown at Jaune's roughed up form.
"That explains why you were gone for a while." Weiss commented, accepting a small carton of vegetables. She gave Ruby a disapproving look when the red toned girl eagerly took a box of cookies, which made her send an apologetic nod to Weiss before tearing into her weakness.
"I'm convinced it was either the Kettu twins or Masculum. I just hope its not the start of a prank war." Blake shuddered, Weiss and Ruby nodding empathetically while the three women returned to the others.
"Lets hope not. Thanks by the way." Yang said, catching her treat when Blake tossed it. Nora snatched hers out of midair as well, giving her a thumbs up rather than speaking.
Pyrrha handed a can of soda to Ren before moving on, flashing a sympathetic look at Jaune while he listlessly took a juice box. She moved on, shortly coming up to Eliane while the Huntress tracked her. Digging into her bag for a moment, Pyrrha retrieved her prize.
"Here." she offered the small carton of ice cream and a plastic spoon, aware of Yang and Weiss leaning around to see what she had.
Eliane raised a brow. "Thank you." she said, taking the carton from her loose grasp.
As Pyrrha gave the woman a welcoming smile, Yang saw what was on the label, immediately wrinkling her nose. "Mint? Really?"
"I was gonna ask you why you bought that back at the shop." Blake commented, pulling out a soda once everyone else was tended to.
"Mint ice cream isn't my first choice." Weiss said, working her shoulder to loosen up. "I'm sure it wasn't something you liked before."
"I didn't, and still don't. But I... I figured she'd like it." Pyrrha tilted her head towards Eliane, who nodded in acknowledgment before she dug in.
"Good call though." Jaune complimented with a small smile, getting a sheepish shrug from her. The book bag resting on her shield rustled, jostling whatever objects were inside.
Conversation halted as the gathered friends ate, regardless of the time. Only Weiss showed concern about the hour, but she knew her friends were not in the mind to care about the scheduled dinner period. Blake's shopping bag was shortly re-purposed into a garbage, starting with Jaune's empty carton. Once he was done however the blond drew his scroll, checking up on the freshly updated system. He was milling around, trying hard to avoid looking too obvious about his internal nervousness.
Eliane was the last to finish up, the young woman handing over her garbage before going to her brother's side. The assembled seven adjusted footing, worked arms, and made uncountable small movements to loosen up. Whatever kept the awkwardness at bay.
Finally Jaune turned to face the taller blonde, while she bored holes into him. "Here we go, just like I promised." he sighed, idly rubbing a shoulder. "So, where do you want me to start?"
"Where have you been for the past three years?" Eliane questioned expectantly, crossing her arms while she waited.
"Where indeed." he murmured as he briefly tilted his head back, squeezing his eyes shut. When he lowered to face her again, he brought his hands together to rub. "Okay, how do I put this..." he inhaled deeply, deciding on his approach.
"I, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora." he gestured to his team in turn, the orange haired girl giving a small wave when Eliane looked. "Have been on an alien world for the past three years, thanks to an extraterrestrial transportation device called a Stargate, which shunts someone from one planet to another instantly. Up until a couple days ago, none of us knew where Remnant was. That was until Ruby and her team." he pointed to the girls, although she didn't follow his finger this time. "Located the machine by accident. They found me, I got everybody else to the same spot, and we all came back together."
There was silence in the room. It was so quiet, the sounds of rustling clothing as the girls and boy moved to keep blood flowing were nearly distracting. A quiet set of taps came from Weiss picking up her feet to stretch her leg, followed by Nora quietly rubbing her shoulders. Ren and Yang were the only observers not visibly fighting back a grimace, the latter wincing instead.
Eliane was frozen in place, her breathing being the only movement she made for a solid minute. When she looked away again, Jaune fought back a cringe. At last she took a small breath, letting out a quiet, "Well..."
"Not how I'd put it, but that's what happened. Hang on." Blake interrupted, stepping forward and yanking out her scroll. Ignoring the looks from the others, she turned the open screen to the blonde, letting her take the device. "I took these when we first stepped through."
Jaune edged to the side so he could see too, noting how Eliane's irises were faintly glowing. On the scroll, he saw her swiping through several images which seemed unremarkable at first glance. Small details gave away where the pictures were taken; the sky wasn't quite right, the topography wasn't an exact match, the forests were different, and so on. She paused over the image of a black circular statue with Yang standing beside it for scale, as well as a tall obelisk with strange markings in the next one.
The image after that cased Eliane to pause. What she stopped on was the Stargate, this time with a surface of glowing water in the center. When he grunted, the woman flinched from the unexpected sound.
"That's an active Gate." he explained, pointing a finger on the screen.
"Cimmeria is the name of the planet we went to. The people there were a little weird, but they were nice." Ruby supplied with a weak shrug.
Eliane nodded blankly, holding the scroll out so Blake could take it back. Letting her arm fall, the woman turned to the rest of his team this time. "You were there this whole time?"
At that all three clammed up, Nora and Pyrrha glancing away while Ren briefly inspected his shoes. Jaune sucked in a breath, grinding his teeth together. "No."
When she turned back to him, Weiss crossed her arms behind her back before speaking up. "We found Jaune on Cimmeria, but he was with a group of people from a place called Earth. They were soldiers."
The moment the last word left her mouth, Jaune winced. Eliane sent her a puzzled frown before turning back to him, showing confusion. "Soldiers? What were you doing with soldiers?"
He needed a moment to get himself together, schooling his features into as neutral of a state as possible. When he reached a hand out to her, Eliane visibly bristled at the proximity. But after a second of thought, she gave a small nod for him to rest the hand on her shoulder, forcing down a flinch at the contact.
"Okay, I know how you're gonna react. All I'm asking for is for you to hear me out for a minute, please?" Jaune asked her softly, gently squeezing.
The young woman looked uncomfortable, glancing unhappily at his arm for a second. "Alright, I'm listening."
"Okay." he took a deep breath. "The place Weiss mentioned, Earth? I signed up with their military."
To the seven onlookers, the brief look of surprise Eliane sported was entirely expected. What none of them were prepared for was the followup: her eyes narrowed dangerously, rapidly adopting a look of hostility.
"You became a soldier." Eliane said simply, her voice as cold as ice.
A weak huff left him as he slowly shook his head. "Yeah, I knew you were going to do this."
"Why did you do this to yourself?" she questioned darkly, giving his arm a suspicious look.
With a sigh he drew the limb back, choosing to grab his elbows again. "This is why I said hear me out."
Eliane didn't relent on her cold look. "I'm disappointed in you." she told him, eliciting a flinch. "You were raised better than this Jaune. You know how empty the soldiers path is, meaningless titles and hollow gains don't justify sacrificing your honor and the honor of our family. Why did you do it?"
"It's not that simple Ellie." he pressed on, wrinkling his expression.
"Excuse me, did I miss something here?"
Although both Arcs glanced over, their expressions couldn't have been more different; Jaune wore an unhappy grimace tinged by unease, while Eliane was silently indignant.
Yang cared nothing for their looks, frowning while she had a fist on her waist. "Why are you chewing him out? This is the first time you've seem him in like three years-"
"Four years." she corrected, getting Yang to huff.
"Whatever. What's your problem?" she snapped, joined by quick nods from Ruby, Nora, and Weiss.
"You weren't disturbed by this?" Eliane questioned with a wave towards the quietly sighing Jaune.
Yang was caught off guard, but some quick thinking was enough to get her back on track. "Well, at first yeah, but once he explained what the big deal was, it was okay. Right? It was fine for you guys." she turned to ask.
"Yeah, yeah." Ruby agreed quickly, bobbing her head in tune with Weiss. Nora flashed her a thumbs up, although Pyrrha and Ren weren't doing the same. Both had their arms crossed, but only the redhead openly showed her unease.
"Not gonna mention how you're biased?" Jaune stated, getting a scolding look from her and several curious glances from the others. He quickly coughed into a fist. "Ellie got caught in an Atlesian search and destroy mission a few years ago, she never let it go."
"That's why you're being mean?" Nora asked in surprise, wrinkling her features incredulously.
"My distaste for soldiers began long before that incident. It only reinforced my position." she replied guardedly, features narrowed as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"That's not right." Ruby protested, unable to help herself from flinching a little when the blonde's hard gaze fell on her. "The Earthers aren't like that. They don't bomb places without telling people to get out of the way." she pointed out. When all of JNPR suddenly coughed loudly, she had to stop so she could send the now quietly nervous four a questioning look.
Eliane's countenance remained unconvinced. Turning her head, she affixed her gaze on Jaune once more. "What was it then, what was so important that you cast your principles aside? Were you forced?" she guessed, a hint of a worried frown coming over her.
Rubbing his elbows, Jaune huffed. "I volunteered, they didn't force me."
"Then why?" she questioned him. She then turned to Pyrrha and Ren, frowning at them as well. "Did any of you try talking him out of it?"
The redhead briefly inhaled, rubbing her elbows. "It was my idea for us to join up with them."
"All... all four of you." Eliane spoke, earning a quick nod. She stared at Pyrrha for a long moment, her rarely blinking gaze unsettling to look at. When she looked away, the blonde frowning at something.
"I'm angry, but I'm lost too." Nora stated, her brow raised prominently. "What are you mad at anyway?"
Eliane raised her head to the girl. "I have nothing more to say to you." she said simply, turning to the door to stride away.
Jaune sucked in a pained breath, muttering, "Ellie..." as he jogged after her. She flung the door open to stride out, heedless of the young man grabbing her shoulder.
When the door clicked shut, there was silence in the room once again.
"Okay, what just happened?" Yang asked with a flop of her arms, utterly dumbfounded. "Seriously, she was cool for a minute, then she flipped out. Over what?"
"I'm genuinely lost too." Ren agreed, frowning.
"Same. I thought she was going to be weirded out for a minute, but then she would congratulate you guys once she heard the story." Ruby said, now glum. Internally the red toned girl was reviewing the conversation, but she couldn't point towards anything which could've set her off.
"Anyone else think their last chat back home wasn't exactly friendly?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms.
Blake sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "I was rehearsing a summary for what we saw on Earth this whole time. Even grabbed some stuff from the guest dorm to show her. Talk about wasted effort."
"Stuff?" Ruby asked, which she answered with a nod towards Pyrrha.
The cue made the redhead duly unslung the bag, holding it one handed while she opened the flap. Pyrrha didn't fully withdraw the contents, only picking up an item to show them.
"Blake let me use her book bag, since walking around with this." she explained, holding the recognizable stock of a P90 in her grip. "Wasn't a good idea. Its yours by the way, hope you don't mind." she apologized to Ren, who waved her off while she stuffed it back in.
Ruby took a breath, pushing aside her interest in the Earther gun. "I'm gonna go after them, anyone want to join me?" she asked the two teams.
She didn't know why Eliane reacted like she did, but she knew standing around wasn't going to get her any answers. Going for the door, Ruby resolved to get an apology from the blonde, whatever it took.
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A/N: the first draft of this was far better, believe me.