Prologue – The withered soul
(Ruby's POV)
I walked down the hall of the Inn we were staying in just outside of Mistral, apparently Silver had wanted to see me before we went to see the headmaster of Haven academy. Ice had warned me that Silver wasn't the same person I had befriended at Beacon, but I didn't mind.
I came to the room that team SINN were staying in and knocked on the door, Neo had answered she gave me a sad smile and allowed me in. I knew that they were still licking their wounds well if one of your teammates were turned into a Grimm hellbent on killing you, you'd react the same way they did.
I said hi to Ice and Naniele before going up to Silver, she was dressed in a long coat, her hands covered by gloves, her ears hidden under a Stetson hat and her face partially hidden by a ragged scarf and an eye patch.
"Hey, Silver." I smiled as the Faunus turned to see me she tapped the table to somewhat say hi back.
"How are you feeling?" I asked giving her a soft smile.
"It still hurts." She wrote onto a notepad. I sighed.
"I know, but you're strong, a lot stronger than anyone else here, so I know you'll fight through it." I smiled she only snorted then grasped at her throat.
"I know I'm strong, but all of this? It's too much for even me." She wrote.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure out a way to get your voice back once we've talked to the headmaster at Haven." I smiled, she only nodded.
Chapter 1- Stairway to Haven
(Ice's POV)
It was about a week since we landed in Mistral and immediately thrown into the hospital for check-ups and tests since Silver was in that horrible and terrifying state ever since we somehow brought her back to her senses in Kuroyuri although we all worry about if or when she may revert back to how she was before but all we can do is wait and see and be prepared.
We didn't really leave the hospital all that much apart from Naniele to go run for supplies as we had to keep an eye on Silver but luckily, she seems to be recovering well... apart from the obvious scars which she seems ashamed of letting any of us to see so we try not to look but on a good note Qrow recovered and after getting some rags and other things to cover Silver with... we were set to go!
Qrow wanted us to take the scenic route to the heart of Mistral so we all just agreed and followed him through the dark tunnel, only lit up by the lamps that lined the walls where we saw the light of the tunnel at the end.
"We are so close!" I let out a sigh of relief, throwing my arms up to stretch.
"So, what's this city like?" Naniele ran up to Qrow and looked over at him curiously.
"Just wait and see kid." Qrow said, keeping a smug look on his face.
Silver and Neo stayed quiet behind the rest, I guess Silver's voice hasn't completely recovered just yet so Neo is standing next to her for support I assume.
As we all approached the end, the whole city of Mistral showed itself before us and I must say... it was almost too much to take in at once, all I could see are the tall cliffs that reach so high in the sky and the little waterfalls that fell from the top as well as the markets where people sell anything to anyone which seems to always be crowded with people looking around and selling items, the air smelt fresh and the area felt so lively, it was amazing.
"This is so awesome!" I yell out, looking around at the different sights.
"Amazing!" Ruby said in amazement.
"Silver, Silver, come look!" Naniele ran up to the fence and invited Silver over to look.
"Beautiful" Silver signed to her, while taking a look around although her eyes barely visible from the outfit she was wearing where it was some long boots, black leather pants and jacket along with silver coloured buckles and a cowboy style hat designed to cover the face.
"The venders here will sell you just about anything... whether they should or not." Qrow informed the group, sounding more like a warning if anything.
"So, people can live on these mountains like this?" Naniele asked Qrow.
"Every inch on it, just stay away from the lower levels." He answered.
"But nothing to worry about that because we are going up, up, UP!" I said, pointing up to the sky.
Fast forwarding to when we finally got to the top of Mistral, we arrived at Haven academy which looked like a bunch of Chinese style houses and temples put together along with two radio towers but there was something wrong here... very wrong... it was silent, I knew before we came to this world me and Silver would remember this but... it felt so ominous.
"There seems to be no one here." Neo got my attention and signed to me, looking around now to see if she can spot anyone.
"You're right I don't like this." I added, looking towards Qrow.
"You're right, let's go." Qrow said, hurrying on into the main building, the 5 of us now running in behind him.
We got before the headmaster door, first listening in for a bit and then looked at each other to get ready for a fight. I drew Hito, Ruby prepared Crescent Rose Naniele held her knives tightly, Neo got into a fighting stance and Silver drew the blue lightning Cerberus gun ready to pull the trigger at any second
Qrow went to kick the door open and on the other side was Professor Lionheart, standing there in shock as the door flew open, Qrow stood there on one leg, surprised to see Lionheart. "Lionheart?"
Qrow fell back on himself and Lionheart put his hand over his heart and flopped to the floor.
Lionheart sat up and took a look at Qrow on the floor. "Qrow?! Dammit you nearly scared me half to death!"
Qrow stood up and looked down on Lionheart threateningly. "And why were you not waiting for us by the entrance?"
"Huh?" Lionheart took out his pocket watch in his breast pocket and realised what time it was. "Oh... Apologies I guess time slipped away from me."
"You're joking?" Qrow growled.
"So, tell me, where has everyone gone?" I butted in, sheathing my blade Hito.
"Ahh, you must be the students Qrow talked about... who are you?" Lionheart greeted us but directed his question to Silver with it seems Lionheart is being careful of Silver cause of her appearance.
"She's a friend of ours, she was involved in a scarring accident the day Beacon fell so don't mind her appearance." I quickly said and gave thumbs up to Silver and she quietly nodded back to say that's good enough.
" I see... Well that is most unfortunate and I offer my apologies." Lionheart apologies with a slight bow.
Silver just waves her hand to show that it's alright.
"Well it's nice to meet you all, my name is Leonardo Lionheart and as you can see, most of the staff is away till classes resume." Lionheart introduces himself to us all, even though he forgot to ask for our names.
"What? Leo you can't be serious? who's guarding the Relic?" Qrow asks, getting close to Lionheart threateningly... again.
"Qrow the childre-"
"Already know, I filled them in, what do you mean most of your staff is away?" Qrow breaks in.
"You filled them in?" Lionheart mused while scratching his beard and invited us all in to take a seat or whatever while he and Qrow discussed some details.
Silver took a seat on a sofa at the side of the room followed by Neo while I and Naniele stayed stood up by the side of the desk as Lionheart sat behind his desk.
"I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you." Lionheart questioned Qrow, frowning upon him.
"No, reckless is leaving one of the Relics completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!" Qrow yelled back.
"There was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" Lionheart began, clenching his fists.
"Vale wasn't the only Kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces, saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens… and then nothing." Ruby looks away, upset upon hearing these words. I heard Silver growl softly from the sofa as she remembered that fight.
You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us. Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution. And it's only gotten worse. Lionheart ended on that note, look out the window.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asks.
Lionheart now leaning on the windowsill to explain. "We may have dealt with the Grimm, but Mistral council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo and now It's the closing of Borders. I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more... unfortunate tendencies and on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."
"All the more reason we need the huntsmen and huntresses here!
Ruby moves in closer, seems she's noticed things are really getting tense here. "Okay! Okay. Things are bad; they're bad but we can figure this out, why is the Spring Maiden so important?"
"Wait for it..." I whispered under my breath.
"I thought you filled them in" Lionheart questions, looking at a very unamused Qrow.
"Mostly filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover okay? I quit teaching for a reason." Qrow says, taking his flask out and taking a drink from it.
"Honestly, I'd love to been in your classes Qrow, I'd learn a lot more from you than Port don't you agree Silver?" I said out loud, nodding to Silver which she nodded back in agreement.
"Hehehe... Jokes aside, explain." Qrow chuckles.
Lionheart sits back on his chair to explain. "The four-"
"Each of the four maidens have the power to reach the relics and each relic is inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific maiden, we know, Qrow did you forget about our back story already or were you too drunk to remember?" I butted in, sick of listening to this squabble.
"Ah... Right I forgot about that." Qrow realised his mistake and focus on Lionheart. "I forgot to mention, two of the kids here have come here from a special place so they know exactly what's going on."
"But the problem is with our interference, some things have changed too if you look towards Silver, she's the result of Salem's experiments" I explained, I got a dirty look from Silver but I knew it was right to say it.
"So that means you know where the Spring Maiden is?" Lionheart asked, rising from his chair.
"Yes, but it's best to let Qrow explain it. Also, Naniele, I owe you an explanation after this." I said, stepping back.
"Okay." Naniele replied.
Qrow pulls out his scroll, walking over to and placing it on Lionheart's desk where a hologram appears marking a location on the map. "Raven has the Spring Maiden after she deserted from the training and this is where my sister's bandit group have set up their main camp where they fall back after raids and scouting missions and Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed it, it only made things easier."
"Well Qrow I've got to hand it to you, with these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks." Lionheart suggests which we are all displeased with.
"A few weeks?" Qrow growled.
"That's right."
"The damn council, they won't let us take any huntsmen and huntresses as they won't care." I told Qrow and he nods.
"Then damn the council, we'll do it ourselves." Qrow announces.
"Yeah!" Ruby punches the air.
"Don't worry about us old man, we aren't push overs and can hold our own in a fight." I said, smacking my hands together.
"We won't slow anyone down." Naniele said her bit.
"We will be in the city for the time being, keep in touch... come on, kids." Qrow turns to walk out and waves his scroll out as we follow.
"Just one thing, Nibbles sends her regards but I'll be watching." I turn back and chuckle, walking out.
"Qrow I'll be heading back to the house with Neo, Ruby and Naniele then, keep Silver with you, she won't bite." I told Qrow, walking off with the other 3.
"Wait... I never agreed to-"
"Thanks! Silver you know what's happening, make sure it goes well" I wave goodbye, my back turned to them.
Later that night I lay sat on the sofa, thinking about how far we've come in this world even though we made little difference as well as made more problems, Ruby was upstairs reading her romance comics and Neo and Naniele were sat together on another sofa looking outside.
"So, is Silver going to be okay?" Naniele breaks the silence, grabbing mine and Neo's attention.
"I'll be blunt, she's unstable, just because we managed to beat the Grimm out of her doesn't mean she's back with us completely as for sure her brains corrupted, that's why she can't speak or very much." I said, showing little emotion but I knew Neo must've tensed as she looked to the ground, biting her lip.
"How do you know Ice?" Naniele asks, comforting Neo.
"I've done my research, once a brain has been damaged, it can never be repaired and Silver's brain has been heavily tainted by the insanity of Grimm, much like a berserker trading its conscience to the holy grail for more power, in the end it's a matter of when she will turn back, not if." I laid out the cold hard facts, it's better for everyone to know and be prepared, even though it's making Neo well up.
"I'll stop for tonight and we'll have to pick this up another time but be prepared, it's hard for me too, she's my very best friend after all." I told them, looking towards the door.
There was a knock on the door, I got up and went to answer the door where on the other side was Oscar, looking uncomfortable.
"Hello kid, what can I help you with?" I asked cautiously.
"Um... yeah. Is there a Ruby Rose here? " Oscar began
"Why?" Naniele asked as she and Neo got up slowly their hands on their weapons at the ready.
"Well..." He started to speak but Qrow comes in, moving wildly and very drunk like, followed by Silver only laughing like a damn wolf on some kind of weird drug before the two of them flopped onto the sofa, laughing. "Her Uncle and his friend could do with some help..."
"I did it!" Qrow yells out loud Silver rolling and falling to the floor with a loud thump.
I snickered and laughed out loud. "God dammit you two, we are on something important and then you just come and destroy all the tension."
Ruby stomps into the room, looking very annoyed. "What's going on down here? Can't a girl read her comics in peace?!"
"Qrow, did you get drunk again?" She asked glaring at her uncle.
"Maybe..." He slurred Silver held up her hand as it curled into a thumb up.
"Oh..." Oscar exclaimed. "You have silver eyes." He continued now stepping into the room.
"Who... are you?" She asked, we ignored the chuckling coming from Qrow, and a similar wheezing noise coming from Silver.
"Uh... Well. My name is Oscar Pine."
"Wait for it..." Qrow muttered.
"But you probably know me as... Professor Ozpin." Oscar announces himself to the team, Ruby, Naniele and Neo gasp and look confused and I just smirk.
"Surprise!" I throw my arms up and now patting Oscar's shoulder and closing the door.
"I did it!" Qrow exclaimed punching his fists into the air, he then fell from the couch and on top of his drinking buddy.