King: I'm thinking, from now on, I'll be adding a few intermission chapters now and then to mix up the flow. That damn screen isn't helping... I'm hoping if I give it a break now and then, it won't act up. Fingers crossed, I guess. Or... fires crossed? Whatever... Have a Kit-Kat, cause it's break time.

/\

King didn't reappear this time and no one made any motion to leave. As a result, the screen returned to life. Only to show a picture of a Jaune in a movie usher vest bowing with a message reading, [Intermission: Please take this opportunity to stretch your legs. Thank you for your patience.]

"Intermission?" Tai chuckled. "How many of these have you all seen that there's an intermission?"

Pyrrha thought back over the list, counting them out in her head. "Thirty. Including the last one."

Tai nodded slowly, picking up speed over time, "Okay. That makes sense. At least as much as anything else here."

King reformed for a moment, "Okay! Time for a break! I've created a series of lounge areas, a bar, a training arena, and a library containing any information from the worlds we've seen so far. Enjoy~!" He disappeared into a warp and left them to their devices. He popped back after a second, though. "And no fighting outside the arena! Your weapons can be found in the lockers arena-side. Lethal force will be made a nonissue. No one can die here. But don't go overboard…" King disappeared again.

Ruby grinned. "I want to check out the arena!"

Yang stood and stretched her back, "I'm game. Let's see what's up. Anyone else?"

Ren shook his head, "I'd like to see what this library is like. Find any relevant information that might explain a few things."

Qrow took the last sip from his flask. "I'm going to hit the bar."

Winter rolled her eyes, "Of course you are…"

The groups started to divide themselves. The Beacon teaching staff, Neo, Ironwood, Winter, and the Belladonnas moved off to the lounge. Qrow and Roman visited the bar. Salem and Cinder, along with Cinder's underlings, left to discuss something away from the others. Ren and Blake made for the library. Adam… just kind of sat there out of spite. The rest went to visit the training arena.

Ruby ran up to the set of large lockers to the side and threw one open, finding Crescent Rose within. "There you are~!" She picked the rifle/scythe up from the locker and her face turned confused. "What the…"

Tai looked over Ruby's shoulder. Contrary to what most expect, Tai was a weapon nut in his own right, he just prefers hand to hand in actual combat. "What's up?"

"She feels… different." She looked over to a small lever near the trigger. She moved over to a firing range. She unfurled the weapon into scythe form and targeted a dummy in the distance. She fired a shot and frowned. "My weapon's not this weak… What happened to my baby?!"

Tai moved beside her, "What's with the lever?"

"No idea…"

Yang looked over Ruby's other shoulder. "Why not try it out?"

Ruby shrugged and moved the small lever with a click. The weapon didn't seem to change in any way. She groaned and decided to fire another round to test it. When she fired the weapon this time, it unleashed a massive burst of magnetically propelled death, ripping the steel dummy apart like it was tissue paper.

Eyes went wide seeing that. Tai turned back from the target to his daughter. "Was… was that supposed to happen?"

Ruby quickly shook her head.

Yang looked down toward the weapon, "Wasn't that a…"

Ruby just as quickly nodded.

"Like… From that one world…"

Tai turned to Yang, "What do you mean?"

Ruby's eyes widened further. "In one of the world we saw, I wielded a version of Crescent Rose complete with a high-powered railgun…" She looked down to the weapon in her hands.

"Seriously?! That's insane!"

Nora moved along various lockers and found one labelled [Jaune Reinhardt]. She opened it to find an ornate rocket hammer.

Weiss looked over a handful of other lockers, "It clearly isn't just our weapons in here."

Ruby walked over to return the parallel Crescent Rose to the locker. "This is incredible… But I can't help but wonder how they got here."

Pyrrha walked down the lockers, eventually finding one labelled with Jaune's locker number from Beacon. Opening the locker, she found a modified version of Crocea Mors. The shield was framed by a bronze and the hilt of the blade was redesigned. "What is this version supposed to be?"

Ruby ran up to see the blade but slowed as she approached. "Um… Pyrrha…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"The bronze. That's the same metal as your shield and circlet."

Pyrrha's eyes went wide as she slowly turned back to the weapon. There were implications as to why that metal would accent Jaune's weapon and shield. She blushed at one possibility, but another made her pale. "Is there a way to find out more about it?"

Tai moved up to the locker and started to slide his hand on one side, "If memory serves… There it is!" He clicked something on the side and a small paper slid out. "One manifest. Back when these were supposed to house lien with your weapon when needed."

Ruby grabbed the paper and read it out loud,

["Possible Future: Category S-4. Crocea Mors, weapon of Jaune Arc paired with modified shield utilizing bronze re-forging formerly owned by his partner Pyrrha Nikos. During the Vytal Festival, the forces under the evil being called Salem attacked alongside the White Fang. During the fighting, Pyrrha Nikos was…"]

Ruby stalled. She looked up toward the redhead, seeing someone who knew what was being implied by her silence. Pyrrha just nodded for her to continue. After a deep breath, she complied.

["During the fighting, Pyrrha Nikos was killed in action defending Beacon. After this, Jaune Arc re-forged his weapon and shield with her bronze metals and adopted a red sash around his waist. A gesture to have her live on in some way."]

The room was quiet. No one dared to say anything. How could they? What could they say after that?

Pyrrha took a breath and reached out to take the weapon in hand. She smiled, a small tear starting to fall. It hurt to hear that. It was good to know he lived on, though. Good to know he took her with him in some way. She held the weapon close as her tears started to well again.

Ruby patted Pyrrha's shoulder for a moment before turning to the others. She made a silent motion to have them give her space. Time to mull over what she'd learned. No one said anything as they left the arena.

\/

Back at the bar, Qrow walked in to find a fully stocked gold mine of booze. He grinned, "Nice~" He made his way up to the bar and looked around to see if it had to be self-serve. Surprisingly, there was a bartender. Standing behind the counter was a man made of purple fire dressed in a suit. Qrow raised an eyebrow, "Um… Whiskey on rocks?"

The bartender had the drink ready within seconds and slid the drink down to him.

Roman walked up behind Qrow and took a seat next to him, "How does a guy made of fire serve drinks, let alone hold ice?"

Qrow shrugged and took a sip from his glass. "I ain't exactly complaining."

Roman laughed, "Fair enough." Roman gestured toward the bartender. "Hey! One Broken Goliath!"

The Bartender started to mix drinks.

Qrow turned to Roman, "Broken Goliath? First I've ever heard of that."

"You have to know where to get one." Roman held his hand up again, "Make it two!"

Two drinks slid up to them both. The liquid looked alright. Nothing too out there. Qrow picked the glass up and took a tentative sip. He loved booze, but he wasn't about to drink it if it tasted like shit. To his surprise, it was alright. Nothing to write home abou… There it is! His whole body shook as the after taste and alcohol finally kicked him in the gut. "The hell is in this?"

"It's the kind of thing with different mixes depending on where you go. The only thing connecting them is the base of rum. After that, it's a mystery. It's like a game in a way. Keep going until you find one you love."

Qrow let out a little chuckle and held up the glass. "Now that's a game I can get behind."

Roman held his glass to Qrow's and the two enjoyed a good drink.

\/

Back at the lounge, Gira was sitting with his wife in a stereotypical round table you'd see in a jazz club. There was even a space for a stage, not that anyone was using it. His arms were crossed and contemplation was plastered on his face.

Kali placed her hand on his shoulder, "Something wrong?"

"No. Not wrong. Just elusive. I know I've heard the name Montagne Arc before. I just can't place it."

"You'll figure it out. But not if you try so hard to. Take a break and just enjoy yourself. And maybe, just maybe, it'll come to you."

Gira took a breath and sighed. "You're right. I should just relax. But its not the kind of memory that you try to find. It's somewhere in the back of your mind and it won't leave you alone until you figure it out."

Kali groaned, "Oh! I hate those!"

"I just can't place it…"

"Maybe. But I mean… Come on. Montagne? How do you forget a name like that?"

Gira froze for a moment, "'Come on. Montagne.' Come on… Montagne…"

"Dear?"

Realization hit Gira like a truck. "COMME LA MONTAGNE!"

Kali just blinked in confusion, "What?"

Ozpin, who was sitting at the table next to theirs along with the other teachers placed his mug onto the table, "It means 'like the mountain.' It was Montagne's catchphrase of sorts and how he got his said nickname."

Kali looked toward her husband for an explanation.

"I met him a long time ago, in the latter years of the war and the rise of the original White Fang. He fought alongside the Faunas for their rights and proved himself to be a powerful warrior and a truly good man. I only met him directly once… A part of me wished I found a way to keep in touch."

A voice came in over an intercom through all the rooms. "Please make your way back to the main theater. Intermission will be ending in five minutes. Thank you." And like that, it was business as usual.