Here we are at Chapter 36. We now have 100 followers and 100 favorites! Thank you to all who have been following my story. I wouldn't have kept this going without you guys. Let's see what's going down in both Vale and Mistral. I do not own RWBY or Gundam IBO. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 36. Enjoy.

Chapter 36: A Safe Haven?

Up in his office, Ozpin goes over some files by himself, until Glynda Goodwitch enters through the elevator.

"Professor, I've just been informed that a ship coming from Atlas is about to arrive. Is this about that call you made a while back?" she asks.

Ozpin looks out his window to see an Atlas military airship touching down at the landing docks.

"Yes, that should be the one. Please, escort the occupants to Agnika's station. I'd like to hope that they can help him," Ozpin says.

"Understood. Miss Schnee should still be down there. Would you like me to escort her out and back to her dorm room?" Glynda asks.

"Yes, I believe that would be best. Thank you," Ozpin replies.

…

In Agnika's station, Weiss continues to sit next to Agnika, who continues to make no response, no matter what she tries to do. She has at least taken the time to fix her hair and clean herself up a bit, to at least be in a more presentable manner when sitting next to him. However, her expression has not improved since he came back. A few minutes later, the doors open up, and out of all the people to show up, it end up being Jaune.

"Hey…" Jaune says as he walks up next to her. "How is he? Any changes?" he asks. Weiss just shakes her head. "Listen Weiss…I think you should try and focus on other things right now. Until Agnika gets better," Jaune suggests.

"…Like what?" Weiss says solemnly.

"Like…helping out around the school. Going back out on missions. Your teammates are in Mistral right now, but I'm sure you could get an airship over there in a short amount of time," Jaune adds.

"They'll be fine without me. I…wouldn't be of any use right now," Weiss mutters.

"Weiss, we're all worried about you. What you've been doing right now isn't healthy. Come on, Agnika wouldn't want you to be like this," Jaune says, but the mention of his name again makes Weiss snap.

She stands up and gets right in his face, "And how would you know?! You don't know him like I do. Agnika has always been there for me. He saved me time and time again, and has taught me more about what's important than my father ever did. He taught me, he helped me to become stronger. To be a better person. And yet now…he's like this…and there is nothing that I can do to help him," Weiss yells as tears start to form in her eyes.

Jaune flinches a little bit, but then sighs, "You're right. I don't know him like you do. But I do know about making the wrong choices. Believe me, I've made plenty of those ever since I came here. But…it was thanks to Pyrrha that I realized what an idiot I was. Weiss, you have friends that are willing to support you, and right now, you're best friends are out there. And they could really use your help. You're not helping Agnika, your teammates, or yourself by locking yourself up in here. Ruby told me once that Agnika taught you something important. What was it?" Jaune asks.

Weiss remains speechless as she unconsciously reaches for her Gjallarhorn pendant around her neck.

"It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak," Agnika's words echo in her mind.

"To…To protect the weak. I…I made a promise to him," Weiss slowly says. "And I completely forgot about it," she thinks as she looks back at Agnika. "I am such a fool…If it were me sitting on that table, Agnika wouldn't be sitting around, wallowing in self-pity. He would be doing what he can to either help me, or he would be out there fighting to protect people until I would wake up. He would be worried, but he wouldn't let that stop him…Like I was letting it stop me…" she thinks.

Weiss sighs and looks back to Jaune, "To think that YOU would be the one to set me straight. That's…annoying," she notes.

Jaune actually smiles at this, "Heh, good to have you back Weiss," he says.

"You said that my team went to Mistral, right?" Weiss asks.

"Yeah, that's right," Jaune replies.

"Then I'm going there," Weiss decides.

"Okay, then we'll come with you," Jaune offers.

"No, I'm going alone. You and your team need to stay here and watch over everyone, Agnika included. Ozpin may need you as well, so it would be better if you stay here. I'll be fine," Weiss says.

"Are you sure? Grimm have been getting really crazy lately," Jaune asks.

Weiss looks back to Agnika, "I'll be fine. I had a really good teacher after all," she says and leans down to plant a kiss on the right side of his face. "I'll be back, Agnika. I'll keep my promise," she whispers.

The two get ready to leave, but just as they're about to exit through the door, it suddenly opens up to reveal a familiar face.

"Weiss!" a female voice says.

"P-Penny!" Weiss gasps.

Penny pulls her into a hug, "Oh, it's so good to see you, my friend. I've missed you. Where is Ruby and the rest of your team?" Penny asks as she releases Weiss.

"W-what? Um, they're off on a mission right now, and I'm getting ready to join them. What are you doing here?" Weiss asks.

"We're here to help our mutual friend," they hear an older voice behind Penny and look to see a middle-aged man with a white lab coat on, glasses, a gray beard, and bald head walking towards them, being accompanied by Professor Goodwitch. "You must be Miss Schnee. My daughter has told me much about you and the rest of your team. I am Dr. Polendina. It is a pleasure to meet one of her first friends," he says.

"Wait, this is your father, Penny?" Weiss asks.

"Yep, and he's here to help Agnika," Penny says.

"Now then, let's see what we can do to get him back into fighting shape," Dr. Polendina says before walking past them to begin his work.

…

Qrow and his group make their way to the headmaster's office, noticing how as they get closer, it gets emptier, quieter. They had Team CFVY stay behind and help out with anyone that needs it and to make sure no one comes in during their meeting.

"Does anyone else feel like something's off?" Blake asks.

"Yeah, it was more lively in a way outside, or even when we first walked in through the door," Yang notes.

"Come on, let's go," Qrow says as they reach the door to the headmaster's office. "Now then, let's find out what's going on around here," he says…and kicks the door open.

"AH!" an older man screams as he suddenly falls out of the seat from his desk. The man stands up, showing neck-length gray hair and a gray beard. "Q-Qrow, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What in the blazes are you doing here?" he asks as he recomposes himself.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. You haven't been answering any of Ozpin's calls, and we haven't really heard anything from Mistral in a while now. So, he sent us to find out what's been going down. So far, I haven't been liking what I've been hearing around here," Qrow says as his group walk up to his desk.

"So, this is the headmaster?" Ruby asks.

"Ah, yes, Professor Lionheart, at your service. Um, Qrow, you mind explaining to me what…that…thing is?" Lionheart asks, pointing at Mikazuki.

The comment makes Mikazuki flex his claws, a sign of agitation that all Faunus in the room, Lionheart included, feel. Yang puts a hand on Mikazuki, and he calms down before he can eviscerate Lionheart.

"HIS name is Mikazuki, and he's with us. Don't call him what you called him earlier. He doesn't like it. Anyway, what's been going on around here? You've been silent since the Grimm attacks have increased, you've sent students out on missions that they weren't ready for. And what about the relic? Is it still safe?" Qrow asks.

"Relic?" Ruby asks.

"Qrow, the children-," Lionheart begins.

"Have been informed about the Maidens and about Salem. Ghira here has been informed as well. Though, they haven't been told about the relics yet. Seems like now is as good a time as any," Qrow notes.

"Qrow, you can't be serious!" Lionheart objects to the idea.

"We can't keep it a secret from everyone any longer, Leo," Qrow says before turning to the group. "This is the story, about the real reason for the war with Salem. Not many people are super religious these days," he says before he caps and sets the flask down. "This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. They were two brothers. The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something – something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything," Qrow explains.

"The creatures of Grimm," Ruby realizes.

"You guessed it. The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation…together, something that they both could be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow – the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how Humanity came to be. You see, the four gifts to mankind – knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice – aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The huntsman academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose – guarding the relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself…and, of course, keeping them out of Salem's reach…So yeah, there's that. Salem wanted the relics, and she needed the Maidens to get to them. You see, each relic is kept safe in a vault beneath each school, and each vault can only be opened by a specific Maiden. The relic for Haven is the relic of knowledge, and can only be accessed by the Spring Maiden," Qrow explains.

"Of course, since we have no idea where the Spring Maiden is, that makes things a bit more difficult," Lionheart notes.

"Actually, we do. The Spring Maiden is at Beacon Academy," Qrow says.

"What?...That's…That's great. We finally know where she is. But, if she's there, then why are you here?" Lionheart asks.

"Because the last Spring Maiden died sometime after she left, and her powers transferred to a woman that was part of the Branwen tribe," Qrow explains.

"…Raven," Lionheart says, making Yang clench her teeth at the mentioning of her mother.

"Yeah. Raven is back at Beacon, too. She and the new Spring Maiden, Vernal, have agreed to work with us until we win this war, for a price. The Grimm attacked and destroyed their tribe when we came seeking an alliance with them. They're all that's left of the tribe," Qrow says.

"Her tribe is destroyed? I never knew," Lionheart notes.

"Yeah, well, maybe if you had kept in contact with us, you wouldn't have that problem. Which brings me back to my earlier question: why haven't you been communicating with us?" Qrow questions him.

"I…Things have been hectic as of late, ever since the Grimm attacks increased. I've been busy focusing on what's been going on inside the kingdom. Mistral is the largest kingdom on Remnant, and that makes it that much more difficult to defend it. I've been so busy with handling things here, and with the council breathing down my neck, I haven't had much time to communicate with the outside world," Lionheart explains.

"Okay, and what about being cooped up in your office and sending students and huntsmen out on missions that they have a small chance of coming back from?" Qrow questions him again.

"The council tell where the huntsmen to go, but as for the students, we needed to defend ourselves against the Grimm. They've been particularly stubborn around the continent. You think I like sending them out there like this? Well, I don't, but I have no choice. Our forces are simply spread too thin, and there is little we can do to rectify the situation," Lionheart says as he sits behind his desk.

"And what about the White Fang?" Blake asks.

Lionheart sighs, "The White Fang haven't made things any easier for us. They sneak in, steal supplies, and leave before we can apprehend them. Our forces are just spread too thin to deal with all of these problems all at once. They've also made a few small attacks inside the kingdom. People have been injured, but not enough to really get the council's attention. To be honest, the people of Mistral have been growing upset with the whole thing," Lionheart says.

"Okay…so what should we do? I mean, we got the Grimm, the White Fang, and this relic thing you were talking about," Ruby asks.

"…Well, since the school is still pretty protected, and without the Spring Maiden, we shouldn't have to worry about the relic here for now. As for the Grimm, well, that's a problem that we'll deal with should the need arise soon enough. For now, we'll focus on learning what we can about the White Fang. If we can deal with them first, then that will at least be one problem out of the way. We'll deal with the rest later," Qrow decides.

"…I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping in touch, but I'll try to do what I can on my end to help out. If I can convince the council that I need huntsmen, then that will provide us with some extra support," Lionheart offers.

Qrow just grunts, "Well, I can't say this has been the best of reunions, Leo. We'll stay in touch over the scroll lines, and we'll be staying nearby. Let's just hope this doesn't get any worse," Qrow says and the group turn to leave the headmaster's office.

Ruby, however, takes one look back at Lionheart, "It was nice to meet you sir," she says.

"…Likewise, child," Lionheart replies, and then Ruby leaves with the rest of the group. Lionheart sighs, "This wasn't supposed to happen. We now know where the Spring Maiden is, but she's back at Beacon. We can't get to her there. On top of that, Raven is with them along with whatever in god's name that Mikazuki machine is. I don't know what to do. I haven't been able to contact Salem since the attacks began with her Seer Grimm gone.. I haven't seen any of her associates either. She originally wanted me to send out huntsmen on missions where they would not be able to survive. All I can do now is continue with the objective she gave me…Ozpin will never forgive me for this," Lionheart thinks as he holds his head in his hands.

…

Back at Beacon, Weiss, with her rapier on her hip, moves to an airship ready to take her to Mistral.

"Don't worry about Mr. Kaieru. For now, focus on what you can do, and let me do what I can do. If your friends are in need of your help, then you can help Mr. Kaieru by helping them," Dr. Polendina's words echo in her mind as she left Agnika's station.

Just as she's about to enter the airship, she gets some unexpected company.

"You're not going alone," she hears and looks back to see, surprisingly, Raven Branwen and Vernal standing behind her. "We're coming too," Raven says as she and Vernal enter the airship along with Weiss.

"Why would you NOW want to help us?" Weiss asks, not trusting Raven or Vernal in the least.

"Like I said before, I want some payback for what that Grimm monstrosity did to my tribe. Besides, I'm getting tired of just sitting around here and doing nothing," Raven replies.

Weiss grunts, "Whatever. Just don't do anything would put my team in harm's way," Weiss warns her.

"Whatever," Raven answers dismissively as the airship takes off into the air.

Vernal looks at the back of Raven, seemingly with something on her mind, but lets it be for now.

Weiss looks back at Beacon, "I'll be back soon…Agnika," she thinks as the airship begins its flight to Mistral.

…

At the White Fang's hideout, Adam Taurus meets with Yuma, "Well, what's so important that you needed to meet with me now?" Adam asks.

"Our spies have informed us…that Blake Belladonna and her father have arrived in Mistral," Yuma says.

Adam slowly gets a sick smile from this, "You don't say…"

…

Meanwhile, back at the Andras' lair, the Andras sits on his thrown as his leuetenants, having recovered from their injuries, kneel before him.

"…Let us begin. Our target: the girl with the Silver Eyes…"

And that's the chapter. There's a lot going down, and many pieces on the board are approaching the next battle in this story. Who will survive? Will Agnika be repaired? Will Weiss be able to help her friends along with Raven Branwen? Until then, please Read and Review.