King: Hello again~! I don't want to keep you, so let's get this show on the road!

Inspiration: Borderlands

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King reappeared with a hardy shout, "Alright! Let's start a new one!" As eh started fading, he suddenly burst back to normal light. "Wait! Before we start, does anyone want anything? Drinks? Snacks? Restroom breaks?"

Ozpin spoke up first, "Could I can a Valen blend of coffee?"

"Do you take your coffee with anything or just black?"

"I usually take my coffee black, if you don't mind."

"No problem!" King glowed again and produced a mug of the Professor's favorite blend.

Yang groaned, "I wanted to see more of that last reality."

Ruby bounced in her seat, "Yeah! It was so cool!"

King floated in place a moment, "I could… but I'd need to find it again. When the screen goes black, that reality is sent off. I can try to find it, but that'll remove the filters I have. You could get a bad guy Jaune again."

Cinder smirked, "Why not? Should be interesting."

"It's the only way to find one in particular."

Those who were exposed to the first two realities were reluctant to see something like that again, but they also supposed it was workable… Their voice was represented by Ruby, "Alright."

King nodded, "Okay then. I'll let this run on no filter and start looking. No promises, but I'll look. Anyway, let's get this going."

When the screen started to faintly glow again, the group from the first two chapters felt a little nervous. The screen turned a light tan. Soon, an effect similar to paint or ink appeared, forming a round shape with swirling accenting, likely a planet.

Then they heard the voice over.

"Why do so many of these stories have a voice over?" Nora asked aloud.

Ren gave her his answer, "It's a common tool used to set scenes and get any relevant information out before the story can go forward. If used correctly, it can be quite helpful." After a second of silence, he noticed everyone was looking at him. "What? I have hobbies."

The voice over utilized an accent known to sections of Atlassian territory, mostly the northern regions. "So, you want another story, eh?"

"Yes!" Nora bounced in her seat.

"Well… alright. I guess I can humor you. Our story begins right here on Pandora."

"Pandora?" Ruby leaned to the side a bit, "Where's that?"

Ozpin answered, "I've never heard of it, but I believe it might be the planet the picture shows us."

"That makes sense."

"A story of our world after the opening of the first Vault." The painting-like picture zoomed forward and was replaced with a scene of the ground level. "When the Vault opened, there was no treasure inside, but it wasn't quite a simple anticlimax." The picture started to shake until the ground split apart, revealing a purple glow. "The Vault unleashed a new element, Eridium. This new energy source drew in many fortune seekers, including the powerful SDC."

Eyes moved toward Weiss and Winter, both of whom weren't quite sure how to take that. Ruby thought for a moment, "You don't that's really…"

"The might of the Schnee Dust Company was vast."

"Never mind."

"Vast enough that its leader vowed to bring law to the lawless planet. By any means necessary." The picture changed to a sight of a man holding a banner and charging forward up a cliffside. As the voice spoke, sections of the picture turned red as though stained by blood. "For many, this was the greatest threat to their lives on this wasteland of a planet. For some, there were more… pressing matters to attend to." The painting changed again to show the backs of two figures; one with a large rifle while the other had a rocket launcher. "And that, is our story today."

The first thing they saw when the intro ended wasn't Jaune. It was the back of a head of a girl with short orange hair. She was walking along and humming to herself, her tone rather familiar.

Nora was shaking Ren sitting next to her, "THAT'S ME!"

When Nora stopped, the camera pulled back to reveal her in a pink strapless tank top and black capri-style pants paired with tall, hiking boots. Her attire showed off her left arm was covered in a series of swirling blue tattoos that wrapped up her arm and over her shoulder. As she walked, she was rummaging through a series of lockers, singing to herself. "~Splash! Bang! So Corrosive. Don't get close if it's Explosive. Slash, gang. Cosmic crew. Simmer and smoke and electric blue~!"

"What's she doings?" Ruby tilted her head.

She smiled to herself grabbing a brown bomber jacket from the locker and putting it on, looking at herself in the mirror.

Coco shivered a little, "I get the idea of checking how you look, but that jacket doesn't work with her style."

Nora's face turned sour and she removed the jacket, tossing it into a nearby bag. She moved to the next locker and bumped her hip against it, popping it open. She started to rummage through that locker next.

"Looks like she's stealing from the lockers." Glynda glared at the Nora on screen. She had experienced a few unruly students who made habits of stealing from lockers. These issues were quickly remedied.

The Nora in the seats jumps to her own defense, "I would never do something like that!"

"'ang on there, little lady."

Nora froze and slowly turned around with her hands up.

Behind her was a giant, muscular man with a shotgun pointed toward Nora. "Got a little thief, I do… So, any last words?"

Nora looked insulted, "I'll have you know that no one here is a thief! We're both simple scavengers making a living."

The man looked confused, "Both?" With the sound of a loud metal clank, the large man fell forward.

Nora smirked as he fell, "Yep. Both."

Standing on the other side of the man was Jaune Arc, holding a shovel in his hands.

"Woah! Go us!"

This Jaune was dressed in semi-military garb, but it was clear none of them were his. The shirt was green while his pants were dark blue. His boots were black with mud stains. Everything was mismatched, a fact that nearly made a certain fashion-conscious viewer nearly feint.

Nora smiled to Jaune, "Thanks. I owe you one~"

"You owe me twelve now." Jaune stepped over the man and over to Nora.

"So~? What did we get?"

Jaune handed her a small bundle.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Nora stared down at the bundle, her eye twitching. She started to shake, boiling over. "FUCK!"

Nora burst out into laughter while her friends watched on in shock. They had never heard Nora curse before. They'd seen her get angry to the point of outburst, but she never cursed. The idea itself was ridiculous to them, yet here they were.

They watched on as Nora stomped out and screamed at the top of her lungs. She marched in fury as a strange, shirtless man in a mask dove down with an ax ready to kill.

Nora jumped up onto her feet, "Look out me!"

Nora spun around and outstretched her left hand. The masked man floated back up and was suddenly surrounded by a large purple sphere. The masked man was being crushed by a personalized gravity field. With him tied down by the sphere, Nora pulled out a large caliber pistol, shooting the man in the head. His blood splattered his own body thanks to the gravity well. When the well dropped, so did the body.

Reactions to that were mixed. Those not used to the kind of horror they witnessed felt their stomachs lurch. Those who were more used to such things focused more on the powers she just utilized.

Jaune walked out of the building after her, "That doesn't seem like a good use of your powers."

"Maybe not, but it made me feel better."

Both of their stomachs growled in unison.

Emerald nodded to herself, "I think I know why they robbed that guy…"

Nora groaned, "Damn it… That guy was supposed to be our meal ticket! We went to all this trouble for what? FIVE BUCKS?! That's not enough for a filling meal and I've made it clear what I think about going hungry again!"

Nora clenched her fists. She remembered the days before she met Ren. The days alone and hungry… That were awful! But, at least in this reality, she had a friend, right?

Jaune walked picked through the bag Nora had inside as she ranted, pausing suddenly. "Nora…"

Nora's rant ended on a dime, "Yes, Jaune?"

Jaune picked up a glowing purple brick. It was easily the size of a loaf of bread. "Do you know what this is?"

Roman gave an impressed whistle. "Damn! Whatever it is, it must be expensive."

Ruby leaned forward to look toward the thief, "How can you tell?"

"Well, Red," He paused as she groaned at that dumb nickname he used, "The shape is a bit of a giveaway. Same size and shape that's used for precious metals. My keen eye for valuables is telling me that thing is pricy."

Jaune held the brick toward Nora, "This is pure, refined Eridium."

Roman felt he deserved a little moment to be smug. "Told you."

Nora looked the brick up and down, "Is it valuable?"

"Out here, no. Not really."

"You were saying?" Emerald wanted to use this against Roman. The two hated each other since day one.

But Roman remained just as smug, "Wait for it."

"But I we can get this to Beacon, we can sell it for a lot of cash."

Roman smirked toward Emerald, who just looked away in an annoyed huff.

"Just one problem: getting there. Unless you forgot Jaune, we're a long way off from Beacon. And if this thing is that pricy, we become a target."

Jaune held up two fingers, "Two problems. Two targets." He pointed to the brick, "The Eridium," then he pointed to Nora, "And you."

Everyone in the room was confused. Why would Nora be a target? Is she that powerful?

Nora blinked in confusion. "Why me?"

Jaune held up a strange device. It looked like a cross between their scrolls and a lunchbox. "New Echo from our good friends at the SDC."

Jaune pressed a button on the device and the speakers tuned a moment before they could hear a voice.

"Mr. Harrison, you've an appointment scheduled for 5:30 with…"

"Apologies Matilda, but Mr. Harrison is unavailable at the moment."

Weiss and Winter felt a sense of anger raising from within. They glanced between each other and nodded, confirming it between them, "Whitley…"

Ruby looked between the two, "Who?"

Weiss sighed and sank into her chair, "Our little brother. He's always been rather…" Weiss moved her hand in a circular pattern, looking for the right word.

"Antagonistic?" Winter was just as annoyed with Whitley.

Weiss nodded. "That's a good word for it."

"Whitley? Where's Mr. Harrison. Wait, why are you…?" She paused, hearing the sound of choking in the back ground. "Is everything okay?"

"Why, yes. Yes, it is."

"Then, what's that sound?"

"Oh! That would be Mr. Harrison. He made the mistake of bringing up my sister trying to make a point. So, I'm making a point of my own."

"Are… are you saying your choking him?"

Weiss and Winter froze. Whitley was an annoying little ogre, but he wasn't anywhere near that terrible. Weiss was the first to accept the idea, given that she had seen a version of Jaune Arc, of all people, as a hired assassin.

"No, Matilda. Choking is what happens when you eat too fast. As my watch chain is currently digging into Mr. Harrison's throat, what I'm doing is called 'strangling.'"

"I… I don't… Sir. I can't just sit here and…"

"Good thinking. I need you to put out a bulletin over Pandora. The SDC is offering a reward for information for any Sirens on the planet. I'm going to need you to get on that ASAP. Can you do that?"

"Sir! Do you have any idea what you're doing?! You just…"

The choking sound stopped and was directly followed by a thud. "I'm sorry Matilda, do you not know what time it is?" His tone held a threat within his words.

A threat Matilda picked up quickly, "I… I'll get right on it, sir!" She was scared. Terrified of the man she hear over the phone.

"You best."

With that the call ended.

Everyone in the audience was dumbfounded. The Schnee sisters stunned by the actions of alternate Whitley. The group from Beacon shocked by the young man's actions and threats. The villains were actually impressed by the young man, but surprised he seemed to be able to commit a public murder, confess over communications, and still seemingly run the company without repercussions!

Nora and Jaune were silent a moment. Nora shook and turned, kicking a small device at her feet, "Fuck! Now everyone and their mother will be after me. AGAIN!"

"Calm down Nora."

Nora spun and pointed a finger up toward Jaune, "Don't you tell me to calm down! I came to Pandora to avoid this shit! I'm tired of running because of my powers!"

Ozpin clutched his mug. How many times had he heard that from the maidens over these years? Over so many lifetimes…

Jaune waited a moment before speaking, "Nora… Please. Calm down and think."

"Jaune! I…"

Jaune held up his hand to silence her, "Nora, there are six Sirens in the entire universe at any given time. Whitley must know there's a Siren here. He clearly has a certain Siren in mind. Do you think that would be you?"

"I… I don't…"

"You and I have roamed this wasteland for years and nothing ever came up, even with the SDC showing up. They likely know you're here already. This is for information they don't have." In the moment, he left Nora stunned. Her anger gave way and she looked downward. "Besides, everyone around here wants us dead anyway. What makes this different?"

Nora chuckled, "I guess you have a point."

"Now, let's get…" He paused a moment. "Nora…"

"Yes?"

"What's that?"

They looked down under Nora's foot to reveal a small pin.

Ironwood paused a moment, "That looks like a…"

After a second, they heard a loud explosion nearby. They were frozen for a while, uncertain of the world. They were shaken back to life when a large chuck of metal landed nearby. They looked over to find a familiar gold-painted chunk of assault buggy hood. Jaune slowly turned toward Nora, who chuckled nervously.

Ironwood sighed, "…a grenade pin."

Given neither had been injured, Nora, Ruby, and Yang couldn't help but laugh at the situation.

Jaune's eye twitched a moment before taking a breath. "Guess we're walking… We can start tomorrow…" Jaune turned back to the building they just left.

Nora started to follow, "I guess that sounds like a plan…"

Jaune turned and held up his arm to stop her.

"Jaune?"

He knelt down to grab something from the bag and handed Nora a sleeping bag before turning back around.

"Jaune?! Hey! Come on! It was an accident!"

"Not until Beacon."

"JAUNE!"

"Not until Beacon!"

With that, the screen began to fade.

"What do you think they were talking about?" Ruby questioned.

Everyone else had an idea. But it just seemed so… odd. It was weird to think of the implications that held from Nora given the Nora they knew. She was energetic and straightforward to a fault at times. But the big thing was that she was always at Ren's side to the point that some people were certain they were together-together, no matter how much she denied it. To hear that insinuation from Nora about and, weirdest of all, from Jaune was insane to think about.

The screen changed with a message, [Three months later.]

"Oh! It's still going."

They saw Nora sitting on a park bench with her arm resting on her leg and her head in her hand. She was tapping her foot, waiting for someone. Jaune walked over and Nora jumped up. "Well?"

"30k."

"No way!"

"Just enough to fix the car~!" Jaune's smile showed he still wasn't over that.

Nora stomped her foot in a huff, "Oh come on! Three months and you're still not over that?!"

Jaune chuckled a little. "Calm down Nora. After factoring in the car, ammo, and medical services, we still have enough for just under a thousand each."

Nora sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness! We can eat well tonight!"

"Guy said we wouldn't get any higher price at Beacon."

"So, they haven't reached Beacon yet?" Ruby scratched her chin in thought. "Was it that far away?"

Weiss sighed, "Ruby, remember, they are walking there."

"But it's been, like… three months!"

"Ruby…" Weiss placed her head in her hand.

Jaune gave Nora her share from the cash, "I couldn't bring myself to tell him the city flew away."

Everyone caught that, but wasn't sure how to take it.

But Nora didn't seem as phased, "Yeah! What's with that anyway? A whole city just flies away!" Nora calmed down and sighed, "So, how long until the car is ready again?"

"Considering how much of that buggy was custom, about a week."

"Damn it." Nora's head fell backward.

"If it makes you feel better, guy offered us a job."

Nora tilted her head to look at Jaune, "What kind of job?"

"Raider camp about a mile off."

"He wants it razed?"

"Scorched."

Nora was silent a few seconds before she smiled and stood, "I'm game."

Nora jumped up, "That sounds like an awesome idea! I'm in!"

Ren had to place a hand on her shoulder to get her to calm down again.

Jaune chuckled, "I knew you would be."

Nora raised an eyebrow with a smirk toward Jaune, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a dangerous psychopath with a history of violence."

This got a few of Nora's friends to snicker.

Nora placed her hands on her hips, "Like you're one to talk! Memory serves, you're the one wanted for mass destruction of SDC property."

"Never said I wasn't." Jaune stood up and jokingly punched Nora's shoulder. "Now come on. Let's get this job done."

Nora was still, silent as she looked at the money in her hand. "Hey… Jaune?" Her usual bubbly voice gave way to a more serious, thoughtful tone.

The only people who were used to this shift were Ren and Pyrrha. Everyone else was shocked silent. First, she swore, now she's serious? What madness is this world?

Jaune turned back to Nora, "What's up?"

Nora took a deep breath, "I've been thinking…"

"Did it hurt?"

Some snickered, knowing Jaune's tone was joking. But the others were too focused on what was happening. Nora was rarely serious, whatever this was, it was important.

"Jaune… I'm being serious."

"I'm not."

Nora took a moment of silence again. "I… Is all this worth it?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we go around and do jobs for pennies. We get lucky now and then and find shit like the Eridium, but those days are rare? We're usually hungry and tired. Forced to keep fighting SDC drones and psycho bandits, even when not doing a job. I just… I don't want to live like that…"

Nora grabbed Ren's arm, squeezing his wrist. She knew that feeling. She and Ren had lived as orphans since they were young, too young to be alone.

Jaune nodded slowly, "Yeah? Then I have to ask, where would we go?"

"What?"

"Where would we go? You said so yourself that I'm wanted by the SDC for mass property damage. You're a Siren and they'll hunt you down all your life anyway. With the SDC's massive reach, no matter where we go, we'll have to fight. At least this barren rock has memories."

"And what memories would keep us here?! The nights where we nearly starve?! The bandit raids?! The days we almost died?! It's not worth it anymore Jaune! I love the adventure, but this is insanity!"

Jaune just started to laugh.

This confused everyone.

Nora looked particularly angry, "What's so funny about wanting a better life?!"

"It wouldn't suit you."

Nora paused. "What?"

"Do you know the happiest I've ever seen you was on one of those days we 'almost died'? My arm was broken. Your ribs were cracked. We were both bleeding. But we were laughing. Neither of us can live a better life because we live for the adventure. Pandora was probably the best thing that ever happened to us."

Nora was quiet a moment. After a while, she sighed. "I guess you have a point…"

Jaune smiled and shook his head, taking out a very futuristic SMG. "So, bandit camp in 1 mile, you coming or not?"

Nora smirked and retrieved her pistol, "Yeah. Let's do this!"

As they ran off, their positions froze and became the ink-like style from the opening, complete with voice over. "I'm afraid that's where our story ends for now. The tale of two scavengers in a world of bandits. It almost reminds of my first marriage. Granted they were happier with their lives… Anyway, that's enough for now. Perhaps another day, I can tell another story of Pandora. But that's for another day."

Yang chuckled a little, "Okay… that was a thing."

Ruby thought for a moment, "Was it implying that Nora and Jaune were a couple?"

Pyrrha and Velvet nearly had a conniption before Weiss explained the situation, "It implied that Jaune and Nora were together on an alien planet covered in psychotic madmen. Last I checked, we don't live on Pandora and our Nora has… other interests."

Everyone looked toward Nora, who still had a hand clutching Ren's arm. Nora looked among the group, "What?"

Weiss just sighed, "Nothing…"

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King: For anyone who cares, the song Nora was singing was "Breaking Down the Borders" by Miracle of Sound. Check him out on YouTube if you're interested.