Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Zelda, Kid Icarus, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, or any other franchise alluded to or included in this work (I don't own the background music either). All I own is this work and my OCs (these include Aris, Oleana, Nash, and any Grimm ideas I come up with).
BGM: Resume Impa's Theme
Qrow was finally finished with his story. Awkward silence ensued until Jaune broke it. "Alright," he said. "So, let's say we believe all this. There's this crazed evil being behind all these attacks, not just some thugs trying to rise to power. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them, or Mistral?"
"And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven?" added Nora. "Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next on Salem's hit list?"
"The headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon," Qrow answered. "He's not stupid. He'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight?" Qrow turned to Jaune. "And to answer your question, it's the same reason as to why we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the relics, about Salem, chaos would unfold. We'd have another Great War on our hands, and this time, you'd have to fight."
"Look," Qrow said, "I had the same questions you do. But ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. 'We can't cause a panic.' Heh, if I had ten Lien for every time I've heard that one."
"Salem's smart," he said. "She works from the shadows, using others to do her bidding, so that when it's time to point the finger, we can only point at each other." Qrow took a swig from his flask. "She's trying to divide us - humanity. And so far, she's done a pretty damn good job."
"Alright," said Aris. "So what should we do about it?"
"Heh," Qrow replied, "I don't really know. Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after what happened to Beacon, and Vacuo is, well, it's Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, throw in the fact that Cinder and her posse claim to hail from Haven, and I think it's likely the next target. So, we're on our way to the headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answers we're looking for."
Qrow got up, clutching his bandaged wound. "Alright, I think it's time you kids got some sleep."
Ruby spoke. "Uncle Qrow?"
Qrow looked at his niece, who had gotten up from Aris's lap. "Yeah?"
"This is a lot to take in," she said, "and it all sounds crazy, but...I'm willing to do whatever I can to help. Because I trust you. But...why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us instead of all this secrecy, and-"
"Look," said Qrow, "this has nothing to do with trust. I...it's a long story, okay?"
"Seriously?" Pit deadpanned. "Now you get tired of telling stories?"
Qrow sighed. "Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck? It's an old superstition, but it's how I got my name. See, some people can absorb electricity and some people can burst into rose petals, and some people carry groups of six creatures with them to aid in battle, and some are just born unlucky. My Semblance is different from most. It's not exactly something I do. It's always there, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune. I guess you could call me a bad luck charm. Comes in handy when I'm fighting something or someone, but it makes it a little hard on friends...and family."
Cloud sighed. "Well, you're a real big help, aren't you?" he deadpanned.
Qrow hesitated before responding. "Yeah."
He started walking away from the campfire and out into the woods. "I'm taking a walk."
"There's nothing else you want to tell us?" Tifa called.
Qrow hesitated. "Not tonight."
End BGM
The next morning...
The sun had risen; a new day was dawning. Cloud sat up in his sleeping bag. "We should probably be getting a move on."
Jaune sat up. "Yeah, yeah."
Someone erupted into a fit of coughing. It was Qrow, who was sitting against a nearby tree. Ruby got up and went to check on him. She noticed that purple liquid had soaked through the bandage and was now on Qrow's hand. Qrow noticed. "Well," he said. "That's unfortunate."
Aris shot to his feet. "What's happening?" He saw the venom on Qrow's hand. He facepalmed. "Great. I had a feeling Tyrian's stinger was venomous. Hang on."
He threw a Great Ball, sending out his Rapidash. Aris looked at Qrow and gestured to the Fire type. "Hop on."
Qrow mounted Rapidash. Miraculously, the Pokemon's mane and tail didn't burn him. "It only burns who I want it to burn," Aris explained. "Rapidash's PokeBall is enchanted so that that's possible."
Later that day...
Aris and Ruby guided Rapidash, who continued to carry the injured Qrow. Ren, Nora, and Jaune served as their escorts. "Tai..." Qrow groaned, "...she's not...coming...Tai..." He erupted into a fit of coughing again.
"He's not getting any better," Cloud said with slight worry in his voice. "How much farther?"
"We've gotta be close," said Nora.
"Without the map, there's no way of knowing," Ren pointed out. "But, I feel like we're close to something."
Ren stopped. He gripped his weapons and jogged ahead.
Aris went after him, leaving Rapidash with Ruby. Ren had seen a sign, several of them. Each one was shaped like an arrow and pointed in a particular direction. To Aris's surprise, one of them was for Mistral. Nora jogged up. "Hey, Mistral! We're on the right track!" Then, she saw what Ren had noticed. "Oh..."
Aris looked. One of the signs was crossed out and read, "Kuroyuri".
"Does it say how close Mistral is?" Ruby called out.
"No," he said. "And it looks like the path takes us up through the mountains."
"I don't know if all of us can make that climb," said Tifa.
Ruby ran to the sign with Rapidash in tow. "Okay, well, what about this place?"
She pointed at the crossed-out Kuroyuri sign. "Can we get help there?"
"That village was destroyed years ago," said Ren.
"But if it takes us around the mountains," said Cloud, "it's our best chance."
"It would take too long," Ren pointed out.
"The town would've had a doctor, right?" said Pit. "Maybe we can scavenge for medicine."
"We're not going to find anything!" Ren exclaimed. "We just have to press on!"
Tifa looked at Ren. "Why are you-"
Nora cut her off. "We can split up. Ren and I can go through the mountains, while the rest of you take Qrow around through the village."
"No," Aris said. "We're supposed to stick together. We keep each other safe."
"We don't have time for 'safe!'" Nora replied. "If Ren and I make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help! And if we don't, at least we'll have a better view of our surroundings. We can see if there's another place where we can get help!"
Jaune sighed. "Okay." He and Ren shared a brief hug. "Just make sure you take care of each other."
Aris addressed some of his teammates. "Tifa, Pit, you guys go with Ren and Nora, just in case. If someone falls while climbing, Pit can fly down and catch you. Cloud, you and me go with Ruby and Jaune."
Aris's party nodded. Tifa and Pit joined Nora and Ren on the path to the right, while Cloud and Jaune escorted Ruby and Aris down the path to the right. Ruby and Aris led Rapidash, who still had Qrow on her back.
"They'll be fine, Jaune," said Cloud to the nervous swordsman.
"You don't know that," he replied.
As they walked, they left footprints in the soft ground. Little did they know, however, that their human and Rapidash-sized tracks were immensely overshadowed by the print of a massive hoof.
