TIME SKIP TO SEASON 4 GO!
And thank you for your kind words~
Happy holidays and New Year!
Pain.
Roman was currently in a lot of pain.
Emotionally? Perhaps.
Physically? Without a doubt.
The reason? Probably the giant Grimm gorilla thrashing him around like a sock monkey.
"Glyn! A little help!?" he screamed. From his viewpoint, everything was upside down, and he could vaguely make out her form.
And now everything was right side up again. He sighed and thanked the Brothers he didn't have motion sickness.
"Roman I'm coming!" the woman shouted back, throwing a few beringels back before shooting a purple blast his way. While it may have looked like the trajectory was off, they'd been fighting together now for a few months, and Roman was a fast learner.
Throwing his cane up he caught the magic missile and swung it back, bringing the purple blast into the gorillas groin.
Yes, Roman had learned that Glynda's magic missiles (which he and the kids had started calling the 'fuck you blasts') were actually pretty much solids and could have their trajectory changed with another solid. Roman had taken to redirecting a few of them during combat for his own purposes.
The beast roared it's pain, dropping the crook and exploding when Roman shoved his cane in it's mouth and pulled the trigger.
"Thanks hon!" he yelled behind him as he jumped back to avoid a large fist from another beringel.
Glynda herself just erupted the ground around her, setting fire to the small town square they were fighting in.
"Uh, I think they'd want us to be a little more careful here and not, ya know, set the place on fire?" Qrow called from his place a few meters away from them. Glynda rolled her eyes as she lifted a creep into the air and threw it into a nevermore overhead, killing both.
"Everything's already on fire! The time for caution has passed," she claimed as she shot forth a wave of electricity that snaked its way through three beowolves.
"She's got ya there!" Roman said as he too threw away any pretenses of keeping any surrounding buildings in tact. He shot three flares out, the first two striking an ursa major and the beringel he'd dodged. The third hit the base of a clock Tower, rattling the structure. As the two massive Grimm encroached on him, he merely stepped to the side, just as the two giants were in front of him, the tower crashed down, crushing both with a muffled gurgle.
Qrow sighed and he too torn into the Grimm with no regards to the town that was biting around them.
Hopefully his nieces were doing better with their job than them.
Neo dodged out of the way of a giant stone fist. The geist they were all fighting had taken control of a few trees and boulders and had made itself a massive body. Team MMMN, Ruby, and Yang were taking care of this while team JNPR was clearing out the surrounding area.
The creature let out a strange roar that sounded more like a loud groan. It swung its tree trunk arm in a wide arc, taking out a few other trees as it did. He arm was stopped when Yang stepped in front of her and grabbed the trunk, bracing it against the whole of her body and keeping it in place.
The twins jumped and spun past the blonde, rendering the tree arm to pieces. The Grimm hissed as it lost an arm and made to attack with the other. Before it could, Ruby sped past and cut it off near the shoulder area, leaving it with only a small stump for an arm.
"Mercury! Yang! Kickbox!" Ruby yelled. The two mentioned ran past her and leapt into the air. Yang grabbed Mercury's arm, spinning him and gaining momentum before hurling the boy spinning towards the Grimm. Mercury shouted out as he spun with one leg outstretched.
He landed with a loud crack and the boulder shattered. As the geist flew from the boulder it hissed and tried to run. Unfortunately, Yang had yet to land and chose to do so on the poor beast.
"Ragh!" she cried as she drove her fist into it's small frame, crushing it down towards the earth and into the dirt. It didn't even make another noise as it dissolved upon impact.
"Kickbox? Didn't we agree not to call it that?" Mercury asked as he made sure his leg was still okay after the powerful impact. Yang blew a strand of hair from her face.
"Yeah, wasn't our team attack name 'fight club' or something?" the brawler questioned. Ruby huffed and stomped a foot.
"No, Fight Club is you two and the twins! You guys are the fight, they're the club!" Ruby said as though she were an angry director having to correct everyone on her vision.
"Wait, I thought kickbox was me and Mel's move?" Miltia asked as she waltzed up to them. Melanie followed and nodded with her sister. Ruby looked like she was about to blow a gasket.
"NO! You two are double trouble!" Ruby shouted. Neo shook her head and covered Ruby's mouth as the reaper continued to try and tell everyone off.
"Aaaanyways," Yang started, "let's go see if JNPR has finished up."
As they all walked back towards the town they had stopped by to restock and rest, they saw a large plume of smoke from the next town over.
"You think Qrow and the newlywed's are okay?" Yang asked. Neo punched her arm and the blonde laughed.
They aren't married! Neo's scroll claimed. Yang laughed more and the two got into a poke fight.
"They're probably fine. Those three are professionals!" Ruby said. As they left the clearing they were fighting in, a Russel came from the bushes. They all dropped and we're ready to start fighting again when...
An absolutely giant beast leapt from the bushes, easily the size of a regular adult bear (which was still pretty damn big, Grimm or not) and tackled Neo. It's mouth open and descended down towards her face.
As Neo sputtered, Ruby cheered.
"Chew!" she cried. He looked up and into the eyes of his master's lover. He licked her face too and she giggled. Mercury whistled as he looked at the dog standing tall.
Although he was still only about a year old now, the dog had grown immensely, a result of having aura no doubt assisting in his increased size. He stood at about four and a half feet tall on all fours. Mercury had mercy on whoever got him angry enough to stand on his hind legs.
His coat had remain fluffy but was not to be mistaken as the bulk of his form. Underneath his three inches of groomed fluff (Neo made sure he was trimmed regularly) was a muscular form that they'd seen take a tree down with a tackle.
And his teeth. 'Monstrous' was the best word for them. Each tooth was easily an inch or more long, and at least half as thick. He truly resembled a bear more than a dog now, if not for the overall shape of his body and head. It was as if somebody had fused the two animals together and Chew was what came out of it.
How was he? Neo asked as JNPR stepped from the brush. They all looked a little tired but otherwise appeared fine. Jaune struggled with his new weapon, Pyrrha gently guiding his hands until he managed to reload and cock the thing.
"He was great. Definitely improving faster than we thought," the blonde boy said as he slung his new firearm over his shoulder. Yes, Pyrrha had finally managed to get him to use a gun. It was funny to all of them as they watched him learn how to shoot. He was a natural aim, but didn't know the mechanics of a gun and had to get a crash course from Ruby and Pyrrha.
The gun was nothing spectacular, Jaune had requested as much. It was an average sized assault rifle that switched between bolt action and automatic fire. It was a dark silver, and had gold and copper accents around it. His shield had also been slightly modified, a small divot now at the top of the heater shield that allowed him to mount the gun in place and shoot from behind cover.
Chew barked and licked Pyrrha and Jaune now as well. The dog had taken to treating them almost as well as he did Neo and Ruby, and so Neo had suggested they start seeing how well he did apart from herself.
"C'mon, let's get back to the village. Hopefully we can get moving again soon," Ruby suggested, Neo nodding along quickly. They all agreed and headed back. They all knew the real reason the two were so excited to get back.
They missed the clocktower from the next town over crashing down to the ground.
"You kids really like being a pain in my ass dontcha?" Roman asked as he shrugged off his coat and gave it to Qrow to take inside the inn. Neo and Ruby laughed as they dragged him to the local forgery in the village. Roman, Glynda, and Qrow had only just gotten back from the next town over, having lead the survivors to this village. They had thanked the three adults and one of the women had even come onto Qrow. Qrow didn't get a chance to act on that before Glynda and Roman dragged him away. Chew barked and trotted behind them.
"Let the kids have their fun Roman," Glynda said as she walked beside his dragged form. He shook his head and stood, finally walking behind them. As they entered the smithy, a man greeted them.
"It's you lot again!" he said, seemingly surprised at the speed in which they handled things. Ruby saluted.
"The Grimm have been dealt with!" she claimed. Glynda nodded her head towards the direction they came from.
"And the next town has been successfully evacuated," she assured. The man thanked them and shook Ruby's hand with a little too much energy.
"Oh thank you so much! You've done us a great service," he claimed, finally letting go of the young girls hand, "Oh! And that request you made is done!"
Ruby and Neo looked excited and Chew muscled his way between them and put his head on the countertop. The smithy laughed and went into the back room for a moment before returning with a box.
"Here ya go! One shiny new set of armor!" he said. They opened the box and took out all the pieces, marveling over each one. They looked at each other and nodded, Neo holding Chew still as Ruby attached each piece where it should be.
When they were done they stood back and admired the work.
Chew stood at his impressive height, and didn't seem to even notice the armor he was wearing. On his head was a small metal helmet that fit over the top of his head but left the underside of his head uncovered so he could still use his mouth. There were two holes where his ears poked out.
Along his back was a few smaller plates that protected his spine, and then two larger plates halfway down the line of spine plates that hung down and over his sides, protecting him from being attacked from either side.
He also had two plates that protected his flank, one large plate hanging down towards each leg. The armor looked almost like the kind you'd put on a horse, only it had been fitted for a dog. It was a dark grey color, lighter than his dark brown fur, and it had the same golden brown accents that his fur had along the ends of each plate. Each plate also had a small spike in the center, with the head armor having three going down the top of his head to the tip of his snout, making him look like an evil guard dog from the underworld.
Chew didn't even appear to notice the heavy plating, running and jumping around the shops open floor like he normally did. It didn't take a genius to know that getting tackled by him in that armor could seriously hurt a person. Roman whistled and Glynda nodded.
"Well boy, you look like a killer now," Roman said as he knelt down and scratched under his chin where he was exposed. Chew groaned happily and licked the man's hand.
"He certainly looks even more durable than before," Glynda noted. The armor was sturdy, and lined with chain mail so that Chew could still move and bend and the armor would move with him.
"Yes! Operation doggy armor is a complete success!" Ruby cried. Neo jumped up and hugged her, the two falling to the ground. Seeing the affection, Chew tore his head free from Roman's s ratchets and leapt upon them, drawing groans and yells from the two as he landed.
"Thank the Brothers this guy is a gentle giant. If he were as vicious as he looked he might kill us in our sleep," Roman quipped. Glynda smiled at the statement and couldn't help but agree. If it weren't for the fact that they had been taking care of him since he was a puppy they'd assume he was a trained killer.
"Well I'm glad you like it, and thank you again for your help. It's huntsman like you that keep the villages outside the kingdoms safe," the blacksmith said. They nodded and left, Chew following along obediently.
"Alright kiddos, go rest! We have a lot of ground to cover still," Roman ordered. Ruby grabbed Neo's hand and dragged the mute girl away, excited to show off Chew's new armor design in its entirety.
"We still have no idea what we're doing," Glynda sighed. Roman nodded and the two took their time walking back to the inn.
"Yeah but it's better than sitting around doing nothing. In the event that Ozpin did have a plan, it's worth a shot," he said. She agreed and they continued to talk as they went back to their room. She didn't miss how Roman scowled at the lack of information but chose not to comment. She felt the same about being left in the dark.
There was still a long way to go. The next stop looked to be entering Mistral territory at least.
Blake was fuming right now. She didn't think a boat ride to Menagerie would take this long. That and being stuck on a ship with Sun and avoiding Ilia was starting to grate on her nerves.
"I spy something black!" Sun said. She growled and rounded on him.
"For the last time can you be quiet and stop playing games! And you already named every black article of clothing on me right now, so what could it possibly be!?" she snapped. He pointed behind her and she gasped.
A giant serpentine like dragon was currently looming over the ship and staring down at them. It made a deep gurgling noise and a little saliva dropped onto her head.
"I was actually gonna say—"
"Yeah I see it now," she sighed. The two armed themselves and leapt off the ship and into the crags in the water.
"Oh hell no!" Ilia shouted as she too leapt off the boat and took out her weapon.
"Yo what's up!" Sun shouted from across the crags, waving her way. She rolled her eyes and whipped the giant Grimm as it sped past her.
Whatever, it was better than sitting around on a boat any longer. Blake was thinking the same thing. As the black haired girl dodged a blast of electricity from the beast she couldn't help but think that Weiss was probably doing better in her mansion than she was doing at sea.
Weiss was in a predicament right now.
In front of her stood her little brother, whom she hadn't spoken to in a very long time. The two made awkward eye contact and looked around the hallway as they tried to think of something to say to each other.
"Whitley," she began, "have you... met any girls?"
"What?" he asked, genuinely surprised at such a mundane and boring question.
"Oh, my apologies," she amended, "have you... met any boys?"
"I'm not gay sister," he answered, one eyebrow raised, "well, probably not. I don't know, it's been a while since I've interacted with anyone beyond the mansion."
Weiss understood what he meant. They were never allowed to leave the mansion as kids, even more so now due to all the recent White Fang activity. They had been given the finest tutors money could buy and only saw other kids when it was for some event like a corporate dinner or a ball.
Delightful. Truly the most spectacular of childhoods.
"I apologize Whitley. If we're being honest, we don't really know each other," she said blatantly, a look of shock briefly flashing on his face. It was sad but true. All the time their father spent breeding them into the perfect aristocrats made it difficult to find any time to spend together. Weiss would admit that Whitley caught the short end of the stick, as Winter gave her a chance to free herself from their father's grasp, even if it was for only moments at a time.
"You're not wrong sister, but I can't say we'd get along too well," he claimed, eyeing her up and down. She rolled her eyes and cocked her hip to the side, resting her hand on it.
"Try me. At this point, I'll take whoever I can get if it means not having to watch father throw himself into a conniption fit over the embargo," she grunted. She honestly expected him to get defensive, claiming that it was very business savvy of her to say such a thing.
Instead he let out a quiet laugh. He was quick to catch himself and reset his disposition, but she had seen and heard it.
"Ahem," he tried to hide his smile as well, "such a thing is unbecoming of you, sister."
She didn't fail to see his ears turning red as he tried to keep his composure. Deciding that having an actual conversation with her brother was better than... whatever this was about to be, she jumped at the opportunity. Perhaps a little normal conversation would coax him out of his shell.
"Pardon my slip then. It's been awhile since I've last spoken with anyone. The mansion is dreadfully lonely," she stated. Whitley's eyes cast down for a moment.
"Yes... yes it is," he said quietly. She winced slightly. She had to remind herself that what she was trying to do was for the betterment of the family. For herself even. While leaving Whitley alone wasn't what she had intended to do when she left for Beacon, it was what had happened. And when the only company in the manor was the help?
She couldn't imagine how much he'd pent up over the months.
She noticed he had a look on his face that said he was struggling to speak his mind. She moved to apologize but he finally spoke.
"We... heard about the attack on Beacon as soon as the comms went down. Mother locked herself in the garden soon after and father... father brought you back," he explained. She looked away and tried not to apologize. The attack wasn't her fault. She hadn't even been hurt! But she was there, and they didn't know if she was okay. And that thought made her want to say sorry more than anything.
"Well, at least you seem to have handled it with tact," she tried complimenting. His eyes closed and he opened and closed his mouth to respond. After a moment of this he finally looked her in the eyes. She flinched at the look she saw in them.
"Yes well, I wouldn't go that far," he said, gritting his teeth lightly, trying to keep a mostly calm look on his face.
"Whitley I—" she stopped as he held a hand up.
"You need not apologize. Not for worrying me— us! Us..." he told her quietly. Not for worrying him, no, but for leaving him alone with her father and barely her mother, yes.
"We can always talk about it? About anything," she tried. He looked surprised for a moment and he sighed.
"That... would be a first," he said. She was starting to realize that they had a long way to go before she could simply talk to him like an old friend.
"Perhaps. But the saying goes better late than never," she advised. They shared a look and he smiled a small smile.
"Yes, I suppose it does," he replied. She smiled back and sighed inwardly. When did she let things get so bad? She wasn't even thinking about how he'd feel! She'd weathered Winter's absence fairly well all things considered. Sure she wasn't the most pleasant of people to talk to for a long time but she warmed up!
Whitley didn't have that chance. After she left there was no way her father was letting him go anywhere. She essentially forced Whitley into being a contingency plan!
She had to work on that too. It'd make going to Mistral hard, but she couldn't just leave him again. She had a job as his family to be there with him. No more Schnee's left alone.
Blake sighed heavily as she and Sun returned to the boat. Ilia followed shortly after, heaving breaths after the battle they'd just been through.
"Of course... the first time I take a boat home... and a goddamn sea dragon attacks the boat!" Ilia shouted. The crew came over and offered them all water and ushered them to sit down. It wasn't every day you watch something that big get beat down by just three people, only to then also watch it explode when the ships cannon finally got a lock on it.
Sailor's life was fun!
"Thanks," Sun said as he took the bottle and downed the whole thing. Ilia took smaller sips, but finished quickly as well. Blake sent a look her way, but was clearly too tired to actually argue right now.
"Well tie me down and fuck me up, you all were really something else out there!" the ship's captain said as she walked over. They tried to waved her off but she was having none of it.
"Oh no, you're not walking away without some form of proper thanks! We pulled a fresh haul today! You three are getting the biggest out of the catch!" she claimed. Ilia and Sun we're about to tell her that it was fine but Blake spoke before they could.
"We accept graciously," she said with a determined look in her eyes. The other two faunus shot her a look of disdain, but she ignored them. She suddenly was willing to fight another sea dragon again if it meant more rewards like that.
"Great! Well you all rest up then, we'll call you lot when we're ready," the captain told as she and the crew dispersed.
"Smooth Blake," Ilia claimed. Blake shushed her and waved her off. Sun laughed and leaned back.
"Holy shit I'm tired. Please tell me Menagerie doesn't have any Grimm problems," he asked. Ilia shook her head.
"No, it's fairly safe. The occasional nevermore here or there but other than that the Grimm seem to steer clear," she told. He sighed in relief and closed his eyes.
The three sat in silence, and before any of them could realize it, they had fallen asleep; lulled by the gently rocking of the ship and their exhaustion from the fight.
Oscar starred in the mirror. He normally wasn't too concerned about his image, he knew that there was no point in worrying about that sort of thing.
The issue was that a different image was staring back at him.
"It's rude to state you know," Ozpin said.
"You're not real," Oscar told himself. Ozpin rolled his eyes. Oscar had to stop himself from reeling since he himself had made no move and yet the image seems to move freely.
"This is very unbefitting of someone your age," Ozpin claimed, checking his nails. Oscar had to really ignore the part of his mind that wanted to know why a disembodied voice needed to check his nails.
"What's your name?" he tried.
"I was Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy. Ozpin works fine too," he said.
"And why are you in my head?" he asked. Ozpin sighed, yet again making Oscar wonder why a disembodied voice had breath.
"It's not like I wanted to be here you know," Ozpin huffed, irritated that he'd assumed as much.
Oscar thought about all the times his mom said that spending so much time alone with the animals would make him crazy, but he didn't think that he'd start hearing the voice of some weird old man so early in his life.
"Well that's just rude. You don't see me calling you weird for thinking about women while I tend to animals," Ozpin groused. Oscar shut his eyes tightly and shook his head, patting the sides of his face.
"This is so not real," he mumbled.
"It's real as shit bitch," Ozpin shot back.
"Hazel, please tell me you have good news," Salem asked as the massive man bowed before her. His face didn't move, ever the image of stoicism, but he made a low grumble that said he wasn't as lucky as she'd hoped.
"It appears that they are very happy together," Hazel said slowly. He couldn't believe the situation he was in right now.
"No problems? Nothing he wants that I can do better?" she asked. He sighed and shook his head.
"Perceivably, no," he answered. She sighed dramatically and fell sideways into her throne, legs hanging off one side as she held the back of her hand to her face.
"Oh, what did I do to deserve such misfortune?" she asked aloud. Nobody present told her that she had been terrorizing the world for the last millennium or so and that karma would dictate that she hadn't earned such a reward.
"Er, my queen? Perhaps we should focus on the maidens and such?" Watts proposed. The look she shot him nearly made his spirit fly from his body but she relented just as fast.
Good too, if they lost Watts they didn't have anyone who knew how to use the computer. It was trying times in the Grimmlands.
"I suppose you're right. Tyrian, go to Mistral and scour around like you usually do," she said unenthusiastically. Tyrian bowed deeply and came back up raising his hands to the sky.
"Of course my queen! I will do so with fervor!" he claimed as he threw himself out the open window of the throne room.
"Cinder dear, why don't you and Hazel go to Haven and greet these travelers when they arrive. Remember to bring me my tall glass of ginger ale," she purred. They both nearly gagged but agreed and left out the door.
"And Watts," she began, the man standing at attention, "ensure the spring maiden doesn't move. If we want her then we need to make sure she remains where she is."
"Of course your highness," he replied, stepping from the room. Salem sighed once everyone was gone and looked out at the stars in the sky. One flew by and she decided to humor it with a wish.
"When I finally claim my tall, strapping adonis, please let me see the look on Ozma's face when he sees how inferior he is," she wished.
Elsewhere, a farm boy and a thief shivered.
"So what exactly is our plan here?" Roman asked as they all walked along the dirt road. Currently the motley party was somewhere in the middle of Sanus. They had been on the road for a while now and other than the odd Grimm, nothing was happening.
"How many times are you gonna ask for a plan!? I told you, we're going—" Qrow's outburst was cut off by the crook.
"To Mistral for Ozpin, yeah, we know! That's not a plan though! A plan is something that we can follow! A plan is something that has an end goal! A plan doesn't have us walking through ALL OF SANUS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE A PLAN!" Roman argued. It seemed the months of aimless wandering around the continent had worn down on the man.
"Calm, Roman," Glynda soothed, placing a hand on his shoulder. He sighed and took out a cigar, lighting it and taking a deep drag before letting the smoke fall from his lips lazily.
"He has a point however," she said as she looked to the drunk, "it's a little concerning that we're essentially risking our own lives and the lives of minors for what looks like a wild goose chase."
Qrow grumbled and looked away. This is how it normally went. Roman asked what they were doing, Qrow would give him the same answer, Roman would get a little closer to lighting the forest on fire, and Glynda would be on standby for when he inevitably did.
"He's got a point," Mercury shrugged. The other teens looked to him and he continued.
"I know we're practically beating a dead horse by this point but Ozpin is dead. There's no way any plans he had are going to hold up now that he can't be there to see them through," he explained. Finally fed up, Qrow lost his temper.
"OZPIN'S NOT DEAD GODDAMNIT!" he yelled, causing a nearby flock of birds to fly away. They all stopped and looked at him, Roman and Glynda especially glaring him down.
"Uh. Whoops?" Qrow laughed nervously. Roman's cigar fell from his mouth and onto the dirt, the ember's at the end burning out immediately.
"Explain. Now." Glynda growled.
Qrow swore and walked into the woods, motioning for them to follow. They all followed until he sat down on a fallen tree. The others all situated themselves around him and gave him their attention. He tried to drink from his flask but it was empty. He groaned and stashed it away again.
"I suppose I should start with a story," he began.
Roman shot a flare into the woods immediately.
Always with the damn fairy tales.
And there we are! A shorter chapter compared to the last few but that's because I honestly have a hard time matching the pace of season four.
I mean seriously, if they're not walking, they're staying in place. Sometimes on a boat, sometimes in a mansion, sometimes while their alcoholic uncle is dying of poison. It's a little hard to write that in.
Which is why I plan on changing that starting next chapter.
That's right! Season four is no more in my story! I have new scenes planned and new crimes that need doing!
So strap in, strap on, and get ready!
And don't bite off more than you can chew!
Omake: Salem recalls the past
"If only things worked like they used to," Salem sighed as she stared out the window from the tower. It reminded her of when she was trapped in a tower and all she could do was watch the world go by.
Ironic that she locked herself away in a tower again.
"Oh Ozma, where did we go wrong?" she asked aloud.
Probably the part where she wanted to rule the world, and then when they accidentally killed their kids, and then again on repeat nine. She shivered.
No matter how much she hated him she agreed to never talk about repeat nine.
"Perhaps in another world, we could've been friends," she sighed. She stood and left her throne room. She needed fresh air. As she stepped onto the balcony she sighed.
"Shit I forgot it smells like an oil spill out here," she spat. Worst part about living in the Grimmlands? The fact that everything smelled like the Grimm.
She watched the aunt set in the horizon and saw a flock of nevermore fly off in search of civilians to terrorize.
"If only I could venture out into the world," she mused. She remembered the first time Ozma had taken her from the tower and to the public market.
She'd freaked out at the amount of people and set fire to a yam stand.
Good times. Simpler times.
"God I hate yams," she growled.
Maybe it was time to go to sleep. She turned and left for her bed. She'd think of more schemes in the morning. Perhaps she'd unleash a plague that killed all yams and root like vegetables and starches.
"Yes, that sounds good," she sighed.
Elsewhere, Oscar, for the first time in his life, felt bloodlust for a brief moment.
"Why do I feel like someone just offended my yams?"
"God almighty you are weird."