"More Jaune-Jaunes!" Nora squealed with euphoric glee, ad she dashed forward and glomped on to Rouge, Bleue and by the fact she was stuck in the middle, Weiss. Pyrrha, who was still processing the fact that Mrs Arc, the woman who, if Pyrrha, had anything to say about, was to be her future mother-in-law, loor totallu non-responsive; turned at the sound, and shivered. Weiss reaching out with a single hand through the crush of bodies reminded her of one of those scenes from those terribly cheesy zombie movies Jaune sometimes watched. You know the scenes where that one character gets swarmed and as they are being eaten alive they have their one hand stretched out reaching for help.
"Rennie! Come see! They're so cute!" Nora called out over her shoulder, as she literally picked up all three girls and started to make her way back towards JNPR's open dorm room."Can I keep one of them? I've always wanted my own Jaune-Jaune, please? I will name her George, I will hug her and pet her and squeeze her, and pat her, and pet her, and rub her, and caress her!"
"No." Ren replied, as he stood in the door, with a look of utter, defiance. The Stoic member of team JNPR had reached a breaking point, and before Nora's out burst was going to have a meditation session, and consult with his ancestor about a possible alternate career path. So he was past dealing with the universe's current insanity in regard to Jaune.
The door was slammed shut, seconds latter. Blocking Nora out. Pyrrha could swear she heard the sound of heavy furniture being shoved up against the door.
"Rennie?" Nora asked in a confused voice as she released her hold upon the other girls, who had yet to let slowly growing weak Weiss from their clutches.
"Pyrrha was it?" the Glenda Goodwitch copy, the one Pyrrha assumed was Jaune's aunt, placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. "Would you be a dear and help me take my sister to the infirmary?"
"Of course, mam." Pyrrha replied, as the very tone of the woman's voice made it clear that it wasn't a request. "Nora, help?"
"Okay, Pyr-Pyr." her bubble teammate responded as she turned from the more than likely barricaded door with a look of disappointment etched on her face. "What do you need help with?"
"Jaune's mom fainted." Pyrrha pointed to the Goodwitch clone that was sitting listlessly against the wall, while Jaune was patting her cheeks with obvious extreme concern. "Help me get her to the infirmary?"
"Okie-dokie." Nora replied.
/=/
Now while Pyrrha and Nora, hefted Momma Arc between them, with Jaune hovering, like a mother hen, followed by Jaune's Aunt, with Jaune's twin sisters who had still not let go of the finally exhausted Weiss; Cardin was alone in the deepest darkest corner of the cafeteria he could find. Still in his night clothes, as he was ashamed and a little scared to return to his dorm. So he sat slumped over a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's, absently stirring it as the milk turned it into mush.
"I'm a freak." Cardin sniffled, as he slouched even further. His free hand reached up to make sure the pink camouflage bucket hat that Anabel had loaned him was still situated on his head, hiding his shame. It was uncomfortable, and hurt, forcing his ears into an unnatural position.
"Cardin? Are you okay?" came a soft voice, filled with concern, and tinted with caution.
"No. I'm a freak." Cardin responded in a whisper that sounded much too loud, without looking up. "I'd like to be alone, please leave me be."
"I don't think I can." the soft voice rebutted. "You look really upset, and even in pain, and as a peer counsellor it is my duty to give students in need an outlet to open up in a judgment free environment."
"I don't…"
"Can I sit?" she cut off the ginger bully.
"Whatever." Cardin mumbled and looked up to see someone he would never have fathomed to guess would be showing concern for him, of all people. Velvet Scarlatina, the rabbit faunus that had been the target of his bullying behaviour many times. "Huh? Why? How can you?"
"You look like the world is against you, and you need to get something off your chest." Velvet answered in an uncharacteristically soft and confident tone.
"By why even bother?" Cardin mumbled, returning to look at the mushy, unappetizing slop his cereal had become. "I was…"
"No, Cardin, you are an asshole." Velvet replied a little too fast, cutting him off.
"Okay, I deserved that." Cardin responded, his will to fight, lash out and show everyone how strong he was; having evaporated while he was hopped up on sedatives.
"So, what has you looking so down and broken?"
"I really don't feel comfortable talking about it."
"Cardin, I know we've had out… issues, but I am as serious as a heart attack. I am a peer counsellor, and my reaching out to you has nothing to do with what has happened between us." Velvet gave Cardin a small smile. "I'm here, right now, to help ease your burdens. And depending on what is bothering you, I will be able to suggest methods to assist you in dealing with the issue."
"I…"
"I am putting my personal feeling aside, and reaching out. So trust me. Anything you say, regardless how backward and offensive it could be, will ever be shared." Velvet tilted her head slightly, her soft brown eyes showing concern, and that bothered Cardin. Why would someone like her have any reason to want to help him. "You are not the first student to have issues that are overwhelming them, not will you be the last. It is not a sign of weakness to share with a willing ear."
"I'm a freak."
"Why would you say that? Aside from your interesting wardrobe choices, that is."
"I freaked out yesterday… and haven't gone back to my dorm. I'm hesitant to." Cardin pushed the bowl before him off to the side. "I… I… spent the night in the infirmary. I thought I was infected, and the doctor's ran some tests."
"Infected? Why do you feel you were infected?"
"Because…" Cardin swallowed, and shot the rest of the cafeteria panicked glances. "Something happened to me, but the Doctor said I wasn't, and can't explain it."
"I can see you are extremely uncomfortable, would you prefer to go somewhere more secluded? I have access to a small office. It's a safe place. No judgments."
"It's up to you, Cardin. We can continue here, or where ever you will feel more comfortable opening up."
"I…"
"Take your time. I can sit here as long as you are comfortable with me being here." Velvet offered, while in her mind she tried to come up with a logical explanation for Cardin's elusive behaviour and answers. Maybe it was his sexuality he was trying to come to terms with?
"I should go." Cardin finally blurted out, embarrassment finally making him act. He couldn't talk to Velvet about this. She was a faunus he mistreated time and time again. She was just looking for something to use to embarrass him. So he stood up, a little too fast while reaching for his breakfast tray.
"Okay." Velvet responded to the reveal caused by the pink camo bucket hat that toppled off his head as he had leaned over. "This is something…"
Cardin was frozen, in embarrassment, fear and shame. Tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes.
"Those are adorable." velvet whispered, and when she noticed the ginger donkey ears perk up, she realized he had heard her.
"Wh… what?"
"Er… never mind." Velvet stammered out.
"I've been cursed by fanus hoodoo-voodoo, and you think it's adorable?" Cardin paled, and dropped back in his seat and tried to bury his head under his arms, as his face smacked the metal table-top.
"That's not a thing." Velvet commented. As she watched Cardin break down even further.
/=/
Mercury stood waiting at the bullhead pads. His scroll in his hand as he watched the time slip to quarter to eight. He wouldn't admit it, but he was concerned. It was his first official day on the job, and no one had showed at the designated time.
"Have I been fired?" Mercury wondered out loud, as he paced back and forth. "My first paying job, and I get let go before my first day? That's not right. That has to be against some labour law or something."
The would be assassin turned bodyguard, current minion/underlying of Cinder Fall, was slowly working himself up. He hadn't been given a choice when he joined up with Cinder, being in a rather tough spot; seeing as he was a very recent double amputee, and had killed the bastard that was supposedly his father. But this job, working under Coco to protect Jaune was something he wanted to do. It paid decent, it fit his skill set, and it didn't start with an ultimatum. It was an actual offer.
"Okay, I deserve an explanation." Mercury stated to himself in a flat tone, as he opened his contacts and tapped the icon for his most recently added contact.
Mercury: Where are you? I've been at the bullhead pads for over half an hour. Am I fired? Why have I been fired?
Mercury hit send, while he moved over to a set of benches. Taking a seat, he watched and waited for a response. Which arrived about five minutes later.
Coco: You're not fired.
Mercury: Then what's going on? I'm at the pads like I was instructed.
Coco: Family stuff. I'll message you later with a new itinerary, once this has been sorted out.
There was a pause before a second chat bubble appeared.
Coco: I'll need your banking information, and a TD-1 for tax credits, so I can put you on payroll.
Mercury: Payroll?
Coco: This is all above board. What, did you figure I was going to just hand you a hundred lien at the end of every day?
Mercury: Kind of, yeah.
Coco: Nope, everything above board, and legal. We're on the ground floor of building an empire… a Schnee rich empire. So paperwork, and before you ask… yes you'll be paid for the day. Not your fault, for the sudden change of plans.
Mercury: Okay, umm… how do I, where do I?
Coco: You don't have a bank account?
Mercury: Never really had cause for one.
Coco: Well, then your first order of business is to go get one.
Mercury: And that TD-1 thing?
Coco: You can download one off the CCT-Net. Just fill it out and hand it over once we meet up again. Are you good with all that?
Mercury: Kind of have to be, if I want to keep the job.
Coco: Yep, you do, but here's a deal sweetener.
Mercury: ?
Coco: I see big things on the horizon, which means growth, BIG, BIG growth. And with growth comes more staff… some of which you will end up in charge of… if you stick with me.
Mercury: What type of staff are we talking about here?
Coco: How does Head of Security sound to you?
Mercury: I'm on board. Will there be a raise?
Coco: Of course. Happy and well treated employees are loyal employees. I've got to go. Try and get the account and form done by the end of the day.
Mercury: (Thumbs Up Emoticon)
The chat closed a minute or so after that. So Mercury rose from his seat, and got into the cue for the next Beacon-Vale flight. His mind digesting what Coco had told him, and weighing his options between Cinder's plan and switching to Coco's vision. One definitely had a future, an upwardly mobile future, so in the end it wasn't much a choice. Pulling out his scroll, he sent a quick text to Cinder, before editing her contact information to place her in his blocked folder. Next, as he stepped onto the waiting bullhead, he started a CCT-Net search. If he was going to be in charge of staff, in the future, he might as well start learning people management skills. As lists of online and in-class courses showed up on his screen, another thought came to him. He filed it away as something to get Coco's advice on later, but the name floated around in his head… SSS… Silver Security Solutions. He liked it and the future it could lead to.
/=/
Emerald was living her dream and her nightmare. She finally had the woman of her fantasies in her arms, BUT said woman was a Sloppy drunk. It had taken Emerald close to two hours to finally get Cinder into bed, between bouts of crying about her not being as pretty as Jaune, sniffling about not having ears to be scratched, and latching on to Emerald asking for head pats. In the end, Cinder finally fell asleep, her arms locked around Emerald, using her breasts as pillows. Emerald also discovered drunk Cinder drooled.
A ping of Cinder's scroll, drew Emerald out of her thoughts. Thoughts that did involve some head pats, and maybe a discrete squeeze or twelve. Reaching out, she plucked it from the night stand. Emerald figured it was their Mistress Salem checking in to see if Cinder was in any condition to report in. But instead she saw the notification was in fact from Mercury.
"What does that ass want now?" Emerald growled, knowing that Merc hadn't returned to CEMN's dorm last night. So she thumbed open the chat bubble, expecting an excuse as to why he was MIA. She did not expect what she saw, or even thought in a million years she would see those words in a text from Mercury.
Mercury: I QUIT.
"Shit." Emerald swore, as her shoulders drooped. This was not going to go over well once Cinder sobered up enough to be functional.
/=/
Coco had recovered from her euphoria induced unconsciousness, and was currently in the waiting room, trying to digest what she was witnessing. Of course, she knew Jaune and Pyrrha had finally decided to be an official couple. She was also not surprised to see her mom Katherine Adel browsing Jaune's OnlyFans Page, after Coco gave her a link and a free guest subscription. No, what was making her wonder was Jaune's sisters, Nora Valkyrie and Weiss Schnee.
From a quick conversation with Pyrrha after Anabel took charge of Jaune's mom, she had gotten a condensed version of events, the highlights being Rouge and Bleue claiming Weiss, followed by Nora claiming the twins. Coco believed it, as Nora sat on a waiting room chair, beaming as Rouge and Bleue each sat on one of her knees, all the while the pair of cuddly adorable blonds gently ran their fingers through Weiss long white hair. Coco, however, was a little worried about the vacant look in Weiss' once sharp blue eyes.
Of course, this was all happening while she was having a chat discussion with Mercury. While at the same time starting on the paperwork to incorporate. She would have to have a discussion with her mom later about suitable company names, but for now she was happy to get the process rolling. Go figure, Coco Adel amateur fashion designer, huntress-in-training, at the age of eighteen, was on the cusp to become the CEO of possibly the fastest growing modelling, fashion and promotional agency in Remnant. All thanks to whatever happened to her goof of a dork cousin, Jaune.
The possibilities were endless, and with Jaune and Pyrrha Nikos as an item, she had leverage to get THE NIKOS to join on. The opportunities! The fame! The cold hard LIEN that would be flowing in! It was so much that Coco had to take a minute and steady herself, lest she had another episode. Then another thought shot into her mind. Why just stop and Nikos… if she could get Weiss out of her trance, maybe could sign THE SCHNEE as well. Wouldn't that be a coup. Taking Weiss out from under the SDC.
"Schnee rich? Nah, Double Schnee rich, no, screw that TRIPLE Schnee rich!" Coco giggled maniacally to herself as she continued her work.
/=/
"You are correct, my grandson." The ghostly glowing blue figure of Ren's long passed grandfather stood before the seated young man, surrounded by a mishmash of burning candles. "There is a GREAT disturbance in the force."
"The Force?" Ren asked, never hearing such a term before.
"Yes, you were not educated, due to the untimely passing of your parents." The ghostly figure placed his hands behind his robed back, and paced back and forth, "This will be difficult for you to digest, but there is a power that flows through all living things. An energy field, if you will. It surrounds us, penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together."
"That… sounds a little farfetched."
"I know it's hard to digest, and if your parent's had not passed so early in your life, this would have been part of your education… but enough of those sad memories for now." the ghost of his grandfather gave Ren a sad smile. "To answer your question, some power unknown to us, to manipulating the force. Twisting it, weaving it, altering its path. The things you have been describing, this chaos… is a direct result of that unknown interference."
"Is there anything we can do to fix it? To bring things back to the way they were?"
"To be honest… I do not know." his grandfather almost seemed to sigh, "We, your ancestors, are trying to discover the source of these anomalies. But even if we do… the force is adaptive… it may bind itself to these changes, making it impossible for us to revert them."
"So all is lost." Ren lamented, his head dipping forward.
"It is not so dire, as that grandson."
"How so, grandfather?"
"These changes may be for the best. This power maybe shaping this world for the benefit of its people… or it could just be screwing with us."
/=/
Ozpin had gone to his office and retrieved the book that was at the centre of the chaos. That was the cause of his problems. He steadfastly refused to blame his drunkenness. After getting the okay from Peter and Bart to take a day, Ozpin was once again sequestered in the safety and privacy of her personal quarters. With a freshly brewed mug of coffee, he started to review the text once again. He had had an epiphany on his way to retrieve the book, and was not putting that amazingly awesome idea to practice.
The twist of the words was making sense now, as he read the text through the distortion of the bottom of a crystal tumbler. The mechanics and formulas flowed into his mind, and he was growing more and more confident as he continued to read the ancient passages. He could do this. Mr Winchesters condition was a simple reversal of the mystic energies, and after he reviewed the mechanics and theory of the spell, he knew he'd have no issue fixing that mistake.
However, the issues regarding Jaune, were an entirely different kettle of fish. His brows knit together as he read, the formula starting to become clear, at least for the reversal of the Vixen-izer Spell, which included his own touch much like what he had done to Qrow and Raven. So again, the chances of success to correct that miscalculation would be straight forward.
The Gender Swap spell was not as simple. Ozpin was really struggling to work the formula out in his sober mind, which was making him rather cranky. How the hell had he so easily cast this transmutation spell while three sheets to the wind? It was making no sense that he would have been able to. Sighing, he flipped the last of the twelve pages that detailed every step required to manipulate the energies needed to unleash such a reality bending. He moved the tumbler and started to read what he assumed were the final instructions for the spell.
"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Ozpin shouted as he jumped up from his seat in panic, smashing his knee into the bottom of the table-top, and knocking over his mug of coffee. He felt his soul die, as he watched in horror as his coffee tipped over right on top of the open book. Grabbing the book off the table, he rushed into the kitchenette and started to pat the book with a tea towel.
He started to sob a few moments later. He could easily remember the formula's for reversing the changes to Mr Winchester, and considering the thickness of the book, he was certain that the coffee did not touch those pages. The same could not be said for the main set of formulas he needed to recreate in order to return Jaune from Ms Arc to Mr Arc.
"Why are all the warnings after the spells?" Ozpin sobbed to himself, as he slid to the floor of his kitchenette. Pulling his knees to his chest, he sat there, so defeated and depressed that he wouldn't have been surprised if a grimm suddenly materialized out of the shadows, and he wouldn't have cared if one did. Nope, his mind was fully focused on the time limit he had to reverse the spell. Seventy-two hours. Three days… and two of those days had been wasted already.
Ozpin, was sorely tempted at this low point in his life to surrender to Salem. Just give it all up, march into her fortress and tell her she won. In his mind, he could picture Salem being much more merciful than the Goodwitch triplets. So much more merciful.
/.==/
So another chapter straight from my slightly unhinged mind.
I think I'm running out of steam… and I'm pretty sure this one is a little lacking.
I do have a couple more scenarios I want to throw out there, but fair warning next chapter might be a little less ridiculous.
But this in reality this whole story is just me writing ideas that jump into my head attached to a VERY loose plot... which is...
IT'S ALL OZPIN's FAULT
Anyway, time for some reader interaction! (If you feel up to it.)
Need some good options, for a name for Coco's production company.
Maybe an alternate for Merc's Security Company.
Hope you enjoyed this, and had at least one laugh from this chapter.
Thanks for reading.