A/N: I have returned after a long time! Sorry for the wait. I have no excuse for my delays but being lazy, focusing on my job, sorting things out with my life (nothing too serious), and playing new games, especially the Zelda game and all that jazz. But all in all, I will do my best to continue with my fics to the best of my abilities and the free time I have.
Please enjoy the following chapters!
Intermission II
After the latest viewing from the Cinema Room, the Remnantians were all sent to the cafeteria since its already dinner time.
As they all had their meals, some talked about the recent events from the last viewing regarding how the kings interacted with each other and how badass Rider is (mainly for Nora's case), and some silently enjoyed their meal. Ruby, in particular, was silently looking at her meal, poking it with her fork.
Yang being the big sister as she is noticed this. "Ruby?"
"Eep!" Ruby squeaked and looked up at her sister. "Y-Yeah?"
"Are you okay?" Yang asked, catching the attention of her friends.
"Yes! I'm fine! Why do you ask?" Ruby answers slightly fast with an innocent look, but her tone shows a different story.
"This is about the last viewing, isn't it?" Blake asked, making the red-tipped-haired girl flinch, making her question right.
"Why? What's wrong with the last viewing?" Nora asked. "Don't you like Rider and his army wiping the floor against Assassin?"
"Oh no, I really liked that part!" Ruby giggled, still shuddering at how epic the scene was, then slowly frowning. "It's just…"
"It's about Saber, isn't it?" Weiss answers, getting the attention of the teens. "Can't say I blame you, Ruby. I can't stop thinking about it either."
"You mean about how she wished never to be king?" Jaune asked.
"That and…" Weiss drifted off.
"That bloody battlefield?" A familiar voice said, getting almost everyone to jump to see T sitting with the children with his trademark smile.
"T!" Ruby says with a smile catching everyone's attention.
"Hello, everyone. How've you all been?" T asked as he looked around to see the whole group.
"We're doing great, thank you for asking." Pyrrha answered with a polite smile.
"That's great. And how about the recent viewing?"
"It was awesome!" Coco answered with a grin.
"Agreed. I did enjoy the conversation between the banquet of kings." Ozpin answered, adding his scents.
"I enjoyed the part where Iskander wiped the floor against Assassin with his Noble Phantasm." Qrow grinned at the one-sided slaughter.
"I still can't believe that idiot has such loyal followers even in death." Sienna comments, still feeling awed and envied that the Servant has such a large army that clearly dwarfs her White Fang.
"I liked that viewing much like D." T admitted as well, then she turned to Ruby. "You okay, little Rose?"
Ruby was a little startled by that question but quickly composed herself. "I'm fine."
T knew that it was a lie and gave her a soft smile. "It's about Artoria, isn't it?"
Ruby flinched again, looked down sadly, and looked up at T with a slight frown. "I just… don't understand. When I first heard about Saber, I was really curious about her. I looked her up in the library, and I can't help but feel that she is an amazing hero and king."
"I looked her up in the library too." Blake added in. "But I noticed that her whole story wasn't complete."
"That was Zelretch's doing." T explained. "Information of said Servant will be expanded once they are further revealed."
That earned an understanding nod from everyone.
"Can you please tell us?" Everyone looked at Ruby with a pleading look on her face. "Why does King Arthur want to change her history?"
There was a moment of silence after that question was asked. Everyone was also curious about why a king from long ago wished to change her past.
T's smile widened as if he was waiting for this very moment. "It's long, so I'll keep it short. I'm sure most of you know about the Sword on the Stone and the major accomplishments Artoria has done, right?"
"In history books, King Arthur was renowned for his sword Excalibur and his title as the King of Knights." James recounted what he learned during his free time in the Library and from D's explanation.
"And he is the leader of the Knights of the Round Table." Jaune added. "And I think in total, there are twelve of them? Aside from King Arthur, the others aren't named there."
"Another intention from Zelretch." T confirmed.
"I bet they're all in the Heroic Spirits, right?" Coco asked, and T nodded in confirmation.
"Just as the King of Knights was well renown, his fellow knights have also achieved their achievements to earn a place in the Throne of Heroes." The deity said.
"But that doesn't explain why Saber wishes to change her past." Sienna bluntly said. "From the last viewing, I'm not stupid to see that she went through something tragic like that war to make her that decision, but I'm betting that's not the case."
Some students were confused by what the leader of the White Fang said, and others were deeply thinking about what the Faunus said.
"No. It's not." T sighs. "Despite all the greatness the King of Knights has achieved, even she had her problems."
"Problems? I thought she was called the Perfect King?" Roman slightly mocked while Neo nodded in agreement.
"She was perfect for a time. But even perfection has its limits." T answered. "After all, the Pendragons Family have a tragic ending that leaves them no happy endings."
Ruby's stomach clenched when she heard that not only Saber had no happy ending, but her family was the same. She could not imagine that idea.
"What do you mean?" Winter questioned but a hint of concern in her tone. "What's so tragic about the Pendragon Family?"
"The Pendragons are well known for killing each other."
When the deity answered the question, everyone was left alone, stunned, silent. None of them would ever expect to hear that from them.
"W-What…?" Weiss nervously asked, hoping that what she heard was wrong.
"It's exactly what I said."
"But why?" Velvet questioned. "What would lead King Arthur's family to kill one another?"
"Which part would you like to know?" The deity asked.
"Preferably from the beginning, please." Glynda answered.
"The beginning… okay. It's long, so I'll only cut to the important events." T said, then began the tale. "To understand, you must know how Artoria obtained her power. In Britain, two dragons despised each other a Red Dragon, Ddraig, and a White Dragon, Albion."
"Dragons?" Ozpin asked, beginning to feel some similarity between two certain dragons.
"Yes. For you see, the Pendragons, Uther Pendragon, Arthur's biological father, made a pact with the Ddraig in exchange, the dragon would give its essence to him, not only inheritance of the powers of a dragon but to sire a child that would inherit the properties as well which is destined to be Britain's King." T explained while those listening were captivated by the tale.
"Arthur Pendragon." Ghira answered, earning a nod from T.
"Yes. It was foretold by Merlin, the Magus of Flowers, and King Arthur's future court magician, who had the power to see in the future foreseen the events that would lead to the rise of the King of Knights and many events to come. Arthur led Britain against the Saxons, led by his tyrant uncle, Vortigern, who made a pact with Albion and killed his brother Uther out of jealousy of being Britain's king before Arthur. At the final battle with each other, Arthur prevailed in defeating her evil uncle and united all of Britain under her leadership and became their king." T finished. While most of the younger audience were captivated by King Arthur's achievements, some were confused.
"Wait. Why did Saber still want to change her past if that was the case?" Penny questioned, not understanding the logic.
"Yeah. During the flashback, we saw the results of a war." Qrow added, recalling Saber's flashback. "You say'n that wasn't it?"
D gave a sad chuckle. "Oh no. Vortigern was not responsible for King Arthur's downfall. It was Arthur's older sister, Morgan la Fey."
Everyone was stunned, shocked again. To think King of Knights would have an older sister but was responsible for her downfall.
"Her… older sister?" Yang says, feeling that she is about to throw up hearing that a sibling would do that to another sibling. And she is an older sister herself.
T nodded. "Morgan, like Artoria, inherited the properties of a dragon however, she would mould her magic into dark arts."
"Dark arts? As like witches and stuff?" Nora asked, recalling fairy tale stories she once read.
"Yes. People would call her the Witch Queen." This earned a shudder from everyone, especially a certain wizard in the room. "You see, Morgan was jealous of Artoria, for she was chosen to lead Britain and not her, which would lead her to a life of vengeance to destroy everything her sister had built only to take it all and shape it into her image even as going far in siding with Vortigern."
"Yeash… reminds me of someone I know." Torchwick comments with a flinch while Neo agrees with him. Which also earned a stern glare from Sienna, hearing that there could be a possible connection of the said person he just commented.
"As the years passed, Morgan would commit lecherous, cruel, and selfish acts to destroy King Arthur, going as far as successfully stripping Avalon from her at one point, but the king and her Knights of the Roundtable would stop her and would prevail." T continued the story. "It then finally occurred to Morgan that she and her sister were too powerful and knew that her vengeance could not be achieved with how she was going."
"What did Morgan do?" Pyrrha innocently asked but later regretted asking.
"She thought of the most diabolical plot she had ever thought." T said, and the audience saw him with a disappointed frown for the first time. "Why would she need to kill her sister if her child can do it for her?"
This made everyone freeze in their seats. A majority felt like a truck rammed into them, while others felt a sense of dread when they heard the revelation.
"Her… child?" Tai swallowed, hearing what the deity said, not bothering to hide the sense of dread in his tone.
T nodded. "Yes. Morgan recalled how Vortigern was able to kill Uther. It was because they had the qualities of a dragon in them. If so, why couldn't the same be done with Arthur? But the Witch Queen was also afraid. She could not risk finding a random man to sire her child. Morgan needed a powerful man to bring out the true potential of her child's power. She needed someone who wielded the blood of a dragon, much like herself. The only problem is… there is only one other person aside from herself in the Pendragon Family who fit the criteria."
T purposely paused right there, sending a silent message to everyone. At first, they were confused, but as the seconds passed, they started to piece together and showed varied reactions.
Some frowned in disgust. Some looked horrified at the thought. Some covered their mouths trying to stop themselves from throwing up, and somewhere in utter disbelief, and developed a growing hate towards the Witch Queen at how far Morgan would go to achieve her vengeance.
Seeing their reactions, T continued. "Yes. Morgan le Fey raped Arthur Pendragon, her brother."
Ruby felt utterly disgusted and had a burning hatred towards the Witch Queen for forcing something disgusting on her sister. Wait? Sister? Ruby blinked a couple of times and then was downright confused. "Wait… Morgan… raped Arthur… right?" Ruby asked while looking uncomfortable while also confused.
T looked at Ruby with a raised brow. "Yes…?"
"But… Artoria is a girl. How did Morgan get pregnant?" That question immediately got everyone frozen at the reminder that King Arthur is a girl and gapped at how they could have missed something that.
This made T nervously chuckle before coughing a bit to straighten himself. "W-Well… let's just say that a certain Magus of Flowers has a… hobby of temporarily giving women men's… weenier, and leave it that."
The moment the deity said that everyone immediately got the message and not only got wide eyes open but got a lot of the younger audience burning red in the face while a few got a nosebleed and passed out at the idea of Saber having a… weenier got them mixed feelings at the thought. Many had questions about why the heck Merlin would do that.
Meanwhile, in the Garden of Avalon
"Hey! Don't judge me! I did that to ensure Artoria would not be questioned by her gender." Merlin, who was trapped in his tower, had watched the entire RWBY cast watching his universe shout in offense while also being dismayed that another universe was seeing him as a pervert.
"And for your information T, who I still think is a stupid name, me giving women wieners is not a hobby." Merlin huffed while looking offended. "And I don't see the problem. I can see a few men and women in the viewing, not against the idea–"
"Fou." A threatening yet cute sound made the Magus of Flowers freeze as he slowly turned to see a cute little rabbit-squirrel hybrid giving him a cute glare.
"N-Now Fou. L-Lets do not do anything rash…!" The magus tried to reason but failed as Fou quickly jumped forward towards his perverted handler with tremendous speed and managed to strike his face with its cute paws.
"Die, Merlin! Foooouu!"
"GHHA! Y-Y-You feral beast!"
Back to RWBY cast
After calming down, T continued the story.
"After Morgan did the deed, she had successfully given birth to her ultimate weapon. Mordred Pendragon the illigimate son of Morgan la Fey and Arthur Pendragon." T explained. "Mordred would grow into a powerful knight who would rival King Arthur. He would later earn the title the Knight of Rebellion, for it was Mordred who gathered an army to rebel against the king, resulting in the Battle of Camlann, the same battle you all saw in Saber's flashback, a battle so great that both armies fell, and father and son both struck each other down. Thus ends the tale of Arthur Pendragon."
Everyone could only show varied emotions from this tale. But one thing is sure. It was indeed a tragic one. T was not kidding in what he said. The Pendragons are known for killing each other. First, it was Vortigern killing Uther. Then it was Arthur killing Vortigern, and now Arthur and Mordred killing each other. How could such tragedy occur in such a profound family?
"What…" Ruby slowly asked, getting everyone's attention, and a few of them were surprised to see a slight glare coming from her. "What happened to her?"
Everyone was confused about who the young reaper was referring to, but then they realized who she was talking about.
"If you are talking about Morgan, all you need to know is that she died in the end." T answered, getting a silent nod from Ruby, earning her friends and family a concerned look.
"I can see why Saber wants to change her past so badly." Velvet sadly says as her rabbit drops down.
"But it's also dangerous." T said, catching everyone off by that statement. "As you may know, changing the past could lead to dire consequences in the present."
"But is it wrong?" Blake asked, almost unsure. A part of her understood what Saber was going through and wanted to do the same for her people. "I mean…"
"Blake… you've read a lot of stories, right?" The Cat Faunus slowly nodded her head. "Then you should know that every story, be it fictional or historical moment, have a moral to it, right? Arthur's story is no different."
"What moral could Saber's past could possibly tell us?" Winter questioned.
"There's no such thing as perfection." T answered, getting everyone to widen their eyes. "Granted, Saber was once called the Perfect King, but in the end, she tragically died due to events that could have been avoided by her choosing different choices. If she truly were 'perfect,' then there would never be a tragic ending."
Everyone took this moment to digest what they had learned but none more than the Schnees. All their lives, they believed that their family should be perfect, but with everything Jacques has done, perfection was already fractured due to his greed and selfishness. But after hearing King Arthur's story… they're beginning to question if their family was ever perfect.
T studied everyone's reactions and saw that it was beginning to make them question things for better or worst.
The deity nodded and then stood up from his seat. "Alright. Think it's time for me to leave you all be."
"Leaving already?" Ozpin asked.
"You know me. Got deity stuff to handle." T cheekily says, then walks away but not before stopping in Ruby's direction. "Oh, right! I almost forgot. Ruby."
"Y-Yes?" Ruby squeaked at T, suddenly calling her.
"Big question… What are you?" Ruby raised a brow at the weird question. She looked around at her friends and family, who all looked confused, and just shrugged before turning back to him.
"I'm… human?" Ruby slowly answered, confused why T would ask her that question.
T simply smiled and hummed. "When I return, I expect a proper answer next time."
T just disappeared before Ruby could ask what he meant, leaving behind a confused crowd.
"What… was that about?" Coco raised a brow. Why would T ask a question like that out of the blue?
"It might mean something else?" Ren answered.
"Perhaps he would be talking about something more meaningful?" Glynda added.
"I don't know about you all, but I'm just going to keep it my meal and sleep all this out." Roman bluntly said as he continued to eat his meal. He was surprised that they hadn't turned cold after T's story.
Everyone just glared or looked annoyed at the thief's bluntness, but in the end, they all followed his example and finished their meals. While they did, Ruby couldn't get the question out of her head.
"What am I…?" Ruby thought as she slowly finished her meal before heading straight to bed with her team.
To be continued…