Here it is.
Ladies and gentlemen, here it is, one of the biggest reasons I've been absolutely aching to write Volume 3 in. Those who have watched RWBY itself may have a kindling of an idea as to why, but trust me, there's a bit more to it than you think. And I hope you'll be excited for it too.
So let's go, chapter 28, easily one of my favorites so far.
Chapter 28
The Crow and the Wolf
After seeing the airship, Weiss, and by extension Ruby and Link, had ran out to the ship landing in the courtyard, Weiss definitely leading the pack.
"Weiss!" Ruby shouted as she followed closely behind her partner. "What is the big deal?! Who is it? Who is she?!"
Weiss pulled forward and stopped, looking forward at the airship and smiling as it opened.
"Winter," she said lovingly as she looked up, watching as a woman with white hair and fancy militaristic garb stepped forth from the ship, flanked both by Atlesian guards as wells AK-200s, the woman turning to address her guards.
"Wait... Your sister?" Ruby asked.
Link too was curious. "I've heard the name. Winter Schnee, yeah? Isn't she a top official in the Atlesian Military?"
"Winter!" Weiss shouted, hands cupped around her mouth to ensure she was heard, and she was. Running up to her elder sister as she turned towards her. "Winter! I'm so happy to see you! Oh..." she said, quickly curtsying. "Your presence honors us."
"Beacon..." Winter said as she approached the trio, looking around as she walked. "It's been a long time. The air feels... different."
"I mean it is fall, so, eh, it's probably colder," Ruby said, rubbing the back of her head. Weiss figured that he response was dumb enough to warrant a swift punch in the arm, causing her to gasp in pain. She didn't even have her aura up. It may even bruise...
"So, what are you doing here?" Weiss asked, Winter giving her a side eye.
"Classified," she responded.
"Oh, right," Weiss said, recovering. "Well, how long are you staying?"
"Classified."
"Of course," she said, nodding in understanding.
"Well..." Ruby said, having allowed her arm time to stop throbbing in pain, "this is nice... I think."
"You're going to love it here!" Weiss said with far more than her usual cheer. "I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale, too," she added, whispering to Link and Ruby. "The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it!? I-"
"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its... bureaucracy. That is not why I came." Winter clarified.
"Right! I'm sorry!" Weiss said, reeling back. She apparently had great respect for her elder sister, so much so that she feared disappointing her.
"Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle," Winter added, her tone appearing more annoyed. "But it appears that I have no choice in the matter."
"But, we won!" Weiss said in an attempt to defend herself, but Winter wasn't having any of it.
"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory," she said with disdain. "I counted at least three strikes missed. Leave us," she said to the guards still by her, the knights taking a few steps back. "How have you been?" she asked, a more welcoming expression on her face.
"Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking," Weiss said. "I'm actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class! And the rest of my studies are going wonderfully, too! I'm-"
She was cut off when Winter smacked her, intentionally trying to get her to stop. "Silence, you boob! I don't recall asking about your ranking, I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"
As she spoke, a comical bump appeared on Weiss' head. A rather large one, at that.
"Well, there's Ruby. And Link, too," she explained, gesturing to the two beside her, both waving warmly to the eldest Schnee.
"Heh, boob," Ruby giggled, pushing Weiss' bump back down, Weiss wincing as she did so.
"I see. So these are the leaders you wrote of. How appropriately..." she said, thinking of the most appropriate word for the moment "...underwhelming."
"Uh... Thank you!" Ruby said, trying not to sound sarcastic.
"Yeah wow, thanks," Link added, not even trying to hide his sarcasm.
"Greetings, Ruby Rose and Link Valion," Winter said, ignoring Link's clear displeasure with her classification of him as 'underwhelming'. "I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister."
"Oh! Uh, yes, of course!" Ruby said, almost falling over herself to salute and attempt to curtsy, though she nearly fell in trying to do so. "The honor is in my... court!"
"Yeah no, she leaves us very whelmed," Link said, still annoyed that Winter called him underwhelming.
"I have business with the General and your Headmaster," Winter said, again ignoring Link's sarcasm. "But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?"
"Really?" Weiss asked, her eyes lighting up.
"Yes," Winter said as she began walking, Weiss and her guards following at a respectable distance. "I wish to inspect them and make sure that they are up to my personal standards."
"Of course. Just so you're aware, the bunk beds only look unstable," Weiss said, Winter blinking a few times as she thought about what her little sister had just said.
"Bunk beds?"
Ruby and Link waved goodbye to their friend and her sister, Ruby thinking for a moment about what to say. "I'll catch up- I mean, I will... reconvene with you both... at a later..." she said, thinking, "...juncture!" She nodded to herself for a moment before turning away, turning back once more. "At a juncture. Yeah."
"Good save," Link said, following behind Ruby.
"I try," Ruby said smugly, walking forward with almost regal confidence.
Weiss and Winter continued on toward Beacon proper, something following closely behind them, stumbling around as it moved. Closing in on the pair of Atlesian Knights furthest away, it grabbed them and pulled them back. Dismantling the both of them, whoever it was chucked the head of one of them forward at the other to knights, garnering their attention.
"Hey!" called the destroyer, still holding the headless frame of one of the knights, the people within earshot turning towards him. It just so happened to be the same man from the Crow Bar. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen!" he shouted as he tossed the wrecked robot to the side.
One of Winter's knights stepped forward to apprehend the threat, weapon raised and primed to fire, though she commanded it to stop. "Halt!" she said, the machine obeying and freezing in place.
"Excuse me!" Weiss said as she stomped towards the drunken man, getting right into his face. "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?!"
She would have continued, but the man placed one of his hands over her face, raising his other hand to his lips such to shush her. "Ssshhh. Not you," he said, pushing her away.
"Hey!" Weiss shouted, though the man continued to ignore him.
"You," he said, glaring at Winter with clear disdain as a raven landed on a nearby lamp post, cocking its head at those present before taking off once again. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. I guess you're here, too."
"I'm standing right before you," Winter said in annoyance. Upon hearing this, the man squinted for a moment, finally making out which blurred shape was Winter Schnee.
"So it would seem," the man said, smirking. He was definitely proud of himself.
"You realize you just destroyed Atlas Military property," Winter responded, glaring at him.
"Oh, oh I'm sorry," he said, feigning regret. "See, I mistook this for some sort of... sentient garbage."
Winter had had enough by this point, and began waling towards the man, Weiss going back to her sister. Things weren't right here... "I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow."
"Wait, you two know each other?" Weiss asked, turning to her sister.
"Geez, you Atlas Specialists think you're so special, don't you?" the now-named Qrow asked, swaying a little bit.
"It's in the title," Winter retorted.
"Well, you know what you really are? A bunch of sellouts. Just like your boss," Qrow said, smirking.
"I'm not sure what you think you're implying," Winter said, Qrow clearly having struck a nerve, "but I've heard enough."
"Oh I heard, too. I heard ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin," Qrow said.
"Ozpin?" Weiss asked, Winter putting a hand in front of her and pushing her back.
"Weiss, it's time for you to go," she said.
"What-" Weiss started, though Qrow cut her off.
"Listen to big sister, Weiss. She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is going to protect all of us, huh?" he said as he gestured around at the people present, staggering back as he did.
"If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" Winter said angrily as she drew her sword, pointing it at Qrow.
"Alright then..." he said with a smirk, somehow now completely stable. He even slicked his hair back before issuing his challenge. "Come take it."
Weiss was taken back as Winter shot away from her, the movement alone nearly being enough to knock her off balance. Now in front of Qrow, Winter took a few stabs at him, though he effortlessly dodged all of her strikes, even making a few faces at her before bowing, though it clearly wasn't in respect. It was to mock her. More angry than before, Winter looked at the large weapon strapped to his belt, bringing her sword down onto it. Understanding what she meant, Qrow grabbed it, the blade extending outward and revealing its full size to be comparable to his own full height. This was his signature weapon; Harbinger.
Raising his weapon and pushing Winter back, he settled into a fighting stance, Winter being cautious and adopting a fighting stance of her own. Clearly, this man was so much more than some random drunk. But who was he then?
Nearby, those who had gathered around Nightlight were paying no mind to the spectacle happening mere feet away. Who cared about some drunk and an Atlesian Specialist duking it out; one of the best bands on Remnant was right there!
"You guys were way better than I had expected!" shouted one person from the back, Noctus leaning over to Lumia.
"Yeah, I don't know whether to take that one as a compliment or not," he whispered, signing yet another autograph.
"Just take it as a compliment," she whispered back, doing the same. "I don't want you starting anything. Let's just have a nice evening where nothing goes wrong."
As she spoke, the fight between Qrow and Winter got closer, driving away the adoring fans gathered around them. To be more specific though, the buffer zone around their battle simply got bigger, Noctus and Lumia refusing to move.
"Hey!" Noctus shouted, trying to get their attention. "Those folks were just trying to say hi!"
"Noctus, no," Lumia commanded, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Noctus, yes," he said back before stepping forward.
Meanwhile, Weiss watched on in shock as her own blood and Qrow fought on, Ruby coming over to see what was happening.
"What's going on?!" Ruby asked, Weiss gesturing to the fight right in front of them.
"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" she said as Qrow and Winter seemed to zip around the pavement, almost as if they were teleporting. They were definitely fast...
"Oh no! Who would do such a th-" Ruby responded, turning to see exactly who was foolish enough to challenge a top official of the Atlesian Military. "Thaaat is my uncle!"
"What?!" Weiss shouted, looking at the two before her. This was Ruby's uncle?
"Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted, startling Weiss.
"Uh..." she groaned for a moment, turning towards the fighters there. "Teach him respect, Winter!"
"So you guys both have a stake in this?" Link asked the girls in front of him as he joined in, both turning back and nodding.
"Who's your money on?" Ruby asked, Link thinking for a moment.
"It had better be Winter!" Weiss shouted, stomping her feet.
"No, Qrow!" Ruby shouted in response.
"Winter!"
"Qrow!"
"Winter!"
"Qrow!"
"Uhhh..." Link said, getting their attention again. "I'm gonna go with... Him."
Both turned to see Noctus walking through the crowd, clearly upset about what had happened to his fans. Behind the trio making bets, however, walked Mercury, seeing the fight and muttering to himself before running off.
As for Winter and Qrow, the two continued to fight, Winter landing the first real strike when she bashed him in the chin with the pommel of her sword. He payed it no mind however, and instead smashed his sword into the ground, blowing a crater into the pavement when Winter moved out of the way. Landing on the fence nearby, she was forced to dodge once again as he came by with his massive blade, cleaving through the lamppost behind her. He looked around for a moment to see where she'd gone, seeing that she was actually standing on his sword. Smirking, she kicked him in the face and landed on the stump of the lamppost, dodging once again when he threw Harbinger at the stump. Landing on a railing overhead, she continued moving as Qrow activated the gun mode on Harbinger, buckshot like rounds tearing through the metal. Nearby, Noctus had gotten close to Qrow, and he was still mad.
"Hey buddy," he said, "I expect an apology to those people who were gathered around. They just wanted to say hi."
"Beat it," Qrow said to Noctus before running off to chase Winter.
"Ohhh, no one tells Noctus Alsius Hale to beat it," he said before storming towards their fight, Lumia trying to get her beloved's attention to no avail.
Now on one of the decorative pillars surrounding the courtyard of Beacon, Winter continued to run as Qrow kept littering the ground near her with lead, kicking up more and more dust as she moved. Eventually Qrow thought he landed a hit, switching back to sword mode as he watched the dust settle, making sure he had hit her. He was wrong though, as from the smoke came Winter. Readying himself, he watched as Winter reached to her sword, pulling from its core a second blade.
Below, Noctus was still trying to get Qrow's attention, but was as of yet failing miserably.
"Hey!" he shouted. "I still want that apology! Those folks weren't doing anything wrong!"
Qrow was more focused on Winter, however, as he was busy defending against her attack, smashing into him and blowing him off of the pillar he was on... and into Noctus below. Now in a crater and covered with rubble, he had had it.
"I've tried being nice," he said, looking angry yet unsurprised. "But clearly that didn't work. Huntsmen these days, I tell you. Oh well. No more Mr. Nice Noct."
With that said, he rose from the ground, dusting himself off and resting his hand on Midnight Unbound. Lumia came running forward, making sure he was okay.
"Noctus, baby, are you all right?" she asked as she dusted him off, Noctus nodding.
"I'm fine. Did you forget I was the best Huntsman to ever graduate from Atlas?" he asked, no hint of sarcasm in his face. He was serious, or to be more specific, angry. "And it's not me you have to worry about."
Storming off towards the fight, Winter and Qrow having put some distance between themselves, Winter using the Schnee Semblance of Glyphs to spawn a multitude of tiny white Nevermores, sending the swarm at him. He defended against a few before clearly growing annoyed, slashing upwrds and launching a wave of his condensed aura at Winter, kocking her back and ceasing her attack. Angry now, Winter summoned a glyph behind her and readied herself, Qrow smirking and shouldering his sword. What he did next though set her over the edge; he raised his free hand and beckoned her closer.
"I am tired of you two fighting!" Noctus shouted, between them yet a little off to the side. "I expect an apology and I expect it quick!"
Winter and Qrow merely ignored him, each only eyeing each other before Winter blasted towards Qrow, sword ready to kill.
The next few moments seemed to play in slow motion.
"STOP!"
Winter slowly closed in, Weiss and Ruby cheering fervently for their respective relative.
"IGNORING!"
Winter and Qrow were mere feet apart, blades ready to lock. Link was watching very closely, as he knew something was about to happen.
"ME!"
At the last moment, Noctus slid in and drove the pommel of Midnight Unbound into Winter's side, shattering her aura and blowing her away.
"Winter!" Weiss shouted as she ran towards her fallen sister, Ruby following closely after. Link stayed to continue watching though. Things were just getting interesting, after all.
"What the hell are you up to?" Qrow asked, sword held cautiously at the ready. This guy had just taken out one of the finest Huntresses from Atlas in one hit, and it seemed he wanted words with him.
"Oh, so now I have your attention?" Noctus asked, rolling his eyes. "Of course I do. You only listen to what you want to, typical Huntsman."
"Whatever you want, you have my attention now. What is it?" Qrow asked.
"I want an apology from you two," Noctus said, hand still resting on the pommel of his sword. "You scared away plenty of good people and planted me into the pavement. So I want an apology. And I want it now."
"Not to be rude, but that's not gonna happen," Qrow said, Noctus grabbing the handle of his sword.
"And why is that?" Noctus asked, annoyed.
"Well, one of the people you expect an apology from is unconscious, so that," Qrow said, gesturing to Winter.
"So she is," Noctus said, turning back to Qrow. "I'll get her apology later then. For now, I want yours."
"You're not getting one," Qrow said bluntly. "Not unless you beat it out of me."
Noctus took a moment and breathed deeply in through his nose. "Good," he said as he exhaled, fully drawing his sword and lowering into his fighting stance. Beckoning Qrow with his free hand, the two began fighting, Qrow suddenly on top of Noctus, blades locked. Pushing Qrow back, Noctus charged in and swung upward, nearly taking Harbinger from Qrow's hands. Qrow maintained his grip though and pushed away, retreating as he fired at Noctus, Noctus giving chase and blocking all of the bullets with his behemoth sword.
"Get back here!" Noctus shouted, chasing Qrow down the courtyard.
"You'll have to catch me!" Qrow laughed as he continued, Noctus chucking his sword at Qrow. Though he defended, he had to stay still long enough for Noctus to get close and roundhouse kick Harbinger, knocking him off balance as he caught Midnight Unbound and slashed upwards, breaking his guard. Taking his chance, he landed a powerful palm strike to Qrow right it the center of his chest that knocked him back. As he did though, he grabbed him by the shirt.
"Caught ya," Noctus said, pulling Qrow close.
"Did ya?" Qrow said as he firmly planted both of his feet on Noctus' chest and kicked as hard as he could, launching him back and chasing him down. Noctus didn't fall though and braced himself as Qrow came in, ducking the swing that came and ramming the pommel of his blade into his chest, launching him skyward. Leaping upwards to catch the now airborne huntsman with a brutal sweep from his blade. Qrow angled himself just right though, the blade coming close but not hitting anything. Still moving, he kicked Noctus in the back of the head, sending him flying towards one of the pillars. Before he hit said pillar though, he threw his blade at the pillar, lodging it in the side at an angle and giving him somewhere to grab onto. Catching the handle and looping around a few times before landing on the blade, he took a step forward and rested his elbow on his knee.
"You're good," Noctus said, looking down at Qrow below.
"You're not too bad yourself," Qrow said in agreement. "What academy did you study at?"
"Atlas," Noctus said. "Went solo from there, didn't want anything to do with the military. What about you?"
"You're looking at it," Qrow said, Noctus looking up at Beacon Tower. "Beacon. Best team that ever came outta here."
"Couldn't have been better than NITE," Noctus said as he grabbed his sword, kicking off the wall and landing in front of Qrow. "This isn't going anywhere though. Care to stop messing around?"
"Jeez, I was hoping that wasn't the best you had, woulda come all this way for nothing," Qrow said as he laid a finger on the trigger on his sword. "But I'm glad I can stop fooling around."
With that, he pulled the trigger on Harbinger, the weapon separating along a few seams down the blade before bending back, the sound of metallic clangs and gears grinding as it did.
Noctus watched for a moment, but smirked as he held up his own sword, grabbing it with both hands and undoing some kind of lock near the cross guard. Once he had done that, he held the blade to his side and began sliding his hands apart, the blade splitting apart down the center.
As the two readied their weapons, Winter regained consciousness and made her way back towards the two, clearly angry. To be honest, however, angry didn't quite describe it anymore; this was something more.
Stepping in the middle of the two, she turned to look at both before turning back to Qrow, the original source of her rage. Besides, Noctus was moving too fast for her to recall who had hit her, so she was at the moment more upset with Qrow.
Turning her back to Noctus, she eyed Qrow angrily before taking a few steps forward, blades at the ready to cut him down.
Noctus would have continued, but he stopped when someone brushed by him, rolling his eyes and blowing his hair out of his face before locking Midnight Unbound back together, Qrow seeing as well and deactivating Harbinger, this action enraging Winter even further. Charging forward, she was more than ready to skewer the veteran Huntsman, but was stopped dead in her tracks when she heard something.
"SCHNEE!" called another voice, Winter looking up with a face that said nothing short of 'Oh no'.
Closing her eyes in defeat, she turned to see General Ironwood there as well, with Penny standing behind him.
Winter instantly turned and stood at attention, lowering her swords. "General Ironwood, sir!"
"What in the world do you think you're doing?" Ironwood said as he approached the Schnee specialist, Noctus sliding over to stand next to Qrow.
"How about that apology?" Noctus whispered to him, Qrow rolling his eyes.
"Yeah sure, my bad," Qrow said. "Got carried away."
"All good," Noctus said, watching as Winter squirmed under Ironwood's gaze. "No one got hurt, and it was a solid match. So we'll call it even."
"Works for me," Qrow said as Winter mustered up the courage to continued speaking.
"They started the altercation, sir!" Winter finally said, both Qrow's and Noctus' eyebrows raising in amusement.
"That's actually not true," Qrow said, placing his hands behind his head. "She attacked first."
"Yeah, and it was even her attack that brought me into this," Noctus explained, hands in his pockets. "She leapt at him and he defended. The two of them knocked into me. There's still a me-shaped hole in the ground back there, too."
"Is that right?" Ironwood asked as he turned to Winter. She thought for a few moments to try and come up with a counter to their words, but drew a blank, turning to the ground and closing her eyes in defeat. "And you," he said as he approached Qrow and Noctus, eyeing Noctus for an additionaly moment before turning back to Qrow, Qrow pointing at himself before Ironwood continued speaking. "What are you doing here?"
"I could be asking you the same thing," Qrow said, Noctus laughing.
"Oh come on, General," he said, drawing his attention. "It's the Vytal Festival! Is it so hard to think he would wanna come watch a few matches?"
"I-" Ironwood began, but he was cut off by yet another new arrival.
"Now, now, everyone," said Ozpin, both he and Glynda arriving on the scene. "There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the Colosseum, that I can assure you has better seats... and popcorn," he finished, swirling his coffee.
"Break it up, everyone!" Glynda said, stepping forward and glaring at the three who had just torn up the courtyard. "We will take care of this mess."
Ironwood turned back to Winter, clearly still upset. "Let's go," he said, stepping away from it all, now with the specialist in tow. Penny turned to follow as well, seeing Ruby and waving kindly to her as she turned to her uncle. Running to him, she latched onto his arm, waving her legs in glee.
"Uncle Qrow!" she shouted, Qrow turning to her and raising his arm. "Hi," she said, giggling. "It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? DID YOU MISS ME?!"
Qrow smirked for a moment. "Nope," he said, patting her head.
"Qrow!" Ozpin shouted, drawing his attention, causing him to drop his arm, and by extension his niece. "A word, please."
As he spoke, Glynda was behind him using her Semblance to repair the pavement, but not before snickering at the stone angel Noctus had unwillingly carved into the pavement.
"I think I'm in trouble," Qrow whispered to Ruby, Ruby shrugging in agreement.
"You did kinda tear up our courtyard," she said, smiling meekly.
"Yeah, I did," he said with a laugh before looking up and seeing Link heading over. "Hey Oz," she said, turning back to the headmaster. "I'll need a minute. Take the other guy with you, he can brief you on what happened."
Ozpin looked at Qrow for a moment, and then to Ruby, and then to Link before nodding in understanding. He then turned to Noctus before he walked over, shrugging.
"Yeah yeah, I heard, I'm coming," he said as he joined with Ozpin and Glynda.
"What are you up to?" Ruby asked, Qrow glaring at Link as he walked over to him and Ruby. "Oh, have you met Link?"
"I've heard of him," he said, crossing his arms. "Aren't you one of the top students here?"
"He is the top student," Ruby said, patting him on the arm.
"Well, I don't wanna brag..." Link said shyly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Tell me, are you being humble because you're actually humble or because you're talking to Ruby's uncle?" Qrow asked, Link blinking a few times in surprise.
"Oh, you're Ruby's uncle?" Link asked, standing up straighter. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you! The legendary Qrow Branwen!"
"You've heard of me?" Qrow asked, surprised.
"As if STRQ wasn't famous enough on their own here, Ruby tells me about you almost any chance she gets," Link explained, reaching out to shake his hand, Qrow eyeing it for a moment before taking it, looking Link dead in the eye.
"You and Ruby are close, huh?" he asked as they shook hands. "Got a lot of classes together, she fawning over your equipment, what's the deal here?"
"I guess you could say we're close..." Link admitted, Qrow raising an eyebrow.
"Yep!" Ruby cheered, grabbing onto Link's free arm. "Uncle Qrow, Link is my boyfriend!"
Qrow's demeanor changed so quickly that it made Ruby's Semblance look like a joke.
"He's your what?" Qrow asked, squeezing Link's hand much harder than before, though Link payed it no mind.
"Her boyfriend, Sir," he responded. "We've been dating since the first few weeks of classes."
"Hm yes, I see, hey Ruby, care to give your boyfriend here and I a little time alone to chat?" Qrow asked, Ruby nodding.
"Yeah sure, I don't see why not," she said. "I'll just hang out with Weiss until you're done."
Both Link and Qrow smiled as Weiss and Ruby walked away, Weiss saying something about how 'her recklessness made sense' and how 'it was a draw at best'.
"What the hell do you think you're doing with my niece?" Qrow asked, still smiling.
"Excuse me?" Link asked, turning back to Qrow.
"Exactly what I just said," Qrow said, clearly angrier now than he was with Winter. "What the hell are you doing dating my niece?"
"Sir, with all due respect, what Ruby chooses to do is up to her, not you," Link replied, crossing his arms. "And she chose to ask me out."
"Listen, punk," Qrow said, getting right in Link's face, "I'm watching you. I know something is up with you, and if you ever end up doing anything that hurts her, I will hunt you down, I will find you, and I will pay you back tenfold for what you do to her. Understand?"
"I love her," Link said. "I would never do anything that would put her in any harm. I'll gladly die if it keeps her safe."
"Let's keep it that way," Qrow said, stepping back. "If you don't, then I may have to hold you to that."
"Deal," Link said, turning back to Ruby and Weiss, smiling once again. "Ok you two, we're all done!"
Qrow turned back over to them and smiled, checking his scroll to see a message from Ozpin telling him to hurry. "Whoa, looks like I took way too long out here... I guess I gotta go."
"Awww, but I haven't introduced you to Weiss!" Ruby pouted, Qrow pocketing his scroll.
"You can do it later, Kiddo, I've gotta run," he said turning away and walking off towards Beacon.
"Dang," Ruby said, pouting. "Oh! What did you and Qrow talk about?"
"Oh, he was just asking about how we met, nothing special," Link responded, waving it off.
"Really?" Ruby asked, surprised. "Qrow always hated when I mentioned boys, and I never even liked any of them..."
"How many of them were training to be Huntsmen?" Link asked.
"All of them, actually," Ruby responded.
"How many of them were any good?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah, there's why," Ruby responded, waving her finger. "They all sucked. He'd know, he trained a lot of them..."
"Oh right, he was a teacher at Signal. I'm pretty sure he'd left before I got there though. It was a shame too, learning from a huntsman like him could have helped me a lot..."
"Well, you're at Beacon now, the school that made him the huntsman he is! You'll be great!" Ruby cheered.
"We'll all be great," Link said, smiling.
OOO
"What were you thinking?!"
Once he'd finally finished grilling his niece's boyfriend, Qrow finally made his way to Ozpin's office, Winter pacing the floor in impatience and yelling at him the moment he'd walked in, Ironwood too looking displeased.
"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood declared, Qrow rolling his eyes and pulling out his flask.
"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself," he replied.
"Hello, yes, police, I'd like to report a murder," Noctus whispered into his scroll, though of course it wasn't on. "And send the burn unit, it's bad..."
"Mr. Hale, would you kindly shut up?" Glynda said, crossing her arms and turning to Winter. "While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation."
"He was drunk!" Winter retorted, but Glynda wasn't having any of it.
"He's always drunk!" she replied, everyone turning to Qrow, who was currently draining his flask. He stopped for a moment to see everyone glaring at him, aside from Noctus, who was cheering silently for Qrow to 'chug chug chug'. Looking at his empty flask and shrugging, he put it away, Noctus quietly clapping.
"Mr. Hale, might I ask what you're doing here?" Ironwood asked, speaking cautiously.
"Came for the tournament," Noctus said, placing his hands in his pockets. "Thought that would have been obvious."
"Hale?" Winter asked, looking between Noctus and Ironwood. "As in Noctus Hale? The highest-ranked Huntsman from Atlas?"
"That's the one," Noctus said, throwing out some kind of peace sign. "Part of Nightlight, too."
"Nightlight?" Winter asked, blinking a few times. "I have a few albums on vinyl..."
"Something we can agree on there, Ice Queen, so do I," Qrow said.
"...I do as well," Glynda said, arms still crossed.
"Glad to see you all have nice taste," Noctus said with a smirk.
"Mr. Hale, as proud as you are of your accomplishments, now is not the time to speak of them," Ozpin said, neglecting to disclose his own collection of Nightlight vinyls. "We are aware the tournament is currently happening, but from what James has told me, you detest the military. Yet here you are, at an event whose security is headed by the man in charge of it all."
"Yeah, I hate the military, so what?" Noctus asked. "The Vytal Festival has a special place in my heart ever since I first competed. Forget the fact that NITE won each year we competed, but seeing what real unity looked like was refreshing. Not the country held together by fear that I lived in."
"What exactly are you getting at?" Ironwood asked, Noctus stepping forward.
"A country held complacent by fear will soon buckle under that fear's weight," he said, glaring at Ironwood. "Things have already started to go south. Take that Fenrir guy from the news, he's been slowly offing corrupt officials one by one, and you can do nothing about it. And now he's in Vale, if that news report from a while back is to be trusted. So take a look, 'General'," he said sarcastically as he walked to the window, pointing to the airships hovering in the distance. "If you bring all of this and you can't even stop one man, you have to wonder how it makes the people you're always supposed to protect feel."
"They will remain safe, as they always have," Winter retorted, stepping towards him. "And if you're so keen on keeping the people safe, why not join the military? You'd be able to make a much larger impact with proper guidance. You may even be able to stop Fenrir."
"Oh please, and be like you?" Noctus replied, laughing sarcastically. "A lapdog who just follows orders? You have to decide some things for yourself, Schnee. You just didn't like what daddy told you, so you found someone else to boss you around."
"How dare yo-!" she began, but was cut off by Ironwood.
"Not now, Schnee," he said, holding his hand out to stop her. "We've already had one fight break out, we don't need another in here."
"I-!" she began, though a glare from Ironwood stopped her. "Yes, Sir."
"That's all we had for you, Mr. Hale, you may go," Ozpin said, Noctus turning to him and shrugging, heading to the elevator.
"Oh heck, how do you run these things...?" he muttered as the doors closed. Valian and Atlesian tech were so different, and he'd forgotten how to run Valian elevators. It didn't even have an AI to assist it like with the CCT...
After the doors closed, Ozpin sighed and put his head in his hand, looking at Qrow. "Qrow, why are you here?"
"You've been out of contact for weeks!" Ironwood added. "You can't just go dark like that in the field!"
"I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy!" Qrow said, Winter quickly fitting in a 'General' to clarify his rank. "Whatever. You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."
"We know," Ironwood said, leaning against the desk.
"Oh! Oh, you know!" Qrow said, hurt. "Well, thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!"
"Qrow-" Ironwood sighed, though Qrow kept going.
"Communication's a two-way street, pal. You see this?" he asked, pulling out his scroll and pointing to it. "That's the send button."
"They had reason to assume you'd been compromised," Winter said, Qrow turning to her in displeasure.
"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here," he said, pointing to her and turning to the others. "Seriously, who invited her?"
Ironwood stayed silent for a moment, apparently thinking. "Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back at my ship," he finally said, refusing to turn away from Qrow.
"But sir!" she said, turning to the general in surprise.
"Winter. Leave," he commanded.
"Yes, Sir," she said reluctantly with a salute before turning to leave, giving Qrow a dirty look as he winked at her. Opening the elevator, she was taken aback when Noctus was still there, fiddling with the controls.
"Oh finally, do you know how to run this thing?" he asked, Winter rolling her eyes and pushing the button. "Oh wow, that was it? I'm still not used to Valian tech..."
When Winter instead chose to look forward at the door rather than respond, Noctus groaned and leaned back. "Look, I'm sorry about the way I said those things, but I mean them. The general needs to learn that some things take a more tactful approach, and you need to make some decisions for yourself. You can't let everyone make your decisions for you. If they do, are they really even your decisions?"
Winter's demeanor softened ever so slightly, yet she remained adamant in her silence.
"I'm not gonna bore you with my life story, but just know that at some point you have to ask yourself 'is this really what I want? Or am I just accepting what others want for me?'" he said, Winter finally relenting.
"I chose this for myself," she said. "As the eldest, I was the heiress to the whole Schnee Dust Company. But that's not what I wanted. I wanted to help people. And the best way I could think of doing so was joining the military."
"That's what I mean, that right there," Noctus said, pointing at her. "You simply changed who you took orders from. You need to take your life into your own hands rather than giving it to others to choose for you."
Winter looked down in thought as the doors opened, both walking out as they did.
"Just think it over," Noctus said, walking out faster than Winter did. "You can still help without someone telling you how to help."
Winter thought about it for a moment, looking forward adamantly as she too went on her way.
As they were speaking, the ones still in Ozpin's office too continued.
"Go on," Ironwood said to Qrow, who was swishing his flask to see if there was anything left, which there was.
"Your little infiltrator isn't just another pawn. They're the one responsible for Autumn's condition," Qrow said, drinking once again.
"What?" Glynda asked in shock, Qrow capping his flask.
"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about!" he said, getting right in Ironwood's face. "It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn?!"
Ironwood merely looked at Qrow for a moment before taking his scroll out and placing it on Ozpin's desk. "Discreet wasn't working," he said as a hologram appeared in the center of the room displaying Beacon Academy, Amity Colosseum, and his fleet surrounding them both. "I'm here because this is what was necessary."
"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here!" Qrow shouted. "He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!"
"And I am grateful," Ironwood replied.
"Oh, well, you've got a real funny way of showing it," Qrow said, still clearly displeased.
"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them; someone who would act," Ironwood said, pacing the room. "When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength."
"You..." Qrow began, though he started laughing. "You think they're scared of your little ships? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you; they are fear."
"And fear will bring the Grimm," Ozpin said, standing. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds... 'If this is the size of our defenses, then what is it we're expecting to fight?'" he said, gesturing to Ironwood's hologram.
Ironwood looked around the room at the others present for a moment before grabbing his scroll, a glitched image of a black queen chess piece flashing for a moment that no one saw. "So then, what would you suggest we do?" he asked.
"I suggest we find our guardian," Ozpin said, standing.
"Speaking of guardians," Qrow said, standing before Ozpin's desk, "I need to talk to you about that kid. Why the hell are you standing by as he does what he wants?"
"Ah yes, Mr. Valion," Ozpin said in understanding. "He's young. He's impressionable. He's another piece of this grand game of chess we're all part of. And I can assure you, we have taken steps to ensure he doesn't become an issue."
"An issue?" Qrow asked, backing up a little bit. "That kid is Oni Strife's nephew! You yourself told me he's here as a mole for him! Why are you letting him get away with passing on information to that monster? And why are you letting him spend so much time with my niece?"
"Qrow, trust me when I say I understand your concern. But while you are the best choice for understanding her forces, he is our best choice for understanding his," Ozpin said as he walked towards the window. "Your niece has given him something here to care for. Time and time again he has proven to me that he puts her safety above all else. I mean it when I say I believe she is safer with him than without."
Qrow thought for a moment before responding. "Ok. Ok ok fine, I'll take your word for it. And what are these steps you've taken?"
Ironwood once again placed his scroll down on Ozpin's desk, a few people's images being displayed before them.
"This," Ironwood said, looking on with pride at the images before him, "is Team CMZN. They are among the most elite students I have ever trained. Among others, they are my answer to Strife and his forces. There is no doubt in my mind that these four can take anything he can throw at them."
Qrow looked at the four, skimming their bios before turning back to Ironwood. "How about you, Oz? What are your thoughts on these kids?"
"They are, to be blunt, extremely exceptional," Ozpin said, nodding. "They are all similar in skill to top huntsmen. Even if each one is somehow separately unable to match him, the four together should be able to take him down should he ultimately side with Strife."
"So you promise that Ruby will be safe around him?" Qrow asked, Ozpin nodding.
"Miss Rose has already found her guardian. We just need to find ours."
OOO
After Mercury had seen Qrow and Winter fighting, he had gone back to the room Cinder had claimed as her own to report what he had found out. Cinder was pacing back and forth in front of Mercury, as apparently Qrow's presence was unwelcome news. Emerald merely sat on the bed, as she wasn't the one being questioned.
"And you're sure?" Cinder asked, turning to the slate-haired boy.
"Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day," Mercury said, recalling the fight he had witnessed. "It was him."
"What do we do?" Emerald asked, looking inquisitively at Cinder.
"Nothing," she said, stopping in her tracks. "We stay the course. They have no idea who we are, so we have no reason to worry. Besides, the last of the heavy lifting is being taken care of thanks to our clever little friend. Speaking of which..." she said, grabbing her scroll as it flashed with the black queen symbol, "it appears we have a new access point."
She looked contently at her scroll, Ironwood's profile displayed there alongside a rather ornate 'W'.
"Anywhere good?" Emerald asked.
"You could say that," Cinder replied, looking at the two. "Go to your rooms. I'll prepare everything for tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am," replied Emerald as she left.
"Got it," replied Mercury as he followed suit.
Looking at her scroll, she was able to view the entire roster for the doubles round of the Vytal Festival, from obvious teams such as Weiss and Yang and Link and Sebastian, to ones less evident such at the two who had moved on from Team GOLD.
"Them again..." she said, examining their profiles more closely. "All of them are from Haven according to this, but I know better. Oni is adding more variables to this equation, and they're hard to factor in..."
Thinking back to their round, she remembered how easily GOLD had dominated their foes, from Gradivus throwing his foes around with his weapon to Tetsuya and Lucius acting so perfectly in sync such that they seemed to act as one. But the real standout was this Zeraphin. While he didn't seem to use any traces of his Semblance, his power was to be respected and feared.
Moving on, she kept scrolling through the possible fighters for the doubles round, seeing some more potential players.
"Let's give the crowd a good fight," she decided, selecting her own players, Mercury and Emerald, and pairing them up against Coco and Yatsuhashi of Team CFVY.
Date: XX/XX/XXXX
Second Semester of Beacon
Log Issue 6
The Vytal Festival is finally underway! Though my first fight against Team WILD of Atlas Academy was rather hard fought, I was able to pull through at the very end. That was far from the highlight of my day, however, as today I met Ruby's uncle, the legendary huntsman Qrow Branwen. He seemed to not be too keen on me though... Maybe he knows. But I'll keep going as though he doesn't, just in case he doesn't. I don't want to seem too suspicious, it may lead to others figuring it out. All I can hope is that once my mission is done, I can still be with her... Uncle has never approved of me mingling with others.
I can only hope, right?
-Link Valion
Yep, what I was the most excited for was Qrow vs Noctus. I was ever so excited for it. I hope it translated well enough in the fight. If not, then heck, I tried. And hey, we got a new log post again! I know you guys were asking for another one, so I figured the end of this chapter was a decent time for another one. And now that I think about it, this is also a good time for one of these...
ViftV Chibi!
Bonus Chapter 3
Cards for Try-Hards
"Go Fish."
In order to truly decide the results of their duel, Qrow and Noctus decided they needed to do something to settle it, but they couldn't just fight again. Both Ironwood and Ozpin said with the tournament nearby and Qrow and Winter's previous fight, they couldn't do that, even in the training room. They'd also thought of a few other competitions, but none of them quite stacked up to what they had decided.
A card game called Go Fish.
"Ok, I call shenanigans," Noctus said in disbelief, slamming his fist on the table. "How do you not have a six?"
"...I think it's because I didn't draw one," Qrow said, cocking his head to the side.
"Buuullshit," Noctus said. "But fine, I'll draw another card."
"Ok. How about a four?" Qrow asked, Noctus basically throwing the card at him.
"How?!" he shouted. "How do you know what my cards are?!"
"You just seem to be a bit unlucky," Qrow said, smirking. "How about an ace?"
"Take it, dickhead," Noctus said, sliding the card over to Qrow.
Qrow smirked and asked for a five, Noctus cheering and saying Go Fish, Qrow picking up a card and laying down two fives, causing Noctus to groan in metaphorical agony.
"You have any kings?" Noctus asked begrudgingly, Qrow actually passing him a king. "Ha! How about a jack!"
"Go Fish."
"Man FUCK you," Noctus said, drawing another card.
"Got a two?"
Rather than passing him the two he had, he instead chucked his whole hand at him, brought out his sword, and smashed the table in half.
"I'll take that as a yes," Qrow said, laying down his cards. "Since this clearly doesn't have a real winner, we need to play a different game."
"And what do you have in mind?" Noctus asked, sheathing Midnight Unbound.
OOO
"Don't you play that card, Branwen."
"I think I'm gonna do it."
"Don't play that fucking card!"
"I'm gonna do it."
"Qrooow!"
"Draw four, Noctus."
"FUCKING CHRIST."
It was Uno. There was no winner there either, as Noctus once again smashed through the table, refusing to accept defeat.
"Come on Hale, we're running out of tables," Qrow said, looking around the room and seeing there was only one table left.
"Fine," Noctus said, sheathing his sword.
"Ok, I've got one more game we can play," Qrow said, pulling out a deck of cards.
"And what's that?" Noctus asked suspiciously.
"Poker," Qrow said. "I'd recommend betting, but judging on how the last two games went..."
"Shut up, Branwen," Noctus said, sitting at another table. "Deal."
Qrow smirked and did as he was told, shuffling the cards and dealing them out between the two. Each satisfied with their cards, the hold and river was eventually flipped. Noctus laughed and laid out his cards, leaning back in his chair.
"Four kings," he said snidely, having both black kings in his hand and the two red on the table in addition to a jack, a queen, and a four.
"Pretty good hand there," Qrow said, laying down his own cards, an ace and a ten. "Royal Flush."
"MOTHER FUCKER," Noctus shouted. Needless to say, this table was destroyed as well, signaling the end of their duel... for now.
Hehe, seems like plenty of bad luck for Noctus playing cards. Gotta wonder why though... Oh well.
OniHelix out!
