Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of it's characters or locations.
Some of you may have noticed that as the chapter progressed, Leo's speech has improved. This is because I ran out of ideas on how to properly write this story, at the same time as purposefully make the grammar bad for a specific character. Hope this clears up any confusion as to why Leo is talking normal.
Undisclosed Location Off Remnant
Merlin walked through the portal and into a large and spacious room. Around him were dozens of doors, each with a different word above them. To his right were a set of stairs leading up towards the second level of the room, with it's own set of doors. Looking up in the center of room Merlin could see that the room continued on for what seemed like an eternity. Merlin looked down to his robes and frowned. Waving his hand Merlin rose to his full height with his staff disappearing. His robes began to transform and contort, changing into a double breasted purple suit, with his brown pants converting to match. His brown sandals shifted into black dress shoes, and his long hair and beard began to shrink before stopping, leaving him with a short beard, and neck length hair. His skin took on a younger appearance of a man in his thirties.
Merlin stretched as he felt his full power returning to him as his clothes finished transforming. His staff returned to him in the form of a cane with a gold handle. Merlin walked across the room into the hall and strode past countless paintings of great heroes from the past. At the end of the hall, Merlin walked into a large throne like room. On the wall to his right, Merlin could see a massive window that displayed an image of what appeared to be the universe. Along the wall across from him he could see several columns along with seven statues, each with a name below them. Lust, Greed, Pride, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and, Gluttony.
To his left Merlin saw a massive throne, with a giant sitting upon it. The man on the throne was easily fifty feet tall, dwarfing even Leo in height, with an appearance similar to that of Merlin when he is on Remnant. Slight differences could be seen between the two though, as the giant man was noticeably more wrinkled, and seemed to have little to no muscle on his bones. To the left of the giant man was a large staff that one could easily mistake for an uprooted tree, with a large eagle sitting on top of it. Walking farther into the room, Merlin strode up to the throne before bowing. The giant man looked down at Merlin for a moment before speaking.
"Welcome home Number 6." The mans voice, though loud, carried with it a feeling of calm as it reverberated throughout the room. It was a deep and monotone voice that made him sound uninterested when he spoke.
Rising to his feet, Merlin looked up to the giant and spoke back. "It is good to be home father. Any changes since I was last here?"
The giant scoffed and turned to the eagle. "The boy is gone for a thousand years and asks if anything happened while he was gone." The giants voice had a tone of sarcasm to it as the eagle screeched in return. The giant turned back to Merlin and began to talk. "Yes, a great deal has happened while you were away." The giant turned and pointed to four doors similar to that which Merlin had entered the building from. "I added three more universes to the blacklist." Each of the doors was covered in locks and runes meant to prevent anything from opening them from either side. There were names above these doors as well.
Merlin looked to the doors and read aloud. "Reality, DC, Marvel, Transformers." Merlin turned back to the giant with a confused stare. "I understand Reality, it was on the blacklist since it was created, but why the other three?" Merlin asked.
The giant man shifted in his chair before looking to the doors. "DC, Marvel and, Transformers have all begun to develop a condition that I've come to call, 'The Multiverse Condition.' They have all started to evolve beyond their own boundaries, in doing so they have begun to threaten all of the other universes around them." The Blacklist was comprised of five universes, each of them were deemed to dangerous for travel, so they were locked away, allowing for only the All Father to traverse them and return to the building.
"Multiverse Condition? How can that be possible?" Merlin asked as he walked to the door with the Transformers label above it.
"Reality has gone back to work in recent years, with the desire to delete everything and begin again. DC had the most drastic change, in Reality they called it an 'Infinity Crisis.'" The giant said as he reached for his staff, causing the eagle to jump off the staff and on to the back of the throne. "But enough about the state of the other universes, I have been watching you rather closely Number 6, it takes a great deal of time for one of my clones to get their universe noticed by Reality, and it takes even more for it to become popular there."
Merlin nodded. "That is true Father. Remnant was a special case."
"I am aware. I created that universe to be a dumping zone for other universes that had dropped from the public eye in Reality. I'm thoroughly impressed that you managed to make it into what it now is." Father stated as he looked down at Merlin.
"I merely planted a seed. I found a man in Reality who could make Remnant into what it is, I simply sat back and allowed for the rest to play out in due time." Merlin said as he reached into the pocket on his right breast.
Father looked out the window on the far side of the room. "Monty Oum. He was a good man."
Merlin stopped and looked up to Father. "You speak of Monty in the past tense?" He asked as he found what he was looking for and dragged out a wooden pipe.
Father looked down at Merlin with a sad look in his eyes. "I often feel pity that I am the only one who can see what happens in Reality. Yes my son, I regret to inform you that Monty Oum passed away a little more than a year ago. Many fans of his work with Remnant mourned his loss."
Merlin looked to his feet with a deep frown. "Then I have failed. With the passing of Monty Oum there is no one in Reality that I can convey the vision of Remnant to."
Father waved his hand a few times before speaking. "Fear not my son. Your universe lives on, as Monty's legacy is survived through the very people he worked with, 'Rooster Teeth.'"
"Rooster teeth?" Merlin asked with a blank look on his face.
"Indeed."
"What an absurd name. Roosters don't have teeth! I don't know of any universe that has a rooster with teeth!" Merlin said as he pulled a matchbook out of his pocket.
Father gave an amused look to Merlin before speaking again. "Yes well, rooster anatomy aside, why don't you tell me about what your doing in your universe." Father said as he sat back in his chair.
Merlin lit a match and held it to the end of his pipe before looking up to Father. "Why tell you about the world, you can see everything that has, is and, will happen in Remnant." Merlin said as he took a deep breath and blew smoke out before him.
Father smiled. "That is where you are wrong my son. You are not the original Number 6. You were created as an alternate universe when Monty Oum began to expand upon your universe. The original Number 6 is still sitting in his cottage, patiently waiting until he is found by those in Monty's universe, RWBY."
Merlin let out another breath of smoke before looking to Father. "So team RWBY is going to find him? Interesting. I had assumed that it would be JNPR and Leo to find me first."
Father tilted his head to the side. "Leo? Who is Leo? RWBY is the name Monty gave to the universe when he "Created it" in Reality. Back in the room you came from, just a few floors up you will find a locked door with the name, 'RWBY', above it. In cases like yours, I lock the original door and allow for the universe to run it's course before I let the clone return." Father said as he looked toward the window. "Some drastic changes are happening in RWBY right now."
Merlin removed his pipe and looked towards the window that Father always starred at, seeing only stars. "So Monty chose to name the universe after a group of people, rather than the world it is based on. Interesting." Merlin turned back to Father and spoke. "How is it that you do not know Leo? His father alone should warrant your attention, not accounting for the rather precarious situation he is in with his body."
Father sighed and turned back to Merlin. "As I have said Number 6, I can only see what happens in the original universe. You are an anomaly, created the very first time that Monty made a decision that went against what you had planned for the universe. For you, that was immediate, as he changed the name." Father stood from his chair, balancing himself on his cane before walking to the window on the other side of the room.
Merlin walked to the window and stood beside Father, barely standing taller than Father's ankle. "The way you talk about him, it would seem that Leo doesn't exist in Monty's world. I wonder what reason Monty had for leaving Leo out of his universe." Merlin placed his pipe back into his mouth and took a deep breath.
"How about you tell me about your universe over some tea." Father said as a tray carrying a massive cup moved towards him. Father grabbed the cup from the tray and turned to walk back to his throne. Merlin turned and waved his hand, causing a cup of tea to appear in his hand and followed Father back to his throne. As the two men drank, Merlin told the tale of his universe to Father.
As the tale came to and end, Father waved his hand and caused the cup of tea in his hand to vanish. Father turned to look at Merlin with a smile. "I am always happy when the Anomaly's come to visit. I can see everything that has, and will ever happen in most universes, so I always welcome a new tale that may give me some excitement." Father placed his staff at his side once again, causing the eagle to leap back onto the top and screech at him. Father turned to look down at Merlin with a more serious look on his face. "However, despite how much I may enjoy the story, the creation of an anomaly always allows for Morgana to find a way back into Reality without my noticing in time. Tell me my son, have you seen any signs of Morganna in your universe?" Father asked.
Merlin exhaled some smoke as he made his own cup of tea vanish. "Salem. An ancient witch that plagued Remnant many centuries ago. I sensed the influence of Morganna in her, so I created a King that sealed her in a hole in reality. She can never escape." Merlin said as he tapped the side of his pipe.
Father leaned down towards Merlin and looked him right in the eyes. "Very well Number 6. Just remember, Evil has a way of proving that the word 'Never', doesn't apply to them."
Merlin could see the seriousness in his eyes as he starred down at him. He nodded and turned to a large painting on the wall beside the throne. It was a painting of Father in his early years in Reality. He looked relatively the same as Merlin did at the moment, but he lacked the scar that now adorns the left side of his face. At his side were two people, both were as well known to Merlin and his brothers as Father himself. To his left was a woman in a red dress, with black sleeves and black feathers on the collar. She had a dark oak wood staff with a red gem at the top and a raven on her arm. She had long flowing black hair, similar to that of Raven Branwen, and had bright brown eyes.
To his right was a young boy with brown hair and a large great sword on his back. This blade was the legendary sword Excalibur, the sword that when drawn from the stone would give the wielder the right to rule all of England. The boy had light armor on and bore a striking resemblance to Jaune. The woman was Morgan Le Fay, Fathers apprentice and later wife, and the boy was named Arthur, king of England. Father had cherished these times greatly as he and Morgan Le Fay traveled the ancient lands of England with Arthur as he gathered the allies that would help him as he ruled from his castle of Camelot.
Sadly, these times were not to last. Many years after Arthur had become king, Morgan Le Fay betrayed Father, and attacked him and Arthur. Though Father managed to block her first attack, Arthur had not been so lucky, and suffered a fatal wound. Morgan Le Fay declared her self to be Morganna and began to drain the power from Father. Had it not been for the intervention of the child conceived years before by Father and Morgan Le Fay, a man whose name is known only by himself and Father, Father would have been killed by Morganna. The man known only as Number 0 trapped Morganna in a spell prison just long enough for Father to open a portal to Hell beneath her. As Morganna was dragged into Hell, she declared that she would return to take the powers that Father had kept from her.
Father followed Merlin's gaze and sighed. "I suppose that I have kept you long enough. You may return to Remnant whenever you wish." Father said as he waved his hand dismissing Merlin.
Merlin bowed and turned to leave the room. As he reached the door he bumped into another man that looked just like himself. The man looked at him with a grin. "Well if it isn't big brother 6! How have you been?" The man asked as Merlin looked back at him.
"Yes, hello 12. I am doing well." Merlin said as he looked at the other clone of Father that he had encountered.
12 looked at him then past him to Father. "Look, I'd love to talk to you more, but I've got big news to tell Father. I finished my universe!" 12 said with a good deal of excitement in his voice.
"That's wonderful 12. I'm sure that Father will be very pleased to hear." Merlin said as 12 walked past him towards Father. Merlin saw the clone begin to tell Father about what had happened and turned to continue on back to his own world. As Merlin entered the room he scanned the room for the other open door that 12 had come from. Spying the door on the third floor, he read the name above the door.
"One Piece?" Merlin said to himself as he walked back towards his own door. "Wonder what that universe was name for."
Leviathan Combat Arena
Yang leapt over Pyrrha's shield as it sailed under her. Not one to miss an opportunity, Pyrrha redirected her shield at Leo who had his back turned to her fighting Nora and Ruby. The shield hit him in the back of the head, causing the large man to stagger and creating an opening for Nora. As Tyme had found time to fix Magnhild, Nora was eager to test the newly repaired hammer. Swinging Magnhild upwards, she slammed the blunt end of the hammer into Leo's face, throwing him back into Yang. Both of them crashed into the far wall and crumbled to the floor in a heap.
"How the hell did you talk me into this?!" Leo shouted as he got back to his feet to face down teams JNPR and RWBY, minus Yang.
Yang got back to her feet and cocked her gauntlet back. "Don't tell me your not loving this!" Yang shouted as she dove into Blake.
"I'm not!" Leo shouted back as he grabbed Crocea Mors as Jaune swung it and threw Jaune into Ren. "I simply asked if you wanted some lunch! I was hungry!" Leo shouted as he raised his arms to block the bullets fired from Crescent Rose. "And I still never got my food!"
Yang leapt over Blake and grabbed her by the chin as she passed overhead. Landing on her feet she threw Blake towards Weiss. "Relax! Like this is in any way my fault!" Yang shouted as she fired off a few shots at Pyrrha. The room around her shouted that it was entirely her fault, but Yang paid them no mind. "Besides, the food will taste even better after we defeat these guys!" Yang yelled as she blocked a slash from Ruby.
"Why are we even fighting them!?" Leo yelled as he was hit by a grenade.
"Personal reasons!" Yang shouted back.
Leo shifted his left arm into its gun form and grabbed Nora by the throat with his right hand. He turned and fired several rounds at Ruby to get her off of Yang while he pinned Nora to the wall. "As soon as we get back to the Lounge, your going to tell me these, "Personal Reasons!" Because I'm not good with beating up random kids just because someone drags me into their fight!" As he finished talking he turned back to see that Nora had escaped his pin and was bringing Magnhild around to hit him.
He didn't move fast enough to block and was again knocked across the field by Nora's hammer. "Who's beating up who!?" She yelled as she flipped her hammer down into its grenade launcher and began to fire at Yang. The grenades exploded around her, causing a thick pink smoke screen.
"Every one stand clear of the smoke!" Jaune yelled as he and Ren got back to their feet. The two teams pulled together into a defensive stance with their range weapons focused on the smoke. Jaune looked down to Ruby and whispered to her. "When I say so, use your semblance to clear the smoke." Ruby nodded and looked towards the fog as Jaune raised his sword into the air and turned to the rest of the group. "When Ruby clears the smoke, open fire on Yang."
There was a light laughing coming from the smoke as the group looked on. "You guys still haven't learned anything about fighting Grimm." There was a loud crunch to the left of the group, followed by a low whistling. Jaune thrust his sword forward, failing to notice the attack from the flank. Ruby burst forward, her speed causing a vortex that dragged away the smoke. Yang brought her arms up to block the wind as she watched the group.
Pyrrha, Weiss and Blake dove forward, dodging the large pipe that Leo had torn from the ground. The rest of the group wasn't so lucky. Jaune, Ren and Nora were hit by the pipe and sent tumbling forward, Nora slamming into Blake as she fell. Jaune slid forward before coming to a stop directly in front of Yang. Yang looked down to him with a malicious grin. She placed her foot on his chest as she cocked her right gauntlet back. Yang turned to look at Ruby while she pointed her gauntlet at Jaune's face.
"Where there's one Grimm..." Yang said as Ember Celica discharged, slamming Jaune's head into the ground and knocking in into unconsciousness. "There are always more close by." She finished as she walked past Jaune. Blake and Nora bean to get to their feet before each of them had a large metal hand wrap around their heads. The two were quickly brought back together as Leo slammed them into each other, knocking both girls out. Yang turned to look at him with a frown. "I wasn't done with those two yet."
Leo growled in frustration before grabbing the pipe he had swung at the group. "I said that I was hungry. I am still very hungry, and I didn't plan on being thrown into the arena today, but since I was..." Leo said before turning to Ruby. "You can be damn sure I'm going to be serious about it." Leo swung the pipe at the small girl, who dodged the slow attack with ease. Leo tried to turn back to swing again, but he felt himself stop before his arms were spread apart.
Yang turned to Pyrrha with a glare. "You said you wouldn't use your semblance against him because of his implants."
Pyrrha turned to Yang and frowned. "I still don't know what cause you to behave like this, but if he's getting serious, then so shall I." Pyrrha moved her hand to the side and threw Leo towards Yang.
Yang moved out of the way of the massive projectile, only to be met with a blade as Ren slammed her into the ground. He placed his foot on her gut and began to unload both of his pistols into her face and upper body. After a moment a clicking could be heard that signified both guns had run dry. Ren pulled his pistols back and looked down at Yang who was covering her face with her arms. What Ren failed to notice was that the area around him was beginning to heat up.
Yang shifted her arms down slightly to glare up at Ren, her eyes flashing a blazing red. "If you want to get serious, then I will be happy to show you what happens when I am actually trying."
From the stands, Qrow and Orion watched the fight, seeing Yang throw Ren off of her before diving into Weiss. "Your niece doesn't seem to pick the correct opponents Qrow." Orion said as he watched Ruby attempt to assist her partner.
Qrow watched the fight with a dull stare. "I don't know why Oz insisted that I bring them along. Save for Yang and Pyrrha, none of them are even close to being ready to fight the monsters out here."
Orion turned to Qrow with a raised eyebrow. "What makes Yang and Pyrrha special?" He asked.
Qrow pointed down to Pyrrha, who was tossing Leo around the arena in an attempt to either hit Yang, or to drain his aura faster. "Pyrrha has been trained since she was very young, and became a champion before she even entered beacon academy." Then he moved his gaze to Yang, who was tossing Weiss around like she was made of paper. "And Yang, she has already spent close to half a year out in the real world. While she may not have spent that time in true remnant, she does know how to combat Grimm effectively in order to survive."
Orion turned back to the fight with a nod. "She does seem to go straight for a killing blow when she fights seriously." He turned to Leo who had just been thrown down with enough force to crack the floor. "Yet it would seem that Leo has chosen the worst possible opponent that he could face."
Qrow turned to look down at Leo with a frown. "I've got more that a few questions about that boy, but I'll lead with why he's here."
Orion looked back to Qrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean why is he on this ship. I know that there's no team TLON, I make it my business to know about all of the active hunter teams in the four kingdoms, and I've never heard of TLON. So who is he?" Qrow asked turning to face Orion with his arms crossed.
Orion turned back to the fight with a stern look on his face. "That's classified information."
Qrow's face adopted an annoyed glare as he watched Orion. "Atlas sent two of it's most trusted professors, a specialist, and the eldest sister of the Arc family who is also a graduate of Atlas Academy."
Orion glanced towards Qrow. "Whats your point." He asked.
"My point is, Atlas has sent some very important people along on this voyage, and I have a feeling that it's not just so that they can have a higher chance of their kingdom controlling the weapon were trying to find. There's also the fact that Nova has said several times that she will take away Leo's arms if she decides to." Qrow was now looking at Orion with a full glare. "It is clear to me that Leo is something Atlas wants on a short leash. Now tell me who he is."
Orion turned towards Qrow and crossed his arms. "Who Leo is, and why he is on this ship is classified. Now drop it." Orion said with a glare.
"It's okay Orion, you can tell Qrow about Leo." Qrow and Orion both turned to the new voice as Winter walked through the door to the side.
"Pardon?" Orion said as he turned to face Winter.
"I said that you can tell Qrow about Leo." She said as she walked to the ledge in time to see Weiss get slammed face first into the floor.
"Miss Schnee, may I remind you that all information about Project: Hunter is highly classified! To tell anyone, let alone someone from a rival kingdom would be an act of treason!" Orion stated as he slammed the end of his staff into the floor.
Qrow turned to Orion with a frown. "Rival kingdom? And here I thought that Atlas and Vale were on good terms. The way you talk it's as it Atlas considers Vale to be an enemy."
Orion turned back to Qrow with an angry look on his face. "If you are not a citizen of Atlas then giving you any information would be treason!" He shouted.
"If your not going to tell him than I will." Winter said with a frown as she watched her sisters aura drop into the red.
Orion spun around to face Winter. "You don't have the authority to reveal that information!" He shouted as he pointed his staff at Winter.
She turned and held out a badge. "See this? This is my authority." The badge was that of an Atlas specialist, at first glance it looked the same as a normal Major's cluster on a pallet of silver, if one looked closer though, they would see the red thorns that encircled the cluster, along with the small black cross at the top. "I worked closely with Professor Polendina on this project, and have full authority to release information about it to anyone I deem worthy of that knowledge." She said as she glared back at Orion.
Orion closed his mouth, and settled for giving Winter a low glare. "Your done now? Good." Winter turned to face Qrow. "So what did you want to know?" She asked.
Qrow glanced down at Leo, who at the moment was struggling against Pyrrha, who was holding him in place for Ruby. "Who is he?" Qrow asked.
Winter glanced down to Leo, then back to Qrow. "Leo Thorne is the eldest child and only son of a farm couple from southern Atlas. The mother was a spokes person for the original White Fang, and the granddaughter of one of the founders. While we do not know exactly what events transpired at his home, what we do know is that Adam Taurus was the one who attacked him and killed the rest of his family." Winter finished and turned to watch Yang throw Ren into Pyrrha, freeing Leo from the amazonian's hold.
Qrow watched Yang begin to fight Pyrrha as Leo tried to catch Ruby. "So now I have a brief overview of his history. Now why don't you tell me about his arms, and why Nova seems to have a hold over him." He said as he turned back to Winter.
"Nova is a First Lieutenant in the Atlesian military, and she was one of the guards placed on the scientists of Project: Hunter." Winter said while she frowned. "I don't particularly like her."
Qrow laughed lightly as he watched Pyrrha counter Yang and throw her to the side. "Seems that sentiment is shared by most of the people aboard this ship. Next question, whats 'Project: Hunter?'" He asked.
"Project: Hunter, was the Atlesian military's first attempt at making a robot that can generate an artificial soul." Winter said.
Qrow watched as Ruby danced around Leo, who was having trouble catching the small speed demon. "How does Leo factor into Project: Hunter? Don't tell me that Leo is actually a robot." Qrow asked as he turned back to Winter.
Winter shook her head. "No. Leo is a member of team OPAL. He is both the only male, and the only organic member of the team."
"Team OPAL? Never heard of them either." Qrow said, turning to Winter.
"I would be shocked if you had. Team OPAL has never had an assignment. They are comprised entirely of androids, and Leo. You've seen the leader of team OPAL at the Vytal Festival, Penny Polendina. The other members are O.P.A.L., the first prototype for miss Polendina, and Avery Brown, the model created in the wake of Penny's defeat at the Vytal Festival. Avery was created by Dr. Brown to be better than Dr. Polendina's android. While the General refused to allow the two robots to fight to decide which was stronger, he did allow for Avery to be placed on the same team as Penny." Winter said as Yang put Pyrrha in a headlock.
Yang's eyes were glowing red as she placed one hand on Pyrrha chin and the other on her cheek. Her glare intensified as Qrow looked on. Quickly realizing what his niece was about to do, Qrow pulled out his gun and shot at Yang. "YANG STOP NOW!" Qrow shouted as the buckshot threw Yang off of Pyrrha. Qrow leapt down into the ring, causing the other fighters to freeze and look over to him.
Qrow walked over to Yang and dragged her to her feet and placed her before him. "We're going to have a long talk about your attempt a moment ago to use lethal force on an ally. In the mean time." Qrow said as he looked to Pyrrha, Leo and Ruby. "Wake up your friends and go get something to eat."
Pyrrha placed her hand on her neck before looking to Yang in shock. "Y-you were going to kill me..." She said.
Yang turned to Pyrrha with a calm stare. "You wanted to get serious. When you fight outside of a tournament you don't have a ref to call off your enemy. See that gun by your feet?" Yang asked, causing Pyrrha to look at her spear that was sitting by her feet. "When you draw your weapon, you better be prepared to kill." Yang said as the glow in her eyes faded back to the base red before turning and walking with Leo out of the arena.
Qrow watched Yang leave the arena, followed by Ruby who was helping Weiss and Blake along side her. "What the hell happened to you out there Yang?" Qrow asked to nobody in particular. He turned back to see Ren helping Nora to her feet and saw Pyrrha on her knees with one hand on her spear, and the other on her throat. He walked over to her and knelt down before placing a hand on her shoulder.
Pyrrha looked up to him with a look of shock on her face. "Why would she try to kill me? I thought that we were friends." Pyrrha said as she looked up to Qrow.
He sighed and shook his head. "No, your not, at least not any more."
"But why? What could we have done to cause this much hatred?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yang feels like you guys betrayed her. Five months ago when she was banished, everyone was at the arena watching your fight. No one from her team, or from yours showed up to speak on her behalf at the trial. Her father was trying to get there in time, and I was busy with guarding the maiden for your transfer, so we both missed the trial as well." Qrow said as he handed Pyrrha her shield.
Pyrrha looked to Qrow with a look of sadness. "But I was unaware that she was on trial! I was busy with the tournament, and didn't find out that she had been exiled until after we stopped Cinder's plan!" She said as she placed her shield on her back. "What happened to her while she was gone?!" She asked.
Qrow sighed. "I'm not sure." He said as he turned to Jaune, who was sprawled out on the floor. "What I do know is that she learned a lesson out there that most hunters don't learn until having been out of the academies for a few years." Qrow stood and walked over to Jaune.
Pyrrha got to her feet and walked over to Jaune. "What lesson did she learn?" She asked as she began trying to wake the blonde by her feet.
"You're not gonna wake him." Qrow said as he picked Jaune up and threw him over his shoulder. "For a kid with such large aura reserves, he really isn't good at shielding himself is he?" Qrow turned to look down at Pyrrha. "The lesson she learned is that everything in this world is out to get you."
Pyrrha tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean by that?" She asked.
Qrow looked down at her with a sympathetic face. "I envy you kids you know. Ruby's dream is to be one of the huntress's from the books that Taiyang and I used to read to her when she was little." Qrow said as he looked to the destroyed arena. "She thinks that she can graduate and just go out and be a hero to the people of the kingdoms." Qrow sighed as he shifted Jaune on his shoulder. "If only life was really that black and white."
Qrow turned and began to walk out of the arena with Jaune on his shoulder, and Pyrrha at his side. "What do you mean by black and white?" She asked.
"In all the old stories, there's the hero clad in shining armor, and the evil monster. In real life, sometimes the big scary monster is the one that need the help, and the one that's wearing the armor and symbol you can trust is the one you need to defeat." Qrow said as he pushed the door to the arena open. "The only absolute evil in this world are the Grimm. Beyond that it's up to interpretation. We view Cinder as evil, the White Fang view Humanity as evil. In the end it all comes down to who wins in the end."
"But Cinder and the White Fang are hurting Humans and Faunus alike, doesn't that make them evil?" Pyrrha asked.
Qrow sighed. "Cinder is evil, that much I'm sure of, but the White Fang are another story. They started out with good intentions, so it's more like a small part of them is evil, and it's controlling the rest." Qrow said as he kicked the door to the arena closed and continued down the hall to the infirmary.
"Then why don't they just leave the White Fang if they're not the evil ones?" She asked as she moved to his side.
"That could be one of many reasons. Charisma, money, fun. For most it's probably fear that keeps them in line." Qrow said.
"Fear?" She asked.
"Yeah, fear. Ever heard of a guy named Tukson?" Qrow asked, but Pyrrha shook her head. "He was an informant for me in the White Fang. For a few years he would send me intel on their movements through out Vale and the other kingdoms. Eventually he wanted out, so I forged him some papers and we were all set to move him out of Vale."
Pyrrha titled her head to the side. "What happened then? Where is he now?" She asked.
"Six feet under in Vale National Cemetery." Qrow said. "The White Fang found out that he was leaving, and decided to tie up some loose ends. They sent someone to kill him, and they succeeded. He was killed a few days before the Breach." Qrow turned the corner and arrived at the infirmary. He sighed. "We haven't even been on this journey for more than a week, and already this room has been used twice. Oz would be real disappointed."
He walked into the room and placed Jaune on the bed next to Sun that Leo had used a few hours prior. Pyrrha took the seat next to him and thanked Qrow. Walking out the door, Qrow noticed Winter was waiting in the hall.
"We never did finish our talk." She said.
"Kind of hard to focus on a conversation when your niece is about to commit a murder." Qrow said dryly.
"Yes, well... I may as well finish telling you about Leo." Winter said as she walked past him. Qrow turned to follow as they walked towards the Lounge in silence.
After a few moments, it was Qrow that finally spoke. "You know, when you say your gonna tell some one something, then walk past them in silence, it kind of sends some mixed signals." He said with a frown.
Winter turned the corner into the lounge and saw the rest of team RWBY and JNPR sitting at the tables. Leo was sitting at the bar with a bottle of whiskey in front of him, with Yang sitting beside him. Ruby saw the two enter the lounge and waved to them. Qrow waved back and followed Winter to a booth at the back by the window looking out at the clouds and the night sky.
Winter slid into the booth and turned to Qrow. "Are you going to have a seat?" She asked.
Qrow grunted before sliding into the seat opposite Winter and turning to face her. "So, what else can you tell me about Leo?"
Winter finished ordering a drink from the virtual menu at the side of the table and turned to Qrow. "What would you like to know?"
Qrow pointed to Leo who was sitting at the bar eating a burger with a bottle of whiskey beside it. "Let's start with his age, and why he drinks so much."
"Pot calling the kettle black?" Winter said, poking fun at Qrow's own drinking habits. The look on his face told her he wasn't amused, so she continued. "Leo was brought to an Atlesian military base two years ago. He had been found by a patrol that was visiting the local farms, and was rushed to the base for medical attention. When he arrived he was missing both arms and a good chunk of his rib cage." Winter paused to take her drink from the robot that walked up to her.
After taking a drink she continued. "His injuries were some of the worst we've ever seen, to the point that the doctors that worked on him said that he wasn't going to make it through the night." Winter turned to look at Leo who had now begun to drink straight from the bottle, much to the annoyance of Yang. "It was doctor Polendina that finally managed to save him. He used the schematics for the Atlesian Paladin to construct a false heart and lugs to replace the ones that had been damaged."
Qrow heard a crash and turned to see that Yang had tackled Leo in an attempt to get to the whiskey, while he was telling her to order her own.
"Leo had survived, and when he woke the next morning he was restrained and questioned. While at the time he wasn't entirely cooperative, we did manage to learn that his family had been killed for going against the White Fang. Adam Taurus had lead a small team to destroy the farm, and had succeeded in killing Leo's father, and his four younger sisters."
"What about his mother?" Qrow asked.
"As far as we know, she is still a member of the White Fang." Winter said as she placed her hands on the table.
"Alright, so I know how he got his arms, what about the alcohol?" Qrow said as he watched Leo hold Yang at arms length and chug the rest of the bottle.
"Leo was born with very high levels of aura. The augmentations that Dr. Polendina gave to his body multiply that aura reserve tenfold. What he lacks in skill and combat experience, he more than makes up for in endurance. As you may know, if one so chooses, they can dull or nullify the affects of alcohol on the body to a certain degree. Leo was old enough to drink when he was brought on the base, so to calm his nerves, some of the soldiers brought him a beer every so often. It helped dull the pain from his wounds, and took his mind off his family."
"Drinking to dull the pain of something lost. I know the feeling well." Qrow said as he took a drink from his flask.
"I know, I read your file." Winter said. "While all of team STRQ was hurt when Summer Rose died, you seemed to take it the worst."
Qrow turned to Winter with a sad stare. "They never found her body. She could still be out there for all we know."
Winter watched Qrow take another drink from his flask before she continued. "Before the incident in the arena, you asked how Leo factors into Project: Hunter. Leo was saved by Dr. Polendina, and begged to enroll in Atlas academy so he could train. Initially, the school completely denied his request, for whatever reason though, when the General saw his file he accepted him immediately."
"Takes a-lot for Jimmy to go against the school. Leo must have really been something." Qrow mused as he turned the empty flask over with a frown.
"Yes, 'The General' did seem interested in him. As soon as Dr. Polendina returned, he and Leo began to work on Project: Hunter. Using Osiris as the base, Dr. Polendina created his daughter Penny, and continued to Upgrade Leo as he went. When it finally came time to enroll Penny in the academy, they needed a cover, so they took Leo, Osiris, and Avery and made team OPAL." Winter said.
"I thought you said that Avery was created after the Vytal festival." Qrow said.
"She was. Or to put it a better way, she was finished after the festival. She had been close to done when the festival rolled around, and was going to be a part of Penny's team in the tournament." She said.
"So what happened?" Qrow asked.
Winter shrugged he shoulders. "No one's really sure. Osiris and Penny were working fine, but Avery was having power issues, and Leo's arms had been acting up. In the end, Penny and Osiris went, and they competed with two subs." She said as she glanced to the side and saw Leo collecting another bottle from the waiter.
"So where do you factor into all of this? You said that you worked with Dr. Polendina on the project." Qrow said as he reclined in his seat.
Winter placed her drink down on the table and turned to Qrow. "Yes, I was one of the heads of Project: Hunter. While Dr. Polendina and the other scientists gave the androids their intelligence and motor skills, my team was in charge of training the androids, and by extension Leo." She said as she pulled out her scroll. "Nova was the head of the security team, and when Leo asked permission to go find Yang, the school assigned Nova to watch over him. She believes that she has more authority than she actually does."
"What about Tyme and Orion?" Qrow asked.
"Tyme went along so that he could meet with Ozpin, Orion went along as extra security." She said as she scrolled through the device in her hand.
"Orion went along as security?"
Winter nodded. "Leo's arms are very dangerous. Orion is along to make certain that Leo doesn't misuse them. You saw earlier when Leo and Yang were fighting the others, Leo never used his arms main function, nor his semblance."
"He has a semblance? I thought that you said that he was untrained." Qrow said as he watched her scroll through her scroll faster and faster.
"He had a semblance when he was brought in. From what we can tell, it was awakened from extreme trauma. It would seem that watching his family be slaughtered before him caused his semblance to unlock. It works like an upgrade to his voice, he can send out echo pulses to scan the surroundings and navigate. At the same time it can be concentrated into a very powerful sonic cannon that he releases from his mouth." She said as she turned the scroll to the side.
"Having trouble?" Qrow asked.
"I can't seem to contact Beacon or Atlas. I wanted to inform the General of our progress." She said as she looked up from her scroll.
"What progress? We've only been attacked left and right since we entered True Remnant. First the flock of Grimm, then the Nautilus, and then we were almost eaten by the Emperor Taijitu. Besides, the CCT doesn't reach out into True Remnant very far, we're probably just out of range." Qrow said while he looked down at his scroll.
The door to the lounge slid open to reveal Pyrrha, Sun, Neptune and Jaune. Sun still seemed to be walking with a slight limp, but none the less they all walked over the the bar where Leo and Yang were sitting. Leo didn't even acknowledge their presence, instead choosing to focus his attention on the burger before him.
Yang turned to face the four with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?" She asked with a bored look on her face.
The four looked to one and another before back to Yang. Suddenly the four dropped to their knee's and bowed their heads. "We are very sorry for failing to help you when you were exiled" They said in unison. Yang looked down to the four with surprise as Leo turned his head with a look of confusion on his face. The rest of the room took notice of the display with looks of equal surprise.
Yang shook her head and stared down at the group who were still on their knee's. She sighed and spoke. "Alright, it's a start." She said causing them all to raise their heads to look at her. "At least someone finally apologized and meant it. I almost broke the councilman's nose when he apologized for exiling me, the stuck up bastard." She mumbled, then looked to Pyrrha and sighed again. "And I guess I'm sorry for almost killing you earlier."
Pyrrha smiled and got to her feet and pulled Yang into a hug. "Hey! Hey! Hey! I didn't say we were back to the hugging stage!" She said, struggling to break the amazonian's grip while Jaune smiled.
The robotic voice of the Captain came on over the intercom. "Fleet Admiral to the Bridge at once! I repeat, Fleet Admiral to the Bridge at once!" Everyone turned to look at the speaker for a moment before Leo sighed and grabbed the half full bottle of whiskey and took off down the hall.
Qrow got up and ran after him, knowing that despite Leo having the title, the situation would call for Qrow's presence. The rest of the lounge looked to one and another before they took off after him.
Leviathan Bridge
Leo and Qrow arrived at the Bridge to see it in relative chaos. The numerous robots that were manning the computers were scrambling around the room hitting switches and exchanging papers. Leo looked to them with confusion before turning to Qrow. "Whats the point of the paper? They're robots. Can't they just exchange information digitally?"
Qrow gave Leo and incredulous look. "That's what you take away from this situation? Not concerned by the chaos, only why they use paper." Qrow shook his head before dragging Leo over to the Captain.
The large robot turned to the two men before saluting. "Fleet Admiral on the Bridge!" He shouted, causing the other robots to freeze and salute before going back to what they had been doing.
Leo saluted back and Qrow turned to the Captain. "What was the problem Captain?" He asked.
The Captain turned and flipped a few levers, causing the metal plates on the front to retract and reveal the sky ahead of the Leviathan. In the air ahead of the ship was another large Warship. It had a far more spiky appearance than the Leviathan's more streamline look, with several exposed cannons pointed at them. "This ship before us had Hailed us and demands than we land at the island below." The Captain said.
Qrow looked at the massive ship with surprise. "Who the hell are they? I've never seen a ship like that before, and none of the four kingdoms have ever used a design like that." He said as he looked down to the monitor that was scanning the ship.
"It's guns are pointed right at us." Leo said as he pointed at the ship.
"Indeed sir! They have hailed us as I stated before, shall we converse with them? Or shall I open fire?" The Captain asked as he made a motion like he was rolling up his sleeves.
Qrow turned to the Captain before Leo could speak. "Let them through! I don't want to fire on a friendly ship!" He shouted.
"Yes sir Rear Admiral Branwen!" The Captain said as he pressed a button that lowered a monitor from the ceiling.
The monitor sprung to life and displayed the image of a man with a thick brown mustache on his upper lip, graying hair framed the sides of his face and he had a cold expression. The man looked to be in his late forties, early fifties. His eyes were hidden by a pair of welding goggles, and he seemed to be wearing some heavy metallic armor from the neck down.
The man on the monitor began to speak. "My name is Lynx, Man at Arms to Lucifer, High King of Hell's Point. Who is the Captain of your vessel?" His question came across as more of a statement, but the large robot beside Qrow began to speak.
"I am the Captain of this ship." It said as it watched the monitor.
The man on the screen shook his head. "No, who is in command of your vessel?" He asked again.
This time it was Leo who spoke. "I am Leo Thorne, Fleet Admiral and current commander of the Leviathan. What is the reason have you hailed us?" He asked.
Qrow shot Leo and annoyed stare before the man began to speak. "One of my Faunus brothers commands that ship? This may not be as hard as I had originally thought." He said to someone off screen. Lynx turned back to the monitor and began to speak. "If you are Faunus commanded, then we mean you no harm. My scanners detected your ship leaving the Human world, and my King has ordered me to bring you to him."
Leo turned to Qrow. "What do we do?" He asked.
Qrow moved past Leo into frame on the monitor. "My name is Qrow Branwen. I am the acting commander of the Leviathan, and while we are flattered by your King's invitation, we are on a very important mission, so I'm afraid we must decline."
Lynx's face turned sour when he saw Qrow. "So, the vessel is not commanded by a Faunus then, pity. Oh well, the chain of command aboard your ship matters not to me, my king did not send me with an invitation, he sent me with orders to bring you to him." As Lynx spoke the cannons on his ship began to shift until they were targeting the Bridge. "Or blow you from the sky. I leave you with this choice, come with us peacefully, or be destroyed. You have five minutes." As he finished speaking, Lynx's face vanished from the screen.
Qrow turned back to Leo with an annoyed glare. "Why did you try to tell him that you were in command of this ship?" He demanded.
"Because I am in command of this ship, even though you lead the mission." Leo responded. "Even if it was by mistake, I still out rank you aboard this ship."
Qrow growled before he turned to the Captain. "What kind of weapons does that ship have? Can we beat them in open combat?" He asked.
The Captain turned to Qrow and shook it's head. "No sir, that ship's weapon systems are far more advanced than our own, if we were to fight them we would lose. Even if by some chance we won, the Leviathan would be unable to make it to our destination and return to Vale."
Qrow groaned and slammed his head down on the console. 'I knew this mission wouldn't be easy, but I didn't think I'd be dealing with rouge White Fang and monster Grimm this early! I guess I don't have a choice.' He thought as he raised his head.
"Hail them again Captain, Leo, tell them that we accept their invitation and will allow ourselves to be guided to the port." Qrow said as he walked past Leo, stopping only to grab the whiskey from his hand.
"Hey! What are you doing with my booze!?" Leo shouted as he turned to Qrow.
"I'm not drunk enough to deal with this!" He said as he walked out the door, passing Ruby and Winter as he did.
Ruby got into the room and stared at Leo, who had a sour look on his face after having his whiskey taken away. "What's going on Leo?" She asked as he turned to the monitor.
"We're making a slight detour." He said as Lynx came back onto the screen.
"Again?!" She shouted.
"Ah excellent! Leo Thorne, my Faunus brother, you have news I presume?" Lynx said, clearly happy to see a Faunus instead of a Human.
"We accept the invitation, and will follow you to the port." Leo said.
"My king will be pleased with your decision Leo." Lynx said as his ship began to turn away.
Ruby and Winter finally took notice of the massive ship ahead of them and adopted equally shocked expressions. "What is that?!" They shouted in unison.
Leo sighed and turned to them. "That's the detour." He said before walking past them towards the door. "Now I need more whiskey, stupid Qrow."
Nautilus Dorm Hallway
*THUNK*
The man in the black suit slammed against the wall with great force as a wave of red crashed into him. He slid to the floor with a nasty cut across his chest, and dozens of smaller ones along the rest of his body. Around him, White Fang grunts walked up to him with their guns aimed down at him. Directly ahead of him was Adam Taurus, who had a rather irritated look on his face as he placed his sword back into it's sheath.
The man tried to speak, but coughed up some blood in the process. Adam scowled down at the man before walking towards him. He stopped and placed the tip of his blade on the right side of the man's head. "Who sent you?" He demanded.
The man coughed again, but forced himself to speak. "Y-you tr-traitorous curs!" He said as he coughed up some more blood. "You dare to call y-yourselves F-Faunus!"
Adam glared down at him and brought his foot up to meet the man's mask. "I'll ask again. Who sent you?"
The man's head had flown back into the wall, and his helmet fell off revealing that he was a Faunus, as indicated by his dog ears atop his head. The man glared up at Adam and spoke again. "I'll d-die a tho-thousand time's before I t-tell you anything." He said as he struggled to regulate his breathing.
"Actually, you'll tell us what we want to know, then you'll die a thousand times." A voice from behind Adam said.
The man turned to look past Adam, and saw a man in a white coat and a bowler hat walking towards him while twirling a cane on his right hand. The man had bright orange hair that hurt the man's eyes to look at.
"Now's not the time for joking Roman." Adam said as he placed his blade again at the man's head. "We had an intruder that managed to kill several White Fang before I found him."
"Relax Adam, some of your boys already found his ship, even if he did escape you he has nowhere to go." Roman said as he stopped in front of the man. "Now then, why don't you tell us where you came from real quick so we can get on with our jobs."
The man's glare intensified when he looked at Roman. "Human t-trash! I will tell you n-nothing!" He shouted.
Roman smiled and laughed lightly as he rose to his full height and turned to look back to Adam. "Now normally I would suggest some light torture to start him off, followed by some water boarding, then maybe some time as a punching bag to loosen his lips, but we're short on time today." He said as he placed his cane against the wall.
"What are you going to do that I can't?" Adam asked with a hint of annoyance at his partners actions.
Roman moved his left hand to his right glove and began to remove it. "Adam, have you ever wondered why I wear gloves?" He asked.
Adam crossed his arms. "I always figured you were a coward who was afraid to dirty his own hands with blood." He said as Roman finished placing his glove in his pocket.
"Your so close!" Roman said while he spun back around to face the man on the floor. "But the real reason, is my semblance. I can't touch anyone with my bare hands, or my semblance will activate." Roman said as he walked to the man and grabbed his face with his gloved hand.
"What is your semblance?" Adam asked as he watched Roman move his hand closer to the man with a menacing grin.
"You'll see." Roman said as he starred into the man's eyes. "Don't worry, this will only hurt a little at first. Then it will hurt a lot."
Roman's hand slammed into the man and red lightning arced out across his boy as he began to scream. White Fang around the man looked on in horror as the man's scream attracted the attention of other people across the Nautilus.
So hey everyone, I have actually started to get these chapters out pretty fast recently, and I am really liking how this story is evolving. When I started this story I had a plan on how I wanted it to end, and I had an idea for an OC (Leo) that I really wanted to put into a story. As I continued to write this, I came up with so many more Idea's to make it better.
When this story began, I didn't even plan on having the maidens be a plot point, I never had any intention of sending people into True Remnant, as I didn't think of it until I was almost done writing the original chapter two. My first idea was for Leo to be a slow witted transfer student from Atlas that came to Vale to train. Looking back I'm very glad I didn't write that story.
I want to take a chance to thank you for reading this story thus far, and for making it the most successful story I've ever written on this site. Without the positive reception that I got with the first chapter, I would have never gone past the first fight with Yang.
Now I know having the Transformers and DC and Marvel thing in the beginning may seem a bit odd, but I promise all of you, this will not be a crossover Fic. Depending on how I feel, I may add one or two people from other Anime/Game's in the very last chapter, but that was more to start the build for the end of the fic, and for the sequel that I thought up while writing the last chapter.
As always, leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter, and follow this story if it catches your eye. Now then, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go see Superman V Batman in a few minutes.