Author's Note: Another late update. My apologies. I should have a bit more extra time over the summer. Read and enjoy. And a heads up, I'll be adapting a horror film next, so send me your favorites to my PM inbox. I'll set up the poll in the next chapter.
Review Responses
thundercharger123: Will do. Thank you very much for the positive feedback.
Gaby: That's a good idea. Personally, I consider "Alien" a science fiction horror hybrid, but still an excellent suggestion for the next viewing.
Straw Hat PiratesFan2022: Excellent suggestions! I'm planning on adapting a horror film after I'm done with Indiana Jones.
ServantofElShaddai13: I may have the villains invited to their own multiverse viewing. Having them watch it alongside the heroes would be a recipe for disaster. I can't say I agree with any Freudian excuse any of the villains have though.
LucasVAMP: I agree. Originally, I planned on having a male version of Yang play Indy, but I changed my mind at the last minute. Once again, I agree. Jaune shouldn't be the center of every multiverse fic. And you're right, Roman would be the perfect person to play Jack Sparrow. I'll keep that in mind if I ever make a "POTC" adaptation.
Jones man: That's a good suggestion. "Jaws" is generally considered a thriller, but I consider it a horror film as well. I'll be adapting a horror film for the next adaptation, so thank you for the recommendation.
ultima-owner: You guessed correctly. Adam pretty much fits Colonel Dietrich like a glove.
linx007: Thank you so much for understanding. Before I even think of working on this story, I must be a reliable breadwinner for my family and a reliable employee at my job. I love fanfiction, but it's still low priority.
Theanimemaster9000: I agree. I hope you like the roles I've chosen him to play so far.
Inspiration: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. "RWBY" is the property of director and animator Monty Oum (RIP) and production company Rooster Teeth, and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is the property of director Steven Spielberg, production company Lucasfilm Ltd., and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Sun and Blake's airship trip to Vacuo city which was shown again by a red line streaking across a map from Argus to the next continent across the ocean, stopping enroute at Vale for fuel.
Cut to Sun and Blake stepping out onto a rooftop overlooking the desert city of Vacuo. They were accompanied by Pietro Polendina wearing a white outfit and hat. Sun and Blake were dressed in similar outfits.
"Vacuo. City of the living. A paradise on earth," Pietro announced, gesturing to the cityscape.
Nearby, Pietro's nine children, including a familiar redhead, were standing around a table, squealing with delight about something.
Ruby stared forlornly at Penny's counterpart while Yang gently placed her hand over her sister's hand in comfort.
Everyone else familiar with Penny Polendina bowed their heads in respect for the deceased android girl and for the real Dr. Polendina, who was undoubtedly devastated by her death.
Pitera Polendina, Pietro's wife, approached the table. "Silence! Why do you forget yourselves?" she scolded her children.
"She's certainly been productive," Kali remarked, scarcely imaging the stresses of birthing and raising so many children.
"Now you know how my mom feels," Jaune commented given the fact his mother had eight kids.
A Capuchin monkey wearing a red vest was sitting and chattering on the table, much to the delight of the children.
The audience either laughed or cooed at the cute little monkey onscreen. Sun was particularly amused by the coincidence.
Ruby's sad expression quickly changed to joy. "D'aaaw! Look at the monkey," she cooed at the screen.
"He's wearing a little vest," Weiss squealed with her hands to her face.
"What is this? Where did this animal come from?" Pitera asked, referring to the monkey.
Blake giggled as the monkey knocked over a glass, spilling wine on the table. Then she gasped as it leaped on her shoulder and clasped at her face. Everyone laughed at the cute but amusing scene.
"Cute. What an adorable creature," Blake said sarcastically.
The audience laughed again while Yang smirked. "You really got a monkey on your back, eh, Blake?"
Everyone's laughter turned to groans while Blake scowled at her partner.
"Then it shall be welcome in our house," Pitera said with a warm smile.
"Oh, well, no, you don't have to keep it here just because of me," Blake pleaded as the monkey clasped her head.
Sun sat down at a table opposite of Pietro.
"I knew the White Fang would hire you, Pietro. You're the best digger in Vacuo," Sun praised his old friend while Pitera poured the two men some wine.
"My services are entirely inconsequential to them. They've hired or shanghaied every digger in Vacuo. The excavation is enormous. They hire only strong backs, and they pay single-digit lien for them. It's as if slavery has returned," Pietro explained, sighing at the last par.
"Reminds me of Oobleck's history lectures of Faunus slavery," Velvet said sadly, feeling pity for her fellow Faunus suffering such a fate.
"It's times like this I'm grateful that it's been outlawed since the Great War ended," Ghira weighed in while Kali nodded in agreement.
Sun began to peel a mango from the fruit bowl on the table. "When did they find the map room?" he asked.
"Three days ago," Pietro answered. "They have not one brain among them. Except one. She is very clever. She's a Vale archeologist."
Oscar blinked. "Wait...she?" he said, hoping against hope Pietro wasn't talking about Cinder.
Ilia facepalmed. "Oh, please no," she muttered, dreading the answer.
Sun paused from peeling the fruit. "What's her name?" Sun asked, already predicting the answer.
"They call her "Cinder," Pietro answered, confirming Sun's suspicions.
Sun chuckled humorlessly. "Cinder Fall."
Groans of anger and frustration filled the theater. Although nobody was surprised by the revelation that Cinder's counterpart was after the Ark of the Seasons. It fit her perfectly.
"Of course she's after the Ark," Weiss sneered while sipping a glass of ice water.
"And she's already got a head start on Sun," Neptune added, hoping Sun could turn the tables against Cinder.
"The White Fang have a great advantage over us. They are near to discovering the Well of Souls," Pietro fretted.
"Well, they're not going to find it without this," Sun assured as he presented Blake's medallion from his pocket.
"Who can tell us about these markings?" Sun asked as he handed the medallion to Pietro.
Pietro examined the medallion. "Perhaps a woman I know can help us," he replied.
"They'll have to be quick about it," Ren noted, knowing there was a risk the White Fang would get wise to the duo.
"Sunny...there is something that troubles me," Pietro informed.
"What is it?" Sun asked.
"The Ark. If it is there, at Tanis, then it is something that man was not meant to disturb. Death has always surrounded it. It is not of this world," Pietro explained forebodingly.
Pietro's dark monologue made most of the audience shiver in apprehension of just what the true nature of t
"But Salem is too arrogant and power-hungry to care," Ozpin said internally, knowing the Grimm Queen would pursue any power source she heard of.
Cut to Sun and Blake walking through a bustling Vacuo bazaar full of vendors and shops. Merchants and pedestrians were shopping or passing through. Blake now wore a new outfit consisting of red trousers.
"Do we need the monkey, huh?" Sun asked Blake.
"I'm surprised at you Wukong. Talking that way about our baby," Blake cooed at her companion.
Yang, Coco, and Velvet all giggled at that remark while Blake and Sun blushed but couldn't hide amused smirks.
Kali, meanwhile, grinned at the possibility. "Grandbabies!" she thought giddily.
"He's got your looks too," Blake joked, referring to the monkey.
"And your brains," Sun joked back.
"I noticed that. She's a smart little thing."
Suddenly, the monkey jumped off Blake's shoulder and scampered off.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Blake called after the monkey.
"She'll be all right. Have a date," Sun assured as he offered Blake a date.
"Awww, the cute monkey ran away," Nora whined in disappointment.
"She's got another cute monkey with her," Velvet let slip before slapping her hands over her mouth.
"Oooooh~ Got a crush there, Bun Bun," Coco teased while waggling her eyebrows, earning a glare from her blushing teammate.
"Come on. Come on, Blake," Sun beckoned as he led her into a bustling marketplace.
"What's this?" Blake asked as she held up the date.
"It's a date. You eat 'em," Sun answered.
"Mmm. I enjoy dates myself," Maria said as she munched on one.
Meanwhile, the monkey ran down a nearby alley, and approached a suspicious looking Puma Faunus (1) wearing an eyepatch sitting on a doorstep. The monkey climbed atop his shoulder.
Everyone narrowed their eyes in suspicion at the screen. A few even suspected that the White Fang was at play.
"I don't like the looks of that guy," Ghira said warily.
"Something's not right here," Kali agreed with her husband.
The one-eyed Faunus then entered a dark building. He was stopped by two more Faunus wearing suits.
Tuskon held his hand out in a distinctive salute. "Hail Salem!" he said with the monkey following suit.
The White Fang suit returned the salute.
"They're here. In the marketplace right outside," Tuskon reported to his associates.
"What? He's working for them?!" Ruby shouted in outrage.
"They've already been sniffed out," Oscar said in shock of how quickly the White Fang located the duo.
Back outside, Sun and Blake continued strolling through the Vacuo marketplace. Unbeknownst to them, the one-eyed Faunus was spying on them.
From a second story window, one of the suited Faunus observed Sun and Blake while smoking a cigarette. Behind him was an assembled group of White Fang agents disguised in civilian clothing. He nodded to the group.
"They've got agents everywhere," Taiyang noted, surprised by how numerous the White Fang were.
Back in the marketplace, Sun and Blake continued chatting as they walked along.
"How come you haven't found some nice girl to settle down with and raise eight or nine kids, like your friend Pietro?" Blake asked curiously.
"Who says I haven't?" Sun replied.
"I do. Dad had you figured a long time ago," Blake remarked.
The White Fang agents appeared in a nearby archway Sun and Blake just passed through and began to close in on the pair.
"Get out of there," Kali whispered in concern for her daughter.
Ghira held Kali's hand. "Sun better not let anything happen to her," he said under his breath.
"He said you were a bum," Blake noted.
"Oh, he's being generous," Sun said jokingly.
"The most gifted bum he ever trained," Blake rephrased. "You know, he loved you like a son."
Sun scratched the back of his head in discomfort, feeling ashamed for letting Ghira's counterpart down and abandoning Blake when she needed him most.
"Well, that's a little harsh," Neptune said angrily.
"To be fair, they did have a falling out. And Sun left Blake for a decade," Yang reminded reluctantly, trying not to sound accusatory towards her partner.
"Took a hell of a lot for you to alienate him," Blake said as she examined a tapestry at a merchant stall.
"Not much, just you," Sun said regretfully.
Just then, the gang of White Fang agents dashed toward the duo and attacked. A brawl broke out with Sun handling the assailants with his fists while Blake bashed one over the head repeatedly with a metal box. The other Vacuans in the background cheered on the duo as they watched.
Sun turned to Blake as soon as he got the chance. "Blake, get out of here!" Sun urged before shoving her down. "Duck!"
A White Fang agent charged Blake from behind, but Sun decked him in the face just in time.
Everyone looked impressed by Sun's hand-to-hand skills while Ghira and Kali nodded in respect and gratitude for him protecting their daughter.
"Damn! Sun really knows how to throw down," Yang complimented, being a brawler herself.
The brawl continued as Sun narrowly dodged an assassin's sword thrust, which plunged into his colleague's chest instead.
Seizing the chance, Sun pulled Blake over to a wagon full of hay and threw her on while he fended off the other White Fang agents with his bullwhip. Unexpectedly, the wagon took off, separating the two of them. Sun was too preoccupied with fighting off the assassins to notice.
The wagon wheeled past Tuskon and one of the suited agents, the latter beckoning his men to pursue Blake.
"Uh-oh," Ilia muttered now that the duo were separated.
Blake hopped off the wagon as it entered another marketplace. She spotted a White Fang agent running towards her from down the street. In need of a weapon, she grabbed a frying ban from a nearby street vendor and held it up in defense.
Many were puzzled and amused by Blake's impromptu choice in weaponry, even though she didn't have many options.
Yang giggled. "Really, Blake?" she asked, doubting the kitchen implement would be sufficient.
"It's better than nothing," Blake replied with a shrug.
The agent reached Blake and smiled in amusement, exposing his rotten teeth as he drew a dagger.
"Right," Blake said nervously as she took off with the Vacuan in pursuit.
Blake sighed, somewhat embarrassed that her counterpart in this universe was a damsel in distress rather than a fighter.
"Ugh! That guy needs to see a dentist," Coco said in disgust.
"Never bring a frying pan to a knife fight," Qrow said while shaking his head.
Blake took off with the White Fang agent in pursuit. He followed her into a nearby building. There was a metallic banging sound and he fell half-way out the doorway, knocked out by Blake's frying pan.
Another round of laughter filled the theater while Ghira and Kali smiled with pride at Blake handling herself.
"Good job, Blake," Ruby congratulated her teammate.
Sun grinned at Qrow. "You were saying?" he said in defense of Blake while Qrow just waved his hand dismissively.
Blake dragged the unconscious agent inside then ran out of the building. But then she double backed, spotting more White Fang down another alley. Thinking quick, she climbed inside a large rattan basket to hide.
The White Fang agents arrived in the alley just as Blake hid away, running past the baskets in search of her and Sun.
"Nice hiding place," Sun complimented, reminded of his own hiding abilities.
Unfortunately, the monkey from earlier perched itself atop the top of the tall basket where it chattered to get the agents' attention and reveal her location. Blake tried to shush the monkey to no avail.
The White Fang agents turned towards the monkey's chattering. "In there! Get her!" the leader ordered.
"That damn monkey!" Qrow spat at the treacherous monkey.
Sun glared at Qrow. "Hey! Watch it, buddy!" he chided.
"Oh… um...no offense," Qrow apologized awkwardly for his insensitive remark.
Meanwhile, Sun continued his frantic search for Blake. He reached the wagon he pushed her onto but found it empty. He looked around worriedly for her, calling her name: "Blake!"
As Sun ran through town, a crowd of people parted in fear to reveal an ominous-looking White Fang swordsman dressed in a black robe with a red waistband. The swordsman laughed and twirled his broad saber, challenging Sun to a fight.
"Oooooh! Epic fight time!" Nora said in anticipation.
"Wait. Doesn't Sun have a gun?" Velvet reminded, wondering if Sun would simply shoot the swordsman.
Without hesitation and in a hurry to save Blake, Sun nonchalantly drew his gun and shot the swordsman down. The crowd cheered in response, one of them picking up the swordsman's saber.
A few audience members laughed while others were disappointed there was no fight scene, even though it was the most pragmatic option to simply shoot the swordsman.
"And you never bring a sword to a gunfight," Qrow rephrased his earlier quote.
"That was kind of a letdown," Yang commented, hoping to watch Sun engage the swordsman blade to blade.
"He couldn't drag out the fight or Blake's captors would give him the slip," Ren reasoned, prompting conceding nods from everyone else.
Sun then heard a familiar voice cry out: "Help! Over here, Sunny!"
Sun turned and spotted a basket tied shut with rope being carried by a pair of White Fang agents. He gave chase, shoving through the crowd. "Get out of the way! Move! Move it!" he shouted.
"Help me!" Blake cried from inside the basket as she was carried away.
Sun, following Blake's cries for help, ran through the alleys of Vacuo.
"You can't do this to me! I'm a Mistralian!" Blake protested inside the basket. "Sunny!"
A few people snickered at Blake's line despite the weight of the situation.
"I don't think they give a damn," Taiyang said bluntly.
Sun continued his chase but faced difficulty in locating Blake given the maze-like layout of the alleys. He rounded a few corners just in time to catch a glimpse of the basket before it disappeared around a new corner. He would have gotten lost if Blake hadn't continued crying out for help.
"Sun Wukong! Help me, Wukong!"
Spotting the White Fang carrying the basket again, Sun darted after them and exited the alley. He then stopped and stared in befuddlement. The marketplace was full of people carrying similar looking baskets.
Sun in particular threw up his hands. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" he voiced his counterparts' thoughts.
"You better start searching," Jaune said simply as he sipped a soda.
Desperate to find Blake, Sun began to knock down the baskets one by one, much to the outrage of their carriers. In the background, the correct basket could be seen being carried off.
"Wukong!" Blake cried again.
Sun heard her. "Blake!" he shouted as he pushed through the angry crowd.
"Don't lose her, Sun!" Ilia said urgently in concern for her friend.
Finally, the White Fang carried the basket to an army truck. Sun followed from out of an alleyway, only to be forced behind cover as a White Fang agent opened fire with a sub-machine gun while the abductors placed the basket into the truck, which was full of weapons, ammunition, and red boxes labelled "Dust".
Ghira and Kali looked worried at the dangerous materials Blake's basket was placed in, knowing a single gunshot could set them off.
"Go now! Hurry!" the White Fang suit shouted.
Seizing his chance, Sun jumped out from cover and fired, killing the gunman and the driver. Unfortunately, this sent the truck out-of-control as it swerved and tipped over with a crash. The volatile dust stored in the back of the truck detonated, blowing it up in a big, fiery explosion in the center of the marketplace.
Sun looked on at the fiery wreckage, horror-stricken. "Blake," he murmured.
A chorus of sharp gasps filled the theater at Blake's apparent death. Yang's mouth hung open as her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Weiss and Ruby wore similar expressions. Blake herself was taken aback by watching her counterpart seemingly perish.
Kali put her hands to her mouth. "Oh no! Please… no! Not my baby girl," she whispered as tears brimmed in her eyes.
Blake rushed to comfort her mother. "Mom! It's okay. I'm right here," she assured as she hugged Kali.
Ghira quivered with rage and grief as he shot a murderous glare towards Sun that screamed: "It's all your fault!"
"We don't know if she's dead. It could have been a different basket," Neptune reasoned in defense of his partner.
Sun could only sigh in shame of his counterpart's failure to save Blake and hope against hope that Neptune was right about the baskets being switched.
Later, a despondent Sun was shown drowning his sorrows with a glass of whiskey at a table with the monkey sitting nearby.
"Nothing like booze to numb the pain," Qrow commented as he sipped his flask.
"That doesn't make it go away, though," Taiyang countered in disapproval.
Nearby, Tuskon pulled up on a motorcycle. He watched Sun like a hawk.
"It's him again," Ruby pointed out angrily.
One of the White Fang agents approached the table. "Dr. Wukong. A woman in the bar wants to speak to you. Please come with us," he requested.
Sun complied to the summon and entered the bar with the monkey on his shoulder. Inside, many Vacuans were drinking and chatting amongst themselves. Sitting alone at a table smoking a cigarette was Cinder Fall.
"There's that bitch!" Jaune snarled with uncharacteristic hate, much to the surprise of everyone else.
"Easy, Jaune," Ren placated as he placed a hand on his teammate's shoulder.
Sun spotted her instantly. "Fall," he snarled.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Wukong," Cinder greeted as if Sun was an old friend.
"I ought to kill you right now," Sun threatened, angry over Blake's apparent death.
"You won't get any objections from us," Yang said bluntly, sharing the same hatred as everyone familiar with Cinder.
Cinder wasn't intimidated by the threat. "Not a very private place for a murder," she replied calmly.
"Well, these Vacuans don't care if we kill each other. They're not going to interfere with our business," Sun said as he approached the table.
"It was not I who brought the girl into this business," Cinder defended herself.
Ghira and Kali glared at the screen at Cinder's casual mention of the untimely demise of Blake's counterpart.
"Please, sit down before you fall down," Cinder requested. "We can at least behave like civilized people."
Sun reluctantly complied. He slammed the whiskey bottle onto the table and sat down while the monkey hopped onto the table.
"I see your taste in friends remains consistent," Cinder said, referring to the monkey.
The monkey clambered onto another man's shoulder while one of Cinder's cronies discreetly handed another one a pistol.
"Looks like he's surrounded by Cinder's cronies," Blake noted
"How's he going to get out of this one?" Ilia wondered aloud.
""How odd that it should end this way for us, after so many stimulating encounters," Cinder continued her monologue. "I almost regret it. Where shall I find a new adversary so close to my own level?"
"Try the local sewer," Sun quipped.
"Buuuuurn!" Yang and Coco hollered in unison while everybody else chuckled at Sun's witty remark.
Cinder took a sip from a glass of wine, ignoring Sun's insult. "You and I are very much alike. Archeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the purer faith. Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light," she said.
"Now you're getting nasty," Sun snarled at Cinder's words.
Cinder grinned. "You know it's true. How nice," she said.
"That's bullshit! Sun would never become a like her," Neptune defended Sun's integrity.
"She has a point, though. Sometimes it only takes one bad day..." Ozpin said internally, having known plenty of fallen heroes.
Cinder took out a silver pocket watch. "Look at this. It's worthless. Ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless. Like the Ark. Men will kill for it. Men like you and me," she monologued.
"What about your boss, Salem?" Sun asked. "I thought she was waiting to take possession."
"All in good time. When I am finished with it," Cinder claimed (3).
"Amazing she plans on relinquishing the Ark," Oscar noted as he ate a handful of popcorn.
"Or so she claims," Ozpin said internally, believing Cinder had ulterior motives concerning the Ark.
"Wukong, do you realize what the Ark is?" Cinder asked seriously. "It's a transmitter. It's a radio for speaking to the Brother Gods. And it's within my reach."
Fed up, Sun looked Cinder in the eye. "You want to talk to the Brothers? Let's go see them together. I've got nothing better to do," he threatened.
Sun stood up and reached for his pistol, but was quickly outgunned by Cinder's henchmen, who drew their own weapons.
Just then, Sun was saved when Pietro's children, including Penny, rushed into the bar and surrounded Sun.
"Uncle Sunny, come back home now!" Penny chirped.
"Awww," several female audience members cooed as the children rushed to Sun's rescue.
"Awww, look at all those cuties," Kali gushed.
"Uncle Sunny," Neptune chuckled while Sun scowled in annoyance at his partner.
"Next time, Sun Wukong, it'll take more than children to save you," Cinder warned as Sun was ushered out of the bar by Pietro's children.
Outside the bar, Pietro was waiting for Sun with a truck parked nearby.
"I thought I would find you there," Pietro said. "Better than the Vale Army, eh?"
The monkey hopped off Sun's shoulders and into the truck.
"Blake's Dead," Sun reported sadly as he helped Pietro's children into the back of the truck.
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry," Pietro gave his condolences.
"Life goes on, Sunny. There is the proof," Pietro comforted, referring to his children.
"That's true. No matter how much we lose... tomorrow is another day," Jaune said, remembering how the loss of Pyrrha hit him and the rest of his team, but they pressed on.
Meanwhile, the monkey peaked out of the cab and spotted Tuskon sitting on his motorcycle nearby. He gestured for the monkey to stay where he was.
"I have much to tell you," Pietro told Sun. "First we will take them home, and then I will take you to the old lady.
"He still doesn't know the monkey is working with the White Fang," Velvet fretted, knowing Cinder would continue trying to get rid of Sun.
Back at Pietro's house, Penny was preparing a bowl of dates for Sun and Pietro. As she left the kitchen, Tuskon snuck in, opened a bottle, and poured a mysterious liquid all over the dates.
Tuskon slipped out before Penny returned to retrieve the tray.
Looks of worry filled the audience's faces as they hoped Sun wouldn't fall victim to what must have been poison that Tuskon poured all over the dates.
"Cinder's resorting to more subtle methods now," Ren pointed out.
Sun was pacing in Pietro's living room. "I can't figure out how Cinder did it," he said in astonishment. "Where'd she get a copy of the headpiece? There are no pictures, no duplicates of it anywhere."
Nearby sat an elderly woman with thick, magnifying spectacles. She was examining Blake's medallion underneath her lenses.
"There's you again, Maria," Ruby pointed out Maria's second counterpart.
"It does suit me," Maria agreed to herself playing a wise old type of character.
Pietro stepped in with the monkey on his shoulder. "I tell you only what I saw with my own eyes: A headpiece like that one, except round the edges, which were rougher. In the center, the Vale woman had embedded a crystal, and... and surrounding the crystal, on one side, there were raised markings, just like that one," he explained.
Penny stepped in with a tray holding the bowl of dates and a couple of bottles. She set it down on a table and left.
Sun plucked a date from the bowl. "They made their calculations in the map room?" he asked Pietro.
Everyone tensed up as Sun picked up one of the poisoned dates.
"Don't eat that," Neptune whispered through his teeth.
"This morning. Cinder and the White Fang colonel, Adam Taurus," Pietro confirmed.
Blake and Yang both went rigid at the mention of their hated enemy. Yang even caressed her prosthetic arm as bad memories came flooding back.
Ruby frowned and placed a hand over Yang's for comfort while Blake's ears flattened as she lowered her gaze in shame from her past abandonment.
Taiyang snorted in anger and clenched his fists at the mention of the monster who cut off his daughters arm.
The monkey climbed atop the table and took a date from the bowl.
"When they came out of the map room, they gave us a new spot in which to dig, out away from the camp," Pietro finished explaining to Sun.
"The Well of the Souls, huh?" Sun presumed.
"Come, come, look," Maria beckoned from across the room. "Sit down. Come, sit down."
Sun sat next to Maria. "What is it?" he asked as he slipped on his reading glasses.
"This is a warning not to disturb the Ark of the Seasons," Maria revealed as she translated the markings.
Maria's words piqued the audience's curiosity about the Ark and why it should be left buried. Of course, given the arrogance of Cinder and Adam in and out of universe, they weren't surprised the two villains were in pursuit of the Ark.
"The White Fang may end up getting more than they're bargaining for," Ozpin predicted, knowing powerful artifacts were dangerous to disturb.
"What about the height of the staff, though? Did Cinder get it off of here?" Sun asked.
"Yes. It is here. This were the old way, this means six kadam high," Maria informed the two men.
The monkey took a bite out of the date as the trio continued talking.
Ruby's eyes widened. "Oh no…" she whispered.
"Better the monkey than them," Qrow reasoned, earning glares from a few audience members.
"That's cold, Qrow," Taiyang scolded while shaking his head.
"About 72 inches," Maria informed Sun and Pietro.
Sun was about to eat his own date before Maria held up her hand. "Wait!" she said, stopping him just in time.
Several audience members inhaled sharply through their teeth at how perilously close Sun came to eating the poisoned date.
"And take back one kadam to honor the Gods whose Ark this is," Maria finished translating the markings.
Sun looked up in relief at this new information.
"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.
Oscar smiled. "It means Sun is one step ahead of the bad guys," he said.
Sun stood up and removed his glasses. "You said their headpiece only had markings on one side. Are you absolutely sure?" he asked Pietro.
"Cinder's staff is too long," Sun said in realization.
"They're digging in the wrong place!" Sun and Pietro said together excitedly.
The audience smiled at the revelation. It was a major source of relief that Cinder would suffer a setback in her task of locating the Ark.
"Looks like Sun's gonna beat Cinder to the Ark," Velvet said as she ate a slice of carrot cake.
"They still have to get to the digging site and pull it off before the White Fang realizes their error," Ren added.
Pietro chuckled and clapped Sun on the shoulder. "I am the monarch of the sea I am the ruler of the..." he began to sing happily before stopping abruptly.
Sun tossed his date into the air to catch in his open mouth.
Everyone gasped with wide eyed anxiety as Sun prepared to eat the poisoned date.
"Sun no!" Blake cried out.
"Don't eat that!" Neptune added loudly as he reached towards the screen.
But Pietro's hand snatched it as it dropped, and then looked at something offscreen. Sun followed his gaze to the monkey lying dead on the floor next to an eaten date (4).
"Bad dates," Pietro succinctly said to Sun.
Most of the audience quietly mourned the monkey's death. Even if it was a White Fang spy, it was still just an animal. Nora, Velvet, Weiss, and Ruby were especially saddened.
"Awwww, the poor monkey," Nora whispered with tears in her eyes while Ren patted her back.
"He was working for the White Fang," Qrow reasoned.
"Even so, he was just an animal," Weiss retorted, feeling a twinge of pity for the monkey.
Author's Notes
(1)- Just a little callback to Emerald and Mercury's exchange in Volume 2 regarding Tuskon's Faunus type.
(2)- Fun fact. Harrison Ford was suffering from dysentery while filming this scene and was hardly in any condition for a fight sequence. So, he suggested to Spielberg that it would be easier if he simply shot the swordsman. He got his wish, and thus one of the funniest moments was born.
(3)- Given her character, this version of Cinder could very well plan to harness the Ark of the Seasons for herself and overthrow Salem.
(4)- The monkey may have been working for the enemy, but it was just an animal doing what he was trained to do. There was no actual malice involved in his actions.