DISCLAIMER:
The following is a fan-based story. The series RWBY and its characters with the exceptions of OCs are all owned by Roosterteeth and Monty Oum. Please support the official release.
NOTE:
The following takes place during the events of RWBY V5 so some familiar scenes may or may not be altered. If you are not a fan of this kind of stuff, than I advise you not to read ahead.
Long before the kingdoms there had been a special group of people.
Warriors that was said to match the skills of the Silver Eyed Warriors, known as the Whitefeathers; One of the only few that believed in the existence of the Gods. Many of those possess rare and unique abilities, topping even the strongest Huntsmen.
Only one had stood out from the rest.
The head of the family only known as the Scion.
A single person in possession of something that had been rare, magic in both light and dark.
The family believed that the Scion's power had really been given to them by the Gods themselves. They had seen something worthy in the Scion, something not many people saw in others. Through each coming generation the power had been passed until the days of the Great War began.
Chaos broke amongst the kingdoms; through their fear and grief, Grimm came and destroyed all which stood. As it spread like a virus, the Scion had been consumed by it all ultimately ending his life, and thus the power had vanished. Many years had passed by, a peace treaty had been signed between the four Kingdoms and there had been no sign of the powers of the Scion returning.
The Whitefeathers had begun to lose hope. As the spark died, a shadow loomed over the land; a great evil seemed to be born from the ashes of the war that plagued the world.
The Elders soon came with a warning; They foretold, that should the Scions power return, calamity would befall the world.
It would affect both to the innocent and the guilty.
All life on Remnant would come to an end, and those left standing would be infected by her poisonous tongue.
As an effort to protect themselves and the innocent, they hid away, cutting off all and any kind of connections with those outside of the family.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough...
-Twelve Years Ago; Somewhere in Anima-
Rain had fallen from the clouds above and thunder roared nearly shaking the ground and trees. Within a small household the sound of pained screams could be heard as loud as the thunder and lighting touched the ground. Within the confines of the cottage that sat near a lake a young woman possession of magenta hair laid in bed underneath a couple of layers of blankets. Every now and than a wet cloth would gently rub against her face as to get rid of the sweat on her brow. The person revealed to be holding the wet cloth was a bearded man with a tan complexion giving her a reassuring look.
"You're doing great." The man said, "It won't be much longer now."
It wasn't long before a young woman having blonde curly locks had sat in front of her,
"We're just about ready." She said, "When I tell you to, you have to push as hard as you can, understand?"
The woman with magenta hair merely nodded her head, unable to utter a word at the moment; thus they had gotten ready.
"1… 2… 3… PUSH!"
The scream she let out had been piercing to most though they couldn't imagine how she had been feeling. She had taken deep breaths before she let out another when she pushed again. She finally uttered but a few words to the man that sat beside her.
"Leo..." She started to say, "My husband… Roman… Where is…!"
"Don't worry yourself Trinity." The bearded man named Leo had said, "We've gotten word to your husband. He'll be here soon."
Many of the Grimm fell dead on the ground, after a Huntsman took it out in a single blow. Many dead Grimm had surrounded the two men who looked like they were both exhausted from the battle. One of them possessed black hair that had been spiked back and his eyes were of red, and the other had orange which had covered his left and it was in the color of green. Both were armed to the teeth as there had been a few Grimm still remaining.
"Take the shortcut you said!" The man with orange hair said as he fired at one of the Grimm that charged, "It would be fine you said!"
"How the hell was I supposed to know there would be a pack of Grimm on the shortcut!?" The man with black hair had said before he blocked an attack. A couple of more charged at the two of them, though they were quick to dodge as they both fired the Grimm in the chest.
"I told my wife I would be there for her when our child was born!" The man with orange hair yelled angrily, "Now she's about to give birth and I'm stuck dealing with these bastards!"
One of the beowolves had grown attracted to the man's anger and went to eat him. Before it could however the man with black hair stabbed it right in the head killing it instantly.
"Don't give me that bull-shit Roman!" The man yelled, "We'll be there in time to see your wife!"
"You had better be right about that Qrow! If you're not I'll kill you!"
"Get in line!"
It had felt like it had been hours as they more and more Grimm came through the storm. Both men were at a loss as to what to do. With every Grimm they taken down the Grimm, more had appeared through the rain and the darkness from within the forest that was nearby. Though it hadn't been long as the thunder roared, before Qrow spotted something in the distance and hatched an idea. He motioned Roman towards the direction of what looked to be stone bridge and he followed post haste; The beowolves were quick to follow after them.
Qrow and Roman picked up the pace as the beowolves drew closer to them. Just as they went under it, both him and Roman quickly fired onto the bridge making it collapse on itself. The beowolves were crushed instantly under the bridges weight. They took this as an opportunity to finally catch their breath having fought for hours. Qrow put his hand on Roman's shoulder, "Come on. Let's get back to the missus."
"... Thought you never asked…" Roman said before they both started to go down the path which had been provided for them.
They both ran as fast as they could despite the rain being hard to see through what lied ahead. It hadn't been long before they had gotten back to a familiar a lone cottage after a mere couple of hours. They approached the door and did their best to get rid of the mud off of their boots. Just as Qrow was about to open the door someone had beat him to it. A familiar man with white hair and cup of coffee was revealed to have opened the door.
"You're both late." The man said allowing them to come inside.
"We wouldn't have been if we didn't encounter a pack of Grimm Oz." Qrow respond as he took off his drenched up rain coat that had been covering his outfit, before he went to look for a towel.
"My wife!" Roman soon exclaimed, not even bothering to follow behind Qrow, "Where is she?!"
"She's in her room Roman." Ozpin replied calmly, "And I have to say-"
Ozpin had been soon cut off when a baby's cry was heard echoing through the hall. Roman froze up at this while Ozpin and Qrow smiled. "Congratulations." Ozpin said placing a hand on Roman's shoulder snapping out of his trance. Leo soon emerged from one of the rooms, carrying with him some towels and a pale of water; the water had been in the color of red.
"Ah Roman!" Leo said, placing the pale of water and towels to the side, "You're back. I must say your timing is impeccable."
"Trinity?" Roman said to Leo, "Is she alright? Are they both okay?"
"Don't worry." Leo reassured him, "Your wife and child are both in perfect health. You can go see them if you like."
Roman looked to the hall where Trinity and his child were. He had been hesitant to move forward but felt a slight push; courtesy of Qrow who had a towel over his head. "Go on." He said, "You've earned it." Roman didn't say anything and just walked towards the room where the source of the crying came from; It seemed to have died down as he gotten closer. Approaching the open door he looked inside and saw Trinity propped up against a set of pillows looking worn out.
He saw in her arms she had been gently bouncing a small bundle that had been wrapped in a set of white and gray blankets. Another woman had sat at her bedside keeping her company; over her green eyes she had on a pair of glasses. It wasn't long before they took notice of Roman who had only a shocked look on his face. Trinity chuckled softly before saying with a tired voice, "... I think someone is speechless."
"No kidding…" The woman with blonde hair said as she chuckled to herself.
Roman had his eyes on the bundle his wife held.
"Is…" He started to say, "... Is that…?"
"It most certainly is." The woman with glasses said as she stood from where she sat.
Roman was unable to say anything, instead he put his hand over his mouth and supported himself against the wall; Tears started to form from his eyes as he could no longer hold them back. "My God…" Roman said, "... I'm actually a dad…"
Trinity smiled warmly at this before the baby started to cry again this time the baby wanted something. Instincts seemed to have taken over Trinity as she pulled down the top of her dress, allowing the child to breastfeed. "I'll leave you two alone." The woman with glasses said before she went to exit the room.
"Miss Goodwitch?" Trinity soon said getting her attention before she could exit the room, "Thank you."
The woman smiled to her as she adjusted her glasses, "Please. Call me Glynda."
With that being said, she exited the room leaving the three of them alone. Trinity soon looked to her husband who still stood there in tears and in shock.
"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to come and say hello?" Roman finally wiped his tears away before he approached them, taking a seat on the side of the bed. As the child filled their belly, he had gotten a better look; The child had the color of magenta like Trinity but he saw a faint color of orange just around a small part of their bangs.
"Wow…" He said amazed, "It's so… Tiny."
"She's a girl." Trinity said, "We have a baby girl."
"Seriously? It's a girl? You're not messing with me right?"
"No. Because you would be able to tell it's a lie."
The little baby coughed a little having a little milk on her chin. After adjusting her dress she wiped the little milk off with her thumb. The baby soon looked up to Roman revealing that her eyes were the same as Roman's in that they were green. Roman waved awkwardly to his daughter and in turn the baby tilted her head a little. With her tiny hand she reached out and grasped his finger letting out a little giggle. "She has your laugh." Roman said as he rubbed his thumb on her tiny hand making her giggle even more, "And your smile."
"Her eyes are just like that of her father's." Trinity said sinking into the pillows.
Roman chuckled a little before he kissed her on the top of her head, "You did such a good job."
Trinity couldn't help but nuzzle into his neck as they looked upon the little one. She let out a yawn as she soon fell asleep in her mother's arms.
"I'm glad she was born safely." Trinity said.
"And I'm glad you're both alright." Roman said, "So… Have you decided on a name yet?"
"I wanted you here to help me decide that."
"Really?"
"Of course, as a new parent you deserve to be here to name our child."
Roman couldn't help but smile at this. So thoughtful he couldn't help but think. "Than what shall we name our little girl?" He asked.
"I…" Trinity started to say before cutting herself off with a yawn, "I want her name to unique… I want it to mean something, for us and for everyone else."
"To mean something, huh?" Roman said.
Roman had started to go through the list of names he had in his head, though he had to admit he couldn't think of many for a girl. Mostly he had thought up of names for if it had been a boy; Honestly he had hoped to name their child Roman Jr. Though it had been anything but unique. They both heaved a sigh when nothing came to mind.
"Coming up with a name is harder than it looks…" Roman couldn't help but say with a deadpan expression.
Trinity let a sigh before she had said, "I suppose we can't rush these things, but… I wish we had decided sooner."
Roman soon took his wife in his arms as if to comfort her. He soon said to her, "Whatever her name will be, one thing's for sure… Our daughter… She'll always remind us of how we gotten together… Of how we fell in love. Now that she's here in our lives will be different. Who knows…? She might become something great someday."
Trinity couldn't help but giggle a little as she looked down at the sleeping child. It hadn't been long before an idea had come to her.
"Roman?" Trinity said.
"Hm?" He replied looking to her.
"I know what our child's name should be now. A name meaning fate, a name that defines ties." She told him, "Destiny."
His eyes looked to her in awe, before he smiled again; he brushed a finger on his daughters chubby little cheeks making her move a little. "Destiny." He repeated before saying, "That name sounds perfect."
Trinity noticed her squirm a little and was about to cry; she hugged her gently and gave her a kiss on the head.
"Our little Destiny."
-Present; Mistral-
Sometime had passed since teams RNJR, CRMS along with former criminals Roman and Neo and the Huntsman Qrow had arrived to Mistral, though none could still believe that they were actually here. Traveling for months, going through one hardship after another and they were finally here. The first step for them had been done and over with and they felt like they were getting closer to their goal. Though they had gotten another surprise in the form of a simple doll. Little Destiny had found their way too them. They didn't know how it had been possible but she found them on her own.
It had brought relief into their hearts seeing that she was perfectly fine. They still thought it had been a dream, even after Ruby told the others how she, Cristal and Roman had found her. Despite their confusion they were just happy to see her just as she was. They were able to catch her up to speed on what has been happening since she disappeared including the existence of the Relics to which Destiny had been surprised that such things actually existed in their world.
Currently the whole group minus Melody, who had still been in the hospital at the moment were walking through the tunnels of the city, with Destiny perched on her father's shoulder. The halls were dimly lit with a set of lanterns but they still found their way through alright, were it not for Qrow leading them.
"The City of Mistral…" Qrow said, with his hands in his pockets.
"Well it's about time!" Nora said as she slouched forward a little, "Who's idea was it to walk again?"
"All of our ideas genius." Rosario said, "You even agreed to it."
"That doesn't mean anything!" Nora said with a pout.
"Well, in most of our defense…" Ren said, "We did face many obstacles. Broken airships, destroyed settlements…"
"Not to mention all the monsters and people that tried to quote on quote murder us." Jaune added.
"That and and Melody's surprise and the Grimm we encountered." Scout soon said with a smile, "Not including Cristal and Senka of course."
"Did you guys really have a hard time getting here?" Destiny asked as she leaned forward a little.
"Don't worry Dessie, we were just fine." Ruby reassured her with a smile, "Only a few of us almost died." As Ruby said this, she eyed Roman, Cristal and Qrow in particular and though they have her a look they couldn't help but smile. "Hey." Qrow said with his usual smirk.
"Watch it Miss. Rose." Cristal said nudging her playfully.
"I think you're remembering that wrong Red." Roman said, "I technically didn't almost die."
"You technically did~" Neo said in a singsong fashion as she twirled her umbrella.
"Not helping Neo!" He couldn't help but exclaim, as Destiny laughed a little at the way he acted.
"Hey Mr. Bran-" Destiny started to say before cutting herself off, "I mean Qrow, how much farther is it to Haven Academy?"
"We're almost there kid." Qrow replied, "I thought I'd take you guys on the scenic route."
Many of them wondered what he meant exactly as they approached a pair of doors made of wood. Qrow opened the doors swiftly, and they were greeted with light at first before they had seen the view. Ruby, Cristal and Destiny seemed to be more entranced by the view however. After Ruby let Destiny climb onto her shoulder, she along with Cristal ran ahead until they reached the railing that the platform provided.
The city before them was beautiful. There were buildings as far as the eye could see. Most of the buildings were stacked on top of mountains and cliffs not to mention the trees complimented the scenery as well as the waterfall with the crystal clear water.
"This… Is… AWESOME!" Ruby, Cristal and Destiny yelled in unison.
The rest of the group soon joined them and they were in awe by the view just as much as they were.
"This is… Wow…" Rosario said as she was speechless.
"It's the most beautiful things I've ever seen." Scout said before her ears were droopy, "It's a shame Melody couldn't join us."
"You won't have to worry about that." Qrow reassured her, "I think she's due for some quality time with her old man."
"This place though…" Roman said looking around the scene and surveying the people just below them, "... Compared to Vale it really is something."
"I'll say." Neo added, before taking a couple of pictures with her scroll, "And the views aren't half bad either."
Destiny let out a gasp when she saw a certain vendor down below. She started to tug on Ruby's hood and waved her hand as to get Cristal's attention before she had said excitedly, "Cristal! Ruby! Look down there!" She pointed to the direction of the vendor and their eyes followed. Needless to say they were taken back by the what the man had been selling.
"Now those are weapons!" Cristal said.
"They look so cool!" Ruby added as her eyes sparkled.
"The vendors around these parts will sell you just about anything." Qrow explained as if he had been a tour guide, "Whether they should or not."
"They really made the most out of these mountains." Jaune had commented.
"Every inch." Qrow said, "But stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets."
"And we're going up!" Nora said with a smile.
Just as this was said, the platform they were on started to move upward, in the direction where Haven Academy had been.
-Somewhere Outside Mistral; Lake Matsu-
Weiss, her sisters and her new friend Azure had been traveling together as stowaways for the past week, and already they had gotten used to the small space which the ship had provided; As a matter of fact it had been easy for them. The ship had mostly been quiet minus Van and Nilla's giggles, and how they played with one another thanks to their semblance. The ship had been over an enormous lake and they had decided to have some breakfast with the pilot who they were grateful for to have him bring them this far. They had already set up a picnic blanket set up as they ate what looked to be some muffins that had been a special container while drinking some milk from a thermos that Van had carried in her bag.
Azure had sat on the chair that had been provided on the top deck while Weiss ate with her two sisters. "Mmm! Delicious!" Van said as she at a strawberry muffin, "Still as fresh as when Klien made them!"
"This makes me wonder how the food in Mistral will be." Nilla said as her mouth watered at the thought, "Maybe they'll have sweeter treats there!"
"We're going to see our big sister, and all you can think about is sweets?" Weiss said to her sister amused.
"Well it's not my fault that I have such a sweet tooth you know!" Nilla said sticking her tongue out a little.
"Nilla! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Van complained as she hit her on the head.
"Don't hit me! I'll hit you back!" Nilla exclaimed before hitting her back like she said.
Van and Nilla started to argue with one another and Weiss laughed even more at the way they were acting. She really was glad she was able to bring her little sisters with her; she couldn't imagine what the rest of their lives would've been like if they had stayed in Atlas with their father and brother. She took two extra muffins from Van's bag before she stood up. She walked over to Azure before handing one to her.
"Here." Weiss said, making Azure look up to her, "Want a muffin? It might be a little cold, but it's still good."
Azure looked to the muffin in her hand before she gently pushed it away, "No thank you Weiss. You should have it, you need your strength."
"You need your strength too you know." Weiss said, "Who knows if we encounter Grimm before we land, I could use your help in fighting them."
"You would trust me to do such a thing?"
"Well, you helped me when I needed it, so why wouldn't I trust you?"
Azure's eyes softened a little by what Weiss had said to her, and after giving it some thought she took the muffin from Weiss hand and took a bit. Weiss took notice when Azure's eyes seemed to sparkle a little and even her face turn a little red. "It's yummy." Azure said softly, earning a smile from her.
Weiss soon went over to the pilot and offered him a muffin which he gladly took, "Thanks." The Pilot said before he took a bite from it, "In case any of you were wondering we won't be making anymore stops from here to Mistral. Sorry about the long trip. Keeping us off the radar's been harder than I thought. There's a lot of traffic around Northern Anima."
"It's alright." Weiss said, "I just hope we haven't been a burden to you."
"If we have been, we humbly apologize for it." Azure had added before she took another bite from her muffin.
The Pilot merely chuckled, "Nonsense. You and your money are more than welcome on this ship kid."
"Thanks again for flying us over to Mistral mister!" Van said.
"It's not a problem really." The Pilot replied.
Just than the ship's computer began to make what sounded to be like static which had gotten all of their attention. "What the-?" The Pilot said before he started to adjust the slider to help even out the wavelengths.
"Hey mister?" Nilla said as she stood along with Van, "Is everything okay?"
"Not sure." The Pilot replied, "We're still over Lake Matsu. We shouldn't be picking up broadcasts this far from Mistral."
Soon after he managed to even out the wavelengths, a voice came out from the computer which made some of them jump. "Mayday! Mayday!" A woman's voice in distress said, "We are a small passenger flight and our Huntress is down! We aren't equipped to deal with this!"
"An SOS signal?" Azure said as she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh man." The Pilot said.
They had continued to listen to the broadcast and it had gotten worse by the second, "The Grimm hit us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline! "
Weiss and the twins eyes widened slightly when they heard an explosion, though they didn't seem to notice Azure sat their calmly in her seat and ate her muffin.
"Get them off us!" The Mistral Pilot in the transmission said, "If anyone can hear this-Aaahh!"
The transmission came to end leaving Weiss and her sister filled with worry about the Mistral Pilot. The Pilot turned off his transceiver before he turned the ship slightly making most of them jump at the sudden turn. "Hang on." Weiss said adjusting herself, "We're going to go help them right?"
"What?" The Pilot said, "No, I'm trying to avoid them."
"But you can't do that!" Van said, "They're living lives on that ship!"
"Not to mention there's a Huntress on board whose hurt!" Nilla added.
Weiss placed a hand on the Pilot's shoulder before she had said, "Please. They'll die if we don't do something."
"You must have some sort of a death wish if that's what your considering." Azure said, making Weiss turn to her with a shocked look, "You may have your training as a Huntress, as do I, but think about it... This ship doesn't have any weapons on board. It's a cargo ship. We would be dead within seconds since it can't put up a fight."
"Azure…" Weiss said.
"Listen to your friend kid." The Pilot added, "Besides… If we picked up the transmission I'm sure someone else did too." He looked to her before saying, "Sorry, my ship, my rules."
Weiss let out a sigh as allowed the pilot to go through his path. Van and Nilla took both of her hands before Weiss herself gave them both a hug. She than gave a look over in Azure's direction as she continued to eat the muffin she had been given earlier.
-Haven Academy-
The two teams now stood before Haven Academy, taking every moment to appreciate the scenery and architect as they had walked into its courtyard. Ruby stopped in her tracks as she took a look at the building that laid right in front of them; she couldn't help but think back to their journey on getting their and all the hardships they went through and the lives they could've lost along the way. As this thought came to her head, Ruby felt her eyes water up; Destiny who still sat on her shoulder seemed to have taken notice of this as she put her wooden hand on her cheek. Ruby looked to her and gave her a reassuring smile, before wiping away her tear.
"Look Dessie…" She said turning her attention towards the building, "... We made it."
"Yeah." Destiny said with a smile of her own, "I'm glad you did."
"We all did Princess." Cristal said, walking beside Ruby and giving Destiny an affectionate pat with her finger, "Now you just gonna stand there and cry or are we gonna head inside?"
Ruby gave a pout as Cristal walked ahead, while Destiny couldn't help but giggle. "I wasn't about to cry!" Ruby said as she caught up with her.
"Of course you weren't." Cristal said with a hint of sarcasm, which Ruby couldn't help but groan at; the group caught up with their two leaders, while Roman, Neo and Qrow lagged behind the group, as they all had a look on their faces.
"Roman…" Neo said as she looked around the area.
"I know…" Roman said, looking around as well, "... It's too quiet around here. It's not the quiet I enjoy…"
"Yeah…" Qrow said, before the three of them caught up with the rest of the group.
They had gotten inside Haven Academy, as they found themselves walking down the halls. Though they were all surprised when they saw that no one had been around; they all couldn't help but find it a bit odd.
"Excuse me?" Scout said, "Is anyone here? We're here to see Headmaster Lionheart!"
They had gotten no answer from anyone, which they still couldn't help but find odd.
"Hello?!" Ruby called out, "HELLO!?"
They still didn't an answer; the closest thing they had gotten was silence.
"That didn't work." Nora said.
"Maybe she could try a bit louder?" Rosario said with sarcasm.
"That could work!" Nora said with a smile. Rosario couldn't help but drop her jaw before saying, "Nora… I was kidding."
"This is supposed to be a school, so shouldn't there people here?" Destiny asked the group.
"Destiny does have a point." Ren had added, "There doesn't seem to be anyone here."
"Well…" Jaune said to the group, "I guess school isn't really in session by now. Maybe that's it."
"Either that or they're people waiting to jump out and scare us." Cristal suggested jokingly.
"No." Qrow said, "This isn't right. Come on!" Before anyone knew it, Qrow dashed straight down the hall, with Roman and Neo following behind him. "Dad?!" Destiny called out.
"Hey Neo! Qrow!" Cristal yelled.
"Wait for us!" Ruby said soon after.
Thus everyone else ran after them; they followed them until they had gotten to an office that they assumed had belonged to the Headmaster. Qrow armed his weapon and the others followed; Destiny gripped onto Ruby's hood so she wouldn't fall.
"Get ready!" Qrow said to them, "There could be trouble!"
The group nodded as they were ready to fight, whoever came through the door. Qrow soon kicked down the door, taking a man with a beard by surprise. He threw his hands in the air as he let out a scream, mostly out of fright, and the group screamed excluding Roman and Neo though it was mostly out of shock.
Qrow who was still on one foot lost his balance and fell into Roman making them fall to the floor, and the bearded man fainted suddenly, leaving the group dumbfounded.
"... What just happened?" Rosario couldn't help ask.
"I don't know…" Cristal replied awkwardly.
"I have no clue myself…" Scout added.
"Ummm… Are you Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked.
The man, named Lionheart sat up with a gasp, before looking to the Huntsman on the floor. "Qrow!" He yelled, "For crying out loud! You nearly scared me to death!" Qrow stood up as he couldn't help but growl; Neo went to help Roman up off the floor. "Me?!" Qrow yelled, "Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?!"
Lionheart had a confused look before he looked to a watch he had on his coat pocket, looking at the time. "Oh, right." Lionheart said, "Apologises. I guess time slipped away from me."
"You're kidding me?" Qrow said with a raised eyebrow. The group put away their weapons, seeing as how there wasn't any threat to worry about.
"Well Leo…" Roman said as he brushed himself off, "... After all these years, you haven't changed huh?"
Lionheart stood up from the floor as he was surprised to see him standing there. "Roman Torchwick?" Lionheart said shocked, "I haven't seen you since the birth of your child… Last I heard you were in Vale. This is indeed a surprise. I didn't think you would make it through the chaos."
"A lot of people assume many things about me." Roman said, "And yet here I am alive and well."
Lionheart soon looked to the rest that stood behind both him and Qrow. "Ah, you must be the students that Qrow mentioned." He soon turned over to Neo, "And if I'm not mistaken you're Roman's companion yes?"
"You assume correctly." Neo said before introducing herself, "I'm Neapolitan. Neo for short."
"And we are the students, my uncle spoke of!" Ruby said as she saluted, "I'm Ruby Rose!"
"Jaune Arc." Jaune said as he bowed a little.
"Nora Valkyrie!" Nora said as she couldn't help but pose.
"Lie Ren." Ren said putting his hands behind his back.
It hadn't been long before the three members of CRMS introduced themselves.
"I'm the leader of team CRMS. Cristal sir." Cristal said.
"Rosario Black." Rosario said as she saluted as well.
"And I'm Scout Lapis." Scout said as she gave a smile, "There was also Melody Branwen, but I'm afraid she's still in the hospital and won't be joining us today."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all nonetheless. Leonardo Lionheart at your service." Lionheart said, before he looked around as if he had been expecting someone else, "Now if I'm not mistaken, Qrow also mentioned, that you have Roman's child as well. If it's alright with you, may I see her?"
"Oh, of course." Ruby said before turning to Destiny who had still been hiding underneath some of Ruby's cape. Destiny peeked out her hiding spot, and she looked to Lionheart nervously, while Lionheart himself had an astonished look on his face. "Come on Dessie." Ruby said gently, "He wants to say hi."
"Um…" Destiny said nervously, as she went to hide again.
"It's okay sweetie." Roman reassured her, "He's a friend, you can trust him."
Destiny looked to her dad before nodding a little. She got out of her hiding place completely and went onto Ruby's hand. Ruby soon held Destiny out to Lionheart as he looked, in awe by this development. "You were right Qrow, this is indeed extraordinary." Lionheart said, before he held out his hand to the child as to allow her to climb on. Destiny was hesitant but did so as she was curious.
"It's so nice to see you again after all these years. Why the last time I saw you, you were still a baby." Lionheart said as he bought her to him, "Despite the way you are, I'm glad to see that you're alright and well."
"Th-Thank you sir." Destiny couldn't help but say nervously.
"I don't mean to cut this touching moment short but…" Cristal said, "... You mind telling us where everyone is? I hate to be that girl, but I'm sensing a creepy vibe in here."
"Oh that." Lionheart said, "Well, I'm afraid my staff is currently away until classes resume and-"
"WHAT!?" Qrow exclaimed mostly out of anger after hearing this, "Leo you can't be serious! If none of your staff are here than who's guarding the Relic?"
Lionheart hasped at this looking to Destiny, and the two teams as well as Roman and Neo. "Qrow! The others! The children!" Lionheart said.
"They already know, I filled them in." He explained, "What the hell do you mean by your staff is away?"
The headmaster's eyes widened in complete and utter shock as he let the information sink in his head. "You FILLED them in?" Everyone couldn't help but stand there awkwardly at the situation right now; It hadn't been long before Nora leaned over to Ruby, "So… Is this going not like anyone thought it would?" Nora asked them.
It hadn't been long before Lionheart had taken them into their office. There they had told them they told him of their journey to coming to the city, most of the hardships they had to endure. Though of course they didn't tell them what had happened to Melody in Kuroyuri, about how she turned into a creature that wasn't even a Grimm. They wanted it to be kept that way, the less people know the better is what Qrow had told them.
Lionheart had sat at his desk trying to contemplate the information that they had told him; especially at the fact that he had told them about the Relics. Most of them sat on the chairs that had been provided, while a couple of them stood. Destiny had sat on the headmaster's desk along with Lionheart who sat in his chair still trying to keep it all together.
"I have to say Qrow…" Lionheart said, "... This is all reckless, even for someone like you."
"No!" Qrow said, "Reckless is leaving the Relic completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!"
"I know I stopped talking to Ozpin after what happened to Trinity but even I find that to be pretty low, even for someone like you." Roman said.
"There was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon!" Lionheart argued, "But since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!"
"What does that mean?" Destiny asked as she turned to him.
"It means child… Beacon wasn't the only one to suffer that night." The Headmaster explained, he soon turned to the rest of the group, and at one point, Cristal and even Roman went to comfort Ruby at the mentioning of a certain someone, "Everyone was watching. Every house, in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces, saw monsters crawling all over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking and then…" Lionheart soon had a solemn look on his face, "...Nothing. 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." Lionheart soon walked towards the window still having the solemn look in his eye.
Lionheart had continued, "Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world you know, and it makes infiltraly harder to protect. We lost so many Huntsmen… Teachers from this very institution… And it only gets worse."
Everyone looked at one another as they couldn't help but think what he was saying at that point. "What do you mean by worse?" Scout asked as she tilted her head a little.
Lionheart leaned against the windowsill before he replied, "We may have dealt with Grimm in the past, but the Mistral council is still at odds with the representatives from Atlas. First it was the Dust embargo, and now they're closing its borders." He turned to look over at Qrow, "I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale but it only seemed to have worsened more of his, unfortunate tendencies. Not to mention, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."
"All the more reason we need the Huntsman here!" Qrow yelled as anger was heard in his voice as he stomped over to Lionheart.
"Wait stop!" Destiny called out as she stood up from the desk, "We're not going to get anywhere if we just argue."
"The little Princess has a point." Cristal said as she stepped forward, "The more we argue the more we give time for Salem to find the Spring Maiden, and get her hands on the Relic. Not to mention, she'll find out about Destiny's new trick and God knows what she'll do if that were the case."
Lionheart looked to Cristal as he couldn't help but look surprised at this, though it went unnoticed by the group as Ruby soon stepped forward, "Look… Things are bad! I get it, they're bad. But… We can figure this out." She soon turned to the headmaster, "... Now… Why is the Spring Maiden so important?"
"I thought you filled them in." Lionheart said as he gave him a questioning look.
"Mostly-Filled in." Qrow replied, before taking out his flask and taking a sip, "There was a lot to cover okay? I quit teaching for a reason."
"Care to explain to us, what exactly is so special of the Spring Maidens?" Roman asked, "I've been getting the feeling there's more to it than them possessing magic. And judging from your looks, it looks like I'm right to assume that much."
Lionheart sat down as he let out a sigh; he placed his hand on his head before replying, "... The Four Maidens, as you know… Have the power to perform feats of magic. And they… Are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics." The whole group looked at one another equally shocked to hear this newfound information.
"What?" Jaune spoke up.
"So… What, you trying to tell us that they're key's with flesh?" Rosario asked.
"If you want to think of it like that than yes." Cristal said, making the group turn to her. She soon started to explain, "Every door needs its key to open it. The Maidens are no exception. Each of the Vaults hidden in the school can be opened by one Maiden in particular. There's Winter for the Relic of Creation, Spring for the Relic of Knowledge, Summer for the Relic of Destruction, and Fall for the Relic of Choice. Though from what I can see here, the Spring Maiden is the problem."
The group were a bit surprised to hear this kind of thing, and they all turn to Lionheart as if to confirm it with him if everything she had said had been correct. It hadn't been long before he cleared his throat, "She is right, but… if you don't mind me asking… Cristal was it? How do you know something like that? I was under the impression that the information was a need to know bases."
Cristal looked over to him, but stayed silent as she turned her head away from his gaze.
Qrow soon answered for him, as Ruby noticed he had a solemn look on his face when he replied, "... She's a Shadow Leo."
Lionheart's eyes widened slightly before his expression looked said, "Oh…" He said, with sadness in his voice, which Ruby picked up as well, "... I see."
"We encountered a couple of her sisters as well." Qrow had soon explained, "... And… One of them, is a Rogue Maiden."
"Are you certain?" Lionheart asked surprised to hear this.
Qrow simply nodded his head in reply, "The only problem is that she's working with Salem. Getting her is our top priority, as well as getting the Spring Maiden."
"... If it's alright to ask…" Ren said, "... What happened to the Spring Maiden?"
"Did something bad happen to her?" Destiny asked worried.
"Was she kidnapped or did she go missing?" Scout asked.
Lionheart began to explain once more after giving a single glance over to Qrow, "She was determined at first when she inherited her powers, but the weight and responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She… Ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago I'm afraid. There's no telling where she could be now."
"In other words you have no idea where she is." Roman concluded and sounding a bit annoyed, "Well that's just great."
"That's not entirely true." Qrow said earning a look from him, "I know where she is. Or at least, I have a pretty good idea on where she could be."
Lionheart's eyes brightened at this as he stood up, walking over to the Huntsman, placing his hands on his shoulders, "What in the world are you talking about!? This is incredible news! After all these years, where?!"
Qrow shook him off before he responded, "I did some digging around. Looks like after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits… The Branwen Tribe-To be exact."
Ruby eyes widened as she let out a gasp, and even Destiny was surprised to hear this as she placed her hands over her mouth; Roman eyes widened slightly at this as well at the mentioning of the name. "Wait a minute…" Jaune said, "You mean Yang's mom?"
"And, Melody's Aunt?" Rosario said as her eyes were widened as well.
"Fraid so." The Huntsman replied.
"Than, you must have an idea on where she could be, right?" Neo asked Qrow.
This time Qrow didn't respond; He instead walked over to Lionhearts desk and placed his scroll on the table and a map appeared for everyone to view. He soon zoomed in on a certain section of the map before saying, "That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier."
"Well Qrow…" Lionheart said looking over at the map, "I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force within a few weeks."
"A few weeks!?" Qrow exclaimed, "Are you kidding me!?"
Roman watched as Lionheart went to the keypad that appeared when Qrow put up the map. He had given a look of suspicion when he caught the word "copy" on the keypad before he disconnected. "No I'm not." Lionheart replied.
"Maybe you didn't hear me!" Qrow soon yelled, "My sister has the Spring Maiden and I know where she is! We need to go as soon as possible!" In a fit of rage, he knocked the books off the desk, scaring Destiny as she moved back, falling off the table in the process; thankfully Ruby had been fast enough to catch her after she activated her semblance. "Sorry about that kid." He said as he took notice of this.
"That's okay." Destiny said as she gave a reassured smile, "Dad sometimes has his bad days too, so it's understandable."
"Perhaps you didn't hear me!" Lionheart soon said with anger in his voice , "The Kingdom is in shambles. As soon as possible doesn't mean tomorrow. It means as soon as I can convince the council that I need the Huntsmen more than they do! Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't high on their priorities list right now!"
"Please, like they would be of much help anyway." Roman said, "We'll do this whole thing by ourselves. You're both trained Huntsmen, Neo and I can put up a fight, and not to mention them-" He pointed over to teams RNJR and CRMS, "-I've seen them do things that no other Huntsman and Huntress are capable of doing. I should know, I've fought with them before, and they're more than capable of handling themselves."
"YEAH!" Nora shouted excitedly as she jumped from her seat.
"Now hold on a minute!" Scout said, "Hasn't there been enough violence already?"
"I agree, maybe there's a more peaceful way to approach this?" Ren suggested.
Qrow ignored the young teens as he said to Lionheart, "We need to get the Spring Maiden and Destiny as far away from here as possible, and get the Rogue Maiden when she appears again! But you know as well as I do that Raven or Salem aren't going to give up their prized possessions so easily."
"Unfortunately you and your sister are evenly matched, and I'm not the fighter that I used to be." Lionheart said, "And as for the Rogue Maiden… It won't be easy to tell when she'll appear next, and Salem might've taught her how to control her powers by now. Not to mention that these children and I can't take on an entire Bandit Tribe and a Maiden who no doubt has had years to hone her skills! We need to be certain we can apprehend Spring and the Rogue Maiden because if we fail, not only will Raven's tribe scatter but everything will be lost and Salem will have found out about Destiny's predicament and no doubt come to take back her soul. We get ONE shot at this. And it needs to be perfect."
The whole group stayed silent to this, and they looked to Qrow as if they were expecting an answer out of him, but he couldn't help but find Lionheart's logic making sense. Cristal soon spoke up again, "You know… Knowing Professor Ozpin, I'm sure he would be very disappointed to hear this kind of thing from you."
"Perhaps your right Cristal." The Headmaster said, "But unfortunately he's not, I'm doing everything I can."
"There has to be something we can do." Ruby said.
"I say we start with my ex-boss Cinder." Roman suggested, "From what I heard from a source of mine, she came from here along with Mercury and his little street rat friend. You must have some kind of information on them don't you Leo?"
"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon." Lionheart replied, "Nothing but lies and forgeries."
Roman clicked his tongue at this while Jaune clenched his fist; Rosario turned her head to the side at the thought of the certain name Roman had mentioned.
"Well…" Destiny said before she asked, "... What about my body? Do you at least have an idea on where it could be?"
"Oh, child I wish I did know so I could tell you." Lionheart said to Destiny, "... But I'm afraid I'm just as clueless as you are."
"Oh…" The child said as she gave a sad look on her face. Ruby nudged her with her finger as to comfort her, and Destiny in turn couldn't help but give a small smile.
"Well than…" Qrow said, "I can't say that this has been a very welcoming reunion."
Lionheart had said, "I'm very sorry, I know you all traveled a long way. But believe me when I say, that I will do everything I can to help."
"Of course you will." Roman said as he rolled his eyes.
"Roman, really?" Neo said as she gave him a look.
"In the meantime we'll stay in the city." Qrow said, "Local comms are still up. We'll keep in touch. Let's go guys." With that the group turned to leave the office, but not before Ruby stopped and turned to Lionheart and allowed Destiny to hop on her shoulder. "It was nice meeting you Professor."
"I enjoyed talking to you." Destiny said with a smile.
"Likewise." Lionheart said with a smile.
"Red!" Roman called out, "You coming with my daughter?"
"Yeah!" Ruby yelled back, "Hold your horses orange head!"
Destiny giggled as Ruby walked out of the office, shutting the door behind her. As soon as he left Lionheart had a stressed look on his face as he hung his head. Suddenly out of the corner of the room a person appeared out of the darkness, in the form of a girl with magenta hair and a brown eyepatch.
It was the other Shadow, the one known as Sinn.
"Seriously Professor?" Sinn said unamused, "You call that call that acting? I swear I'm in ameataur hour right now."
A letter W appeared just on his desk, and came a voice he had been all too familiar with. It had been the man known as Arthur Watts.
"Oh Leo." Watts said, "We have got to work on your improvisation."
-Kuro Kuana, Menagerie-
Seizing their culprits proved to be more of a challenge than the Belladonna family had thought. Not only did two members of the White Fang managed to slip away from them, but earlier that night they went to see Corsac and Fennec about the scroll they had gotten from Illia a couple of weeks ago, and let's just say they were less than happy with what they had to say about it.
The double doors swung open and in came Ghira, his son Kobi and Sun Wukong. They stomped in aggressively as they were mad about what had occured.
"UNBELIEVABLE!" Ghira yelled.
"ABSOLUTE BS!" Kobi exclaimed.
"TOTAL GARBAGE!" Sun shouted.
"WE CAN'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS!" The three yelled when they turned to one another.
Kali who stood out at the front porch couldn't help but smile as she said which had gotten their attention, "Well, at least the three of you can finally agree on something." They looked back to Sun who started laugh nervously as he rubbed the back of his head; Ghira gave Sun a glare while Kobi couldn't help but hiss a little as his pupils became silted. Blake soon came into view as she reassured them, "Guys. Everything's going to be okay."
A little time had passed in the household, and both Blake and Kobi decided to get some fresh air. They stepped off into the balcony finding one of the guards posted at their home.
"Good evening." She said to them kindly, "Can I get you anything?"
"Not at the moment thanks." Kobi replied.
"Just some time to ourselves if that's alright?" Blake soon added.
"Sure thing." She said, "Just give a shout if you need anything."
With that being said she left the balcony to give them privacy like they wanted. They both stood in silence as they looked to the view; they enjoyed the sounds of the ocean in the distance and the gentle breeze. It wasn't long until-
"You need better security."
Both siblings jumped at the voice, but both stood their ground as they knew who it had belonged to. It had been Illia who had jumped out of the darkness and onto the railing. "Wait!" Illia quickly said when she saw Blake reach for the door, "I just need to talk."
"How do we know that you're friends going to kill us right now?" Kobi asked.
"Trust me I came here alone." Illia replied, "I'm not looking to start a fight."
Blake and Kobi looked to one another before they turned back to Illia. After but a brief moment Blake had retracted her hand.
"Illia…" She started to say, "... How could you take the fall for them like that?"
Illia stood, she turned away avoiding her gaze. "We confronted Corsac and Fennec tonight and you know what they had to say about it?" Kobi said as he approached her, "They said that they didn't know anything about what had been on your scroll and that they're disappointed to hear that you sided with Adam. Illia looked to Kobi and only him as his pupils were now thin. "You know the truth Illia." He said, "You know that they're lying. They're both guilty."
"You can't prove anything." Illia had stated, "None of you can."
"Maybe." Blake said, "It might not be enough to lock them up, but it's enough to sway the Fanus here. When we go public tomorrow they're not going to stand for it. And neither should you."
Once more Illia stayed silent to this as she turned away from them. She flinched a little when Kobi took her hand into his own. "Please Illia." Kobi said, "You can help us. It's not too late to change sides you know." Gently, she removed her hand away from his own, before she reached for her mask removing it; her face revealed that her eyes that she had but a solemn look.
"You're plan's not gonna work." She told them as she finally looked to Blake, "... Please… Just leave Menagerie before it's too late."
Kobi gave a shocked look before the ears on his head drooped slightly, giving Illia a sad look. Blake however kept her expression stern.
"You're going to have to make us." Was all Blake told her.
Illia let out a sigh, before she responded with sadness in her voice, "... I know." Right when she was about to take her leave, Kobi took her hand again as he gave her a pleading look. "Don't go back." He begged. Again, she had a solemn look in her eyes; she kneeled down on the railing before she leaned forward, getting closer to Kobi. His ears perked up when he felt her lips on his cheek.
"I'm sorry." She whispered before leaning back.
Placing her mask back on, she dropped from the balcony before disappearing into the night.
-Somewhere In Anima-
Honestly, Yang thought she wasn't going to get anymore surprises. Here she was, traveling with a dragon Fanus by the name of Angel, not expecting anything except the occasional Grimm here and there. And yet she got one hell of a shock anyway!
Not long had passed since they found a girl that changed from a Grimm to a human in a matter of seconds. While someone would find it hard to believe, Yang wasn't the least bit shock, for the most part anyway, considering her company she had seen stranger before she started to travel. Though that didn't mean her jaw dropped at the sight of what happened.
Thankfully after an hour the girl had regained concious and was now drinking and eating whatever necessities that they were able to bring with them. She sat against a tree with a blanket covering her bottom half, as she drank out of a thermos while occasionally gnawing on a couple of sandwiches; Yang and Angel themselves sat there awkwardly as they watched her get her nourishments.
"This is, really happening right Yang?" Angel asked, "I'm not dreaming this up am I?"
"No." Yang replied, "You're not dreaming."
Angel merely nodded his head before they had both been startled when the girl let out an enormous burp, before letting out a relieved sigh as she patted her stomach. "Bones thanks kind strangers." She said with a smile, "Bones would be dead if had not been for kind strangers." Yang and Angel exchanged their gazes at each other before they turned back to the young girl.
"It's uh…" Angel started to say awkwardly, "... No problem…?"
"Who are you?" Yang soon asked, "Is Bones your name?"
She nodded as she pointed to herself, "Bones is Bones. Bones is she."
"Well there's that answer." Angel said still with an awkward look.
"What happened to yo? Are you alone out here?" Yang asked again.
"And how were you able to change into a Grimm like that?" The Dragon Fanus soon added.
This time, the girl named Bones didn't answer; instead she looked over Yang's direction having a curious look in her eye. In turn Yang tilted her head slightly to her. "What is it?" She asked.
"Gold One…" Bones started to say, "... Gold One looks like Birdie. Gold One reminds Bones of Birdie."
Birdie they both thought in unison. To many Birdie had sounded out of term, but to Yang and Angel at least they had a pretty good idea on what or rather who she meant. "Do you know her?" Yang asked with a serious look on her face.
"Bones knows her." Bones replied, "Has not seen her. Long time since Birdie and Bones spoke."
"How do you know her than?"
"Bones used to do chores for Birdie. Involved a lot of mess. Bones had friend. She's the one that made Bones Bones."
"Made you?" Angel said with a raised eyebrow.
Yang looked confused a little at this as well. Bones nodded at Angel as she soon picked a stick as she started to draw on the ground with it. She explained as she did this, "Bones came from a flower. Flower from essence of Grimm. Friend pick up flower, gave a little Aura, Bones take. Treasured things, Bones take. Lead her to Abyss, where Grimm are born. Friend give red liquid. Made Bones, Bones."
Both Yang and Angel looked at the drawings in the dirt and thought about what she said. It hadn't been long before Yang drew her own conclusion, "... Are you saying that… You're a Grimm?"
Bones had replied, "Bones is Grimm, yet Bones is not. Bones in between. Bones a Shadow."
Angel was interested with what she had to say, and soon asked another question, "Are there more like you?"
"Bones doesn't know." She replied, "Terrible thing happened. Home gone. Long time since Bones see sisters and brothers."
"What about your friend?" Yang soon asked, "What happened to her?"
They soon saw that Bones had a sad look in her eyes. It hadn't been long before she had responded, "Terrible thing had happened to friend. Gone now. Long time."
At that point, Yang and Angel drew their own conclusion as to what became of her friend. Yang gave her a pat on the shoulder when Bones looked like she was on the verge of crying. Angel soon spoke up, "Does… That mean your all alone out here?"
Bones picked up her head and smiled, before she shook it in reply. "Bones used to be alone." She said, "But… She has found new friends. Bones travels with new friends to find Birdie's brother."
"Birdie's brother?" Angel couldn't help but say with a raised eyebrow.
"I think she means my Uncle Qrow." Yang clarified for him.
Bones eyes brightened at this. "Yes! Yes!" She said gleefully, "Birdie's brother! Friends and I help him to fight the Witch, to protect treasures and to give gift!" Both teens were just confused and didn't know what to say or comment on what she had just told them. Her words, didn't make the lick of sense, as they had wondered how her words would translate for them; Yang especially had a hard time understanding what she was telling them. Witches were only kind of things a child would hear in a fairytale. Treasure, that could mean just about anything, money, a person, anything really. As for gift, well in the same sense it could mean anything as well.
Honestly, Yang didn't know if she should trust her or not and what she claims. On top of half of her words making no sense, half the time she didn't know whether to trust her or not. She didn't know who her friends could be, whether they could be friend or foe, or if Bones would was just putting up an act, or if she was just a girl who had gotten separated from her friends.
Before she could ask however, they jumped at the sound of a branch snapping. Almost immediately Yang and Angel gotten in their stance to prepare for whatever came out of the bushes. "No wait!" Bones exclaimed, as she quickly got in between them which befuddled them, "No attack!"
A total of three people stepped out of the bushes, one of them looked to be a child wearing a cloak, who had been leading a young teen; a black butterfly was seen on the child's shoulder. Leading them was a tall woman wearing a dark red halter top, with a crimson red long sleeved jacket and a pair of dark gray camo pants with black combat boots. Her hair was cut short, in the shade of brown and black, and she wore a familiar steampunk style gas mask with black ammo belts across her chest, going around her back, and around her waist. She also had on a pair of gloves with nails as sharp as any sword. Both teens recognized the woman leading them to be-
"Red Death!?" They both exclaimed out of shock.
"Claws!" Bones said still with glee.
The woman, Red Death, looked to Yang in particular; Yang herself couldn't help but shrink a little at her gaze. "Ah…" The Hitman said, with a somewhat raspy voice, "... You were the girl from back than. This is indeed a surprise."
Yang's expression soon change; she gave Red Death a look of anger. "I could say the same for you." Yang said harshly.
"There's no need for that tone." She told her, "I haven't done anything to you, that earns your grudge."
"Yeah?" The golden haired teen replied, "Tell that to my cousin you almost froze to death*."
(*From the Tales of Grimm. Specifically from the short story titled, The Wrong Choice PT3.)
"I was on the job that night. I was merely blending in."
"Blending in!? Don't give me that crap! She could've lost her arm that night, or worse, she could've died!"
"And yet she isn't, now is she?"
"Listen here you little-!"
As Yang's eyes started to flash red, Angel, Bones and the teen that stood behind Red Death intervened as they sensed that things were about to get ugly. "Easy now Yang, deep breaths!" Angel said as an attempt to calm her.
"Don't start." The young teen said to the Hitman, "If you make her angry you could attract Black Sheep, to our location."
Bones soon turned to them, "Sorry about Claws. She say to much sometimes."
Finally, Yang took a deep breath before her eyes changed back to a familiar lilac color, making Angel sigh with relief. "I'm good." Yang reassured the Fanus, "Thanks."
"You must forgive her." The young teen said, as they noticed the way her eyes looked, "She doesn't know how to interact with others." They finally noticed her appearance. She had brown hair that reached up to her shoulders with a small part of her hair, tied into a braid in the shade of purple. She wore a Chinese shirt with a long sleeve that reached up to her elbow on her right, while her left was sleeveless and she had on a brown vambrace. With it she wore dark brown combat pants that stopped just above her ankles showing her light brown buckled ankle boots. Behind her she had a scorpions tail, and her eyes were pale and white.
"You're…" Angel said solemnly and softly, "... You're blind…?"
The young girl chuckled a little, "... It's not all bad." She sniffed the air a little bit, "You're a Fanus? Like me."
"Ye-yes." He said, "Sorry, it's my first time meeting someone like you."
"Mine too." She said, before she turned to Yang's direction, sniffing the air around her, "You're scent's familiar. I remember smelling it before."
Yang gave a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"
She gave a smile before she replied, "We didn't officially meet back than. But I remember, your cousin, helped me get my doll back from the bullies.*"
(*From The Shadow of Grimm, Chapter 11 remember? ^_^)
Yang's widened slightly at this newfound information as she recalled that memory from when they were children. "You were that girl?" Yang asked surprised, "Your name… It's Eliza right?"
The young Fanus named Eliza nodded her head in reply, "As it always has been."
"Yang Xiao Long?" A child's voice said.
Yang looked to the young girl who had been cloaked, and only now just realized that she had been holding onto a bear that was wearing a black suit vest with a white collared shirt, looking ragged and a little dirty. Some if it's stuffing looked to be sticking out from it's head and ear. The child soon repeated, "... Yang Xiao Long? That's your name right?"
Yang and Angel looked at one another, they both knew that not once did she mention her name to Bones, or to anyone standing in front of them. "How… Do you…?" Yang said with her words trailing off slightly.
The child smiled and laughed, "Thank goodness. She hasn't forgotten about you, that's good. It is such a relief."
"The child knows this one?" Red Death asked her.
She looked to her and nodded, "She met this one, and her Guardian at Beacon. This is her Guardian's older sister."
"Guardian?" Yang asked causing their attention to be drawn back to her, "What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?"
"You're younger sister." The child replied, "... Ruby Rose. Of course."
Angel gasped lightly at this while Yang looked alarmed. How did this child know her sisters name. "Who… Are you…?" Yang asked as she kneeled down to the child's level. The child replied, as the black butterfly fluttered onto her hand, "... You don't know me. But I know you, because of her. In fact, I may look like her, but this is the first time we've met."
The child soon reached for her hood and removed it to reveal her face, which took Yang back, a lot, as she fell onto the bed of grass. "Yang?" Angel said, "What is it?"
At first, Yang, couldn't form words of any kind. All she could utter was a single word, nay, not a word, but a name.
"Destiny…?" Was all Yang could say.
The child smiled, as she looked to Yang with pale orange eyes, before she had replied, "...Not exactly."
-Twelve Years Ago-
Merely an hour had passed since their child had been bought into the world, and Trinity had finally fallen asleep, and Roman placed his new daughter in a crib for her to sleep after he had put on the onsie that had been provided by Ozpin's assistant Glynda. He couldn't help but watch his newborn child sleep peacefully, still not being able to believe that he was a father of his own child; if this was a dream he didn't want to wake up from it.
He went over to his wife's bedside for a moment, and after he gave her a kiss on the cheek, he left them alone to rest for the night. Right when he was about to turn to head into the living just down the hall, he nearly jumped when he saw Qrow standing against the wall, while drinking from his flask as usual.
"How's Trinity doing?" He asked after he finished.
Roman shut the door softly before replying, "... She's alright, just tired from all the work."
Qrow chuckled a little at this, before he noticed the look on his face. "You still look nervous." He pointed out.
"Is it really that obvious?" Roman asked him.
"Nah." The Huntsman replied, "I'm just speaking from experience."
"You're a father too?"
"Yup. I have a little girl like you do. A five year old actually. She's a handful, but hey that's how kids are. My wife often tells me she reminds her of me."
Roman couldn't help but chuckle a little at that before had a somewhat nervous look on his face again. He leaned his head back against the wall, having pondered a thought. Qrow red his expression as he drank from his flask. "You're thinking about something else, aren't you?" He asked.
"Yeah…" Roman replied, "... It's about, what Trinity told me."
He looked over to the door as he still had the thought, "I guess I'm just a bit scared as she is, that our child might be… You know. Trinity told me what would happen, if this… This witch she talked about found her, than she send pawns to take her away from us… We may never see her again, if that happens…"
Qrow simply looked to Roman, having a solemn look on his face. Roman finally pushed himself off of the wall as he turned over to the Huntsman. "What does she plan on doing with her anyway? Why does she even need her?"
"I wish I knew…" Qrow said as he took another sip from his flask.
"That's not exactly helpful you know?"
"Well excuse me for being honest."
Qrow soon noticed the look on his face; he saw that he was still filled with concern. Why wouldn't he be concerned about this? This was his child they were talking about after all. When he had been told of this situation, he didn't want to believe the fact that people outside of Ozpin, outside of the Headmasters really knew the existence of Salem and about the Grimm Hybrids otherwise known as Shadows. Even with the voice at the back of his head telling him that it was just one big made up story he still trusted Ozpin with his life. He had his trust a long time ago, so why would he stop now?
Qrow let out a sigh before he had said to the new father, "Listen Roman, I may not know exactly what Salem's planning to do if your daughter is what Trinity thinks she is, but one thing that I do is that you can trust Oz. He'll keep your family safe."
Roman gave the Huntsman a look, not knowing if he should believe him or not.
"No offense to your Headmaster friend, but he's gonna need to convince before I can fully trust him…" Roman stated, "... What kind of proof does he have to show for it?"
"The way I see it, he's proving it to you right now, by keeping your family hidden here." Qrow said, "I know you have a hard time relying on others, but if anything, he'll keep his word. We all will."
Once more Roman merely looked to Qrow, but this time he looked him in the eye as if he had been staring straight into his soul. In his eyes, through his facial expression, Roman saw that he hadn't been lying to him, though doubt still clouded his mind.
Since his father, hell since the people he encountered through most of his life, they had always twisted their words to make it sound like they were telling the truth. In reality when push came to shove their true colors were revealed and in turn saw how disgusting the people were. However in that moment he knew it wasn't about him. Here and now it was about the love of his life and their newborn child. He would do anything to keep them safe, and he truly would.
"Because you have my trust, I'll give Ozpin the benefit of the doubt." Roman started to say, "But if, ANYTHING should happen to them… You'll never see or hear from me again."
Qrow took his words to heart, but couldn't help but smirk at this, "Alright tham." He said, "It's a deal."
-Present; Later that Evening (Mistral)-
Both teams returned to the place they would call home for the moment as they stayed in Mistral. Though their original plan was to stay in a hotel, after Qrow had recovered from his near death experience, he provided them the temporary house that he would used for his missions in Mistral. They had enough space for where they could train, not to mention they had a spectacular view of the mountains from afar. It was nice to live in luxury for once is what they all thought when they first laid their eyes on the place.
Currently most of them were celebrating while Qrow was away drinking. Why were they celebrating you may ask? Why it was because of Melody Wren Branwen. Earlier that day, they picked her from the hospital as the doctor finally discharged her from the hospital. He had told them that as long as she didn't do anything reckless she would fully recover by the end of the month.
To celebrate, they had bought her a new outfit, since the other one was torn to pieces. She now had on a black leather vest along with a dark gray short sleeved hoodie with a dark green tank top; she had on a pair of ripped jeans with a pair of ankle high black boots. She had on a pair of fingerless gloves stopping at just her elbows and had a dark red scarf around her neck, similar to that of what her cousin and father had. She still wore the silver cross around her neck that showed as plain as day, and a set of bandages were seen around head where her wound was. Though it didn't bother the teams or her in the slightest.
"CHEERS!" They were heard yelling before they sipped from their cups filled with soda and pop.
"Ah, now that's satisfying!" Melody said after taking the cup away from her lips, "I know I was there for two weeks, but I was getting sick of what they were serving me in that hospital."
"The food was really that bad?" Rosario asked rhetorically before she said, "And here I thought the upper part of Mistral was supposed to be fancy."
"I know right?" Melody said, "The food was awful, it was like eating cardboard! Roman can even speak for me!"
"I'm sure he would if he was in the same room." Neo said as she was doing her hair.
"Where did he go anyway?" Nora asked as she sweets they had bought earlier that day, "Didn't he say he was going to get something to drink?"
"He's with Ruby, Cristal, and Destiny." Jaune said, "It's understandable as to why he's there."
"It's good for him." Ren said, "Despite the predicament, him and his daughter finally have time together after being apart for so long."
"And here I thought, magic and Grimm Hybrids were hard to believe but a kid being in a body of a doll… I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." Melody said, "You guys can't find an explanation for it?"
The whole group shook her head in reply. "Not even Cristal knows?" Melody added.
"Not even her, which is shocking since she knows a lot more stuff than we do!" Nora said.
"Well, you can't expect her to know everything." Neo told her.
Melody sat back into the couch, placing the soda on the table as she couldn't help but have a certain thought in her head. "If the Relics, and well, that Elise being this Rogue Maiden weren't enough to add our list of problems, Auntie's tribe has the Spring Maiden." She said, "After all this time, after my two years of searching, my dad actually had an idea on where she was hiding. He's gonna get a scolding when he gets back here."
The whole group looked at one another, as they all had the same question in their head. Ren spoke up, "Not to change the subject or anything, but if she left when you and Yang were babies, how did you come to know her?"
Melody soon replied, "... I honestly didn't know about her until a certain incident when Yang and I were kids. After that my dad told me everything about her. The fact that she's his twin, the fact that he was from a bandit tribe, the fact that he was on the same team as my uncle and Ruby's mom, Auntie Summer. And the fact that she was Uncle Tai's first love."
The group stayed silent at this, as Melody had a somewhat sad look on her face before she continued, "... Some family we came from huh? Yang and I are so hell bent on finding her, that we would do anything. Though, I guess Yang had better control over it than I did. I ended up throwing my life away for it to find it and to…"
"... Protect them from the Creature?" Rosario finished for her, "... Is what you were going to say wasn't it?"
This time Melody had nothing to say as she sat back in her seat and turned her head to the ceiling; shutting her eyes for a little bit. All of them couldn't help but sympathise with what was currently going on through Melody's head right now. Ever since she had told them about this Creature made from her own semblance, they could understand her not wanting to tell anyone in the first place. Since that incident when she was a child, everyone on her island looked at her differently, even her own mother.
No one deserves that kind of attention. Not Fanus, not people that look different, not even people like Melody. Would Yang forgive her, if she were to tell her? Would her uncle forgive her if she did tell him? They may never know.
Than again, it was like the famous quote, "You never know, unless you try." All Melody needed was a little push of encouragement. A certain someone wearing a red hood could provide her with that.
Before one of them could say anything, they heard a knock at the front door, which had them all confused. Who could that be at this hour, is what they all thought in unison. Jaune stood up from the couch and went to answer it. Opening the door, they were all surprised to see a young farmer boy, with tan like skin and freckles standing at the door, looking nervous about something.
"Can… I help you?" Jaune asked.
"Um yeah…" He said, "By chance… Is there a Melody Branwen here?"
The group looked to Melody, which caused the young girl to shrug. She stood up from the couch as she approached the young boy.
"I'm her." Melody said, "Is there something the matter?"
"Well…" He started to say.
Just than Qrow came sliding in making everyone jump; Frosty had been on his shoulder trying to keep his balance as he walked funny.
"I FOUND HIM!" He exclaimed in a drunken tone.
"Oh dear God…" Melody said making a face.
"... Yeah, I think your dad, could use some help." The farmer boy added awkwardly.
"I am so sorry you had to put up with him." Melody said to him as she allowed Qrow to put his arm over her shoulders.
"Wow…" Neo said looking to the drunken Huntsman, "And here I thought Roman couldn't hold his liquor."
"Is he okay?" Scout asked awkwardly as she stood from where she sat.
"He's fine, this always happens after he visits the bar." The young Huntress replied.
Qrow hiccuped a little before he said to his daughter slurring his words, "Hey, Wren! I-Hic-I found him! You see that?"
"Yeah, you did." Melody said not quite understanding what he meant, "Time to lay down now. You had one too many to drink for tonight."
With Neo moving from the couch as well as Frosty jumping onto Melody's shoulder now, she allowed her dad to plop onto the couch. He threw his arm over his eyes as he laughed to himself. "I-I found him!" He slurred.
"For the love of-Could someone go get Ruby for me?" Melody asked.
Before anyone could, they heard Ruby come into the room, not sounding happy at all. "WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!?" She yelled as she came into view with Roman, Destiny hanging out on her father's shoulder, and Cristal; along with Senka who was hanging out on top of Cristal's head, "CAN'T A COUPLE OF PEOPLE READ THEIR COMIC BOOKS IN PEACE!?"
Qrow let out a burp, getting their attention, which took Cristal, Roman and Destiny a bit, while Ruby face palmed herself.
"I see that Qrow's back." Roman said.
"Good God he smells terrible." Cristal said covering her nose.
"Uncle Qrow… Be honest, did you get drunk again?" Ruby asked, who had not been amused by the situation.
"Maybe…" He replied, causing Ruby and Melody to roll their eyes.
Destiny soon noticed the guest standing in the room, who seemed to be transfixed on Ruby, causing her expression to brighten. "Oscar!" She exclaimed, "You're here!" This caused the group to look to her with confusion; a couple of times they looked to the young farmer, named Oscar before turning back to Destiny.
"You know him?" Neo asked her.
Destiny nodded her head before she replied, "He's the one that gave me this body, and he helped me get into the city!"
"Seriously?!" Nora exclaimed.
"Wow…" Oscar said getting the attention back to him. He stepped forward, still having his eyes on Ruby, "... You… Have silver eyes."
Ruby looked surprised at this, having hearing that phrase before, though the rest seemed to be confused by this. Ruby stepped forward a little before she finally asked, "... Who… Are you?"
Oscar took a deep breath before he said, "Well like Destiny said, my name is Oscar. Oscar Pine."
"Wait for it…" Qrow had been heard saying.
"But…" He said, "... You might also know me as… Professor Ozpin."
At this point everyone's jaws dropped to the floor looking to Oscar in complete and utter shock, Roman and Cristal especially. Everyone had been silent at this not wanting to be believe what they just heard.
"Okay, that part I did not know." Destiny soon said breaking the silence.
"I DID IT!" Qrow yelled making everyone jump when he fell off the couch passing out.
(Opening Theme: RWBY V5 Opening-The Triumph Performed By Casey Lee Williams)
Hey guys, Tenshi here.
I know, I know, you guys have been waiting for this and I'm very sorry it took so long for me to post the first part. The reason why it did is because one, I wanted to wait for all the episodes to come out so I can take the time to get an idea of what RT was doing or where they were going with it. So now that they're all out I can get the scenarios together.
Second, I was able to successfully get a part time job, while balancing out classes as I'm back in college, though the only downside is that I don't have as I could have liked, and I'm doing the best I can to write up the next chapter, but I am a bit stressed out because of the part-time job I've got.
Third, as you might've seen, I have a new story I'm currently writing with a couple of friends of mine, which is the Hero Academia Fanfic. The updates are slow too, but I'm doing my best to balance them out as best as I can.
Once more I'm very sorry about the long wait for The Blood of Grimm, and for now I am going to put the Tales of Grimm on hold, until the summer hopefully, and hopefully by than their will be a less stressful time for me. Fair warning, the updates will be slow, but I will try to upload the chapters as best as I can.
Thanks so much for reading and being with me for this long. This is Tenshi signing off ^_^.