Arcane
The screen flickered for a moment while loading. An awkward silence filled the room as everyone waited for the first "AU" to play. Several people- such as the Schnee family- didn't actually believe in other universes. Although Weiss was certainly more open to the idea than the rest of her family, given that she had first-hand experience with other worlds.
Sienna looked back at their white-haired host, "How old are you?"
The latter looked at her with a semi-surprised looked, "Hm? Oh, I'm eighteen. Why?"
"Just curious. You don't exactly look eighteen." she gave them a questioning look, scanning over their features from where she sat.
Spade shrugged, "Genetics. I've been mistaken for being thirteen before. Twice. Kinda annoying when my partner is the same age as me yet looks several years older."
"I see…"
She turned her head back to the screen as it finished loading and began playing.
The screen faded in from black, showing a bridge structure from a downward angle. Embers floated about in the red sky, smoke blowing with the wind. A child's voice sang, cutting through the eeriness of the wind whistling.
"Dear friend across the river, my hands are cold and bare…"
The image suddenly glitched almost, flicking to show the side of a statue's face. It faded to show the front of the face, a stern expression carved into it. What looked to be tears of blood ran down its right eye.
"Dear friend across the river, I'll take what you can spare…"
Another glitch and flick, changing to a more frontward view of the bridge's arch. Red smoke engulfed the area and the camera panned downward. An explosion burst from the smoke, sending a man flying backwards. A faint scream could be heard behind the bang of the explosion.
Not even five minutes in and many people were already uneasy. Salem raised a brow but was otherwise unbothered- why would this disturb her when she had seen- when she had done- so much worse?
Neptune looked back at Spade, "What… happened here…?"
They made a face and rubbed their neck, "Uh… death."
That answer didn't put anyone at ease. If anything, a few people became more uneasy. What a way to start.
"I ask of you a penny…"
A figure walked forth from the smoke and aimed down at where the man had landed, firing a shot off with a bang. The light cast from the shot lit up the figure's armor, intricate with gold edging.
"My fortune it will be…"
Heavy footsteps walked forward and images of crudely drawn faces flashed over the helmet of the armored man. He had a gun in his hands. Empty bullet casings flew out and a trail of smoke rose from it.
"I ask you without envy…"
A gas mask and red, seemingly glowing eyes became more visible as he stepped out of the thick smoke. The scene sped up ever so slightly before flicking again.
"We raise no mighty towers…"
The camera was shaky, viewing over an area where small fires sprouted. A corpse came into view on the right, a man laying against some debris.
"Our homes are built of stone…"
Another flicker, but the scene didn't change. It flickered several more times, zooming in on the corpse's face and quickly flashing red scribbles across the eyes.
"So come across the river…"
The camera lingered on the body as it passed by, papers scattered on the ground. It panned to the right and a small body came into view, walking amongst the aftermath of chaos that had ensued.
"And find…"
A little boy with black hair stood next to the taller figure, covering his eyes with his hand. His singing ceased as the other stopped walking. He glanced at them before looking up at their face.
The camera changed to his view as his fingers parted and left his face to look up at the older black-haired girl next to him. She looked forward, eyes wide and mouth partially agape in shock. She gasped and he blinked.
The Branwen twins glanced at each other, not saying a word yet still speaking sentences to each other. Of course they recognized themselves as children. They were sure everyone else would quickly make the connection as well- nobody else in the room had black hair and red eyes.
Yang glanced over at her sister, who looked relatively unbothered. It seemed strange, but Ruby had been through so much in such a short amount of time. She was no stranger to death. Besides, it was all on a screen- it wasn't real for them.
In reality it was just because Rubes had seen this AU before and lived with the people from the original universe. She forgot she was supposed to act uneasy but nobody had questioned it yet.
The camera cut back to show the two standing side-by-side, smoke and fire painting the area around them a crimson red not too far off from the color of their eyes. The boy looked where his sister's gaze was and he gasped, his own eyes widening.
Where ominous music had been playing in the background, all that could be heard was rumbling and fire crackling as the camera showed bodies strewn about on the bridge in front of them, laying on the ground, on debris, or leaned against the railing.
A close-up of the pair's hands was shown as gusts of wind cut through the other sounds. The girl tightened her grip on her brother's hand.
It cut to her face, her expression a mix of things. Shock. Horror. Fear. She looked to the side and it cut to a figure fighting with another, punching them before throwing them to the ground, making metal clank together as he did so. He stepped sideways and bashed the other with his fist twice before standing up straighter. It zoomed in on his head and he looked back, breathing heavily with an angered expression.
Hazel was a bit surprised to see himself. Then again, he was surprised he was even alive in the first place. He didn't bother turning before speaking, "A war happened here, didn't it?"
Spade hummed, "Something like that. An attempt at a revolution, more like."
Mercury rolled his eyes, "Well, clearly it failed."
Emerald glared at her former partner, "Nobody needs your input, Mercury."
He glared back at her and flipped her off, earning a silent sigh and eye roll from their host.
He fully turned towards the two children as somber music began to play. The older girl protectively pushed her brother back and he scooted closer to her, clinging to her arm. The two stepped back as the man approached them, a softer and more sympathetic expression on his face replacing the one of anger.
The sister looked up at him before looking around frantically, her brother watching her. She looked back up at the man and made a gesture, asking a question. He looked at her and closed his eyes for a moment before looking to the side, gesturing with his head.
The two looked over to where he had looked and slowly stepped forward a few paces as the music picked up more.
The camera cut and smoke was blown away by the wind, revealing the corpses of the childrens' parents hidden beneath it. Their mother- lain on her back on their father- had her eyes open, looking at the sky.
A scared and upset look formed on the boy's face as he glanced up at his sister. The music shifted from ominous to melancholic as it showed her face looking at their parents in disbelief. She tried to keep her breathing calm as erratic breaths escaped her, but ultimately she couldn't do it and tears filled her eyes.
Her brother hugged her arm, tears filling his own eyes as well.
Blake's ears flattened against her head and she took hold of Yang's hand. The scene made her think of what could've happened when she was back home. Her parents could've died during that attack, not to mention Sun and Ilia.
Yang lightly squeezed the cat Faunus' hand in reassurance. She didn't need to know what Blake was thinking to comfort her.
The man there with them had a look of realization as she dropped to her knees, inaudibly crying. Her brother hugged her neck tightly, averting his eyes downward. The two dropped lower as it showed a wide shot of the scene, their parents lying lifelessly near rubble.
The man looked over at the two corpses before slowly turning back to the children, the realization in his eyes even more evident. He raised his hands up, showing the metal gauntlets he had used to beat someone down only moments earlier.
Muffled thuds were heard as the gauntlets dropped to the ground, kicking up dirt and ash. One fell towards the camera and made it fade to black.
Smoke blew away to show the statue's face once more, illuminated by the red light of the fire. A wide shot of the side of the bridge was shown, the man carrying the two orphaned children in his arms away from the massacre that had happened.
The boy curled inwards towards the man's chest and gripped his shirt tightly with one hand. His sister had her arms around the man's shoulders, her head resting against his neck. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked at the scene behind them, a look of sorrow on her face.
It cut to show the bridge obscured by smoke. But in the midst of it stood three armored men, two walking away and one looking back at the three. He turned and walked away after just a moment.
The girl's eyes filled with hatred and her expression shifted to that of anger as her fist clenched. She looked up and the camera panned upward from the bridge, following her gaze up to a city above, seemingly untouched by the events below.
The music stopped and the screen cut to black.
"So, let me get this straight," Marrow started, "Something caused people to start a revolution, and it ended in that?"
Spade nodded their head to the side, "Yeah, pretty much."
"I'm getting déjà vu…" Weiss muttered, earning a small snicker from her brother.
After a few seconds it cut back with a flash of pale yellow and the sound of grunting. The image came into focus as a bandaged hand grabbed onto a ledge, the owner of the hand pulling herself up and jumping up onto it. Her foot slipped and dangled for a moment before she jumped up once more, grabbing onto a ledge higher up.
She looked down as the camera went in and out of focus. She was scaling the side of a building of sorts, gears being in the wall under the ledge she was hanging onto.
"We're almost there." she said, smiling down at the people beneath her.
The camera panned downwards to show her little brother and two others climbing the building with her. A tan blonde girl was climbing up some pipes while a paler boy with brown hair was pulling himself onto a ledge.
The girl grunted and sighed, "Aw, man." She jumped to the ledge her friend was on.
"What the hell are we doing?" Clover asked, more to himself than anyone else.
"Robbery."
He whipped around to look at Spade with an incredulous expression, "What?!"
They shrugged nonchalantly and he turned back around with a mildly exasperated sigh.
The rooftop came into view, almost blinding with how bright it was. The black-haired girl hoisted herself up and climbed onto the roof, panting a bit and taking a moment to catch her breath. She stood up straight and deeply exhaled.
She tilted her head back and glanced down before looking forward again, "Hey, Qrow. Come take a look."
Her little brother- Qrow- climbed onto the roof as she walked away from the edge. He looked forward and made a face of awe.
He joined his sister at the other edge of the roof and looked at the sky in awe, "Whoa."
"It's nice getting above it all, huh?" she asked, smiling a little.
The camera panned out and rotated to show a gorgeous city. Every building had white or beige walls- save for what could be assumed to be a greenhouse nearby- and gold trim lined every rooftop. Further off was a much, much larger building- presumably one of some importance.
Their brown-haired friend joined them as an airship soared overhead, grabbing their attention as it flew right over them. Perhaps a little too close for comfort.
"One day, I'm gonna ride in one of those things." Qrow stated as he watched the ship fly off into the distance.
"And one day, I'm gonna shoot one of 'em down." their blonde friend said as she walked slightly ahead of them, closing one eye and making a gun with her hand, aiming and pretending to shoot.
"Why isn't Miss Hill here with us?" Ironwood questioned.
"That is a question I do not have an answer for, my good sir." Spade made finger guns at the former general, earning them a strange look from him.
Qrow's sister lightly smacked her arm out of the way and walked forward.
"Raven, are you sure about this?" the brown-haired boy asked, following her with the other two. "Look, if we get caught, we're-"
"We're not gonna get caught," Raven cut him off, jumping down to a lower section of the roof, "We'll be in and out before anyone notices."
The group walked along the roof as birds flew by, chirping noisily. They came to the edge and looked down for a moment.
"All right, everybody, follow me. Just don't look down." Raven said before proceeding to jump down to a very narrow ledge and leap off it to a small balcony awning.
Her legs dangled and she swung onto the railing, stepping down onto the outer edge of the balcony. Whoever owned it had left out a plate of cupcakes with pink frosting and cherries. Raven grunted and paused for a second. She leapt from the balcony to a lower roof across the street- a jump that was easily a twenty to thirty foot gap. She turned to look back up at the other three.
"Looks like you're able to fly even if you're not a bird." Qrow joked. Raven rolled her eyes with a mildly annoyed groan.
Her blonde friend had a smug smirk as she cracked her knuckles outward, stretching her fingers. She went ahead of the other two- almost rudely pushing the older of the two boys back- and slid down the side of the roof to the narrow ledge below. She grabbed onto the roof, stepped onto the railing, and leapt in a similar fashion to the roof across the way. Although she looked less graceful than Raven had.
She hit the roof with a thud before the last of the older three hit the roof with a larger thud, stuffing one of the cupcakes into his mouth. He looked up at Raven.
"Couldn't we have at least just walked there?"
"Gotta stay out of sight for this one." She looked up at Qrow, who was the only one who had yet to cross the gap.
The boy looked terrified and breathed heavily. It was a large gap and a long fall if he didn't make it. He was much smaller than the other three and would need a lot more power in his jump to make it.
"Called it. This is on you, Rav." the blonde said, making Raven groan.
"I'll get him."
"No." She stopped the older boy and looked back up at her brother, "Qrow, look at me."
Qrow's attention shifted from the drop below him to his sister.
"What did I tell you?"
His gaze went back to the drop, looking less terrified and more determined, "That…" he exhaled, "I'm ready."
"That's right! So?"
Qrow took a deep breath and approached the edge. He slide down the roof with a semi-frightened yell and hit the ledge, barely taking a moment to recover before jumping to the awning and swinging onto the railing. He let out a relieved "phew!" and stepped down onto the balcony ledge, getting into position and making the leap to the other roof.
He stood up too quickly and stumbled back, falling backwards and almost off the edge. Raven caught him by the wrist last second and pulled him up.
He looked down before looking at her, "Thanks."
"And it looks like you're still learning to fly." Raven shot back at Qrow with a grin. He rolled his eyes and a few quiet snickers came from his nieces.
The four made their way up the roof and the camera panned up to the sky before coming back down. They were in a different area, now all scooching carefully along yet another ledge. The older boy was in front of the blonde and Qrow.
"What if Hazel finds out we're all the way up here?" he asked, sounding worried.
A quick switch to Raven in front of him, "Look around you. You think anyone topside's going hungry? Besides, this is exactly the sort of job Hazel would've pulled when he was our age."
Birds chirped as they made their way towards the corner of the roof.
"I'm going. Are you with me or not?"
The boy and the blonde looked at each other, the latter shrugged and the former sighing, "Hazel's gonna kill us…"
"Yeah, only if we screw up." She gave the three a look, "So don't screw up."
She hopped off the edge and swung down to a larger balcony below, landing on the railing with a thud and stepping down. She went over to the glass door and looked inside, going around to the window a moment later. After making sure no one was inside, she went back around.
"All clear."
The blonde came down first and went to the door, attempting to open it with no luck. She groaned, "Who locks their balcony?"
Weiss made a face, "Any rational person?"
"You'd be surprised at how many people don't lock their doors in Menagerie." Sienna said, glancing down at the young Huntress who- in turn- turned to her with an incredulous look.
Blake's ear turned towards the tiger Faunus and she looked back at Weiss, "Kuo Kuana is the largest settlement in Menagerie. Everyone knows everyone and many doors stay unlocked during the day."
"That seems… unsafe."
Blake shrugged, "It's just a normal part of life there."
The other two helped Qrow down as she knelt down and began picking at the lock. The older boy looked over the railing at the busy streets below.
"Whew. There's tons of enforcers down there." he stated.
"Means we're in the right place. You gonna get that door open any time soon?" Raven asked.
"Working on it. Seeing as I'm the only one who knows how to pick locks, I suggest-" the blonde was cut off by Raven suddenly kicking the door open, making her jump a little and drop her lock pick.
The boys followed Raven inside, the elder smacking his friend on the back of the head as he passed by and the younger giving her a look. She scoffed, looking a bit bewildered, "Animals…" She got up and followed them in.
The group looked around the room- various pieces of machinery and trinkets on the walls, shelves, and table. Raven walked forward and dropped a large bag on the ground. A massive fold-out chalkboard covered with diagrams and equations took up most of the back wall. She started examining the book spines, taking one off the shelf and flipping through it.
Oobleck observed the screen curiously, "How technologically advanced is this universe?"
Spade thought about it for a minute, "Well, they're not as advanced as Remnant in terms of airships, weapons, and the sort, but they're more advanced in harnessing magic for things such as teleporting large vessels from one place to another."
"Fascinating! So the people here can use magic freely?"
"Uhh… kinda…?" They weren't exactly sure how to answer that question and scratched their neck.
"Don't bombard the poor child with questions, Oobleck. Not right now, anyways." Glynda spoke, gesturing for Oobleck to shush.
The blonde and brunette started searching around with her, the former speaking up.
"You know, Clover, for once you're right. We are definitely not supposed to be here." She rubbed her hands together and picked up two random trinkets off the table, looking at them and shrugging before tossing them into the bag.
Clover opened a drawer and emptied the contents into the bag. Qrow moved some books aside, accidentally knocking them to the floor, and picked up what looked to be some kind of horse figurine, putting it in with the rest of the stuff.
Raven looked at the chalkboard, a random piece of machinery in her hand, "Must be an inventor."
"Huh." Qrow walked by a shelf until something caught his eye, "Whoa, I think this is a real Valdiani." He picked it up and tapped it. It opened up and a small solar system popped up and spun, gentle music playing.
"Oh, yeah? What about this?" the blonde held something out in front of her and pressed the button on it.
Qrow looked mildly disgusted, "That's a nose hair trimmer."
A fit of snickering arose from some of the younger audience along with someone saying "gross."
Raven walked behind him, "Keep an eye out for anything that looks valuable, Qrow. Before Robyn fills the bag with junk."
Robyn looked at her and tossed the trimmer aside, turning to look about the desk. She moved some papers and blueprints aside, revealing some kind of device with a blue stone hidden underneath.
Her eyes widened, "Uh… guys?"
Raven and Clover looked over at her and moved to get a closer look at the device.
Clover's expression shifted to confusion, "Wait, Rav, how the hell did we find this place?"
Robyn attempted to touch the stone and ended up getting zapped by it, quickly drawing her hand back.
"It was a tip from Little Man." Raven looked just as confused as Clover did.
"Little Man?" Robyn looked back at her.
"Just leave it. Come on."
"Who's this 'Little Man'?" Roman asked.
"Marrow, I think?" Spade scratched their head, "I don't really remember."
Marrow gave them a confused look and they merely shrugged.
It switched to show Qrow curiously going to a different part of the apartment, Clover and Robyn's voices echoing from the other room.
"How can anyone have so much stuff?"
"Simple, just get born lucky."
Qrow opened the door to a different room. It was smaller and more cluttered. He looked around and began rummaging through things while quietly humming. He pocketed something he picked up and grabbed a book off the shelf above him, flipping through it before snapping it shut. His gaze fixated on a couple of sandwiches on the other table.
"Woo-hoo!" He tossed the book aside and grabbed one of the sandwiches, taking a bite of it without a second thought.
Willow looked mildly disgusted, "He doesn't know how long those have been sitting out…"
"If it fills your stomach, it doesn't matter how nasty it is. You get desperate when you're starving." Nora spoke, glancing over at the Schnee.
The older woman took her words into consideration with a small nod. Growing up rich in Atlas meant she'd never had to deal with the possibility of starvation.
He moved a blueprint off of a chest and attempted to pick it up, it proving to be too heavy. Instead, he searched for a way to open it, successfully doing so and watching as the lock mechanism clicked and turned, slowly retracting the lid to reveal six more blue stones.
"Whoa…"
He picked one up and examined it. The blue glow reflected off his eyes and he could see his own reflection in the stone's surface.
Back in the balcony room, the other three had basically trashed the place. Books, papers, and other objects littered the floor. Clover kicked a book as he walked by a crouched Raven, who caught a metal sphere Robyn tossed at her from her seat on the desk chair. Raven looked at the main door as distant chatter and footsteps got closer. A shadow passed in front of the small pane of blue glass on the door and the doorknob clicked.
Raven shot up and pointed at Robyn, whisper-shouting, "Robyn!"
Robyn jumped up and ran, carrying a smaller chair and sticking it under the doorknob before it could open.
Raven ran into the hall, "Qrow, we gotta go!"
The younger boy gasped and quickly grabbed the rest of the stones.
A muffled voice came from the other side of the door, "Hello? Is someone in there?"
As Qrow stuffed the stones into the pouch on his hip, one fell out and hit the floor, bouncing and rolling. Blue sparks of electricity shot from it on impact, sparking again with each bump in the floor it hit.
Raven pulled her brother by the wrist and they ran to the balcony room, Clover and Robyn holding the door open for them. The latter urged them to hurry up, "Come on!"
The person outside the door was attempting to open the door to no avail. The stone Qrow had dropped continued to roll, sparking as it bumped over things and kept gaining momentum.
Raven quickly secured the bag closed, "We'll be fine. Just get back on the roof."
By now the one outside has resorted to attempting to ram the door open and force it through the barricade. The loose stone rolled right into it and everything slowed down as it made contact with the door, cracking on impact.
Raven got up, slinging the bag over her shoulder right before the stone exploded with a blue flash.
The other three were thrown back from the force and a hole was blown into the side of the building. Qrow coughed and the other two grunted as Raven ran out to them, turning to see the balcony cracking and falling apart, blue sparks of lightning crackling as it did. She pushed the others back, "Hold on-!"
Two enforcers down below watched as the balcony fell and quickly got out of the way, barely avoiding being crushed by the debris.
The dust settled and Raven peeked over the newly created ledge, looking down at the scene below. Three enforcers looked up at her.
"Shit."
Many people were visibly shocked by the events that just unfolded.
Neptune turned around in his seat, "What was that?!"
The host did jazz hands, "Magic."
"But that rock was so tiny!" Sun looked back at them.
"The unstable kind."
Salem and Ozpin- as well as the Maidens- knew first-hand how destructive magic could be. And if the blue stones were unstable like Spade had said, then the child Branwen having so many of them was sure to end in disaster.
Horns- presumably to signal emergencies- sounded, shaking the screen a bit.
It cut to the four children running through the streets, weaving around and shoving people out of the way. Enforcers were hot on their tail, one of which threw a restraining device of some sort at the group but missed and hit a pole.
They ran up stairs and through a large courtyard area, Raven looking behind her for a second, "Faster!"
They came to a set of downward stairs. Raven ignored them completely and leapt down, Robyn slid down the railing, and the boys both ran down them normally. As they continued to run through the busy streets, another restraint came down from a bridge above and barely missed Qrow's foot.
The group ran out of the streets and across a large bridge- the same one shown earlier, in fact. It began to lift as they got closer to the center but was too slow, giving them enough time to jump across the gap. Several enforcers were successful in following them, but one tripped as he jumped and fell between the gap, falling into the water below as a ship passed through.
Now out of the busy streets, the children ran through narrow alleys, Robyn accidentally going too far and having to backtrack a little. Raven braced herself as she hit a wall and ran down a very narrow alleyway, followed by Qrow who was less successful in softening his blow to the wall, Clover who did better, and Robyn who slid into the wall and bounced off it just as a restraint clanged against the stone surface and missed her.
Raven punched the valve of a steam pipe clean off and steam filled the alley, creating a smoke screen. They ran out and quickly turned a corner right as the enforcers came out of the steam, coughing and unable to see where they had gone. One ran forward and silently gave orders for them to split up in search.
It cut to Raven pulling a sort of manhole off a sewer pipe just big enough for a person to fit through. Dark sludge fell off the rim and down the pipe as flies buzzed around it.
Everyone made faces of disgust, especially the Schnees. Even Tyrian looked a bit grossed out.
Robyn knelt down and waved her hand in front of her face, "Oh, man, not again. I just got this shirt-" she was cut off by her own yell as Raven kicked her into the pipe.
The four slid down the filthy pipe and landed on a massive heap of garbage underground. Robyn landed fine but was knocked down by Clover as he was thrown onto the pile, causing them both to roll down it and hit the ground. Qrow fell onto the heap with a small yell, followed by his sister.
"Thought last time was the last time we were gonna do this." Robyn picked a piece of garbage out of her hair with a look of disgust.
"Well, this time's the last time." Raven spoke from the top of the trash heap.
Clover looked back at the two siblings, "Guys, what was that? What the hell happened back there?"
A brief pause before all three looked at Qrow. He looked at them with an offended expression, "I don't know. I didn't do anything."
Robyn rolled her eyes, "You could fill a damn library with the things you didn't do."
"Guys, we just emptied a Piltover penthouse right under the enforcers' noses." Raven stood up, bag of loot in hand, "So, if you're done beating yourselves up, let's get this home."
It cut to Raven shoving open a floor covering- presumably one that led to the garbage area they'd landed in. She hopped out and helped Qrow up. Clover handed her the bag as he came out and she grabbed it, swiftly pulling it to the screen and cutting it to black.
The door on the back wall burst open, startling Spade and several others. A small child with messy, off white hair and purplish-pink eyes walked out with a blank expression. They looked at Spade, "I got it."
"I can see that… what, uh… what was the issue?"
Embry held up a broken and splintered piece of what looked like the doorframe, "It warped and jammed the door."
"Uh-huh… go, uhm… go ask Ethan or Ellie if they can fix it later."
"Okay." Embry closed the door but didn't latch it, instead wrapping a small chain around the doorknob and attaching it to a small hook in the wall. They waved as they left the theater without another word.
Ruby had barely said a word. She still felt overwhelmed by everything; the Ever After, being in a strange place, seeing her own mother alive and well in the theater. Little and Cindy were keeping her grounded. And Mi-a when it came to check on the three.
This first AU was a bit of a blur to Ruby. Her thoughts wandered at random times when it was playing, so she really only remembered bits and pieces. But what she did remember she found interesting.
Seeing her uncle and… whatever Raven's relation to her was- as children wasn't something she'd expected. Then again, what she expected and what really happened had been vastly different for quite some time now. Though she wasn't sure how to feel about what she just watched, she had to admit that the tiny Qrow she saw on screen was adorable.
Cindy chirped and fluffed her feathers, earning her a head pat from the young Huntress. Ruby looked down at the fire-colored bird, "I don't know what it is about you, but… you seem… familiar… somehow…"
Little tilted their head and looked between the two, "Have you met her before?"
"I… don't know… I feel like I have… but at the same time…" She looked at the window, seeing the empty space outside. Her attention turned back to Cindy, "This is the first time we've met…"
Cindy made a shrugging motion. It was definitely Ruby's first time meeting her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that they knew each other. She sighed and just gently patted the bird.
All three jumped when Embry flung the door open, Little tumbling off of Ruby's shoulder. Ruby thought the child looked… sick… to say the least. But they seemed to be fine, so maybe that was just how they looked? Blake used to look kinda sick when they'd first met her.
"Do you know what's gonna play next?" Ruby asked her bird friend, to which Cindy simply shook her head.
Little climbed back up to Ruby's shoulder and- not very quietly- whispered to her, "Cindy's a really smart bird. Maybe she's actually a person that can turn into a bird!"
The Huntress thought about it for a minute. It was definitely within the realm of possibility. Qrow and Raven could both turn into birds, so what's to say that Cindy wasn't like them in that aspect?
Cindy gave the mouse a strange look and rolled her eyes. Could birds even do that-?
Spade had returned to their seat and was messing with their tablet again. While they were doing that, the tension between theater occupants had eased up, and idle chatter went on between groups.
Sun introduced Neptune to Ilia and the Belladonnas, and in turn they introduced the two boys to Sienna.
Hazel and Emerald spoke to the Ace Ops about what had happened inside Monstra, though neither were much of talkers and took turns explaining.
The Schnees- minus Jacques- had a bit of a bonding moment. The four of them agreed not to talk about the horrible things they'd endured and only spoke about things such as hobbies, interesting people they've met, or fond memories they made. Oscar listened to the four and felt a bit homesick, missing his aunt and the farm.
The former Beacon staff caught up with each other, though Ozpin stayed quiet unless spoken to. Truthfully, he was expecting them to hold some kind of resentment towards him, but to his surprise, that wasn't the case at all. They caught him up on their lives and the current situation in Vale, and in turn he told them all about what had happened after he appeared in Oscar's mind.
JNPR and CV were catching up with each other. Though they were mostly catching Pyrrha up to speed. The redhead felt a bit overwhelmed by everything that had happened after she died, but she also felt proud. Proud of her teammates and friends for how far they'd come and how much they've grown. She lightly scolded Jaune for how he lashed out at Ruby, but she understood why he acted that way.
Roman and Neo watched as Tyrian attempted to talk to Adam. It was less "talking" and more "pestering." The scorpion Faunus was basically climbing over Watts- much to the inventor's displeasure- and bombarding the former White Fang member with nonsensical and irrelevant questions. It was comical in a way, but you didn't have to know Adam well to know he had a short fuse.
Blake's ear turned back towards the two and she turned around. She made a face and briefly debated trying to warn Tyrian, but ultimately came to the conclusion that he would just ignore her. She turned back to Yang, "He's gonna get punched."
The blonde turned her attention from her sister to her girlfriend, "Huh? Who?"
"Tyrian. Adam's gonna punch him." She gestured to the two Faunus in the third row.
Yang turned to look and quirked an eyebrow. She still felt a burning hatred towards both men, more so Adam than Tyrian, but she was curious if Spade would let the two fight. Her rage towards the bull Faunus had died down a little after her and Blake's fight with him, but it would never go away completely.
Adam was still feeling the phantom pains of his stab wounds as well as his spine breaking during his fall. The pain paired with Tyrian's insufferable questioning made his blood boil. He didn't even know the man for fuck's sake.
Spade hadn't been paying attention, more focused on getting the next AU to play correctly, but their attention snapped over to the sudden yell on their right. Adam had snapped and elbowed Tyrian in the face, knocking him back and making his nose bleed. Watts and Cinder were also annoyed with him, both shoving him back into his seat and telling him to stay put in their own ways- Watts by verbally telling him and Cinder by digging her nails into his arm.
The host shook their head in disappointment before punching the tablet screen. And that somehow fixed the problem. Of course it did.
"Sometimes I really fucking hate technology."
*Metal pipe dropping sfx*
Not a word about how long this took. I had my dance recital in June and my school schedule is all janky so my senior year doesn't end until December (homeschool).
I ain't got any AU order planned out. Just got a list of ones I wanna do. Also I had originally planned to do the entire first episode but Arcane episodes are ~40 minutes long and the ~15 minutes here was already like 4k words I think.
For the one person that asked; Yes, I'm open to suggestions. But like I said, I have a list of AUs I wanna do. If I don't know the media you suggest I likely won't get to it very soon if at all.
For the other guy in the comments (you know who you are); I do plan on doing a PASWG chapter. But this is your unfriendly reminder that Ruby is still a minor. She is still 17 in canon. I don't fucking care how old you are, you made both me and Rubes uncomfortable and sexualized a child. I know this fandom is a fucking dumpster fire shithole when it comes to sexualizing characters, but keep that shit to yourself you bitchless weirdo. This is why you've never felt the touch of a woman, not even your own mother's.
Anyway the alter count has reached ~260 since last time (when I said it was ~220) cause I keep getting new hyperfixations and mfs keep showing up unannounced.
Back to work I go.
(I'm gonna hold them at gunpoint so they'll actually work on the next chapter - Rubes)