Combing her hair and placing it in her signature ponytail, Weiss sighed to herself as she looked in the mirror.
The last two months of being in this unfamiliar world had been hard on all of them, but for Weiss it had felt somewhat oddly familiar. Isolation was a close acquaintance after all, having grown up in the Schnee household, feeling isolated from the real world until she found her way out. Things were different now of course. Her friends where there, her sister and…her new daughter.
Though technically hers but also not, which was something that still confused her…things had been complicated to say the least. Little Kara was the daughter of Jaune he had conceived with a different version of her from an another world, another Remnant, and quite a controlling and possessive version of herself as well.
The battle of Atlas had led to her supposed demise when her partner and team leader Ruby threw her through a window to her apparent doom. Jaune had taken Kara from where she was kept and taken him with her and in the most shocking twist she had ever seen in her life, had mistaken her for her mother.
Weiss could laugh slightly about it now, of course the almost three year old child would do so, aside from the scar on her own face the two where literally identical to one another. And now Weiss was responsible for a child that was technically not even hers. But she knew she had no choice, was she supposed to tell the child that she wasn't her real mother and that her real mom might actually be dead now? That's a lot of trauma for a child of almost three.
Weiss knew childhood trauma like the back of her hand and she couldn't and wouldn't allow Kara to go through that. And as such she persisted, helped up the façade based on a lie for the little girl's sake. Even despite the awkward kiss between her and Jaune that made the two of them avoid each other more often then not out of sheer awkwardness and uncertainty which made the whole co-parenting kind of difficult.
They made it work somewhat. Weiss blamed herself for her distance, after learning everything from the Collective's leader about how her and Jaune got together in every other world she was questioning her feelings for him at the moment.
A knock on the door knocked her out of her thoughts. She walked over to it and opened it to see Yang looking at her.
"Hey Weiss! Megumi wants us all to meet in the dining hall. Says it's important" she told her teammate.
Weiss nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She walked next to Yang and asked "did he tell you why we all need to meet?"
"Nope he just told us and then left. You know him by now, he keeps to himself a lot" Yang replied.
"Sounds like Blake" Weiss said jokingly. To which Yang responded with a chuckle "yeah kind off. Maybe we should set them up. Blake could use a good distraction and honestly everything is better than her psycho ex."
Weiss nodded to that. Being on this new world had a different effect on everyone else. Blake as per usual kept to herself. Nora and Ren stuck together more and actually tried actually going out and experiencing it. Yang kept training to keep her mind of off things. Winter had been slowly recovering from the attack she had experienced by her sisters doppelganger from another world. And Ruby…
Ruby had been acting strange lately. Being so busy in her new role as mother to Kara she hadn't noticed it fully but she had noticed. Sometimes Ruby just seemed out of it. Like she was in some sort of trance…
Walking down the stairs and turning the corner Weiss was momentarily shocked as Jaune stood at the end of the stairs, talking with Megumi.
Weiss grew flustered and started blushing and she shook her head immediately to hide the blush as she walked down the stairs. As soon as Jaune placed his eyes on her, he grew flustered as well.
"Oh hey…"Jaune said shyly.
"Hey…" Weiss replied, her cheeks growing red again as Yang stood beside her trying to hold back her laugher.
"So uhm…Kara is still asleep. Would you mind helping me out with breakfast for her after this…"
Weiss stood still for a moment before nodding "yeah sure…no problem.."
"Alright lovebirds plan your kids breakfast after the meeting now let's go!" Yang said jovially as she grabbed Weiss's arm and pulled her towards the dining hall. Megumi and Jaune followed, the latter with an uncertain expression on his face.
The doors to the dining hall opened. It was a big room with a giant table everyone sat around. Winter with her crutches by her side, Nora and Ren sitting close with the former snuggled up to the latter, Blake reading in silence and Ruby seeming to be in deep thought.
"Ah good you're all here. Please take a seat" Qrow spoke from near the door as he pointed them to sit at the giant table. Megumi stood next to Qrow and whispered into his ear. Jaune looked at it curiously. Megumi and Qrow had apparently been working together for a long time under this mysterious organization they were now a part off.
As Jaune sat in the one remaining open seat, which was conveniently right next to Weiss, Qrow stepped forward and began speaking.
"Okay everyone. We know everything has been somewhat…complicated to say the least and that you have all felt out of place here…"
"Pfff you can say that again" Weiss sneered in discontent.
"Ignoring that…" Qrow continued "we feel like we owe you all an explanation of everything that's going on. And so for that we have brought…"
"I'M HERE!"
The doors to the dining hall flung open and a man walked in, spinning in a pirouette as he entered the hall and ended up striking a pose. Qrow and Megumi both facepalmed in embarrassment.
Jaune looked the man up and down. Tall and handsome with white hair and his eyes covered by a pair of black shades. He smiled brightly as he looked over the group that looked at him with their mouth agape and uncertain what to say.
The man turned around to look at Qrow and Megumi before saying "come on you guys you can't tell me that entrance wasn't amazing!" Qrow sighed and took a step forward.
"Kids this….is Satoru Gojo" Qrow explained.
Everyone at the table had a completely different expression at that name being mentioned. Gojo smiled brightly and waved at everyone who looked on in disbelief until Yang said what they were all thinking at that moment.
"Wait! This is the guy that the Collective is so afraid off!" she shouted.
Gojo confidentially pointed to himself saying "yup that's all me baby! I know you are probably all very shocked but no worries I'm here to explain everything."
Jaune wasn't sure what to make of this. The past two months Qrow and Megumi had explained that Satoru Gojo was the man that they where working for in an effort to undermine the Collective, whom from the stories they heard, had mopped the floor with all members of the Collective all by himself during their first encounter.
Maybe Jaune had a different image in his head from what he imagined Gojo to be. Someone older, more wise and powerful. But this man was the complete opposite of that. He seemed like he was in his late twenties at best and looked completely goofy. Even more so then he used to act.
"So," Gojo said cracking his knuckles "whose ready to learn about how I kicked the Collective's butt."
The Upside Down had always been a dark, gloomy and depressing place, even Thanos had to admit that about the realm his subordinate ruled over. Regardless it was instrumental in a lot of the Collective's victories and an excellent hiding place.
Right now, it was hiding the thing most precious to him.
The Mad Titan had lost count of the amount of times he had looked up at his adoptive daughter Weiss, hung high in a tree by the vines of the Upside Down. Her white hair hung down and dark cracks on her neck, the results of the parasite that foul witch had implanted into her.
And now she was stuck in this…nightmare…this seemingly never-ending nightmare.
"My Lord Titan," Vecna spoke as he stood next to his leader "there still has been no response I'm afraid."
"Yes I can see that Henry!" Thanos snapped to his subordinate, who immediately cowered down onto one knee as the Mad Titan continued to look upwards. In his thoughts he was wondering if things would have been different if he had acted sooner, had he learned nothing from Gamora…was the past repeating itself again.
Was he unable to save her as well.
Slowly he turned his head towards the still kneeling Vecna. "Have you tried the new artifact we acquired on her to see if it wakes her up?" Vecna turned his head upwards "the Crown of Sabbac? I'm afraid without the person of the right bloodline the thing is pretty much useless."
Thanos raised his eyebrows as he looked back up at his daughter. She looked rather peaceful here in this dark gloomy realm, it was quite a beautiful contrast. The Mad Titan sunk back in his thoughts, would he resort to such archaic artifacts and methods simply to save her.
He turned around and walked away from the spot, with Vecna following behind him.
"Have you managed to locate her yet?" Thanos asked his subordinate.
"Unfortunately not," Vecna confirmed "but it isn't out of the realm of possibility to imagine that her wretched father took her with him to his friends, one of which, Raven's brother no doubt is currently under…his employ."
The Mad Titan knew exactly who he was referring too.
"The most likely possibility is that she is on his world now…" Vecna said before trailing off as his leader suddenly stood still, looking at him with raised eyebrows.
"His world you say?" he turned his head back to the spot his daughter was dangling, comatose and not responding "I promise you daughter I will get her back."
"Henry call in an emergency meeting of the Collective. We have something urgent to discuss!" Thanos commanded as he raised his gloved fist and opened a portal before him.
"Your will be done, my Lord Titan" Vecna groveled as he bent down back on one knee in respect of his leader.
A/N: I got to say I'm taking it a bit slower with chapters but so far I like how they are going, they flow a bit more naturally and I think I got a more consistent plot going on then one that's going all over the place.
