Chapter Ten: Enlightenment
Volume Three of RWBY was SO good! But it almost made me give up on writing "Tsubomi". So much has changed in the world of Remnant that I thought that I wouldn't be able to keep writing this story any longer. But after a few talks with Ashe and others, and many painful thoughts about how to proceed, I've decided to keep going with "Tsubomi". I'm just going to HAVE to pretend that the last half of Volume Three didn't happen, as much as I liked it. So with all of that out of the way, let me continue with "Tsubomi".
Disclaimers: This story belongs to me. But only my original ideas. RWBY and the World of Remnant are not mine.
"There's absolutely nothing about this thing anywhere!" Yang shouted out, tossing the book she was perusing onto the library table. The other members of team RWBY, and a few of the students around them, shushed the irritated blonde immediately. With a huff, she sat back down, sulking.
"You know, she might be right." Weiss admitted, shutting the tome she was holding and distastefully pushing it away from her.
"There's gotta be something guys. Don't give up!" Ruby smiled encouragingly at her squad.
"Sorry Ruby, but even I'm starting to think that whatever this thing is has been covered up too well for us to find." Blake didn't look up from the volume she was reading, but there were signs of boredom across her face. "I mean, how many books have we gone through in the last month? You'd think we'd have found some kind of hint by now…"
Ruby turned a pouting face towards all of her team members. "Why am I hearing talk of defeat from team RWBY? We can do anything we want to, right?"
"Normally I'd agree with you, little sis," Yang leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "But this isn't a normal Grimm. And apparently it's been fighting our uncle, the best fighter we've ever met, for a while. There's no way that we're going to find anything about this 'Grey's Son' without some help."
"A rather astute observation for one of your temperament," a voice suddenly said from nearby. The girls jumped in surprise and turned to face Professor Ozpin. "Forgive me if my mind is remembering things incorrectly, aging being what it is, but did I not give all of you explicit orders to not investigate this matter?"
"Oh, well, you see…" Ruby spluttered.
With a laugh, Ozpin waved away any attempts at excuses. "Oh I fully expected you to disobey these orders. I had, however, let a little bit of hope sustain me that you might listen to me."
"We obeyed that order for a little while…" Weiss whispered.
"About twelve hours." Blake added softly.
"Well, it's better than I had thought it would be." Ozpin nodded.
"We were asleep for those twelve hours." Ruby admitted with a sigh.
"Hmm… That's more like it. Anyway, your unruliness aside, I have come to ease your burning curiosity."
Team RWBY looked at their headmaster in shock. "Well, I didn't see that one coming." Blake said while she shook her head.
"Indeed. I figured that if I left you to your own devices though, that you would eventually get into trouble that I don't think you're ready for. So I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen." Ozpin pulled a chair over to their table from a nearby table and sat down on it. "Glynda shouldn't have told you the name of the thing to begin with, but that's already been done, so there's no point in trying to say that it hasn't happened. Like she said, it's a Grey's Son. As far as we are aware, there's only ever one awake at a time. Something about waking another Grey's Son puts any other active ones back to sleep. Qrow and I have killed two, and they never go down easy. Aside from being tremendously strong, they are devilishly clever and hide better than a shadow during a dark night."
He looked over his glasses at the building despair on each girl's faces. "However, they have a desire; or rather it seems to be a need, for the Auras of certain people. As far as we've been able to tell, there's no link between the people, just that something about them attracts a Grey's Son. This need for that person's Aura is the only way we've been able to trip up the Grey's Sons we've encountered. Even then, it usually takes several tries. Like I said, they are extremely smart, and have a keen sense for when a trap is being set.
"There's a strange phenomenon associated with them as well. Ordinary animals and even Grimm avoid them like the plague. But somehow they are able to control Grimm that they touch, and slowly shape them to their will. I should have realized that that's what was going on earlier, even with all the other problems this world faces." Ozpin sighed. "I wish I had never gotten you involved, but it looks like I need to. Qrow is out of my reach right now, and likely out of this Grey's Sons reach as well. You may not know this, but a portion of a person's Aura is passed down though a blood line. So I have to assume that this Grey's Son is seeking out Yang, the closest blood relative to Qrow currently on this continent."
"That's ridiculous!" Ruby, Blake, and Weiss shouted out, concern for Yang's safety showing in their voices
In contrast to their outburst, Yang merely leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Sounds good to me." She didn't say it loudly, but it was clear enough that it cut off her team member's choir of outrage.
"I figured you'd be up to the task." Ozpin smirked slightly. "Worry not, Team RWBY. I'll make sure that the risks are minimal, but the threat of the Grey's Son must be dealt with as soon as possible. Glynda and I have been preparing from the moment we retrieved you, and are almost ready to move on this thing. I will require your patience and cooperation only a little longer. I'll answer more questions later, but for now, I must be going." The headmaster then put the chair he was using back in its normal place, and strolled off. He was casual enough that it was as if he hadn't just been speaking about matters of utmost importance.
"Yang, what are you thinking?!" Blake hissed as soon the professor was out of earshot. Ruby and Weiss joined in with similar sentiments.
Yang held up her hand and shook her head. "I actually kinda saw this coming. We don't know where Qrow is, or where my mom is, so it kinda figures that I'm the closest relative of his around. And that thing was spitting mad that it couldn't trap us down in that cave."
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean that Ozpin should use you like this." The heiress objected.
"It's not like we know what role I'll be playing either guys." The blonde sighed. "For all we know, Ozpin and Glynda will take it down no problem. They have done this before, right?"
"How often do plans ACTUALLY work when we're around, though?" Ruby fluttered her hands for emphasis.
"Fair point, little sis. But I'm sure that we'll make it work." Yang winked at their team leader. "I've already made up my mind. We need to do this, so we're doing this, isn't that all there is to it?"
Blake exhaled heavily before nodding her agreement. "I guess when you put it that way…"
"Doesn't mean we have to be happy about it, I get it." The brawler added, understanding where the Faunus had been taking the sentiment.
"I just hate that now we know more, but we still have to sit around waiting." Weiss grumbled.
They all shared a much-needed laugh at that.
The 10th and last Son of The Grey, the strongest of his brethren, looked up from the slums of Vale at the bright light of Beacon, perched upon its cliff. A grim smile split its bloody mouth. The Qrow was nowhere to be found, but its kin was near. And if there was one thing that The Grey had taught its Sons was that the Children of Dust always protected their own. The concept was alien, but after learning from the errors of its brethren, this Son could only concede the truth. Now, with a select few of its cousins at its beck and call, it would find the kin, and find the Qrow. Then, and only then, would it be able to complete its Father's mission. It could hardly keep from chortling at the thought.
And chapter ten! Holy crap! I never even imagined it would take me almost four months to get out another chapter for "Tsubomi", but… Well, I'm sure you are all aware of how much changed in RWBY Volume 3. Anyway, moving on from that, I apologize it took me so long, and I'd like to think that now that I've finally figured out how to keep writing "Tsubomi", it won't take me as long. I make no promises though.
As always, my profile has (now some-what) weekly updates, and I love reviews. Thank you for your time and see you next chapter!