A rather short chapter compared to what I usually write, but hey, I'm releasing this so fast. Hope you enjoy!
Ruby was running to catch up with her partner Weiss at the air docks, asking why she was in such a hurry. Weiss merely smiled before looking at Winter, saying her name out loud. Winter had come out of the ship, being escorted by Atlas soldiers and Atlesian Knight-200s. Ruby asked for clarification when Weiss ignored her and called out for Winter before running up to her. Winter turned around to greet them with a cold demeanor. At first, Weiss greeted her informally before switching to a more regal tone. When Winter mentioned how Beacon felt different the last time she was here, Ruby made a remark about the weather, causing Weiss to punch her for saying a rather stupid thing.
When Weiss went to ask what she was doing, and how long she was staying, Winter's answers were the exact same thing. Classified. Ruby had no idea what to do.
Weiss gushed about the difference between Beacon and Atlas, to which Winter snapped at her rather coldly that she already knew the difference, before criticizing her tactics and abilities in the match. Afterwards, she dismissed the robots from her side, making them fall back into formation before sighing and smiling a bit more warmly at Weiss and asking how she doing. This confused Ruby until she understood that the scene earlier was just a facade for the public, and that this one was her real mask, a caring older sister.
Weiss began to ramble about her classes until Winter slapped Weiss on her head, leaving a bump on it.
"Silence, you boob!" scolded Winter, "I don't recall asking about your ranking, I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"
"Well, there's Ruby for a start," said Weiss, as Ruby pushed the lump on her head back in, snickering, "There's also quite a few others. Oh, and Jaune is here!"
"Oh? Jaune Ryu-Long is here at Beacon?" said Winter in interest, "That's good. I was hoping to see his name at Atlas Academy, actually, considering I put a recommendation for him there. But if he's here with you, then it's ok."
"Yes. And we are actually sorta dating," smiled Weiss.
"Oh? So fast?" teased Winter, "Such a shame. If you weren't dating him, I might have considered doing it myself."
"Umm, well Jaune is.." started Ruby before Weiss punched her in the arm again, silencing her before pulling Ruby in, "Don't tell her that! She doesn't know, and I don't want Jaune dead!"
"Ohh, right," said Ruby.
"I have business with the General and your Headmaster," said Winter, "But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?"
As Weiss began leading Winter to the dorms, she began to tell her how RWBY had combined rooms with JNPR to create a bedroom for them all, and the other room was used as a study/break room.
Ruby was left alone, having no idea what to do. She figured she would just go do something else until she found Jaune waving his family goodbye. Only Saffron and Xanthe stayed, as they would be helping with security. She quickly dashed over to them.
As the two sisters were walking with the Atlesian knights marching in formation, two in front, two right behind, and another two a bit further back. Qrow snuck up on the two furthest back before breaking them, ripping one of the heads and tossing it forward, causing them all to stop. There, he called out to Winter, naming her Ice Queen.
Since Weiss had been termed this so many times, she thought the stranger was talking to her until Qrow drunkenly shushed her, putting his hand on her hand before pushing her out of the way, saying he meant Winter. Winter merely gritted her teeth before stating how he had destroyed Atlas Military property. Qrow just dismissed it off, to which Winter's fuse was growing short. Two years later, and Qrow still seemed to irritate Winter, no matter how much she tried to reign her temper. Qrow began mocking her and Ironwood, causing Mt. Winter to explode in her head.
"Listen to big sister, Weiss. She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is going to protect all of us, huh?" mocked Qrow, still slurring his words.
"If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" announced Winter as she drew her dueling saber, pointing it at Qrow.
"Alright then..." smirked Qrow as he slicked his hair back, "Come take it." It seemed like he had gone through a transformation. No longer was he staggering or slurring his words.
The square that was originally full of students all backed off, clearing space for the two combatants. Other students had joined to see what was going on. Without any warning, Winter dashed towards Qrow, unleashing a fury of attacks at him. Qrow, dodged all her attacks without moving his legs at all, until he ducked under a slash, as if bowing down. Winter took this to land an overhead slash, only for it to be blocked by Qrow's weapon that he hadn't drawn yet, still on his back. Qrow gripped the handle of his weapon with his left hand, the weapon transforming from its portable mode into a sword. With a flourish, he slightly tossed his weapon spinning in the air before catching it in his right hand. At that, Winter merely retook her dueling position, left arm behind her back while her body was slanted. The two of them touched blades for a second before getting ready to fight. Suddenly, Qrow began a series of slashes, forcing Winter to blackflip a few times before finally blocking a slash. They glared at each other before outright trading blows, blades clashing against each other. At that point, Ruby, along with Jaune, Saffron, and Xanthe had come rushing over to see what the commotion was about.
"What's going on!?" asked Ruby.
"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" replied Weiss frantically.
"Oh no!" cried Ruby, "Who would do such a th-." She paused as soon as she saw who Winter was fighting before yelling, "That's my Uncle!"
"Oh cool, it's the guy that gave me his recommendation letter," said Jaune, looking at the fight.
"What!?' shouted Ruby, "You never told me you met my uncle Qrow!"
"Yes I," started Jaune when he stopped to think about it, "Huh. That's right, you went to sleep back when I was staying at Patch after your little birthday party. I only told Yang and Taiyang."
"Oh," said Ruby before turning her attention to the fight, calling out to her uncle, "Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!"
Weiss, feeling a bit confused decided to shout out her own encouragement, "Teach him respect, Winter!"
"Got anyone you're cheering for, Jaune?" asked Xanthe.
"Eh, I'm good. I'll stay neutral," replied Jaune. Instantly, he was besieged by Ruby and Weiss, telling him he had to choose one of them.
Mercury had just been walking back to his dorm when he saw the fight. Taking a glance, he merely shrugged before halting completely, doing a double take. He slightly paled when he saw Qrow, and quickly hurried off to find his teammates.
Both fighters were doing their best to land a hit. Slashes from Qrow were dodged or parried. Thrusts from Winter were blocked or dodged. Soon, Winter found a chance when Qrow overextended a bit, landing a hilt slam on his face. Qrow didn't even seem to flinch before raising his sword over his head. Sensing this wasn't a blow she shouldn't even consider blocking, Winter summoned a glyph below her feet before forcing her body to shoot off into the air. It was a close one, as Qrow slammed his blade down where she had been, destroying the ground.
As she landed, she looked up in surprise to see Qrow already in front of her before dodging to the side. Qrow slashed right through a steel lamp pole, causing more collateral damage.
"Ummm shouldn't we stop them?" asked Jaune, "Before they start destroying more of the school property?" Right as he said that, Qrow had thrown his weapon into the lamp pole as a projectile.
"I suppose we should. We were hired by Ozpin to stop situations like this," said Xanthe, drawing her estoc sword that could transform into a scout rifle. "Not to mention Glynda would be pissed if she had to fix this place."
"I'll stop Winter. She should still know me," said Saffron, drawing her bastard sword. "You get the old geezer."
"Saffron! That's not nice," scolded Xanthe. She had to admit, the man called Qrow wasn't bad looking.
At this point, Qrow and Winter were on school walls away from each other. That didn't deter Qrow as he started to shoot at the running figure of Winter. An explosion engulfed Winter, causing him to stop and squint. It looked like Qrow had hit Winter when she suddenly came rushing out of the smoke cloud at Qrow. She had pressed a button in her dueling saber, and drawn a main gauche, or parrying dagger, from her sword, leaving a small hollow imprint on her saber. Seeing Winter charging in with two swords, he grinned clashed against Winter. The momentum from the impact carried over, causing both Winter and Qrow to fly in the direction Winter had been charging, right into the ground, creating another crater. Still, it didn't deter them, as they continued to slash at each other.
Their fight was suddenly interrupted when two variations of giant swords blocked their attacks. They looked at the sudden intruders in shock.
"Saffron?" asked Winter in confusion.
"Hello, miss," smiled Qrow, giving Xanthe a wink. Xanthe merely frowned before pushing Qrow's sword off hers.
"That's enough," announced Xanthe, "Everyone, please disperse. We'll handle it from here."
As the crowd thinned off, Qrow put his weapon back before looking at Xanthe with an admiring gaze.
"It's good to see you again, Winter," greeted Saffron as she put her sword away. Winter did the same before giving Saffron a small hug.
"What brings you here?" asked Winter.
"Just seeing my little brother," replied Saffron, pointing at Jaune, who had Weiss and Ruby on each arm glaring at each other. She frowned at this. Wasn't Jaune dating Pyrrha? Before Saffron could ask, Ironwood came in, demanding why the courtyard was damaged like this. Accompanying him was Penny.
When he found out it had been caused by Winter and Qrow, he frowned and decided to question his lieutenant first.
"What in the world do you think you're doing?" snapped Ironwood.
"He started the altercation, sir!" accused Winter.
Qrow looked completely relaxed before stating a simple fact, "That's actually not true. She attacked first."
Winter was about to counter that rebuttal when she thought about it, only to realize in horror that Qrow was right. She had been baited right in like a newbie. Having no words to reply, she could only look down in shame. Seeing as she was chastised enough, Ironwood turned to Qrow with a gaze before walking close to whisper to him why he was even at Beacon. Before Qrow could reply, Ozpin and Glynda had decided to intervene.
"I'm glad to see you were able to stop the two of them, Xanthe, Saffron," said Ozpin, raising his mug at Xanthe. Xanthe and Saffron bowed in response and respect. This was the man who accepted Jaune without a doubt, and kept him safe from Vlad's grimy hands.
Glynda immediately went to fixing the courtyard, but not before giving a glare at Winter, Qrow, and Ironwood. Immediately understanding what she wanted, Ironwood took Winter and Penny with him, heading towards Ozpin's office. Penny saw Ruby, and waved at her quickly, to which Ruby finally let go of Jaune's arm to wave back. She immediately rushed to Qrow's arm, hugging him and asking if he missed her. Qrow merely smiled before answering no, while rubbing Ruby's head affectionately. He was about to ask what was going on with Jaune when Ozpin called him over. Seeing Ozpin's stern face, he had no choice but to comply. He would ask later.
"So... your Winter's little sister," said Saffron. They quickly introduced themselves as Jaune's sisters. Weiss immediately curtsied, with Ruby trying to follow it adorably. Then, Saffron's gaze turned to Jaune.
"Jaune. Aren't you dating Pyrrha? Then why are you letting both these ladies hang off your arm?" asked Saffron sternly.
"Umm...," stammered Jaune. At this rate, he had no choice but to expand the circle to let his sisters know his secret. He did not want them to get the wrong idea. Especially since Xanthe could be scary when she wanted answers.
"I... need you to follow me to a private room before I say anything else," finished Jaune. His tone left no room for argument. Intrigued, they followed him. Jaune sent Ruby and Weiss away, stating he wanted to talk to them alone.
As they walked away, Ruby asked Weiss, "What's the chance that he's going to live after meeting his own sister and your sister?"
"Not very high," admitted Weiss.
Meanwhile, in Ozpin's office, they were discussing and arguing about plans, plots, and what course of action to take. Winter had been dismissed to watch over Penny back in her dorms, as well as stating this meeting was above her rank. Ironwood put his Scroll onto Ozpin's table to show some files and holograms. He didn't know the mistake he just did now, by linking his Scroll into Ozpin's table, which was linked into the CCT. Cinder's little virus was still inside, giving her access to his Scroll.
"And you're sure?" asked Cinder with practiced calm.
"Bad hair, used a sword and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him," replied Mercury with a serious face. No longer was he joking about this part.
"What do we do?" asked Emerald, worried about the new person. Qrow had been the one to stop them from fully completing their previous mission.
Cinder paced around for a bit, thinking deeply before replying, "Nothing. We stay the course. They have no idea who we are, so we have no reason to worry. Besides, the last of the heavy lifting is being taken care of thanks to our clever little friend."
At that, she picked up her Scroll, noticing that it was flashing with the Black Queen chess symbol, "Speaking of which... it appears we have a new access point."
She took a look and grinned, noticing that they had gotten access to one of the top people in Remnant. General James Ironwood. She quickly dismissed them, stating that everything would be ready tomorrow. She quickly navigated her Scroll into the doubles round of the tournament and rigged it so the 'randomization' would have Mercury and Emerald fighting against Coco and Yatsuhashi. She was about to close it when she gave a grin and looked through who was in the doubles round. She noticed for JNPR, they had chosen Jaune and Pyrrha to represent. Her grin grew even bigger at that, before rigging their opponent. They would be facing Aurelian and his teammate, Roderick.
"You should thank me for this opportunity, Jaune Ryu-Long. Show me what else you can do," whispered Cinder before heading to sleep. She would certainly have to thank her little friend for making this part possible, and without the help of that irritating Arthur Watts. After all, who would suspect the son of a famous family and a certain company?
Saffron and Xanthe were silent at what Jaune had just revealed to them. He had taken them into his mindscape and revealed all seven dragons to them. His adventures as he traveled through Remnant. How he was the 'angel' of the train incident and the Breach at Vale. And most importantly, how he actually needed a harem.
"So let me get this straight," said Xanthe, "You need seven-"
"Six," piped Jaune.
"Fine, six girls," continued Xanthe, "to mate with you in the future. Which you have already found. And they're all okay with this?"
"For the most part, yes," replied Jaune, "I've already told them everything. They know about me having multiple wives, and are willing. We are, however, all dating to see if they feel comfortable knowing they have to share."
"Well, I guess that's better than Vlad having hidden mistresses," muttered Xanthe.
"Xanthe!" scolded Saffron, sounding outraged, "You know that Jaune would never be like that man. The fact that he actually has a justified reason and is open about it to her girls is already better!"
"Saffron," said Jaune softly, "Xanthe has a right to be worried. I am having a harem, no matter how it looks."
"No, she's right," said Xanthe, her tone softening, "I was worried you might become another Vlad. However, I can see that you would never become anything like that man. Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself and the girls."
"Always," grinned Jaune, "I would take off my own head if I didn't. Followed by my dragons."
As they gave a group hug, the door that they had closed collapsed, revealing all of Jaune's girls. They had been leaning on the door to try to listen in on the conversation.
"Ummm, hi?" said Ruby, waving from the ground.
The girls managed to separate themselves before introducing themselves to Jaune's sisters. Dew was slightly angry when she found out Jaune and Saffron lied to her back at Vacuo, but quickly forgave them. Jaune had still been on the run, and couldn't risk Vlad knowing he was alive.
"Wait," said Saffron as the girls had been chatting, "You're dating Weiss. That mean's you're dating Winter's little sister! Oh this is going to be hilarious when Winter finds out!"
"Uhh let's not let her know anytime soon," chuckled Jaune nervously while Saffron was rolling on the floor, laughing.
"Don't worry," whispered Weiss, "I'll tell her soon. She won't tell our father. She knows how to keep a secret. Unlike Whitley, who always tells him everything. He is such a stuck-up brat."
"Should I reserve a hospital room now?" whimpered Jaune.
"I have decided who to aid Cinder," declared Salem. She had gathered the members of her faction in the meeting room. "Tyrian. You will hold off finding the Spring maiden, and go assist Cinder. If this 'angel' is truly there, then your assistance will be required."
"Of course, my mistress!" cackled Tyrian.
He was excited to plunge his stinger or weapons in the angel's flesh. He hadn't felt this excited after that special kill. The one with the silver eyes. She had certainly been a feisty one before he plunged his stinger into her stomach. It had taken him and Hazel, along with 5 more hired guns, to take her down after she had eliminated a large amount of Grimm. After that, the poison quickly took effect, but not before she killed the hired guns. Since she was unable to move, Tyrian slashed her throat before feeding her body to the Grimm to tear apart, so the attack would disguise his stinger and slash. Nobody would know, and just think she died from Grimm.
"Dr. Merlot, how goes your research?" asked Salem, directing her gaze at the mad doctor.
"Excellent!" cackled Merlot, "The specimen and materials you provided me has proven to be most useful. I have already gone beyond my original research, and have finally created a small pool where the Grimm needs to merely drink from it to become one of my beautiful creations. I've also developed to the point that upon contact, it'll mutate them. The serum is stronger than the one I made before. All you have to do is have someone carry a test tube with it and just toss it on a Grimm before sending them out."
"Good," replied Salem, "And the condition I set?"
"They all retain their base instincts like you wanted Mi'lady. They will be attracted to negativity. I must warn you, though, the serum right now affects only a certain amount of Grimm. I have yet to be able to make it work on... much larger and ancient Grimm," replied Merlot.
"Do not worry about those. They will not be touched," said Salem with a touch of anger being directed at Merlot. Merlot bowed and sat down, becoming silent.
"You are all dismissed," said Salem. They obeyed and left the hallway. Salem went to stare out into the open lands at her window.
"Soon, Ozpin. You will fall. Your guardians, huntsmen, huntresses and any hope will fade. None of humanity's legends will save you. Nothing can stop this wave. And I can't wait to watch you burn," smiled Salem as she gazed out her window.
Short, I know, but hey, I released this pretty fast. That, and I had to end it on that note. It was perfect. Read and review, please!
And for the guest review known as 'truth': Meh. You hate my story and yet you reached all they way to my latest chapter. Team DSCO was a creation of my beta reader that I decided to let him put into the story to see how it would work out. And I highly doubt you can predict what I have planned already. As for Neptune being bashed, it wasn't my intention to bash him at all. He's just naturally that way in the canon version too. And as for your last insult, if you were an actual writer, I doubt you'd get a lotta fans after that last comment. Just plain out insulting readers is just stupid.
It's a shame, really. If only you'd use your real profile name to write that review out.
Thus ends my rant. As for my other reviewers, Thanks for the reviews and encouragment! I won't let one trolling flame get me down to quit.