Vol.2, Ch.2:
Heels clicked on the floor in a very quiet mansion where Weiss Schnee lived as being the Heiress of the Schnee Family. It's a place she considered less a home and more of a cage. Her sister isn't around anymore, she has a strained relationship with her brother, and she despised her father. Only two people she has had a good relationship in this household: Her butler Klein, and her mother Willow. She couldn't wrap her finger as to the sudden change of Willow because she clearly remembers her being someone who isolated herself from everyone and had a drinking problem nonstop. But ever since returning from the Fall of Beacon, Willow was much different; She still isolated herself but always goes to check on Weiss and spends time with her. She is also not afraid of Jacques even if he has more power than her. It feels off yet comforting that her mom is always by her side. As she approaches her father's office that was once her grandfather's, she's approached by a face she did not wish to see at the moment.
Whitley: Good afternoon, sister. A pleasure to see you out of your room for a change. And feeling well of course.
Weiss: *sighs* Hello, Whitley. You're in a cheery mood today.
Whitley: Klein made crepes for breakfast.
Weiss: What do you want?
Whitley: I heard Father shouting with someone in his study earlier.
Weiss: Mother?
Whitley: No, she's in the garden planting new flowers. I think it was a man. I just wanted to warn you. I heard he had asked to speak with you.
Weiss: I'll be fine.
Whitley: I know you will. You are strong, like Winter.
Weiss: You never liked Winter.
Whitley: True, but you can't deny her resolve.
Weiss: You... seem different.
Whitley: And you've been gone. I'll have you know I didn't stop growing while you were away at Beacon. Anyway, good luck with Father!
Whitely made his leave with his arms around his back and humming while Weiss remained confused by this sudden approach by her younger brother. She focused back on heading to her father's office but heard the shouting from the door that Whitley mentioned earlier. She heard two familiar voices: Her father and General Ironwood.
Jacques: I'm not talking about the good of my company; I'm talking about the good of Atlas, our entire Kingdom!
Ironwood: That is a load of garbage, and you know it.
Whatever they were talking about, it was serious. Weiss quietly enters the room without being noticed and watches the argument between both men.
Jacques: I beg your pardon?! *Places glass down in anger*
Ironwood: Jacques, will you please, just hear me out?
Jacques: You are a trusted friend and ally to this family, James, but what you're suggesting is absurd!
Ironwood: You are blowing it out of proportion.
Jacques: The council will never agree to it!
Ironwood: You forget, I hold two seats on the council.
Jacques: Your Dust embargo has already cost me millions! I can promise you, I have not forgotten!
Ironwood: So this is about you.
Weiss: A-Ahem...
Certainly, that small call out got the attention of both men as they look at the huntress.
Ironwood: *bows* Miss Schnee! My apologies. I should have been gone by now.
Weiss: It-it's okay.
Ironwood: We'll continue this at another time.
Jacques: Indeed. Klein can show you out.
Ironwood: Don't worry, I know the way. Until next time, Jacques.
Ironwood walks to the door before looking over at Weiss with a sigh knowing how things are in this place from Winter's stories.
Ironwood: Please know, you'll always have a home at Atlas Academy, Miss Schnee. We'll be back in session before you know it. *leaves*
Jacques: Tsk! Did you forget your manners while you were away?
Weiss: No, Father. I'm sorry.
Jacques: Can you believe there are still people in the world that blame Atlas for what happened to Beacon? To Vale?
Weiss: Well, they weren't there.
Jacques: It's a wonder Ironwood wasn't stripped of his rank. I suppose the council trusts him, for better or worse.
Weiss: I trust him.
Jacques: *sighs and looks at her* Thanks to him, Atlas is forbidden from exporting Dust to other Kingdoms. "A precautionary measure", as he puts it, "until we're certain no one is going to declare war". How anyone could possibly find that to be sound logic is beyond me. His soldiers couldn't save Beacon, not people connected with him either, it had to be a strange boy that no one knows of who did all the cleanup!
Weiss felt a small pain in her head once again when Jacques brought up this boy. She knew nothing of him nor seen the footage of what occurred in Beacon as every time she would receive a migraine that felt like 10000 needles in her brain.
Jacques: Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks. We need to show the people of Remnant that we are on their side. That we are all victims of the fall of Beacon.
Weiss: *surprised* That's... wonderful news.
Jacques: I know. And I think it would make a lot of people happy if you performed at the event.
Weiss: Excuse me?
Jacques: Many forget that you were there. My own daughter, a Schnee, on the grounds, defending another Kingdom! We need to remind them! And we need to show them that the Schnee family is just as strong as ever!
Weiss: Are you asking me if I'd like to sing, or telling me?
Jacques: *smirks and puts hands together* Jacques: I think it would make a lot of people happy.
Weiss: *sighs* I'll start practicing.
Jacques: That's... my girl.
After being given permission to leave the room, Weiss closes the door only to be met with her butler carrying a tray of hot coffee for her.
Klein: Hot coffee, Miss Schnee? I always find he keeps his study dreadfully cold.
Weiss: *smiles and takes it* Thank you, Klein.
Klein: You know what I think? *Hides behind the tray and changes personality* I think it's to balance out all his hot air.
Weiss: *eyes widen and giggles* Klein!
The huntress and butler shared a good giggle together before Klein hides behind the tray again and change his personality once again to a softer tone and his eyes were blue.
Klein: Uh, apologies, madam. *sneezes* A-ACHOO!
Weiss giggled more, trying not to laugh out loud. As a child, Klein had always known how to make her smile and laugh here. If she were to be honest, he had been more of a father figure to her than Jacques himself. Klein noticed she was relieved and happy which had his eyes turn yellow.
Klein: Ah, there's my happy little snowflake.
Weiss: *breathes and smiles* Thank you, Klein. Will you be out looking at the stars again tonight?
Klein: Certainly will Miss Schnee. You are always welcome to join! But first, your mother did ask if you could spend dinner with her.
Weiss: Oh! Yeah, I'll make sure to head there later.
That smile was enough to have everyone see that she's a very kindhearted girl and she wouldn't want anything else than to be around the people she loves and those who love her back. She missed her team dearly and she hoped that they were okay and that one day they'd meet again. That smile of hers never left the mind of the Doctor, especially looking at Vine Weiss. She everything that is Weiss besides that she was an evolved plant species and she had powers. Not to mention she had a different style and her arms looked like tattoos cause of her vines.
The Doctor: How long has this planet been recovering and evolving.
Vine Weiss: It's been like this for about 4 months. 4 months since we last met, and things have gotten better. Peaceful. This planet is now a home for all of us. I wasn't a fan of it at first that they voted me for being the queen of this planet, but I do see now why.
The Doctor: You brought peace and reassurance once again. The threats of the Oxthordol species are no more to them. Speaking of that, what happened to the king?
He didn't need to wait for her to answer him but rather have him see it. The body of Oxthordol King in his beast form, filled with vines and other plant like substances. The pose he remained was that of one last charge before death.
The Doctor: How hard was it? To defeat him.
Vine Weiss: If it wasn't for your sonic screwdriver, I wouldn't have survived. My powers weren't at full capacity with this body at the time, but I was able to still fight him off. Your screwdriver-
The Doctor: It's yours. It always has been. *Pulls out mine*
Vine Weiss: Right! *giggles* I just clicked on it and it froze him completely. Took the opportunity to go for his heart and end him. Now his body serves as a reminder that the old times were his species were at the top are over.
The Doctor: Rightfully so, your majesty. *bows*
Vine Weiss: P-Please don't do that! *Covers face in embarrassment* It's embarrassing, and I don't like it.
The Doctor: You'll get used to it.
Vine Weiss: How about you Doctor? It's been 4 months since I last saw you and the others. Where are they by the way?
The Doctor let out a sad sigh which Vine Weiss caught and knew something didn't go well. He explained to her everything that happened: From the aftermath against the Oxthordol King, the Weeping Angels, losing his friends, and the Fall of Beacon. It broke her heart because she thought after everything he went through in the beginning; it would get better.
The Doctor: For you, it's been 4 months. For them, it's been 1 year. For me...it's been 300 years. I haven't seen them in such a long time...so many things happened that night.
Vine Weiss: W-What about that Dalek friend of yours?
The Doctor: I told him to stay behind in Remnant to keep an eye on them. But since they went their separate ways, he was only able to keep an eye on Ruby Rose.
Vine Weiss: Doctor...oh god I'm really sorry...
The Doctor: That's not all. What the Oxthordol King told me when we got separated that I wasn't alone...he was right.
Vine Weiss: *eyes widened* No...you're not-
The Doctor: I'm not the last Time Lord, nor the only one in this universe. I found her in Remnant, her name is Cinder Fall. I scanned her and she has two hearts, but she doesn't remember anything.
Vine Weiss: Did she lose her memory or?
The Doctor: She could have...or she did it intentionally to keep her identity low. Time Lords have an emergency object called the fob watch. It's like a chameleon device that makes you forget you are a time lord to maintain disguise as a human. She didn't recognize me as a time lord nor even has a faint idea how it is being one.
Vine Weiss: So then it's possible she has a fob watch with her memories stored in there and she's been like this for a while.
The Doctor: Possibly. What I am scared of is who she becomes when she opens that watch. There's only one person I can think of doing this and still displaying their evil roots...The Master...
Vine Weiss: Even the name sounds threatening.
The Doctor: The Master is the most dangerous time lord in our universe, but it was confirmed that he died in the Time War. I'm uncertain if Cinder is The Master because there are other time lords that are like him, but some time lords never returned to Gallifrey because they died or disappeared. That's why I'm not 100%
Vine Weiss: How are you still okay with all of this? Because when you and the others got here, you broke and became lost in the shadows. What's changed?
The Doctor: Hope. Kindness.I did say, I was being someone I was not. I'm still finding myself, my purpose in this universe. But I became the Doctor again because I want to become different from the original. I tried to think and do what he would do but I realized I can be the Doctor and do my own plans, goals, and tactics.
Vine Weiss smiled softly seeing this different approach by the Doctor and he does look more of himself than the last time.
The Doctor: This universe isn't the same one I was from. There is no Gallifrey which means the Doctor, Time Lords, none of that ever existed here. So now, I want to be my own version of the Doctor and it starts with spreading hope when there is none. It is never about winning but doing what is right. When Beacon fell, I knew it was lost but I remained my focus on getting the civilians evacuated to safety and eliminating all the Grimms from the area. I gave hope to those huntsen and huntresses because what mattered were the lives that day.
Vine Weiss: You must've left an impact. If people saw how you charged and led the others, of course it would inspire others to do the right action.
The Doctor: And it's only a start. But the reason I came to you isn't only to catch up. I need your opinion on something. Well...a bit of advice speaking.
Vine Weiss looked a bit confused about what the Doctor needed to hear from her until he pulled out four gift boxes and noticed the colors of each box: Red, White, Black, and Yellow. She knew what he was planning.
The Doctor: *breathes* I want to go see Team RWBY and hand them these...but I do not know if I have the strength to do so...
300 years was too long without seeing the four people who meant a lot to him. It was starting to get to him, and he wanted to see them but he was doubtful they would be happy to see him after everything that happened. Back in Remnant, Ruby and Team JNR continued walking down the path but the directions were a little more...complicated.
Ruby: So the next town is... uh-huh... uh-huh... We're lost.
Jaune: We're not lost. The next town is Shion. My family used to visit it all the time.
Ruby: Oh yeah. Don't you have, like, four sisters?
Jaune: Uh, seven.
Nora: You know, that actually explains a lot.
Jaune: Wait, what do you mean?
Ruby: So, what did you guys do there?
Jaune: Oh, all sorts of stuff! Over here is a great hiking trail, and over here is where we went camping all the time. I got my own tent because I was special. Also, so my sisters would stop braiding my hair.
Ruby: Didn't like the look?
Jaune: Yeah, they just kept doing pigtails, but personally, I think I'm more of a "warrior's wolftail" kind of guy.
Ruby: That's just a ponytail.
Jaune: I stand by what I said.
They continued their conversation while Nora stopped, eyes widened while Ren felt tense seeing what's in front of them.
Nora: Uh...guys...
Ruby: Huh?
Jaune: What?
That's when they saw what's in front of them and their eyes widened in horror. The town of Shion burnt and ripped apart to almost nothing with smoke clouding the skies. The four run into the town and look for any survivors.
Ruby: We gotta do our best to search the area. There could be survivors!
Ren: Over here!
Nora, Ruby, and Jaune head over to where Ren holds a wounded huntsman. He breathes heavily and places his hand on his abdomen where the bleeding hasn't stopped.
Jaune: What happened? Who killed all these people?
Huntsman: *coughs* Bandits. The whole tribe... Then, with all the panic...
Ren: Grimm...
Huntsman: T-They left a message...*coughs and breathes heavily* R-Remnant will fall...to its rightful lord...and master.
The four looked at each other concerned as Ren stands up stressed and horrified at the sight.
Ruby: Alright, we can get him to the next village and try to find a doctor there!
Jaune: Yeah. Ren and I can take turns carrying him there.
Nora: I don't know if he'll make it.
Jaune: He will. He has to.
Ruby: If we get going now, our chances will be better. I can run ahead and look for help!
Ren: Guys.
The trio turned around to Ren's direction and noticed the Huntsman has sadly died. This isn't what they expected nor wanted. Being a Huntsman or Huntress has shown what the reality is.
Nora: Should we bury him?
Ren: *walks past them* We should go. It's not safe here.
Nora: Ren...
Nora follows Ren as Jaune looks around once again before covering his face from stress and exhaustion. He couldn't keep handling this sort of outcome and it only takes him back to the night Beacon fell and the death of Pyrrha. Ruby approaches him, placing her arm on his shoulder for comfort.
Ruby: It'll be okay.
Jaune: I'm just tired of losing everything.
The four continued walking as Ren and Nora noticed a familiar mark on the ground. A hoofprint that resembled a horse, but they knew what it actually was as they looked at each other with fear and nervousness. After walking ahead for a little while longer, the team decided to get some rest for the night. Ruby couldn't sleep however; she hasn't had any proper sleep in such a long time. Moving around didn't help either, so she decided to get up quietly and go for a walk but noticed only Ren and Nora were asleep, but Jaune wasn't around.
Pyrrha: Jaune.
That voice, the voice if someone important to her and one that stayed in her head after being killed by Cinder. She wasn't imagining things that she could hear her voice and follow it. Ruby walked through a couple of bushes and found Jaune training while listening to a recording of Pyrrha which hurt her heart.
Pyrrha: Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up
Jaune followed as he positioned his shield and Ruby watched on. If there was someone who was more hurt about Pyrrha than her and the others, it would be Jaune.
Pyrrha: Keep your grip tight.
He gave a harder grip to his sword and his shield getting into battle stance.
Pyrrha: Don't forget to keep your front foot forward. Ready? Go.
Jaune steps ahead and slashes the air in practice while hearing Pyrrha's voice repeating the same strategy until his final strike which let out a small shout and slash.
Pyrrha: Okay. Now *giggles* assuming you aren't cheating, we can take a break.
Jaune catches his breath and stands up but keeps his head low and eyes closed listening to her voice. That night was still as clear to him, after Ruby let out the silver eyes, He, Qrow, Taiyang, and the Doctor looked for both girls. After finding Ruby, he wanted to stay and look for her, but The Doctor had to let him know. He wished he could have changed the events of that night but there's nothing he can do about it now. He remembered what the Doctor told him that night.
FLASHBACK
Jaune: We can fix this right? RIGHT! J-Just go back to a few minutes earlier and I'll charge up there with Pyrrha to help her defeat Cinder and she'll survive. She'll also have the Fall Maiden powers. SHE CAN BE ALIVE DOCTOR!
The Doctor: We can't...
Jaune: W-WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T?! YOU'RE A TIME TRAVELLER! YOU CAN SAVE HER!
The Doctor: I CAN'T! There are fixed points through time where things must always stay the way they are. What happens, happens. There is no stopping it. If I wanted to do it, we would not be here at all!
Jaune: *eyes widened and covers eyes sobbing* Please...there has to be a way...
The Doctor: Believe me Jaune. I want to and I wish I could but erasing a fixed point would not only affect history AND the future of Remnant...it could cause Remnant and possibly the entire universe to die.
Jaune: *sobs* PYRRHAAAAA!
END FLASHBACK
Pyrrha: I know this can be frustrating... and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training.
Jaune looked at his scroll where her face, her voice came from. He missed her and he knew he would never be able to get her back. By the time he loved her, it was too late.
Pyrrha: And I know this is just the beginning. Jaune, I-I...
He got closer to his scroll as if she was actually there and she needed to tell him something very important. He hoped that she would say what he thought it would be.
Pyrrha: *closes eyes and sighs* I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune.
The video ended before automatically rewinding to the beginning of the video. He knew she couldn't say it, but he had his answer for her. Taking a deep breath with tears falling from his eyes, he positioned himself once again for combat.
Pyrrha: Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up.
Ruby watched heartbroken and painfully as she also misses Pyrrha and knew very well that everyone would do everything and anything to reverse the time and save her. She quietly got up and walked away as Jaune continued training. She thought of going back to sleep but after seeing that, she decided to go for a small walk until she would begin to feel tired. Ruby was in her thoughts as she continues to walk and had so many things in mind: Yang, Weiss and Blake, Beacon, Cinder, Grimms, Haven, The Doctor, and many more. Not leaving her thoughts, she bumped into something large as she fell on the ground. Shaking her head, she looked up and eyes widened as to what she bumped into.
Vine Weiss: I don't know about Weiss since she doesn't remember you and you did say that it could be catastrophic. But I still think leaving her a gift would be sweet enough, like a part of you will always be with her. As for the others, I think seeing you would bring a small piece of relief and joy to see you after a long time. After what you told me, I think they need that spark of hope now more than ever.
The Doctor: A lot could happen within a year and things could change. People don't always stay the same and after what happened in Beacon, who knows how they are today.
Vine Weiss: That's why I think you SHOULD go see them. Just seeing someone who made an impact to their lives and gave them something different. In return, they gave you something you lost but regained, a family.
The Doctor: *smiles softly* Yeah... a family.
Vine Weiss: You're the Doctor. You give people hope but do you know what you also give to them that means a lot for them, kindness.
Ruby couldn't believe her eyes as she rubbed them aggressively to make sure she wasn't dreaming, and it was still there: The TARDIS. That big ol blue police box that's bigger on the inside was here in the woods and in front of her. She hadn't seen it or him since Beacon fell. It led her to realize one thing and he was right behind her.
The Doctor: Hello Ruby Rose.
Ruby: *turns around and gasps* D-Doctor...