The screen was in darkness for around a minute, a soft yet whimsical tune playing throughout the theater.

Soon enough, a title appeared on screen for all to see.

The
Hobbit

____________________________

"The Hobbit?" Jaune asked with a raised brow.

"That's a silly name." Nora said with a giggle.

"Hmm. I have no recollection of what a Hobbit is." Penny mused while she tapped her chin with her finger.

Ruby looked over to her robotic friend. "I think we're gonna find out soon." She told Penny.

"Regardless of whatever a Hobbit is, the composition of this music sounds very whimsical in nature." Weiss said as she found herself slightly swaying to the sound of the music.

"It's... kind of calming." Blake said, feeling as if this would be the perfect music to have playing while reading a book.

____________________________

Soon enough, an elderly voice spoke through the darkness, a voice that was elderly, yet almost all too familiar.

"My dear Ruby." spoke the elderly voice of one Roman Torchwick.

The darkness subsided with the hand of Roman striking a match, igniting it and using it to light a wax candle.
____________________________

"Uh, what?" Roman asked with a confused look. "Also, why do I sound old?"

"Don't Tell me this universe focuses on Torchwick." Ironwood said with an incredulous look.

"Forget that. Why'd he call me daughter his dear Ruby?" Tai asked as he got on the defensive, turning his head back towards Roman.

Qrow and Yang did the same as Tai, the former narrowing his eyes at the crook while the latter's eyes flashed red.

"Ooh, I don't like where this is going." Roman said with a grimace.

"I'm starting to feel sick." Ruby said with a cringe as she clenched her stomach.

It was then that Vortech made his way into the conversation. "Oh, get your minds out of the gutters!" Vortech told them with an incredulous look. "Their relationship is nothing like what your thinking."

"That still doesn't answer my question." Tai said while crossing his arms, a stern look on his face,

"There isn't much need for you to worry, Mr. Xiao Long. In this universe, one Roman Torchwick is the adoptive uncle, and legal guardian, of one Ruby Rose." Vortech stated as a matter-o'-factly.

"What?!" Ruby and Yang asked with a yell.

"You know I heard what you said... but I don't think I'm physically able to understand it, let alone believe it." Roman told Vortech with a shake of his head.

"It should also be known that Ruby isn't even a Rose in this universe." Vortech started. "She belongs to the Torchwick family tree, thereby making her Ruby Torchwick."

Ruby just had wide eyes and an agape jaw, her brain fried at the thought of her not just being related to—but also having the surname of Vale's most infamous criminal.

"But... I never even had any siblings." Roman argued with wide eyes.

'Congratulations?' Neo signed to her boss with a raised brow.

"You do in this universe." Vortech replies back with a nod. "Though Ruby didn't belong to any of said siblings. She is the daughter of your cousin, Drogo Torchwick, and his wife, Summer Rose Torchwick. Making Ruby your second cousin."

"Mom married a Torchwick?" Ruby asked, her expression still seeming hollow.

"Wait a minute, you said Torchwick was Ruby's legal guardian." Yang said, still trying to come to terms that there is a universe where her little sister is a Torchwick. "What happened?"

"Boating accident. Both drowned and left Ruby an orphan." Vortech said bluntly.

"...Oh." Yang said, glancing off to the side awkwardly.

"Roman then adopted Ruby, taking up the roll of her uncle soon after." Vortech continued.

"Why?" Roman asked, throwing his arms out with a deadpanned look.

Vortech just shrugged as he looked at the criminal mastermind.

While that went on, Weiss looked over to Ruby, seeing that her partner still had a frozen, hollow face of shock.

"Uh, Ruby?" Weiss asked as he waved her hand over Ruby's face, getting Yang and Blake's attention.

"Rubes?" Yang asked her sister, poking her in the side, the blonde's look of concern growing. "Ruby snap out of it!" She said, trying to shake her sister out of her stupor.

____________________________

The back of Roman was now seen in an with long-sleeved short with a red vest over it, along with black dress pants. The audience could see that his hair was all but grey now, only a few strands of orange hair from his youth could slightly be seen atop his head.

However, the most apparent think about this version of Roman, was that his stature was quite shorter than how he already was.
____________________________

"Huh, so I am old in here." Roman mused to himself before his eyes widened. "Hey, wait a minute. Why am I short?"

"Because you're a hobbit." Vortech replied.

"That doesn't really answer my question. I don't what a hobbit is." Roman replies back.

"Hobbits are the shortest, bipedal creatures in this universe." Vortech began. "They are attributed to having pointed ears, large, hairy feet, and a stature shorter than that of a dwarf."

"Wait a minute." Roman said. "How short are we talking here?"

"On average? 3 feet and 6 inches." Vortech answered.

Roman's eyes were wide in shock. "Dear God, I'm shorter than Neo."

Saying this elicited Roman to receive a and elbow to the ribs from said stout woman.

"Wait a minute." Ruby said, finally getting out of her stupor. "If Torchwick's a hobbit in this universe, and I'm a Torchwick in this universe..." Ruby mumbled as she trailed off, eyes soon widening. "That means I'm a hobbit too!"

"So... nothing new?" Yang asked with a teasing grin.

"Hey! I'm not that short." Ruby protested with a blush on her face.

____________________________

He was seen walking through a rounded, ornate, wooden hallway with his candle to light the way through the dark of his home.

"You asked me once if I had told you everything there was to know about my adventures." Roman said as it cut to him opening a chest of sorts.
____________________________

"Adventures?" Ozpin asked.

"I'd wager it's his word for talking about his thieving escapades." Winter said with a huff.

"Huh huh huh. You wouldn't be completely wrong there." Vortech said with a chuckle as he looked at the elder Schnee sibling.

____________________________

While doing this, his face could be seen to the entire audience. A slightly wrinkled face that shown his age, yet his green eyes showed that he was far from death's embrace. Roman looked through some papers, books, and other such thing within the chest as he continued to speak.
____________________________

"Oh, my face." Roman said as he ran a hand across his own face, trying to make sure that he didn't have wrinkles himself.

"You say that like being old is a bad thing." Pietro said as he looked over to the criminal.

"Uh, it is if you like your looks." Roman refutes back to the elderly man.

'I think you still look smashing.' Neo signed to Roman, trying to cheer up her boss. 'Even if you're old.'

____________________________

"And while I can honestly say I have told you the truth..." Roman continued to say until he came across a dagger within its sheath, though to someone of Roman's size it made well for a short-sword.

It was clearly somewhat curved at the edges, concaving in from the handle, and widening somewhat until it compressed at the tip.

Roman looked at the sheathed blade some bit, his mouth slightly twitching into a smile as memories began to come into affect from seeing the blade.
____________________________

"Well, if that's no foreshadowing, I don't know what is." Blake said as she looked at the screen with a dull face.

"From the way Mr. Torchwick is looking at that dagger, it is obvious that he has some form of history with it." Oobleck observed while taking a sip from his thermos. "And a nostalgic one at that."

____________________________

"I may not have told you all of it." Roman said as he almost went for the sheathed blade, only to quickly move his hand towards a wide, red-covered book beneath it, his initials etched into the cover at the bottom of the front.

Roman took the book into his arms, carrying it until it cut placing the book on a desk accompanied by papers and other books.

He opened up the book to reveal a sketch of his younger self's face, his face much like that of Roman within the audience.

"I am old now, Ruby." Roman said as he picked up the sketch of his younger self. "I'm not the same hobbit I once was."
____________________________

"You can say that again, pal." Roman said with a huff.

"Huh." Ruby mumbled to herself as she looked at the screen in slight confusion. "Is it me, or does Torchwick sound more... nice in this universe?"

This caused the rest of Team RWBY to to freeze in thought.

"I mean... he does sound a little more... refined." Weiss said, trying to explain it.

"I can't be too sure." Yang said with a shrug before looking over to Team JNPR. "Jaune, what do you think?"

"I don't know." Jaune said as he raised his brow at Yang. "We hardly know the guy. I thought he was you guy's personal enemy?"

"I mean, if anything, he at least sounds morally better than the Torchwick we have." Blake chimed in.

"Ouch. You know, I have feelings too, kitty cat." Roman said to Blake, placing the back of his hand to his forehead as if he were hurt by what she said.

Blake just rolled her at him in response.

____________________________

Putting a hand to his chin, Roman smiled at the image of his younger self.

It soon cuts to Roman dipping a quill in a jar of ink. "I think it is time for you to know what really happened." Roman spoke once more, muttering to himself before he started to write in the book.

"It began, long ago." Roman narrated, his words mimicking what he wrote in the book. "In a land far away to the East."

Roman day in a chair at his desk, continuing to write in his book as everything seemed to zoom out from him.

"The like of which you will not find in the world today."

The scene transitioned to a map of Middle-Earth, going from "Hobbiton",  "Bywater", and "the Shire".

Other words and locations could be seen on the map, ranging from "Bree" and "Rhovanion" until it reached to a tall, secluded mountain on the map where it read the words "Esgaroth", "Dale", and "Erebor".
____________________________

"Those are some odd names for what I can only assume to be locations." Ironwood said while putting a hand to his chin, Oobleck writing down the locations as the General spoke.

"Vacuo, Vale, Menagerie, Atlas, Mistral." Vortech counted off from each of his fingers before looking towards the Atlesian General. "Need I go on?"

"Well, odder than what we're used to." Ironwood clarified, coughing into his fist a bit.

"Who would name a place after a cheese?" Nora asked with a raised brow.

"At least it's isn't on the nose like Hobbiton." Ruby said with slightly slumped shoulders.

"At least Hobbiton actually sounds like it could be a place." Ilia spike to the little red reaper. "Who names a place Bywater?"

"Probably cause it's By water. Eh?" Yang suggested with a grin, looking left and right.

All she got was Jaune crossing his arms at her, eyes narrowed. Nora scowling at her while shaking her head. Ruby and Ren giving very dull looks. Pyrrha giving an awkward cough in responses. And Weiss pinching the bridge of her nose, sighing in annoyance.

"Seriously?" Blake asked Yang with a look that was both deadpan and annoyed. Something Ilia mimicked.

"Okay, yeah. That wasn't my best material." Yang quickly admitted with slumped arms.

'Get off the stage!' Neo signed to Yang all the way from the back, not that Yang paid attention to her.

____________________________

"There was the city of Dale. It's markets known far and wide. Full of bounties of vine and vale." Roman spoke as it cut to people within Dale, moving about, trading with amongst themselves, and enjoying their day; children running around and playing with on another.

"Peaceful and prosperous." Roman said.
____________________________

"Sounds nice." Sienna said as she watched the scene unfold. Taking notice that while she didn't see any faunus, she did spot some people that were quite short in stature compared to the surrounding humans.

"So this universe takes place during a time when trade was still active. Before modern day currency." Oobleck wrote down in his journal.

"Though that begs the question on what kind of currency they use in this universe." Port said to his friend.

"Usually gold and silver, and other precious metals that can mounted into coin." Vortech spoke out.

"You don't say?" Roman asked, looking towards Vortech as a smile formed upon his face.

____________________________

It soon shown the wide city upon the screen, but it soon transitioned to a mountain with structures built into it.

"For this city lay before the doors of the greatest kingdom in Middle-Earth: Erebor." Roman continued to narrate as the audience got a better look at Erebor itself.

What stood proud at the entrance of the mountain was an emerald colored, angular, and ornate stone structure to represent the outer part of the kingdom, a grand front gate standing tall and proud over the lands, proclaiming the power and skill of its people. In front of it stood two giant, emerald colored stone dwarves, their axes raised in a guarding stance as their armor was intricately detailed upon their figures.
____________________________

Many within the audience were astounded by what they were seeing before them.

"Remarkable." Oobleck said, his eyes widened and his mouth slightly hung open.

"Such craftsmanship." Port said with equal wonder.

"Who built all this?" Glynda asked with equal amazement.

"This craftsmanship belongs to that of the dwarves." Vortech stated to the entire audience.

Roman whistled in appreciation at what he was seeing, Neo's eyes widened as well.

"How were they able to accomplish this? Not even Atlas has structures this intricate." Ironwood asked as he looked at the gates of Erebor in wonder.

"All by hand." Vortech answered. "Dwarves are not only known for their wit in battle, but for their expertise in crafting as well. Each crack, each crevice, each ornate detail was carved into the green-stone by the skilled hands of many a dwarf."

"W-wow." Jaune said, finding himself speechless at what he was seeing.

"I don't think anyone from our universe could replicate such a structure." Pyrrha said in amazement.

"And even the part of the kingdom that you all see before you is just one grand gate." Vortech continued in his informing of the audience.

"Huh, no shit?" Qrow numbly asked as he looked at the grand gate, Tai whistling in agreement.

"So I take it that this gate is a way to show the world their skill by image alone? If that's the case, it's certainly works." Sienna said as she looked upon the scale of the grand gate.

"It's truly a marvel." Weiss said, Ilia numbly nodding in a agreement.

"I know, right?" Ruby said before her eyes widened. "If dwarves can makes stuff like that, I wonder what kind of weapons they make." She said excitedly.

"It would certainly be interesting to see what else they can craft." Penny said in agreement.

"Dwarven weapons are known to be more angular and runic in design. Their preferred weapons being that of axes and hammers." Vortech said.

"Awesome." Nora said with stars in her eyes.

"Men of taste, I see." Port said while stroking his mustache.

As all this was going on, Ozpin stared intently at the grand gates of Erebor with widened eyes, remembering the settlements and kingdoms that existed in the first age of civilization on Remnant. None of which could hold a flame to what he was seeing. Not even the castle that he and Salem had erected could compare to this dwarven kingdom. It made him wonder what else lay within this world.

"Tell me, Vortech." Ozpin started as he looked at the screen. "Mr. Torchwick referred to this world as Middle-Earth?"

"It's the name of the entire country. One large supercontinent." Vortech answered to the headmaster of Beacon.

"What's a supercontinent?" Ruby asked.

"Try to imagine all the kingdoms of Remnant connected together as one whole piece of land." Vortech told Ruby.

"Oh..." Ruby trailed off as she thought on what Vortech said.

"That would certainly be quite the large mass of land." Penny stated with a nod.

____________________________

"The stronghold of Thror, King under the Mountain." Roman spoke as long-beaded, silver armored dwarves stood at attention as two dwarves past by them.

One was much older than the other, having a long grey beard with dark grey braids, his hair grey and long as he wore a gold, ornate crown atop his head. For clothing, he wore black and brown fur robes and blue-colored armor.

This was Thror.
____________________________

"They even got some nice fashion senses." Roman nodded in approval.

"An actual King." Penny said with stars in her eyes. "I've only ever came across them in my studies on Remnant's history. I never thought I would ever see one."

"He even gives off a kingly vibe to." Yang said in compliment to Thror, also admiring the armor that the dwarves wore.

"I must say, those are some astounding beards and mustaches." Port said in respect to the dwarves.

____________________________

Behind him was an old, yet slightly younger dwarf who had grey hair atop his head, his long beard grey with black going down the middle. His left eye was scarred, ornate tattoos surrounding it. His clothing consisting of brown and velvet garments trimmed in gold, accompanied by bronze armor.

This was Thrain.

"Mightiest of the dwarf-lords." Roman spoke as Thror looked out from the outer walls of Erebor.

"Thror ruled with utter surety." Roman spoke as the inside of Erebor was shown.

The inside of the mountain was very ornate, similar in design to the angular structure of the outer wall, giant stone dwarves on each side, their axes trimmed with gold in ornate designs. At the center of it all was a large stalactite laced thick with golden veins. It ran all the way down to a green-stone throne, ornate in design as this was the throne of the king. What laid in front of the throne was a long walkway that led to and from the throne room.

"Never doubting his line would endure, for his line lay secure in the lives of his son." Roman started as Thrain could be seen walking up to Thror, who sat on his throne. "And grandson." Roman finishes as a dwarf that was much younger than the other two dwarves could be seen standing to the right of Thror's throne.

This dwarf wore a black fur colored coat, navy blue clothing making up the rest of his wear. His face was young, his beard and mustache black and thick, but much smaller than that of Thror and Thrain. His black hair long, running a little past his shoulders, his blue eyes like stone as he watched along the ginormous room with diligence.

This was the son of Thrain, son of Thror. James Ironwood.
____________________________

"Jimmy's a dwarf prince?" Qrow asked with a perplexed face.

"Looks like someone's rocking the scruffy beard." Port said in appraisal.

"Huh." Ironwood mumbled to himself, never having seen himself other than a human or someone with a military rank within these universes. Yet here he was. A dwarven prince.

"...Woof." Glynda said, finding herself lost in her thoughts by the Ironwood onscreen.

"Uh, Glynda?" Ozpin asked his deputy headmistress with a raised brow, snapping her out of her daydreaming.

Glynda merely cleared her throat, trying to fight the blush of embarrassment on her face.

Ironwood heard what Glynda said, a smile forming on his face as he straightened himself in his seat, puffing his chest out in pride.

"Now that's what a man looks like." Sienna mumbled directly to herself, even lightly purring a bit in admiration for what she was seeing.

____________________________

"Ah, Ruby. Erebor." Roman spoke with a sigh of nostalgia.

And image of more emerald stone structures, pathways, buildings, and hallways could be seen throughout the inside of the mountain. The darkness being lit by many a candle.

"Built deep within the mountain itself, the beauty of this fortress city was legend." Roman spoke as the viewing angle showed that the structures within the mountain were far taller than once expected, the extent of the kingdom going far within the mountain.
____________________________

"There's even more architectural marvel within the kingdom." Pietro said with wide eyes.

"A majority of what you're seeing was carved straight from green-stone. Though throughout mainly of the halls, walls, stairwells, and corridors, there are many a gold and silver sewn into the rock in a tunic pattern." Vortech said.

"So they're basically walking on gold and silver every day?" Tai asked.

"Essentially, yes." Vortech nodded.

"Talk about filthy rich." Roman said with an agape jaw.

"Heheheh." Yang found herself chuckling at what Roman said, only to soon stop in her tracks. "Dammit." Yang cursed, realizing that it was Torchwick that said what could be considered a pun.

____________________________

"It's wealth lay in the Earth..." Roman started as dwarves with glasses and large monocles can be seen observed bits of crystal and gold, all the while being observed by Thror and Thrain.

"In precious gems hewn from rock and in great seams of gold, running like rivers through stone." Roman continued as a large and wide mining section of the mountain can be seen, vines of lanterns lighting the cavern as dwarves can be seen mining with the aid of pulleys so that they may get further to the rivers of gold within the mountain.
____________________________

"That's... bigger than any SDC mine on the face of Remnant." Winter said with an open jaw.

"Probably just as hazardous though." Ilia said, scowling a bit as she remembered the mining accident that took her parents.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Miss Amitola, but despite its size, those mines are far more safer than anything the SDC has to offer." Vortech informed the chameleon faunus. "The only thing anyone has to worry about in that mine, is somehow falling out of their harness. Though even then, the dwarves are far too focused on the mining of precious metals and gems."

"Hmph. This universe is lacking in technology, and yet its already somehow much better than our own." Sienna said with an eye roll. Glancing back at the screen and wondering how good it would feel to push Jacques Schnee over one of the cliffs in the mines of Erebor, letting him fall all the way down to the bottom.

"Well, not entirely." Vortech said as he looked off to the side.

"Wait..." Blake said as she looked back at Vortech. "What do you mean?"

"You'll all see in time." Was his reply to the cat faunus.

____________________________

It cut to a large forgery, hot lava and molten metal flowing through it as a group of four dwarves hammer in an object on a pedestal.

"The skill of the dwarves was unequalled, fashioning objects of great beauty..." Roman said as a dwarf can be seen within the forgery, holding up an object with a pair of tongs as two large hammer-like objects swing down and slam into the sides of the object, sparks flying throughout the area.

"Out of diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire." Roman said as more dwarves can be seen mining.
____________________________

"Woah.... those are big forges." Ruby said meekly, awe inspired by its grandeur. Wondering what kind of weapons she could make within that forge.

"This whole kingdom seems like one well oiled machine." Qrow said as he watched the dwarves practice their craft.

"They have my respect, thus far." Winter stated.

"Huh huh huh. Oh, that'll change." Vortech muttered to himself with a chuckle.

____________________________

"Ever they delved deeper, down into the dark. And that is where they found it." Roman said as one dwarf uses a hammer and chisel to mine into the rock.

Once broken through, a glowing light came into being. It seemed to capture the eyes of the dwarf with its glow. Moving some more loose rocks the gem was revealed to be a gem of blue and white, a fiery orange at the center of the gem.
____________________________

"Hello momma." Roman said, his eyes widening at the gemstone the audience laid eyes upon. Finding himself being drawn to the white and fiery gem.

In fact, a majority of the audience felt some form of tug from laying eyes upon the white gem. All except for two. Ruby and Penny.

Ruby, because she was more of a weapons fan than a girl who liked jewels, and Penny, because she was an Android with artificial aura, and thus could not feel the true affect the white gem had on the audience.

"Now wouldn't that make an awesome present for a girl." Yang said as she stared at the white gem.

"Pretty." Nora drawled our as she found herself leaning forward in her seat.

"I mean, it is a pretty gem and all, but I could honestly care less for it." Ruby waved off.

Weiss just looked at her team leader with a confused look. "I will never truly be able to understand the way you think." She said as she looked back at the white gem. She admired its beauty, yet deep in her mind she felt as if this would be something her mother would try to collect as a means find something to do with her wine filled life, if not just for the gem's divinity.

"It feels as if there's... some form of aura surrounding that gem." Glynda said, feeling drawn to the gem like many in the audience, though trying to fight it.

"An aura that feels almost... unnatural." Ozpin said. He too felt the tug of his attention towards the gem, though unlike everyone else, he felt as if something supernatural was involved with that gemstone. Something dark, compared to the gems light.... and something evil.

____________________________

"The Heart of the Mountain. The Arkenstone." Roman said as it cut to him as writing the name of the gem within his book.
____________________________

"So, Uh, Vortech." Roman said, gaining the Vortonian's attention. "How much lien would you say that Arkenstone is worth."

"Well, let's see." Vortech said as he crunches the numbers in his head. "In USD, it's worth about 1.6 billion, transfer that into Remnant's currency... I'd say about 106,666,666,666.6667 lien."

Everyone in the audience did a spit take on that.

"Holy shit!" Qrow yelled in shock.

"The Akenstone is worth that much?!" Weiss asked with an agape face.

"Hohohoho! You don't say?" Roman asked with a very excited tone. "So let's say that some guy decided to journey to the center of a mountain to find said Arkenstone..." he trailed off, only to be cut off by Vortech.

"The Arkenstone is exclusive to this universe." Vortech bluntly replied.

"Gah!" Roman immediately felt as if he was hit through the heart as he clenched his chest, Neo putting her hands to her mouth as she grew a look of concern for her boss. "I suddenly can't feel my left arm."

'Someone call an ambulance!' Neo signed.

"Though I will say that the Arkenstone is of a set of three." Vortech said.

"I suddenly feel alive again!" Roman declared as he shot up in his seat.

"Three Arkenstones?" Ozpin asked with wide eyes.

"That would probably be enough to money to rival the SDC in a night, maybe even outshine it." Tai said with a shock risen face.

"Hmph. I wonder what father would say to that." Winter said as a smirk grew upon her face. "Hmhmhm. He would probably die of heart attack." She said with a small chuckle.

Sienna looked at Winter with a confused face. Did Winter hold the animosity towards her father like most faunus in the White Fang did?

"The stones are referred to as the Silmaril. And while I won't delve too much into the topic, they have a very large significance within the history of Middle-Earth." Vortech said.

"With a universe like this, I'd imagine that the history of Middle-Earth would be quite vast." Oobleck said, fantasizing over the amount of knowledge he could learn.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Vortech replied to the green haired teacher.

____________________________

"Thror named it the 'King's jewel'." Roman said as Thror could be seen sitting on his throne, the Arkenstone now embedded at the top of the throne, surrounded by an ornate golden symbol.

"He took it as a sign, a sign that his right to rule was divine." Roman said as Thror sat at his throne, Thrain and James at his side along side some dwarven guards. Beside James was another dwarf with brown hair and a long brown beard held a box within his hands.
____________________________

"Oh, yeah. A gem like that would definitely be fit for a king." Roman agreed.

"He took it as a sign that his right to rule was divine?" Ozpin repeated in question, before shaking his head. "Something tells me that things are about to take a turn soon."

"I agree. I fear that Thror will take the meaning of the Arkenstone too far." Glynda said. "It may resort to his undoing."

____________________________

"All would pay homage to him." Roman spoke as five tall people walked towards Thror. Four of them were dressed in brown garments with silver armor, curved blades at their sides, long blonde hair reaching past their shoulders, ears pointed. They were lead by an individual with brown skin, brown-pointed ears, and blade hair that reached past their shoulders. Atop their head sat a wooden crown was a crown of sorts made of wood and leaves, the hardened twigs in the back pointed outwards behind their head, a shimmering silk and silver.

"Even the great ElvenQueen, Sienna Kahn." Roman said as it was shown to be Sienna who lead the group of now named elves.

Her face now fully shown with its tiger-like patterns, amber eyes met with Thror's blue ones as Sienna lightly nodded to the dwarf-lord, Thror nodding back to him.
____________________________

"Uh... what?" Sienna asked with an owlish look.

"High-Leader Khan is an elf?" Ilia asked with a confused look.

"In a world of fantasy. Faunus are nonexistent." Vortech said as he looked to Sienna. "In this universe, you are the Queen of the woodland elves. And like all elves, you can live a hundred years and not look a day over 30."

"How old am I in this universe?" Sienna asked.

"Around 6000 years of age." Vortech said, prompting Sienna Khan to widened both her eyes and mouth in shock.

"That's a lot of years." Ruby said with slightly wide eyes, though given the fact that they saw the Transformers, giant robots that can live for millions of years on end, she wasn't completely shocked.

"Well, if that's the case, how long do Hobbits live for?" Roman asked, wanting to know how long his other had been alive for.

"And by extension, dwarves." Ironwood said, he too wanting to know how long his counterpart's species could live up to.

"Hobbits can live up to 100 years. Dwarves, 195." Vortech answered them. "Humans still having the expectancy to live up to around 70 in this universe."

"Huh." Roman said with a slumped look, wishing it could have been longer.

"Must be nice to be an elf." Jaune said. "As long as you aren't killed, you can outlive almost everyone."

"While I'm certain some people would like to live for as long as an elf, I don't many would choose to." Pyrrha said.

"Why not?" Jaune asked with a raised brow.

"Because you would end up outliving any potential friends and loved ones that couldn't live as long as you could." Pyrrha replies to her leader with a solemn look.

"O-oh. Yeah. I-I guess that would be a major downside." Jaune said as he looked down.

Pyrrha smiled as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "It still doesn't make it a bad wish." She said, causing Jaune to smile back her.

Ozpin overheard Pyrrha's conversation with Jaune, thinking deeply behind what she said. While he could live as long as a regular human or faunus, he could never truly pass on. Not until his mission was fulfilled. Memories of those he lost over the ages saddened him. Some he watched pass peacefully in their beds, while others fell to the clutches of Salem in their quest to try and stop her.

Ozpin soon pushed those thoughts aside as the viewing continued.

____________________________

The dwarf with the box opened it to Sienna, revealing shining white gems within it. She looked at them, glancing up at Thror for a moment before she walked towards the box.

"As the great wealth of the dwarves grew, their store of goodwill ran thin." Roman solemnly narrated as Sienna walked up to the box of white gems.

Her eyes widened, her jaw agape as Sienna laud careful eyes upon the white gems.

"No one knows what began the rift." Roman started as Sienna went to touch the gems.

However, the moment she tried to, the dwarf holding the box slammed it shut, causing Sienna to silently gasp in shock.

James seemed as equally shocked as Sienna as he looked towards his grandfather.

"The elves say the dwarves stole their treasure. The dwarves tell another tale. They say the elf-Queen refused to give them their rightful pay." Roman narrated as Thror looked down at Sienna, the elf-Queen meeting his gaze with a calmed anger.
____________________________

"Wait, what's the story here?" Winter asked in confusion.

"I have to agree with the specialist." Sienna admitted, her ting feeling like sandpaper when she said those words. "I feel like I should be mad as well, but I honestly don't know why my other wanted those gems."

"Well, your counterpart had placed an order for those gems to be made into jewelry in remembrance of your dead husband." Vortech answered her.

"...What?" Sienna asked, shocked once again. "I-I was married?"

"Emphasis on the was." Vortech stated. "And as you can see, you did not get those white gems."

Hearing this caused Sienna to somewhat sympathize with her counterpart, and slightly glare at Thror.

"But, why wouldn't Thror give her the gems?" Ren asked, knowing what it's like to lose family.

"Ain't it obvious?" Ilia asked him. "Torchwick already said it. Those dwarves are starting to become greedy."

"They can't all be greedy."Nora argues back at Ilia.

"Ironwood did seem just as shocked at Thror as Sienna was." Blake said in agreement.

"Yeah. Saying all dwarves are greedy is like saying all the faunus in the world are apart of the White Fang." Nora said while placing her hands on her hips.

Ilia, Sienna, and Blake blinked at what the ginger bomber said. Not sure if they should take some offense from that, or if they should concede with her point.

____________________________

Sienna soon turned her heel and walked away, her elven soldiers following behind her.

"It is sad, Ruby, how old alliances can be broken. How friendships between peoples can be lost." Roman continued as James watched the elves depart.

The scene cuts back to the elderly Roman as he looked down at his book, still writing. "And for what?" He asked as he seemed to look off into the distance, soon silently huffing and lightly shaking his head as he went to dab his pen into the jar of ink.
____________________________

Ozpin felt this statement hit hard for him. In more ways than one. The words "And for what?" repeating inside his head.

"Huh. That was..." Blake trailed off as she tried to find the right words.

"Surprisingly meaningful and wise." Weiss finished for Blake.

"But Torchwick said it." Blake replied.

"I know." Weiss said with equal confusion.

"It would definitely seem that this Torchwick has more wisdom and manners than the one from our world." Glynda stated bluntly.

"Hey!" Torchwick called out. "I can be wise. And have great manners." He argued, Neo giving a so-so sign with her hands—not that Roman noticed.

Most in the audience looked at Roman with a raised brow.

"Okay... well, sometimes anyway." Roman said as he averted their looks, crossing his arms in the process, Neo giving him a reassuring pat on the back.

____________________________

"But the years of peace and plenty within the mountain were not to last." Roman said as the outside of Erebor could be seen once again, dusk now settling in upon the land before a shadow loomed over it.

"Slowly, the days turned sour, and the watchful nights closed in." Roman said as it cut to Thror within his very large treasury.

Thror's mouth could not be seen, but his face was so that one could tell that he smiled with greed as he looked over his vast treasury of golden objects and gems.

"Thror's love of gold had grown too fierce. A sickness had begun to grow within him." Roman explained as James watched his fathers from the shadows.

James lightly scowled at what his grandfather had begun as he slowly backed away into the shadows, turning his head away from the sight before him.

"It was a sickness of the mind. And where sickness thrives, bad things will follow." Roman said as it cut to day outside Erebor once more.
____________________________

A similar scowl appeared on Ironwood's face within the audience, albeit a stronger one. Thror was a king. He should act like one. Not some greedy old man that seemed to boded that of Jacques Schnee.

"Thror's got it bad for all that gold." Yang said with a cringe and a wince.

"It definitely seems that Thror started to act this way after the Arkenstone was found." Penny mused while tapping her finger against her chin.

"Vortech did say the Silmarils had a history in Middle-Earth." Blake said as she glanced at Penny. "I can only assume that their history wasn't a pleasant one."

"Hey, if I had all that gold—and that is a lot of gold." Roman said, stressing his words. "I'd probably go trigger happy too."

"Yes, but we're talking about a king of a grand kingdom. Not some low-life thief." Winter told him with a roll of her eyes.

"Uh, that's low-life master criminal to you, Ice Queen senior." Roman shot back to Winter

'Learn it.' Neo signed towards the Specialist.

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A kite in the shape of a serpent-like dragon was shown being flown in the sky as the children of Dale played with their kites. One was in the shape of a green turtle, another in the shape of a blue bird.

"The first they heard was a noise like a hurricane coming down from the north." Roman said as the trees surrounding Dale and Erebor were blown about by a loud, powerful gust of wind.

"The pines on the mountain creaked and cracked in the hot, dry wind." Roman said as a dwarf with greying hair and a long beard, dressed in red and brown garbs walked through the upper halls of the grand gate.
____________________________

"...Something's bad is about to happen." Ren said as little quietly, the eeriness of the situation feeling all to familiar with him.

"Hot, dry wing?" Ozpin asked to himself.

"Erebor and Dale definitely do not seem to be places where that type of climate would happen." Oobleck said.

"The higher the altitude, the colder the climate." Pietro said in agreement.

Meanwhile, Ozpin started to think on the matter, furrowing his eyes as the that type of oddity seemed familiar to him.

As this was going on, Yang looked over to Blake, only to raise her brow when she saw her partner's eyes become slits, almost seeming agitated.

"Blake? You okay?" Yang asked as she put an arm on her partner's shoulder.

Blake quickly turned her head at Yang, jumping in her seat a bit, and prompting Yang to do the same.

"Woah!" Yang said as she jumped in her seat.

This caused Ruby and Weiss to look over at Blake as well, looks of concern on their faces. This soon caused Blake to blink her eyes back into their usual round pupil shape, looking a little nervous.

"S-sorry. Reflexes." Blake said as she glanced off to the side in embarrassment.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked her faunus friend.

Blake seemed to stay quiet for a moment before speaking. "My faunus senses kicked in. There's something big heading their way." Blake said as she motioned to Erebor. "Something big and dangerous."

"You okay now?" Yang asked her.

"A-a little." Blake said before she glanced at Ilia, her eyes widening a bit before she looked over at Sienna. "I can't say the same for them."

The rest of Team RWBY looked towards the other two faunus within the theater, seeing that Ilia had fidgety eyes, her hands grasping onto the arms of her chair. Sienna has slitted pupils like Blake had, though it seemed that she was trying to steel herself from what she was sensing.

____________________________

From just inside the grand gates, James charged up the green-stone stairs with two shield and axe wielding dwarves accompanying him.

James grunts as he goes up to the elderly dwarf, watching as the heavy wind sent the banners violently waving.

James soon addressed the elderly dwarf. "Balin, sound the alarm." He told the now named Balin as he moved past the elderly dwarf, one of the flags being blown off from its place and right between the two, prompting James and Balin to duck.

"Oh!" Balin said in shock as James rose up and looked around the sky, a look of worry spreading across his face.

"Call out the guard. Do it now!" James ordered hurriedly as he moved back towards the stone railings that gave a view into the entrance of Erebor.
____________________________

"What is going on?" Tai asked with a confused look, though something deep within him told him to be on high alert. As if a Grimm siege was about to take place.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Qrow said with a shake of his head, taking a swing of his flask soon after. Though after taking the swing, he rose his brow, moving it over his eyes and to see that it was now empty.

"It almost sounds as if they're preparing for a siege attack." Penny guessed.

Winter nodded in agreement. "But from what?"

Ozpin continued to think on the matter until it finally hit him. His eyes widened as he muttered out two words. "Oh, no."

Glynda looked over to the headmaster of Beacon with a concerned look. "Sir?" Though Glynda didn't get an answer.

However, thanks to her faunus hearing, Blake was able to hear what Ozpin said. It caused her to raise a brow in confusion. How, and what, did the Headmaster know about what was coming?

____________________________

"What is it?" Balin asked, prompting James to look back him.

"Dragon." James said grimly before looking up at the sky, a look of dread growing on his face before he turned around and towards the railings to address his people.

"Dragon!" James shouted are the top of his lungs to the people of Erebor, causing them to start going up in a frenzy.

Balin looked back to see a flaming tree pass by him.
____________________________

"Oh... Crap." Jaune squeaked out, trying not to swear, yet immensely shook.

"A dragon?" Weiss asked. "I thought those were only in fairytales." A look of concern growing on her face.

"You know, the rationalist in me wants to agree with you, Ice Queen junior." Roman said as he looked the burning tree. "But the flaming tree in the wind tells me that there's a fire-breathing lizard with wings headed their way."

Ozpin grimaced. Knowing what would soon come if Erebor and Dale were not prepared.

____________________________

"He was a fire-drake from the North." Roman narrated as large torrents if flames came shooting down at the stone railings.

Balin would have been singed if not for James coming to his rescue, grabbing onto him and pulling him to cover behind one of the green-stone pillars.

The two dwarves gasped as the heat bared down onto them, groaning as the bone melting flames moved past the pillars.
____________________________

"Holy shit!!" Roman said as he jumped in his seat, holding onto his bowler hat.

Neo looked at the screen with wide eyes, her survival instincts quickly kicking in.

"That's... a lot of fire." Ruby gulped nervously.

"How big is this thing?" Yang asked with a shock filled expression.

____________________________

"Smaug had come." Roman narrated grimly as a ferocious dragon roar made itself known throughout Erebor and Dale.
____________________________

"It has a name too?" Roman asked incredulously.

"Well, Smaug is a sentient dragon." Vortech replied to him with a shrug. "Most northern fire drakes were in this universe."

"How many dragons are there?" Ironwood asked with a look of concern.

"Really, it's unknown, and I've never tried to study upon them thoroughly. I just know that a majority of them fell during the War of the Jewels." Vortech informed the Atlesian General. "Smaug is considered to be the last of his kin."

"Well, I'm sure Team JNPR and RWBY could handle him." Nora said with a pride smile.

"Yeah!" Ruby said in agreement.

"Hmph. Easier said than done." Vortech waved them off.

"Wait. Why?" Ruby asked in with a raised brow.

"The scales of a dragon in this universe are as strong as an alpha Grimm's bone armor." Vortech informed the young Rose. "It would take and immensely strong metal, or some form of powerful black magic, to kill Smaug."

"Oh..." Ruby said as she and Nora deflated nervously.

As this conversation was held, the Headmaster of Beacon had another question on his mind. "War of the Jewels?" Ozpin asked with a questioning glance.

"All I'll say is that the war involved the Silmarils to a great extent." Vortech answered the Headmaster.

____________________________

It cut back to the dragon kite over Dale as large flames fired upon it, burning right through it as if it were nothing.

Several Dalian guards, along with a father and his son looked up in shock at the dragon fire.

The scene moves to Smaug's point of view as he soared over Dale, moving swiftly to a ballista tower, firing forth his flames.

The powerful flames hit the tower, destroying it, broken and signed bricks scattered to the town below as the citizens panicked, and ran in fear as Smaug soared overhead.
____________________________

"It just obliterated a stone tower." Port said with an agape jaw.

"Judging from the size of Smaug, even though we cannot see his entire body frame, I would estimate that his fire has the blast force of 3 tons of fire dust." Penny observed, her facial expression being that of concern for the citizens in Dale.

"That would mean Smaug would probably be able to send Beacon tower to the ground with just one or two blasts of his fire." Weiss said with wide eyes, fear taking over her on how powerful this one dragon was.

"God, I really hope there isn't anything like Smaug back on Remnant." Yang said with a grimace, feeling that it would take nearly 100 well trained huntsmen to be able to take down the fire drake.

"The only thing on Remnant that may be similar to Smaug, albeit only in size, would by the Wyvern Grimm." Oobleck informed his student. "Though that particular species of Grimm is so rare that the chances of meeting such a Grimm in one's lifetime would be a very low possibility. Why, they're so rare that it's even questioned if they truly exist."

Jaune gulped at this. "Well... that's a cheery thought."

"Yeah." Roman agreed with the young Arc. "No kidding." Though he seemed off in his speech, knowing how Cinder has some strange connection to the Grimm that prevents them from attacking her and her cohorts. It made Roman wonder if his employer even knew where to find a Wyvern Grimm. It was a gentle reminder that there was no way he could save his and Neo's hides if they attempted to try and double-cross her.

However, the distance in Roman's voice didn't go unnoticed. The collection of Ironwood, Sienna Khan, and Ozpin were able to tell that he sounded off. It raised a lot of questions for the three. They just had to wonder if Roman would answer them.

____________________________

Two of the city guardsmen ran to two of the Dale grand emergency horns, sounding the alarm to the entire city.

Smaug continued to soar over Dale, spewing his fire, destroying many a building in his path. The people ducked as flaming brinks fell upon them, a platoon of guardsmen trying to lead some of the people to safety, only to be met by more of dragon fire, causing them to try and turn back.

Smaug roared as he now soared to the entrance of Dale, several people trying to escape by crossing its stone bridge. Smaug would not have it. He fired another torrent of flames at the entrance to Dale, setting it ablaze, flames spewing throughout and entrapping many within the city's walls.
____________________________

"He's trapping them inside the city." Pyrrha stated with dilated pupils and a look of worry.

"Surely there must be another exit." Ironwood said as he slammed his cybernetic arm on the arm of his chair.

"There weren't really that many." Vortech said, uncaring as he inspected his fingers.

"...I don't think many are going to survive this." Ren said, a calm and controlled sadness within his eyes as memories of his home village resurfaced.

Seeing this, Nora grabbed hold of Ren's hand, prompting him to turn towards her. Nora have him a look of sympathy and a nod, a silent way of telling him that she was there for him. He nodded back towards her and faces back at the screen, holding onto Nora's hand.

____________________________

"Such wanton death was dealt that day." Roman narrated as a burning, wooden support beam fell onto the one of the city guardsmen.

People ran and scurried everywhere in fear, some trying to put out their burning clothes, while others were incinerated by the torrents of dragon fire.
____________________________

"So... so many innocent people..." Ruby trailed off in shock and horror.

Many within the audience agreed with Ruby's sentiment. This was the type of destruction that took lives away, nothing good ever coming out of it.

"It usually takes a big horde of Grimm to do this much damage..." Qrow said grimly as he watched on. "But with this one dragon alone?"

"It's hard to even imagine it." Tai agreed with Qrow, looking over to see how Ruby and Yang were fairing while watching this, seeing the former hold onto the hand of the latter to try and soothe the horror on the latter's face.

"It just proves that while the multiverse can be spectacular, it can also be frightening as well." Ozpin said, as he watched what was happening to Dale with a distant look.

Ilia watched as the innocent people of Dale burn and scurry. She hated humans, but this... this was something new to her.... and she didn't like it, even if they were humans.

Meanwhile, Roman had his hat titled a bit over his face as he watched the city of Dale burn. The flame of Smaug's fire reflecting in his green eyes. His mind drifting him to the fire that he saw Cinder create, the fire he witnesses Cinder use to incinerate people with. He cause him great unease as he shook his head.

Neo saw this, and looked at her boss with a look of concern, though her eyes still dilated in fear at the destruction Smaug brought upon Dale. Glad that she and Roman were nowhere near the dragon.

____________________________

While Smaug continued to lay siege to Dale, a man grabbed a metallic and large ballista arrow from an arrow rack, the color black, its shape spiraling towards the tip.

The man was then seen in a ballista tower, firing the black arrow towards the dragon. The arrow did indeed hit Smaug, though it did not pierce through his hide, bouncing off the dragon's scales with a clang.
____________________________

When people saw the man go for the arrow, a majority of the audience hoped the arrow would bring down Smaug. However, their hope was shattered when they saw the arrow bounce off the dragon.

"Damn." Ironwood said with a scowl, slamming his fist on the arm of his chair.

"At the very least, he tried to take down the dragon." Port spoke solemnly.

"Yeah. And yet the fire-breather's still flying." Qrow said with a scowl.

Roman watched the scene with a scowl as well. "There just ain't no stopping him..." he spoke out softly, though the next thing he would say, he would say very quietly. "...and there ain't no stopping her."

"What was that guy even trying to accomplish with that one arrow?" Ilia asked. "He has to know that Smaug's scales are tougher then any weapon they have."

"Actually." Vortech spoke, getting Ilia's attention. "What that man used is known to that world as a black arrow. The only known weapon strong enough to pierce the scales of a dragon."

"So... one of those arrows could take him out?" Ruby asked hopefully, still trying to get over the destruction she was witnessing.

"Yes." Vortech nodded.

"Then why didn't it hit?" Yang asked.

"Oh, believe me. It did its job." Vortech stated as he declined on his throne.

"But Smaug isn't dead yet." Weiss said, pointing out the fact that the black arrow didn't kill the dragon, worried for the people of Dale.

Vortech just looked at her before looking back towards the screen. Knowing full well the events that are to come.

____________________________

"For this city of Men was nothing to Smaug." Roman said as a little girl sat in place, holding some ropes as she watched the scene around her unfold, holding a lifeless look within her eyes as she watched her doll burn away.
____________________________

The sight caused many a heartstring pull within the audience.

Nora and Ren watched the scene with near traumatic regard. The scene reminding them of that fateful day in Kuroyuri, the day when the Grimm attacked the village and when a young Ren helped a frightened Nora to escape the village with him. They numbly tightened the grip in which they held their hands together.

____________________________

"His eye was set on another prize." Roman continued.

The scene cut to James with a sword in hand, Thrain by his side, wielding a hammer as hundreds of armored dwarves charged along with them to the grand gate, the stomping echoed throughout.

Smaug's fire continued to try and breach through the rigid, iron gates. James and the other dwarves marched up to the runic gates, awaiting to face Smaug in case the fire broke through.

"For dragons covet gold with a dark and fierce desire." Roman continued to narrate.
____________________________

"He was after Erebor the whole time." Winter said with wide eyes.

Ironwood's eyes widened as well, though he soon steeled them. Thinking that perhaps the dwarves of Erebor would be able to take down Smaug.

"If he wanted the mountain the whole time, then why didn't just go for it?" Yang asked with wide eyes. "I mean, I'm not trying to say sic him on the dwarves, but why would attack everyone in Dale if he just wanted gold coins?"

Ironwood narrowed his eyes at Yang, but let it slide purely on the thought process that Erebor was the home of his alternate self. It wasn't truly him.

"I'd... probably say it was because Smaug deemed Dale a threat." Sienna reasoned, although bitterly. "If he went for the mountain first, Dale could try and send soldiers to Erebor's aid, flanking him from behind."

"...Not to mention, Dale had those black arrows." Ruby told her sister, still trying to get over the death and destruction she had witnessed.

Weiss nodded solemnly in agreement with her leader. "As much as I don't want to put myself in the shoes of that beast, he would have an easier time of attacking Erebor if he took on Dale first."

"That, and I would bet he attacked Dale due to more territorial reasons." Port grimaced with a scowl.

Oobleck nodded at his friend. "Indeed. Even though we haven't gotten a good look at him, Smaug's size seems to be quite large. A creature of that size and power would require a large mass of territory to claim as his home."

"In other words." Blake started as she glanced at her partner. "Dale was both a threat, and collateral."

"Man..." Yang slumped while she crossed her arms. "And I thought dragons were supposed to be cool."

____________________________

While all this was happening, Thror was scurrying to his throne, walking up to the steps. Reaching the neck of his throne, he pressed a button right below where the Arkenstone had been located, releasing the white jewel into his hands.
____________________________

"He can't be serious." Glynda said as she gave Thror a scowl.

"He should be down there with his people, not guarding a shiny rock." Ironwood said in anger towards his other's grandfather.

"Even I don't think I could go for jewelry or money of any kind if it meant I'd be risking my skin." Roman said with a light cringe.

"I really don't like what the Arkenstone has done to Thror." Ruby said as she crossed her arms, eyes furrowed.

____________________________

The scene cut back to the grand gate as Smaug finally blew the door open, wood and metal flying everywhere as James and the dwarves of Erebor get ready for a fight.

James shouts in dwarvish as Smaug's paw grabs onto the wall where the doors once stood.

Smaug's fire blew into the entrance, covering it in smoke, and obscuring what the dwarves could see as they braces themselves.

Debris shot out as Smaug's fire flooded onto the dwarves, the dragon himself merely walking through the gates and upon the armored dwarves. Only his underside, paws, legs, and tail could be seen as he entered into the mountain. Dwarves were sent flying into the walls by Smaug's paws and tail, some having the misfortune of being crushed under Smaug's heel.
____________________________

"He... he just brushed right through us." Ironwood spoke numbly with widened eyes, a twinge of fear lacing his voice. "Like we were just ants on a hill."

"They... never stood a chance." Jaune said with a shock induced look upon his face.

"And to think. All this for some gold." Pyrrha said with a look of protuberance.

____________________________

James laid in the rubble, face caked in soot as he looked up in horror at Smaug. He soon tried rolled undercover as Smaug walked towards him. It seemed as if his paw stomped onto James, only for it to be shown that James rolled out of the way in time.
____________________________

"That was close." Qrow said with a wince.

"If he would've been stepped on by Smaug, we'd have to start calling him Flatwood." Tai said, trying to alleviate the tension within the room.

The responses he received from the audience—albeit with Yang giving out a small chuckle—varied from head shakes, to scowls, to looks of disappointment.

"Seriously?" Ironwood asked Tai with deadpanned anger.

"Yeah. Sorry." Tai said as he lowered his head in shame.

____________________________

The rest of the dwarves tried to flee further into Erebor, only for many to be crushed by Smaug's paws.

The scene cut to back outside, flames and smoke covered the grass and ground as Smaug's spiked tail was seen swinging back and forth as it soon went into the mountain with the rest of the dragon.

Thror was seen running throughout Erebor, Arkenstone in hand as he tried to run to treasury.

However, the moment he did, he looked in shock as the large form of Smaug was rolling around and bathing himself in the gold and jewels of the treasure room, splashing coins about, letting out another roar.
____________________________

"Wow. That dragon is living the dream." Roman said with a surprised look.

"Must you always be insensitive?" Winter asked Roman with a scowl.

"Hey, I'm just saying that anyone is lucky to get to swim in a pool of gold coins." Roman said in defense for himself. "Even if that particular someone is a ferocious dragon."

____________________________

Smaug's thunderous movements caused a small tremor near the dwarf-Lord, sending Thror to the floor on his stomach. His crown titled as he lost his grin of the Arkenstone, the fiery white gem bouncing off the stairwell, and into the pool of coins that Smaug was swimming in.
____________________________

"Oof!" Roman cringed at what happened.

'Butterfingers.' Neo signed.

"Good riddance, if you asked me." Ruby said with her arms crossed.

____________________________

"No!" Thror yelled out as he crawled with his hands out, trying to go in after the Arkenstone.
____________________________

"Don't go after it, you dolt!" Weiss yelled at the top her lungs.

"I know that Arkenstone is a raw jewel, but that make it something to risk your life over." Pietro said with wide eyes as he saw Thror go after it.

"That King has a death wish." Blake said with a deadpan look of shock.

In the back of the theater, Vortech was chuckling upon his throne.

Penny looked back at him. "What appears to be humorous to you, Mister Vortech?"

"Heheheh. Nothing. Nothing." Vortech waved off the android girl, still lightly chuckling.

____________________________

However James came in with his sword in hand, wrapping his free arm around his grandfather and pulling him up.

"Come on!" James told to his grandfather as Thror struggled for a bit, but eventually gave in as James pulled him back from the treasury, holding his sword out in case Smaug tried to come at them.

The scene cut back to the smoking and flaming courtyard of Erebor as dwarves flooded out of the burning kingdom like ants fleeing an anthill.

"Erebor was lost. For a dragon will guard his plunder as long as he lives." Roman stated as more and more dwarves filed out of the mountain, all screaming as they did so.

Soon Thror came out of the mountain running, behind him, James was carrying a limping Thrain over his shoulder.

Just beside the side of the mountain, upon a tall hill, Sienna, ridding upon a large elk, leading a large army of armored elves. She rose her hand, halting her army as she looked over the destruction of Erebor.
____________________________

"Woah." Ruby said with wonder in her eyes.

"That is a lot of elves." Nora said with the same amount of wonder, her and Ren's previous anxiety starting to subside.

"I... command that entire army?" Sienna asked with a shocked look. "How many soldiers do I command?"

"Around 3,000." Vortech answered.

Yang whistled at the large number of elves as Sienna's eyes slightly widened more so.

"It would make sense that someone within the position of royalty would have such large numbers." Oobleck stated.

"And they seemed well trained as well." Ironwood observed the armies of the woodland elves. "They definitely have the right posture for a military force."

"And they seemed far less unruly than most White Fang zealots." Winter said.

"Do you want to repeat that, Specialist?" Sienna asked as she scowled at Winter, Ilia doing the same.

"Nah, I'm with Ice Queen senior on this. The animals I've worked with have little to no class." Roman said in defense of Winter.

"Uh, thanks?" Winter replies back to Roman with a confused look.

Sienna let out a low growl as she looked at Winter and Roman.

"Where's a whistle when you need one?" Vortech asked to himself, thinking on if his 'bosses' would allow him to bring in a certain Decepticon with sound-based abilities to help reel in the audience should things start to get more out of hand.

____________________________

"Run for your lives!" James shouted to his people before he looked up, spitting Sienna and her army.

"Help us!" He shouted to the top of his lungs as he waved his arm at the elves.

Sienna looked calmly at James from afar, James looking back at her as he painted heavily, awaiting for their aid.
____________________________

"What are they waiting for?" Jaune asked with a confused look.

"Perhaps, she's figuring out a plan on how to aid Ironwood." Pyrrha hazarded a guess.

However, Ren had other thoughts. "I'm... I'm not so sure." Ren saw the look in Sienna's eyes, widening his eyes a bit as he believed he knew what Sienna's corse of action would end up being.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked Ren, though her answer would soon be given to her.

____________________________

Sienna merely tilted her head a bit, before she closed her eyes and turned her head back, moving the reigns on her elk, causing it to turn back as she lead her army back to the woodland realm.

"Sienna Kahn would not risk the lives of her kin against the wrath of the dragon." Roman narrated as James watched the elves leave him and his people in their time of need, his breath slowing as it seemed a calm anger formed within his eyes as he narrowed his brows at Sienna and her kin.
____________________________

"What?!" Ruby asked in complete shock.

"B-but, they need help." Nora said, knowing that if it were her, she would have gone to help the dwarves of Erebor.

Ironwood held a similar scowl at the elves Sienna Khan, fighting his fists in anger.

"Eh. It was either her people or their people. Can't exactly blame her for sticking to her own." Roman said with a shrug, taking a swing of his bubble-blowing cigar.

"Carrot-top's got a point." Qrow agreed with Roman. "Besides, Thror screwed Khan over. In a way, this her paying him back."

"Carrot-top?" Roman asked to himself, the contortion of his face showing that he wasn't going to be quite fond of the nickname.

Neo just giggled at her boss, finding the nickname of Carrot-top to be funny.

When Roman and Qrow both gave their points, Sienna had to agree with them. If she had to choose between saving a faunus, or saving someone else, she would have to pick the former. Though that didn't stop the twitch she felt in her chest. She knew that Thror didn't live up to his promise to the elven version of herself, but she also knew that the rest of the dwarves weren't responsible for it, much less so the humans in Dale.

"Still doesn't make it right." Blake quietly said, Yang nodding in agreement with her as she crossed her arms.

Ilia looked at Blake, seeing the sadness in her eyes when she watched Sienna turn her back in the dwarves and by proxy, the people of Dale. She felt like she should try and say something to soother Blake perhaps, but what could she say? This was a dark situation, and Ilia wasn't the best person to be a counselor, especially considering her own past.

____________________________

"No help came from the elves that day. Nor any day since." Roman said as the scene showed the dwarven people of Erebor trekking through vast marshes.

"Robbed of their homeland, the dwarves of Erebor wandered the wilderness... A mighty people brought low." spoke Roman.

It was shown that James was leading his people as he stood atop a hill, looking over at distant, snow-topped mountains. He looked back at his people, easing a fist high for them to see as he pointed his hand toward the mountains.
____________________________

"I didn't realize there were that many dwarves." Ruby said with wide eyes.

"Well, they are apart of a kingdom. Well, they were, anyways." Weiss reminded to her team leader.

"At least it seems the majority of them were able to escape from Smaug." Blake said with a small smile before a frown fell upon her face. "Can't say Dale faired better, though." She muttered only to herself.

"Even in times of hardship, General Ironwood still leads his people." Winter said with a proud smile. "His position as a prince if these dwarves is fitting."

"Thank you, Winter." Ironwood accepted the praise given to him by the Specialist.

"He definitely seems to be a better leader than his grandfather." Glynda with disdain for Thror.

"Just wait till later." Vortech muttered to himself with a chuckle.

____________________________

"The young dwarf prince took work where he could find it, laboring in the villages of men. But always he remembered the mountain smoke beneath the moon, the trees like torches blazing bright, for he had seen dragon fire in the sky and a city turn to ash." Roman said as the image of the night sky and full moon were shown, the trees on fire as everything soon became ablaze, the shadowing visage of Smaug flying through the flames.

James was now in a human smithy shop, hammering away at a sword placed on an anvil, the blade still hot from the furnace. Each strike of his forgetting hammer making a loud clang each time.

"And he never forgave... and he never forgot." Roman said as the scene changed after the last clang of the hammer on the blade.
____________________________

The clang if the last hammer strike rang throughout the theater, sending some audience members with a chill down their spine.

"Never forgive and never forget, huh?" Sienna muttered to herself, thinking it would be something she would say about humans.

"What are the dwarves gonna do now?" Nora asked.

"I don't know. But Ironwood looks got's a look of determination." Tai said, having seen a similar look within Yang's eyes whenever she went about trying to learn anything about Raven. "Who knows what he might do."

Who knows what he might do? The question Tai said repeated in Ironwood's head, and if he knew himself, which he mainly did, his alternate self would one day try to reclaim his homeland. It's what he would do for Atlas.

____________________________

The scene immediately cut to a night sky as a large firework of yellow and blue exploded in the sky, the cheers of people filling the air.

"Far away, in another corner of the world, dragons were only make believe. A party trick conjured by wizards on Midsummer's Eve." Roman said as more and more extraordinary fireworks went off in the sky, hobbits cheering and dancing about.
____________________________

"Well... talk about juxtaposition." Blake said with blinking eyes, not expecting to see celebrating and fireworks after a slaughter.

"Pretty..." Nora drawled our as she looked at the fireworks with stars in her eyes.

"I don't think I've ever seen fireworks like those." Pyrrha said with equal amazement.

"I'd love to meet the individual that made those." Pietro with the same amount of wonder. "He must be extraordinary in his craft."

"Oh, you're about to." Vortech said with a grumble.

____________________________

It would seem to the audience that a tall man, robed in grey with a long silver beard had been setting off the fireworks, his obscured to the audience.

"No more frightening than fairy dust." Roman said as a little orange-haired hobbit boy came up to the tall man in grey.

The little hobbit boy giggled as he played with the tall man cloaked in grey, playfully hitting him with a wooden sword, the grey clad man chuckling in amusement.
____________________________

"Awe. That's cute." Weiss said with a giggle, Yang cooing in agreement with her.

"Looks like someone wants to be a knight when he grows up." Ilia said with her own giggle.

"This can't be real." Roman muttered to himself with wide eyes, recognizing the young boy.

Neo blinked owlishly as she looked between Roman and the orange-headed hobbit boy on screen several times.

____________________________

"That, my dear Ruby, is where I come in." Roman said

"Roman!" A woman called out to the young hobbit boy, now revealed to be a very young Torchwick.

The woman in question had long, curly black hair with fair skin, dressed in silky red, giggling a bit as she went over to her son.
____________________________

"Wait a minute..." Yang said with horror in her eyes.

"That kid is Torchwick?" Ilia asked with a shocked face.

"I feel like I need mouthwash all of a sudden." Weiss said with a gag.

"You did call Roman Torchwick cute." Blake told the SDC heiress.

"Don't remind me." Weiss hissed at the cat faunus.

"Come on, guys. This is kid Roman. Not Roman Roman." Ruby reminded her friends and sister. "It's not like kid Roman is a crook."

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but Roman is still Roman." Weiss said with a small scowl.

Neo heard this and gave her own scow to Weiss, while also flipping her off in the process.

"To think that child is Torchwick." Glynda said with a confused look.

"Well, we've already established that this version of Roman is different from our own." Ozpin reminded the deputy headmistress. "It would be unfair to state that the hobbit version of Torchwick is the same as our version."

While everyone was talking, Roman was particularly quiet throughout it. His eyes were extremely wide with what seemed to be a look of shock and solemness as he looked at the woman on screen, muttered out one word. "...Mom?" He asked with an almost shaky voice.

Neo looked towards her boss with a confused look, tapping her finger on his shoulder, tilting her head at him when Roman looked at her.

"I-I don't want to talk about it." Roman brushes her off, looking off to his right, trying to avert anyone's gaze.

____________________________

"It was the beginning of an unlikely friendship. That has lasted all my life." Roman said once more.

Soon, the screen became brighter as grassy hills and a shining pond were shown to the audience in daylight. What appeared to be homes with round, painted doors seemingly built into the hills themselves.
____________________________

"Are those houses...." Ilia trailed off as she squinted at the hobbit holes.

"Built into the hills?" Blake continued for her with equal confusion.

"That's definitely... a unique way of living." Glynda said, equally confused by what she was seeing.

"Heh, talk about being a naturalist." Yang joked with a grin.

"Boo!" Nora booed at Yang for her attempt at a joke.

"Your reactions just encourage me." Yang replied back to Nora with a big smirk.

"Homes built into grassy hills? That is quite the cultural peculiarity." Oobleck said as he wrote the information down in his journal. "Surely there is a specific name for them."

"They're called smials." Vortech told Oobleck, the coffee addicted teacher writing it in his journal.

____________________________

Birds chirped as the very top of the hill was shown, showing more smials in hills with trees scattering the area.

"For, quite by chance, and the will of a wizard, fate decided I would become part of this tale." Roman narrated once more.
____________________________

"Will of a wizard?" Nora asked with a tilted head.

"Does this universe have wizards as well?" Penny asked with enthusiasm in her voice.

"Eh, in a way." Vortech said giving a so-so sign with his hand.

"This universe has thus had a lot of creatures and people that have only ever been known through fairy tales." Ren stated. "I suppose it shouldn't be too strange that there are wizards in this universe as well."

The question Nora asked repeated in Ozpin's head a few times before it clicked with him. "So that's how it's going to be?" He asked to himself with a slight smirk on his face.

"Sir?" Glynda asked Ozpin with a raised brow.

"Oh no." Roman said with a shake of his head, getting over the stupor of seeing his mother. "How am I getting Mistraled into this?"

____________________________

Roman was shown to be in his study, papers in books littering the place as he continued to write in his book, daylight now showing in through his window as he looked up a bit, eyes remembering his past experiences, small smile forming on his face.

Roman dabbed the feather pen into the ink once more. "It began—well, it began as you might expect." He narrated as he continued to write.

"In a hole in the ground... there lived a Hobbit." Roman said as the words were written down into his book.

The scene planned out from Roman's study as the audience were given a better look of Roman's home.

"Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole full of worms and oozy smells. This was a Hobbit hole. And that means good food, a warm hearth... and all the comforts of home." Roman said as the inside of Roman's home was show to be well crafted with circular hallways, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, shelves stacked with boxes and chests that rested beside the walls, a green carpet with an ornate pattern lay on the floor, the walls rimmed with polished wood.
____________________________

"Huh." Roman said with a calm look. "Not too shabby of a place to live in."

"Kinda reminds me of my home in Patch." Tai admitted. "But, ya know, a little more stylish."

'Is live in it.' Neo signed with a small smile.

"This version of Torchwick is very well versed in his discourse." Glynda said with a slightly surprised a look. "Another one-up against our Torchwick."

"The Hell's that supposed to mean?" Roman asked with furrowed eyes.

"It means that the hobbit version of you has thus far proven to be an overall better person than that of yourself." Glynda replied back to Roman with a small glare.

Roman let the words sink in for a moment before he relented with a shrug. "Okay, yeah, you got me there."

____________________________

The scene panned down through the halls until it slowed down near the open doors of the pantry, and soon coming out of that pantry was an older, yet shorter, Ruby Rose, dressed in a black, button-up collared shirt with red overalls, barefoot as she partook in a biscuit. She looked to her right, looking towards Roman's study, a small smile forming on her face before she turned left and walked through the halls of the hobbit hole.
____________________________

"Right, I live with him in this universe." Ruby said wide eyes, having forgotten about it from watching the fall of Erebor and Dale.

"Aw, you look cute in overalls." Yang said to Ruby with a smile as she pulled her sister into a side hug.

"Ya-a-a-n-n-g! Let go of me!" Ruby whined time her sister in protest as she soon got out of her sister's side hug.

"Is it me, or does this version of Ruby seem slightly... older?" Pyrrha asked as she gave hobbit Ruby a good look.

"She kinda does." Blake said as she looked closely at the hobbit version of her team leader. "Though I can see why it can be a little hard to tell."

"Why's that?" Ruby asked while crossing her arms, feeling a little offended.

"Come on, Rubes, just look at you." Yang told her little sister while pointing her hands to the screen. "You still got that innocent look to you, and you're shorter than the ice cream themed mute."

"Hey!" Ruby said with a slight blush of embarrassment, Neo merely giving Yang the finger.

____________________________

The scene cut to the view of outside of Roman's home, the beautiful green hills shining from the sun's rays, other hobbits, while not large in numbers, were going about their day, some asking while others farming.

Ruby walked up to the fence of her and her uncle's home. Opening the wooden gate, walking through it show she could open up the round, wooden mailbox. She opened it, pulling out a large stack of envelopes while stuffing the rest of the biscuit in her mouth before she started to head back inside, closing the gates behind her.
____________________________

"Aw, she's even getting my mail for me." Roman said with mock sweetness in his voice, though surprised on the inside that a version of little red would get him his mail.

"Well, I mean, your still my uncle in this universe." Ruby said, the thought of calling Roman her uncle still unsettling her. "Just because we're enemies on Remnant, doesn't mean there's a version of us that has a more friendly relationship."

"No matter how far-fetched the idea seems." Weiss added onto Ruby's comment.

"How good is there relationship here, anyways?" Tai asked Vortech.

At this, Vortech thought to himself. "Hmm. I would suppose their relationship is closest to what she and Qrow has, a far more sober, charming, and excitable Qrow."

"So a relationship she hasn't known?" Winter asked Vortech.

"Essentially, yes." Vortech replied with a nod.

Qrow just shrugged his shoulder at the both of them. He wasn't going to disprove that he was a bit of an ass. That just apart of his natural charm, ain't no changing that.

____________________________

Ruby walked up the grass covered, stone steps that led up to Roman's smial, giving the audience a good view of the beautiful garden and that was on the front porch, the green hill that covered their home. Ruby walked back into her home, closing the round door behind her, revealing it to be green in color.

The scene cuts back to inside Roman's home, the old hobbit chuckling as he continued to write in his book.

However, he quickly turned his smile to a face with a more composed look when he heard Ruby walking into his study, the girl in question sorting through his mail.

Ruby clears her throat as she places the mail atop the small drawers on Roman's desk.

"Thank you." Roman evenly says to Ruby as she did so.

Ruby soon picks up the paper of the young Roman with a questioning look on her face. "What's this?" Ruby asked Roman with a chuckle.

"That is private." Roman says as he takes the paper away from her. "Keep your sticky paws off."
____________________________

"Looks like even in this universe, little red just can't stay out of my business." Roman said with a shake of his head.

"You were robbing a dust store while I was in it." Ruby refuted to Roman. "You can't expect me not to do anything."

Roman just waved her off with a scoff.

____________________________

Ruby soon leans in to get a look at Roman's book, something he notices.

"It's not ready yet." Roman says to Ruby as he closed the book before she could look at it.

Ruby just scoffed at him before she started to walk off. "Not ready for what?"

"Reading." Roman clarifies for Ruby.
____________________________

"Yeah, the answer to that question was kind of obvious, Ruby." Weiss said as she looked at her team leader.

"I could have meant it as rhetorical." Ruby said, trying to save face.

"Hey, Blake." Yang spoke time her partner. "Would you read whatever Roman's writing about?"

At this, Blake started to think to herself. "On the one hand, our Torchwick is a criminal. On the other hand, this version of Roman seems better, and it sounds like he's great at literature."

Yang looked at Blake, still waiting for an answer. "So... is that a yes or a no?"

Blake didn't answer her as she was still weighing over the prospects.

"I think she'll have to get back to you." Ilia told to Yang as she looked at Blake.

____________________________

In the meantime, Ruby went through the chest by Roman's study, picking up an old metallic helmet that had a crest upon it going from ear to ear.

"What on Earth are these?" Roman asked aloud to himself as he picked up the stack of envelopes.

"Replies to the party invitations." Ruby informed her uncle.

Roman got up, lightly gasping. "Good gracious. Is it today?" He asked with a smile on his face as he faces Ruby
____________________________

"Wait, what's today?" Roman asked. "In that universe, I mean."

"Your birthday." Vortech answered.

"Oh, really?" Roman said with a slightly happy tone.

Neo suddenly had a party blower in her mouth, blowing on as she held up a sign that read: 'Happy Birthday!'

"How old am I turning?" Roman asked.

"One hundred and eleven." Vortech replied.

"What?!" Roman asked with wide eyes.

"How can he be turning one hundred and eleven?" Pietro asked with owlish eyes. "He doesn't look a day over seventy."

"Damn. Suddenly I'm not too taken aback about how old I look in here anymore." Roman admitted with wide eyes.

"But I thought you said Hobbits live up to 100 years." Winter said with a confused look. "This version of Torchwick should appear as if he is on his death bed if he's one hundred and eleven."

"Is this version of Torchwick a form of rarity within his kinda age range?" Oobleck asked, ready to take down some notes.

"You will all find out in time." Vortech informed everyone.

____________________________

"They all say they're coming." Ruby told him as she now had a large calling horn in her hands before she put it back in the chest. "Except for the Sackville-Torchwicks, who are demanding you ask them in person." She said as she inspected a short sword from the chest.

"Are they indeed?" Roman asked as he walked by Ruby, dropping his book off in the chest in the process. "Over my dead body." He says with a slightly annoyed tone.
____________________________

"Sackville?" Ruby asked with an owlish look.

"Sounds cheery." Qrow sarcastically replied with a role of his eyes.

"How many Torchwick are there?" Roman asked Vortech.

"Besides the main branch within Hobbiton, there's the Sackville-Torchwicks and the Chubb-Torchwicks. All of which are considered aristocratic among hobbit society." Vortech answered.

"Uh-huh." Roman nodded with a sing-song hum.

"Torchwick? Aristocratic?" Winter repeated with an appalled look.

"Those are two words I would never think would associated with each other." Ironwood said with a shake of his head.

"Wait, that would mean Ruby would be considered and aristocrat in this universe too." Jaune said with sudden realization.

"She is a Torchwick here." Ren nodded in agreement.

"You here that Weiss? I'm an aristo-cat-a-thing." Ruby said with pride.

"Aristocratic." Weiss corrected Ruby.

"Same thing." Ruby waved her off.

"And believe me, it's very hard to believe." Weiss said as she too had a confused face.

____________________________

"They'd probably find that quite agreeable." Ruby remarked as Roman started to put many a silver dish-ware into a wood tub. "They seem to think you have tunnels overflowing with gold."

"It was only one small chest, hardly overflowing." Roman as he started to walk towards something else, looking back at Ruby real quick. "And it still smells of troll."
____________________________

"Troll?" Roman questioned.

"While I've never seen a troll, I would gander that it would equate to the smell of a Boarbatusk nest." Port, scrunching his nose a bit as he remembered his younger days as a hunter.

"Besides that, how would one chest of gold cause one side of his family to think he has halls of it?" Glynda asked.

"It's mainly due to the fact that his treasure equates to that of around sixty-seven million lien." Vortech stated as bluntly as he could.

"You don't say.~" Roman said with a goofy smile on his face.

"It was definitely enough gold for you to buy the land and be named its Lord." Vortech added fuel to the fire that was Roman's ego.

"Lord Torchwick." Roman numbly said, drooling at the thought.

'Long may be reign.' Neo signed with a smile.

"I'd call for an overthrow of the monarchy." Winter dryly said with crossed arms.

"Agreed." Sienna said with a deadpanned look towards the criminal

____________________________

"What on Earth are you doing?" Ruby asked Roman with a very confused look as she watched Roman put more silver dishes in a clay pot.

"Taking precautions." Roman said, looking at Ruby as he put a lid over the pot.
"You know, I caught her making off with the silverware once." Roman told Ruby as he started to walk away with the pot in hand.

"Who?" Ruby asked him.

"Lobelia Sackville-Torchwick." Roman clarified as he took something from a shelf.

"She had all my spoons stuffed in her pocket. Ha! Dreadful woman." Roman said as he walked over to the dining room, setting the stuff down on the wooden table, Ruby following after him.
____________________________

"That definitely sounds like a Torchwick attribute." Weiss said with a small huff.

"At least I know my own family well enough to know who's gonna try and steal from me." Roman said with a light chuckle.

____________________________

"Make sure to keep an eye on her after I'm— When I'm— When—." Roman found himself rumbling over his words.

"When you're... what?" Ruby asked him with a curious glance.

Roman seemed to have a distant and contemplating expression before he replied back to his niece. "It's nothing. Nothing." Roman said as he walked off to the side.
____________________________

"Foreboding, much?" Blake asked with a dry look.

"What's got me so bugged?" Roman asked with a confused look.

"Judging from the look of dread upon his face, it seems as if the hobbit version of Roman Torchwick is expecting to die soon." Penny said as she analyzed the facial features of hobbit Roman.

"That cant be it... is it?" Roman asked Vortech with a gulp.

"I'm not telling you anything." Vortech said with a shake of his head.

____________________________

Roman walked off to another room, looking down at a coffee table as Ruby slowly walked into the room with him.
____________________________

"How large is his house?" Tai asked with a raised brow.

"4,500 square feet." Vortech answered. "It's very luxurious."

"Hot damn." Roman said with a smile.

"That's larger than my house. If have to have the second story on the ground next to the first one to have my house as large that one." Tai said with wide eyes and an agape jaw.

"Roman's hobbit hole, appropriately named Torch-End, was built by his father as a gift to Roman's mother." Vortech informed the audience.

"Aw, that's sweet." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"Build a woman a luxurious house. That's one to get to a woman's heart." Roman said with a shrug.

____________________________

"You know, some people are beginning to wonder about you, uncle." Ruby said to Roman. "They think you're becoming odd."

"Odd?" Roman repeated as he looked up at Ruby. "Oh. Hmm." He soon went back to looking down at the table, writing something on a sign.

"Unsociable." Ruby continued as she walked over to the elderly figure of Roman.

"Unsociable, me?" Roman said while chuckling. "Nonsense."
____________________________

"Unsociable, who do they think they are?" Roman said questioned with a chuckle. "I'm the life of the party."

"I'd say they got the odd part dead to rights." Sienna said with an eye roll.

"You're just jealous." Roman said while crossing his arms.

____________________________

"Be a good lass and put that on the gate." Roman told Ruby as he handed her the sign.

The scene immediately cut to Ruby hammering nails into the sign upon the gate of Torch-End, the sign itself reading: "No admittance. Except on party business."

Roman soon walked out through the front door of Torch-End, grunting as he stretched his arms out, bringing his elbows inward as he twisted his torso left and right, doing his morning aerobics.

Ruby had a book under her left arm as she got up and looked at Roman, having finished with the sign.

"You think he'll come?" Ruby asked Roman.

"Who?" Roman asked her.

"Ozpin." Ruby clarified.

"Oh. He wouldn't miss a chance to let off his whizpoppers." Roman told Ruby with a bright smile on his face. "He'll give us quite a show, you'll see."
____________________________

"So Professor Ozpin was the one with those cool fireworks?" Yang asked.

"Wouldn't that mean he would have the robed guy that Roman was playing with when he was a kid?" Blake asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, that is a weird image to think about." Yang said, finding a kid Roman playing with Ozpin to be extremely strange.

"Well, it is the multiverse." Ren reminded the two. "Anything could happen."

"They way Torchwick says Ozpin's name, it's almost sounds like he said it with joy." Glynda said with a confused look.

"Perhaps Ozpin was the old friend this version of Roman was speaking of." Ironwood suggested, still finding it weird coming out of his mouth.

"Ozpin being friends with a criminal? It sounds preposterous." Winter said with a shake of her head.

____________________________

"Right, then. I'm off." Ruby said as she started to walk down the path away from Torch-End.

"Off to where?" Roman called to her, prompting Ruby to halt in her tracks.

"Easfarthing woods. I'm going to surprise him." Ruby explained to her uncle with a smile.

Roman understood and replied back to her. "Well, go on, then. You don't want to be late."

And with that Ruby took off from Torch-End.

"He doesn't approve of being late." Roman narrated again. "Not that I ever was."

The elderly hobbit version of Roman was now seen sitting on a wooden bench, smoking from a smoking pipe.
____________________________

"A pipe? Fancy." Roman mused to himself. "Maybe I should try getting one myself."

'I pray for your lungs.' Neo signed to her boss.

____________________________

"In those days, I was always on time. I was entirely respectable..." Roman narrated as he as continued to toke on the pipe.
____________________________

"Hah! Respectable?" Winter repeated with a laugh. "Roman Torchwick, respectable? When mountains grow legs and walk."

"Hey! I'm respectable." Roman said, garnering many looks from the audience, some giving him deadpan looks, other giving him raised brows. "Well I am in my own right."

____________________________

"And nothing unexpected..." Roman started as he took the pipe from his mouth, soon blowing out a large ring of smoke into the air. "Ever happened."

As the ring of smoke entered into the air, a secondary title appeared onscreen.

An Unexpected Journey
____________________________

"So there's a second title to it." Blake mused aloud. "Kind of like the first book in a series."

"How many parts of this universe are we going to see?" Ilia asked with a raised brow.

"Quite a bit, actually." Vortech spoke to the chameleon faunus. "There isn't just Roman's adventure to view, but an journey Ruby will go through the moment this tale is finished."

"I get my own adventure?" Ruby asked with stars in her eyes. "Awesome!"

"Your other self wouldn't say that." Vortech muttered to himself.

____________________________

The secondary title disappeared as the ring of smoke soon turned into a butterfly made of smoke, a tall figure in grey robes, with a long silver beard upon his face walked towards the now moving smoke. A wooden staff in hand.
____________________________

"Did we really just see that?" Roman asked, rubbing his eyes to make sure.

"I mean, we've seen stranger and more otherworldly things." Weiss said, though she did find it strange how the smoke turned into a moving butterfly.

"When you start seeing butterflies made of smoke is when you know you've had too much to drink." Qrow stated, blinking a bit as he looked at the oddity onscreen.

"Or if you're just plain high." Sienna said as she looked at the smoke butterfly with wide eyes.
____________________________

The smoke buttery soon flapped it's wings over to a younger version of hobbit Roman, his hair completely orange, and his skin fair, eyes closed as a small smile was on his face, sitting on the bench. He was dressed in a white shirt with a blue ascot and an orange-beige vest with a floral design over his shirt, wearing khakis pants upon his legs.
____________________________

"Now that's much better." Roman said with a nod. "Looking sharp as ever."
____________________________

The smoke butterfly flew into Roman's face, going right at his nose, dissipating the moment it hit him. "Oh!" It caused Roman to to shrivel up his nose a bit before he started to lightly coughed.

Roman blinked his eyes open before he turned to look up at the robed figure.

60 years earlier ...
____________________________

"60 years? And he still looks like he's thirty?" Nora asked with a raised brow.

"That would make Roman 50 years of age as of this time period." Penny stated.

"Damn, I age well." Roman said with a nod of approval.

"By the way, how old am I in this universe? I never asked." Ruby asked Vortech.

"You're as of the age of 50 during Roman's birthday." Vortech informed the little red reaper.

Yang whistled at that as Ruby had wide eyes and an agape mouth.

"Wow. And this version of Ruby looks younger than Port." Qrow said with a chuckle.

"I'll have you know that I look great for my age." Port said as he furrowed his brows at Qrow.

"Looks like Torchwicks just have genetics for good looks past middle age in this universe." Roman said with a shrug and a smirk.

____________________________

Roman looked up at the tall, grey-robbed figure with slight confusion before speaking. "Good morning." He said as he put the pipe back in his mouth.

"What do you mean?" The robed figure asked, soon revealing to be Ozpin, his beard long and silver with hair that reached bast his shoulders, a pointy grey hat atop his head as the top of his wooden staff spiraled.
____________________________

"Heheh! Sweet beard." Tai said with a chuckle.

"Is it me or does Ozpin seem wiser and goofier at the same time?" Nora thought aloud.

"Haha haha! I think I had dream like this once." Qrow said as he wiped away a stray tear.

Ozpin merely had a deadpan look to his face. The was one life when he lay such a long beard and a wizard like look, back when he gave powers to the first four maidens.

"Yeah, Ozpin kind of looks goofy." Yang said as she and Blake shared a giggle.

"But in a cool way." Ruby said with a smile.

Glynda found Ozpin's wizard appearance to be funny as well, though she kept a more level head about it. However she soon widened her eyes when she felt something within her pocket. She soon found that her scroll was in her pocket, turning it on she found that a text message was linked to her.

'You know what you want to do.' — Vortech.

She looked left and right, making sure no one saw her as she discretely took a picture of wizard Ozpin and saved it to her scroll. She was going to lure this over him for years.

____________________________

"Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not?" Ozpin asked Roman as the orange haired hobbit looked slightly confused. "Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?"
____________________________

There was silence within the audience, many faces holding confused looks upon them.

"Can someone translate that?" Roman asked to literally anyone.

"That's definitely Ozpin. Maybe a little too much Ozpin." Ironwood said with a sweat drop.

Steam was literally coming off of Ruby's ears as she tried to wrap her head around what Ozpin said.

"That sounds like Nora speak more than Ozpin speak." Jaune said with a confused look at what Ozpin said, Pyrrha nodding in agreement.

"Even I didn't get much of that." Nora admitted with a shrug.

"This version of headmaster Ozpin definitely seems like an odd man." Pietro said with a befuddled look.

____________________________

"All of them at once, I suppose." Roman said, pipe in hand as he look up at Ozpin in confusion.

"Hmm." Ozpin hummed as he looked down at Roman.

Roman shifted on his bench a bit, finding the situation awkward before speaking. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"That remains to be seen." Ozpin said as he gave Roman an analyzing look. "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."
____________________________

"I know that look." Qrow said with a straight face as Tai, Glynda, and Ironwood nodded in agreement.

"This feels a little like when I first met Professor Ozpin." Ruby said as she remembered the interrogation room and the cookies.

"Looks like I know who to thank for this adventure of mine." Roman sarcastically spoke with crossed arms.

'You did get lots of money out of it.' Neo signed to her boss in wizard Ozpin's defense.

At this Roman conceded with grunt.

____________________________

Roman, having his pipe I his mouth, soon taking it out as he tried to utter out a reply to Ozpin. "An adventure?" He asked the beaded wizard. "No, I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures." Roman said as he pointed his pipe in westward direction, getting up from his bench with a smile on his face.

"Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things." Roman listed off as he walked over to his mailbox, opening it up from behind his fence and taking out the mails before looking at Ozpin again. "Make you late for dinner." Roman said with a chuckle.

"Mm." Roman hummed with the pipe in his mouth as he looked through his mail, looking up to see that Ozpin was still there. "Hmm. Mm."

"Well..." Roman said as he grabbed onto his pipe, rummaging his hand on it. "Good morning." Roman said to Ozpin once again as he walked up the steps to Torch-End.

"To think that I should have lived to be "Good morninged" by Belladonna Took's son as if I was selling buttons at the door!" Ozpin walked along the fence, garnering Roman's attention once more.
____________________________

"Strange analogy." Penny simply stating with a curious look.

"Belladonna?" Blake asked with a wide eyed, and almost fearful look.

"No relation." Vortech quickly reassured Blake with a bored tone.

While Blake let out a sigh of relief, it was Roman's turn to ask his question. "What's a Took?"

"A more adventurous and unusual clan of Hobbits." Vortech affirmed to Torchwick. "A clan your mother belonged to, and a clan, while quite rich, that were not as respected as most other hobbit clans."

"How so?" Ilia asked.

"The norm of hobbit culture is to be civilized and calm. They tend to look down upon anything and anyone who disturbs their peace. The adults do anyway." Vortech informed, Oobleck taking notes.

"Man, being a hobbit is starting to sound boring." Nora said with a full and deflated look.

"They at least seem to live peaceful lives." Ren said, making best of the situation.

"Adventure is looked down upon?" Yang asked with a very confused look. "It's like Weiss became an entire race of people."

"Don't belittle me." Weiss said to Yang with a narrowed eyes.

____________________________

"Beg your pardon?" Roman asked Ozpin with his pipe at his side.

"You've changed, and not entirely for the better, Roman Torchwick." Ozpin stated to the hobbit.
____________________________

The Roman within the audience felt as if that one comment, even if it was directed towards his hobbit self, hit him like a Goliath stampede. But even if he knew the comment held truth, who was he to try and make amends towards it? He's master thief for now on and moving forward, not to mention he got himself and Neo stuck deep in the mud with what Cinder's got planned. Not much he or anyone else could do now.

____________________________

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Roman asked Ozpin.

"Well, you know my name, although you don't remember I belong to it." Ozpin stated. "I'm Ozpin. And Ozpin means... Me."

A sudden realization hit Roman as he looked at the wizard. "Ozpin? Not Ozpin the wandering wizard who made such excellent fireworks?" Roman asked, Ozpin humming are the compliment. "Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve. Oh!" Roman said with a nostalgic chuckle.

However, Roman soon steeled himself as he cleared his throat. "No idea you were still in business." He said as he put his pipe back in his mouth.

Ozpin simply looked at Roman before replying. "And where else should I be?" He asked the orange haired hobbit.

Roman chuckled a bit. "Where else would—?" He tried to the find the right words, only to soon clear his throat as he choked on said words, smoking from his pipe.
____________________________

"Awkward." Ruby said in a nervous tone in a sing-song voice.

"I really don't like the way that version of Ozpin is eyeing me." Roman said as he felt himself sunk into his seat a bit under the wizard's gaze.

"I feel like Carrot-top just pissed off a thunderstorm." Qrow said with a light laugh.

"The only person who would have probably finished that comment towards Ozpin, would have been Raven." Tai spoke quietly to Qrow, his friend nodding in agreement.

____________________________

"Well, I'm pleased to find you remember something about me..." Ozpin said, albeit sounding slightly let down in his voice. "Even if it's only my fireworks."

Right after he said this, Ozpin lightly nodded as he brought his staff to his other hand. "Yes. Well, that's decided. It'll be very good for you." He said as he pointed at Roman, who was trying to figure out what the wizard was getting at. "And most amusing for me. I shall inform the others."
____________________________

"Uh, what?" Roman asked with owlish eyes.

"There's no getting out of this for Mr. Torchwick, I can already tell." Glynda said with a shake of her head.

"What do you mean?" Sienna asked the deputy headmistress.

"When Ozpin states something, you can guarantee that he'll keep at it." Glynda answered. "Though this Ozpin seems to be more blunt in his actions."

"It would seem this is were the friendship of our alternate selves begins, Mr. Torchwick." Ozpin said with a small smirk at the criminal.

"Is it too late to trade friends?" Roman asked with a slightly annoyed expression.

____________________________

At this, Roman widened his eyes as he realized what Ozpin meant. "Inform The who? What? No! No. N—Wait." He protested as he walked up the steps to Torch-End looking back at Ozpin.

"We do not want any adventures here, thank you. Not today. Not—." Roman continued to protest, putting his foot down as Ozpin didn't seem in the least bit fazed.

"You try over the hill, or across the water." Roman said as he used the handle of his smoking pipe to point back and forth at Ozpin, finding himself stumbling upon his own words before he spoke once more. "Good morning."
____________________________

"Not the words I would have used to tell him to buzz off." Roman muttered to Neo.

"Wow. All this coming from a guy who drove a paladin across Vale." Yang said to Blake.

"What about a paladin?" Ilia asked with a confused look.

"I'll... tell you later." Blake said to Ilia, knowing her friend probably wasn't going to like the information about Roman being able to gain the support of White Fang recruits.

The chameleon faunus nodded back at Blake, though from the look on Blake's face, Ilia knew it would be quite the explanation.

____________________________

And with that, Roman pushed open the green door of Torch-End, entering into his house and closing the door behind him.

Roman had his back against his door, silently sighing as he locked it. He waited for a moment, looking to his left at the nearby window, feeling as if everything was far too quite.

However, Roman turned his head right when he thought he heard something.

Outside, Ozpin was using a nail, placed into the bottom of his staff, to engrave a sigil onto the door, the sigil making a humming sound as it flowed blue in color.
____________________________

"What does that strange symbol mean?" Penny asked asked Vortech.

"Simply stating, it translates to thief and burglar." Vortech said with a shrug.

"Accurate." Roman said.

"But this version of Roman isn't a thief." Ruby refuted with a confused look before looking at Vortech. "Is he?"

"You'll fund out." Was Vortech answer to Ruby as the viewing continued.

____________________________

Back inside, Roman had his ear against the door, trying to hear what was going on. Rising up, he soon went over the nearby window, leading through it to see where Ozpin was.

Soon enough, Roman was met with the peering brown eye of Ozpin, who was peering at the window from outside.
____________________________

"Woah!" Jaune helped in his seat.

"I think Professor Ozpin's a little too close on that one." Yang said as even she jumped a little at Ozpin suddenly appearing at the window.

"Never thought Ozpin could be considered creepy." Tai said. "This looks like stalker creepy."

"Where's a court order when you need one." Roman nervously joked with wide eyes at the screen.

'Creepy.' Neo signed in agreement.

____________________________

It caused Roman to gasp and quickly move back away at the sudden appearance of Ozpin, taking cover behind the walls of one of his round hallways.

Ozpin soon moved away from the window, something Roman noticed as he sped walked towards the room with his coffee table, looking out through that window to see that Ozpin was walking away, the wizard humming as he went.

Roman looked back towards within his home, sniffing as he wrinkled up his nose.

The scene cut to Roman walking about through the paths of Hobbiton, now wearing a the blue coat over his attire as strolled through with a basket in hand, looking left and right to see if Ozpin was still watching him.

"Morning." A hobbit said to another hobbit as he lead a black yak down the road. Roman could be seen behind them as he made his way over to the farmers market across river.

Within the farmers market, many a hobbit gathered. Carving wood, selling fruits, bread, and meats. Conversing with one another.
____________________________

"Ah, a chance to observe hobbit culture." Oobleck said as he wrote what he was seeing down in his journal.

"It seems nice." Pyrrha said with a calm smile.

"Almost reminds me of Patch." Ruby said with her own smile. "Especially whenever we went to the market."

"It's definitely peaceful." Weiss said with a nod. "As if nothing bad could ever happen there."

____________________________

"There we go. Have a very good day." A female hobbit with curly brown hair said as she handed a wrapped cheese to an older hobbit.

Roman was standing by one of the market stalls, waiting for a fish he ordered to be wrapped up as he looked behind him, watching out for any signs of the wizard.

Meanwhile, children were playing, hobbits were smiling, and overall going about their usual peaceful lives.

"Here you go." The shop owner said to Roman with a smile, tipping his hat off to him as he handed him his fish, Roman nodding towards him.
____________________________

Blake slightly drooled at the sight of the fish, really wanting some right about now.

Ilia saw this and rolled her eyes at her friend for always being the living embodiment of cat faunus stereotypes, though she lightly smiled as it brought back found memories of when they were younger.

____________________________

Roman started to walk away, still looking for any signs of Ozpin until a farmer hobbit wheelbarrowing ome cabbages stopped him.

"Hello, mister Roman." The farmer hobbit greeted him with a happy tone.

"Here, have a feel of me tubers. Nice and firm they are." The farmer hobbit stared proudly, holding up a tuber first Roman to feel.

"Just came in from Westfarthing." The farmer informed Roman as he placed the tuber back into the wheelbarrow.

"Hmm. Yes, very impressive, Mr. Worrywort." Roman quickly said as he still looked around. "Now, I—I don't suppose you've... seen a wizard lurking around these parts?" He asked he looked back and forth to make sure if Ozpin was anywhere near him.
____________________________

"I've never seen myself this paranoid about anyone." Roman said, and Cinder gave him the willies enough.

"Well, it is Ozpin that has his interest in you." Ironwood spoke to Roman. "And seeing how this Ozpin is wizard, a little bit of anxiety is to be expected."

____________________________

"Tall fellow." Worrywort said as he crossed his arms. "Long grey beard. Pointy hat."

Roman said what appeared to be a light grey, pointy hat moving behind a few of the shops.

This caused Roman to quickly grab his basket and start to quietly run off while ducking as he did so.

"Can't say I have." Worrywort said, looking back, only to see Roman no longer there.

Roman got to a stone bridge, long back to see that what he was was not a pointy hat, but a grey sack atop several baskets being carried by a hobbit.

Roman sighed in relief that it was not Ozpin.
____________________________

"Hmph. It's almost amusing watching Torchwick this paranoid." Winter said with a small smirk. "It's even better that Professor Ozpin is the cause of it."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I get it. You find joy in my displeasure." Roman dryly chuckled with rolling his eyes at Winter.

"I don't think I could ever see Professor Ozpin cause someone to be paranoid of him." Ruby said. "He's just too nice."

"Well, we've already established that this Ozpin is... stranger than the one we know." Blake said to her leader. "It's safe to assume that he doesn't have the same exact effect with people in Middle-Earth that he does on Remnant."

____________________________

The scene cut to late in the afternoon, the blue skies now covered in clouds and darkened as it closed in on night. Laughter and indistinct talking could be heard in the distance as the viewing panned over time Torch-End. Lights alit as a hobbit walking by with a lantern in hand as he took a swing from a large jug.

Inside the kitchen, Roman using a spatula to place a well cooked, sizzling fish onto a glass plate with an almost floral design. The other foods upon the plate being sliced squash, potatoes, and a bit of broccoli.
____________________________

"Now that's a dinner." Roman nodded in appreciation for the food his hobbit self made.

"Mmm." Drool fell from Blake's mouth as she fantasized the taste of the fish in her mouth.

"Really, Blake?" Yang asked her partner as she tried to scoot away in her chair from the drool falling from Blake's mouth.

____________________________

Roman was currently in maroon robes with a green, beige, and orange plaid color, nearly each square having some unique spotted or floral design seen into it. The robe covering up his grey pajamas.

"Ahh." Roman sighed as he sat down at his dinner table, scrunching up a handkerchief into the neck of his robes as he prepared to eat his dinner.

As Roman salted and seasoned his food, the scene cut to outside Torch-End, the sigil still glowing blue upon the green door as a shadow neared it.

Just as Roman was squeezing some lemon onto his dinner, the doorbell to his home rang, causing him to halt what he was doing as he looked up, a questioning look upon his face.
____________________________

Roman sighed at this. "Whatever happened to the times when a man could enjoy his meal in peace?"

"Who's at his door?" Ruby asked.

"Do you think it's Ozpin again?" Jaune suggested.

"Maybe." Weiss said as she tapped her chin in thought.

Blake was currently wiping up her drool mess with some napkins, curtsey of Vortech. "Maybe it's one of those 'others' Ozpin talked about."

"Then that begs of the question of who Ozpin intended to have Roman meet with." Pyrrha said as they awaited for hobbit Roman to open the door.

____________________________

The scene cut to Roman opening his door to be met with a dwarf who was awaiting for the door to be opened, his back turned as he did so.

The moment the door opened, the dwarf turned around for Roman and the audience to see. His head was cleanly shaven bald as he had dawrvish tunes tattooed upon his head. The back of his head had long, brown hair that when last his shoulders, a medium sized, forked beard of the same color. He wore a grey cape attached to himself via a squared buckle. His shoulder were covered in a large fur, upper collar upon an olive green, sleeveless shirt, held together by a buckle whose straps went off in an x shape. He wore a large belt that held up his brown trousers, his hands covered in grey, armored gloves. His overall figure was masculine and sturdy, a light scar going across his right eye, yet his eye was not damaged.

Roman was taken aback a bit from the imposing dwarf before the dwarf spoke.

"Dwalin." Dwalin introduces himself in a gruff voice. "At your service." He said with a small bow.
____________________________

"Oh. That is far from Ozpin." Yang said with a laugh.

"Who's the beef cake?" Nora asked.

"As he said, his name is Dwalin." Vortech answered. "He's a stubborn and loyal individual, and the childhood best friend of James Ironwood in this universe."

"That would mean the people joining with Ozpin are General Ironwood and other dwarves." Penny pieced the logic together.

"But what adventure are they going on that involves Torchwick?" Ruby asked. "I know the hobbit version of Torchwick said he went on an adventure, but what is it?"

"I don't like where this going." Roman said with a twinge of fear for what lay in his other's future. That and he himself felt intimidated by Dwalin.

Meanwhile, Ironwood had his own questions. "How loyal of a friend is this Dwalin to my other self?"

"As loyal as Winter is to you." Vortech answered Ironwood.

The General nodded in understanding, Winter having a proud smile upon her face.

"He's also more loyal a friend than you are to Ozpin." Vortech muttered quietly.

"What did you say?" Ironwood asked with a raised brow, not catching what the Vortonian said.

"Hmm? I didn't say anything." Vortech answered Ironwood.

Ironwood knew Vortech was lying, but decided to not press on the matter for the time being.

____________________________

Roman whimpered a bit as he quickly tied his robes up, closing the view of his grey pajamas. "Uh... Roman Torchwick... At yours."

Dwalin started to walk into Torch-End with heavy feet.

"Do we know each other?" Roman asked as Dwalin walked by him.

Dwalin simply looked at Roman. "No." Dwalin bluntly replied as he walked past the orange haired hobbit.

"Which way, laddie? Is it down here?" Dwalin asked Roman as he removed his cape, rolling it up.

"I-is what down where?" Roman stammered out his question in confusion.

"Supper." Dwalin clarified as he tossed Roman his rolled up cape, the hobbit catching it. "He said there'd be food. And lots of it."

"He— he said?" Roman asked. "Who said?"
____________________________

"I'm liking this Ozpin less and less." Roman said with a shake of his head. "Not that I actually liked Ozpin to begin with, but you know."

"Don't forget, Mr. Torchwick. You and I are friends in this universe. At least we soon will be." Ozpin reminded the criminal.

"It doesn't mean I have to enjoy it." Roman said. "Only friend I need is myself and Neo. Everyone else is just acquaintances." He said as Neo had a cheery smile on her face.

____________________________

The scene cut to Dwalin at the dinner table, eating the dinner Roman had made for himself as the hobbit in question sat off to the side, watching him do so.

"Mmm." Dwalin grunted his liking towards the food as he brought the fish to his mouth, said morsel practically all bone, as he chomped the head clean off, crunching on it.
____________________________

"Eww." Ruby said as she reeled back in her seat.

"Disgusting." Weiss said as she flinched away from the image. "Who would eat the head of a fish?"

"Someone with a diet that I wish I had." Nora said with a wide smile. "Just imagine the things I could eat."

"A man does need his protein." Port nodded at Dwalin. While he probably wouldn't eat the head off a fish, Port would definitely ravage a pound of ham.

'I like Dwalin.' Neo signed to her boss.

"Why?" Roman asked with varying confusion.

'He just seems fun to hang out with.' Neo signed with a shrug.

____________________________

"Mmm, mmm. Very good, this. Any more?" Dwalin asked as he pointed at the now empty plate.

"What?" Roman asked absentmindedly before he he realized what Dwalin asked. "Oh, yes, yes. Ah." Roman said as he grabbed a plate of buttered biscuits in his right hand.

He brought the plate over to Dwalin, taking one of the biscuits with his left hand and putting it behind his back as he handed the plate over to the grizzly dwarf.
____________________________

"Smart." Roman nodded in approval of his other's actions.

____________________________

"Help yourself." Roman said as polite as he could try and be as Dwalin took the plate, setting it on the table.

From then, Dwalin started to scarf down the biscuits, grunting as he did so, crumbs falling from his mouth and onto his beard. "Mm." He grunted in satisfaction.
____________________________

"Such a slob." Winter shook her head in disgust.

"I bet he's great at parties." Sienna said, more so as a statement as she watched Dwalin eat with mildly wide eyes.

"He's the kind of guy I would hang out with." Qrow said with a chuckle.

"I'd be willing the bet that he could actually drink you under the table." Tai said with a smirk.

"Please. No one can drink me under the table." Qrow waved off his old friend.

____________________________

"It's just that, um..." Roman trailed off with both hands behind his back. "I wasn't expecting company." He said with a nervous smile.

However the moment after Roman spoke, the doorbell rang again, causing the orange haired hobbit to look left.

Dwalin slowly looked up at Roman, an expecting look his eyes as he munched on another biscuit. "That'll be the door."
____________________________

"Alright, who's next?" Roman asked with an annoyed look.

____________________________

The scene cut to Roman opening the door again, seeing another dwarf at his door, this one facing the door expectingly as it was revealed to be Balin at the door, albeit a bit older due to his white hair, his attire now maroon and black.

Roman seemed wordlessly surprised again when another dwarf was at his door.

Balin smiled at Roman as he introduced himself. "Balin, at your service." He said with a jovial tone, spreading his arms out and bowing.
____________________________

"Hey, it's Balin!" Ruby said with a smile. "It looks like he was able to escape Erebor too."

"The dude aged." Yang said with a neutral tone.

"Let's see how this dwarf is gonna act." Roman said with an eye roll.

____________________________

"Good evening." Roman said with an even tone, confused why another dwarf was at his door.

"Yes, yes, it is." Balin said as he looked up at the evening sky before walking into Torch-End.

"Though I think it might rain later. Hmm?" Balin said to Roman with a slightly worried tone.
____________________________

"He seems quite nice, and a lot more calm. Especially when compared to the other dwarves we've seen." Pyrrha smiled at Balin, having a feeling that she would like him due to his good nature.

"He even answered Torchwick with a proper response to his 'good evening'. Definitely less strange and cryptic than Ozpin." Glynda said with a straight face.

"Eh, he seems respectable enough." Roman said with a shrug. "Definitely already better than that Dwalin guy."

"He definitely seems to be quite the kind old dwarf." Pietro said with a light chuckle. "I could imagine me and him getting along."

____________________________

Roman squinted his eyes and an agape jaw as he tried to make sense of his situation.

"Am I late?" Balin asked Roman.

"Late for what?" Roman asked slowly.

The shaking of something could be heard as Roman and Balin turned to see Dwalin messing with a glass lamp.

"Oh! Ha ha!" Balin jovially laughed as he walked over to Dwalin. "Evening, brother."
____________________________

"Come again?" Weiss asked with a surprised look.

"Those two are brothers?" Roman asked with equal shock.

"But Balin acts so nice." Jaune said with a confused look. "The exact opposite of Dwalin."

"I guess you can find siblings in any shape or form. Right sis?" Yang asked Ruby as she wrapped her arm around her.

"Heck yeah!" Ruby said, high-fiving Yang.

____________________________

"By my beard, you're shorter and wider than last we met." Dwalin said with a smile to his older brother as he set the glass lamp down on the floor.

"Wider, not shorter." Balin corrected as Roman closed his door. "Sharp enough for the both of us." He said with a wink.

Dwalin and Balin both laughed as Dwalin placed both his hands on Balin's shoulders, Balin grabbing onto Dwalin's arms. The both halted for a moment before the immediately slammed their foreheads together, both reeling back with a smile.
____________________________

"Ooh, I actually heard the bone there." Jaune said with a wince.

"Yeah. Don't need faunus hearing to hear that." Blake said as she found it strange that Dwalin and Balin would greet each other with a head butt. Must be a dwarf thing.

"Wow! We should have a greeting like that." Nora said excitedly as she glanced at everyone in Team JNPR

"Please. No." Ren spoke calmly to Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune having uneasy looks to themselves.

"Talk about being thick skulled, am I right?" Tai asked Qrow with a smirk.

"That makes three of you." Qrow dryly replies back to his old partner.

"Hey!" Tai spoke back at Qrow.

____________________________

Roman found the action very odd as he tried to get their attention. "Uh, excuse me? Sorry, I hate to interrupt. But the thing is, I'm not entirely sure you're at the right house." Roman said as he pointed at the door, though he spoke to deaf ears.

The scene cut to Dwalin poring himself a cup of ale straight from the barrel within Roman's large pantry.

"Have you eaten?" Dwalin asked his brother.

"It's not that I don't like visitors." Roman started as Dwalin and Balin looked through the large pantry filled with fruits, meats, cheese, bread, vegetables, and drinks. "I like visitors as much as the next hobbit. But I do like to know them before they come visiting."
____________________________

"That's a big pantry." Roman said with a raised brow. "At least I know how to live properly."

"If watching Dwalin day was anything to go by, that pantry is going to end up empty." Sienna stated.

"But there's only two of them." Ruby said. "Sure Dwalin ate a lot, but we can't expect them to eat through the entire pantry."

"We expect less from you with ten cookie jars." Weiss replied bluntly to her leader.

"Hey!" Ruby yelled at Weiss indignantly, blushing a bit in embarrassment.

____________________________

"What is this?" Dwalin asked his brother as he picked up a block of cheese and smelt it, both dwarves ignoring Roman.

"I don't know. I think it's supposed to be cheese. It's gone blue." Balin informed Dwalin. "It's riddled with mold."

"The thing is—." Roman started, watching as Dwalin tossed the blue cheese behind him. "The thing is, I don't know either of you. Not in the slightest."

"Quite right." Dwalin agreed with his brother as they were gathering food on plates, still ignoring Roman.
____________________________

"It's funny that they're just ignoring Torchwick." Yang said with a chuckle. "They're off in their own conversation while he's trying to talk to them."

"Talk about no respect." Roman said with his arms crossed. "They're in my house!"

"Did they really just waste a perfectly fine block of blue cheese?" Port asked with a raised brow.

"That's what you're getting out of this?" Qrow asked the portly man with a raised brow.

"I'm just speaking my mind." Port insisted with a huff.

____________________________

"You think—." Balin trailed off.

"I don't mean to be blunt, but I— I had to speak my mind. I am sorry." Roman said with a straight face with his hands up.

At this, Dwalin and Balin heard him, both dwarves facing Roman as the result, the orange haired hobbit cleared his throat.

"Apology accepted." Balin said with a smile, he and Dwalin clearly having not heard everything Roman had said until now.
____________________________

"They really have no idea what Roman was talking about." Blake said with a small smile.

"I'm starting to like these dwarves." Ilia said with a giggle.

____________________________

"Now fill it up, brother, don't stint." Balin told Dwalin as the taller dwarf went to fill up another cup of ale.

"You wanna get stuck in?" Dwalin asked Balin as a playful threat.

"I could eat again if you insist, brother." Balin replied back.

The doorbell rang again, causing Roman to turn around with a face that said 'You have got to be kidding me'.
____________________________

"Oh for fucks sake." Roman muttered to himself and Neo, leaning forward as he put his face in his hands.

'I'm sure things will get better.' Neo signed as she patted her bosses back.

"Ooh, I can't wait to see what new dwarves were gonna meet." Nora bounced in her seat excitedly.

____________________________

Roman opened the door once more, now welcomed to the site of two more dwarves.

Both had long hair reaching past their shoulders. The one on the right had a short, braided beard and blonde hair, a large fur color on beige and brown clothing.

The one on the left had a stubble of a beard with black hair. He mainly wore black and grey leathery attire.

Roman whimpered a bit at the sight of two more dwarves at his house.

"Fili." The blonde one introduced himself. "And Kili." The black haired ones spoke next.

"At your service." The both said with a bow.
____________________________

Yang wolf whistled when she spotted Fili and Kili.

"What's their story?" Blake asked as she glanced at Vortech.

"Fili and Kili. Twin brothers that just so happen to be the nephews of the dwarven James Ironwood, the sons of his sister." Vortech informed.

"General Ironwood has more extended family members?" Penny asked before smiling. "How wonderful!"

"I have a sister in this universe?" Ironwood asked with wide eyes, being an only child on Remnant. "What is her name?"

"Her name is Dís." Vortech informed him. "Though you also have a brother in the universe by the name of Frerin."

Ironwood nodded at the information given to him, albeit still wide eyed as he didn't expect to have such a large family in the universe of Middle-Earth.

____________________________

"You must be Mr. Torchwick." Kili assumed with a smile.

"Nope! You can't come in. You've got the wrong house." Roman said, drawing the line as he tried to close the door on the two twins.

"What?" Kili asked, preventing the door from closing while opening it in the process. "Has it been cancelled?"

"No one told us." Fili said as he looked at his brother and then at Roman.

"No, nothing's been cancelled." Roman said back, though making the mistake of telling them that.
____________________________

"Gah!" Roman groaned in annoyance as he slapped his forehead. "Why would you say that?"

"Rookie mistake." Winter said with a shake of her head.

"Looks like he'll be having more dwarves as his guests." Sienna said with an amused chuckle. Her elven self may have an issue with the dwarves, but at least her own self was finding amusement in Roman's misery.

____________________________

"That's a relief." Kili said with a smile as he brushed past Roman into Torch-End, Fili following soon after, Roman looking more annoyed by the minute.

"Careful with these." Fili said to Roman as he took out two sheathed short swords from his back, tossing them over to him. "I just had 'em sharpened."
____________________________

"What do I look like? A weapons rack?" Roman asked.
____________________________

"It's nice, this place." Kili said in admiration for Torch-End as he walked around a bit. "Did you do it yourself?"

"What? No, it's been in the family for years." Roman said as he was busy dealing with Fili's things as the blonde dwarf was still adding on weapons into Roman's arms, looking over to notice Kili wiping his dirtied boots on a small wooden box.

"That's my mother's glory box!" Roman shouted at Kili. "Can you please not do that?"
____________________________

"I know I don't like Torchwick as much as next, sane, individual. But even I will say that that is rude." Weiss said with a frown and a shake of her head. "It's one thing to barge into someone's home, but it's another to start messing with their belongings without permission."

"Thank you, Ice Queen junior." Roman nodded towards the SDC heiress.

"Oh, be quite you." Weiss narrowed her eyes at the crook.

"How many weapons do you think Fili has?" Ruby asked as she paid more attention to the swords and knives Fili was handing to hobbit Roman.

"I don't know. All of them?" Yang through out there.

"Coming prepared." Qrow said with a nod of respect. "My kind of guy."

____________________________

Soon enough, Dwalin came over to Kili, grasping onto his shoulder. "Fili, Kili. Come on. Give us a hand." He said as he lead Kili towards the kitchen.

"Mr. Dwalin." Kili said with a laugh as he was lead to the kitchen where Balin waited, Kili patting Balin's arm as the he and Dwalin passed by the older dwarf. Fili soon making his way over.

"Let's shove those in the hallway, otherwise we'll never get everyone in." Balin said as he patted Fili's arm, the four dwarves staring to move towards the table to move it.

"Everyone?" Roman repeated with a squawk, still carrying Fili's weapons in his arms. "How many more are there?"

"Lift it." Dwalin said. "Where do you want this?" He asked his brother.

Just then the doorbell rang for a third time, this time with a knock at the door.
____________________________

"Gee. I wonder what who's at the door." Roman sarcastically drawled out.

"Looks like someone just can't catch a break." Winter said with a shake of her head as she snidely smirked at Roman. "I almost feel sympathy for you, Torchwick. Almost."

Roman just flipped Winter off as Neo blue a raspberry in the specialist's direction.

"I wonder how many are gonna be in Torchwick's smial." Nora said with a giddy smile. "I think they're really funny and cool."

"They all definitely have unique personalities so far." Ren summarized. "It would be interesting to see how the others are like."

____________________________

"Oh, no. No. No." Roman said, having enough as he walked over to his door setting Fili's stuff down. "There's nobody home! Go away and bother somebody else!"

Roman continued to march over to the door. "There's far too many dwarves in my dinning room as it is. If this is some clot-head's idea of a joke... ha ha!... I can only say it is in very poor taste."

Roman grabbed the handle to his door and pulled. Though the moment he did, eight more dwarves tumbled down into Torch-End, all of them having been crowding at the door. All grunting and groaning.
____________________________

"Was not expecting that." Blake said with a raised brow.

"Including the four dwarves that are already in Roman Torchwick's smial, this should make twelve dwarves." Penny informed.

"Awesome!" Nora said with a bright smile, easing her fist in the air.

"And to think they're all here because of Ozpin." Tai said with a light chuckle.

____________________________

Roman looked at the other eight dwarves with a slight of shock until he rose his head up, seeing that there was someone standing outside behind the dwarves.

"Get off, you big lump!" Said Glóin, a dwarf with long orange hair and a large orange beard.

Leaning into view from outside the door was the wizardly form of Ozpin, looking at the fallen dwarves and then at Roman.

"Ozpin." Roman said with a sigh.
____________________________

"Speaking of the Devil." Glynda said dryly.

"On Remnant, Red always interferes with my business. In this Middle-Earth place, the wizard version of the headmaster of Beacon interferes with my homely affairs." Roman said with crossed arms. "I honestly can't tell which one's worse."

"Well, in Middle-Earth, we do become friends." Ozpin reminded Torchwick.

Roman thought on for a bit before shrugging. "Eh, you're right. Red's worse."

"Now, I wasn't trying to insinuate that." Ozpin said with a deadpanned look.

"Like I care." Roman waved him off.

"You can hate me all you want. You're just mad that I keep kicking your butt." Ruby called out to Roman.

"Don't you mean we?" Weiss asked Ruby.

"You know what I meant Weiss." Ruby said to her partner without looking at her.

____________________________

The scene cut to many a dwarves grabbing various foods and plates of foods from the pantry.

Roman walked towards the pantry, grumbling while putting his overalls on, having taken off his robe. He spotted the dwarves starting to take good from the pantry.

"Excuse me, that's my chicken." Roman said to one of them.
____________________________

"Just got in, and they're already killing the pantry." Roman said with a grumble, Neo reassuringly patting him on his shoulder.

"They're just digging right in." Jaune said.

"It's like a house full of Nora's." Yang said with a slight shiver.

"I don't even want to imagine that nightmare." Weiss said with a shake of her head.

"Ha! You're just cranky cause you're not as fun as me." Nora told Weiss with a proud smirk.

"I can be fun." Weiss refuted back to her before she looked towards her own teammates. "Right guys?"

Ruby was awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck, Yang whistling off to the side, and Blake just gluing her eyes to the viewing screen.

"Guys?" Weiss asked her team with a shocked and almost saddened expression, Ilia lightly chuckling at her expense.

____________________________

More dwarves piled out of the pantry carrying various foods as Roman tried to stop them. "I-if you don't..." Roman started until he saw a dwarf carrying a jar of wine out.

"That's my wine. Excuse me!" Roman said, halting the dwarf.

The dwarf turned to face Roman, giving the audience a good look at him. His black hair was a mess, going down to his shoulders, his beard greying with several braids in his hair, a small axe-head was lodged within his forehead. This was Bifur.

Bifur looked at Roman, speaking in dwarvish as he pointed to the small axe-head in his head.
____________________________

"I'm not even gonna comment on this." Roman said with a neutral face.

"What happened to him?" Ironwood asked.

"His name is Bifur. He got an axe lodged in his head when he was younger, making him inarticulate and extra feisty." Vortech informed the General. "The axe also prevents him from speaking normal English, only able to speak in dwarvish and hand gestures."

"He must be good in a fight." Sienna commented. "Especially if he survived an axe to the head."

"That had to have hurt." Jaune said with a wince.

"Has he ever tried to pull it out?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's lodged in his head pretty good." Vortech replied to Pyrrha.

____________________________

"He's got an injury." another dwarf said, getting Roman's attention. He had grey, shoulder length hair that was braided upward at the top and a large fork beard curled and braided. His name was Oin
____________________________

"Who's this chap?" Port asked.

"Oin." Vortech replied.

"These dwarves have some very unique names." Penny took note over every dwarf name she heard.

"What's his shtick?" Qrow asked, though Vortech didn't answer. The Vortonian knowing Qrow was about to get his answer.

____________________________

"You mean the axe in his head?" Roman asked Oin.

Oin didn't hear him as he put an ear trumpet to his right ear. "Dead?" He asked, having not understood Roman properly. "No, only between his ears. His legs work fine." He said as he walked off from Roman.
____________________________

Qrow blinked a bit before speaking. "Never mind..." he spoke slowly.

Ironwood and Winter looked at Oin, and then slowly looked at Pietro.

Pietro, while distracted by the viewing, soon took notice of their glances, raising a brow at them. "What?"

"...Nothing." Ironwood and Winter said as they looked back at the viewing.

____________________________

Madness continued to ensue as the dwarves moved about like traffic, and Roman was caught in the middle of it.

"Those are my pri—!" Roman started to shout. "Excuse me! Not my wine! Put that back." But none listened to him.

One of the dwarves, a large and fat one by the name of Bombur, a bald spot on his head with light orange shoulder-length hair with a long beard braided in a loop, was carrying three large blocks of cheese out of the pantry.
____________________________

"Woah! Big guy coming through." Yang said with wide eyes.

"And I thought the guy with the mustache was fat." Ilia said in a lowered voice, talking about Port.

Blake looked like she wanted to refute her old friend, but she took a moment to think about it, and silently agreed with Ilia.

"This is Bombur." Vortech said. "I take it I shouldn't need to tell you all what makes him unique."

"Man, I'd pity the guy that got trapped under him." Tai said with a shake of his head. "That guy could cause an earthquake with a bellyflop."

"Taiyang Xiao Long. Please do refrain from making any weight related 'jokes'." Glynda said, using air quotations for when she said jokes. "Their insensitive, and they're annoying coming from you."

Tai slumped his shoulders as Qrow laughed at him.

Yang opened her mouth to say something, a smile on her face. Bit before she could, Glynda called her out.

"That goes for all Xiao Long's in this room." Glynda said with narrowed eyes at Yang.

"Aw, man." Yang grumbled as she crossed her arms, Neo giggling at her from the back.

____________________________

"Not the jam, please. Excuse me." Roman said as he made his way to the pantry, stopping when he saw Bombur.

"It's a tad excessive, isn't it?" Roman asked Bombur as the large dwarf walked by. "Have you got a cheese knife?"

"Cheese knife?" Repeated a dwarf named Bofur, his hair grey and down up in outward braids, his mustache long and curled as he wore a miner's hat. "He eats it by the block." He said as he passed by Roman, carrying a pound of ham.
____________________________

"Did that man say "by the block?" Pietro said with wide eyes, cleaning out his ears to make sure he heard that right. "I'd have a heart attack even attempting something like that."

"That's gotta be like Ruby eating cookies by the jar." Yang said.

"Hey!" Ruby shouted indignantly at her sister, a blush of embarrassment on her face.

"Or Nora eating pancakes by stacks of five." Jaune whispered to Pyrrha, his partner nodding in agreement.

"Who's the miner?" Qrow asked.

"Bofur. Bombur's brother." Vortech said.

"Bofur?" Ozpin asked. "Is he somehow related to Bifur?"

"Bifur is Bombur's and Bofur's cousin, yes." Vortech answered.

____________________________

In the meantime, Oin was currently holding a chair in his hands, bringing it to the table.

"No, that's Grandpa Mungo's chair—." Roman halted Oin, pointing at him and telling him to put it back, Oin pointing at his ear to show that he couldn't hear well. "No, so is that. Take it back, please."

As Roman tried to get Oin to put the chair back, Bifur walked by holding a plate of cheeses.

"Take it back. It is an antique. Not for sitting on." Roman continued to argue with Oin.

Bifur banded the plate of cheese to Glóin as he entered into the dinning room, where Ozpin and the other dwarves were setting things up.

"Thank you." Glóin said to Bifur, taking a bit of a cheese slice and Bifur walked off.
____________________________

"Before one you asks, that's Glóin. Oin's younger brother." Vortech informed the audience. "They're also the cousins of Dwalin and Balin."

"A lot of these dwarves are related to each other." Ilia commented.

"Are there any other dwarves related to each other?" Weiss asked.

"Dori, the older one with the braided grey hair, and Nori, the dwarf with the star-shaped hair, are brothers." Vortech said. "They're cousin is Ori, the young dwarf with the bowl cut."

____________________________

"Oh, not a coaster." Bofur said as he was at the end of the table with Bombur.

"Put that map down." Roman continued to tell some of the dwarves to put some things back.

Just then, Dori, a dwarf with grey hair and a grey beard all braided up in ornate style, clipping earrings on his ears, walked towards Ozpin with a tray of tea pots and tea cups.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ozpin." Dori spoke to the wizard.

"Yes?" Ozpin asked as he turned around to look at Dori.

"Can I tempt you with a cup of chamomile?" Dori asked as he poured said drink in a tea cup.

"Oh, no, thank you, Dori." Ozpin humbly declined. "A little red wine for me. I think." He said as he started to moved out of the dinning room, ducking a bit as he moved past the shortened hallway doors.
____________________________

Winter and Weiss slightly grimaced at the mention of wine.

"Ozpin drinking alcohol. I never thought I would see the day." Qrow said.

"Don't kid yourself, Qrow. It's not that I've never drank alcohol before, it's just that you drink too much." Ozpin said to his good friend, memories of lives when he lived as a constant alcoholic flooding back to him before he cleared his mind of those thoughts.

"Ain't that fine and dandy. While wizard Ozpin is drinking wine, the dwarves that he brought into my home are trashing the place." Roman said as he was clearly in a foils mood.

"It sounds like we'll deserved karma to me." Winter said, crossing her arms with a neutral tone, though with a hint of snide to her voice.

____________________________

"Oh! Yes." Ozpin moved out of the way for a orange-heard dwarf that had a his beard braided to look like and actual fork, his hair done up to appear as if it was the top of a star shape, who's went by the name of Nori.

Though the momentum he did, Ozpin bumped his head on a chandelier. "Ah!" He said as he put his hands on it to stop it from moving.

"Fili, Kili..." Ozpin counted off at the two twins carried a large chest into the room.

"Oin, Glóin..." Ozpin counted off his fingers as more dwarves walked by him. "Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur... Dori, Nori..."

"No, no." Roman argues with a young dwarf by the name of Ori, his beard short and his hair brown, done up in a bowl cut as Roman took away a basket of tomatoes from the dwarf. "It's my prize-winners. Thank you."
____________________________

"So Torchwick's a farmer too?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"Look, Tai. You now got a buddy to grow flowers with." Qrow said to his old partner with a smirk.

"My flowers are beautiful, and you know it." Tai said while crossing his arms.

'First place for best tomatoes.' Neo signed to Roman, pointing at him with a smile.

____________________________

"Ori!" Ozpin counted off as the young dwarf passed him.

Just then, Bifur walked up to Ozpin, speaking dwarvish while tapping his elbow.

"Yes, you're quite right, Bifur." Ozpin pointed at the brain damaged dwarf. "We appear to be one dwarf short." He said as he turned around.

"He is late is all." Dwalin assured Ozpin, gaining, the wizards attention as the grizzly dwarf was drinking from a mug of ale. "He traveled north to a meeting of our kin. He will come."
____________________________

"He must be talking General Ironwood." Blake surmised.

"What do you think the meeting Dwalin's taking about.... is about?" Ruby asked, trying to find a way not to say 'is about' again but not finding anything useful.

"I don't know yet, but what I do know is that you need to work on your grammar skills." Weiss told her leader, Blake nodding in agreement.

"Stinking grammar police." Ruby grumbled of your the side, crossing her arms.

Ozpin too thought on what the meeting could be about, something that was noticed by Glynda and Ironwood.

"What are you thinking?" Glynda asked Ozpin.

"...I'm thinking I know what this meeting might be about, if what we saw earlier is anything to go by." Ozpin replied.

"I believe I know what you mean." Ironwood nodded in agreement.

Glynda widened her eyes before she spoke. "You don't mean to say..." she trailed off as she throughly back on the flames that destroyed Dale.

Ozpin nodded towards the deputy headmistress. "I believe Smaug isn't out of the equation just yet."

____________________________

Dwalin went for a sip of ale as Ozpin nodded in understanding.

"Mr. Ozpin." Dori called putting to the wizard once again.

"Hmm?" Ozpin hummed a question as he looked back at Dori.

"A little glass of red wine, as requested." Dori said with a smile as he held two tiny glasses of red wine.

"Ah." Ozpin said as he grabbed the tiny glass from Dori with his fingers.

"It's got a fruity bouquet." Dori informed Ozpin.

"Ah. Cheers." Ozpin said as he brought the tiny glass to his lips, downing it in one go.

"No." Roman said in the background as he tried to stop more of the dwarves from repositioning things.

"Ahh." Ozpin found the red wine to be quite refreshing, though when he looked at it for another sip, he realized that it was only a little amount and that he had downed the entire thing.

The scene cut to the dinning room table, various meats, fruits, breads, vegetables, pies, and cups of ale completely filled it as the dwarves all partook in supper.

Indistinct conversations went amongst the dwarves as each one grabbed the food they wanted or picked up their pint of ale.
____________________________

"That's a lot of food." Ilia said.

"It's a lot of dwarves." Blake said to Ilia.

"I'm surprised that table can fit all that." Yang said.

"Now that's what you call a dinner party." Nora said as she licked her lips. Thinking how good some of the food on the table onscreen would taste.

____________________________

"Bombur, catch!" Bofur said to his brother, tossing a roll at him.

The moment the roll was near Bombur's face, the large and fat dwarf caught it in his mouth, immediately chewing on it as all the dwarves cheered in response.

Ozpin had a piece of fried fish in his mouth as he passed a plate of food over to one of the dwarves.

Roman watched everything transpire, moving back a bit as some of the dwarves started to throw food at each other.

He soon turned back to look at his pantry, stopping immediately as he saw that the pantry was completely ransacked and devoid of anything bar some barrels and some crumbs. Roman just sighed in annoyance at the sight.
____________________________

Roman just sighed as he looked at his Hobbit self. "I know you're pain pal. I know you're pain."

"Remind me to stock up on food if a bunch of dwarves ever come over to my place." Tai said as he looked at the empty pantry with shocked eyes.

____________________________

Back at the table, Fili was walking upon it, not caring for what food or plates might be in his way as he held several cups of ale. "Who wants an ale? There you go!"

Some the dwarves still threw food at each other, Ozpin trying to partake in a mini tomato, only for a piece of food to his the plate he held.

"Oh!" He went in slight surprise as he jumped a bit, causing the tomatoes to fall onto the table.

Meanwhile, Dwalin decided to have a bit of fun with Oin.

"Can I have another drink?" Dwalin spoke for Oin as brought a mud of ale to his ear trumpet, pouring it into the trumpet and into Oin's ear. "Here you go!"

The dwarves laughed at Oin's discomforted look of surprise as Dwalin slammed the wooden mug upside down on the table, laughing as well, Oin bringing his ear trumpet to his mouth and blowing out the rest of the ale.
____________________________

"Haha! Nice one." Qrow chuckled along with the dwarves.

"Bleugh." Winter shunned away from the scene in disgust. "I think I found a group of people worse than Qrow when it comes to alcohol."

"Oh, they're just jolly old lads having a bit of fun." Port waved of Winter's statement of the dwarves with a chuckle. "There's no foul here."

"Man, hanging out with those guys seems really fun right about now." Nora said with a giddy smile.

"It probably wouldn't be anything new to me." Ren said evenly, viewing the dwarves as a different versions of Nora.

____________________________

"Hey!" The dwarves shouted as several of them reached across the table, clinking their mugs together.

"One, two..." Bofur trailed off as all the dwarves at the table brought their mugs of ale to their mouths, all of them gulping and chugging it down, some of their ale spilling into their beards.

Nori let out a large belch as Kili laughed beside him. Soon enough, Ori stood up, placing his hands on the table as he let out an even larger belch.
____________________________

"God." Winter said with disgust.

"Woah. I can practically smell that one." Roman said as he waved his hand around his nose.

'10 out of 10' Neo signed.

"Wow! That's louder than my burps." Nora said with wide eyes.

"And yet just as disturbing." Glynda said as she reared back in her seat, disgusted by the large belch that came out of Ori.

"I don't think there's anyway I could top that. Even if I tried." Yang said seeming... actually impressed at Ori's burp.

"I think I'm starting to see one of the reason's my elven self didn't help the dwarves." Sienna said as she grimaced at the burp.

____________________________

Roman was still looking at his empty pantry, hearing all that was going on behind him as he wore a look of annoyance.

Later on, some of the dwarves got up from the table, laughing as they went through the rooms of Torch-End.

Nori was walking into the kitchen, still drinking from a cup with a doily in hand, thinking it was a washcloth, something Roman noticed.

"E-excuse me, that is a doily, not a dishcloth." Roman said as he took the doily away from Nori.

"But it's full of holes." Bofur said as he stood in a corner, holding his mug in hand.

"It's supposed to look like that. It's crochet." Roman told him as he started to fold up the doily.

"Oh, and a wonderful game it is, too." Bofur said with a smile as Roman went to put back on the shelf, the dwarf leading up to a joke. "If you've got the balls for it." Bofur joked with a laugh.
____________________________

"Hahahaha." Qrow laughed loudly at the joke.

"Ooh, I think I need to write that own down." Tai said with his own chuckle.

Even Ozpin and surprisingly Glynda chuckled at the crude joke as well, Port sharing in Qrow's laughter as Oobleck was snickering a bit, Ironwood having his own smile at the joke. Though Winter just rolled her eyes at the crude humor.

Even Sienna found herself lightly chuckling at Bofur's joke as well. Pietro chuckling as well.

Yang was laughing along with her dad and uncle while Weiss just scowled.

"That's disrespectful to an otherwise calm, fun and elegant game." Weiss said as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, so you have the balls then?" Ilia asked Weiss with a snide smirk.

Yang continued to laugh more as even Ruby and Blake chuckled a bit, Weiss scowling at Ilia.

"From all the laughing, I can assume that Mr. Bofur insinuated a joke, rather than a statement." Penny said with a confused look. "Though I'm afraid I don't understand it."

"I-I'll tell your later, Penny." Yang said as she was trying to calm down from laughing.

"You know, these dwarves may be annoying, but I like that Bofur guy." Roman said with a small laugh, Neo giggling in agreement.

____________________________

"Bebother and confusticate these dwarves!" Roman said to himself with a hiss while he rubbed his forehead.
____________________________

"Besides Balin and Bofur, I agree." Roman agreed with his hobbit self with a nod.

____________________________

"My dear Roman, what on Earth is the matter?" Ozpin asked as he ducked his way into the kitchen, looking down at the orange haired hobbit.

"What's the matter?" Roman repeated as he followed Ozpin to the kitchen sink, looking up at him.

"I'm surrounded by dwarves." Roman started as Nori and Bofur started to play tug-of-war with a rope of sausage. "What are they doing here?"

"Oh, they're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them." Ozpin said as Nori and Bofur moved out of the kitchen.

"I don't want to get used to them." Roman hissed out as he and Ozpin moved away from the kitchen sink.

"Look at the state of my kitchen." Roman stated. "There's mud trod into the carpet." He said, leading Ozpin out of the kitchen and pointing to said carpet.

"They—they've pillaged the pantry." Roman continued to rant as he made his way by the door of his smial. "I'm not even gonna tell you what they've done in the bathroom. They've all but destroyed the plumbing." Roman said while moving his hands angrily about.
____________________________

"With all those dwarves in that smial?" Tai asked with a grimace. "It must be pretty bad."

"Is there any home insurance in Middle-Earth?" Roman asked.

Vortech simply shook his head in response.

Roman just slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

____________________________

"I don't understand what they're doing in my house!" Roman stomped as he put his hand on his hips, sighing.

"'Scuse me." Ori said, walking up to Roman with an empty plate in hand. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?"
____________________________

"Huh. Make that two dwarves with manners." Roman said with a shrug.

"It's definitely a far cry from his obnoxious belch." Glynda said with a stoned and slightly annoyed look.

____________________________

"Here you go, Ori. Give it to me." Fili said as he took the plate out of Ori's hand.

Kili appeared out of the doorway behind Ozpin, prompting Fili to fling the plate at Kili.

"Oh!" Ozpin said getting out of the way.

Kili caught the plate and tossed it behind him. He soon caught another plate thrown to him, doing the same with it.

The plates that Kili fling behind him were soon caught by Bifur, who was currently by the sink, not even looking as he caught the two plates, soon stacking them onto each other.
____________________________

"Nice moves." Ruby said.

"Hey! We should practice something like that." Nora suggested.

"Oh, hell yeah." Yang said in agreement with Nora.

"No!!!" Came the multiple responses from Weiss, Blake, Ren, and Glynda.

____________________________

Fili and Kili continued to catch and throw plates.

"Oh!" Ozpin said again as he back himself around the wall, trying to steer clear of the plates.

"Excuse me! That's my mother's Westfarthing pottery. It's over 100 years old!" Roman said to Fili and Kili, though they did not listen.

The two twin dwarves continued to toss and throw dishes towards each other, Ozpin still trying to steer clear of them as Fili began to bounce bowls on his shoulders before tossing them towards Kili.

Back in the dining room, the dwarves still sitting at the table started to tap their forks and knives in a drum like rhythm, clanging the utensils against the ones held by the dwarves sitting across from them, plates stacked on the table.
____________________________

"Wait a minute..." Weiss said as she squinted her eyes, recognizing a beat when she heard one. "Are they about to...?"

"Ooh, I think I'm gonna like this." Nora said happily as she too heard the beat of the forks and knives, getting into the groove herself.

____________________________

"And—and could not do that?" Roman asked the dwarves as he saw what they were doing with the knives and forks. "You'll blunt them."

"Ooh, you here that lads?"Bofur asked his brethren with a smile. "He says we'll blunt the knives."

The beat continued as Kíli began to sing.

"🎶Blunt the knives. Bend the forks.🎶" Kíli sang as he and his brother continued to catch and throw dishes.

"🎶Smash the bottles and burn the corks.🎶" Fili sang as he bounced another bowl on his shoulders.

"🎶Chip the glasses and crack the plates. That's what Roman Torchwick hates!🎶" A majority of the dwarves started to get into the singing.
____________________________

"They're singing?!" Roman asked with wide eyes.

"Huh. They don't sound bad either." Winter said with a face of small shock.

"That's what Roman Torchwick hates?" Blake said as she slowly smiled. "I think I might like this song."

"Ooh. This sounds like it could be an interesting song." Penny said with a smile as she started to sway to the beat.

____________________________

"🎶Cut the cloth. Tread on the fat.🎶" They sang as Bifur twirled around a large pot, several of the dwarves tossing their plates to Ori, the young dwarf having a surprised look as he made sure to catch all of them.

"🎶Leave the bones of the bedroom mat. Pour the milk on the pantry floor.🎶" The sang as Dwalin played a lute, bouncing a bowl off his head and towards Nori who bounced the bowl off his leg.
____________________________

"Hmm. I didn't take Dwalin for a luter." Port said.

"It seems that they're cleaning up while singing this song of theirs." Ozpin said with a small smile.

"Well it's a helluva lot better than the usual clean up song." Qrow said with a scowl.

"Oh, come on. You know it works." Tai said to Qrow, remembering having to sing such a song to his girls when they were younger, and much less accepting to doing chores.

"It's a kid's melody, Tai. It only works on kids." Qrow told the father of two with a deadpan look.

Back with Team's JNPR and RWBY, each student was enjoying the song in some way.

Ruby, Pyrrha, and Nora were humming along to the tune, Weiss tapping her feet to the beat, while Yang, Blake, Ren, and Jaune swayed to the beat along with Penny. All of them enjoying the song. Even Ilia found herself tapping her fingers on the arms of her chair to the beat.

____________________________

Ori carefully started to carry out the tall stack of plates and bowls towards the kitchen as the singing continued.

"🎶Smash the wine on every door.🎶" They sang as Roman seemed shocked at the amount of dishes Ori was carrying.

"🎶Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl. Pound them up with a thumping pole.🎶" The dwarves started to toss plates around from the table, dancing merrily as they did so.

Kíli threw a fork towards Bifur, his right hand occupied with a stack a plates, though he turned around the swiftly catch the fork, the silver utensil right near his eye.

"🎶When you're finished, if they are whole.🎶" The dwarves sang and passed plates, Bombur trying to get any left overs from the plates that passed him.

"🎶Send them down the hall to roll.🎶" Balin had a calmly amused face as plates were tossed his way, the white haired dwarf bouncing them behind him by using his own plate.

Laughter ensued as Ozpin chuckled a bit at the sight before him, smoking from his smoking pipe. Dishes continued to be tossed as Bofur played a solo with his flute, Oin playing with him, albeit with a tea pot.

"🎶That's what Roman Torchwick hates!🎶" The dwarves finished their song with bright smiles.
____________________________

"That's what Roman Torchwick hates!" The collection of Ruby, Yang, Nora, and evening Penny sang.

"Well... at lest there's a song about me in some capacity in another universe." Roman said with a shrug, despite being lightly offended by the song.

Neo found herself humming the tune from the beginning of the song.

____________________________

Roman moves his way past Fili, Nori, and Ori, having a shocked look at what he saw.

All the plates and bowls were stacked perfectly upon the kitchen table, the dwarves smiling and laughing as Ozpin held his arms out in gesture to the sight that Roman saw, a smile on the wizard's face.
____________________________

"I'll give them this. They at least know how to pick up after themselves." Roman said, finding himself lightly impressed.

"And what a way to do so!" Port said with a laugh. "Why I've never seen anyone enjoying a song while cleaning up in such a fashion."

"Ozpin always knows how to find the fun oddballs." Qrow said, he himself being a prime example.

Ozpin lightly chuckled at what Qrow said, knowing that his friend was right in regards to himself meeting quite the odd groups of people. Especially considering how long he's been around on Remnant. Though inside his thoughts, he also knew that he had his fair share of run-ins with the wrong kind of oddballs.

____________________________

"Roman." Ozpin said as he sat down at the table.

"Look at his face!" Kíli laughed at Roman as he leaned on Bifur.

Just then, heaving pounding could be heard on the door or Torch-End, halting all noise from the dwarves as they looked towards the door.

"He is here." Ozpin said with a slightly neutral and even tone.

Roman's door opened to reveal the dwarven prince, James Ironwood, a cape hooked to his back, covering a large fur collared coat over a blue robed vest over or at dwarven clothing, his wrists covered with leather gauntlets. His long hair and short beard now having streaks of grey within the black, showing that he has grown older.

James slowly looked at the opened to door to see who answered. "Ozpin." James said with a small smile as he began to walk in.
____________________________

"Look who decided to show up." Roman snarked. "You missed the party."

Winter scowled at the crook while James rolled his eyes at him, taking notice of the streaks of grey in his long black hair.

"It looks like I've aged a bit." Ironwood noticed. "How long ago was Smaug's attack for me?"

"About 60 years." Vortech informed him. "You should be around your hundreds at this time, if I remember correctly."

"He looks good for being in hundreds." Glynda said with slightly wide eyes.

"Vortech did say that dwarves live long lives." Ozpin reminded her. "Though that does make me wonder how long I've been around for in Middle-Earth."

"2,019 years in this universe." Vortech informed. "Despite your appearance, you're un-aging. You've looked like that all your life."

Ozpin seemed shocked at the information given to him. Not about being about 2,000 years old, that he knew how to cope with, but un-aging? Always having looked like a 60-year old man? That raised some questions.

"What? You're saying Ozpin was born like that in this universe?" Qrow asked.

"More like it's the form he chose." Vortech stated.

"Wait, wah?" Ruby asked as many in the audience had varying looks of confusion.

"I'll explain later." Vortech waved them off.

____________________________

"I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way. Twice." James said as he removed his cape, Ozpin showing the dwarf prince inside.

"I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door." James said as he began to fold his cape.

"Mark?" Roman asked as he walked over to Ozpin. "There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago." He argued.

Ozpin closed the door before turning back to look down at Roman. "There is a mark. I put it there myself." He affirmed to Roman, trying to calm him down.
____________________________

"Yeah, now you know how the dwarves all got there." Roman said to his hobbit self.

"Yeah. Ozpin can be a pain like that." Glynda said in a rare moment of agreement with the criminal.

"I'm not that bad." Ozpin said.

Glynda answered him with a silent, deadpan look with a slight glare at him.

"Never mind, then..." Ozpin said slowly as he looked away from Glynda.

____________________________

Ozpin glanced at James before looking back at Roman. "Roman Torchwick." He said while pointing his hand in Roman's direction. "Allow me to introduce the leader of our company: James Ironwood." Ozpin said as he nodded his head towards James.

Roman looked at James as James looked at him. "So..." James started as he walked over to Roman. "This is the hobbit." He said plainly.
____________________________

"Why do feel like he's looking down on me?" Roman asked as he looked at the dwarven Ironwood.

"Probably is, knowing Jimmy." Qrow said with a shrug. "Probably sizing you up."

"Yeah, well I feel slightly offended by the way he called me a hobbit. Like it was meant to be demeaning." Roman said with a light scowl.

"While I can't say the hobbit version of you deserves any scrutiny, you definitely do." Winter said to Roman.

She was met with two middle fingers from Neo who scowled back at the specialist.

____________________________

"Tell me, Mr. Torchwick, have you done much fighting?" James asked Roman as he walked around him.

"Pardon me?" Roman asked him.

"Axe or sword?" James continued in his questioning. "What's your weapon of choice?"

"Well, I do have some skill at conkers, if you must know." Roman said as James crossed his arms. "But I fail to see why that's relevant."
____________________________

"Using a children's game as an example to fighting?" Weiss asked with a raised brow.

"I may be living a nice life in this universe, but damn am I also lame." Roman said with a dejected sigh.

"What the heck is conkers?" Ruby asked, getting a shrug from her sister.

"Conkers is a children's game first invented in Vacuo. Two players thread a string of shoelace on the seed of a horse chestnut tree—also known as conkers. The goal of the game being to take turns in hitting each other's conker, until there is one conker left." Penny informed the two sisters.

"Oh. Thanks. I guess." Yang said, tasing her brow at Penny for the long explanation.

"You are very welcome, friend Yang." Penny replies back with a smile.

____________________________

"Thought as much." James said, slightly uninterested with a tiny smirk on his face, glancing back at some of the dwarves behind him. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."
____________________________

"Hey! I take offense to that." Roman shouted at the dwarvish Ironwood.

"He's talking about your hobbit self." Sienna said with a roll her eyes, agreeing that the hobbit version of Roman didn't seem much like a fighter.

"Don't care. It's still me." Roman replied back. "And I pride on being a thief, whether a version of me is or isn't."

____________________________

This elected a few laughs from the dwarves as James started to walk off with Dori and Dwalin, Ozpin placing his hand against the ceiling, leaning as he seemed slightly annoyed at James.
____________________________

"Heh. Even Ozpin looks annoyed with Jimmy." Qrow said with a chuckle.

"That makes two of us." Glynda said as she crossed her arms.

"I'm not undermining of others." Ironwood said in argument to what people were saying of him.

"But there are times when you do test people's patience." Ozpin said as he looked at Ironwood, the General having a slight look of betrayal towards his friend.

"It should also be stated that this version of James is more proud and stubborn, rather than his overly cautious self." Vortech said.

"I'm not overly cautious." Ironwood said. "I plan ahead."

"Yes, because bringing a fleet of Atlesian ships isn't being overly cautious." Glynda said with a roll of her eyes.

"They're there for the added security for the Vytal Festival." Winter refuted.

"Oh yes. Like that isn't overkill." Sienna said sarcastically stated, getting Winger's ire.

"You know, I kinda wondered why there were a bunch of Atlas ships in Vale." Jaune said after hearing the conversation held by the adults.

"I figured it was because of Torchwick and the White Fang." Ruby said with a shrug before she starting thinking. "Though I guess it does seem a bit much for some criminals."

"Hmph. That's how Atlas usually works." Ilia said with a scoff.

"Don't act like Atlas is all about showing off and having a large military." Weiss told to Ilia. "We've done much more than that."

"Oh, believe me. I know." Ilia said with disdain him her voice.

____________________________

The scene cut to James at the dining table with the rest of the dwarves and Ozpin. He was currently eating a bowl of soup as the room was lit up by candles.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin?" Balin asked as he sat between Bofur and Glóin on the left of James. "Did they all come?"

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." James affirmed Balin.

"Ah, all of them!" Glóin said as some of the dwarves lightly cheered.

"And what did the dwarves of the Iron Hills say?" Dwalin asked, sitting between Ozpin and Bifur on the left of James. "Is Dain with us?"
____________________________

"Dáin? Who's he?" Ironwood asked.

"Dáin Ironfoot. Lord of the Iron Hills. You're cousin." Vortech informed the General.

"Ironwood. Ironfoot." Qrow repeated. "Sounds like iron runs in the family name."

____________________________

James put down his spoon as he heavily, yet quietly sighed. "They will not come." He said, getting some disappointed looks and groans from the dwarves.

"Mm." Dwalin grained in disappointment.

"They say this quest is ours and ours alone." James said, causing slight looks of disbelief from some of the dwarves at the table, James taking a sip of his ale.
____________________________

"But, wouldn't Dáin want to help the other dwarves?" Ruby asked with a confused and slightly sad look. "I mean, he and General Ironwood are cousins."

"That may be the case, but Erebor isn't their home if Dáin and his people live in these Iron Hills." Ironwood said solemnly. "If we seek to reclaim Erebor, it'll have to be by our own hand. There's nothing wrong in looking after your own."

Vortech silently snickered at Ironwood from the back, knowing the path the General would go down.

"It's a grim truth. But that is how the world sometimes works, Miss Rose." Ozpin said.

"Oh." Ruby said as she looked down.

Yang looked at Ruby and put a small smile on her face. "Hey. Still doesn't mean they can't kick Smaug's butt there and back again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ruby said as her mood brightened from the comfort her sister brought her.

Meanwhile, Vortech coughed at what Yang said, knowing that "There and back again" was the name of Roman's book. The criminal mastermind himself found himself sneezing when Yang said those words, though he didn't know why.

____________________________

"You're going on a quest?" Roman asked as he walked into the room, standing behind the sitting form of Ozpin, his question causing the dwarves to turn to him.

"Roman, my dear fellow." Ozpin said as he cleared his throat, looking at the orange haired hobbit. "Let us have a little more light."

Roman nodded as he walked away to get another candle as Ozpin got up in his chair, leaning over the table.

"Far to the East..." Ozpin said as he took something from his sleeves. "Over ranges and rivers..." he said as he unwrapped a folded map. "Beyond woodlands and wastelands... Lies a single, solitary peak."

Ozpin said the opened map down onto the table, pointing to an image of a tall mountain with a red dragon flying over it.

Roman came over with a lot candle in hand as he read the name of the mountain on the map. "The Lonely Mountain."
____________________________

"A fitting name, if not a little depressing to here." Blake said.

"I suppose it's name could be compared to Atlas in some sense." Ozpin mused. "Atlas is a floating kingdom, and it is alone up in the sky."

"Than that would probably make Mantle comparable to Dale." Pietro said. "But... a little less grand."

____________________________

"Aye, Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time!" Glóin stated.

As he said this, Ozpin conjured a small flame on his fingertips as he lit his smoking pipe.
____________________________

"What's a portent?" Nora asked with a confused tilt of her head.

"It's a form of sign or warning." Pyrrha informed her friend. "It usually means something big is about to happen."

"I guess that means the dwarves have some form of prophecy about taking out Smaug." Jaune said. "Kind of like with Ren in stopping the Skeksis in the Dark Crystal universe." He said, getting nod from Ren.

____________________________

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold." Oin told his brethren, Ozpin smoking as he watched on, putting out the flame on his fingertip.

"When the birds of Yore return to Erebor." Oin started as he looked at the rest of the dwarves.

"The reign of the beast will end." Some of the others spoke with Oin.

Roman, who was out of the dinning room, heard this, pausing while he put up a small pot onto a shelf before he turned around to go over to the dwarves.

"Uh... what beast?" Roman asked carefully as he stood a few feet behind James, Ozpin slowly looking back at Roman.

"That would be a reference to Smaug the terrible." Bofur said to Roman as he to had a smoking pipe in hand. "Chiefest and greatest calamity of our age."
____________________________

"Yeah. Didn't get a good look at his head, but he was one big mother. I'll say that." Roman remarked.

"Of their age?" Ozpin asked. "Is that to say there have been larger dragons in the past."

"Correct." Vortech said. "Smaug is actually the smallest dragon in the history of Middle-Earth."

"Bullshit!" Qrow called out with wide eyes, many in the audience doing a double take on what Vortech claimed.

"You're telling me that Smaug, a dragon larger than a Nevermore, is the smallest of his kind?" Ironwood asked, his mouth gapping like a fish.

"The largest of the dragons, although now deceased, would be Ancalagon the Black." Vortech stated. "Who was as large as the Lonely mountain itself. His wingspan reaching around 15 miles wide."

The audience was shocked was more, eyes threatening to pop out of their skulls.

"That's... a big dragon." Ozpin found himself breathless. Having never heard of, nor seen a beast so large. Not even when the Brother Gods lived on Remnant.

"How could such a beast be born?" Port asked with eyes wide in fear and astonishment as even Oobleck was frozen in fear.

"Through the means powerful of a darkness." Was all Vortech would say.

"Good thing he's dead then. Heh. Heh." Roman nervously spoke as he and Neo slowly, but surely, tried to reel back from the information given to all of them.

"Yeah..." Ruby slowly and quietly agreed with the crook, wondering how a dragon that big could have been killed.

____________________________

The rest of the dwarves fell silent as Bofur continued to explain to Roman.

"Airborne fire-breather. Teeth like razors. Claws like meat hooks." Bofur alluded to Smaug. "Extremely fond of precious metals."

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Roman said with his hands together in front of him, albeit with a slightly nervous look.

Just then, Ori shot up from seat between Bombur and Dori at the back of the table. "I'm not afraid. I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of dwarvish iron right up his jacksie!"
____________________________

"He's got a brave heart." Port nodded to Ori.

"Sounds like something Nora or Ruby would say." Yang said.

"You can bet your blonde hair I'd teach that dragon a lesson." Nora said with a manic grin, though still trying to get rid of the thought of Ancalagon out of her head. Ruby nodding in agreement with her.

"I'd rather not bet my hair on anything." Yang said as she started to hold onto her hair, subconsciously rubbing it.

____________________________

This sent some of the dwarves into cheering.

"Good lad, Ori!" Nori complimented his cousin.

"Sit down." Dori told to Ori as he grabbed onto his arm, bringing him back in his seat.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us..." Balin spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "But we number just 13. And not 13 of the best..." he said as he looked at the dwarves around him.

"Nor brightest." Balin finished, offending some of the dwarves.
____________________________

"Ouch." Qrow said with a mock wince.

"He's not entirely wrong." Glynda said.

"They're pow in number, and low in chances." Tai said. "Makes you wonder how much of a chance they fair."

"I have faith that they'll be able to slay Smaug." Ozpin stood his ground. "Sometimes it takes something simple to succeed."

____________________________

"'Ere, who are you calling dim?" Nori asked Balin.

"Sorry, what did he say?" Oin asked.

"We may be few in number..." Fili started, getting everyone to look at him and Kíli. "But we're fighters. All of us! To the last dwarf!" He said while slamming his cup on the table.

"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Ozpin would have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kíli said with a smile.

This caused all the dwarves to look towards Ozpin.

"Oh, well, no. I-I-I wouldn't say—." Ozpin tried to refute the claim.

"How many, then?" Dori asked Ozpin.

"What?" Ozpin asked back.

"How many dragons have you killed?" Dori clarified his question.

James calmly looked towards Ozpin, who currently had his smoking pipe in his hand, grunting and coughing with smoke from his pipe pouring out of his mouth.
____________________________

"I've never killed a dragon have I?" Ozpin plainly asked.

"No, you have not." Vortech quickly affirmed to him.

"I don't think that's going to sit well with those dwarves." Sienna commented.

____________________________

"Go on. Give us a number." Dori demanded.

Just then, the dwarves, sans Balin and James, went into an uproar at the table, arguing and shouting with one another.

"Uh, excuse me." Roman said, as he tried to calm everyone down.

"No more!" James roared out as he rose from his seat, causing the dwarves to sit down in silence.
____________________________

"Huh...." Qrow uttered as he was shocked from Jame's sudden outburst.

In fact, many within the audience were frozen stiff and silent from dwarven Ironwood's outburst, even the General himself

"So this is what it feels like to stand at attention." Yang whispered off to the side to Blake.

"I suddenly have the urge to do push-ups." Ruby said as she had shrank in her seat from Ironwood's roaring shout.

"I never thought James had that type of roar within him." Ozpin said with owlish eyes.

"Neither did I." Ironwood said slowly.

"That's Goodwitch levels of stern." Tai added.

"Shall we test that out?" Glynda asked sternly to Taiyang.

"No, ma'm." Tai quickly said in fear.

____________________________

"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too?" James asked his brethren, causing the dwarves to look on in thought.

"Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years." James said with a serious look, Ozpin carefully looking at the other dwarves. "Eyes look East to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk."

"Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected." James said. "Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?!"

The dwarves all shot up from their seats and cheered at this, James raising his fist over the table as they cheer to his rousing statement.
____________________________

"Yeah!" Nora and Ruby cheered along with the dwarves.

"As a man who knows how to make a speech, I commend you my good dwarf." Roman said while nodding, slow clapping his hand. "Bravo. I actually feel inspired."

'Down with the dragon!' Neo signed.

"Nice speech." Qrow said to Ironwood, in a rare moment of complimenting the General.

"...Thanks." Ironwood said, confused and thankful at Qrow's compliment at the same time.

____________________________

"You forget: the front gate is sealed." Balin reminded everyone, James and the rest of the dwarves sitting down. "There is no way into the mountain." He said solemnly.
____________________________

"Bummer." Jaune said with a shake of his head.

"There's gotta be another way in, then." Ruby argued.

"If what the older Roman was talking about is anything to go by, I'm certain they find something." Pyrrha optimistically spoke.

____________________________

However, Ozpin started to speak up. "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." He said he pulled out a silvers, ornate key from his robes, twirling it a bit.
____________________________

"Huh. Weird looking key." Ruby stared as she looked at the key strangely.

"It definitely has an intricate design." Penny nodded in agreement.

____________________________

James widened his eyes as he looked at the key. "How came you by this?" He asked as he and Roman looked at the key.

"It's was given to me by your father. By Thrain." Ozpin explained. "For safekeeping. It is yours now." He said as he slowly handed the key to James.

James held the key in his hand, before slowly clutching it in his hand.

"If there is a key..." Fili trailed off. "There must be a door."
____________________________

"Then there's gotta be another way into Erebor."Ruby surmised with a slowly growing smile.

"I told you." Pyrrha said to Ruby with her own smile.

"It sounds like Ozpin was good friends with my other's father." Ironwood said. "Especially if he entrusted a secret key to him, rather than his own son."

"They would good friends. Their friendship older than the one you have with Ozpin in Middle-Earth." Vortech stated. "They trusted each other to a great degree.

____________________________

Ozpin nodded at Fili as he pointed handle of his smoking pipe at the map, at the image of the Lonely Mountain. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."

"There's another way in." Kíli said with a smile as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Ozpin said with an exasperated sigh. "The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it." He said while pointing at the map.
____________________________

"There's always a catch." Yang said with a grumble.

"No one said that this adventure would be fun or easy, Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin told you his student.

"They're going to off to salt a dragon. Something we only ever read about in books." Yang told him. "How would it not be fun?"

"Ha! Then you've never experienced real danger outside of Grimm." Vortech said with a mad chuckle. "This world has many more things deadlier than most Grimm, and Smaug is one of them."

"He does have a point." Blake told her partner. "It's not like they're trying to kill a Nevermore. It's already been established that Smaug is tougher to kill."

"It still doesn't mean their adventure won't be cool." Yang said, not giving up on her position on what she viewed as the perfect thrilling adventure.

____________________________

"But there are others in Middle-Earth who can." Ozpin said as he looked at James, the dwarven prince glancing at him.
____________________________

"So if they find someone to translate the runes, they can find the secret door when they get to the mountain." Glynda surmised.

"That just begs the question of who can translate it." Sienna remarked.

"Well we definitely know that Ozpin knows who it is." Qrow said. "And it seems Jimmy knows as well."

"And if I know myself, I doesn't seem that I like who he's talking about." Ironwood said after observing the look his dwarven self gave Ozpin.

____________________________

"The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage." Ozpin said as he looked at Roman, the orange haired hobbit meeting his gaze with a raised brow.
____________________________

"Hmph. Courage and Roman in one sentence? Good luck with that." Winter said with a scoff.

"I gotta agree with Ice Queen senior. I'm not exactly bravado material." Roman admitted.

'Plus, stealth is my thing.' Neo signed.

____________________________

Ozpin then looked back to the dwarves. "But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done."

"That's why we need a burglar." Ori said as he looked at Roman.

"Hmm. And a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine." Roman said pulling on his overall straps a bit as he didn't realize that Ori was talking about him.

"And are you?" Oin asked Roman.

The dwarves looked to Roman expectantly, Roman looking at them, confused.

"Am I what?" Roman asked in confusion.
____________________________

"He doesn't even understand what they were asking." Ironwood said with a shake of his head.

"He makes a statement, and doesn't realize he's the thief of the group." Blake said with a shake of her head. "It's almost ironic since it's Torchwick."

"How this version of me survived any soon-to-be adventures, I will never know." Roman said with a sigh.

____________________________

"He said he's an expert!" Oin said with his trumpet against his ear, smiling. "Hey!"

"Me?" Roman pointed his hand to himself as he realized that they were talking about him. "No. No, no, no. I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life." He explained to them.
____________________________

"Seriously?" Roman asked incredulously.

'He is a grocer.' Neo signed to her boss.

"This just made hobbit Torchwick a million times better in my book." Ruby said with a smile.

"I'm still if-y about him." Yang said with a so-so sign of her hand. "He's like if Weiss wasn't a fighter, yet less stuck-up."

"Hey!" Weiss yelled indignantly at the blonde brawler.

____________________________

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Torchwick." Balin said. "He's hardly burglar material."
____________________________

"Ouch." Roman said with an offended look. "I'm right here."

"He's talking about the hobbit version of you." Sienna told Torchwick.

"Yeah, but it's still me." Roman refuted. "I'm still gonna be offended if someone thinks I'm hardly burglar material."

____________________________

"Nope." Roman said, affirming to Balin.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin said as he glanced at Roman.

Roman pointed at Dwalin in agreement, spreading his arms out as more proof before putting them behind his back with a smile.
____________________________

"More wood to the fire of subtle insults." Roman said with a shake of his head.

"So Dwalin's talkings about Weiss then?" Nora asked.

"I'm elegant, not gentle." Weiss replied back with narrowed eyes.

"Ruby, then?" Nora asked.

"Oh, you know I am far from gentle." Ruby said while crossing her arms.

"Why not Jaune?" Blake suggested.

"Don't insult fearless leader." Nora snapped back at the cat faunus.

"Y-yeah... she's... kinda got me there." Jaune sheepishly said.

"But you are improving." Pyrrha said while patting Jaune on the back.

"I got you to thank for it." Jaune told her with a smile.

Pyrrha smiles back at Jaune, though with a small blush on her face. Not that Jaune saw it.

____________________________

The dwarves all started to talk and argue, and the more they did so, the more Ozpin seemed to boil. Until he had enough.

Rumbling was heard within the dinning room as shadows and darkness grew behind Ozpin. The wizard rising from his seat.

"Enough! If I say Roman Torchwick is a burglar, then a burglar his is." Ozpin sternly and loudly declared, his voice booming.

Roman and the dwarves, sans James, has varying looks of shock as they all quieted down, looking towards the wizard in their company.
____________________________

The members of the audience, sans Vortech—of course—shared a similar reaction to the dwarves.

"Well... I've never that side of Ozpin before." Glynda said with wide eyes.

"I don't even think Ozpin has a side like that." Qrow said as he was startled from wizard Ozpin's booming voice.

"Hmm." Was all Ozpin has to say about his counterpart.

"This is definitely different from what I've seen with Ozpin." Ruby said as she found herself shrunk in her seat again.

"Yeah... I never thought had something like that in him." Yang said with unease in her voice. "Not to mention how the room got darker when he yelled at them."

"I wouldn't want to be on the opposite end of the that." Ilia said as she and Blake suddenly felt as small as actual animals compared the wizard Ozpin.

Roman had eyes frozen in slight fear. "Okay. Always listen to the wizard... got it."

Neo also had a look of fear on her face, wanting nothing more than to steer clear of the wizardly Ozpin.

____________________________

"Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet." Ozpin stated, the darkness behind him having dissipated. "In fact, they can pass unseen by most, if they choose. And, while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of dwarf is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage."

Roman raised his finger to try and protest, but the words died in his mouth the moment he tried.

"You asked me to find the 14th member of this company." Ozpin said as he sat back down, looking at James. "And I have chosen Mr. Torchwick." He said while nodding his head to the hobbit. "There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest."

James looked down in thought at the table.

"And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know." Ozpin said as he looked at the other dwarves before he slowly looked over to Roman. "Including himself."
____________________________

At this, Roman began to think to himself, Middle-Earth's Ozpin's words repeating in his heads. "...Huh..." Roman said as he truly didn't know what to say to a statement like that.

Roman knew that it was directed at his hobbit self, but it was still a version of him. Very few people have ever believed in or appreciated him, sans Neo. But here this wizardly version of Ozpin just said that he has more to offer than he or anyone else realized. It was the best food for thought anyone had probably ever gave to him.

'I like him.' Neo signed with a smile, most fear for the wizard suddenly subsiding as she agreed with this version of Ozpin.

Even Ozpin himself smiled at what his other said to Roman. It reminded him of older, better times before he became a shell of his former, heroic self. To see that there was a version of him out in the multiverse that still had a sense of stubborn hope brightened his mood.

____________________________

Roman immediately looked over to Ozpin, seeming a bit confused on what he meant.

James slowly looked over to Ozpin as Ozpin leaned a bit over to him. "You must trust me on this." The wizard said.

James looked at Ozpin for a moment before speaking. "Very well. We will do it your way."

"No, no." Roman tried to refute, but to no avail.

James soon looked over to Balin. "Give him the contract."

"We're in. We're off!" Bofur said.

Balin soon took out a rolled up piece of parchment from his pockets, getting up from us seat and stretching a bit across the table to hand to James.

"It's just the usual. Summary of out-of-pocket expenses... time required, remuneration... funeral arrangements, so forth." Balin told Roman as he handed the contract to James, who then handed it to Roman, placing it against his chest, pushing the orange haired hobbit back a bit as Roman grabbed the contract with both hands.
____________________________

"Sounds like the usual. If not a little more proper." Roman said with a nod.

"This definitely feels a little more forced onto Torchwick, than him accepting it." Blake said. "Ozpin just subtly Vacuo'ed him into this quest of theirs."

Roman heard Blake and scoffed. He knew that Cinder was definitely less discreet, and if he was able to choose between her or Ozpin and the 13 dwarves, he'd pick the latter.

"Are all huntsmen contracts going to be like that?" Ruby asked.

"Well, they won't be as formal, but that is the gist of how they tend to be." Qrow answered his niece.

____________________________

"Funeral arrangements?" Roman asked as Balin sat back down, Ozpin looking at Roman.

Roman walked away from the dinning room, unfurling the long contracted. "Oh."
____________________________

"That's a big contract." Ruby said with wide eyes.

"Talk about paperwork." Yang said with a light chuckle, Weiss scowling at her as she did.

Roman shrugged when his other read the funeral arrangements bit. It was still kinder than his "contract" with Cinder.

____________________________

James got up from his seat and leaned over to Ozpin's ear. "I cannot guarantee his safety."

"Understood." Ozpin said.

"Nor will I be responsible for his fate." James continued.

Ozpin slowly looked at James, seeming as if he wanted to refute the dwarf, but soon put on a small and force smile. "Agreed."
____________________________

"He actually seemed against what Ironwood said." Sienna proclaimed. "He's been essentially throwing Torchwick towards this adventure the entire time, yet he draws the line at not being able to ensure his survival."

"You say that as if stating Ozpin would be one to just throw someone else to into harms way, willingly." Glynda said to Sienna.

Ozpin heard what Glynda said, and while he would never put someone in danger on purpose, there where still those who died under his watch. Those who died without knowing the full truth. It caused his mood to sour, though he didn't show it.

"Eh, it's still better care than I get from most people." Roman said with a shrug. "Except for Neo, of course."

Neo nodded in agreement with her boss, liking that wizard Ozpin cared for Roman's safety. Far better than what he had under Cinder.

____________________________

While this was going on, Roman was looking over the contract. "Terms: cash on delivery, up to buy not exceeding 1/14th of total profit, of any. Seems fair."

Ozpin looked at James and then at the rest of the dwarves as he had a smile on his face.

Roman continued to read from the contract. "Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to lacerations..." Roman read the last part slowly, Ozpin looking to him.

"Evisceration..." Roman carefully read as he focused his eyes on the contract. "Incineration?" Roman asked slowly as he looked back at the dinning table.
____________________________

Roman shook his head at that. Thinking back on the powers Cinder showed him when she forced him into her plans.

"While it was definitely a good choice to put down what may happen to Torchwick within the contract, this version of him has already proven to be a bit anxious." Weiss said. "He would definitely reconsider the contract if he would end up incinerated."

"Yeah, but we already know Roman takes up the offer in the end." Blake reminded Weiss, to which the SDC heiress conceded.

____________________________

"Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur said to Roman.

Roman looked up at the ceiling a bit before looking down at the floor, whimpering quietly.

"You alright, laddie?" Balin calmly asked Roman.

"Yeah." Roman said as he leaned forward with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily before he rose back up. "Feel a bit faint."

Bofur got up from his seat as he moved a little bit closer to Roman. "Think furnace with wings."
____________________________

"Thank you, Bofur. You can shut up now." Roman said.

"I already see where this is going." Qrow said with a neutral look.

"He's going to faint." Ren stated simply.

____________________________

"Air, I-I-I need air." Roman stuttered as he looked trouble.

"Flash of light, searing pain, the poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash." Bofur said to Roman, not realizing he was making things worse.

Roman grunted as he straightened his back, Ozpin and the dwarves watching him as he did so.

Roman breathes in a bit of air again before he looked over to everyone else. "Nope." He quickly said as he soon fainted, falling onto the floor with a thud.
____________________________

"Hahahaha!" Yang burst out laughing.

Ruby and Weiss giggles at the scene they watched as Blake snickered a bit.

Neo lightly flared at Team RWBY, but even she had to admit it was a little funny.

"Well, Renny, when you're right you're right." Nora said to Ren with a smile.

"I kind of feel bad for him." Pyrrha said, though even she giggled a bit.

____________________________

"Oh, very helpful, Bofur." Ozpin sarcastically spoke to said dwarf as he got up from his seat.
____________________________

"Yeah, thank's a bunch." Roman said with an eye roll.

"This Ozpin has enough sarcasm to match Glynda." Qrow said with a light laugh.

Glynda rolled her eyes at Qrow while Ozpin let out a calm chuckle in response.

____________________________

The scene cut to Roman in a plush chair, a mug in hand as he sat beside the fireplace.

"I'll be alright. Just let me sit quietly for a moment." Roman said as he took a sip from his mug.

"You've been sitting quietly for far too long." Ozpin said as he stood beside Roman, smoking pipe in hand.

Roman didn't exactly no what to say to Ozpin as the wizard walked around in front of the hobbit. "Tell me, when did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who was always running off in search of elves in the woods." He said as Roman looked down a bit.

"Who would stay out late, come home after dark trailing mud and twigs and fireflies." Ozpin said as walked back beside Roman. "A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what lay beyond the borders of the Shire." He said, pointing his smoking pipe towards the window.
____________________________

"That sounds more like Ruby or Yang." Tai said, remembering the times when his daughters were children.

"Definitely leaning a bit more towards Firecracker." Qrow said as he glanced at Yang.

"I think uncle Qrow just compared you to Torchwick." Ruby said as she looked at her older sister.

"Yeah, that's not a pleasant thought." Yang said with a grimace and a shake of her head.

____________________________

"The world is not in your books and maps." Ozpin said as Roman looked up at him. "It's out there."

"I can't just go running off into the blue." Roman refuted. "I am a Torchwick." He began with a bit of a whimper. "Of Torch-End."
____________________________

"That sounds like an excuse father would use to keep me under his thumb." Weiss spoke solemnly. "Trying to use the Schnee name as an excuse."

Ilia looked at Weiss in confusion as Ruby went to comfort her partner.

"Well, there's nothing he can do to stop you from making your own choices." Ruby told Weiss with a smile.

Weiss smiled back at Ruby. "And I'll make sure to follow up on them."

____________________________

"You are also a Took." Ozpin reminded him, Roman putting his head back as he looked up at the ceiling in annoyance.

"Did you know that you're great-great-great-great uncle Bullroarer Took was so large, he could ride a real horse?" Ozpin asked Roman as he pointed to a picture of a hobbit with a bear and long hair.

"Yes." Roman said as he closed his eyes.

"Well, he could!" Ozpin said. "In the battle of Greenfields, he charged the goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard, it knocked the goblin king's head clean off, and it sailed 100 yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole." Ozpin said, gesturing with his hands as he did so.
____________________________

"Huh." Was all Qrow said.

"Man, being named Bullroarer awesome." Yang said with a smile.

"Well, I rode in on an Ursa, so I guess you can call me Ursaroarer." Nora said with a proud smirk.

"Or just Grimmroarer in general." Jaune suggested.

"Battle of Greenfields? Sounds interesting." Oobleck said with intrigue.

"So this universe even has goblins? Talk about quite the fantasy collection." Port said with a nod.

"Sounds like quite the story. Especially if it involves someone related to me." Roman said a smirk.

____________________________

"And thus, the battle was won." Ozpin said. "And the game of golf invented at the same time." He added.
____________________________

"Huh. Talk about a bloody beginning." Tai said with a chuckle.

"It is definitely a unique way of how a universe's version of golf started." Penny said with a smile.

"I feel like he made that up." Winter said with a look of un-surety.

"Oh." Penny said.

"Well, most stories are embellished to gain better appraisal." Pietro threw out there while adjusting his glasses.

____________________________

Roman sat quietly a bit before speaking. "I do believe you made that up."

"Well, all good stories deserve some embellishment." Ozpin said as he sat on a chair in front of Roman. "You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back."

Roman chuckled a bit, seeming nervous before he looked at Ozpin. "Can you promise I will come back?"

Ozpin opened his mouth for a moment, looking as if he wanted to comfort Roman, but chose otherwise. "No. And if you do... you will not be the same."

Roman looked off to the side before looking to Ozpin again. "That what I thought." He said with a click of his tongue. "Sorry, Ozpin, I cant sign this." Roman said as he got up from his chair.
____________________________

"Oh, don't be like that." Ruby called out to the hobbit version of Roman. "There's nothing wrong with a little change. Don't turn away!"

"Hey, red?" Roman collard out to his nemesis.

"What?" Ruby asked back to him.

"You do realize that I end up going with them either way, right?" Roman asked with a deadpan look.

"Oh..." Ruby said as she remembered the beginning of the viewing. "Sorry. I forgot."

____________________________

Roman stood still for a moment, looking at Ozpin before speaking. "You've got the wrong hobbit." And with that, Roman walked off, leaving Ozpin by himself.
____________________________

"It's a still a shame when one doesn't have faith in themselves." Ozpin stated with a slightly melancholy look. "Even when they do have potential."

Roman rose his brow at what Ozpin said, but tried to play it off by glancing off to his left.

"Practice what you preach, Ozzy." Vortech telepathically spike to Ozpin, causing the headmaster of Beacon to let out a silent and sad sigh.

____________________________

Ozpin watched as Roman walked off, seeming a bit disappointed.

The scene cut to Roman walking through his halls as Balin and James watched him do so, the two dwarves having been in the hallway behind the room Ozpin and Roman spoke in. James leaning against the wall while Balin sat down.

"It appears we have lost our burglar." Balin solemnly spoke to James. "Probably for the best. The odds were always against us."
____________________________

Ozpin looked down in thought when he heard those words. He knew from the moment Jinn gave his answer on how to destroy Salem that the odds would always be against him and those who would help him. But even he knew that those who were loyal to him never knew the truth of Ozpin's plan. A plan that he did not have. However, he was soon peeled from his thoughts when Ruby spoke.

"Well, even if the odds are against them, it's better to try than give up." Ruby said. "If they don't try, than who will?"

At this, a small smile grew on Ozpin's face. It was those like Ruby that he could count on to see the light in every dark corner of world. It was thanks to people like Ruby that Ozpin didn't try and give up long ago. And was for those people that he was most thankful to.

____________________________

James looked at Balin as he spoke, tilting his head a bit.

"After all, what are we? Merchants, miners... tinkers, toymakers." Balin said with a sad chuckle as he looked off over to the dwarves that were in the dinning room. "Hardly the stuff of legend."

"There are a few warriors amongst us." James reminded Balin with a small smile.

"Old warriors." Balin clarified.
____________________________

"You're still warriors though." Nora argued against Balin.

"Just because one is old in age, doesn't necessarily mean they still can't fight." Pyrrha agreed with Nora.

"Yeah, you get it." Nora said to Pyrrha with a smile. "I mean, just look at Professor Port." She said while pointe her thumb back at the portly man.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Miss Valkyrie." Port said with a grumble.

"Now, there's nothing wrong with being up there in age." Oobleck tried to console his friend, but a comment from Qrow claimed otherwise.

"Ha! She called you old." Qrow chuckled at Port.

Oobleck gave a deadpan look at Qrow as Port furrowed his brows at him.

____________________________

"I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the the Iron Hills." James said to Balin. "For when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart."

Balin looked off to the side as James spoke.

"I can ask no more than that." James said.
____________________________

"Awe-inspiring words, sir." Winter nodded with a small smile.

"They're words any good leader should follow by." Ironwood said with nod, agreeing with his counterpart.

"I can see why you're the leader of this company." Ozpin told his friend with a calm smile. "If there's one person who may be able to rally a group of people, I would say you would make a fine choice."

"Thank you, Oz." Ironwood said with a smile.

Qrow just silently scoffed at Ironwood. "I'd say Ozpin would make the better leader." He muttered so that only himself and Tai would hear.

____________________________

Balin got up and spoke. "You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You've done honorably by our people. You've built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."
____________________________

Ironwood thought upon Balin's words, calmly smiling as he knew that he would give his all for Atlas. And by extension, his dwarven counterpart for Erebor. He would never lose faith that any version of himself wouldn't care for his people.

____________________________

James let his old friend speak his peace before he spoke his. "From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me." James said as he held up the key for Balin to see. "They dreamt of the day the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me." He spoke softly.
____________________________

"The call of destiny." Ironwood spoke. "Their home has been held away from them for far too long. There would be no better time to take it back."

Destiny. The word repeated in Pyrrha's head. She was a selfless individual, but she also believed it was in her destiny to carry out her duties of a huntress and to protect the world, but she always feared of the chance she would slip up in faith that many held her towards. But despite all of that, she always believed that one should their destiny, and if the destiny of the dwarven prince was to reclaim Erebor, than he would be the only one to do so.

"And who better to reclaim Erebor, than it's crown prince." Pyrrha said with a small smile, supporting both Ironwoods.

____________________________

Balin let out a silent sigh, but nodded his head at James. "Then we are with you, laddie."

James smiled at Balin's words.

"We will see it done." Balin said, patting James's shoulder.
____________________________

Ironwood shared his alternate's smile, knowing well enough that these dwarves were good and loyal men.

____________________________

The scene cut to the dwarves in the room with the fireplace, all of them humming a tune, Fili and Kíli walking into the room as the former stood by the fireplace, the latter taking a seat with the other dwarves.

James also stood beside the fireplace, smoking pipe in hand as he looked into the fire, and started to sing.

"🎶Far over the Misty Mountains cold.🎶" James solemnly sang. "🎶To dungeons deep. And caverns old.🎶"
____________________________

"Jimmy singing?" Qrow asked. "Now I've seen everything."

"Quiet, you." Winter scowled at Qrow.

Sienna listened in on the song, focusing on the words the dwarven Ironwood sang. "It sounds like a song of remembrance."

Weiss found herself nodding in agreement with the White Fang high-leader, being a talented singer herself. "The way he sings it. It has a tone of melancholy to it."

____________________________

All the dwarves looked into the fireplace with James, various looks of haunt and melancholy upon each of their faces. Ozpin sat a bit away from the dwarves, smoking on his pipe as he had a clam look to him.

"🎶We must away, 'ere break of day. To find our long forgotten gold.🎶" James sang as Balin joined in, Roman sitting idly by as he listened in.

"🎶The pines were roaring on the height.🎶" This time, Bofur and Glóin joined in as Dwalin and several other dwarves slowly stood up from their seats. "🎶The winds were moaning in the night.🎶"

"🎶The Fire was red.🎶" They sang as the view panned over to the burning fireplace. "🎶It flaming spread.🎶"

The scene cut to the night sky, the chimney above Torch-End releasing small embers into the night. "🎶The trees like torches blazed with light.🎶"
____________________________

The song brought the room to silence, many finding it to not just be a beautiful song, but a song that many could sympathize with.

For Ilia, it reminded her of the life she lost when her parents died in an SDC mine.

For Sienna, she found it as a reminder of the pain human had placed upon the faunus in the past, that some are still doing today.

For Blake, it reminded her of how she left her parents in order to join with Sienna's more violent White Fang. How she wanted to bring equality between humans and faunus.

Ruby and Yang were reminded in the ways that they're family was shattered, when Summer never returned from her mission.

Tai has similar thoughts to his daughters, but not just on Summer, but how Raven abandoned their family, leaving him alone with a young Yang.

For Ren and Nora, it reminded them of how Kuroyuri was destroyed, and all that were lost to the Grimm.

For Roman, it reminded him of Mountain Glenn. How he and his team were trapped underground with the Grimm, along with the other people of Mountain Glenn when the Grimm attacked. How they were abandoned and left to be forgotten.

Neo was reminded of her lonely life as a kid on the streets, how no one was there for her. Until one day, a candle's flame gave her a new name.

Weiss and Winter were reminded of there almost seemingly picture perfect family. Only for the image to be shattered by their father when their mother learned the truth as to why he married her. How their family became hollow when their mother sank herself into the habit of drinking to forget, how their whole family became distant with each other.

For Ozpin, it reminded him of an age since lost. When the gods lived with humans. When he was with Salem. When they had a family. Something they could never go back to.

Finally, after many a moment of silence, Glynda was the one to speak. "That was a very beautiful song, James." He said quietly. "...You should consider singing more often."

"...Thanks." Ironwood replied as he was off in thought of what he and the other dwarves sang.

"I gotta say, Jimmy,... that wasn't too bad." Qrow said with a calm voice. The song having think back to his days as a member of team STRQ, how he given a purpose thanks to Ozpin, and how his team fell apart one by one.

____________________________

The scene then cut to morning, the light shining through the windows of Torch-End, birds chirping as the viewing showed Roman fast asleep his bed, soon stirring from his slumber as the sun's rays shone on his face.

Roman groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, though they soon widened as he remembered that Ozpin and the dwarves were at his smial last night.
____________________________

'Sleepy head.' Neo signed with a small giggle.

"I wonder how much sleep I even got last night." Roman said as people were still reeling back from the powerful song Ironwood and the company of dwarves sang.

____________________________

He slowly walked through his smial, carefully checking each room, moving his hands a bit as he checked. Yet his guests were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello?" Roman asked, in case Ozpin and the dwarves were still there.

He checked the dinning room, and quickly walked into the kitchen, checking the stove before he moved away from it. Roman shook his fist in vindication that the dwarves were nowhere to be seen in his smial.
____________________________

"Looks like they all left." Jaune said.

"If they left, than how is Torchwick going to go with them?" Ruby asked.

____________________________

Wistful music played as Roman had his hands on his hips, looking at his living room before patting arms at his sides.

Roman walked into the living room, standing beside the coffee table as he looked outside the window.

Soon enough, he looked into the coffee table, seeing that James's contract was still there. Upon the signed section read: "James son of Thrain", and on the witnesses section read: "Balin son of Fundin." The burglar section left blank.
____________________________

"I think you got your answer, sis." Yang said, Ruby gaining a smile as she saw the contract.

"I'm willing to bet Ozpin left that for him." Glynda said with a small smile and a roll of her eyes. Sometimes her boss was too predictable.

"Maybe." Ozpin said with his own small smile.

____________________________

Roman continued to look at the contract, mouth slightly opened as a certain look grew upon his face before he looked out his window.
____________________________

"I know that face." Tai said with a light chuckle.

"Some form of of trouble always follows when I see it." Qrow said as he and Tai looked over to Yang and Ruby.

Yang and Ruby proudly chuckled as the former brought the latter into a side hug. "Guilty as charged." Yang said with a smile.

Roman sighed when he saw the look on his other's face, though a small smile did creep onto his face. "Here we go."

Neo giggles in agreement with her boss.

____________________________

The scene quickly cut to Roman running out of Torch-End, contract flailing in hand as he had a traveling pack upon his back. His outfit now consisting of a white coat-jacket over a grey, button vest. Black slacks upon his legs as he ran, up-tempo music playing as he went.

Roman soon hopped over chickens as they chucked out of the way, nothing stopping the orange haired hobbit as he went, passing fences and pigs, and even hopping over a farmer hobbit wheelbarrowing a large pumpkin, the farmer looking strangely at Roman.
____________________________

"Look at him go!" Yang said with a chuckle.

"I've only ever seen him run that fast when trying to get away from us." Blake said with a small smirk.

"If he keeps going like that, he'll be as fast as me." Ruby said with a giggle.

'Run, Roman. Run!' Neo signed with a bright smile.

____________________________

A few other hobbits watched as Roman ran, the hobbit of Torch-End hopping over a fence as he moved on passed a lowing cow.

The viewing changed to sky view above Hobbiton as Roman continued on his running path.

"Here, mr. Torchwick, where are you off to?" Worrywort called out to Roman as the orange haired hobbit ran by.

"Can't stop, I'm already late!" Roman called to Worrywort as he ran.

"Late for what?" Worrywort asked.

"I'm going on an adventure!" Roman yelled out with a smile on his face as he continued running.

And with that, the viewing faded to black.
____________________________

"Oh, yeah. It's adventure time." Yang said with a bright smile.

Vortech sneezed when Yang said that, knowing there was an alternate version of her that says that lien a lot.

"That universe was great!" Ruby said with a bright smile. "I can't wait to see more."

However m, before anyone else could speak, a gurgling sounds came from Ruby's stomach, causing everyone to bring their attention to her as Ruby looks down at her stomach.

"Heheh... heh." Ruby nervously chuckled with a blush of embarrassment.

"We should probably eat something before we do that." Ilia deadpanned at Ruby.

"I suppose now's a time as good as any to take an intermission." Vortech said with a shrug.

"Good. I need to stretch my legs." Roman said as he tried to stretch in his seat.

Vortech slammed his staff onto the floor, looking over to the doors to watch them open... only that they didn't open.

Vortech furrowed his eyes as he slammed his staff on the floor again, seeing if the doors would open this time. Once again, they didn't.

Vortech repeatedly slammed his staff on the floor to if that did the trick, but it did not.

"What are you doing?" Glynda asked the Vortonian.

"I should be able to automatically open the doors by slamming my staff on the floor." Vortech said as he did so again to no avail. "But it isn't working."

"That's fine. We can just open the doors by hand." Jaune said.

But the moment he did, the screen came to life once more.

"Hey, what gives?!" Nora asked. "I thought we were taking a break?"

"I'm not doing any of this." Vortech refuted.

"Sounds like you have a glitch in your theater room." Winter said to Vortech.

Vortech scowled at the Atlas specialist. "My theater is perfection! This had nothing to do with designer flaw." Vortech said, having his eyes on Winter for a moment before he began to think.

"I suspect an outside force to blame for this malfunction." Vortech thought aloud while tapping his finger to his chin. "We'll just have to watch this universe and wait and see if we can get out after the viewing is over."

"This universe better be short." Nora said with crossed arms. "I want pancakes."

The audience faced forward in their seats as they awaited to watch the next universe.

Next time:

23-8-5-14 25-15-22 23-1-14-20 19-15-13-5-2-15-4-25 7-15-14-5

1-14-4 25-15-22 4-15-14-20 23-1-14-20 20-15 23-1-9-20 20-15-15 12-15-14-7

3-1-12-12 20-8-5

9-13-13-5-4-9-1-20-5

13-21-18-4-5-18

16-18-15-6-5-19-19-9-15-14-1-12-19

____________________________

Hey, guys. Hope you like this chapter. I know it's more Roman-centric, but it does revolve around him for the most part.

Now, the next chapter will be shorter than most, especially if you cracked the puzzle up top, but before I work on it, I'll be working on RWBY watches VanossGaming and Crew, Radio Taimanin Alastor, and High school DxD: Decepticons rising.

But in the meantime, here's the next character vote.

VOTING 6
(1-2-21 update: VOTING CLOSED)

VanossGaming and Crew

Daithi De Nogla:

A.) Jaune Arc

B.) Oscar Pine

BasicallyIDoWrk:

A.) Emerald Sustrai

B.) Blake Belladonna

Moo Snuckel:

A.) Taiyang Xiao Long

B) Yang Xiao Long

Lui Calibre:

A.) Ruby Rose

B.) Summer Rose

Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Gimli:

A.) Nora Valkyrie

B.) Peter Port

Pirates of the Caribbean

William Turner

A.) Yang Xiao Long

B.) Ruby Rose

C.) Jaune Arc.

That's all for now. See you guys next time.