Here's that in-between chapter I was talking about. This is going to be the setup for what will now be the very broken timeline of the actual show.
With some many people present and alive, and obviously this being a humorous take on the show, a lot of things are going to be different.
With all that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom!
Roman was very uncomfortable.
The van ride was beginning to wear him down and he was beginning to understand how a claustrophobic person felt on a train. This was torture!
Not to mention that the kids had all been singing along to whatever the garbage the twins were playing was. Roman wasn't sure what the fuck a "Billy Eyelash" was but he knew that if he ever met them he'd personally beat them to death.
"I'm gonna do it. I'm jumping," Qrow mumbled. Roman pat the man's shoulder. He too was feeling the pain of being past his generation.
"How the hell does Glynda take this so well!?" Qrow grumbled. The thief shrugged and they both looked to the woman in question. As though sensing their looks, she cracked an eye open at them.
"Please don't break my concentration. I've been focusing on blotting out all noise for the last two hours."
Well that explained that well enough. The three sighed and continued to weather the storm that was pop music.
As though hearing their desperate pleas, the music was lowered and the twins posed a question.
"What exactly are we gonna do once we get to Mistral?" Miltia asked. They all looked to the adults. Roman and Glynda in turn looked to Qrow. The man looked around and swore.
"Well, that's pretty obvious. We're gonna... uh, we have to get... no that wouldn't make sense," he trailed off as he mumbled to himself.
"You don't know do you?" Roman tried. Qrow shrugged and shook his head. They all groaned.
"So we're just going to Mistral because a dead guy told you to?" Melanie asked. Qrow grumbled.
"That's just what Ozpin said! I assumed he'd have someone there to tell us what was going on!" Qrow protested. Roman was rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Did Ozpin say who that would be?" Roman tried. Qrow scratched the back of his head.
"Uh, he said it would be him," he answered. The car was silent for a spell. Glynda slowly turned to the drunk.
"What the hell Qrow?" she asked. Qrow threw his hands up.
"Look I didn't make the plan! Ozpin normally follows through on his word so I assumed he had something up his sleeve!" Qrow argued.
"Oh of course! Why wouldn't the dead guy follow through on his word he said when he was alive," Roman emphasized the last part. Glynda sighed and whistled.
"Enough of this. At the very least we can reconvene with Leonardo and see about situating ourselves there," she proposed. Qrow have a gesture of 'whatever' and tried to fall asleep. Roman and Glynda tried to do the same.
Then the music started again. The bloodlust was never stronger.
None of them even saw Qrow move before it was too late.
"You think they're all doing okay in there?" Mercury yelled from the back of Yang's bike. The two were tailing the van from behind, keeping up with the twins speed demon ways. They couldn't see through the tinted windows of the van, but it's not like there was anything interesting going on in there anyways.
"Probably! Not like there's anything in there that could hurt 'em!" Yang shouted back, swerving every now and then to avoid potholes in the earth or large rocks.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied. Just as the two were about to keep the conversation going, the back of the van opened and the limp form of Qrow could be seen tumbling out. Yang quickly swerved to the side and the drunk flew past and behind them. They were left staring ahead at the passengers still inside the van.
"Was that your uncle?" Mercury asked in shock.
"Ruby! Why did Qrow just toss himself out of the car!?" Yang yelled into the van. Ruby shrugged and the blonde sighed. What a crazy guy.
"Love the tunes!" Yang yelled in. It seemed that was the wrong thing to say in the moment.
"That's it! I can't take it anymore!" Roman screeched, throwing himself after Qrow. The space between the van and the bike were silent as the two men grew further and further away.
"Uh, Ms. Goodwitch? Do we go after them?" Ruby asked. The woman sighed.
"No I think Roman and Qrow are capable enough to catch up with us whenever they feel," Glynda stated. She looked Yang and Mercury in the eyes before closing the rear doors once more.
The two teens were silent for a spell before Mercury piped up again.
"Can you imagine having a robot arm or something? I feel like you'd be able to pull it off pretty well," the assassin questioned. Yang snorted.
"Yeah right! Who could ever even come close to cutting off one of my arms?" she asked back to the boy. The two laughed. Yeah, that was a little ridiculous.
Meanwhile, Roman stood up from the dirt road and dusted himself off. As he made sure he had all his belongings, he heard coughing from behind him. He turned and shook his head.
"You fell a hell of a lot harder than I did ya know?" Roman told Qrow as the drunk limped his way up the road. Qrow took a minute to breath before standing straight.
"And it still was better than enduring any more of that... that..." Qrow reached for the right word.
"Torture?" Roman tried. Qrow snapped and pointed at the thief.
"Perfect," he claimed. The two looked around, enjoying the silence and figuring out where they'd most likely find everyone now that they'd abandoned ship.
"You know where the next town is?" Roman asked as he looked in the direction the van had gone. Qrow shrugged.
"That way I think. If I remember there's a gas station or something like that over there too," he stated. Roman shrugged and the two began a light stroll towards the others.
"So what are we supposed to do once we get to Mistral?" Roman asked. Qrow shrugged once more.
"I don't really know. Meet Ozpin or whoever and hope?" he stated. Roman groaned and reached in his pocket. Finding his scroll he opened it and checked for a signal.
"Well, there's no way we can contact anyone outside of Vale right now but I think we can still use the radio function to keep in touch with the others," he mused. Qrow grunted in acknowledgement, taking out his flask and taking a swig. When he was done he held it in Roman's direction.
Taking the flask with a quick thanks, Roman took a sip and handed it back. It reminded him of his younger days, when he'd trek around Vacuo without a care in the world. Ah the good old days.
"What's got you smiling?" Qrow grunted. Roman shook his head gently.
"Just thinking of when I was a reckless kid back in Vacuo. Back when things were just a little bit easier," he said. Qrow laughed.
"You mean back when you were stealing and looting?" he laughed. Roman rolled his eyes.
"Please, there's barely anything to steal in Vacuo. I did most of my crime in Vale. Most of it," he stated. The two chatted for a while, every now and then taking a shot at the stray Grimm that crossed their path.
Finally, off in the distance they could make out a town. Roman squinted and turned to Qrow.
"That the place you mentioned?" he asked. Qrow nodded.
"Must be. If not it's better than nothing," he claimed. The sun was setting and there was a substantially higher chance of getting eaten while you were asleep than while you were awake.
"Well hopefully there's an inn or something. God forbid I have to sleep in that van with a bunch of kids... Wow that did not come out the way I thought it would," Roman winced. Qrow laughed at the man.
"Hey, it's better than sleeping behind a bar," Qrow assured. Roman gave him a sidelong glance.
"I'm sure you of all people know what that's like," he quipped. Qrow chuckled.
"I will neither confirm nor deny," he said. As the two men got closer to the gates of the town, they saw a very agitated Glynda standing by the gates. Roman gulped and Qrow stepped away from the man.
"Glyn! How was the car ride?" Roman asked. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"We arrived four and a half hours ago," she began, "and I cannot believe you both dodged being responsible for any of the kids by throwing yourselves out of the car."
"You're just jealous you didn't do it either!" Qrow exclaimed. Glynda lifted him with her semblance and tossed him into the village.
"Yeah okay, not my best," Roman agreed. Glynda sighed and turned.
"We've settled at an inn, be sure to thank Ms. Nikos for accommodating us," she said as she walked. He followed after and caught up, walking side by side with the woman.
"Unfortunately, we ran into an issue," she said. He groaned.
"Please tell me we lost one of the kids. At least then it's a loss we can deal with," he tried. She gave him a look and he whistled. She rolled her eyes.
"The van has broken," she said. Roman winced.
"Well that didn't last long," especially since Junior had just tweaked it.
"Yes well while it may have been repaired do try to remember that it was found in the wreckage following the attack on Beacon. That it lasted until here is a miracle really," she said. He hummed.
"So how are we getting to Mistral?" Roman asked. Glynda sighed.
"Against my better judgement we shall be traveling by foot," she sighed, "though I am hoping that Leonardo will have some form of good news for us when we arrive."
"Yeah well, Qrow doesn't seem to know what's waiting for us at Haven either," Roman added. The woman groaned and rubbed the sides of her head.
"Ozpin was never one to be specific when it came to finer details," she stated. Roman had to agree. After all, he'd been roped into teaching a bunch of brats for the last six or so months!
"Roman! Over here!" Ruby yelled. Roman looked up and saw Ruby leaning from the second story window of a large wooden building.
"If you fall make it look like an accident Red! That lawsuit money will come in handy!" he called up to the young reaper. She giggled and disappeared from the window.
"You're much better with the students than you give yourself credit for," Glynda claimed, sending him a sly smile. He laughed and waved her off.
"Please, kids are easy," he said, "adults are much harder to work with, always wanting things and trying to make awkward small talk."
Glynda laughed quietly and the two entered the inn. Once inside, Roman was greeted with the smell of a hearty meal and the sight of Qrow downing a fourth shot.
"Qrow, for shame. We haven't even been here an hour," Roman told the man off as he came up to him from behind. Qrow waved him away and flagged the bartender down for another shot.
"Aren't your nieces upstairs?" the crook asked. Qrow grunted.
"They're used to this, don't worry 'bout it," he groaned. Roman rolled his eyes. Glynda stepped forward and shot the bartender a glare. Sensing his imminent demise the man backed away and took Qrow's drink with him.
"What gives? It's not like we're going anywhere yet!" Qrow whined. The other two rolled their eyes.
"Qrow, go take a cold shower or something," Roman said as he nudged the man's slumped form. Qrow just grumbled.
"Leave him Roman, we already have to deal with the other children, we can't worry about him right now," Glynda stated, turning and taking the stairs up to the rooms. Roman gave Qrow another nudge in the kidney before following the woman up.
"So when are we heading out?" Roman asked. He wasn't a huge fan of staying in one place, years of living on the run made him accustomed to that life. Glynda hummed.
"Well, we should probably leave tomorrow. There's another active village pretty far from here and we can't waste time standing around," she said, thinking through the plan in her head.
"How long will it take to get to Mistral on foot?" Roman asked. She grimaced and opened the door to a room, gesturing the man in.
"We may be traveling for a few months and still be a ways away from seeing the kingdom" she said. Roman let out a deep sigh as he sat on one of the beds in the room.
"We don't even get a paycheck for this anymore," he groaned. The woman laughed and sat with him on the bed, leaning against his side.
"Yes well, I suppose we'll have to pick up some small jobs on the side," she suggested. He sighed once more.
"Taking jobs and traveling on foot? Red might be legal drinking age by the time we make it to Mistral," he joked. She let out a small huff of laughter and they both laid back stared up.
"Well here's to a new adventure eh?" Roman looked over to the woman. She looked back and they shared a brief kiss.
"Here indeed," she groused.
In the room across from them, the former students all sat in a circle. While they had three rooms among the ten of them, they had all been hanging out in Ruby, Yang, and Neo's room.
Currently they watched as Mercury down his sixth drink in the last half hour. The boy claimed to have the best tolerance out of all of them, and while nobody disputed the claim in the first place, he decided to prove them wrong anyways.
What they'd all failed to realize was that the alcohol he'd grabbed wasn't just some watered down drink, it was tried and true hard liquor. The boy didn't stand a chance.
"An-and then Pyrrha got shot in the chest and she died! And then I grew my legs back," he stammered, leaning heavily against Ren. The quiet boy rubbed his arm and Mercury started crying.
"I miss you Pyrrha!" Mercury cried. They all sent an awkward glance in the champions direction. Pyrrha looked unsure of... well, everything going on really.
"Uh, I miss you as well?" she tried. Evidently it was the wrong response.
"I can still hear her voice! But I can't feel my legs!" he said, rubbing at his leg area. About an hour ago they'd removed his legs so that he wouldn't pose a threat to anyone. Good thing too since he was starting to kick his stumps in an aggressive fashion.
"Ooookay, that's enough for you," Ruby said as she slipped the bottle from the boys hands. He promptly passed out onto Ren. Nora looked furious when Ren didn't make any move to remove the assassin. Neo made an executive decision to take a few steps away from the ginger.
"Man, I can't believe the school is gone," Jaune stated. It was indeed surreal that what was once the most well renowned school was now a desolate pile of stone and ash. Just a month ago they'd all been in classes and now they were all on the road!
"I for one welcome the chance to travel the world! Though I can't say exploding the school and the forest was what would give me the chance to do so..." Miltia mumbled. They chuckled at her thought, anything to lessen the severity of the actual situation they were in.
"You three are from Mistral right?" Melanie asked, pointing among Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha. They all nodded and the girl hummed.
"What's it like?" she asked. Ren and Nora made a face while Pyrrha grew a small smile.
"Argus is wonderful, and much less... seedy than Mistral the city," Pyrrha said, eyes closed as she thought of home. They turned to the totally-not-a-couple and gave them an expectant look.
"Weeeeell..." Nora started, trailing off and looking around.
"Mistral sucks," Ren said simply. They all stared at him, expecting elaboration. When the boy remained silent they all looked to Nora.
"Well he's right! Mistral kinda sucks! There's a lot of crime, and the class disparity is HUGE! Not to mention that outside of the city, villages rarely get any help," Nora listed. They stared at her, wide eyed at her sudden eloquence. She gave them all a look.
"What? I can talk smart too," she humphed, crossing her arms and turning her nose up.
"Great, so Mistral sucks and we're heading balls deep into the city with a bees dick amount of planning," Miltia complained. The rest couldn't help but agree. This wasn't shaping up to be the most interesting or fun journey they'd had.
Neo nudged Ruby's shoulder and pointed at the ball of fluff currently nestled in Pyrrha's lap. The champion seemed to be a dog person, yet another friend that Blake had shunned for the transgression, and the champion had been testing the limits to his aura with Neo and Ruby.
Currently, Pyrrha was allowing Chew to bite her gauntlets, the dogs aura sparking at his teeth when he clamped down. Pyrrha had said it was like teething for aura, or maybe more like working out. By allowing it to take small amounts of damage at a time with no real threat, aura would slowly strengthen over time. And so Chew was allowed to jump off of heights himself and bite hard objects.
Ruby let out a squee at the sight, the puppy trying his damndest to wrestle Pyrrha's gauntlet off. The champion hardly seemed to notice, she and Jaune discussing her family. Jaune seemed to be growing more and more pale at the prospect of meeting them.
Can't blame him, Neo thought, remembering the pain her spine felt after Taiyang's hug. Not to mention the blatant threat on her life. Speaking of which, she and Ruby didn't even tell anyone they had started seeing each other so how'd he learn!?
Roman was the most likely answer. The man knew Neo better than anyone. He probably assumed they were going out way earlier!
"Ow! What in the world?" Pyrrha suddenly yelped. They all turned to see Chew, teeth buried in Pyrrha's gauntlet and trying to tug the offending armor off.
"Did... did he just bite through your armor?" Ruby asked. Yang looked on in disbelief.
"Um, it would seem so, yes," Pyrrha winced as the dog continued to pull. Neo ran in and lifted the puppy up, chew still holding on to the champions arm for a moment before letting go.
"Wow, those are some powerful teeth," Yang pointed out as Neo brought the dog closer. The blonde looked in and noticed just how large and sharp they actually were.
"You sure Roman didn't get you a particularly hairy shark?" Yang asked. Neo rolled her eyes and observed the dogs mouth. Chew yipped and licked her face. She scrunched her face up and turned her mouth away as Ruby laughed at her.
"Speaking of the little guy, how's that armor coming along?" Jaune asked. Ruby jumped at the chance to talk about the design.
"Oh it's so awesome! When he gets big enough, which Goodwitch says should be in a few months because of his aura, he should be able to fit it! All we need is a forge or a blacksmith and we'll be able to put it together!" the young reaper said, too fast for most people in the room to really understand.
"Speaking of upgrades, I think you're in need of one Jaune," Pyrrha said as she looked her partner up and down.
"Like what?" he asked. She hummed.
"What if you changed up your sword a bit?" she proposed.
"Okay... what if I made the shield turn into a bigger sword!" he said. She looked at him and sighed.
"Jaune, perhaps you should invest in some, er, versatile functions," the champion tried. He hummed and scratched his chin.
"Okay what if the sword—" he was cut off by Neo.
I think she means a gun Jaune, she signed. He looked to Pyrrha and Neo made a gun with her fingers. The champion nodded.
"You really should invest in some form of ranged option," she suggested. He sighed and agreed. As the two talked over the possibilities, there was a knock at the door. Well, more of an angry banging.
"Shut up in there I'm trying to get some!" Roman hissed through the door. They all cringed and tried to blank the thought of the two adults procreating from their minds.
"Well that certainly killed the vibe," Melanie groaned. They all chuckled and decided to turn in for the night, the twins grabbing Mercury and Ren carrying his legs back separately.
"Alright you two, no funny business," Yang said when it was just the three of them. Ruby blushed and Neo stuck her tongue out at the girl.
Tomorrow they'd leave on foot for Mistral. Wasn't that exciting? No car, just open road and Grimm from every angle.
A total joy.
Weiss was in a bad mood.
Perhaps it was the fact that she was currently being held captive in her own home.
Maybe it was because she had to put up with her absolute twat of a brother and shitpipe of a father.
Maybe it was because she had just stubbed her toe unexpectedly and was currently laying in the fetal position on her large ornate bed, totally not crying and swearing the pain away.
Really she had a lot of reasons to be in such a dour state of being.
A knock from her door gained her attention. After another series of knocks she sighed.
"Enter," she said, bad mood exhausting her. The door opened gently and she let a genuine smile grace her features.
"Hello Ms. Schnee," a short and balding man greeted, one arm behind his back, the other holding a small platter with a cover on it.
"Hello Klein," she returned, sitting upright and fixing her slightly disheveled hair.
"Were you... crying, m'lady?" Klein asked, an eyebrow raised.
"No, you're imagining things," she said quickly. He let out a small chuff of laughter and brought the platter to her bedside table.
"Something to take the edge off, so to speak," he said gently. She smiled when he removed the cover. A small rainbow of cakes and other sweets were laid out across the plate.
"Thank you Klein. You really make this place feel less like a prison," she said. He chuckled before twitching as his eyes turned red.
"If I had it my way I'd smack your Pa and your brother upside the 'ead for acting like such piles of shit," he growled. She giggled at his strange change in behavior. It was normal to her by this point, after so many years of having him in her service. Thinking of normal, she remembered her team and friends and sighed sadly.
"If only I had a way of getting in touch with my team," Weiss mumbled. Klein perked up and fumbled around.
"Oh! That reminds me!" he said as he reached in his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. Weiss took it when it was handed to her. The only thing written on the letter was "For Weiss."
"Who is this from?" the heiress asked. Klein gave her an apologetic look.
"I'm afraid there was no return address. Furthermore, there's no way whoever sent this would know where you would be at this moment," the butler said confusedly. Weiss sighed and opened the letter, reading over what was clearly somebody else's handwriting.
"Wait a minute..." Weiss narrowed her eyes, scanning the letter, "this is from... Neo?"
"Who?" Klein asked. Weiss smiled and tried to find a way to explain the enigma that was Neo.
"She's... a friend. One who may or may not live above the law," Weiss stated. Klein looked concerned but she waved him off.
"Interesting... what are they doing going to Mistral?" she wondered aloud.
"Mistral? How on Remnant were they planning on getting to Mistral?" Klein asked. Weiss read the short letter again but the information was sparring at best.
Hey Weiss, it's Neo. I know you're being held prisoner but we're all heading to Mistral. I don't know what we're doing there but Ruby and Yang's uncle seems hell-bent on getting there. Stay safe and meet us there! Remember to think like me! Murder is only murder if they find the body!
Weiss was trying not to think about how 'thinking like Neo' probably meant something along the lines of 'kill your family' and them had to try not to think about how she actually considered it.
"It looks like I'm needed in Mistral," Weiss said throwing the letter away. Klein sent a weary look her way.
"How do you plan on doing that exactly?" Klein asked. Weiss shook her head and winced.
"I have no idea," Weiss said. Surely she couldn't just threaten her way out of the manor and all the way to Mistral. Nobody would just let that happen!
Well, nobody with hunter training would let that happen.
And her father was definitely not hunter trained.
"No, bad," she said to herself, shaking her head to rid the thought.
"Weiss?" Klein asked in concern over the girls sudden lapse in thought.
"It's nothing Klein," Weiss replied. It was silent for a spell while Weiss mulled over something.
"Klein?" she asked suddenly. He stood at attention.
"Yes m'lady?" he responded.
"Does father keep any weapons on his person or in his office?" she asked. He looked skeptical at the request.
"Erm, not that I'm aware of?" he said unassured of the girls intentions.
"Hmm, I see," she said. Again it was silent and Klein was beginning to feel like he should leave her alone. As he turned and excused himself Weiss watched the door close behind him.
"I really shouldn't," she said aloud. Her eyes drifted down to the case that she had hastily stored under her bed. Inside was Myrtenaster, her beloved rapier.
"Think like Neo, huh?" she wondered.
Nobody said she had to actually hurt anyone.
"Perhaps I'll think on it later," she said as she stood and stretched. She ignored how enticing the thought of holding her father at sword point was.
She would think of another way to Mistral.
No matter how easy the Neo way sounded.
Shit, I really want to though.
"Blake, I really don't need to hear this from you," Ilia groaned. Blake had been going on and on about the Fang and all the bad things they'd been doing.
"But you can't keep working with them!" The raven haired girl yelled.
"Uh, yeah I can? And it'll probably be easier now that Adam is dead," she said. Blake hissed at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Are you seriously broken up about the crazy guy who tried to kill your friend on multiple occasions?" Sun asked. Blake placed a finger over his lips and kept her glare on Ilia.
"The Fang can't keep up with these attacks! You're just painting a target for Atlas to carpet bomb Menagerie!" Blake claimed.
"They were probably thinking about doing it already!" Ilia argued.
"And you're just giving them a reason!" Blake shouted.
"Oh here we go with the yelling again," Sun moaned.
"You get used to it," Ilia told. Blake hissed and Ilia rolled her eyes.
"You, go somewhere else. I'll deal with you later," Blake said to the boy. Sun put his hands up in surrender and backed away.
"Just try not to start a shoot out on the ship. I don't think the captain would approve," he said as he walked off. Blake spun back around after making sure he was gone and resumed her glare on Ilia.
"Look Blake, I don't know what you want from me. I'm not even the leader here," Ilia said. Blake sighed.
"I'm aware that Sienna is in charge but that doesn't mean you have to do what she says!" Blake claimed.
"Uh, she's kinda the leader. Last time I checked that's exactly what that means," Ilia said. Blake flicked the girls forehead and Ilia yelped.
"And what's Sienna planning now?" Blake asked. Ilia gave her a look of disbelief.
"You expect me to just tell you?" she asked incredulously. Blake had the decency to look a little sheepish. She didn't account for the possibility of Ilia saying no.
"Listen. I don't have the patience to deal with you," Ilia growled, "I'm going to the other side of the boat. You and that other guy can have this side."
"You can't just walk away from me!" Blake claimed. Ilia laughed her off.
"Who are you my mom? I'm absolutely gonna just walk away," Ilia said as she began moving. Blake made to chase but Ilia stopped her.
"How about you focus on your family, and I focus on the Fang? That way, I don't have to deal with you whining," she offered. Blake nearly started another argument when Sun stopped her.
"Okay, we're gonna walk the other way now," he said. Blake squawked.
"I thought you left!" she yelled. He laughed.
"Nah, I don't trust you not to get into trouble," he said as he dragged her off. She hissed at him and he shrugged.
"Nice meeting you!" Sun called back as the two rounded the corner. Ilia sighed and rolled her shoulders.
"Hopefully those creepy brothers have a new plan. One that involves less exploding," she whispered to herself as she walked around the ship.
That and since Adam was planning on killing Sienna she had no idea what they were doing now.
"Well, I'd rather him dead than her," she sighed. Good riddance too.
That guy was an asshole.
"My queen?" Watts asked. Currently they all sat assembled at the large table in the throne room. Rather than explain why they were there, Salem had been swiping through a scroll and ignoring them.
"Uh, my goddess? Are you unwell?" Tyrian asked, concerned for the well being of his beloved queen. She had been very quiet as of late, and not in the scheming kind of way, in the 'strange that she wasn't scheming' kind of way.
"Hm? Oh yes I forgot I called you all here," she said, placing the scroll down. She tented her fingers in front of her and gazed among all of them.
"Cinder?" Salem prompted. Cinder straightened and gave the woman her attention.
"Yes?" she rasped, her voice still ruined from that insufferable red whore's magic eye lasers.
Salem placed a hand on the scroll she had been using and slid it over to the scarred girl. Cinder grabbed the device and scowled.
"What can you tell me about this man?" Salem asked, eyes alight. Cinder nearly growled as she looked at the image.
"Nothing good," she hissed. Salem raised an eyebrow.
"Come now Cinder, I know he thwarted your plans but you must learn to forgive and forget," the Grimm woman claimed. They all sent her a shocked look, Tyrian even falling out of his chair and onto the ground.
Wasn't that a bit hypocritical? Salem telling someone else to forgive and forget? Ozpin must've been rolling in his grave.
"There's nothing I can tell you, my mistress. All I know is that he has a daughter who—" Cinder was cut off as Salem flew across the table and grasped her by her shoulders.
"He's married!?" she cried. Cinder looked behind her to see Watts shaking his head and swiping his hand past his neck back and forth in a 'say nothing's gesture. She couldn't help but agree.
"Err, no?" she replied. Salem visibly deflated, sighing in relief as she put a hand to her chest.
"So he's not married and he's a good dad? This man gets better and better..." she mused. Hazel looked visibly put off, a rarity for the normally stoic man. Watts looked like someone had told him math wasn't real and that his life was a lie. Tyrian...
Tyrian looked dead. Not even in the 'oh he's just unconscious' way. He was pale, and his eyes had rolled back. His mouth hung open in agony and his tail had curled up.
"My queen, please," Cinder tried, "he's really not worth—"
"Enough! I've made my decision!" Salem announced. Like that they all snapped back to attention, Tyrian sitting up and wiping drool from his face.
"What is our assignment, my liege," Hazel asked. Salem closed her eyes and hummed, tilting her head back and forth in contemplation.
"We need to head to Mistral anyways, check in on Leonardo," Salem said. Watts nodded and began preparations on his scroll.
"We also need to locate whoever made Cinder look like a rat," Salem said. Cinder growled lowly.
"But our first order of business is to get me this man," she said, holding up the scroll she'd been on.
On the screen was a picture taken the day of the breach in Vale. Roman stood smiling with a larger man and a skinny green haired man. His whole person was in view. His stunning eyes, his luscious hair, his manly but supple looking body.
"Oh yes, he's definitely priority number one," Salem said in a husky voice. They all had to refrain from hurling and instead opted for leaving the room. Salem sat alone, going over the footage the media had of the man.
"Truly there's nothing stopping me from having him," she laughed, "he's just ripe for the tak—"
She froze and let out a bowl of rage. The doors were flung open and her minions all stood at the ready.
"What's wrong my queen!?" Tyrian shouted. Salem glared down at the scroll, hissing at what she was looking at.
On the screen was an image from a tabloid. Roman and another woman were stood together hand in hand, dressed formally and looking incredibly good at that.
What made Salem seeth was the fact that they were kissing ever so lightly.
"NEW NEW PLAN!" Salem shouted, rumbling the tower.
"Bring me her too. Alive. I want to deal with her myself," she growled at the image. They all looked to each other and sighed.
They didn't get paid enough for this.
Actually, they didn't get paid at all.
Damn.
"Aren't we supposed to be leaving right now?" Qrow asked as he and Roman stood outside of a tailors storefront. Glynda was checking the time every minute, as though hoping the constant motion would speed things up.
"The kids said they needed to 'shed their old skin' and get new outfits," Roman said with air quotes. Glynda groaned.
"Don't they understand what a schedule is? It's been nearly an hour!" she complained. As though finally hearing their complaints, the young hunters all exited the store.
"Finally, you know how unnecessary an outfit change is?" Roman asked. Neo rolled her eyes and flipped him off. As she and Roman got into a small fistfight, Ruby watching from the sidelines, they all took a moment to admire their new outfits. It seemed none of the young criminals had any desire to buy as they all had the same outfit. Well, almost all of them.
"Okay okay! Get off of me you little bastard!" Roman grumbled, pushing Neo away. She stuck her tongue out at him. Neo's outfit had stayed more or less the same, but for two accessories in her hair. Two hairpins were present where her hair turned from brown to pink. One was a small pair of cherries, the other was a strawberry. Roman rolled his eyes at the subtle meaning of the two.
"Cute," he toned. She flipped him off again and they both returned to the group. Roman looked over their outfits.
Ren had let his hair down and done away with his normal jacket. Instead he had two thin pink sleeves that stopped just short of his shoulders.
Nora had donned a new red and navy blue jacket and was busy trying to do Ren's hair. He didn't seem to mind but also had the face of a man that knew he didn't have a choice either way.
Jaune and Pyrrha looked about the same. The only difference was that Jaune was now wearing a bronze circlet similar to Pyrrha's own tiara, only slightly bulkier, looking more like a small crown. Pyrrha had black a form fitting, yet dense looking bodysuit under her normal armor.
At Jaune's behest, Pyrrha had opted to wear a layer of under armor. When she asked why he was so concerned, he simply said that he'd rather she didn't get stabbed in the tit.
She couldn't disagree with him on that. She also didn't want to be stabbed in the tits.
"Can we leave now? The later it gets the more work we have to do," Roman whined. They all gave varying forms of agreement and began heading towards the town gates.
Chew followed behind happily, sniffing here and there and getting a sense of the world beyond the kingdoms. He looked up and tilted his head at a black bird.
"Arf arf!" he barked up at the bird. Ruby and Neo followed his gaze to the raven and watched as it flew away, startled by the dog.
"You gotta be quiet Chew! If you do that to every animal then the Grimm will always know where we are!" Ruby said. The dog whined and watched the bird go. Neo raised an eyebrow at him. He'd never been this bent up about the birds in the city. So what was wrong here?
Many yards away a raven landed in a small clearing in the woods. It peered around before shifting into a full grown woman.
"Rrgh. Damn dog. Hate those things..." the woman claimed as she brushed feathers out of her hair. She had been out getting provisions for her tribe when she noticed a very familiar asshole standing around the corner. With Glynda Goodwitch and some petty thief at that!
She sighed as she tore her sword free from its sheath and sliced the air. Soon after, a dark red and black portal came into existence and she stepped through.
"Raven? That was fast," a girl with very short hair commented, standing in attention as Raven slumped onto the couch in her tent. She reached behind her and grabbed a glass bottle, popping it open and drinking from it without even checking to see what the contents were.
"Yes Vernal, I had to cut the trip short. And this is why I send you out to do it!" Raven scolded, Vernal shrinking back when she snapped.
"Yes but I only just got back from—" she was cut short when Raven shoved a finger to her face.
"Shshsh," Raven tsked, "forget it. We have other things to worry about."
"Like what?" Vernal asked, tilting her head. Raven growled.
"It looks like Ozpin has my idiot of a brother skulking around Sanus," Raven swiped at her mouth as she downed the rest of the drink and slammed the empty bottle onto the table in front of her, mumbling about how the drink tasted like shit.
"Doing what?" the younger woman asked. She didn't have the heart to point out that Raven had just chugged a bottle of cough medicine. She wasn't the kind of person to take feedback well. Especially when she was in one of her moods.
"Seems like he's rounded up a motley crew of misfits to establish a base in Mistral," she said, staring off into the distance. Vernal noted that she did that a lot when she thought about her brother or her old team and Beacon.
"Why does that matter to us though?" she asked, confused as to why it had the older woman in such a slump. Raven blew a strand of hair out of her face.
"Because we're set up in Mistral. And Qrow is one persistent bastard. He'll look all around for me and give me the 'you need to help' speech. And whenever that particular talk gets brought up, Ozpin is soon to follow," Raven explained. Vernal hummed. Raven hated Ozpin more than she hated dogs. Why she hated dogs so much she would never tell. Rumor was that something happened and a dog bit her tail. But she didn't have a tail. Was that a double entendre?
As Vernal thought about why a dog would bite Raven's tail, Raven herself was contemplating what she had seen.
"So Ozpin's got himself a new little army. We'll see how well they do when they eventually learn the truth," she mused to herself. Ozpin had lied to her and almost trapped her in his schemes.
She refused to let him try again, be it through her brother or himself.
If only Qrow had believed her.
"You'll find out in time, brother," she sighed. For some reason she suddenly felt very tired.
"Raven? Raaaaaven? Whoo boy," Vernal groaned as she watched Raven's gaze become foggy and the woman slumped back. Her head lolled too and fro and there was a small amount of drool falling from her mouth.
"Damn. Now I gotta take care of her and get more cough syrup!" Vernal swore.
Another day in the life of a bandit.
A short chapter (and what I personally see as my most frantic and least substantial chapter).
As I said this is just a simple in between chapter, only meant to get the season in motion. Season four is pretty slow, so I had to find a few ways to make things more exciting.
And what's more exciting than walking right?
At any rate, I just finished my first semester of college! It was fun. And exhausting. But I still have enough spirit to write this fic!
Remember to favorite and follow, it makes me feel better about myself, and leave a review! I read them all!
Until then, please everyone have a lovely time (and a happy holidays!).
And don't bite off more than you can chew!
Omake: Ozpin Returns
Oscar Pine considered himself to be a fairly normal boy. He wasn't the smartest, but was far from the dumbest. He was strong for a young boy his size, farm work would do that to a person, but his strength paled in comparison to that of a hunters.
He sighed as he fed a row of horses. It was another boring day on the farm. No clouds, lots of hat, very few girls.
God were there no girls.
Oscar was hardly seeking a partner, or even sex, but the farm was so boring and lonely, and he rarely saw anyone aside from when he went to town for the market.
His mind was drifting from the markets. Sales of his family's crops and what he had to but for the house faded away as he thought of a cute blonde farm girl he'd seen the other week. She had such pretty eyes and a charming smile. Of course he'd never actually spoken to her, he wasn't confident in that ability, but he watched her as she sold her own family's crops.
His mind drifted yet again to how the rest of her body looked. Strong yet smooth arms, and the way that her overalls hugged her hips. He started to have thoughts about that particular part of her.
"Oh for love of— this is so messed up," a voice suddenly commented. Oscar yelped and blushed, swinging around and searching for the person who'd spoken.
"Wh-who's there?" he asked. The barn was empty, except for the horses. He looked around, confused.
"Deep breaths Ozma, this isn't the most awkward body you've been in," the voice said again. Oscar whispered as he searched the barn.
Was he going crazy?
"No."
He was definitely going crazy.
"No you're not, don't worry about it."
He promptly passed out. A nearby horse sniffed him and nudged his still form. He didn't budge.
"Goddamnit," Ozpin sighed. At least it couldn't get any worse.
Wait. What was...
"Oh come on!" Ozpin groaned. It seems even in his sleep, his new host was very... active with his imagination. Active, and frustrated, it seemed.
"It's like repeat nine all over again," he mused. He never talked about repeat nine.
"Just kill me again," he sighed.
He was in for a long ride.