Chapter 3: Aftermath of the STRQ

When he came to he found himself not in the town square anymore. Instead he was on the outskirts of the village slightly inside the forest. Far enough in to avoid immediate detection from the possible still rampant horde within the village but close enough to the edge to get to a quick escape vehicle if it ever arrived. He then took in the rest of his surroundings once his vision completely settled. They had set up camp inside of a small clearing. A small campfire illuminated the area surrounded by 3 sleeping bags not including the one the boy seemed to be in. He then noticed the two unfamiliar arms wrapped around him on the outside of the sleeping bag.

"GAAHHH!" He nearly jumped clear of the bag and the embrace of the person behind him from his surprise but the bag caught on his ankles causing him to face plant into the ground.

"I think he's up" chuckled a now familiar voice from behind him. Turning his head he noticed the white cloaked figure who had rescued him back in the town square.

"Angel?" The boy asked.

She blushed a furious red at the name and pulled her hood back over her head to try to mask herself. A hearty chuckle then interrupted the boy's attention to his guardian angel and he turned to see the blonde haired man.

"Hey kid only I get to call her that." He had a confident grin on his face that helped ease the boy's nerves as he lounged on one of the sleeping bags. His right arm was wrapped up with bloody bandages and in a sling to prevent him from moving it unnecessarily.

"Augh" came a groan from one of the other sleeping bags. "Can you two at least TRY to not flirt so much on these missions?" The owner of that voice was the grey outfitted man as he emerged from his cloth sanctuary holding a metal flask.

"Qrow, Tai, knock it off. We have somebody else here to look after other than you two trying to show which one of you is more macho." The boy sat up and turned back to the woman who he only knew as his angel as she pulled her hood back down to reveal her face. For the first time he got a good look at her. A young looking face with a sense of maturity to it as well. She had black hair with red tips and gleaming silver eyes.

A grumbled, "No doubt I'd win" came from the blonde haired man and the boy turned to giggle at him. The blonde realizing he had said that loud enough for the boy to hear winced and clamped his mouth shut.

"So where is the other lady?" The boy's question had different effects on the three young adults. The white angel made a hushed 'eep', the silver man groaned, and the blonde man looked completely stunned.

"What did you say?" The blonde asked the boy almost threateningly.

"The other lady, I didn't know she was a lady until I had already thrown my fireball at her. All I saw was a red circle and a bone mask walk out of it. I'd like to apologize to her if that's ok?" The boy's reply didn't seem to ease the blonde's tension.

Before anyone else could talk the same red portal opened up on the opposite side of the fire from the blonde and out stepped the woman in question. Mask still on she approached the boy as he quickly rose to his feet. Once she stood in front of him she paused a moment before kneeling down to meet his eye level.

"Do I frighten you?" The voice was more serious and darker than the white angel's voice. Still it had the same motherly tone to it that caused the boy's confidence to rise.

"No."

The mask tilted slightly to its left. "Then care to explain why you tried to barbeque me?"

"I already told the others" the boy quipped back.

"I didn't ask them I asked you" snapped the creepy mask.

"Um… well…" The boy was now nervous because the voice had turned more hostile and turned his gaze down towards the ground. "I-I didn't mean to. My eyes were blurry. All I saw was a dark circle and what looked like a Grimm head appear from it. The two men didn't see it so I thought they were in trouble. So I tried to protect them." The boy raised his eyes to meet the red ones of the mask. After a pause the woman raised her arms to remove the mask. As she lowered the mask the boy was surprised to still be met by red eyes. She had a stern yet beautiful face that was surrounded by a mane of pitch black hair. As she put the mask down she smirked at the boy and ruffled his hair.

"Good answer. I like this kid." She then stood up to address the rest of the group. She was cut off quickly by an enraged blonde though.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" The blonde was on his feet now looking as if he were ready to rush the red eyed woman.

"I am not at liberty to discuss that Tai." The woman spoke calmly as if she knew she was in no real danger. The boy however, cowered behind her looking at the enraged man from behind her. Seeing this the man visibly deflated, sitting back down to try and relax.

"Alright well can you at least…"

"Actually guys I think we need to focus more on the mission right now. Or more importantly this little guy here." The angel interrupted Tai's question to the red eyed lady.

"That's right" the man now known as Qrow chimed in. "A few questions kid. First off, how the hell can you summon fire like that?"

All eyes turned to the boy and he just sighed and brought up his right hand cupped upwards. A small flame burst from his hand and his eyes lit up as he began his quick explanation. "I don't know. All I know is my mom said she had to unlock my aura. She placed her hands on my head and said something. Then I felt really weird, I watched her die, and then I got so mad that I burnt all the Grimm I could see." With that the boy shut his hand into a fist and the flame disappeared.

"Wait…MOM!"

The young boy whirred around looking for the sight of his mother. A hand then grabbed his shoulder. He looked up to see the red eyed woman still with a stern face with her eyes fixed on his. She then looked to her right and nodded to the white angel. She then stood up and motioned behind where she had been sitting. The boy lingered for a bit not wanting to face the fact again but he finally relented and began a slow moping trudge to where his angel had motioned towards. He stood next to her and looked down to find a black body bag not ten feet behind where he and the angel had been resting.

He immediately turned away and ran into the white clad angel grasping her in a full embrace around her mid-section. She returned the hug, holding the young boy tightly.

"W-w-what about my s-sister? A-and father?" Muffled cries came from the boy's face being buried in the angel's cloak. He pulled his head out still sobbing, "You found them right?"

The group all exchanged worried looks with each other. Showing the boy they had no idea about any family the boy was missing.

"Kid… there was nobody else alive in that village." Qrow was the one to break the news to the boy. The kid was enraged. Seething at the blunt message that also had a double meaning, the boy turned to the now standing warrior.

"YOU DIDN'T SAVE ANYONE ELSE?" The boy howled at Qrow but was quickly muffled by the pale hand of the angel. The boy in his frustration attempted to break free by flailing about but she gently kept her hold on him.

"We had only just gotten there when we saw those Beowolves bearing down on you. A large wave of fire hit our bullhead and made us crash. By the time we made it to the rendezvous point all we found was you and your mother in the middle of a huge crater with a pack of Beowolves charging you." With that the angel dropped her hand from the boy's mouth and released him from her hold. He turned to glare at her but his menacing stare was cut short when he saw the softness in her eyes.

"Besides," continued the red eyed lady, "our mission was to get her." The nod towards the body bag told the boy the answer to his next question.

"Why just her?" It was an innocent question that came from the boy. One that the older members of the party knew had a very complex answer. How could the boy understand? How could they simplify something so that he could get the answer? Then the answer to their prayers came from a very unlikely source.

"She was…special. We were supposed to find her and keep her safe. Help anyone else that we could, but our ultimate goal was to protect her. We failed her. When we contacted her she made us promise to protect her children. And we WILL honor that promise." Tai's words were short and to the point. The boy started sobbing again but nodded furiously to let them know he got the message. He latched onto the angel for the last time before the sound whirring got their attention.

Qrow quickly grabbed a flare gun and fired it into the now dawning sky. The whirring sound got louder until a bullhead was hovering right above the small clearing. The ship began its decent as the party finished packing up its campsite. Once the bullhead had safely landed they started heading towards the open side of the ship. Once Qrow and the red eyed lady loaded the cargo and the body bag the pilot leaned back to converse with the group.

" That her?" He asked motioning with his head towards the black bag.

The only answer the man got was a few nods from the older members of the party.

"Damn. Well new orders. Your group is to go back into the town to clear out the horde. Once the town is clear of all Grimm activity we will extract you. Understood?"

"What about the boy?" The angel asked while lifting the kid into the passenger area of the bullhead.

"He can come with me to safety. Your team has a mission. I'll get him back to the base of operations and let the commander determine what to do with him." Although the group obviously didn't like that option, they didn't have much of a choice.

"Tai, you are too hurt to continue. You will go back to the base with him and get your arm looked at." The angel ordered while the blonde man prepared to argue with her. She brought her hand up to silence him and leaned closer so that only she, the blonde, and the boy could hear. "Listen somebody needs to take care of him. You are hurt and aren't much use with only one working arm. You escort him back to the base and make sure he is properly taken care of. If you get fixed up and want to come back, then fine. But take care of this little guy first." She narrowed her eyes at the blonde almost daring him to challenge her but he relented.

"Alright babe, fine. But you owe me for this one." With a wink he brought her in for a hug and then sat on the side of the ship. He then turned his attention to the red eyed lady.

"Don't think you're getting out of this one. We need to have a nice long talk about you leaving and where you have been." With his good hand he pointed a finger at her. She only scoffed at him in return.

With that the boy settled in next to the blonde man sitting along the side of the bullhead but letting their legs dangle off the side. Once the pilot took off the boy latched onto the big man. He winced in pain since the boy leaned on his bad arm but he raised it so his bandage and sling helped wrap the boy closer into the man's side. With that the boy tried to look back to the bag that his mother lay in but the man stopped him.

"Don't look. You should really watch this view. It's actually pretty nice." With that the boy looked to what the man was referencing. The sun was starting to come up behind the smoking ruins of the town. The sight that the boy stared at had a simultaneous mixture of serenity and chaos. Then the memories of what he had experienced and lost in the past twenty four hours hit him like a sucker punch into the gut. Once again he began crying. This time it wasn't a small sobbing though. This time he began wailing and truly mourning the loss of everything he had ever held dear to him. With that the blonde man pulled the boy closer and let him weep.

Back to the present –

"Do you know what I learned at that moment sir?" The orange haired boy asked his interrogator. The large grey haired man with a thick moustache leaned forward so that his face came into the light from the lamp. "Although at the time I did not realize it, I discovered that there was nothing else I would rather do for other people than what those four hunters and huntresses did for me. They saved me, both physically and emotionally. They protected a boy who could not protect himself and cared for me as if I was their own child." He sat up straight in the stiff chair to try and convey the seriousness of the next words he was about to speak to them.

"When you asked me why I wish to go to Beacon, to become a hunter, I told you this story to emphasize the point I am about to tell you. I want to be like them, the team that saved my life. I want to be strong, I want to be fearless, I want to save lives. Most importantly, I want to make a difference on this world for the better. I truly believe that being a hunter is the best path that can help me achieve these goals of my life. For that, I turn to you. Beacon academy is world renowned and by far the best choice as far as hunter academies go. I wish to be the best; therefore I want to learn from the best." With that the young man finished and stared into the grey bushy eyebrows that he assumed were where the burly man's eyes were hidden. He sighed and then cleared his voice.

"My boy, that was quite the riveting tale. One that even in my many years do I have any that could even compare." He chuckled

"So I have heard." The boy chuckled in return and smiled. To his surprise the reaction from the man was a stern look and a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh sir, I have heard the legendary ability of Professor Port and his gusto towards his own stories." The orange haired boy's chuckles began to evolve into uncontrollable laughter as Port began to puff up to give his defense.

"See Peter? This boy already knows exactly how to get on your good side and we haven't even officially accepted him yet." The third party in the room finally made themselves known with a monotone chuckle of his own. His statement visibly deflated Port stopping his rebuttal of the boy's statement. Stepping into the light was a grey haired man with a green scarf fitted tightly around his neck and black eyeglasses sitting loosely on the bridge of his nose.

"Do you know who I am young man?" He asked the question with what sounded like no emotion in his voice. The teenager could not read from the man's expressions either. Did he really think that he didn't know who he was or was he just asking so the answer could be followed up with another question?

"You are Professor Ozpin. The Headmaster of Beacon Academy." The boy replied. He attempted to hide the sense of wonder in his voice of meeting the Headmaster in person but it must have slipped out as the Headmaster himself gave an amused "hmm."

"Young man there is no doubt you possess the potential and skills necessary for those I wish to have at my academy. However your particular background states that you already have a great deal of advanced combat skill and schooling in the most recent years. So my next question is a simple one yet I wish for you to answer with complete honesty. Why go to an academy to train hunters and huntresses when you already possess many of the skills to reach it quicker via other means?"

The boy pondered the question intently. It was easy to him why he wanted to do this but he had no idea how to convey that message. Or if it was even what the Headmaster would consider it being a valid reason. He decided to give his most heartfelt answer and prayed that it would make sense.

"As we have already discussed and you know beyond my story, my childhood was not the easiest. I survived tragedy and lived in the orphanage system for many years before striking out on my own adventures for the past four years. In that time I learned from a secret society about how to survive on my own, gained a vast amount of knowledge from their education, and had the best combat instructor one could possibly ask for. They wanted me to join them in their crusade for a better world but once I saw the complete picture of what their perfect world looks like I could not accept their views as my own. For the safety of everybody in this room I will not further dive into this topic but needless to say I cannot fight for a cause that I feel is more forced upon me than one I can accept as my own. Although I feel my cause is already clear to me, I would like the chance to improve my skills as a person, a warrior, and a student at your academy. While there I would also see how my own views combined with the views of others will affect my outlook onto what it truly means to be a hunter. Call it a vision quest if you will, but I also wish to achieve the title of hunter through the proper channels."

"So you are not certain you understand what a hunter is but you wish to become one?" Ozpin's next question came rather predictably.

"My views on what a hunter may be are solely my own. I may be slightly biased in taking my own views on this subject though. I would be lying if I said that I am not curious about what others think about our role in this world. I know hunters and huntresses are viewed as protectors of the people and that is what I wish to be. I wish to be a great protector. Even if it means giving my life to save another's, so be it." The boy finished with a serious tone that caught the Headmaster's attention.

"Bold words for someone of your age." The Headmaster continued to search the boy for a sign that the teenager was unsure of his last statement but found none.

"Very well then. If you wish to protect those whom cannot protect themselves then you have the heart of a true huntsman within you. I wish to formally accept your request to be accepted into this year's entry class of Beacon Academy. Congratulations young man." He saw both grey haired men give a small smile and the bulky man pushed his papers across the table with the word approved stamped across his file in big red letters.

"Thank you sir. I hope I can make you all proud to call me a student of yours." With that the young man gathered his file and stood to shake both of the men's hands.

"You are most welcome, now we have business to finish up. We will meet you again soon." With that the door to the room opened and a uniformed man ushered the teenage boy out of the room and shut the door behind him affectively leaving the two men to speak in secrecy.

"Ozpin, you know that boy was a shoe-in. Why did you run him through that gauntlet of questions?" Professor Port seemed slightly irritated with the Headmaster.

"My dear Peter, you know as well as I do that is standard procedure. Besides, I think you are slightly hurt that someone has finally shown that they can go toe-to-toe with you in the field of storytelling." The Headmaster replied with a smirk.

"Hmph, I will admit that boy's tale was quite enthralling. However, the Headmaster is rarely a part of the interview process. Why did you need to be here for this one?" Once again Port's left eyebrow was raised to emphasize his curiosity.

"I simply wanted to hear the boy's tale for myself." He waved his hand as he walked to the coffee pot in the corner of the room. Once filling his cup he continued his explanation.

"After all, its note every boy who gets his aura unlocked at such a young age…"

He paused.

"…By a fall maiden."

Port's gasp was audible despite the miniscule movements from his moustache.

"Yes Peter, the boy's mother was a fall maiden, and his aura seems to have the same power as the fall maiden. Curious is it not?"

"I must admit this changes things." Port confessed.

"Indeed. Add him to the list." Ozpin stated flatly.

"You mean?" Port began but was quickly cut off by Ozpin again.

"Yes, THAT list. Now I have a train to catch back to Beacon. I will see you in a few weeks Peter. Good luck with the rest of the interviews." With that the Headmaster strolled out of the room leaving a slightly stunned Professor Port alone in the room.

He walked over to the side of the room that held his briefcase and blunderbuss. He opened the briefcase and typed a code into his scroll to unlock it. He then accessed a secret file on the tablet device and scanned it. The file was titled "Promotion". To symbolize that as students they were only pawns in the upcoming game of strategy but if used correctly they could make it to the end of the board and become any more powerful piece that they desired. He then typed in the information and the boy's profile appeared on the screen. He then tapped the boy's profile and slid it into the file to add him to the desired list.

Glancing over the names the professor noticed that the boy made the third candidate in this group. The first name was an obvious choice, Pyrrha Nikos. She is a well known champion of Mistral and the proclaimed goddess of combat of her generation. The second name was a slightly surprising one, Ruby Rose. She is the daughter of Summer Rose and niece to Qrow Branwen. She is also noted to be a silver eyed warrior and that was reason enough for her to be on this list despite being two years younger than any of the other students in this age group. The boy made the third and currently final member of the group. His aura, semblance, and the circumstances of how he had his aura unlocked had given the Headmaster the information he needed to add him to the list. Before he closed the tablet to save his data the professor glanced over the name of the boy.

Fenix Fall.