~Remnant-II~

Jaune and his friends, minus Sun and Neptune, spoke to Arc, who explained his timeline. Of course, Arc already knew he was ahead of this world since they hadn't 'Painted the town...' yet. The event with Torchwick and the Paladin was yet to happen.

Ruby looked at Arc with a discerning eye. "So…You are a few months ahead of our time. Does that mean there are things you know that we don't?"

Arc nodded. "That's right. At this time," looking at Blake. "You haven't been sleeping and continued to search for clues on White Fang activities."

Blake looked at Arc with a glare. "Do we find clues about the White Fang?"

Arc smiled. "Indeed you do. In the docks, there is a White Fang rally on the weekend. There, you will find Torchwick and his partner with a stolen Paladin. However, please note that this is from my world's knowledge, not yours. So, there might be a few differences, like Ren over there."

Ren sighed. He could not believe that his counterpart was dating Arc! He can admit that Arc did look good. He would have fancied him if he were indeed a girl, especially when he showed such care for Nora.

Ren choked on his thoughts. 'I can't believe I'm thinking about what my counterpart is thinking and what she would do.'

Jaune looked at Ren with a worried look. "You okay, Ren?"

Ren choked even further as he saw the worried look on Jaune's face. 'He is indeed handsome. You go other me… This is too much! I'm straight, damn it! Stop thinking about what you're female version would think!'

He calmed himself. "I'm fine. Just had a bit of a dangerous thought."

Nora wooed. "What kind of thoughts? Something exciting? Something destructive! Or something sexy?"

Ren blushed. "Nora!"

Nora chuckled. She then hid behind Jaune. "It's definitely sexy thoughts."

Ren covered his face in shame.

Yang laughed out loud. "Man, Ren, and Nora are like my personal comedy duo! Thanks to their electrifying sense of humor, I'm 'cracking' up whenever they're around. It's like they've got the 'pun'damentals of laughter down to a science!"

Everyone groaned at Yang's pun except for Jaune and Arc, who laughed hard.

Yang was surprised. "Huh? Did you guys laugh?"

Arc wiped the tears in his eyes. "I always find your puns funny. Ruby tells me not to laugh since you'd start making more and more puns. But this is not my world, and I can finally laugh to my heart's content."

Jaune laughed so hard that he was clutching his stomach. "What he said. I was holding my laughter but couldn't hold it anymore when he laughed," Looking at Ruby. "Sorry, Ruby."

Yang looked at Ruby with red eyes, but there was a smile on her face. "Ruby, my dear sister. Have you been making our friends hold their laughter?"

Ruby was panicking. This is not the first time she has seen that look on Yang. "It was only Jaune. I swear! He has been the only one who has ever laughed at your jokes!"

Yang continued with her scary expression. "Good. I did not want to do something drastic to my lovely little sister. That would have been a shame."

Ruby was so scared that she ran away. However, Yang gave a slower chase after her, making the entire thing even scarier.

Weiss looked at the sisters with a shiver.s "That was not scary at all…"

Blake looked at her. "No need to lie with us, Weiss. We were all scared."

Arc said. "Are you kidding? That was totally awesome! It was quite hot!"

Jaune nodded. "I agree. It was so scary but very sexy."

Blake was slack-jawed. "There is something with the both of you."

Pyrrha looked at Arc and had a question. "You said that you were here looking for something, right? Do you have any idea where it is? Or how you are going to go about looking for it?"

Arc smiled. "I know it is here in Vale. As for the specific area, I can't say since it is moving. Someone has already taken hold of it but has not directly touched it. As for searching for it?" He took out something from his item box. "I plan to use the drones I made to detect its energy to surveil the entire Vale. I have plenty of these things, which is enough to cover the entirety of the city."

Ruby, who was running away from Yang, arrived and heard what Arc said. "You made those? They are so cool! Can I see them?"

Arc pointed behind Ruby. "Sure, but do you have time?"

Looking at what Arc was pointing at, Ruby did a scream painting face, and dashed away. There was no way she was going to let her sister catch her.

Yang creepily said. "Oh~ Ruby~ There is nowhere for you to run~"

Blake looked at Jaune and Arc. "Do you still think that was hot and sexy?"

Jaune and Arc looked at each other and replied. "Totally!"

Pyrrha gumbled. She saw something amazing earlier, a Jaune dating a Pyrrha, but how can she make that a reality in this world? 'There's got to be a way for me to tell Jaune how I feel. But I've given so many hints! He hasn't even noticed me!'

Arc saw Pyrrha, and he whispered to her. "I know you like Jaune, but you'll never get him if you give subtle hints. I'll let you in a little secret. Jaune's are dense. You must be straightforward if you want him to know how you feel. Before I came here, there was a girl I was with every day, and I did not even know she was into me until she kissed me. And this is when the others always hint to me that she will soon be part of the harem."

Pyrrha thought about his words and was determined to do something more active than passive. She was not going to lose to anyone! Although, if things do not go as planned, the harem plan looks quite tempting.

Later, Yang finally caught Ruby.

Ruby was struggling in Yang's hands. "Yang! Spare me! Ah!"

Yang was grabbing Ruby's cheeks and pulling against them. "Are you going tell someone not to laugh at my puns again?"

Ruby is in tears. "I won't do it again! Ah! Stop pulling! My poor rosy cheeks!"

Yang let her go. "Good. I'll let you off easy this time. But if it happens again…" She laughed creepily.

Ruby ran away again. This was the second phase of her nutty sister.

Arc looked at the others. "So? What do you guys do here for fun? Except for playing Remnant: The Game."

Nora shouted. "Oh! We like going to the Emerald Forest and hunting monsters and demons! It is so much fun! We even get drops from killing them!"

Ren sighed. "Nora, we have never done that. It's another one of your dreams."

Nora looked at Ren with a puzzled look. "Are you sure?"

Ren said. "Yes, Nora. I'm sure. There are no such monsters that drop items when you kill them."

Arc said with a smile. "Are you sure about that, Ren? Because I can tell you, there is a world out there that when you kill it, it will drop items."

Nora was elated. "See, Ren! It's real!"

Ren sighed. "That may be true, but that is in another world, not ours. Therefore, what you said was merely in your dreams."

Nora squinted her eyes. "Really? Then how do you explain this?" she took something from her skirt.

Ren sighed once more. "That's a piece of a broken doorknob you broke three days ago."

Nora looked at it. "Oh, right. He-he!"

Even later, in a swift, almost comical motion, Ruby dashed out of the room and down the dimly lit hallway, her voice trailing behind like a cheerful echo, "I'll be right back!"

A sudden crash reverberated through the air, a cacophony of surprise and clumsiness as Ruby seemingly collided with an unseen obstacle.

A muffled "Oo-oof! Oh g-!" followed, her words a mixture of exclamation and apology as she peered up from her undignified sprawl. "Sorry. Are you okay?" she inquired, her concern genuine.

The harmonious melody that had underscored the scene took on an eerie quality, its notes twisting into an unsettling tune, setting an unexpected mood for the encounter.

The emerald-haired girl's voice emerged reassuring. "I'm fine. Just watch where you're going," she advised with a hint of playful reproach.

Ruby, still in a slightly messy state, was aided to her feet by the girl. A male stood beside them, an observer of the unfolding exchange.

Ruby's words flowed again, mixed with embarrassment and friendliness, "Oh, right, sorry." Her gratitude for the emerald-haired girl's assistance was evident in her tone.

With the emerald-haired girl's support, Ruby regained her verticality, her energy undiminished. "Um, I'm Ruby!" she introduced herself vivacious and curiously. "Are you new?"

A new presence became known as the emerald-haired girl stepped aside, allowing a raven-haired girl to step forward from the shadows. The atmosphere shifted slightly, a subtle tension entering the scene as the girl approached. "Visiting from Haven, actually."

The emerald-haired girl's gaze lingered on her for a fleeting moment before redirecting back to Ruby.

Time seemed to pause briefly as Ruby and the raven-haired girl locked eyes, a silent exchange between strangers - a mixture of curiosity, appraisal, and perhaps something unspoken.

Ruby's voice, tinged with a realization, broke the silence, "Ooh! You're here for the festival!" Her words were laced with an eager enthusiasm as she made a connection.

A hint of confusion danced in her tone as she continued, "But exchange students have their own dormitory."

The male's explanation followed a nonchalant remark that carried a hint of indifference, "I guess we just got turned around."

Ruby's reassuring nature shone through as she sought to comfort, her words bright. "Hey, don't worry, it happens all the time."

As Haven 'students' moved past her, she became a friendly guide, her voice animated, "Uh, your building is just east of here."

The emerald-haired girl's gratitude floated back into the air, "Thanks." She and the raven-haired girl continued on their way, leaving Ruby behind momentarily.

A final exchange echoed from the distance, a hopeful promise, "Maybe we'll see you around."

Ruby's voice carried through the space, her parting words a mixture of warmth and welcome, "Yeah, maybe!"

Ruby's arm raised, her hand offering a wave, a final gesture of friendliness. "Oh, uh, and welcome to Beacon!" she called out, her words cheerful.

However, a sinister grin curved upon the raven-haired girl's lips, an evil glint sparking within her eyes.

Arc was hidden with his [Extreme Concealment], watching the interaction. He was not there when it happened in his world, but seeing it here, he spotted something evil from the girl. Then, a flash in the girl's eyes resembled the Maiden's power when stimulated.

Arc watched the girl with a calculating eye. 'Either she is one of the Maidens, or she was the one that attacked Amber. From what I know, most people who receive the power of the Maiden are either good people or horrible people who killed the previous owner to receive the power. At least that is what Amber told me about it.'

Arc decided to keep an eye on those 'students.' After all, they have a counterpart in his world. What if they are precisely the same? This could be valuable information for finding the person Amber has been looking for.