A/N: Hello readers, yes I know I took a long rest period... again, but I'm back in the groove, writing as well as making YouTube videos. If you guys want to see some of my videos, look for Bubba485 on YouTube, I will warn you though, my videos are mostly long ones so don't watch them unless you have 30 minutes to an hour to kill.
On the note of my progress with MtI and my new AU for my RubyxOC pairing, Rose Wolf, As Her Heart Beats, I'm back to writing them during the week when I'm not working my butt off bussing tables. No, I'm not going to update AHHB more frequently right now, I've been writing MtI for over two years now, and I want to finish it (I've clocked it at over 420 pages as it is, it'd be almost as thick as the complete Lord of the Rings in paperback). Anyway, for those of you in the D.C. Area, I'll be an Attendee at Awesome Con this weekend, if you follow me on Instagram (Bubba485) you know what I look like, stop me and say hi, I'm not against meeting new people and making friends.
See you around,
~Cluny
Alright, enough senseless ramblings, ONWARDS!
Qrow stared out over the Vale skyline. He could feel something on the wind, something foul. Though the battle against Wendigo left a lingering smell of death and despair that repelled even the most devastating of Grimm, that wasn't what was keeping him awake. There was only one presence on Remnant that made him feel this uneasy, yet aroused his brooding attitude, "Hell of a time for you to come here, sis." He said taking a swig from his flask. The wind echoed with a familiar cry, "Ugh, son of a bitch." He growled.
Raven was in the fight of her life. She'd fought Grimm, bounty hunters, even members of her own clan, and none of their strength came close to inflicting hits that heavy. Wendigo's massive claws slammed down onto Raven's odachi with the force equal to an elder Goliath. The beast tried to scratch at its prey with its long claws, but Raven dodged with all of her attacker's swipes. One thing Raven didn't count on was the damage caused by the vacuum waves blowing off of Wendigo's claws tearing through the roof and walls of the buildings. Cherry Blossom Whitemane's spirit watched from a safe distance, 'You haven't lost your touch as a warrior by traveling with that pack of murderers and thieves, my old friend.' She said, 'But regardless of how much stronger you've become, you lack what is necessary to bring Wendigo down.'
The wolf moved with the fight, Raven lunged toward the beast. Wendigo tried to bite its opponent but missed as Raven leaped into the air with her odachi ready to lop off its head. The bladed edge of the sword hit Wendigo's neck driving the beast's body into the roof of the building. The crimson eyed huntress jumped back to see Wendigo stand to its full height, Insolent mortal, your pathetic blade cannot harm me.
"What?" Raven gasped, "How is that possible?"
'Wendigo is literally invincible,' Cherry said through telekinesis, 'Its only weaknesses are Phoenix Fire, Draconian Lightning, and Lupine Ice.'
"Those things don't exist." Raven said under her breath as she jumped out of Wendigo's way.
That is where you're wrong, mortal. Wendigo growled, for you see, we hold the vessel of Whitemane of the North Wind. Forever out of your reach. It held out its claw and projected Yang's aura and laughed, As is your child's aura. It inhaled the golden fire through its nostrils, as one of its eye sockets glowed gold, And thanks to the power of the Blood Moon, A red wisp appeared in Wendigo's claw, all of the aura and semblances we have stolen to gain our full power, It sucked the wisp in through its nostrils and its remaining eye socket glowed a burning red.
"Two semblances," Raven said to herself, "terrific. Just when I thought I'd have a boring fight. Not what I was expecting."
So far, Wendigo snarled, we plan on devouring all warriors' semblances and aura and adding it to our horde of power. We don't intend to lose our progression so soon after our full awakening. Now, enough talk.
"Just what I was thinking," Raven said as she moved into a fighting stance. "The night is still young enough for me to at least size you up."
"And die in the process." Raven looked to see Qrow sauntering out of the shadows, "You're as stubborn as ever, sis."
You, Wendigo chuckled, how fairs that young child in red? Was our attempt to silence her permanent? Or was that arrogant brat able to prolong her demise.
Qrow smirked, "I think Cypress Whitemane's effort to save Ruby was successful after he made you look like the brainless oaf you are in front of Ozpin and the rest of Beacon."
"Summer's daughter, was attacked by," Raven was in shock.
"She was saved by Cherry Blossom Whitemane's youngest son," Qrow replied, "and in the process, that boy figured out that the chink in this thing's armor."
"Care to be more specific?" Raven inquired.
"This thing's skin is thicker than even Ironwood's airships," Qrow elucidated, "The kid, Cypress, did a hell of a number on it with a few red burn crystals and a slingshot. He fired the crystals down Wendigo's throat. The resulting explosions bruised it pretty badly. He left the battle with Ruby Rose in his arms, like a knight in a fairy tale." The dusty old huntsman laughed, "Cherry's kids are pretty good at pulling off the improbable."
"Cherry and Redwood always did manage to pull some surprises out of their collective hats back in the day," Raven said, "But, back to the matter at hand."
Qrow gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, "Yeah," He said, "We've got a niece to avenge, and you've got a daughter whose honor needs defending."
"I've already saved Yang's life once," Raven said, "that was my rule."
"And now this thing has her power," Qrow replied, "you've gotta be more cautious. Yang's semblance allows her to get stronger with every hit she takes from her enemy."
Wendingo lunged at both of the hunters who dodged out of the way, "Damn," Raven cursed, "this thing's getting faster."
We were only holding back before, Wendigo growled sinisterly, we were still using the power we'd had back before the Blood Moon. Qrow grunted in frustration, As you would say, we've only been sizing you up until now.
Raven smirked confidently, "You've been fighting like a veteran huntsman this whole time, I must admit I didn't anticipate on a monster having such a sophisticated brain capable of such thought patterns." She regained her footing and charged forward and got in three quick strikes on the beast who merely shrugged the attack off.
Steam began rising off of Wendigo's torso, "This is what we've waited for, sis, wait for its mouth to open."
The air began to become colder as the second ticked by accompanied by wisps of steam rising out of Wendigo's mouth. The attack that Ozpin had taken the full force only a few hours before was nearly at its peak. Raven looked at the creature, "I'm ready." She said holding a large dust crystal in her free hand.
"Don't get too cocky, sis," Qrow warned.
"You sound too much like Cherry," Raven grumbled under her breath.
'You do know I'm still within earshot, right Feather Head?' Cherry's spirit inquired.
"I don't have time to fight this thing, argue with my brother, and argue with you," Raven growled silently. Wendigo charged at the crimson clad huntress who leaped out of the way. Raven flipped midair and watched as the beast's antlers smashed through the rooftop entrance. As she landed on her feet, she turned and saw a cloud of snow and freezing wind barreling toward her, "Oh, Mother of Oum!" She rolled to the side to avoid the blast.
"This thing's smarter than it looks Raven," Qrow called out, "Suffering two potshots from a kid with a slingshot must've been a big insult."
"Whatever gave you that impression," The masked huntress shouted, "Was it the fact that the damn thing charged me and planned to bury me, or was it that its mouth was closed?"
Qrow'd never seen this side of his sister before, at least not recently. He looked in Wendigo's direction, but the beast was nowhere to be found. He turned his eyes skyward and caught its silhouette against the paling moon. "Raven, move, NOW," He yelled just in time. Raven gripped the crystal in her hand, dashed forward, and threw the now glowing crystal to where she had been standing. Wendigo crashed through the roof as its jaws clamped shut around the crystal. The roof collapsed beneath the beasts hulking form and a roar of pain emanated from the abandoned warehouse below. "Good thing you're the lucky one in this sibling rivalry, I never would have been so lucky."
The building shook, "That stupid thing must have busted out through the wall," Raven said as she ran toward a huffing sound coming from the alley below. "We have to keep it contained."
"We're not going into the alleys to chase after it though," Qrow said.
"And why not," Raven glared through her Nevermore mask.
"Did you forget that blast of cold air it nearly froze your tail feathers with earlier?" Qrow reminded his sister, "The narrow alleyways would make those frigid winds spread even more like a flood through a river and its tributaries."
Raven huffed in frustration, "You're right, of course. For the sake of convenience, I'm willing to team up with you to do some more damage to that thing."
"Mind telling me why you're so eager to damage that thing so much?" Qrow inquired, "Is it for Yang's sake, or is it for your half niece, Summer's daughter Ruby?"
"I'm doing this because Cherry challenged me," Raven hissed.
'I did no such thing,' Cherry grumbled.
"You forget that Cherry Blossom Whitemane's been dead for several years." Qrow said.
"A huntress with a spirit as strong and stubborn as hers would linger around for years even after death," Raven said, "You remember how in tune she was with the ways of the spirit world. She was a shapeshifter who enjoyed stayed in the form of a wolf at every opportunity she wanted."
As if on cue, a grey wolf with cherry blossom pink eyes walked by Qrow. The man looked down and saw the wolf, "I never thought I'd see that wolf again," He said. Cherry's spirit walked away and vanished. Qrow looked on, slightly spooked at what he'd witnessed, "I never thought ghosts were real," He said taking our his flask and imbibing in a long swig, "But for a friend with a strong will like her, I'll believe anything."
Ashe Whitemane looked out the window of the dormitory her family had been given to stay in. She could feel something growing in the air. The presence felt warm and familiar. She put her hand on the window, "I can feel you, big brother," She said quietly, "I hope you're okay… where ever you are."
In another part of the school, Yang felt a strong crackling feeling on the back of her neck. She looked out the window toward Vale. Blake and Ferrina followed suit, "You feel it too, huh?" Ferrina asked.
"Yeah," Blake replied.
"Whatever it is," Yang said, "it's big and it's growing."
"Please tell me…" Blake started.
"No, not in that way, Blake," Yang said, "for once I'm not making any… what did Weiss call those?"
"I believe the word you're looking for is 'innuendos,' Miss Xiao Long." The girls turned to see Miss Goodwitch, "I take it you three couldn't sleep?"
"Neither could we, M-Miss Goodwitch," Jaune said as he opened the door to Team JNPR's dorm.
"Who could sleep after a night like tha-HACHOO," The party turned to see Cardin and the rest of his team walking toward them. Cardin was sniffling and shivering under a blanket, "S-sor-choo, sorry, I think I bay hab cot a c… a c-c-GAHCHOO!"
"He may have caught a cold," Russel said, "Took him an hour to swim back to shore, and then it took him another forty-five minutes to hike from there to the dorm."
Ren peaked out momentarily, looked Cardin over, scratched his chin, pounded a fist into his palm as he smirked and dart to the kitchen. The faint hum of a blender emanated as Nora walked toward the door rubbing her eyes, "What's…" She perked an ear toward the hum of the blender and realized what was going on, "oh crap." She hung her head.
"What's her problem," Yang asked a split second before Ren reappeared in front of Cardin with a glass of strong smelling, moss colored liquid.
"Ren made one of his immune system boosting smoothies again," Nora said clamping her nose tightly.
"I'll… kchoo… try anything ad leasd once," Cardin said as he accepted the smoothie and downed the whole thing. "Guh, it's dot lige I can sbell eddythig right dow." He turned and headed toward the lounge with Dove, Skye, and Russel following close behind, "Thanks, bud, I owe you one." He said weakly as he rounded the corner.
"Never thought I'd ever see anyone drink a whole one of those smoothies," Nora said.
A pulse of energy flowed through the air catching everyone's attention. Pyrrha felt the energy coursing through her body. "There it is again," Yang said.
"I feel it too," Pyrrha asked. Everyone still present nodded.
"It's familiar," Blake said, "Like I've known this presence for a while now."
"That's because we do know this presence, Blake," Luna said coming down the hall, "It's Rowan."
"I think you're right, sis," Ferrina said, "I definitely feel Rowan's solemnity and resolve."
'I wonder if Weiss can feel this too,' Blake whispered.
In the infirmary, Weiss Schnee was wide awake. She felt the inexplicable mass of energy flowing through the air. "What is this feeling," she asked herself in silence, "it's so heavy yet at the same time, so familiar and non-oppressive."
The heiress looked across to the sleeping Cypress and Ruby. She could feel some of the energy radiating from them as well, "It must be you," She whispered, "it has to be. No one else in all of Remnant could hold that much power without letting it consume them." She smiled, "Something tells me it won't be very long until I'll be in your arms again, my wolf." She chuckled happily as she closed her eyes.
In the school forge, Tesla Viridian also felt the mysterious surge of energy, "So that's it." He said, "You're planning to return here. I suppose you'll be exhausted after storing that much energy. But how will you use it when you make your move against Wendigo?"
The sound of footsteps caught the forge master's attention, "You feel it too, don't you young Tesla?" Tesla turned to see Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck approaching with Azurus Azrael following behind them.
"Looks like I'm not the only one," Tesla said looking out toward the city of Vale.
"Indeed you are not, Gizmo," Oobleck said, "I can feel this strange surge of energy projecting itself from the outer limits of the city. It is as if someone or something is preparing for a battle of epic proportions against an opponent of unrivaled power."
"It is as if the old Legend of the Guardian Beasts' Epitaph is coming to fruition," Azurus replied.
"There was an epitaph," Tesla asked.
"Yes," Azurus said, "Though it was passed down through the old families associated with the legend itself. Most people don't remember this part of the legend, as it's gone out of circulation."
"So how did you come by this very informative bit of information?" Oobleck asked.
Azurus cleared his throat, "I stumbled upon it when I was a young huntsman actually. My travels throughout the continent of Anima led me to an ancient temple in the mountains. Inside the temple, there were prophetic scriptures that foretold events similar to this. Ahem, the night of the blood moon shall bring the curse of house Whitemane to its zenith. The heirs to the power of the guardians three shall unite in the wake of the beast's ascension with Whitemane's heir leading the charge from within the astral plain."
"Whitemane's heir," Tesla said, "That has to be Rowan, seeing as how he managed to hold off Wendigo when it attacked earlier."
"Quite right, dear boy," Azurus cleared his throat, "I'd say this palpable flux of aura in the air must be young Rowan's doing. I did see him perform rather impressive feats beyond that of the standard first year huntsman in training when he assisted Peter, the young ladies in the infirmary and I in ridding my town of that dreadful Drakul last month."
"And young Cypress did mention that he could split a waterfall's cascade in half with his aura alone," Tesla added, "He's got to be meditating to gather up this much aura."
"I only hope the other heirs of the Guardian Beasts catch wind of this in time," Oobleck said, "While I am not a believer in prophecies or ancient legends, there is no denying the fact that if Rowan and Telephe reach their peak level of power in time along with the young member of the Aquio family together, we'll stand a chance of beating Wendigo."
In the Team PHNX dorm, Telephe felt the strong energy radiate through the night air from the Dream Realm. "The prophecy," She whispered in awe, "Whitemane's heir shall lead the charge from within the astral plain." She lit two candles and began meditating, "I must prepare for the impending battle."
Hyacinth, Nestur, and Xenokles were outside in the dormitory lounge. They each felt Rowan's aura surging through the air, "So this is the power of an heir to one of the guardian beasts." Hyacinth said.
"Yeah, I can feel Telephe's energy joining the mix with Rowan's," Nestur said, "It's incredible."
Xenokles went to the door to the PHNX dorm and opened it just enough to see the glow of Telephe's aura permeate the room. "Telly's power is growing at an impressive rate." He said.
The markings from Telephe's released state covered her body again. The air became abundant with the energies of fire and ice. Nestur's scroll rang, it was Blake, "We just felt something coming from the Haven Academy dormitories," She said, "Does this mean that Telephe's building her energy as well?"
"Yes," Nestur replied, "But she's a bit far from matching Rowan's level at the moment."
"The aura pulsing through the air stopped intensifying," Blake said, "I think Rowan's power may have reached its peak."
"It won't be very long before Telephe's power reaches the level." Nestur said.
"I hope it's going to be enough." Blake replied.
In the skies between Vale and Vacuo, an airship carrying Kaiyo and Azure Aquio made its way closer to Vale. "Mr. Aquio," The airship pilot said, "we should reach Beacon Academy by morning."
Kaiyo's stern and determined expression didn't change, "Good," He said, "right on schedule. Thank you for the update."
"Might I ask why you're going there with your son, sir?" The pilot inquired, "He seems a little young for someone wanting to enroll there. Most first years don't get into Beacon until they're at least seventeen years of age, and even then a small percentage of the applicants make it in if they're lucky."
"It's a meeting between myself, Redwood Whitemane, and Paschaliá Phoen," Kaiyo replied, "A sort of rite of passage for my son."
"One of those, old family coming of age, bestowing a monumental responsibility things," The pilot summarized, "That sort of thing?"
Kaiyo raised an eyebrow in thought, "Now that I think about it, yes. That's precisely why my we're bound for Beacon."
"Well then," The pilot said, "That's certainly a worth going to Beacon. I'll warn you though, I've heard rumors about something prowling through the alleyways of downtown Vale and the warehouses in the shipyard. Apparently the Atlas military troops are having some trouble handling it."
"I hope they manage to keep it under control." Kaiyo said looking over his shoulder at his sleeping son, "I'd hate for anything to happen to him this early in life."
The Branwen twins chased Wendigo through the alleys of downtown Vale. They took precautionary measures to lead the creature to the loading bay of an abandoned department store. This is where they planned to make their stand against the beast. You're very persistent, mortals. Wendigo mocked, But, we expected this would happen.
"Let me guess," Qrow said as he changed his sword into its scythe form, "It was when we started changing your direction?"
The beast's glowing eyes narrowed maliciously, Precisely.
"Very intelligent for a monster," Raven said.
We preyed upon the flesh of humans and Faunus alike for centuries, Wendigo snarled, Such tactics executed by our prey is highly amusing to us.
"Terrific, a monster with a sense of humor," Qrow groaned.
Wendigo ran at the twins and corkscrewed through the air turning slashing the air around it like a maelstrom of blades. Raven and Qrow dove away in opposite directions. They could feel the air around them growing colder and colder. The sweat on Raven's eyebrows began to freeze along with the sweat that had dripped into her gloves, "Dammit," She cursed, "why is it getting so cold all of a sudden?"
"It's because of the ice dust it's been absorbing," Qrow said before dodging a series of attacks from Wendigo. The beast slammed its claws down trying to pin the huntsman, slashed at him with the claws on its feet, and tried to bit him with rapid succession. Every move Wendigo made seemed to lower the temperature of the surrounding air more and more. "It's trying to ware us down by making us push past our limits," Qrow said after he and Raven leaped to avoid a swipe from one of the beast's legs, "Our exhaustion will make it easy for it to catch us off guard."
"I noticed that it twists its body and forced you to move in one big circle," Raven added, "It's doing that to chill the air faster than it would if we were fighting it standing still."
"It's trying to make us freeze to death," Qrow said, "it must not want us at peak strength when it strikes us down."
Diverging cyclones of frigid air and snow blew past them and swirled into a cloud behind them. From the cloud, Wendigo charged the hunters who dove in opposite directions. Wendigo set its sights on Raven, the huntress was starting to succumb to the combined effects of the cold and the fatigue of chasing down Wendigo and extensive combat. This is where your tale ends, fledgling. Wendigo snorted.
"NO, RAVEN, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Qrow screamed.
Raven fell to her knees shivering violently. All of the heat in her body was now gone. She could do nothing. Wendigo stood its full height to strike its prey down, when suddenly, it felt something off. It felt sick, like it was going to throw up. It lowered itself to its knees. Qrow saw this and ran to get his sister out of harm's way. He darted across the roof tops to the nearest place where Raven wouldn't be hounded by Wendigo, "Hold on, Raven, don't you dare die on me. Yang's too young to lose a second mother in her lifetime."
In the foggy recesses of the Dream Realm, the air was a light with the crackling surge of aura that Rowan was gathering. Ruby and Cypress watched in awe as the torrent of energy Rowan had built up began to converge and condense around the boy. The wolves, Kota and Niju had moved to shield the young onlookers from the storm of aura the now enshrouded the older huntsman in training. "The Awakening Ritual is almost complete," Cy said in awe, "Rowan is merging with energy granted to him from Whitemane's spirit."
The energy had disappeared inside of Rowan. "What does that mean for us?" Ruby asked.
Rowan's eyes shot open with wisps of white light flowing from them, "It means, we're going to see Rowan on the other side soon."
