Chapter 7: Lost and Found
Qrow fired the first shot.
In less than a split second, everything fell into chaos. One of the twins - the girl with the glaive - blocked his bullet with such precision that it seemed she had predicted his movements. The other twin, who it seemed had some form of strange telekinesis as her Semblance, gestured with her hands, and a torrent of marbles came flying at him.
"Crap. Ack! Grk!" Qrow grunted, holding up his greatsword to deflect them. The tiny size of the projectiles betrayed their strength - each of them seemed to have the punch of a small truck, all packed into a bite-sized point of contact. These two girls - who couldn't be old enough to attend primary combat school, let alone a Huntsman Academy - were pushing him back.
"Come now, friend, quit jobbing around and fight like you mean it!" Sherwood yelled these words of encouragement (Qrow supposed that was his intent) as he fired his cane-gun at the twins. He was a damn good shot, Qrow had to admit, shooting marbles out of the sky with perfectly-calculated precision. And the older Huntsman's weapon couldn't have been light either, as a direct shot caused the glaive-wielding twin to stumble as she blocked the hit.
Qrow took his chance. "Hrahh!" He lunged at the girl, feeling a tinge of satisfaction as his blade struck her in the stomach, sending her tumbling awkwardly into the trees. "Sis!" her twin screamed, losing all interest in the battle as she ran off to find her sister.
"Now that's a good sport," Sherwood said approvingly. "Got some fight in you after all. Go help your friends, now! Allow me to handle those two."
"You sure you can take 'em both?" Qrow asked. "Tai and Raven are professionals, too. I can stay and help you out if-"
His companion raised his cane-gun nonchalantly and fired, shattering a marble that would have flown straight into Qrow's skull in another millisecond. "No!" came a disappointed yell from within the underbrush.
"Oh don't worry, I think I'll be fine," Sherwood replied with a smile. "Now go! You can even get caught up while you fight together!"
That wasn't exactly Qrow's priority, but Sherwood had gotten his message across. He ran toward the center of the camp, where the battle was at its most heated. Tai was handling himself well, fending off several bandits with a flurry of punches and kicks.
"You've got some explaining to do, pal!" Qrow yelled as he swung the butt end of his blade, knocking one of them out cold. The bandit's Aura had broken, and for a brief moment, he considered going for the fatal blow - for him, it would be easy...and family or not, these bastards deserved to die. But somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to go that extra step. Not yet.
"Well, it's kind of a long story!" his friend replied, reaching back and forming an aura of dark energy around his fist. With all his strength, he drove his fist into a bandit's incoming strike, blasting him into the woods and out of sight. "But the gist of it is, we ran into your cousin in Mantle, and he led us here for some reason!"
Qrow did a double take, only just blocking a bandit's bullet. "Huh? You mean Ragna?"
"No, no! The other guy - Fenrir, right? Like I said, I'm still a bit confused, but uh…" Tai recoiled back as a muscular tribesman struck him in the chest with a steel bat. He promptly smashed his attacker's face in with a flaming uppercut. "I think I'll have time to think about that stuff later!"
"Probably a good idea," Qrow admitted, though he was confused himself. Fenrir, of all people? Just what the hell is going on? He turned to his sister, who was standing in the middle of all the carnage, her blade drawn but unused. There was a sort of confused anguish on her face as she observed the battle around her, and Qrow felt a rush of fear wash over him when he saw it.
He ran over to her. "Sis," he said, sternly but also as gently as he could. "C'mon, get a hold of yourself. We need to fight."
Raven blinked at the sound of his voice. When her expression changed, the despair that had been there moments ago was gone, but Qrow could tell it was still there, under the surface. "...Okay," she said, nodding her head with none of her usual confidence. Together, they raised their weapons, preparing to engage the enemy.
On the other side of the camp, the bandits were fully occupied with the combined forces of the three Huntsmen. Crowley had none of Qrow's hesitation, and shot down foe after foe with swift, precise shots. It seemed less like he was aiming and more like it was some raw, pre-programmed instinct that drove his bow to its target.
The redhead and the Faunus were no slouches either - they practically strolled through the battlefield as they cut, shot and stabbed through bandits like it was second nature. And in the background of it all, Thoron Branwen stood with his hammer in hand, observing the battle with a bemused look on his face. A trickle of blood ran down from where Crowley's arrow had struck him, but his Aura had already healed the wound.
At that moment, Qrow's father reminded him of something he had once seen - the Huntress, Psycha Osmov, watching passively as her teammates were swiftly defeated turning the Vytal Tournament, waiting for her moment to turn the tides...and utterly annihilate the enemy. It didn't matter how badly their allies were losing - the moment they stepped onto the field, they had already won.
That moment was fast approaching.
"ENOUGH!" Thoron bellowed, with such force in his voice that everyone actually paused their fighting to look at him, eyes widened in surprise. "To me, my brothers and sisters," the chief growled, and the remaining bandits immediately ran over to his side, surrounding him with their weapons raised.
The twins joined them. "Hmph!" snorted the glaive-wielding girl. "Looks like you finally decided to act, Mr. Chief!"
The Huntsmen also grouped together, at the other end of the bandit camp. "Flare, Winona," Crowley muttered to his companions, as he readied his bow once more. "Get ready to cover me."
Thoron Branwen was now taking calm, menacing steps towards the Huntsmen, casually twirling his warhammer around his fingers. "You all just had to show up today, didn't you," he snarled. "And on such a happy occasion, too. Well, that's just fine. After all, you know about me and Salem's deal...which means I have yet another reason to snuff you out, here and now."
"...Father?" Raven's face was crestfallen. She took a small step back, and her sword trembled slightly in her hands, as though she was unsure whether to raise it, or lower it in surrender.
"Don't worry, my dear Raven." Thoron's expression immediately changed to a warm smile, changing from a bloodthirsty vagabond to what could almost be mistaken as a gently, loving father. However, there was a clear artificiality about it, in no small part due to the enormous weapon that was now glowing with energy in his palms. "Once I deal with these worms, we can finish our talk in peace. As a family. Qrow can join too, of course. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
Before she could reply, Qrow held out his greatsword in a gesture of defiance, making sure his face was devoid of any emotion. "No, it doesn't. And it's not going to happen, Thoron. Now that we know your real allegiance, and now that you've officially tried to kill us, we have no choice but to take you in." He could hear the steel in his own voice, and it scared him. "You coming quietly is obviously out of the question, so we'll just have to take you by force."
That was a bluff, obviously. Qrow had zero confidence that the combined might of seven fully-trained Huntsmen could even stand a chance against the chief. That surprise arrow Crowley had landed was simply a stroke of luck (and very quick reflexes), and it clearly wasn't going to slow Thoron down in the slightest.
Still, somehow, he wasn't afraid anymore. Not as much, anyway. Here, finally confronting his father face-to-face, he knew that this must be what full-fledged Huntsmen like Sherwood and Crowley - hell, even Ozpin himself - felt all the time. That feeling of staring down insurmountable odds, but standing one's ground all the same.
"By force? Ha!" The chief laughed, the jovial laugh of someone who has just heard a particularly amusing joke. "You've certainly learned to speak up for yourself since I last saw you, Qrow! I must say, I'm rather proud. But now...let's see if you can back up those bold statements of yours."
With a fierce war cry, Thoron raised his warhammer. Though the sky was clear and the sun was shining, a fierce rumbling of thunder echoed throughout the bandits' camp, and Qrow could feel the ground itself tremble beneath his feet. An earthquake? He wondered. No...I remember. This is-!
He turned to Raven, and saw that she had realized it too. As always, she was the first to react. "Everyone!" she yelled. "Get back - back! Now!" The other Huntsmen, recognizing the imminent danger, did as she said.
"Hraaahhh!" Howling, Thoron brought down the hammer. In the next second, an ear-shattering explosion rung through the air, and a bright flash filled everyone's sight with pure white. As Qrow fell backwards, he felt a vague, searing sensation on the front of his shirt. Holy crap, he thought. That was really close.
Thunder continued to rumble, as a pillar of smoke rose from the grass, where the blast of concentrated lightning had burst out of the ground. As Thoron's hammer continued to crackle with electricity, he prepared to raise it again.
"There," he sneered. "Now you see the might of Jarnbjorn, my herald of destruction. If I were feeling merciful, you'd have all perished instantly with my one swing. But you Huntsmen have made the mistake of angering me...so as punishment, I think I'll burn you all slowly, or perhaps crush your limbs one by one - anything to ensure you go into the depths of hell screaming!"
As Qrow wondered how the hell they were going to get out this, he felt Tai step closer to him. "Hey, Birdy," the blonde whispered. "I've got a plan. You distract the big guy, and then I'll jump in and knock out his lights with a good punch."
"That isn't a plan, idiot," Qrow hissed. "That's just a shitty tactic that a six-year old could come up with. And besides, you're not gonna beat him with just one hit."
"Trust me on this, man. That weapon of his uses Blackstorm Dust, right? Well, I'm the only one of us who uses it, so I've got the best chance of kickin' his ass." Grinning, Tai swung one arm around as he stepped out in front of the other Huntsman.
"Tai, wait!" Panicked, Raven reached out to him.
"Hey, hey, idiot," Crowley Cloake snarled. "Stay back. Don't engage by yourself…"
Ignoring them, Tai raised his left arm, as waves of pitch-black electricity crackled around it, emanating from his Dust tattoos. "Sorry about this, Mr. Branwen!" he yelled. "I gotta admit, when I thought about meeting Raven's parents, I didn't think it would turn out like this! How about I prove myself to you, right here, right now?"
Thoron did not answer, but his lips curved upward in a sneer, and Qrow saw him shift his hammer hand ever-so-slightly.
Tai, you dumbass. Left with no choice, he raised Reaper's Gambit and activated its cannon form. Gripping the weapon's handle tightly, Qrow fired a single bullet at his father's head.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Thoron deflected the shot with his hammer. "...Qrow?" he said, his voice suddenly soft, as if he had been completely caught off guard. In that moment, Tai made his move. Before anyone could react, the blonde warrior lunged at the chief, his arm raised and poised to strike. With a fierce cry, he brought his fist down…
...as Thoron caught it, effortlessly, with his own hand. "Hmmmmph...how annoying," he snarled, his composure immediately restored. With a deep growl, he clenched his fingers around the younger man's fist, causing him to cry out in pain. Black sparks of lightning raced through the chief's massive body, but he didn't seem fazed at all as he squeezed Tai's hand tighter and tighter.
"Tai!" Qrow screamed. Oh shit. I should have known that wouldn't work. I shouldn't have let him do it. He reached out to help his friend, but a sharp pain struck him in the side, and he felt himself flying through the air, getting a faceful of dirt as he landed.
"Oh no, you're not interrupting this," the glaive-wielding twin said with a smirk, landing next to him. It seemed Sherwood hadn't been able to take them both after all. "Poor guy's havin' a bad day...I say we let him have his fun."
Grunting, Qrow glanced at the scene unfolding in front of him. He had expected that Raven, of all people, would intervene to save Tai, but she simply stood in place, a look of desperation in her eyes, but still doing nothing. "Please Father, stop," she said, her voice shaking. "Let him go."
"I'm sorry, Raven. But you've thrown in with the wrong lot, I'm afraid. Consider this a lesson...to all of you." Gritting his teeth, the chief brought down his other fist against Tai's Blackstorm-infused arm. The resulting impact was like a bomb being set off - the area was suddenly filled by a flash of bright light, and a deafening sound rang through Qrow's ears. Yet louder still was Tai's hoarse scream of agony, that he would hear in his nightmares for years to come.
When the light cleared, the fighting had temporarily stopped. Everyone turned to look in the centre of the bandit camp, where a plume of thick black smoke was rising in the sky. At its source, Taiyang Xiao Long lay in the clearing, the left side of his upper body a heap of smoking, charred flesh, from his hand all the way to his chest. Thoron stood over him, seemingly unharmed.
"NO!" A rush of pure, panicked adrenaline rushing through him, Qrow pulled himself up, swatted the girl aside, and ran over to his teammate's side. He paid no attention to the bandits all around him as he shook Tai's motionless form. "Tai, Tai, come on!" To his relief, he saw the faintest twitch of movement from his still-healthy half.
A glow of Aura appeared on Tai's body, flowing across him until coming to an abrupt stop at the point where his skin became nothing but charcoal. It flickered and sputtered, like a broken light struggling to stay on, before fading away. At least one half of him's still alive, Qrow thought grimly.
Raven had also come to Tai's aid, but Qrow barely registered his sister kneeling down beside him, placing a trembling hand over her boyfriend's heart. "Oh, thank the gods," she sighed.
"And that," boomed Thoron, raising his weapon above his head as he cast his leering gaze over the Huntsmen. "Is what happens to those who dare raise arms against the Branwen clan. Let this ghastly sight burn itself into your eyes, as you take your final miserable breaths in this world!"
Sherwood leaned over to Crowley, whose gaze and bow were still fixed on the chief. "I'd say this has gone on long enough. At this rate…"
"Right. We've done what we came here to do," the other Huntsman muttered. "Okay everyone! Gather around me! That includes you three!" He called out to Qrow, Raven and Tai.
"Don't let them get their hands on my children again!" Thoron snarled at his clansmen. "Quickly! Capture them!"
Two bandits, wielding crudely crafted harpoons, came dashing towards the Branwen twins. Qrow and Raven reacted on instinct - Raven dashed out of the way quickly, while Qrow transformed and flew up above the bandit's strike. They both landed right in front of Sherwood and Crowley, who had put away his weapon and had his hands clasped together, as if in prayer. The two newly arrived Huntsmen stood a short distance away.
"Okay, we're gonna get you guys outta here!" Crowley shouted. Suddenly, a vortex of pure white light materialized behind them. Qrow immediately knew it was a portal. Similar to the kind that Raven used, but he could tell the energy that composed it was entirely different.
He had no idea where the portal might take them, but that didn't matter. He would rather be anywhere in Remnant besides here. There was just one problem…
"We gotta get Tai!" Qrow yelled, pointing toward his friend, who still lay motionless in the camp clearing. He prepared to run back for him, but several of the remaining bandits formed a perimeter between Tai and the other Huntsmen. Thoron Branwen and the mysterious twins stood behind them, blocking him from their view.
The red-headed Huntsman shook his head. "Hate to say it, but we're gonna have to leave that guy behind if we wanna get out safely."
"No!" Qrow snarled. "We're not leaving without him. Hey! Sis! Just whip up a portal and get Tai over here!"
"Oh, that won't be happening," the chief chuckled mirthlessly. "Before you got here, I confiscated the Dust my dear girl uses for her portals. I didn't think she would want to leave, but I had to make sure."
Wonderful, he thought. My bad luck strikes again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something rise up from behind the bandits. He felt a twinge of hope when he realized it was Tai, groggily getting back up.
"You there, boy!" Sherwood yelled. "Can you run in your state? I'm sure it would be mightily painful, but can you do it?"
Tai nodded weakly in response.
"Excellent! Then run into the forest at once - they won't be able to follow you through it! Once you find your way out, get to a hospital and we will reconvene with you...somehow!"
He didn't even waste a second. Before the bandits could respond, Tai was on his feet, and dashing away in the other direction, towards the ancient trees. Qrow was amazed at how the guy could run at such speeds a minute after sustaining such a terrible injury, but Tai wasn't a Huntsman for nothing.
But... how's he gonna find his way out? He thought nervously, watching his friend disappear into the forest.
"After him!" Thoron howled. "He's wounded - he can't get far, so finish him off the moment you catch him!"
A couple bandits looked at the entrance to the forest, and glanced at each other anxiously. "But chief," one of them said. "That's the Forest of the Devil's Whisper. It's...it's-"
"AFTER HIM!" They didn't need to told a third time. Four of them immediately ran off in Tai's direction.
"Okay!" Crowley said. "Then I guess that problem's solved! Into the portal, everyone!" Without further ado, he and his companions all hopped into the white vortex, and vanished without a trace.
Sherwood made a call on his Scroll before entering. "Phoebe, we've got an ally going through the woods. Four hostiles in tow. Take care of that, won't you?" With that, he jumped in.
Qrow and Raven were the only ones left.
"C'mon," Qrow urged his sister. He had one hand in the portal, and he could feel a certain warmth from it, as if all of his happiest memories were somehow contained within the vortex. Could something like this really be that asshole's Semblance? "We gotta go, okay? We'll catch up with him later."
Raven nodded slowly. "...Sorry, Father," she said to Thoron as she stepped, back-first, into the portal. Qrow followed her in, not even looking back, as everything in his vision faded to white.
"Aghhh, come on, come on," Tai groaned, feeling the raw, seething pain coursing through every inch of his body as he forced his legs to run. They, at least, had come out mostly unscathed, but even they still felt rather numb from the electric shock he'd received.
Meanwhile, he couldn't even feel the left side of his upper body, and he certainly couldn't move his left arm, which flopped pathetically in the air.
If he were to trip and fall, it would be all over for him. He simply wouldn't have the strength to get back up a second time. So Tai purged that disheartening thought from his mind, and simply forged on ahead. As long as I will myself to run, I'll survive, he thought. No matter how much pain I take, I'll never give up!
Even so...that was no normal injury he had just suffered, and he knew that. Having his own Blackstorm attack rebounded against him...it would take a while to fully recover from that, assuming he ever did. Right now, he was in absolutely no position to fight - especially not against the four bandits who were rapidly catching up to him.
Crap, crap, crap! Tai picked up the pace, running so fast he could no longer feel his feet touching the ground as he practically flew through the unfamiliar forest. He didn't know where he was going, but all that mattered was that he was going to get away from them, as long as he didn't-
He tripped. "GAH!" he howled, falling over and rolling like a bowling ball across the fresh dirt and grass, before coming to a pathetic halt on his back. "Ughhh…" He tried to push himself back up, but of course it was no good. His legs were as good as dead now, and the best he could do was crawl onto his side with his one functioning arm.
"Th-this can't be happening," he muttered deliriously, watching as the bandits grew closer by the second. "I can't die...in some dumb forest like this…"
Suddenly, multiple loud screeches rang out through the silence. About ten birds - not Grimm, but regular old avians - came flying out of the trees, charging at the bandits. They quickly pounced on one of them, and began tearing viciously at his flesh.
Everything quickly devolved into chaos. The other bandits began blindly stabbing and shooting at the birds as they continued to dig into their victim, who was steadily growing weaker. Tai noticed that their movements were more coordinated than mere animals, as if they had minds of their own.
One of the bandits finished off the last bird with his gun, but suddenly tensed up, his eyes going wide. As if in a possessed trance, he turned to his fellow clansmen, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger. Two shots rang out, and they crumbled to the floor, motionless. His eyes still glazed over, the bandit put the gun to his own head, and fired. As the shot rang out through the forest, everything went dead silent.
Wh-wh-what...what the hell? His strength slowly returning, Tai staggered to his feet, staring at the four fresh corpses in front of him. Taking in his surroundings, he finally realized where he was. He had heard of the Forest of the Devil's Whisper before, about how the place was possessed by some evil entity, and that no one who went in ever came back out.
"Oh god, the stories are true," he muttered, his voice shaking. Why the hell had that Huntsman told him to run through here? Was whatever madness that had killed those men going to come for him next?
Even as he thought that, he could feel the wind stirring - and it was no natural wind, he could tell that much. It blew past him, suddenly gaining a burst of strength as it flew through the forest, cutting open a path through the trees. As Tai stared in surprise and fear, he felt his finger rise up to point in that same direction - against his own will.
"AGGGHHHH!" he screamed. "W-wait! Please don't kill me, evil spirit!"
Calm yourself. Out of nowhere, he heard a woman's voice inside his head. My name is Phoebe Wanejaw. I am an ally of yours - and the other Huntsmen. Though I am a spirit, in a way. I helped save your life, so I believe some gratitude is in order.
"Mmmm-hmmm, yes, ma'am!" Tai stammered, nodding his head feverishly. "Thank you, your Highness! U-um, praise be, my lady!"
Hmm. That might be going a bit overboard...no matter, the voice mused. In any case, follow the path I shown you, and you will find yourself out of the forest. Keep yourself safe, Huntsman...I have a feeling we'll meet in person, very soon.
"Oh...okay…" Tai said. The voice had gone silent now, and he was rather happy about that. Ally or not, hearing actual voices in your head was some creepy shit. Especially when they could literally make you kill yourself if they wanted to. Counting his blessings, he ran in the direction that he was pointing in, being careful not to trip again.
After what felt like an eternity, he stepped out of the trees and into the daylight. He instinctively shielded his eyes from the sudden glare of the sun, taking a generous gulp of the fresh morning air. He felt himself toppling over like a statue, his chest growing heavy.
"Help," he wheezed. "Someone? Anyone? It's an emergency, there's a dying man over here...Code red…" After that, nothing came out of his mouth but silence, as he crumpled onto the ground, unconscious.
"Hrmmm...where are we?" Qrow's eyes slowly fluttered open as his vision returned.
The trip through the portal had been a surprisingly pleasant experience. Going through one of Raven's portals wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but here, it had felt like he was being soothed asleep by one of his childhood lullabies - which was strange, because he didn't think anyone had ever sung him a lullaby to begin with.
"Someplace safe - if you know where to step," Gray Poirpeau replied, having switched places with Sherwood Bell mid-transport. "Stand up, young man. You're getting yourself filthy, lying there like that."
Qrow got up, realizing he had indeed been lying spread-eagled on a cold, dark floor, covered in dirt and grime. Rows of misshapen cardboard boxes lay strewn around the room. Poirpeau was wandering around, feverishly moving them into a more organized pattern.
"So, wait…" Qrow muttered, looking around and seeing nobody else. "Was I actually out, or something?"
"You certainly were. Don't feel so bad about it - the portal's calming energy gets to everyone on their first trip through. Your sister only just got up twenty-eight seconds ago, in fact." He gestured to the door, where a faint light was shining through. "Catch up with her, won't you? I still have some business with these boxes." He turned back to them with a scowl.
"...Right." Qrow left him there and went out into what looked like a regular tourist shop, with shelves stacked with various merchandise - much of it weaponry or containers of some strange Dust mixture. Other types of goods were scattered among them, seemingly at random.
Hunter's Bounty was the name engraved on the sign above the door. Qrow wondered if this was a hideout, a front of sorts, for the Huntsmen in Mistral. It wouldn't surprise him - he'd heard that Mistralians were shady folk in general. Of course, he also knew that people of the other Kingdoms were little better.
"Hey guys," he said, greeting the others, who were gathered near the counter. Crowley was talking to the redhead and the bird Faunus, while Raven stared curiously at the store's wares. "So, where exactly are we?"
"Back in the city - sort of," Crowley replied. "Let's call it the 'market district' for now. Anyway, let's get introductions out of the way. Flare, Winona, this guy's our newest recruit - Qrow Branwen." He gestured towards the two. "These guys are my old buddies, Flare Nebula and Winona Highlander. The three of us were on the same team back in our Haven days."
"Lookin' good, man," Flare said, giving Qrow a thumbs up. Winona just nodded silently, her wings fluttering in sync with her movements. These two certainly looked like experts - and they had fought like pros, too. Their faces almost reminded him of Tai and Raven, in a way.
"Sorry if we kinda showed up out of nowhere," the archer said with an unapologetic smile. "Good old Ozpin had a feeling the negotiations would break down, so he sent some extra backup in secret, just in case things got violent. Unfortunately, it looks like the chief had the same idea."
Qrow sighed. "Yeah, sure sounds like you had everything all planned out." He couldn't help but feel grateful, though. If it weren't for the more experienced Huntsmen helping them out, he and Raven would have been captured, and Tai would be dead. I hope he's okay, wherever he is now.
"So...portals, huh?" he muttered. "Sis can do the same thing with Dust, but I guess it's a cool Semblance."
"Well, if you must know, it's not technically my Semblance," Crowley said, his smile narrowing a bit. "I don't really...have one."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't have any real ability of my own, see. Instead I just steal other people's Semblances, and make them my own. It's not as cool as it sounds, really - I can only have one at a time, and there's a, uh, certain restriction on whose Semblances I can actually take."
Qrow didn't fully get what he meant by a 'restriction', though he did notice that Crowley's arrogant smile faded completely as he talked about his Semblance. In any case, his mind had now shifted to a far more pressing topic.
"Hey Sis," he asked Raven. "How exactly did you and Tai end up at the bandit camp? He mentioned something about that Fenrir guy…"
"It's somewhat of a long story," she admitted.
"Yeah, no shit. That's what Tai said too, but that was when we were all trying to not get killed. So I'd say now's as good of a time as any, because I have a feeling we're both missing huge pieces of the bigger picture here."
"I'm a little curious, too," Crowley added. "Well, lady? I know the chief was your old man, but he was in league with Huntsman enemy number one - Salem. For all we know, he could've told you some juicy info - and anything we can get on our enemy is vital to success. You get that?"
Raven nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "...Okay. I'll tell you everything I know. Well, I supposed it started when..."
"Ack!" Tai's eyes flew open at once as he returned to life. "Wh-where am I?" he gasped.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy there, man," came a vaguely familiar voice. It came from his bedside - yes, it seemed that wherever he was, he had found himself lying in a warm and rather comfortable bed. He tried moving his head to look, but his whole body felt stiff as a statue.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the thick white bandages covering him from his left hand all the way to his chest. Ughhhh….the horrible pain of his injury came back to him all at once. How could he have let himself get overpowered like that?
He heard the sound of someone sobbing. "I-I'm so happy you're okay, Tai," came another voice, one that he recognized immediately.
"Huh?" All his strength returned at once, and he bolted upright. "Summer?!" he glanced to the side, and sure enough, his teammate was standing at his bedside, streams of tears running down from her bright silver eyes. Standing next to her was another unexpected person. "Wait, Latte? What the hell are you two…"
"We were heading to the forest when we found you," Latte Adel explained, a grim look on his face. "You were...not in good shape. I don't know how in the world you got those injuries, but you were nearly on death's door because of them."
Summer nodded, breathing a sigh of relief as she glanced down at him, smiling warmly. "We brought you here, to the hospital," she said. "The doctors said...they said you were hurt so bad, you'd probably fallen into a coma or something. But I knew you were stronger than that, Tai. I'm...I'm just happy you're okay," she repeated.
"Th...thanks," Tai muttered, falling back onto his sheets as pain took over his body yet again.
"I am a bit curious though," Latte said, glancing over him. "Summer told me that the last she'd heard, you and Raven had gone to Atlas. So what are you doing here, in a completely different kingdom?"
Tai was quiet for a moment, staring back at the two Huntsmen. "...I'm curious too," he finally said. "About you guys. Seriously, did you get into a fight with some mobsters on your way here?"
His eyes were wide with surprise as he looked over Summer and Latte. His teammate's trademark white cloak had been viciously torn up, and there were what looked suspiciously like claw marks embedded in the cloth. Latte, meanwhile, had a sharp burn scar on his cheek that was certainly not some strange new fashion statement. Both Huntsmen were covered with little bruises that their Aura hadn't quite yet healed.
"Yeah, um…" Summer sighed. "You're not the only one who has a lot of explaining to do."
"Well, you can save it until you hear this," Tai said, feeling a desperate need to inform his friends of everything that had happened at the camp. "The others, they were with me. And there were other Huntsmen too, and some bandits, and-"
"Wait." Latte put a hand on his suddenly shaking shoulder. "I'm sure whatever happened is some thrilling stuff, if your current state is any indication. But I think we should tell our side of the story first - especially since it leads into how we found you."
The silver-eyed Huntress nodded in agreement. "Things are...really bad here in Mistral, Tai. We've seen it for ourselves," she said.
"But-" Tai protested, but he saw that the two of them were serious about this. Not to mention, Latte looked genuinely upset. When had he ever seen Latte with a frown on his face? "Alright, alright. I'll listen."
"Umm...where should I begin?" Summer took a deep breath. "Well, I guess it started when…"
Wow, another chapter? After like, what, six whole months of nothing? I guess sometimes miracles really do happen.
While I hope you all enjoy it, I'd like to give a fair warning to not expect this to be a return to regular weekly/bi-weekly uploads. In fact, school is starting up again in less than a month, so if anything I'll have even less time to work on fanfic. I just felt the urge to continue this story that basically started my desire to take writing more seriously (hard to believe it's been over 2 years since I started), and MAYBE I'll be able to get another chapter out before it's back to hiatus. Again.
Again, I hope you enjoy, and I hope everyone else is looking forward to RWBY Volume 6!
