Seated firmly, Junior pinched the bridge of his nose. Serves him right for getting too used to the kids, he supposed. Josh fidgeted before him, and the twins mirrored equal discomfort with Melanie looking absolutely done with the continuous rain of surprises.
"Let me get this straight," he began, hands planted back down on his lap. Due to the overall sensitivity - or in this case, ridiculous - nature of the topic at hand, the first thing he had done when the trio brought this information to him had been to settle their chat in his own personal office. "Since your arrival you've watched your friend be killed, only to supposedly 'leap back' a few moments in time to before it happened?"
Josh nodded, his face shifting while his eyes struggled to stay put. Liars had a whole bunch of tells for their fibs: small habitual quirks such as twitching, over-explanation, and an inability to keep their eyes focused on the one receiving their mistruths; often disguised through actions such as laughter, scoffs, or exaggerated dismissal. While not perfect, and though many liars could overcome those signs, Junior didn't write off Josh's story as a total scam.
He didn't at all believe in the nonsense of being from another world; a topic tacked on near the end which was what forced the hands of Melanie in particular to bring this matter up with him.
No no, Junior didn't believe any of that nonsense. But he also didn't believe the kid had intentionally lied either. Without being able to use his semblance on the lad, Junior had to break out his older techniques in dusting fiction from fact. Josh wholly believed in his outlook, but that didn't automatically make it reliable. Semblances capable of affecting the perceptions and memories of others were rare, but they existed.
Chatter rolling through the flood of people during the height of the 'Breach' as they called it suggested a level of equally questionable information surrounding Josh. Many muttered over how powerful his semblance was, with a single physical strike against the grimm being enough to slay them. A brief check over surviving security footage uploaded both online through official channels and personal scrolls via survivors nearby proved as much.
He would need to be extra careful, and perhaps put more resources into uncovering just who Jay and Josh were - the latter proved himself strong enough to be a threat, and someone else had to agree if they went so far as to alter his recollections.
"You realise this is very hard to believe." Junior made a point to speak as calm as he could, free of condescendence, but not entirely serious; his reaction needed to appear natural.
"I know, seriously I do." Wrinkles lined the man's forehead, with Josh biting down on his lip before he coughed up another response. "But I don't know how else to say it. It sounds dumb either way."
Junior could attest to that, but he had other plans.
"Could you elaborate on the leap specifically?"
"Huh?" Josh glanced back up. Junior leaned back.
"Why is it you need to jump? Would you not travel either way? You said so yourself: everything tore apart."
Josh sunk in his chair a little, and his voice shrunk.
"It's just this feeling I got. It's hard to explain, but it felt like if I didn't get off the ground I would be torn apart too."
To be murdered brutally for disobedience. Funny how the first thought on his mind was punishment. Junior discarded those ideas; punishment had no place here.
"Well, I can't fault you for withholding this. It sounds so ridiculous that I'd assume you were drugged."
"It's the truth though." That face he wore, one of muted desperation, unfortunately had no bearings here.
"We'll see." Junior lifted his hand to dismiss them. "You should take off now and relax for the rest of the day. I'll be with you later on after I clear a few personal matters up."
"But-" Josh almost reached out, but Miltia pulled him back, only to rise with him and her sister before they vanished out the door.
Junior sighed, leaned back harder, and stewed in his thoughts. Some noises broke through his pressed scowl, little grunts he'd known to be his own habit when stressed. While he didn't believe in the 'other world' bit, he did lend some credit to that time leap aspect. For as crazy as it came off, time travel was a possibility. Through dust, one could zip small instances ahead into the future, but those were mere minutes at most and insanely difficult to pull off - only a handful of people were proven successful, usually only once and by accident.
With how varied semblances were and Josh's strange patent for knowing when Jay found trouble - alongside his sporadic outbursts - Junior could easily fit them all into that concept: the idea that when Jay died, Josh had a chance to leap back through time to a short, but variable degree. Not at all useful as it required someone else's failure to activate.
One aspect disturbed him, though, and that took the form of a simple question.
If Jay died beyond Josh's reach, and Josh was forced back, then how did he escape when he couldn't be the one to save Jay?
Josh mentioned one prime example, that being a moment of several deaths while he waited with Yang Xiao Long and Raspberry Starlight. Leaping back in time almost instantly as he returned left him seemingly stuck in a loop, until the leaps just stopped. Apparently, it happened before once, but he couldn't explain it. Miltia suggested each time leap might be different slightly, although Junior could tell she didn't take the idea entirely serious at the moment - her mind was too wound in tangled threads.
He on the other hand had a far simpler idea: a dangerous idea.
Josh had the common courtesy to eventually open up about his power; a testament to his stable personality and morals. All the stress had him come clean to Miltia first, which spoke of his trust in her at least.
In contrast, Jay was nowhere near that point, and there lay in the problem.
If time wound traditionally back as most would imagine it to, then the only possible way for Junior to see an escape without involving the thought of overt and random changes, a sufficient - but too flimsy for his tastes - idea, would be for Jay himself to be aware of the leaps too. Or, in other words...
Junior suspected Jay had access to some time-related shenanigans as well, perhaps triggered by his death.
.
.
"You'll find nothing."
And yet, it assured him it would hold no ill wills towards his decision. He would, by its account, slay Ruby Rose, because it was the only option to save the world of Remnant. The dreams came sparsely, mere flickers of thought between moments of sleep - hardly rest, but getting easier with time.
Being distanced from Vale allowed Jay to breathe and collect his thoughts into a semi-coherent image.
"Pucker up, butter cup." Mercury leaned in, nudging with his elbow. "Keep it cool and things will ride out smooth enough."
The inflamed ring around his neck said otherwise, and when that pain vanished and Jay's eyes rolled upwards to spot the blade harshly blocked by the wrists of an equally shocked Mercury Black, he understood that he had witnessed the death of yet another him. Was it the one to hear the monster's words from beyond? or had he himself not yet died?
Either way, The cold face of his attacker barely flinched towards his direction, obscured behind her mask which inspired fear into the heart of even Neo once upon a time. Raven Branwen, head of the Branwen tribe of bandits and brigands, unclasped her left hand from its position along the hilt to deliver a brutal punch to Mercury's gut, all the while another sharp jolt ran through his throat.
He rolled over just in time to dodge a spear, and right into the nozzle of many guns pointed on him.
But before anyone could fire, all were swept up in a wind, tossed not only high, but far and into the surrounding forest. Cinder Fall floated beside him, her heels touching down on the grass, and a noticeable tick to her eye. Of those relatively unfazed by the False Maiden's whiplash, both Raven and her pretender maiden remained steadfast - whose name sat at the tip of his tongue.
"I presumed you were smarter than this, but I'll allow you the opportunity to explain," Cinder said, holding up a hand from which a ball of fire burst forth. "Do so well, and I'll forget this little tantrum of yours."
Raven turned, slowly, methodically wooden as she took a rugged pose so similar to a lumbering zombie.
"What do you hope to learn from the lamp?"
Cinder scoffed, chuckled, and sighed. The fire dispelled and she brought her hand to her chest, still wreathed wholly in a faint aura of wind.
"Whatever my mistress so desires~"
A pregnant pause stretched wide, and he spotted the exact moment where Cinder's sly grin began to crack. Raven remained put, and as Jay glanced up, he finally realized something. She hadn't been asking Cinder: she meant that question for him. But while that applied a thin layer of intrigue into her intentions, or how she knew of him and his choice to begin with, he couldn't overlook the fact that he may not be himself.
Nothing overtly felt off, but then again, he supposed nothing ever felt off after another Jay's death. Carried memories made it difficult to discern one's individual personality, as well as the choices they would and wouldn't make; doubly so when held up to previous regrets and actions.
"Why I'm here."
"You threw your cards in with them." Raven straightened a tiny bit, her hand setting her sword back in its holster completely. "That's why. Or are you searching for a more enlightening answer? because believe me, you'll find no such thing."
"You've never used the lamp." He muttered, the act itself feeling more like a habit than a conscious choice.
"No, but Salem has, and she's more than antiquated with its function."
Interestingly enough, RWBY never delved into the specifics of what exactly Raven had learned on her own when it came to Ozpin, Salem, and the wider plot; leaving it vague even in interviews. But of course, with retcons and unmentioned characters who didn't exist in the story, this version of Remnant must also have its own sources and sensibilities.
Jay decided not to ask how Raven got that info from Salem, instead simply assuming those theories of Raven always overlooking Vale for the first few seasons were true in this context, and that she'd overheard his chats with both Cinder and her more tolerable pair.
"Maybe not." Although his limbs numbly squished under the action, he crawled to his feet. "But I have no other options, and she's the only one in Remnant who can possibly know."
"Your mistress may argue differently."
"Salem is not my mistress." Jay knew Raven wouldn't buy that, but figured another thought may draw out a reaction. "She's just as blind to me as the rest of Remnant."
"What makes you so special?"
Jay spread his lips, and the telltale phantom pain of a stab through the heart made him jerk sideways into a small role. Raven's blade paused beside him, and for a second he might have suspected she'd turn it on him again, but instead she stepped back and once more sheathed her weapon.
He couldn't quite grasp her tone.
"You dodged before I could move."
"You carried through with your attack," he shot back.
"I did. Your eyes were unfocused, and stuck more on my mask than my body. You couldn't have seen me take up arms, nor predict I'd strike then, but you knew."
"I need you to open the vault to the lamp. Will you do it?"
The shuffling of her crew cutting them off on all sides accentuated Raven's minute of silent contemplation, or so he assumed, as when she did turn to him again, she pulled off her mask.
"What's in it for me?"
Jay had only one thing he could offer.
"I can tell you your future."
Author's note
…
Two perspectives, with Josh bringing the crew into how he's been doing things, and Jay forced to confront Raven.
Probably seems a little weird at points, but that'll clear up soon.
Also, I apologize for the late upload. Site wouldn't allow this chapter yesterday; I'm not sure why, because it finally worked this time. Whatever I suppose.
Until next time.