Happy holidays everyone. Decided to finish up this chapter in my free time now that University Exams are over.
Blue Room, The White House, USA
Evening, Day after awaking, 2028, Earth
He stared out the window, gazing upon the lands of the capital of the most powerful nation of Earth.
"It's a full moon out." He remarked. "Clear as the waters in Malibu."
"It's beautiful Mister President." a quaint British-sounding voice said behind him prompting the President to turn to see a white-haired, well-endowed, and clad in a simple but pretty dress. "You don't see such views these often."
"Linsey Seidel. A pleasure to meet you again."
The British Ambassador giggled, "Always the gentlemen Mister President. Interesting things are happening this year. Taiwan's advocating on full independence, various green initiatives worldwide, carrier-sized cleaner ships, Korea's final constitution, and now these apparent extra-world travellers from a fictional world?"
"I expected the height of my presidency to be dealing with the Chinese. Not charecters from a webshow. You received the brief?"
"8 teens teleport into your office, all of them from the web series RWBY. All of them with battle wounds of various kinds. Your general and doctors have uncovered that they were on a mission before coming here and on an aircraft transport. And besides myself and the British Government, you've invited the Aussies and Canadians with a couple of Mass Destruction arriving sometime tonight or tomorrow." Seidel recounted. "That's the short version at least."
"Bingo."
"Say, calling us and our former colonies, your going with overkill aren't you?"
"I'll take an-ex SAS operator as a bodyguard and the British Represenative. Besides, some international support would be nice." The President nodded.
"You really think this could end up poorly do you?"
"Lins, you know the term, hope for the best, plan for the worst."
"And the worst?"
"6 teams of Secret Service waiting in other rooms, 4 sniper teams with anti-material rifles off property, a flight of F-15s loaded with JADMs at Andrews Air Force Basel, and an entire company of national Gaurd Special Forces mobilized for training purposes." the President answered.
"A tad bit for 8 kids don't you think?" the Linsey replied.
"8 kids with superpowers, at least four of them able to beat any normal humans in a raw beat down. Let's not mention a Virgina and two Burkes loaded with Tomahawks that I've rerouted and delayed their refits for tonight."
"Ah, the good old American have your hand on a giant stick for a beat down. When do I get to meet these kids?" Linsey asked.
"Right about….now."
Outside in the hallways
"Does anyone know where in the brothers we are?" Fox asked telepathy.
"Nope Foxy. Your guess is as good as any one of ours." Nora responded mentally.
To say that both teams JNPR and CFVY were getting angsty. It was subtle but it was growing.
For starters, their scrolls were still missing. There was no contact with Beacon or Vale.
Secondly, there was no indication of where they even were!
Who the hell calls a building the White House? And what was the White House?
Third, the appearance of a general by the name of Vance of the United States Army.
Not Atlassian military for sure.
So that begs the question, where were they?
"Hey Greenie! Where the heck are we going?" Coco demanded as the general by the name of Vance led them up a series of stairs.
"Coco!" Velvet hissed mentally. "Are you trying to get us kicked out?"
"Does it look like I want to be here?"
"We don't even where here is!" Jaune added.
"Don't worry, we're almost there, a few people want to meet you and show you something. " Vance stated as he pushed through a doorway. "Gentlemen." the General nodded to a few Secret Service agents standing guard.
"Well, at least they look snazzy." Coco gazed at one of the secret service agents.
"I think those are guards Coco," Pyrrha answered.
"How can you tell?"
"Posturing, sunglasses to limit possible identification, stances, all wearing the same uniform, they're all hunter or military-aged men with seemingly decent physical physique, the dress shirt covering their belt line which may be used to conceal firearms." the Gladiator rattled off.
"...Damn, how do you know this?" Fox wondered.
No one could see Pyrrha blush lightly. "I…I had security guards of my own."
"Ceral girl needing a guardian? Jaune you should take over for them." Fox added.
"This was before Beacon." Pyrrha responded. "My sponsors didn't want me to…. inadvertently harm the audience in a fit of rage and make a statement."
"I always knew you had an action side to you Sis," Nora said.
Before the conversation could go anywhere, Vance brought them to a door and knocked on it. "Mister President, I brought our guests."
"Come in." the muffled response came.
Vance pushed open the door before gesturing for the teens to enter.
"Who bets this the part we become game players for some rich assholes?" Fox asked.
"30 Lien." Yatsu threw his bet in.
"20" Coco added.
"Guuyyyys." Velvet mentally whined.
"They fed us pancakes, how can they be bad guys?" Nora added
When both teams were ushered into the room, they only found two people. The same man known as the president and a beautiful lady in an elegant dress.
And the room itself was furnished quite well. Some very old-fashioned couches and chairs, a coffee table, some nice elegant paintings, and two giant windows. Honestly, it felt like a giant living room of some kind.
"Ok, these are some rich folks." Coco mentally thought.
"So these are the kids that interrupted your work period and got me out of a meeting with my bosses, I like the clothes." The lady smiled.
"Why thank you miss…." Coco realized that she didn't know her name.
"Linsey Seidel, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United States of America. A pleasure to meet you all." the Ambassador bowed.
"United Kingdom of….Great…what?" both teams JNPR and CFVY had looks of confusion.
"Just call me Linsey, or Ambassador if that's your style." the Ex-SAS operator shrugged.
"...Where is this United….Kingdom?" Yatsu questioned.
That was when the president sighed. "I suppose it's time for the truth. You might have noticed that we haven't told you where on Remnant you are-"
"-Yeah, like you've been avoiding all of our questions," Jaune muttered, with the rest of the two teams nodding or murmuring in agreement.
"- and there's a good reason for that. And that reason will explain a good chunk of it if you look out the window." The president thumbs back towards the giant glass portals to the outside world.
"What's so important about a window?" Pyrrha inquired.
"Just look out and it'll answer a question or two." the President sighed.
"Hmmm?" Jaune cautiously approached the window, with both the president and ambassador stepping backward, and took a peek.
He was greeted by a view of the outside world, the first in a while.
It was a sprawling green field of bright green grass, an oval road or sidewalk layout ringing close to the White House, dozens of trees ringing around the field, a….water fountain ringed with flowers as decoration, a marble tower of some kind off the distance, and the darkness of the night illuminated by the…..the.
"Huh? Wha? What?" Jaune stammered as he looked up, blinking to clear his eyes.
The moon.
Or rather, the moon of wherever they were.
Instead of the familiar shattered moon, shaped like a crescent and hanging above Remnant like a shattered jigsaw puzzle, this moon was spherical, whole, and had a glow akin to an old lightbulb with a sort of yellowy-orange hew.
And it was whole. Whole.
"What-what the actual fuck of the brothers?" the son of the Arc family just stared at the natural satellite of Earth.
"Jaune? What's…..Up…." Ren joined him and looked up. And it only took one second for his mind to crash as well.
"Guys? What's so special outside?" Coco and the rest of the teens approached the window and looked up. And they froze as well.
The President could hear a bunch of swears, shocked murmurs, whispers of confusion, and what's here and there. It was clear that the moon had a stunning effect on all of them.
"Do remember one of them is capable of telepathy. Remember that." Linsey whispered.
It took about a minute for both teams to have their moments of shock an surprise before they all turned about and looked at the most powerful man in the United States.
"Where….where are we?" Velvet asked, shyly.
"Well stage lights on us. Team CFVY, Team JNPR, welcome to the United States of America, of the world called Earth."
There was silence.
And then a THUMP.
And everyone glanced to see that Nora had fainted.
The President just stared at the unconscious ginger and breathed a sigh of relief. "That went better than I feared."
A short while later, the evening
Approaching the White House, Washington DC
"Vance better explained why he pulled me from my men." General Victor Ross of the Canadian Army grumbled as he adjusted his uniform.
"Quit whining dear. The American President wanted to talk to us and Vance called that favour. And knowing Vance, it's important." Australian Navy Admiral Sophia Limburn chuckled as she helped her husband adjust his uniform.
The couple was an odd type. Two flag officers from completely separate (but friendly) nation-states first met up in high school before joining their respective militaries and eventually getting married.
How did two flag officers from two separate nations get married and start a family without being forced into retirement? Well, a combination of circumstances, combined with the previous budget cuts for the Canadian military (later reversed) and being some of the most combat-experienced officers meant that Australia and Canada couldn't afford to lose them. So they were able to maintain their relationship.
"You know Vance better than I do. Anything that could suggest?" Sophia asked.
"Beats me. It should be something that involves state secrecy or special forces. He'd have no reason to call us up otherwise." Victor shrugged.
The black Secret Service Car, which had picked them up from Joint Base Andrew, approached the White House gates, which opened up to let the pitch-black car enter.
"Should have brought Sydney. He'd love the view." Victor sighed.
"Yes….we should have." Sophia sighed, longing to spend time with her sons again.
They sat in silence as the car entered the White House's underground parking lot before turning into one of the parking spots.
"Huh, strange. I remember something Vance is supposed to be in a meeting with some Pentagon officials and later the commissioning of some new tanks in a few days. He shouldn't be in the White House at the moment." Victor frowned.
"Really? Any postponements you saw back at HQ?" Sophia questioned.
"Nothing regarding Vance. He's got some questions to answer for," Victor adjusted his service cap.
"We're here." the Secret Service Agent said from the front. "Staff will bring your bags to the Guest room for your stay. Enjoy the night."
"Thank you Gus. Remind me to tip the staff." Sophia responded as she and Victor swung open the doors and stepped out of the vehicle.
It didn't take long for them to do a security scan and into the White House itself.
And finally, after an agonizing plane ride, the pair finally ran into Vance waiting outside the Oval Office.
"Vic!"
"Vance my bro!" the Canadian saluted, then hugged his American counterpart. "I see your still fit after taking those stars."
"You too mate. Say, you gained a pound while you were away?" Vance smiled.
"Hey, Korean BBQ isn't something you can turn away. Especially when Lee's Serving it." Victor chuckled.
"Vance, good to see you're still kicking. Should have known that punch in Korea didn't knock you down," Sophia nodded respectfully.
"Glad you're still up and running. How's the Adelaide? And Syd?"
"For the former, up and running again. And we got a Quarlet of F-35s. Canberra's funding kicked us into high gear so we have some actual fixed aircraft for her now. We should be ready for training and patrols by the end of the month Syd? Still in school. Grade 11." Sophia responded, shaking his hand.
"Heh, that's something. Come this way," Vance motioned and the trio began walking down the hallway.
"So Vance, your message was fairly cryptic. Who are we dealing with today? Iran? China, North Korea's remnants? Them?" Victor narrowed at the last word.
"Thankfully not," Vance's words had some relief. "We're dealing with something more….anomolous."
"Aliens?" Soph's voice peaked up.
"A sort."
"Vance, please. You dragged me out of a good Korean breakfast. What's with the cloak and dagger?" Victor sighed.
Vance was silent. "...You wrote fanfics before wearing the crown and sword, remember?"
"Yeah. Mostly on Mass Effect, Stellaris, crossovers, and assorted other fandoms. Why?"
"Funny thing, you remember writing about the RWBY series yeah?" Vance added.
"A few crossovers, an isekia fic her or there, some one-shots and-" Victor blinked. "Shit are we dealing with an Isekia situation? Did the President get kidnapped by one of the gods?"
"Reverse," Vance responded.
"Oh thank goodness. But seriously, isekia? RWBY? Something fictional came alive?" Victor questioned as they turned around a corner and up some stairs.
"Yup. Care to guess who?" Vance teased.
"Well, judging by the fact that D.C isn't on fire or rubble, not the big guys or the namesake team. So one of the side characters?"
"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Sophia had a minor look of confusion, not really into webshows.
They approached the door to the blue room. "To catch up. Sophia, you've head about the show RWBY? Spelled with a W instead of a U?"
Sophia thought for a moment. "Some sort of anima-style animation series that did well at first than went the deep end? And the company became bloodsucking money-greedy out of control bushfires? I've think I've heard of it."
"Yeah about that, several of the characters from that show just dropped into the Oval Office, unconscious. They're up and running again. You've seen those mangas where some poor sap from Earth gets yeeted into a fantasy world? It's the opposite, they got teleported into ours. And no, I'm not joking," Vance summed it up.
The Australian was silent. "...so like The Devil is a Part-Timer?"
"Ehh pretty close but there's eight of them. President and Lens are inside, trying to keep them calm but-"
BAM! Something impacted the wall inside the blue room.
"Never mind, Nora just woke up." Vance corrected himself.
Victor's right hand snapped to his hip before he was painfully reminded that he left his taser and C-22 back with his forces in Korea. Not that it would have gotten past White House security.
"Who's in there?"
"The President, Linsey, and teams CFVY and JNPR." Vance rattled off.
"No secret service?" Sophia had a look of surprise on her face.
"No, but the president had two Burkes off the coast position in Tomahawk Range."
Vance had twin looks of just….blank faces from the Aussie-Cannuk pair.
"Big sticks of that kind? Really?" Victor's face turned to one of exasperation.
"Mates, hustle," Sophia placed a hand on the door. Victor and Vance leaned against the adjacent wall like a SWAT team ready to breach through a door.
"Three," the Admiral nodded to her husband general
"Two,"
"One!" Limburn opened and Victor stuck his head in-
-and took a flower pot (coming in as fast as a baseball pitch) to the face sent him careening backwards and onto the floor.
And then there was silence as Sophia and Vance just stared at the now sprawled-out Canadian general, who only had on response. "...oww."
Sophia stuck her head into the blue room and got a glimpse of the scene.
Linsey was shielding the US President, both of whom had a look of exasperation or just the absence of shock.
Pyrrha and Jaune had their hands covering their mouths in shock.
Nora had a look of sheepishness on her face, with Ren faceplaming.
It looked like Coco, Velvet, and Yatsu had looks of a mixture of horror and shock.
And Fox, he found it funny.
"Is this what you Yanks do now that you can't duel with guns anymore? Throw flower pots? Blimey, you must be getting antsy now." Limburn commented.
"Nope, just our guests," the President responded.
"Ugh," Victor groaned behind her, still on the ground. "Someone declare Article 5 again. Canada's been attacked. Owwwww."
"Didn't you take a round from an AK shot from a North Korean sometime ago?" Vance extended a hand to Victor, who took it and was pulled up.
"Didn't say it was a comfortable hit," Victor whipped off the dirt and flower petals from the plant. Phalaenopsis orchid flowers.
And then the Terran adults glared at Nora, who was chuckling, nervously.
"So is the White House now a place to kill off military commanders from other countries?" Victor voiced out loud in a gruff, somewhat upset tone.
Nora stopped chuckling and gulped in fear as the adults towered over her and her team and friends.