Wow we've reached twenty chapters! I didn't even think people would like this story enough for me to pass five!
In honor of the occasion I've updated the cover art! Thank you again to my lovely partner, you guys can find her on Instagram (at b0iled_3gg)! I hope you guys like it as much as I do!
Thank you all for your support of this story! You're reviews are greatly appreciated!
In this chapter I try my hand at making a new Grimm. Hopefully it's not stupid.
Enough of my talk, I'll see y'all at the bottom!
"Gurgh... wh-wha—?" Yang slowly stirred and groaned. She couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but what she did know was that she was in a very uncomfortable position.
"Guys! She's waking up!" she heard Mercury call. She opened her eyes and realized where she was.
"Why am I on your back?" she asked, groggy and feeling a full headache.
"You passed out and we had to move it. Nora's been keeping us safe," he said. She nodded and squeezed his shoulders. Getting the message, he set her down. She stretched and twisted, pops and cracks coming from her body as she did.
"Welcome back to the land of the living Sunshine," Qrow said. He looked exhausted but happy to see her up and about.
"Good to be back," she returned. She looked past him and gasped.
"Are they—"
"Fine. Well, not dead. They're... not doing great," Qrow cut her off, placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and looked back behind her uncle.
Jaune and Pyrrha lay still and pale, barely making a noise but for soft breathing and the occasional moan of pain. She looked around and noticed that they were in a small clearing in the woods, Nora sat with the twins on a log. Mercury took a seat beside them.
"We just stopped, in case you're wondering," Ren said from behind her. She turned and saw the boy cleaning his guns.
"Yeah, once you started waking up we all set up for the night," Mercury added. She nodded and looked around once more, a sudden panic striking.
"Where's Ruby!?" she yelled suddenly. Qrow shushed her and eased her onto a log. She tried to stand but winced as she felt her head throb again.
"Easy kiddo, easy," he soothed. She groaned and took a deep breath. Ren hummed.
"You're most likely concussed," he pointed out, "you should rest and try not to stress your body for a few days."
"But where's my sister?" she asked, steel in her voice.
"She... got taken," Qrow answered slowly. Yang's attention snapped to him and held his hands up.
"Before you go all crazy, we don't know what happened. A giant nevermore came and snatched her and the others and flew off West. Knowing Roman, they're already on the ground again," Qrow continued. She growled and took a few more deep breaths.
"How long was I out?" she asked.
"Only two days. We've been on the road the whole time," Melanie answered. The blonde sighed and rolled her shoulder, working a kink out.
"We have to find a way to get these two some help," Qrow said, tossing his head back at the two downed fighters.
"What's going on with them?" Yang asked. Qrow sighed and shrugged.
"From what I can tell, that lunatic poisoned them when he got that hit in. Whatever it's comprised of, it's doing a number on them," the man said. She sighed and hoped desperately that the two would be okay along with Ruby.
Yang winced again as she held her head. Mercury chuckled.
"There's no way you'll be in fighting shape when we start moving tomorrow. You're better off switching with Qrow and carrying Jaune," the assassin claimed. She huffed and crossed her arms but didn't deny him. She could tell she wouldn't be much help for a little bit.
As they all prepared to rest for the night, Yang looked up at the moon. She closed her eyes and hoped that Ruby would find her way back with the others.
Ruby awoke to the sound of growling. She leaned forward and looked around, her eyes adjusting to the dark. She saw Chew standing at the mouth of the cave, growling out at the forest.
"What's wrong boy?" she asked. The sun was just rising, the sky was slightly cloudy. It looked like there was a storm on the horizon. She couldn't see anything so she looked down to the dog.
Chew was poised to pounce, tail still and teeth barred. He was growling lowly and his legs were tensed. Ruby noted that he was sniffing every now and then.
"Ugh, what's going on?" Roman groaned, stirring from his sleep and looking over. He saw Ruby standing next to Chew.
"I don't know. I think Chew feels something down in the woods," the young girl said back to him. He sighed and stood. Shortly after he walked over and stood on the other side of Chew.
He peered out into the woods and searched the shadows. He squinted and looked around, not seeing anything.
"What's going on boy? What's down there?" he asked. Chew looked up at him and growled again, pointing his face back outside the cave. He couldn't see anything in the woods and didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Roman sighed and went back in to wake up Glynda and Neo. He winced internally as he realized the wrath that this course of action would bring about.
They'd decided to stay in the cave another day, knowing that they'd need to be sure that they were in good enough shape to start moving again. It seemed like they were ready now and he saw no reason not to get an early start.
"Glyn? Neo? It's time to start moving," he said softly. Glynda's eyes opened immediately and she stood as though she'd never been asleep in the first place. It was almost robotic how efficient she was. Neo took her time, crawling up and posting at him. He crossed his arms in front of him and pointed to Ruby. She rolled her eyes and straightened out her hair as best she could.
Ruby meanwhile continued to try and find what was driving Chew so crazy. He was generally a very calm and level headed, if not excitable, dog. So what could have possibly been—
"Oh fuck!" Ruby screamed, Roman turned to chastise her for the language but he didn't get the chance, "get down!"
The four of them hit the deck and Ruby pulled Chew down with her, holding him close. Not a minute later a large black shadow shot past the cave entrance, before soaring away from them over the trees.
"You can't be serious," Roman whispered. Glynda had a hand on The Disciplinarian just in case the beast made another run by them. When she saw what it was, she nearly dropped the wand.
"What was that?" Ruby asked, still quiet as the beast circled over the treetops.
"That," he started, watching nervously, "is a Dawnbane," Roman answered, the four of them coming to the entrance of the cave to watch it fly.
The beast was massive, easily larger than a goliath, and definitely wider. It was bat-like in form, and had white, spiny plating over its head, back, and the non-membrane parts of its wings. On the side of its head were two giant, twisted horns that curved back in a spiral before jutting out forward. It had a whip like tail that was barbed on the very end, and most notably, it had four eyes and a very nasty looking set of fangs.
Why do they call it a Dawnbane? Neo's scroll asked out. Roman watched as the beast flew up and above the clouds.
"Wherever those things go, clouds follow. They hide in the clouds and fly out to ambush people," he answered, "people call 'em that because the clouds they hide in block out the sun."
"How do they control the clouds though?" Ruby asked. Roman looked to Glynda. She shrugged and he sighed.
"Nobody has ever really lived to say," he said back. Ruby winced and Neo frowned. Glynda clapped her hands.
"We will be safer in the trees than in this cave. If the beast corners us here, it's very unlikely we'll be able to escape this hovel," she stated. They all nodded and jumped down the cliff face and into the forest. The screeching of the Dawnbane echoed overhead.
They moved swiftly through the trees, making sure to stay hidden under the leaves and branches. Everytime the beast would soar overhead, they'd stop for a few minutes before moving again.
"We're lucky that unlike actual bats, these things don't have phenomenal hearing," Roman said as they continued to trek through the woods, "not to say their hearing is bad, just that it isn't any better than a beowolf or an ursa."
And why did we never learn about these things? Neo signed to him. Ruby took a moment before nodding and agreeing. He smirked. Neo had been teaching the girl to sign. She was a little slow to recognize things but she was a fast learner, that was for sure.
"Well, they're pretty rare. We don't quite know why, seeing as how deadly they are. It's probably their size, though I doubt they're born that big," Glynda answered when he tossed the request her way. She adjusted her glasses.
"It's likely that the newer Dawnbanes don't start flying in the clouds until they're at least as large as an ursa major," she continued her shirt lecture. Ruby and Neo nodded along.
"Anything to watch out for in particular?" Ruby asked as they all stopped and clung to a tree while the beast passed above them. After a moment, they started moving again, toward Kuroyuri.
"Their tails are barbed and they can send the spikes out like darts. The horns are also pretty effective for charging on land and in the air," Roman said. Ruby made a face at that.
"They fight on land too?" she asked, perplexed by this new Grimms nature.
"Yep. Not only that, but they fight well on ground too. It has claws on the midpoint of its wings. Uses its wings as front legs when it lands," he replied.
Ruby groaned and Neo bent back and let her mouth open in what would be a groan if she made noise.
"Worry not you two. As long as we're smart going forward we'll be okay," Glynda assured. The two nodded and they all continued on. As they did, it sounded like rain may have been coming.
"Oh great. It's bringing more clouds in," Roman grumbled.
"It can just do that? Bring on rain?" Ruby asked. Glynda sighed.
"As said before, all we know about Dawnbanes is what we can see from a distance. Due to its nature of hiding in the clouds it's hard enough to do even that much," the woman claimed. The beast stopped above them and sniffed the air.
They all hid under the nearest trees and Ruby and Neo held Chew back as he growled up at the monstrosity hovering above. It stayed there for a few minutes, turning quickly in every direction as it searched for a target. It screeched up at the clouds again before ascending back into them.
"Okay, it's time to move a little faster now. I'm pretty sure our friend has caught on to our trail now and is looking for us," Roman said as they all started moving quickly through the underbrush.
If they'd taken the time to listen more, they'd hear the sound of rain getting closer and closer.
"Blake, what the actual hell?" Ghira asked. Blake had been back in Kuo Kuana for two days now and had finally gotten through telling her parents about everything that had happened, taking care to leave out the parts about maidens.
"What? It's not my fault!" she defended.
"The part where Adam attacked Beacon isn't, no. The part where you were at Beacon in the first place is without a doubt your fault," he said, rubbing a hand down his face.
"Your father is right. As happy as I am that you're okay, why didn't you just come home?" Kali asked, a slightly hurt look on her face. Blake winced. Nothing was more soul crushing than the sadness of a parent. Especially one as caring as her own.
"I didn't want to chance Adam coming back for me. He'd know where I'd be if I came back to Menagerie," she said. Sun sat to her side, awkwardly trying not to get too involved in her family life.
"But you would've been safer here than at Beacon!" her mother said.
"But you wouldn't," Blake shot back. Ghira sighed and held a hand up to quiet the two of them.
"Look. We can discuss all the reasons Blake should've come back home some other time," he said, Blake blushing a little, "but right now? She's home. Better late than never."
Kali sighed but nodded. Blake sighed as well, more in relief that the subject was being dropped.
"Cool! Family reunification complete!" Sun said. Ghira glared at him and Kali smiled at his enthusiasm. Blake nudged him and he coughed into his hand.
"I mean... congratulations on your reunion," he said. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her parents.
"As much as I'd love to catch up, and really I would," she added at her dad's raised eyebrow, "but we have to deal with something else first."
"I assume, based on your, quite frankly obsessive, inability to keep yourself out of their affairs, you mean the White Fang," Kali said. Sun laughed when Blake went red.
"Yes. I mean the Fang," she said. Ghira sighed.
"Unfortunately, Sienna hasn't been too forthcoming with information lately. We barely know anything about any of their recent actions," he grumbled. Blake and Sun looked at each other before looking back to her father.
"What about all the White Fang in town?" Sun asked. Ghira hummed.
"Well we can't exactly deny them from the city. Menagerie is known for accepting everyone from around the world. If we start telling the Fang to leave then we essentially asked for them to start targeting us too," he explained, a frown on his face.
"Likewise ever since Sienna took over for Ghira she's been sure to keep us especially out of the loop. That includes out guards as well," Kali added after her husband. Sun looked put off by the news and Blake scoffed.
Sienna Khan had been the one to start ordering raids and attacks on shipments. While she'd never been anywhere near as bloodthirsty as Adam, she had shown that she was willing to kill if it meant the betterment of her people.
But it wasn't the faunus. It was only the Fang who really gained from the violence. The reality was that the faunus that joined the Fang were the ones who were fed up with the way they were treated. Once you were in the Fang you essentially said that you were okay with starting fights and riots whenever you wanted because that was part of the cause. That kind of chaos only worked for the ones in the system. The faunus that weren't part of that system were treated just as cautiously as if they were. In turn that treatment would make them join the Fang and more outbursts happened. It was a vicious cycle.
"Sienna knows that we wouldn't support her decisions and so she's kept them hidden from us. She knows if we oppose her, then Kuo Kuana and most of Menagerie will start to oppose her as well," Ghira claimed. And that was definitely a bad look for the Fang. The faunus capital turning them away? Nothing would stop Atlas from coming in and locking them all up then.
The only reason Atlas didn't start looking for the Fang in Menagerie was because they were still widely accepted as a legitimate organisation by the faunus there. If that changed, the Fang would be in trouble.
"So she's been keeping low," Blake mumbled to herself. Kali nodded and looked between the two of them.
"Blake, please don't do anything drastic. At the end of the day, many of the people in the Fang are still just citizens. If anyone is to be your focus, it should be Sienna," her mother said. Blake nodded and looked out the window across the city. It was looking like they'd have to keep quiet about their little investigation.
"Hey, what about that Ilia girl? Would she help us?" Sun asked. Blake turned to tell him how bad an idea that was when her dad groaned.
"So you already ran into Amitola again?" he asked. She raised a brow at him.
"Had she been trouble lately?" Blake asked. She obviously wouldn't have known what Ilia was doing in Menagerie since she'd left.
"Trouble is an extreme way of putting it," Kali said, a gentle smile on her face, "more like, a minor inconvenience to your father."
"She and those two creepy brothers keep trying to give me the hard sell on why I should start making moves with the Fang," Ghira grumbled. As if being summoned, there was a ring from the door. Ghira sighed and walked over.
He opened the door and was greeted with two very similar looking men. One had large fox ears while the other had a bushy fox tail. Both had red hoods on and a similar look on their faces.
"Chief Ghira," the one with the ears started, "we're here to—"
"Tell me about all the reasons it would be just grand for me to start sending help in the White Fang's direction. Then I'll say 'fuck off you creepy bastards' and you'll tell me how you'll be back and then, sadly, you will be, and then we'll do this again," Ghira said, arms crossed and a glare on his face. The two brothers looked at each other and said nothing.
"Is that a—"
"Yes, it's another no. Now get out of here," Ghira growled. They bowed and left, promising that they'd be back and that he would change his mind eventually.
"Wow, that was... efficient," Sun said as he watched the two brothers scheme on the stairs before leaving.
"It's been like that for about a month and a half now," Ghira sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Sounds absolutely infuriating," Blake commented as she came to stand by her father. He nodded and Kali laughed.
"Fennec and Corsac have been very persistent as of late. I'm fairly sure it's because of Adam's death," Kali pointed out, "it would make sense since Adam was willing to do all the dirty jobs that they had planned. Sienna is much more likely to ignore them."
Blake hummed. It seemed like Sienna wasn't doing too well in terms of morale. If Fennec and Corsac had been trying to plan behind Sienna's back, then who knew how long she had in power before someone replaced her.
The good thing about Sienna was that they could predict what she was planning fairly easily. If somebody went and took her place then there was no telling what could be done. The White Fang wasn't as powerful as an army, but they were much quieter and much more capable of causing trouble on the streets.
"Blake, I know that look," Kali said in a low voice, "that's your 'bad idea' look."
"Hey!"
"She's right, you do have a 'bad idea' look," Sun agreed. Blake looked offended. She looked to Ghira and he nodded as well. She huffed.
"Dear, why don't you just leave the Fang be? As long as Sienna is in charge, we know that the most harm that can be done is to trains and cargo shipments," Kali asked. Blake shook her head though.
"No. We have no idea if she'll try another attack after seeing what happened at Beacon. Even if she didn't command that, she no doubt sees the effect it's had for the Fang," Blake said. They couldn't argue there. People were more afraid of the Fang than ever right now, and it showed on the streets. Faunus we're practically being avoided now, and shops that formerly turned faunus away were letting them in for fear of being attacked.
"Please don't do anything to blow up the city," Ghira groaned. Blake rolled her eyes but Sun stepped forward and saluted.
"We promise to try!" he said.
"Don't try! Just don't at all!" Ghira groaned. Sun just stayed saluting. Kali laughed at the boys antics.
"We'll make sure not to drag any civilians into this," Blake promised. Ghira nodded and walked away, presumably to fill out any work that had come his way.
"Stay safe Blake. We don't need another scare," Kali said softly. Blake looked away and said nothing. Sun elbowed her in the side and she coughed.
"I'll do my best," she said. Kali smiled and hugged her, kissing her temple before following Ghira into his study.
"Okay Sun, let's start asking around for any rumor's," she said as they left the house. Sun threw her a thumbs up and they delved into the city.
Weiss stood awkwardly in a large ballroom. She exchanged empty words with the occasional aristocrat and snob that came her way to commend her on her show. She didn't tell any of them that that was some of her worst singing in years but nobody seemed to care nor comment on it so she felt no need to bring it up.
"That was quite the performance Miss Schnee," a deep voice said from behind her. She jumped a little and turned around. The imposing form of General Ironwood greeted her.
"General Ironwood," she nodded, "it was... the least I could do."
He chuckled and leaned in a little. She made sure to lend him her ear.
"Believe me, if I had it my way we'd wouldn't be wasting time with a performance before we sent money towards Beacon," he said quickly and quietly. She smiled and nodded to him.
"You're always welcome at Atlas Academy you know," he said as he accepted a drink from a server. She sighed a little.
"I appreciate the offer General, but my place is with my team," she said. He smiled and nodded.
"I understand completely," he replied. She looked among the room. All the people gathered were other owners of companies and brands. The amount of money wasted on the outfits in this room alone could rebuild a third of Beacon.
She narrowed her eyes at her father as he spouted lies about how good a cause it was to send money to the ruined school. She huffed as she heard him even add a small hint of sadness to his voice as though he was actually there.
"Ah. I know that look well," Ironwood said form beside her. Almost forgetting where she was, she coughed into her hand and righted herself.
"What do you mean?" she asked. He chuckled lightly.
"Your sister often makes a similar face when your father is brought up in conversation," he said. She smiled at the prospect of Winter pouting whenever their dad was discussed. It sounded so very... un-Schnee like of them. She liked that.
"It's important to remember that nothing is truly keeping you here," Ironwood gestured around them, "while I would never condone one running away from their problems, sometimes it's necessary to make a... strategic retreat so to speak."
She smiled at the man. His assurance, whether he knew she planned to escape or not, helped ease her mind from the world she was currently trapped in.
"General," she started, the man turning an eye to her, "do you happen to know where Professor Goodwitch and Torchwick are heading?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. He shrugged slightly and cleared his throat.
"I was under the assumption that they were both still in Vale, helping with the rebuilding process," he replied. Weiss hummed. She knew from Neo's letter that Roman was probably with her. She didn't know if Glynda was with them as well, but the possibility was large.
"Why do you ask?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. She looked around. This time she leaned in towards the General.
"I happen to know that they're traveling to Mistral by foot as we speak. They plan to meet with the headmaster of Haven to see about setting up a new base of operations," she said. Ironwood's eyes widened for a moment but he caught himself and his face returned to normal.
"And just why would they be doing that?" he asked. She looked around again. Everyone else was talking and spouting nonsense to one another, trying to one up each other with their wealth. She turned back and whispered.
"I'm aware of the... power, that was hidden under Beacon," she stated. He looked shocked. This might have seemed like a bad idea to most people but Weiss knew better. Winter sung the general's praises, and anyone who earned her sister respect was someone she could trust.
She already knew that Ironwood knew about the maidens from Pyrrha, and since he had been working with Ozpin and the other professors to find a candidate for the power.
"How do you— ah. Miss Nikos," he said. She nodded and he looked around as well. He gestured toward the balcony and they left the large hall. Once he was sure they were alone he turned to her.
"That's very sensitive information Miss Schnee," he said. She nodded.
"I'm aware. But I know that you know, and since it would seem Torchwick and Miss Goodwitch are making an effort to combat whoever attacked the school, I felt it would be helpful if you were made aware of their course of actions," she explained. He opened his mouth to tell her that she still shouldn't have known that information, but then he stopped.
"That's... very helpful, actually. That must mean that Qrow is with them as well. Which means..." he trailed off before shaking his head. He smiled at her.
"Thank you Miss Schnee. That definitely helps give me a course of action from here. I'll make sure to send scouts to Mistral to notify me of when they arrive," he thanked. She bowed a little and looked away for a moment. A sly look entered her eyes.
"Say, General Ironwood," she started. He nodded to her and she continued.
"Say if... somebody wanted to sneak aboard one of these departures to Mistral, when and where would they be?" she asked as she looked him in the eye. He looked at her skeptically.
"I'm... not sure why you're asking," he said back. She looked back inside.
"Just wondering," she replied. He looked inside and saw Jaques talking to people and then it clicked. He smiled subtly.
"Well..." he said, looking off the balcony, "I don't think you'd be able to gain access to one of my dropships..."
She sighed a little but he continued.
"But I happen to know that there are a few Atlas pilots under your father's employ that fly shipments to Mistral," he finished. She shot a look his way and he sent a similar sly look back.
"And would these pilots be willing to take a passenger, provided the right... incentive?" she asked. He tilted his head back and forth.
"Generally it's illegal to accept a bribe, but I'm not sure I'd be able to track something if it were done around the end of the month," he said, "after all, there are a lot of reforms I have to fill out around that time so it can easily go overlooked."
"I see," she said with a smile, "perhaps someone should look into that before anything happens."
"Perhaps they should," Ironwood smiled back. Weiss nodded to the man and turned around to go back inside.
"Thank you General. This conversation proved... quite informative," she stated. He nodded back to her.
"Quite indeed," he replied. She walked back inside and watched as Whitley shooed away several girls his age as they tried to give him the generic suitor spiel.
She walked over and made sure to make it seem like they were incredibly engaged in conversation. Boys and girls alike seemed to give the two siblings their space to converse.
Whitley would later thank her and tell her that he'd rather pour hot tea on himself than listen to anymore pompous fools try and win his favor.
Weiss would agree with him.
Oscar was currently at the nearest train station to his house. The train would take him right into Mistral without a problem. He was a little nervous, having never really traveled away from home, and certainly never to a big city.
"It's quite nice this time of year," Ozpin told. The farmer nodded and went to the machine to get a ticket. He gave it the amount of lien it asked for and pushed the button for the ticket.
And then nothing happened
"Is this part of the traveling experience?" Oscar asked. Ozpin groaned.
"No. No it is not," he said slowly, "how long have I been around and this still happens? How hard can this stuff be!?"
Oscar just stood around and did nothing while Ozpin ranted. As he waited, a giant of a man walked up to him.
"You there, small and defenseless child," he said in a very deep voice. Ozpin stopped his rant. Actually, Ozpin stopped making noise in general.
"Um, yes?" Oscar asked.
"Are you having trouble with this?" the man asked, pointing to the machine. Oscar nodded and the man sighed.
"You must not let something so insignificant stop you from moving forward," Hazel grumbled, slamming a hand on top of the machine. Shortly after it let out a whir before spitting out a ticket.
"Oh. Thank you sir," Oscar said, a small smile on his face. Hazel waved him off and boarded the train.
"Well. At least that's settled," Oscar said, hands on his hips, "a job well done!"
"You quite literally did nothing," Ozpin pointed out.
"No, I got help! That's doing something," Oscar said proudly. Ozpin sighed and just let it be.
"Just get on the damn train," he told. Oscar nodded and boarded just as the doors closed. He read the seat number on the ticket and found it.
He was seated across from the large man who'd helped him.
"Oh. Hello!" Oscar said. Hazel looked at him and sighed, lifting two fingers in a wave.
"You can't be serious," Ozpin groaned. Oscar raised an eyebrow.
What's wrong? he asked internally, not wanting to look crazy in public.
"Nothing. Just don't make a fool of yourself, please," Ozpin demanded. Oscar rolled his eyes. He was perfectly capable of social interaction! Talking to people couldn't have been any different than talking to animals or voices in his head!
"Oh good god," Ozpin lamented. Oscar ignored him.
"So... do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asked the man. The man tensed and closed his eyes.
"I actually hate you."
Oscar just looked confused.
Roman held a large branch back as the others passed by. Trailing up from behind he kept an eye to the sky.
"It sounds like that rain is getting closer..." he mumbled. Glynda hummed and they all observed the sky above.
"It would also seem the Dawnbane has gone into temporary isolation. We might not get a better chance to get away," the disciplinarian observed. They all nodded and dashed off, making sure not to trip on any of the uneven ground or exposed tree roots.
As they ran, the amount of trees around them was beginning to grow smaller and smaller. Eventually, there were only two or three every few meters. Finally they all stopped when Glynda threw an arm out.
"Wait," she commanded. They were all silent as they looked to the clouds. For the most part everything was the same. The issue before them was that there weren't any trees left to hide behind, which meant they had no cover if the beast came back out.
"We need to get across this clearing fast. I see a drop at the end. Judging by the map, if we make it there we'll be a straight shot towards Kuroyuri," Roman said. Ruby and Neo nodded and Neo pat Chew on his lower back to tell him to get ready to run. Glynda kept looking at the clouds though.
"What's up Glyn?" Roman asked. She narrowed her eyes and pointed up.
"Do those clouds look... different to anyone else?" she asked. They all looked at the clouds. They all looked like clouds... except the largest cluster was a lot darker than the rest.
"What the hell...?" Roman whispered. Not only that, but the sound of rain had disappeared and it seemed they hadn't noticed.
"Is that one the rain cloud?" Ruby asked. Roman shook his head. Rain clouds were generally grey, sometimes they were dark sure.
But never pitch black.
The sound of rain picked up again and the clouds started moving their way. Then it finally clicked and Roman spun around quickly.
"RUN!" he screamed. They all heeded his ear ING and dashed towards the edge of the clearing. Ruby looked behind them and yelped.
"WHAT IS THAT!?" she screamed.
Before they could turn around or answer her, the cloud was above them. Not only that, but the rain sounded like it was right in their ears, causing all of them to wince.
"What's going on!?" Glynda shouted. Roman finally sighed and readied himself for combat.
"I think I found out how the Dawnbane controls the clouds," he groused. They all looked to jim. New began growling again.
"Why don't I just see if I'm right," he said as he pointed his cane straight up. He shot a flare up into the cloud and it exploded. The cloud dispersed.
And then it formed back together.
"What on Remnant?" Glynda asked. Roman groaned.
"That's not a cloud at all!" Roman shouted. They all looked again. The sight was a horrendous one.
"You can't be serious," Glynda whispered.
Above them, the cloud slowly descended. It stopped just above them. That was close enough for them to see what was actually going on.
"Duck!" Ruby shouted. They all dropped as a giant barbed tail swept above them. They looked up and the 'cloud' separated, leaving the Dawnbane floating in the middle and glaring down at them.
"This isn't looking like a fight we can win," Roman said as he Glynda stood back to back. She said nothing but he felt her curt nod. She knew as well as he did that this was too much for them.
"Incoming!" Ruby shouted once more. Only this time it was no tail that passed by. Rather, the 'cloud' shot past them as they dodged out of the way. They looked up and held their breath.
The cloud was in fact, a swarm. Surrounding the giant beast was an absolutely ridiculous amount of small, crow-sized Dawnbanes. The sound of rain was in fact the screeching of all of the smaller beasts, and it seemed the Alpha Dawnbane was the leader.
"We need to get out of here!" Ruby shouted as she swiped back and forth with Crescent Rose, taking out a few Dawnbanes that tried clawing at her. Neo had her umbrella up and was using Hush to keep herself safe from above as the small beasts crashed into the weapon with reckless abandon.
Roman pointed his cane back up and shot three flares into the swarm. Two of them hit the alpha, and the other exploded above and behind it. The swarm spread out and grew thin for a moment as a result. The alpha screeched and hissed in rage as it staggered in the air but was otherwise unfazed.
"Book it!" he shouted. They all ran and threw themselves off the edge of the clearing, landing roughly but still moving.
Like a flood of water, the swarm followed, cascading down the edge and following them through the trees. The alpha screeched loudly and landed, pressing its head to the ground.
Roman saw this and screamed out.
"SCATTER!" he yelled. They all dove to the side as the beast leveled it's horns at them and charged, tearing up trees and destroying rocks as it sped past them. The swarm screeched angrily and followed after, staying around the alpha at all times.
"This is ridiculous! We need to find a way to get them off our backs!" Glynda said as she readied The Disciplinarian. Roman sighed as he leveled Melodic Cudgel the same direction.
"I have an idea," he said simply. She looked to him.
"Well, it clearly didn't like being burned earlier," he stated. She looked back to his weapon and sighed.
"This is awful for the environment," she noted. He laughed.
Then he shot a flare into the trees, setting them ablaze.
Glynda followed up after, pressing her crop to the ground and focusing. Below the beast the ground glowed orange before a pillar of fire erupted and spread out.
"Okay kids, now we make a mad dash out of here before we suffocate!" Roman shouted back. They nodded as they all started running. Behind them they could hear the sound of trees getting thrown and thrashed as the Dawnbane chased them. The swarm was definitely smaller now, but nowhere near enough for them to stand a chance against the alpha.
They ran until they hit a dirt road. Roman looked up and down it and looked at the map quickly.
"Uh, um, that way!" he pointed after a brief moment. They all ran down the road as the forest fire grew larger and larger. From the forest, the beast crashed and rolled on the ground, finally standing again and facing their backs.
It raised itself up on its back legs and they could hear it breath in deeply. It reared all the way back and let out an explosive screech. They all flinched and plugged their ears as the noise rattled them.
Neo fell to one knee and had an eye closed in pain. Ruby followed shortly after and Roman and Glynda were struggling to stay standing as the monster continued. Chew turned around and snarled viciously before sucking in.
"Wait what's he—" Roman was cut off when Chew howled and and he had to cover his ears again. The Dawnbane winced back a little and glared down the dog.
"GOOD BOY!" Roman shouted, now partially deaf, "NOW LET'S GO!"
"WHAT!?" Ruby shouted, Roman looked at her in confusion.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY RED!?" he asked back. Glynda and Neo groaned and grabbed the two to start running. Chew stomped his front paw down and turned, dashing after the others.
The alpha screeched again, but this time they'd gained enough distance to avoid the pain. Sadly, this screech wasn't an attack, but a call, as the swarm returned and awaited orders. The beast leveled its horns at them again and the smaller ones got the message.
The swarm zipped ahead of the alpha, flying I to them and clawing at them to try and impede their movement. Glynda sent out a large blast and sent most of them flying away and crashing into trees around the road.
"AHH!" Roman pointed. They all dodged again as the alpha carved through the road and past them. It stopped a short distance away and it's tail raised behind it as it lowered its upper body.
"It's throwing its spines!" he called. They all split up, Roman and Glynda going left and Ruby, Neo, and Chew going right. As they separated, sharp spikes impaled themselves in the ground where they once stood. The beast turned to swipe at Roman and Glynda, while it's tail whipped over the others. They only just barely ducked in time to avoid getting struck.
"Keep going!" Glynda shouted as they all reconvened on the other side of the beast, continuing their escape down the road. Roman squinted ahead and pointed.
"There's a bridge up ahead! Maybe we can ditch this thing if we cripple it!" he yelled.
They all poured it on as they pushed their legs to pump faster, the beast trying to claw, bite, and stab them the whole time. The swarm was tiny now, easily only a tenth as large as it had been. Sadly, that was still about a hundred small Dawnbanes and one giant angry alpha to deal with.
"Get across the bridge!" Glynda shouted. They all dashed and sped to the other side. Below them, was a fairly long and steep drop, and at the bottom was a river. They reached the other side and turned to fight, the beast preparing to leap and take to the skies again. Ruby turned to the two adults.
"Torchwitch!" she yelled. Roman and Glynda groaned as they leveled their weapons.
"We seriously have to review these attack names," Roman demanded. Ruby laughed sheepishly.
Roman shot a flare out and Glynda surrounded it with a barrage of magic missiles. The result was a ball of purple fire, roughly the size of Neo, that spun and exploded once it made contact with the beast. The resulting blast of fire incinerated the rest of the swarm. The alpha screeched out as it was set ablaze and stumbled forward into the bridge. The old wooden structure wasn't meant to handle fire, or a beast of the Dawnbanes size, and so it collapsed. The monstrosity screeched as it plummeted into the river below.
They all caught their breath and let out various sighs of relief. Roman leaned back and groaned.
"Oh man that was terrible. I am never doing that again," he groaned. Neo giggled and Ruby smiled at the man's complaining. Glynda rolled her eyes and started moving again, albeit at a much more relaxed pace.
"That was quite the experience, I will admit," she said as they all walked down the path.
"Thank the Brothers it's over," Roman said, wincing as he rubbed his ear.
"To think such a deadly beast is capable of such coordination. It's just awful," Glynda mused. Roman nodded and adjusted his gloves.
"No kidding," he grumbled. They were maybe a hundred feet or so away from where the bridge had burned down now when a low hiss reached their ears.
"No fucking way," Roman sighed. They all turned and watched as the beast clawed its way up the side of the ravine and glared at them with all four of its eyes.
It pulled itself all the way up and shook its body, ridding itself of any excess water. Its wings were torn and tattered, and it was singed along the chest and lower body. It growled as it dragged a claw across the ground a few times.
"It's charging again," Roman said as he got ready to move. The others did the same. The beast roared out as it charged forth like a predatory feline, front legs dragging it forward while back legs pushed it further. As it charged, Chew leapt out in front of them.
"Chew!? What are you doing!?" Ruby yelped as she and Neo tried to grab him. He jumped away from them and did the same motion the beast did, dragging a paw across the ground.
Then he took off directly at the charging beast.
"CHEW!" Ruby screamed. Roman and Glynda watched in complete shock as the dog bolted into a head on collision with the Dawnbane. Neo looked like she might pass out with how pale she'd gone.
Chew was picking up speed as he pumped himself further and further, head leveled with the beasts. The two quickly grew closer and closer, and Chew had his armored head pointed at the beast.
Then they collided.
The sound was like a gong being hit so hard it shattered.
Chew's aura flared out, his head was pressed directly into the Dawnbanes. There was a moment where they struggled for ground, but then Chew jumped back. The beast staggered for a moment before shaking its head
Then the white spiny plate on its face broke in half and fell off. The beast watched the bone armor fall to the ground in front of it and slowly looked back at the dog.
Chew had been practically unaffected, save for a drastic drop in aura.
Then the beast screeched out in pain.
It grabbed at its face and fell to the floor, rolling and shaking as it registered the loss it had suffered just now. The plating had been completely removed from its head, leaving its face unprotected.
Neo and Ruby used that to their advantage when the shattered into existence above its head. Ruby screamed out as she shot herself down. Neo planted a boot on the end of her blade as well.
They crashed down into the back of the beast as it moved forward slightly. The two were now effectively stuck in the monsters back.
"Uh oh," Ruby said. The beast roared as it felt the weapons in it's back. It bucked and jumped around, rolling and bashing itself against trees to try and rid the two girls from its body.
Chew watched as his owner was stuck to the beast. Glynda and Roman walked up and Roman was at a loss for words.
"I think I'm having a stroke right," he mumbled as he watched the beast being used like a rodeo machine. Albeit a giant, deadly rodeo machine, but still.
Glynda simply nodded as the two girls yelped and screamed. The beast didn't even seem to notice the two adults or the dog that had wounded it. It was only focused on getting the girls off.
"I... feel like we should help but... I don't know how," Glynda said slowly. Roman agreed. They couldn't exactly shoot the beast again or they ran the risk of hitting the girls.
"HELP US ALREADY! I THINK I'M GONNA HURL!" Ruby shouted. Neo was looking green as well.
"Okay kiddo, just hang tight!" Roman said. He looked around and patted himself down for something to help. As he did, a light blue dust Crystal fell out of his pocket.
Chew walked over and sniffed it. He licked it once. Then twice.
Then he picked it up and bit down into it.
"Wha— hey! Bad boy! Drop that!" Roman said as the dog crunched into the dust Crystal like it was a treat.
"Did... did he just eat the dust?" Glynda asked. Roman was in shock as well. Chew stepped forward and took a deep breath again.
"Wait, what are you doing now—" Roman was once again cut off as the dog barked.
Only this time, a wave of freezing cold air left his mouth and froze one of the Dawnbanes arm-wings solid. The beast stopped thrashing as it tried to move, but found the new ice encasing it's wing was too heavy.
Ruby and Neo pried their weapons free and jumped off the monster, landing in a heap before the two adults and looking dizzy.
"Oh my god that was such a bad idea," Ruby groaned out. Neo nodded as she closed her eyes to stop the spinning.
Meanwhile, Roman and Glynda were stuck staring at the dog. He barked again but no ice came out this time. Then he turned and looked up at Roman happily.
"I... guess he can do that," Roman said as he scratched the back of the dogs head. Glynda nodded numbly and said nothing.
The beast was starting to use it's other arm to bash the ice. Not wanting to give it a chance to recover, Roman casually walked up to it and shoved the end of his cane in its mouth when it roared at him.
"You're too loud," he grumbled, pulling the trigger. The beasts head rocked back as the flare went off in its throat. It growled quietly and the red left its eyes as it slumped forward, crashing to the ground. It slowly dissipated, and soon enough all that remained was the ice that had encased it's arm.
"Okay. Now it's dead," Roman said. Glynda sighed and helped the two girls up. They looked at Chew who hopped up on them and effectively brought them back down to the ground.
"Ack! Good boy Chew! Now stop licking us! Your tongue is as big as my hand!" Ruby groaned as the dog kissed the two girls. He stopped and backed up as the once again climbed to their feet.
"Note to self; keep a spare dust shard on hand for the dog," Roman said. Neo nodded and smashed the dogs face, scratching him and telling him how good he was.
"To think that he's capable of such feats. Granted he's out of aura from that tackle, but now that we know he can imbue his shouts with dust he's a much more versatile combatant," Glynda mused. Roman laughed and started walking up the road again. According to the map, they were almost at Kuroyuri. Roman could even faintly see the town in the distance.
They looked up as it started to rain. Actual rain too, not tiny demon bat Grimm making the sound of rain. They heard thunder in the distance as well.
"Let's just find the others and get to Mistral already. I need a bed and a shower," Roman groaned. The others agreed and followed after. Chew found a stick he liked and brought it with him.
He earned it.
"I hope the others are okay," Ruby sighed. Neo grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly.
"I'm sure they're just fine Ruby. Qrow is a capa Le huntsman, and wouldn't let any harm come to them," Glynda assured. Ruby nodded. That was true.
Her uncle wouldn't let anyone get hurt.
"OW! I'M INCREDIBLY HURT!" Mercury shouted as he was slammed into the side of a building by a long, clawed arm.
"Hang on Merc! We'll get you down!" Miltia called up to the boy. Melanie yelped as she too was grabbed and slammed into the building. She was suspended above the boy and he looked up at her.
"Isn't red your sisters color?" he asked with a smirk. She blushed and covered herself.
"SHUT UP PERV!" she yelled. Miltia and him laughed. It was cut off when the claws squeezed and he and Melanie groaned in pain as their auras flared.
"Okay, a little help would be nice now!" Mercury wheezed as he was being crushed. Qrow leapt and slashed the beasts arms and they withdrew, the monstrosity screaming at them.
They had come through this village, even though Ren had said not to, and then they were confronted by what had to be one of the ugliest and most disturbing Grimm they'd ever seen.
"We told you coming here was a bad idea!" Nora shouted as she and Ren danced back to avoid being crushed by the large beast. It was like a horse, except growing out of its spine was a humanoid figure. The humanoid had two long, curled horns and a face that was as terrifying as it was disgusting. In its back were weapons from past battles, all stuck in its flesh from years of killing.
The Nuckelavee was an intimidating figure, and not one that they had wanted to deal with.
Yang was with Jaune and Pyrrha, who they'd hidden under a house. She was still concussed and had no real way of fighting without hurting herself further. She opted to make sure nothing happened to the two while the rest fought.
"Well we had to come here regardless! These two were dying! We couldn't risk taking the long way!" Qrow shouted as he dodged backwards. The imp like figure on the back spun around, arms out trying to catch anything in its flailing.
"This thing is fuck-ugly!" Melanie said as she and Miltia dashed in and sliced at the horses legs. Both heads cried out, and the horse started moving again. The twins darted away before they could get trampled.
"It looks like they share one brain," Miltia observed. The rest nodded. While one head was active, the other would remain still.
"We'll fan out and surround it! Close in when you can to keep it on the back burner!" Qrow commanded. They all nodded and split up, circling the beast. Nora charged in from behind and was met with a swift horse kick. She cried out as she flew through the wall of a building.
She'd been doing a lot of that lately. Go figure.
The twins both dashed in and stacked opposite legs, making it hard for the horse body to attack both of them at once without losing balance. It turned around and used its head to toss Melanie away. Now it was facing the opposite direction and the horse head was facing a large clocktower.
"Ragh!" Mercury and Qrow yelled out as they jumped in. The imp body sprang to life and tried to stop them but it wasn't fast enough for the two.
Mercury had his leg up and dropped it down fast and hard, cracking the beasts head down and throwing its body with it. As it slowly raised itself back up, Qrow landed and shot it in the mouth twice before leaping away.
It spun to clear the area and the horse came to life and bucked to keep them away. Nora shifted Magnhild into hammer form and used it to launch herself on top of the clocktower. She raised her hammer skywards and a crack of lightning shot through her hammer and into her body. She flexed as she felt the power flow through her and smiled. She looked down the tower and saw the others keeping the beast in place. This was her best shot.
"SHE'S DROPPING!" Miltia shouted as she and the others leapt back. Confused by their sudden retreat the creature looked around.
Then it screeched out in agony as the head of the horse was completely and utterly obliterated under the force of Nora's strike. She stood, Magnhild stuck deep in the earth and the beast body slumped with it. She gave Ren a look and he nodded. Took out a knife and looked over it before striding towards the monster.
He walked around the beast slowly. It swung its arms out but they were intercepted.
Qrow and Mercury were holding its left arm in place, while the twins had their blades pierced through its arm and into the ground on the right.
Ren walked up onto the beasts body and it screeched loudly in his face. He took a moment to wipe some of the saliva off. Then he severed its left arm.
It writhed and hissed and opened its mouth to scream again but he wasn't fazed as he reared back and cut off its right arm. Now it slumped forward, defeated. Yang had come to see what was happening too. She had dragged Jaune and Pyrrha with her.
Ren looked it in the eyes and took a deep breath. He raised the dagger, and in one swift movement, decapitated the imps head. The rest of the body finally lost all tension and simply fell, slowly dissipating as the rain washed the ashes away.
There was slow clapping and they all turned to see where it was coming from.
"Bravo kid. Nice form," Roman said as he, Glynda, and the girls entered the clearing. Chew walked behind them, a large stick in his mouth.
"Ruby!" Yang and Qrow shouted as they dashed to the girl. They both tackled her and hugged her close. Roman laughed.
"Where's my hug? Last time I checked I was the one who was supposed to get kidnapped," he said haughtily. Qrow gave him a look and the two laughed shortly after.
"Good to see you again brother," Qrow said, sticking an arm out, "you had us worried."
"Good to see you too," Roman said, grabbing the man's arm at the forearm, "we had ourselves worried too."
"Hey! Hey Torchwick! Did ya see what we just did!? We totally destroyed this thing! It was super cathartic and everything!" Nora shouted as she and the others made their way to the group, now reunited.
"Yeah I saw. And what do you mean cathartic?" he asked. Nora opened her mouth but Ren placed a hand over it.
"Later. Jaune and Pyrrha are very much poisoned," Ren said. Roman sighed and looked across the clearing. Sure enough, the two kids were laying in the ground together and looked as pale as corpses.
"Well that's not the good news I was hoping to hear," the crook grumbled. Qrow nodded and explained what exactly had happened. Roman and Glynda took the time to do the same, earning a look of shock from the drunk.
"You guys killed a Dawnbane? And you found out how they control the clouds?" he asked in disbelief. They nodded and gave them a smirk.
"Well shit, color me impressed," he said. They all went to gather the two incapacitated hunters. As they grabbed them, there was a whirring noise overhead.
"What the hell is that?" Roman asked. They all looked up and saw two Mistral bullheads hovering above. One was a large carrying ship. The other was an escort bullhead, suited for mild aerial combat.
"It's bullheads! Mistral bullheads! We're not fucked anymore!" Roman called. They all sighed and cheered in relief.
Then a spotlight shined down from each ship and centered themselves on Roman.
"Roman Torchwick, you are hereby placed under arrest for attempted escape into Mistral territory while holding an excessive criminal bounty!" one of the soldiers said with a megaphone.
"Say what now?" Roman asked. Shortly after he was shot with a taser and convulsed for a moment before dropping unconscious.
"The rest of you are welcome to board our ships while we escort the criminal back to Mistral for trial!" the soldier said. The ship's lowered slowly as Glynda sighed.
"Qrow, you handle getting all of the kids settled and getting Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos the help they need. I'll handle the guards," she growled, stomping forward. Qrow nodded even though she hadn't been looking at him in the first place. He looked to the former students.
"You heard the woman! Unless you want her on your asses too I suggest you move it!" he said. They all took no time scrambling into the larger bullhead.
Salem looked into her magic ball made of crystals. Cinder had once called it a 'crystal ball' but that was a stupid name. And it was wrong! It wasn't a 'crystal ball' it was a magic ball made of crystals!
Amatuers.
Not one, but two of her favorite Grimm babies were just killed! She wasn't mad of course, she had about twenty more of each somewhere in the Grimmlands, but still!
She had been replaying the Grimms final moments. Particularly the Dawnbanes. She watched her object of affection run and fight. He was so handsome when he was terrified for his life!
She sighed, however, as she saw the way he interacted with that 'good witch' woman. So what about 'good' witches!? What was wrong with a bad witch! And Salem knew for a fact she was the baddest witch around! One bad witch.
Damn that sounded better on paper.
She sent a message ahead to Watts who had arrived in Mistral. She needed to k o whether or not Leonardo needed to be strangled or not. She'd do it herself, but it was hard to leave the Grimmlands without people screaming and pointing and hiding their children.
Oh how she missed the beautiful smile of a child.
All she had was Tyrian. And his smiling was just disturbing. Speaking of...
"Tyrian, how long must you sit there?" she asked. Tyrian had been bowing to her for about two days now. He'd returned without Roman and that had been quite disappointing. Oh and his tail was gone or whatever, she didn't really care about that part.
"Until I've redeemed myself to you my goddess!" he cried. She groaned and waved a hand in a shooing motion.
"No. You smell. Go shower or something, and then maybe we'll talk," she ordered. He bowed and ran out of the room.
"AND USE SOAP THIS TIME!" she called. Sometimes she missed the quality of sane allies.
Alas, sane and evil didn't often connect.
There was a knocking at her throne room door and she raised a brow. Cinder and her little pet or whatever were the only two people still here. They were set to leave for Mistral after they secured the spring maiden.
"Enter," she said. The door creaked open and Cinder's little lapdog entered the room. She was holding a few boxes stacked on top of each other.
"Oh it's you. Uh, Greeny?" she tried. Emerald made a face.
"Um, it's Emerald... your majesty," she replied. She placed the boxes down next to the woman. Salme looked at the boxes and then to her. Then she repeated the process two more times.
"What the hell are these?" she asked finally. Emerald blushed a little and opened and closed her mouth. Her hands flapped around uselessly for a moment as she searched for an explanation.
"Um. They're... sex toys," she said. Salem gave her a blank look.
"They're what?" she asked.
"Oh Lord," the girl sighed. She took one out randomly and blushed more at the one she'd pulled.
"So you just take this," she gestured to the boxed object labeled The Admiral (nine inches), "and you... put it inside yourself."
Emerald placed the box in the woman's hands. Salem looked over the box and then back to the other boxes.
"And that's what you do with all of these?" she asked, gesturing to the boxes. Emerald winced.
"Uh, not exactly. There instructions included so I'll leave you to... figure this out," Emerald said as she sidestepped slowly out of the room. Once she was gone Salem looked back to the object in her hands.
"Is this what humans have been doing for the last millennium?" she asked herself. She took the toy out of the box. True to the label it was nine inches. She noted that it was definitely phallic in form. There was a button on the bottom. She raised an eyebrow. Why would there be a button?
She pressed down on it and the object started vibrating. What was the point of that? Was it meant to massage? She looked around the room. She raised a hand and the door to her throne room locked magically. She lowered the device to the southern region of her body.
"Oh! Ohhhhh..." she finally realized as she made contact.
She'd have to make sure Greeny was compensated for this. She had definitely missed out on this in her solitude from humans.
But for now...
"Let's see what else is in these boxes," she mused.
"So is Roman going to jail or...?" Ruby trailed off.
"No, you little brat! I'm right here!" Roman said, throwing his arms up. Neo laughed at him and he flicked her in the nose. She played up the pain to a ridiculous degree and fell back onto Chew, who had finally had his armor removed. He barked in excitement, assuming it was all play.
"Drama queen," Ruby giggled as she poked the girl in the side. Neo twitched and looked at the girl offended. Ruby laughed again as Neo pouted.
"How are our resident knights?" Roman asked. Glynda walked in as he asked and handed him a clipboard.
"Alive and well. The poison had been drained and their wounds are set to heal with no permanent disabilities," she told him. He nodded and looked over the details. He whistled. That was a lot of drugs they were on.
As Roman and Glynda talked, Ruby and Neo took chew back to their room on the ship. The ship didn't have many bedrooms, but it had enough for them to share. Neo told Ruby she wanted to check on something and left. As she was walking along the ship, she found who she was looking for.
Time to make this happen once and for all! she thought to herself.
She slowly snuck up behind Ren and Nora, who casually had their hands atop one another's. They were leaning into each other and Neo knew this was the best opportunity. There was a view and everything!
She lightly tapped them both on the shoulder. They turned to look at each other.
"Hm?—"
"What's up?—"
They were both cut off as Neo simply took hold of the backs of their heads and pressed their faces into one another. They both gasped. Nora went bright red and Ren's ears were red as well.
Neo danced back as they sputtered and looked to her. She winked and blew them a kiss before shattering. Like that, she was gone, leaving the two to awkwardly look away from each other.
"Good Lord, you two need to bone already," Mercury groaned as he walked past. The twins and Yang laughed at the boys words as they followed behind. They left the
"He's right you know," another voice said. They turned to see Jaune and Pyrrha limping to them. They stood to help them but they both were too stubborn to let them help. They made it to the same edge of the bullhead that the two had been sitting at before.
"Are you two sure it's okay for you to be out of your beds?" Ren asked. Jaune waved him off.
"Not in the slightest. But we wanted to be with our team," he said. Pyrrha nodded and leaned into her partner.
"You two really should be more open though," she said with closed eyes and a sly smile. They both stammered again and the two knights laughed.
"You do whatever you feel is right," Jaune said. They all laughed and looked out at the passing landscape. Nora looked over at Ren who was still observing the view. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
He broke out of his trance and looked at her, but by the time he turned, she was the one looking out over the land below. He looked at her in shock and she sent a mischievous look his way. He intended his body and leaned in. He kissed her back and she went red, but the sly look she had remained. They both laughed a little and the team enjoyed the moment for what it was.
Roman and Glynda were off in their own room. They were both lying on the bed, neither had removed anything except their shoes. Roman gently placed his hat off to the side.
"When we get to Mistral and find the new Ozpin or whatever, I'm smacking him for today," the thief sighed.
"Don't go too hard on him. I need to get a hit in as well," she said as she smiled over to the crook. They both shared a laugh and leaned into each other.
"Magic and gods and crazy Grimm queens," he said. She didn't add anything to the list, she knew he was just repeating it to himself for clarity.
"And yet here you stand; still following along," she said. He huffed and smiled at her.
"Yeah well, let's just say the women in my life wouldn't let me get away with doing what I wanted to do," he mused. Glynda slapped him lightly and he laughed.
"You should listen more to the women in your life. One of them keeps you alive and the other keeps you out of jail," she quipped. He smirked at her.
"Jokes on you, I don't know which one does which," he said smugly. She laughed out loud at that.
"Quite frankly, neither do I," she claimed. He laughed with her again and they let themselves fall asleep.
Tomorrow, they'd be in Mistral, probably even Haven.
But for now, they'd all get a little rest.
"You know as well as I do that she doesn't take kindly to failure," Watts stated. The man across from him tensed.
"I know but... this I a rather strange new turn of orders," the man said back. Watts couldn't disagree with him there.
"I'm aware it's not the most... orthodox of requests, but it's what she's demanded and it's what you'll do. Understood?" Watts commanded. The man gripped the arm of his chair.
"Understood. I will do my best to see to it that Roman Torchwick is captured alongside the relic," he agreed begrudgingly.
"Thank you Leonardo. This will make her very happy," Watts said. Leonardo Lionheart nodded and sighed.
He just had to remind himself that it was all for Mistral.
And volume four done. Yaaaaaaay.
If you couldn't tell, I'm not the biggest fan of volume four. They do a lot of talking and explaining, which is fine, but boy oh boy does it just start to drag. Volume five isn't great either but it at least has a few more good moments than volume four.
I also hope the new Grimm wasn't too confusing. If you really want to know what I was trying to picture, think about a fusion of a bat, a gargoyle, and a nargacuga from monster hunter.
I skimmed the Nuckelavee fight honestly. I made sure not to completely skip it but after the first fight I just felt like it'd be repetitive. I also had to cripple a few people since the threat is pretty low with all of them up and about, as I said last chapter.
At any rate, I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are greatly appreciated and follows and favorites are as well (though none of it is necessary of course).
I wanted to get another chapter out before my birthday and I hope to get one out before I go back to school!
As always have a wonderful time!
And don't bite off more than you can chew please!
Omake: Oscar talks to Hazel on the train
"Uh, do you have any family at all?" Oscar asked. Hazel had his face him his hands by this point and was tapping a finger on the table.
"Oscar has anyone ever told you that you're just great at reading the room?" Ozpin asked. Oscar hummed to himself.
Not that I know of! He thought back.
"Good. If anyone did, they deserve to be shot," Ozpin told. Oscar frowned. Well that was just rude.
"Okay, okay, what do you do for work? I work on my family's farm!" Oscar tried instead. Hazel just looked at him with an expression that said 'this has just as bad an answer as the first question'. Of course, Oscar didn't know that and instead waited patiently for the man to reply.
"I'm... a construction worker," Hazel said. Ozpin groaned inwardly and tried to find a way to kill himself from with the boys head.
"Oh. What do you build?" Oscar asked. Hazel raised an eyebrow at him.
"Houses," he said simply. Oscar nodded.
"That's good. Lots of houses need to be built in these times," Oscar mused. Hazel nodded slowly. Ozpin contemplated taking over now and telling Hazel that it was him, just so that he wouldn't have to deal with the situation anymore.
"Hey, do have you ever had a voice in your head that tells you that you need to go places and do things?" Oscar asked. Ozpin went on alert immediately. Why would he ask that!?
"That's... quite the specific question..." Hazel said. Eyes narrowed. He looked around before leaning forward.
"Are you... looking for him too?" Hazel asked. Oscar looked around as well before whispering back.
"Yeah, some guy who calls himself Ozpin?" he said. Hazel's face was grim and he nodded. He suddenly seemed more eager to talk to the boy.
"Did Ozpin wrong you too?" Hazel asked.
"Tell him no and that I am dead!" Ozpin demanded. If Oscar died not only would he have the blood of a child on his hands, but he'd have to start over again!
"Well, he technically forced me into a position where I had to leave my family behind and stop doing the work that I've been doing my whole life so that I could go and fight some great evil or something," Oscar said in one breath, not once breaking stride. Hazel placed a hand on Oscars shoulder.
"That's how he got Gretchen," Hazel sighed. He pat the boys boulder again.
"Let me tell you a thing or two about what really matters in a person..." Hazel began a long talk about honor and trust. Ozpin wanted to throw himself under the train.
Oscar sat and listened with enthusiasm.
They truly were worlds apart.