"Twenty-two years…" Eli echos the number as if saying it out loud will make all the pieces fall into place. Glances are exchanged around him as the gears in his head kick into overdrive.
"Yes...she was hardly an adult at the time." Oobleck continues, reaching for a spoon on his desk to stir his empty cup. Upon realizing the cup to be empty, Oobleck set it down, instead, busying himself with scrubbing at his glasses with his shirt.
"Then that means Pyrrha isn't my mom because I wasn't born yet…" Eli fidgets, Oobleck's right hand tapping furiously on the desk before him.
"But then the question remains of- Whom?" Oobleck muttered, leaning in slowly to Eli. "Who was the one that stole Mr. Arc's heart in the end."
"Thats a real mystery." Joan reached out and grabbed all of her friends. "And since you asked it in such a creepy way, we're going to just head out then and get back to you on that in the morning. Kay?"
"Do you promise?" Green hair fell in front of amused eyes, making the children wonder if he was serious.
"Yes. We'll have a conversation with Jaune." Joan assured him.
"Wait-" Eli was silenced by Joan's hand pressing over his mouth.
"Eli, We can talk to your dad in the morning… " Uzziah groaned, willingly being dragged away by Joan.
"Yeah, Yeah. In the morning…" Eli muttered, eyes darting back to the old professor suddenly. "Thank you."
"Anytime, children." Oobleck's tone had snapped back to amused, waving the children out.
The members of Team JEUL slunk back to their room, experiencing total silence for the first time. Part due to sleep, and part due to the dread that a conversation with Headmaster Arc would bring to them regardless of what the topic was.
(Line)
A sudden energy in the room woke Joan Ren up with a start, as it sometimes did. At that, she cursed the sense she shared with her father; the ability to sense things before they came.
"Eli," She called over, watching his hunched figure in the dim lighting of the room.
His shoulders trembled slightly, his head resting heavily on his pillow. He was awake, but quickly falling back to sleep.
"Joan...Do you have a prediction for me?" The redhead grunted, hunching further into his pillow. "Or whatever your sixth sense does..."
Joan stood from her own bed, crossing the room to close the distance between them. Eli stirred a little more, attempting to give her more than a quarter of his attention.
"All this talk about your mom lately- I think it's going to be important later…" Joan admitted, scratching her head. "You really don't remember her?"
"No...Beacon fell twenty-two years ago…" Eli muttered, craning his head to rest on Joan's lap.
"You mean maybe he was wrong about your dad?" Her left arm wrapped around Eli's frame. "Or are you about to pass out?"
"I don't remember my mom's name." Eli sighed tiredly. "Didn't matter til now."
"You never asked your dad for her name once?" She sounded skeptical.
"Its weird talking to my dad. Hes a weird type of Arc." A yawn.
"You're an Arc too. Rather you like it or not." The girl turned her gaze to the dorm window.
It hadn't changed since Joan had first looked up at it, but it felt different somehow. Eli seemed to notice it too, shaking off just enough sleep to sit up a little and look up at it. Its size, shape, and shine hadn't changed. Even the scene of tree branches and the bright moon in the dark sky seemed to be on a stand still.
Behind them, the darkness of the room swelled. Their eyes adjusting to see only the light of the moon and not the room they were tucked away in.
"I always liked nights like this." Another yawn. "My dad used to let me stay up with him, and we'd watch the stars."
"It sounded like you two used to be close..." Joan muttered. "Not close enough to ask about your mom though?"
"No... More so lately..." Eli admitted. "Its weird talking to your headmaster as your dad."
"I have no idea what you mean." Joan smiled.
"I figured..."
"Get some sleep, Eli…" She whispered.
Eli didn't respond, so she felt it safe to assume that he had fallen asleep.
Mornings at Beacon were always beautiful. Calm and quiet, large windows letting in drops of golden sun (or of rain, depending on the days weather), and warm faces of familiar friends waking up near you as you all rise from your rest-
"Okay, so I'm not say anything, but who else do we know associated with the color red?"
-Okay, so maybe not ALL mornings at Beacon were great...
"Humor us, Uzz." Liesbet sighed, running the back of her hand over her eyes.
Uzziah grinned a boyish grin, while the others glared at him. They had been at this since they woke up, forming theories on who the woman of Eli's dreams (literally) was, and how or who else could possibly be his mother. They planned to ask Headmaster Arc later on, but right now they were placing their bets, and the blonde was about to answer when Eli shot up suddenly.
"I swear, if you say Aunt Ruby, I will-"
"Now, wait- don't shoot it down yet!" Uzziah laughed as he tossed his blanket off his legs. "Come on, man, don't be like that. We've already ruled out Pyr-"
"Wait! We can't rule her out yet!" Joan tossed her arms up, frantically waving.
"Why not?" Liesbet asked as she pushed off her bed, suddenly concerned for the girl.
"Because the window in our dorm is messed up and I have money on her!"
Glances were exchanged between the remainder of Team JEUL before they all began to shake their heads slowly, assuming their friend had finally lost it. Undoubtedly due to the "Valkyrie" side of her family.
"... Moving on-"
"No, wait! Eli, you remember, right? Last night, the window-it-" Joan scrambled for the words, though Eli's expression answered her question. "THE window was strange!"
"Joan, you say that about every window." Eli offered, scraping his nails down his neck. "So I'm just going to assume you mean you broke another window."
"Eli, I-"
"Okay, can I bet my money's worth on Penny? She had red hair too, didn't she?" Liesbet rubbed her arm.
"No, she died, too." Joan mumbled, glancing at the window once more. "Plus her hair was more orange."
"Mrs. Ren has red hair, too-"
"Its ORANGE, Uzziah!" Joan snapped, reaching for a nearby pillow, but was stopped by Eli stepping between the two.
"Hey, here's an idea. Let me just ask my dad now abou-"
"I bet on the answer going to be asexual reproduction," Uzziah said, folded his arms, "Only other explanation."
And with that, a flurry of pillows was sent in the young Wukong's direction.
"Okay! Now the bets are placed and it's up to Eli and Mr. Arc's answers to determine who gets the pot!" Joan announced, pushing Eli towards the door.
"I'll try not to let you guys down? I guess so." Eli sighed as he stepped out into the hall.
The trek to his dad's office never seemed so long for the young Arc. Even when he'd spend his days at the school as a young child, the halls never seemed so vast and maze like. Every now and again, Eli had to stop and make sure he was still going the right path.
"Chill…" He muttered to himself, "It's just dad..Besides, it's not the craziest thing to ask about- Its just hugely disappointing if he finds out I don't remember mom's name... Crap…"
The words put no encouragement into Eli's stride and in no way eased the journey. He dreaded every step towards the office, until Eli finally made it to his destination. Despite how long it took just to get there, the sudden urge to turn and run in the opposite direction began to play in the back of his mind and begged him to go back.
"So, what are you saying?" A harsh voice coming from inside the office cut through Eli's thoughts, causing the boy to take a step back.
"Nothing, Jaune! I'm just saying our children have been out of control as of late." Ren's voice replied.
"Ren, it's just harmless fun. Something YOU wouldn't know about." The blonde mused.
"Jaune, as your friend and brother, I only think it fair to point out that an attitude like yours seems to be the source of the problem." Ren huffed a little. "He learns from you."
"Hey, my son-" Jaune began, but suddenly stopped.
"Is outside the door…" Ren muttered softly.
Eli sucked in a breath and took another quick step back, knowing that they now knew exactly who stood beyond that door. There was no use running now.
"Eli; skipping class again, I see." Ren began, pushing the door open enough to stand in the frame.
Eli's first instinct was to look up at the older man, a sign of respect, though his second instinct was to drop to the floor and die; it would be the only way out at this point.
"I, uh. No," The red head found his voice, bowing lowly to the man before him. "No. I came to talk to my dad, sir…"
Ren raised an eyebrow, stepping out of the way and lifting his hand as a gesture for the boy to enter. Eli found himself moving robotically, his eyes trained on the metal nameplate on his father's desk. Just beyond the name, Jaune sat with his hands folded under his chin, light from the window catching the lenses of his glasses harshly.
"Elijah Arc." Jaune greeted in his "official headmaster voice". "What is this about-"
"No, it's not-" The boy spoke, before quickly adding, "Probably should have let you finish, sorry…"
"Again... Elijah, what is this about?" Headmaster Arc sighed. "If it's about our talk about you wanted to be treated normally-"
"Its not, sir." Eli sighed softly.
"Then what?" Ren cut in, resting against the door frame.
Eli sucked in a breath, using his willpower and maybe even part of his aura to refrain from cursing the older man down to hell. He loved Uncle Ren to remnant and back, but something about having him in the room made Eli uncomfortable.
"I need to ask you abo-" Eli tried to spit it out anyhow.
He didn't get very far, as someone else seemed to hear him in the process... Someone who he tried harder not to curse than he did with Ren.
"Is that my favorite nephew!?" Ruby screeched from down the hall, tilting her head past her desk. Her smile did nothing to lift the mood.
"Uh, Ruby, we're trying to-" Jaune began but was cut off by the woman, who could be heard jumping from her seat and making her way to the office.
"What brings you here?" She squeaked when she finally arrived.
"I...I need to know about my mother-"
"You're mother tongue? English?" Ruby began, but Eli shook his head. "Oh! You mean your mom! You know, she was-"
"The best, I know. But, who was she? What was her name?" Eli turned his gaze onto his father now, who much to his surprize, appeared amused and was smiling.
"The most perfect woman with a name to match." Jaune began, leaning on his hands a little, looking so in love for a second, but not any longer.
"And that name was?" Eli groaned.
"Pyrrha." A loud gasp caused all of the adults to jump.
"How did that happen!? She died 22 years ago, and last I checked, I'm not 22 yet!" Red hair went flying in fury.
"Eli, I've told you the story before…" Jaune straightened up in his seat, folding his hands on his desk. "Five years after the fall of Beacon, Team RNJR- The four of us and Qrow, were out on a mission…"
"I don't remember ever hearing this."
"I remember that day. We had just come across a village; it had been completely destroyed." Ren took up the next part.
"Still not ringing any bells."
"There was no chance of survivors, like at all! It was a total mess and disaster area, and yet-" Ruby wiggled her fingers next to her head in a spooky type way.
"Okay! Can ONE of you just tell the story already, please!?"
"I found you in the middle of a clearing. You had this light around you and you were fast asleep with barely a scratch on you, and when I looked up to see what had protected you, I saw her…" Jaune sighed wistfully.
"Who?"
"My Pyrrha...She was there and was watching over you, buddy. She had you wrapped up in her arms until we got there." Jaune's voice is hardly above a whisper, "Eli, I've told you this story every night before you went to bed for years."
"So, you're telling me...I...No." Eli looked to Jaune for answers, though it was Ren who spoke up.
"Eli, not even I can explain how you could have survived that night in any logical way; the onlt explanation, was that it was your moth-"
"But Pyrrha isn-"
"Now, let me finish; if you still don't believe Pyrrha is your mother, just remember who taught your father how to fight, how to protect others, as well as his semblance. These things have kept both of you alive long enough to find each other." Ren went on, earning a melancholic smile from Jaune. "Your father taught you these things too, but remember that it was your mother who started it."
"She's in everything we do, buddy…" Jaune mumbled, rising from his desk. "And that's why she's your mom."
"And, you're an Arc rather you like it or not." Ruby stepped forward to place a hand on the young man's shoulder.
Eli wrinkled his nose, gazing up at Jaune. He felt rather unemotional over something the others were so worked up over, for whatever reason.
"So, it was...mom's death that I saw in my dream…" He guessed.
"The night Beacon fell…" Jaune nodded his head, "Professor Oobleck informed me of your 'visit' to the library."
"I just needed to know." Eli offered a faint smile, turning back toward the door. "Guess we owe Joan some money now..."
"What- oh, nevermind." Ren huffed, quickly leaving the room with Ruby.
Eli was about to follow them out too, when Jaune called out to his son again-
"Hey, buddy," Jaune called, prompting the boy to stop,
"Yes?"
"The door is always open…"
Feeling now was a good time to make up for lost sleep, Eli found himself back in the dorm; it was quiet now that his roommates had cleared out to go to class.
He dropped onto his bed, exhaling lowly, "What a day," The boy said out loud, glancing at the window beside his bed, "What was it Joan was going on about-? The window was busted or-"
"Eli…"
This prompted the boy to sit, knowing full well he was the only one in the room. Glaring back at the window, which remained unchanged, Eli stood, backing toward his weapon. The voice had been unlike anything he had ever heard before, and yet, he felt a sort of sorrow fill him.
"M-mom?"
A pause. A silence fell. Though, this time it was not at all heavy, rather it was, comfortable; Familiar in a way.
"Yes."
A/N: Part 1 of the Team JEUL Universe is done! Now on to Joan's story and a few sub stories to tie up loose ends. Hope ya stick around and thanks for reading!
Title Comes From: I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons.
