RWBY
Origins Of LUNR
Chapter 34: Welcome to Haven
The city of Mistral was divided into multiple levels; the higher one goes, the nicer it is. A massive platform in the middle of the city acts as an elevator to descend and ascend through Mistral. The city is full of various buildings and vendors selling merchandise legally and illegally. Haven Academy rests at the top of the tallest point.
Regulus's group approaches a pair of large wooden double doors, which Dyna opens, flooding the tunnel they were in with sunlight. Midori runs out onto a massive platform that doubles as an elevator, stopping at the railing to gaze out over the city in wide-eyed awe.
"Welcome to the city of Mistral," Dyna said.
"Wow!" Midori said as she looked around. The others join her to take in the view of buildings and stone stairways perched on mountains.
"This... is... awesome!" Arrietty exclaimed with excitement.
Below them, large crowds of people are going about their day, walking around, talking and buying merchandise. "It's certainly something," Estelle replied.
Arrietty noticing a kiosk selling weapons pointed towards it "Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!"
"Vendors here will sell you just about anything... whether they should or not," Estelle explained giving the vendor a disapproving glare.
"They made the most out of these mountains," Arrossire said as he continued to look around.
"Every inch. Stay away from the lower levels. We should get a better look at the higher levels. Much more to see," Dyna added.
Arrietty smiled and pointed upward "And we are going up!"
Estelle nodded and smiled at her "Yes we are...but before that…" She paused as she turned around to look at Krisis who tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out why she was looking at him.
"What are we going to do about your friend? No offense but people are not going to take it well if they see him walking around." She explained.
Dyna nodded "She's right, his appearance resembles a Grimm. People are definitely going to be afraid of him." She added.
"Yeah, that could be a major problem," Arrossire said as he tried to figure out a plan.
"That won't be a problem."
Everyone turned to look at Midori who started to walk over to Krisis. "The last time we stopped Regulus and I had a feeling something like this was going to happen so we came up with a solution for Krisis's problem." She said.
Regulus nodded as she then stood in front of Krisis and smiled "Alright Krisis, It's time." She said a cheerful voice.
"Okay. But can we get tater tots and chocolate later?" He asked.
"Yes, but you have to be on your best behavior. If you're not then you'll get nothing but vegetables." She said as she wagged her finger at him.
Krisis nodded and did as he was told as he started to shrink before everyone's eyes. His body began to get smaller and smaller until he was hard to see. Krisis then flew to Midori's shoulder and sat on it as he looked out to the people.
Krisis had become the size of an ant and everyone was astounded as Arrossire and Arrietty got very close to Midori's shoulder to try and see Krisis. "That's amazing!" Arrietty praised.
"Was he always able to do that" Roy asked.
Regulus nodded turning his attention to Roy "Krisis can change the size of his body along with shape-shifting it. That's why you see him stretching out his arms and wrapping them around people." Krisis explained.
Dyna giggled as she looked at Midori "She talks to him like she's his mother." She joked.
Estelle laughed in response "I thought I was the only one who noticed." She responded.
Meanwhile…
On an Atlesian cargo airship that was flying over an enormous lake. Uzziel and Weiss stood inside behind the pilot and looking out the windows. Weiss walked over to the pilot and looked at him. "So, how much farther?" She asked.
"We're in the home stretch now." He replied.
Uzziel closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned against the wall against a door behind him and crossed his arms. "I could've just flown there myself Weiss, you didn't need to spend any money." He said.
Weiss shook her head and turned around to look at him "Haven is far and you know that. You would've had to stop to take multiple breaks. You can only use your semblance for so long and you know that." She explained which earned her another sigh from him.
He knew she was right and she could see it on his face. She smiled and turned back around as the pilot started to laugh "No more stops from here to Mistral. Sorry for the long trip. Keeping us off the radar's been harder than I thought. Lots of air traffic around northern Anima."
"It's fine. I... just hope we haven't been a burden." She responded.
Pilot chuckles and shakes his head "You and your money are more than welcome on this ship, kid."
The ship's radio suddenly picks up a transmission. "What the...?" He said as he looks at it.
He reaches over and adjusts a slider, evening out the wavelengths on the screen. "Is everything okay?" She asked.
"I don't know. We're still over Lake Matsu. Shouldn't be picking up broadcasts this far from Mistral. Someone must be close." He said as he started to look around.
A female Mistral pilot begins speaking over the radio in a panic. Hearing this, Uzziel opens his eyes, stands up straight and listens closely.
"Mayday, mayday! We are a small passenger flight, and our Huntress is down! We aren't equipped to deal with this!" The female pilot said.
"Oh, man." The pilot said as he continued to listen.
"The Grimm hit us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline!" Weiss' eyes widen as the sound of an explosion and the Mistral Pilot gasping can be heard. "Get them off us! If anyone can hear this- Ah!"
Weiss' expression grows even more concerned as the Mistral Pilot cries out and the transmission abruptly ends. The Atlas pilot turns off his radio and turns the ship. Weiss walks over to him and grabs onto a handle in the ceiling.
"We're going to help them, right?" She asked.
"What? No. I'm trying to avoid them." He quickly responded.
"But... they'll die." She said as she was shocked by the pilot's response.
"Look, if we picked up their transmission, I'm sure someone else did, too. Besides, this is a cargo ship. She's not much good in a fight. I just wanna finish this job and get home. Sorry, kid. My ship, my rules." He stated.
Weiss closes her eyes for a moment, then gazes out the windshield as the ship turns to the right and continues flying over the lake.
Now back with Regulus and company…
The group entered the campus grounds of Haven Academy, which is devoid of any other people. They stop in a courtyard where Arrietty smiles and wipes a tear from her eye. Roy places a hand on her shoulder, and she sighs.
"We made it." She said.
Dyna and Estelle stop behind them while they continue on their way, Dyna takes a moment to glance around and lets out a sigh. "Hello?" Arrietty called out.
Inside a hallway, the group is following Dyna and Estelle as Arrietty calls out once again, louder this time. "Hello?!"
"Maybe try louder?" Arrietty suggested.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here," Roy said, which Regulus nodded in agreement as he walked beside him.
"Well, I guess school isn't really in session right now. Maybe that's it." Arrossire added.
Dyna shook her head as she kept looking forward "No, this isn't right. Come on." Dyna hurries ahead which made Estelle follow her.
"Wait for us!" Arrietty exclaimed.
The group picks up the pace to catch up, and soon, everyone is running to a pair of wooden double doors. Dyna comes to a stop in front of them, draws her weapon, and transformed them into two kama.
"Get ready. There could be trouble." Estelle said as she put her right hand on her hilt and gripped it firmly.
Regulus and the others followed their lead in drawing their weapons. Dyna brings up her foot and kicks the door open. Just on the other side, Leonardo Lionheart widens his eyes, throws his hands into the air, and lets out a frightened scream. Midori, Arrietty, and Arrossire widen their eyes and scream as well, while Regulus and Roy give the headmaster a confused stare. Standing on one foot with his eyes wide, Dyna suddenly looks down, loses her balance, and falls. Shortly after, Lionheart makes a noise and briefly faints. Regulus and the other's let their weapons down and stare, dumbfounded, while Dyna sits up.
"Uh, Professor Lionheart?" Arrietty called out.
Lionheart gasps and sits up. "Dyna! For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!"
Dyna stands up with a growl. "Me? Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance? And where is Qrow?" She asked.
"Huh?" He said to himself while pulling a pocket watch from his coat and checking it. "Oh, right. Apologies. I guess time slipped away from me. As for Qrow, he should have been back here by now. He and his group went to settle down." Lionheart explained.
"You're joking," Dyna responded with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
While Lionheart stands up the group puts their weapons away "Where is everybody?" Midori asked.
"Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned," Lionheart responded.
"Yes, sir. My name is Roy Zaffire" Roy said frankly.
"Arrossire Spada," Arrossire added.
Arrietty started posing with her arms held stiffly out to the sides "Arrietty Warren." She also added.
Midori smiled and waved as she looked at Lionheart "Midori Shisha" She said before looking at Regulus.
"Regulus…." He simply put which made Arrossire, Arrietty and Midori chuckle.
Lionheart chuckles and smiles at them "A pleasure to meet you all. Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but-"
Hearing this, Dyna briefly clenches her fists and then leans in toward Lionheart. "What? Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?"
"These children know as well. You and Qrow are being reckless with this information." He said before turning his attention towards Estelle. "How could you let her tell them?" He asked.
"It's best for them to know, we're going to need their help. I'm sure Qrow already informed you of that. Now, what happened to your staff?" Estelle asked.
Arrietty who was clueless on what was going on leaned over to Midori and gently nudged her. "So, is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?" She asked.
"What's all the commotion about?"
Everyone turned around to see Qrow standing behind them taking a sip from his flask. "It's about time you showed up," Dyna said. Qrow sighed in response and put his flask in his pocket before looking at Dyna.
Ten minutes later everyone gathered in Lionheart's office, with the headmaster sitting behind his desk. "I have to say, Dyna, Qrow I can see this from him, but you? This all seems very reckless, for someone like you."
"No, reckless is leaving one of the Relics completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!" She responded.
Qrow shook his head and closed his eyes "That's what I told him."
"Like I told Qrow, there was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" Lionheart said standing from his chair, fists clenched.
"Vale wasn't the only Kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces, saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens... and then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us." He said while walking to a window and looking outside.
"Mistral's territory is the widest-reaching in the world, you know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution. And it's only gotten worse." He finished.
"What do you mean?" Regulus asked.
Lionheart sighed while leaning on the windowsill. "We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo, now it's the closing of borders." Lionheart paused while turning and looking at Qrow.
"I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more unfortunate tendencies. And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is." Lionheart sighed while putting a hand to his head.
"All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here!" Qrow replied.
"Okay! Okay. Things are bad; they're bad. But we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?" Arrietty said as she moved closer to the two.
"I thought you filled them in." He said looking at Dyna
"Mostly filled in. I was going to let Qrow do the rest." She replied.
Qrow sighed and pulled out his flask taking another drink. "The four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and they are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics."
"What?" Arrossire blurted out.
Estelle nodded at him, "The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden. Winter for the gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice and Spring for Knowledge. Spring is the problem." She said
"What happened to her?" Regulus pandered further.
"She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now." Lionheart chimed in.
"I... know. At least... I have a pretty good idea." Qrow said.
"Are you serious?" Dyna asked as she looked at him
"It's not exactly good news," Qrow added.
Dyna turned around and put her hands on her hips as she looked at him "What are you talking about? This is incredible news! We've been trying to find her for years." Dyna stated.
"I did some digging around. Looks like, after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe." He explained as he looked back at her.
"Raven," Estelle said which made everyone look at her.
Regulus raised an eyebrow "Who is Raven?"
Estelle turned her head and looked at him "Qrow's sister and Yang's mom." She said.
Everyone's eyes widened, except for Qrow, Dyna and Lionheart. "That's right," Qrow said as he pulls out his Scroll, walking over to and placing it on Lionheart's desk. The hologram monitor on the desk displays a map of Remnant.
"That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier." Qrow explained as the map pulls up a zoomed-in section
Lionheart walked over to Qrow and looked at Dyna and Estelle "Like I told Qrow we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks."
Lionheart walks over to the computer while Dyna clenches her fists. "A few weeks?" She asked in disbelief.
Lionheart pulls up a hologram keyboard and taps a few keys, while Qrow's Scroll displays the text "COPYING FILES", followed by "DISCONNECTED".
"That's right." He said while walking back around behind the desk.
"Leo, maybe you didn't hear me earlier. My sister has the Spring Maiden, and I know where she is." Qrow said while placing his hands on the desk. "We need to go as soon as possible!" Qrow exclaimed while knocking books off the desk.
Lionheart looked at Qrow with an angry expression on his face "And perhaps you didn't hear me. This Kingdom is in shambles. As soon as possible" does not mean tomorrow. It means, as soon as I can convince the council that I need Huntsmen more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon." He retorted.
"Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. Estelle, Dyna and myself are trained Huntsmen, and these kids aren't exactly pushovers." Qrow said.
"Yeah!" Arrietty said as she high fived Midori.
"Besides that, let's not forget that Miyabi and Jarvin are on their way with two other students that they've trained, one of them being Estelle's brother. I've seen what these kids can do, they're nothing to mess with." Qrow added.
"Uzziel," Regulus said as he knew who Qrow was talking about.
"Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?" Roy asked.
"We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible. And Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight." Qrow said. Dyna and Estelle nodded their heads in agreement, knowing he was right.
"Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched. And I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe and a Maiden that's no doubt had years to hone her skills. We need to be positive we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail Raven and her tribe will scatter. And we'll be lost. We get one shot at this. And it needs to be perfect." He explained.
Qrow started staring several beats before sighing "You know Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here." Dyna chimed in.
"Perhaps you're right. But he's not. I'm doing the very best I can." Lionhearted responded
"There has to be something we can do," Regulus said as he took a step forward.
"What about Cinder? She came with Emerald and Mercury from Haven. Do you have anything on them?" Midori asked.
"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries." Lionheart responded.
Arrietty tightens her fists and glares at the floor in anger. There's another beat of silence before Qrow speaks.
"Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo," Qrow stated.
"I'm sorry. I know you've all traveled a long way. But I will do everything I can to help." Lionheart assured him.
"Sure. We'll stay in the city for the time being." Qrow said while taking out his Scroll and waggling it at Lionheart. "Local comms are still up. Keep in touch. Come on, everyone I'll bring you to where Ruby and the other's are." He said as he turned around.
They all begin to file out of the room. At the rear, Midori turns around to face Lionheart again.
"It was nice meeting you, Professor." She said sweetly.
"Likewise," Lionheart said, taking a moment to respond.
After Midori departs, Lionheart hangs his head, looking stressed. A holographic W projects up from his desk, followed by the sound of Arthur Watts' voice. "Oh, Leo. We have got to work on your improvisational skills," he said.
Qrow and the other's walk back down the academy hallway. Arrietty stops walking and looks at Qrow "So, what do we do now?"
"I'm going to bring you guys to the house where Ruby and the other's are. After that, I need a drink." Qrow said while turning around and sighing.
He walks off, leaving everyone looking at each other with concern before following him.
Meanwhile...
Yang's motorcycle Bumblebee was parked at a fuel station named "Just Rite". Inside, a bartender cleans glass and looks at Yang and Lance. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" The bartender asked.
Yang takes off her aviator sunglasses and looks at the bartender. "Two waters. It's hot out."
"Ohhh. Sure." The bartender disappears below the counter and laughter comes from the drunk man a few seats down from Yang. The man was a skinny man with long dirty blond hair and gray eyes. He wears a dark blue and gray jacket with torn sleeves over a long-sleeved shirt. He wears a bandana around his neck and has a shoulder pad on his right shoulder. He wore brown leather fingerless gloves with straps and brown pants with boots.
"Are you telling me you're too young to drink? You look like a regular Huntress. And a beauty at that." He said as he looked her up and down.
"I'm good. Thanks, pal." She said as she looked away from him. Lance who was leaning on the counter with his eyes closed and his arms crossed opened his eyes and glanced at the man.
The man started approaching Yang undeterred "Seriously. Not too bulky. Not too lean. You're…"
"Just right. Yup. Like I said, I'm good." Yang said finishing his sentence.
The mook puts his hand on the countertop next to Yang with a soft moan before reaching out with his other. "And your hair…"
Lance quickly grabs his wrist before he can touch her hair. When he turns to face him, he glared daggers at the man. "Back off!"
The man barely glances in the correct direction before Lance's fist slams into the side of his face. Falling backward, a tooth knocked out of his mouth, the man hits the floor and continues to bounce floor-to-ceiling toward the exit like a pinball before disappearing through the doors. As the doors close behind him, the "Open" sign flips around to "Closed".
Yang looked at the door and then at Lance who was taking a deep breath and calming himself down "You didn't have to do that Lance." She said.
Lance shook his head and closed his eyes taking his prior position and leaning on the counter with his arms crossed "I hate guys like him." He replied.
Straightening and setting the bottles of water on the counter, the bartender looks at Lance and smiles. "This one's on the house. He's been driving me crazy."
Yang grabs the waters and hands one to Lance before opening hers and guzzling the water down. "So, what brings you around these parts?" He asked.
Yang holds up a finger, still guzzling until the water is gone. "Thanks. And I'm, uh, looking for someone."
The bartender started chuckling "Not too many people come out here. Too far from the Kingdoms. Only person worth noting' around here is... well, Ra—"
"Raven Branwen," Yang said cutting him off while retrieving her glasses and heading out with Lance following her. "Thanks again."
"N-now, missy! You don't want to go messin' with bandits! They're a world of trouble!" He exclaimed.
"So I hear." She responded.
Outside, the Shady Man is on the ground holding his face, but he calls out to Yang and Lance as they get on Bumblebee.
"Hey, kiddies!" He called out.
"Seriously? This isn't over?" Yang asked as held up her hand towards Lance, making sure he didn't attack again. "I heard you're... looking for someone. Heh." The man said as he gives her a toothless grin.