RWBY/Swords of Fate: Arc Kingdom
Chapter 1 - The Omen
Fairy tales. Myths. Legends. Stories with dashing heroes and sinister villains. Many of these tales share a common source and many diverge from their original tellings. No two versions of one story are ever exactly the same. They evolve, shift and adapt. This is one such a story. In two worlds of aura and magic, there was a young man who desired fo cherish and protect. He never imagined that he would be the one to pull the legendary sword from the stone. With that simple choice, he carved a new path for himself; the path of a hero and the path of a king. And so begins the story of the Arc Kingdom.
—1st June 734 AGW, Remnant - Kingdom of Atlas, Solitas—
Jaune and his team threw off their thick coats as soon as they entered Atlas Academy. Even in the summer, the bitter cold of Solitas still packed a punch. The heat from the generators hit them like a truck. Team JNPR all hummed delightfully as they welcomed the warmth.
Jaune: Woah man!! That's muuuuch better!
Nora: Ahhhhhh!!! It's good to be out of the cold.
Pyrrha: Oh my. *looks around* this place is magnificent!
Ren: *nods* It is remarkable indeed.
The inside of the building had royal blue marble floors, with ivory white walls, pictures of the various locations of Solitas and the alumni of Atlas Academy Huntsmen and Huntresses. Walking down the corridor was the headmaster of the school, General James Ironwood, sporting a five o'clock shadow. Accompanying him were two new faces. One of them was a young man with auburn hair, green eyes and who wore a white coat over an emerald green suit. Next to him was another man with long, white hair, light purple eyes, wearing dark purple suit.
James: Team JNPR, welcome to Atlas Academy. *smiles* It's great to see you again after so long.
Pyrrha: It's great to see you too, Headmaster Ironwood. Are you enjoying your summer break?
James: *chuckles* As much as I'd like to, I unfortunately can't. There's always work to be done if we want to stop the threat of the grimm.
Ren: Evil truly never sleeps, huh?
James: And neither do huntsmen and huntresses.
Jaune: *raises hand* Um, Headmaster? Who are your friends with you?
Dr. Roman: Oh sorry about that, *chuckles* I was waiting for Jimmy here to introduce us. I'm Dr. Romani Archaman, from Vacuo. Most of the students here just call me Dr. Roman. It's very nice to meet you.
Nora: Hi there, doc!
Dr. Merlin: And you may call me Dr. Merlin. I'm an old friend of Ozpin's. It's a pleasure to meet you all.
Pyrrha: Very nice to meet you too. *smiles*
Dr. Roman: James has told us so much about you and Team RWBY. I heard that you all managed to fight back against a grimm invasion in Beacon. That's insane!
Jaune: *chuckles* Well, that's a little exaggerated-
Dr. Roman: Not at all! For first year students to fight back, let alone survive is a fantastic achievement! You should all be proud of yourselves!
Ren: *shakes head* We were just doing our jobs as huntsmen and huntresses. Making sure everyone got out of there alive.
James: And it was thanks you, RWBY, SSSN, ARBN and the other students from all the academies that countless lives were saved that day. It's no small achievement, it was heroic. For that, I thank you. *bows*
Jaune: Well... uh... we're always ready to help out when needed.
James: I'm glad to hear that, because it's time I showed you what I, Roman and Merlin have been working on. Come with me.
Team JNPR followed James and the two doctors down the corridor. They approached the elevator and entered inside. Team JNPR noticed that below the buttons to all the floors was a keyhole. From his pocket, James took out a key and placed it in the keyhole, twisting it. The elevator started to go down and Nora's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Nora: Are we going to a secret basement?
Dr. Merlin: *chuckles* Something like that.
The further they went, the more ominous it felt. Pyrrha felt her skin crawl. She was reminded of what happened one year ago when she was led underground back at Beacon.
Jaune: *holds Pyrrha's hand* Are you okay?
Pyrrha: *shakes head* Not really. But thanks, Jaune. *smiles*
The elevator finally stopped and the door opened. As they stepped out, what they saw was almost otherworldly. The room was lit by a brillaint blue light. At the center was a large, blue holographic sphere floating above them. Surrounding it were several silver pillars. Team JNPR were in awe.
James: Team JNPR, I give you Project Arcadia.
Nora slowly walked ahead of her team and gazed at the sphere. She noticed something oddly familiar about it. There were shapes that looked just like the landmasses she saw on the maps of Remnant.
Nora: Is that Sanus? Anima? Menagerie? Solitas?
Dr. Roman: To answer all of that, yes. You're looking at Remnant.
Dr. Merlin: Though to be more accurate, it's a Remnant. But not your Remnant.
Nora: Wait what?
Pyrrha: I'm sorry?
James: What you're looking at here is another Remnant, one of many.
Jaune: One of many? As in like a multiverse?
James: Precisely.
Ren: Why would you have a projection of another Remnant down here? What's going on?
Dr. Merlin: *raises hand* I believe I can explain that. A few months ago, I had a vision of a great disaster that would befall the other Remnant. *deep sigh* Ozpin was dead... and the Kingdom of Vale had fallen. Nothing leff but ruins and scorched earth.
Team JNPR: What?!
Dr. Merlin: Yes, dead. At the hands of the dark witch, Salem. I believe you've heard of her?
Jaune: We've heard of her alright. She's an old enemy of Ozpin's. Ever since he's told us about the history between them, he's been training us to fight her.
Dr. Merlin: That's Ozpin for you. He's made the right decision.
Nora: O-Ozpin's gonna die? And Vale will... burn?
Dr. Merlin: That might be what the vision showed me, but I'm determined to avoid that fate as much as possible. This is where you four come in.
James: When Merlin told me of his vision, he mentioned that Salem gathered a group of rogue mages. Their magic was enhanced by a special Relic, of sorts; The Holy Grail.
Team JNPR: *eyes wide*
Dr. Roman: According to Merlin, this Relic is supposed to grant miracles. Perform feats of magic unattainable even for the most powerful mage. But if his vision comes true, that means Salem would get her hands on it.
Dr. Merlin: One way to avert this disaster would be to destroy the Grail. If that happens, Salem would be weakened. She could still be a formidable threat, but not enough to be invincible.
Pyrrha: Hold on... you want us to stop her, don't you?
Dr. Merlin: I'm afraid so. This is what Project Arcadia is; a form of multiverse travel.
James: *points to pillars* These are known as Coffins. Merlin and I were able to combine science and magic and use it for a new form of technology called Rayshifting. It transforms your body, breaking it down into its soul form, known as a Spritron. Once that's completed, you are then transferred into the universe. Or at least, that's how it's supposed to work.
Dr. Merlin: As this is a prototype, we cannot physically send you to this alternate Remnant. Instead, we can send your conciousness into the body of your alternate self.
Team JNPR couldn't believe what they were hearing. This wasn't an ordinary mission. Jaune was trembling.
Jaune: Wait a second... I don't get it. Why do you need us to help you with this mission? What's so special about us?
Dr. Merlin: Those are fair questions, my boy. In the vision, Ozpin was surrounded by the bodies of knights. Among those were you, your Team and Team RWBY. Clearly, he sees great potential in all of you. Why else would he train you to fight Salem? Or choose one of you to be the host of the Fall Maiden?
Pyrrha: How did you-?
Dr. Merlin: Nothing gets past me, Miss Nikos. *smirks*
Jaune: *slowly backs away*
Pyrrha: Jaune!
Nora: Woah there! *gently grabs him*
Ren: Do you mind if we think about this for a moment?
Dr. Roman: Of course. We understand that we're asking a lot from you. Take one of the vacant dorms and rest up for the night.
Pyrrha: Thank you, Dr. Roman. Come on, let's go.
[Atlas Dorm]
Jaune sat on his bed and stared at the ceiling. The more he stared, the more he could feel an overbearing weight on his chest. Beside him sat his friends, unsure of what to do.
Pyrrha: Is everything alright, Jaune?
Jaune: *turns to Pyrrha and sighs* I dunno, Pyrrha. I just... this is a lot to take in. I mean, we're talking about a multiverse here! On top of that, they want us to go inside... ourselves to prevent Vale's destruction? That's a lot of pressure!
Nora: You're telling me. I mean, they expect us to just drop everything and say 'yes' to this? We're dealing with unfamiliar technology here. What if something goes wrong?
Pyrrha: These are friends of Headmaster Ironwood. Ozpin seems to have put a lot of faith in them. If he trusts them, then so do I.
Ren: Just because Ozpin trusts them, that doesn't necessarily mean we should. Something about Merlin doesn't seem right. For all we know, he could be lying.
Pyrrha: Ren, you're being ridiculous.
Ren: Am I? I don't think it's wise to just take what Merlin is saying at face-value. The fact that they want us for this mission and not have Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang or anyone else join us is pretty suspicious if you ask me.
Pyrrha: Look, I'm not saying that it isn't weird or that we shouldn't be cautious. I agree that something doesn't feel right. But think about it for a moment, what would Merlin have to gain from lying to us? And why would Headmaster Ironwood, a friend of Ozpin's, want to go along with it?
Nora: Agh! This is making me my head spin! Jaune, what do you think we should do?
Jaune: ...I need some air. *promptly leaves the room*
Jaune slid down the wall in complete exhaustion. He felt like he was letting his team down. He was the leader and he knew that they were counting on him to make a decision right now. But he was struggling. No matter how many times Jaune thought about it, there wasn't an easy answer to this. He reached into his pocket and took out his scrollphone. He dialed the number of the one person who understood the most; Ruby. Facing the camera, he waited until he saw her face. He felt a wave of relief upon seeing her again.
Ruby: Hey there, Jaune! How's Atlas?
Jaune: Hi Ruby. Uh, yeah... it's... okay.
Ruby: *frowns* What's wrong?
Jaune: *sighs* It's kind of a long story.
Jaune explained to Ruby about the dire situation he and his Team were in. His fingers were trembling so much that he nearly dropped the scrollphone.
Ruby: Hm. That's pretty rough. Do you think you can trust this Merlin guy?
Jaune: I'm not sure. I mean, if this other Remnant's survival hinges on us, shouldn't we go and help it?
Ruby: Well... what does your heart say?
Jaune: *small, nervous chuckle* It says I should go. I've always wanted to help others and protect those who need it. Even if that Remnant isn't my own, I should go and protect everyone there. Heroes go and fight the battles make sure we all live a better tomorrow, right?
Ruby: *giggles* Well if that's what you feel, then you have your answer. Good luck, Jaune and tell the others that too.
Jaune: Thanks Ruby. You're the best.
Ruby: *shakes head* No, you're the best. Make sure you come back in one piece, we still need to hang out at the Sweet Shack. *giggles*
Jaune: You can count on that, no problem. See you, Ruby.
Ruby: See you, Jaune.
Jaune hung up the scrollphone and held it close to his chest. Seeing Ruby made his heart flutter. He put his scrollphone away and opened the door to come back inside, only to see Nora, Ren and Pyrrha tumbling onto the floor.
Jaune: What the?! Were you guys evesdropping?
Nora/Pyrrha: ...no?
Jaune: Even you, Ren?
Ren: ...I got curious.
Jaune: *shakes head* Never mind. Look, I think we should help out Merlin and Ironwood. We all signed on to be huntsmen and huntresses. That means we do everything we can to save people from grimm and other evils. It'd be pretty irresponsible to just back out.
Pyrrha: That's a very mature decision, Jaune. I'm with you.
Nora: You can count me in too. If we can handle an invasion in our world, then a witch from another world is no problem at all.
Jaune: Ren?
Ren: I still think something's off about this... but if you feel it's the right thing to do, then I'm with you all the way.
Jaune: Thanks guys. *smiles* Now come on, we've got a cup to destroy!