Chimera (n.)
- (in Greek mythology) a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
- a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.
Myrmidon (n.)
- a member of a warlike Thessalian people led by Achilles at the siege of Troy.
- a hired ruffian or unscrupulous subordinate.
It was a wonderful morning in Mistral City; the skies were nice and clear, the winds blew fair and cool, and the tardiest, most beautiful flowers were now in bloom. It was a very welcome respite to the chaotic months that had preceded it. What started as an exciting Vytal Festival ended when a promising young Huntress was hacked to pieces live on television. Then the Grimm invaded Mistral, devastating large swaths of the kingdom. More months of dread followed, which was oddly punctuated by one of the nearby valleys singing M-pop. Then Haven Academy had nearly been blown to bits by the White Fang. And to top things off, a massive incident in lower levels had occurred not too long after...
"Qrow, are you sure this is the place?" Oscar asked Qrow. The two of them, as well as Ruby, were standing on one of the higher levels of the city. In front of them was a white house a little larger compared to its neighbors. Oscar had been carrying a large amount of snacks, and while it didn't compare much to farmwork, he really would've appreciated setting it down sometime this year.
"Should be, unless these kids are lying." Qrow squinted at the piece of paper in his hand. The location written on it was perfectly legible enough not to cause any confusion. "Ruby?" He nodded his head to the door.
Ruby nodded, walking towards the front entrance. She rang the doorbell. "Hello? Anyone home?" After a few moments of silence, she heard footsteps from inside the house. A few more moments later, the door finally opened, revealing a… large figure leaning in the frame.
Despite the fact that he looked comfortable in the drab utility clothes he was wearing, his skin showed a fair bit of tan. An equally drab baseball cap sat over short brown hair, eyes red as blood glowing underneath it. Any intimidating airs, however, were mitigated by the fact his cheeks were puffed up at the moment.
"Um, Ruby?" The boy pouted in a voice rather deep for his age. "These aren't the terms we agreed to. I said you could bring a friend, not Ozpin."
"I know, Copper." Ruby responded. "So I... brought Oscar instead!"
"Doesn't he still count as Ozpin?" Copper retorted. "Tiffany told me what happened the other day." There was a temporary green flash of light, signifying that Ozpin had taken over.
Oscar's head peeked from behind the food."My apologies, Mr. Xanthias, but after the events of last week, I absolutely insisted on coming here. If it's any consolation, I've explicitly forbidden everyone else from visiting."
Copper paused for a moment. "Fine. Then how come Ruby's dad is here?" He cocked his head towards Qrow, who sighed.
"Look, I'm just her uncle, not her dad. Two, I'm just supposed to drop these two off. They're not that familiar with these parts."
Copper nodded slowly, his cheeks deflating to normal. He scanned the area again to triple-check no one followed them on the way here.
"Alright then, come inside. It's pretty nippy today."
Once Ruby and Oscar were inside, Copper whispered the former a question. "Are you sure he's not your dad? "
"Well, I'm pretty sure."Ruby shrugged. "And even if he is, it doesn't really matter that much." The scarlet reaper took a minute to admire the living room. For the most part, it was traditionally Mistralian: tatami floors, dark green walls, a skylight to balance out the color, and a few plants that were artfully cultivated. The only exception to this was the modern furniture and open floor plans. "This is actually a pretty nice place you've got here!"
"Actually, this is Keiko's house." Copper pointed to the glass table in the center of the room, where a petite-ish girl with fair skin and jet black pigtails sat on a couch cross-legged. She was playing cards with a lanky fellow wearing purple dress clothes, gray suspenders, black pants and a pair of thick aviator goggles on his ginger hair.
"Keiko? Raul? Company's here." Copper announced, causing the girl to stand up from the game. The other player was a little bit slower to rise, much to Copper's suspicion.
"Oh! Good morning!" Keiko spoke to the guests in a soft, sweet voice. "Nice to-"
Copper interrupted her. "Raul, have you been hustling Keiko again?"
Ozpin set the snacks down on the table, and seated himself on one of the sofas in the room. Ruby tried to sit next to him when she saw that another girl had decided to take a nap on the rest of the sofa. Compared to present company, this one had a more casual sense of modesty, given she was only wearing swim shorts, a translucent white shirt, and turquoise bikini top showing underneath.
Copper peeked over the sofa. "Oh yeah. Uh, Tiffany?" He poked her on the shoulder, causing her to stir a little. A pair of green eyes managed to poke it's way through a mess of sandy blonde hair.
"Urrrhh… they almost here?" she slurred.
"They ARE here, Tiffany. Your head's next to one of them."
Tiffany yawned, craned her head, and saw an upside-down Oscar politely smile back at her. Or maybe it was Ozpin, she couldn't really tell with this joker.
"Oh. Hey." After a tremendous amount of effort, she managed to extricate herself from the sofa, and moved herself to the opposing sofa. Copper himself sat next to her, directly facing Ruby. All important parties were ready. Well, almost ready.
"Any moment now, Mr. Xanthias." Ozpin told Copper. But Copper wanted to ask one more question before he started.
"How's Victoria doing?"
"Everyone else is busy taking care of her." Ozpin replied. " You have my highest assurances she's in the best hands."
"And how are they holding up?"
Ruby answered the question this time. "Okay, considering the current situation. Well, Weiss nearly died a couple of times, and Jaune keeps getting jum-"
Ozpin interrupted her. "Which brings me back to my original question, and one you have yet to answer. How did four Huntsmen in training come across one of the most dangerous creatures ever conceived and possess the audacity to bring it here?"
Copper took it as his cue to start the narration. He took a deep breath.
"Well, sir, it started after Beacon Academy fell. Classes were canceled early, everyone got A's, and we were all more worried about our loved ones back home. A lot of us really spent the months trying to relocate everyone and kill the pursuing Grimm.
And after that was done, Tiffany got the bright idea of taking a shortcut back to Haven."
A/N: Good evening, fanfic land, this is St. Shade, here with a new story about science projects, spanners, and sheer audacity.
If you have any requests, questions, or constructive criticisms, please leave them in the Reviews Section.
In the meantime, this is St. Shade, signing off. Good Night!