Chapter 33
"Mistral. Some call it The City of Crime." Qrow said as he led them onto one of the main elevators that gave them a view of most of the cityscape. It was beautiful, as long as you ignored the slums. "The gangs aren't as criminal as other Kingdoms, but that's because of their connection to the government. No politician here is clean. All of them have some connection with the underworld."
"How do they get anything done?" Jaune asked.
"With lots of money." Pyrrha answered. "That's the only way to change anything here."
She doesn't sound very pleased about that. Jaune thought as he gave her a glance. The elevator sprung to life and took them higher up the mountain. Waiting for them at the top was Haven Academy. They passed by grand gardens and manors and estates on their journey up. The land of the rich afforded a great view, that was for sure.
When they reached the top and stepped off of the elevator they took in the sight of the academy. Where Beacon had mostly been one large building, Haven took advantage of the mountain plateau. They split the academy into several buildings around the campus with beautiful gardens everywhere. The CCT tower was split into two smaller structures, likely due to how high up they already were.
It was also deserted. They all shared a look and cautiously made their way to their main building. The door was unlocked, but again, it was devoid of life. Another look passed between them. Their weapons were half drawn as they marched towards the Headmasters office.
Qrow, one hand on Harbinger, booted open the door once they arrived. Leonardo Lionheart, Headmaster of Haven Academy, let out a shriek of fright and collapsed to the ground like he had fainted. Qrow, surprised and unbalanced, also fell down.
Jaune sighed and shook his head. He walked over and helped Lionheart up to his feet while Ruby did the same with Qrow. "Sorry about that Sir. The place looked deserted, we were a little anxious."
"Oh no. It's quite alright." Lionheart said as he brushed himself off. "We're out of term. All the students have gone home for the break and I decided the teachers needed some time off as well, given the stress after Beacon." He sat down behind his desk with a sigh.
"You left the Relic unguarded?" Qrow asked, voice filled with worry.
"It's not… wait. You told them?" He motioned to the rest of them.
"He did." Ruby said, stepping forward. "We know all about Salem and the Relics. What defences have you put in place?"
"I… I can't believe you would tell them!"
Qrow huffed. "They needed to know. They already knew about the Maidens."
"I-I see. Well unless they find the Spring Maiden they won't be able to open the Vault anyway! She's been missing for years." Lionheart said.
"So she could already be in their grasp." Ruby responded. "We need to secure Haven. Call the professors back."
"I can't. They all decided to go and take missions! We'll have to wait for them to return."
"When they do we need to secure the Maiden." Qrow said, stepping forwards. "I don't believe Salem has Spring yet, I'm sure that Raven has her."
"R-Raven?" Lionheart stuttered.
"You mean your sister?" Jaune asked.
"And Yang's biological mother." Ruby added in a hushed and angry tone.
"Yes. That Raven. Spring didn't like us very much and took off. Recently, I figured out she likely encountered Raven a few months after running. It's why we never found her." He touched his scroll to the desk and a holographic map of Mistral appeared, a small blinking dot showed Raven's location. A forest in-between several towns. "We need to gather as many Huntsmen as possible and go and get her back. She won't be safe there."
"Yes. Yes, you're right. But please, it must have been a difficult journey. Take some time to rest. Most of our Huntsmen are on missions at the moment. It will take them time to return." Lionheart said.
"Yeah alright. We need to do some training anyway. Thanks, Leo. Call us if there are any problems." Qrow replied.
"Of course."
"Alright kids, let's head out." Qrow grabbed his scroll and the group vacated the room.
"Something seemed off." Ruby said as they reached the front door.
"Yeah." Qrow replied, taking a swig of his canteen. "Nobody here at the school? Sending all the teachers away? Don't know what he's thinking." He sighed. "Come on. Let's get back to the house."
Later that night, after dinner and Qrow headed off to a bar, meanwhile, team RNNJR found themselves relaxing in the living room. Nora was telling a story of a dream she once had, a familiar one about fighting thousands of Grimm though that had become 'an endless black tide stretching out the horizon'. Ren was of course correcting her and trying to keep it consistent with previous tellings.
Pyrrha lent a polite ear while Jaune was raving about the new issue of X-Ray and Vav. Ruby sat drawing out ideas for more upgrades, most more fanciful than practical.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Ruby sighed and used her Semblance to appear at the door. She opened it with an annoyed face, which only became confused at the boy that stood there. "Yes?" Ruby asked.
"Umm. Hi?"
"Hello?"
"Are you… Ruby Rose?" The boy asked.
"I am." Her eyes narrowed.
"So I uh… I found your uncle." He pointed to the side. Qrow stumbled in at that moment, laughing. Ruby turned and watched him collapse onto the couch with a hearty laugh.
"Uncle Qrow? What happened?"
"I found him! Haha!"
"Found who?" Jaune asked.
"Ozpin! Ha!" He cried out before rolling off the couch and crashing on the floor. Ruby turned to the boy.
"Ozpin?"
"Yeah. Kind of?"
Ruby's eyes narrowed. "You have a lot of explaining to do. Get in." She stepped aside and held the door open for the boy. He stepped into the living room and took a deep breath.
"Umm. I'm Oscar. And… well… Ozpin is kind of in my head." He said. Everyone stared at him.
"Bull. Tell us what's really happening." Ruby replied. At this Oscar's eyes turned away from Ruby like he was focusing on something else.
"I… okay. Fine, we'll do it your way." Oscar whispered. His eyes flashed a bright green and his demeanour changed instantly. "Ms Rose. It's good to see you again." When he spoke now it was like two voices speaking at once, overlapping. One was Oscar, the other…
"Ozpin!? How!?" Jaune exclaimed.
"That is a complex story. The short version, however, is this: I was cursed by the Gods and until Salem is defeated I shall reincarnate. My soul shall seek out a like-minded individual upon my death. We shall eventually combine and continue the war against Salem."
"You… you come back to life until Salem is dealt with!?" Ruby asked
"Essentially? Yes."
Ruby's hands clenched into fists. "Why you?" She whispered. Oscar's, or was it Ozpin's, eyebrow rose.
"I did not ask for this. I had once believed it to be a blessing, but after a thousand years, I've come to see it as the curse it is. I've held Salem back all this time and will continue to do so until we can defeat her."
"You haven't dealt with her yet?" Jaune asked.
"She is hard to reach, and powerful in her own right. She has eternal youth, so I cannot wait her out. Every generation I push her back just a little more. In the last eighty years, I have made great strides. The creation of the Huntsmen and advancement of technology has been a tremendous boon. We are in the best position we have ever been." He said, taking a seat on one of the chairs.
"So what now?" Ruby asked. "What do you want us to do?"
"Keep on the path you were on. Train Oscar. Protect the world."
"Train him?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes. While our minds and souls will merge one day, his body is not prepared for battle. He will gain my muscle memory over time, but he will need the strength to use it."
"We can do that." Jaune said. "We needed to train more anyway."
"Then I shall leave Oscar in your care." He closed his eyes and then slumped down. When his eyes opened they seemed slightly duller, more like what Ruby had seen when she had opened the door. He sighed.
"Sounds like we get to work tomorrow." Ruby said, pulling her cloak tight around her. "While Uncle Qrow goes looking for Huntsmen, we should find backup of our own."
"You have an idea?" Jaune asked.
"Two. Some of us go looking for Sun and his team. We can catch them up on what we learned and they are pretty skilled. I want to look for information, however. Cinder said she came from Mistral, I want to see what I can find about her."
"Alright then. Sounds like a plan." Jaune said.
"Are you sure about this?" Pyrrha asked, pulling her brown cloak tighter around her and made sure the hood covered her face. Ruby rolled her eyes.
"Yes. Information brokers usually have good info. It's their job after all. Yang knew one in Vale. There should be one here."
"And we can trust them?"
"Yes and no. We can trust them as far as we trusted Roman. They aren't our friends. They will sell us out if it's in their best interests. But they have a reputation to look after."
"And it'll get out if they betray us. Right?"
"As long as we survive. Which is likely." Ruby led Pyrrha through the streets, searching for any hint of a broker. Ruby made sure her own cloak hid her face while they searched. The idea was simple: either they focus on the girl in bright red, thinking she was some rich kid and didn't realise Pyrrha was the threat or they do realise she is the threat and focus on her, not realising that Ruby isn't just a rich kid, but a warrior in her own right.
How well it would work was something entirely different and something they were going to find out, probably very soon.
The others had split up to look for Sun and his team with Qrow looking for Huntsmen. It took Ruby and Pyrrha around two hours before the younger redhead finally spotted something. A trend among the more shady individuals. A tattoo of a spider web. Ruby approached a pair of men.
"Excuse me? I need some directions." Ruby said, trying to sound as non-threatening as she could.
"Directions? I got directions for ya." One responded with a lecherous grin. The other smacked his arm.
"We ain't tour-guides kid."
"Really? I was looking for someone who could sell me some information though. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere. Thank-"
The second man interrupted her. "Well, why didn't you say you wanted information? We know somebody. Lil' Ms Malachite. She knows everything that happens in Mistral."
Malachite? Any relation to Junior's twins? "Oh yes! That sounds like the person I'm looking for! Would you kindly direct me to her?"
"'Course. She's this way." He said with a smile. He led Ruby and Pyrrha a few blocks away to a bar. Everyone inside had the spider web tattoo. The man welcomed her in and pointed to a far table. "Right over there darling."
"Thank you!" Ruby said as she made her way over. She took a seat and waited with Pyrrha sat next to her. A few minutes later Lil' Ms Malachite arrived. A large woman who didn't have much in common with Junior's enforcers.
"So I hear you are looking for information. I'll be glad to help. For a price." She said, raising a long-handled pipe to her mouth and taking a long drag.
"Of course." Ruby said, pulling her hood down. The woman's eyes scanned her face, likely memorizing it. "I have need of information about a few individuals. I have Lien and information for trade."
"Oh? Information on what?" Her eyes quirked up, intrigued.
"Well for one I know a couple girls in Vale with the same last name as you. I figure you might like to know about them." The broker's eye twitched for just a moment.
"I would be interested in such information. So what are you after?"
Ruby slid her scroll across the table, showing three images. "I want information on these three people. Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. I want anything about their pasts, backgrounds or really anything. I also want to know if they enter the city."
"Hmm. Alright. With the info I'll put it at… one thousand Lien."
"For that much, I want more. One more person." She glared into the older woman's eyes. The whole room grew tense for a moment. Her aides had hands on their weapons. Ruby could tell that Pyrrha had tensed up. The whole room had grown quiet. Lil' Ms Malachite scanned Ruby's eyes before she smiled.
"You have a deal, miss?" She held out a hand.
Ruby took it and gave it a hard shake. "Red. Just call me Red." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well Red. Who's the other target?"
Ruby picked up her scroll and pulled up a file. One of the aides held out her scroll and Ruby uploaded all the details to it. "Tyrion Callows. Scorpion Faunus."
"Hmm. I've heard the name."
"Good." She pulled out her Lien and handed over five hundred. "The rest once I have my information. Now for what else I promised you. Miltia and Melanie Malachite. Twins. They work for a man named Hei 'Junior' Xiong. He's an info broker in Vale. They enforce his bar, which serves as his front. They helped Cinder cause the Fall of Beacon. To avoid being convicted for treason they made a deal with a Huntress from Beacon. They would go free, with Junior and another criminal named Roman Torchwick, if they helped retake Beacon. They are currently supporting said efforts."
"Well now. Thank you for that. I'll have some information in a week. Return then."
"Good. I'll see you soon then. It's been a pleasure." Ruby said and stood.
"That it has." Malachite responded with a smile.
Ruby and Pyrrha left the building and weren't followed or attacked. They walked around the slums for an hour before returning to the house.
"That was… something." Pyrrha said on the elevator. "It got tense there."
"It did."
"Do you think she'll deliver?"
"Yes. I believe so. She seemed more tapped in than Junior was. At least from how Yang made him sound. If she doesn't then we can trash her bar and take our money back."
"Yeah… I guess so."
Ding
Here we go.
"Hello There! Welcome! How may I help you!" Ray said with a bright smile on his face. Another day at a gas station in the forest, another group of customers.
A tanned man with blond hair and a brown jacket walked in and gave him a big smile back. "Hi. I'm alright thanks. Just looking for some water."
"Ah, it's just over there!" He said pointing. The man gave him a wave and headed over. A few minutes passed while the man searched for his desired drink when a new customer entered.
"Hello There! How may I-" The new man drew a gun the moment he entered.
"Hi there. Money. Now."
"O-of course." He scrambled to open the register.
"Hurry up! I'm a Branwen! You should know we don't like waiting!" He was growing irate.
"A Branwen?" The tanned man said, bringing a couple bottles over and placing them on the counter. "Ring those through for me will you." He said before turning back to the armed bandit. "Raven still in charge?"
"Y-you know Raven!?"
"Yeah! We went to school together. You must know about the time she went to Beacon. Became strong for the tribe and all."
"Y-yeah?"
The tanned man smiled. "Other than her brother, I'm the only guy who could beat her. In fact, I crushed her so hard she married me. You wouldn't want to anger your boss's husband now, would you?"
"N-no…"
"That's good. I need to find the tribe you see. I'd appreciate a guide."
"Of course! I'd love to."
"Perfect! Let me just pay for these and we can get a move on." He turned and flashed the clerk a smile. He handed over the Lien and within another moment the pair were gone.
I need a holiday.
A/N: And so Volume 5 has begun! With some slight changes. Ruby is more inclined to use criminals for her own gain like she had with Roman. Which means Lil' Miss Malachite! Which is fun. Oh and Tai encounters the best RWBY character, Shay D. Mann. I'm sure it will go well for Shay.
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!
UPDATE: I'm sorry guys! Christmas preparations were more hectic than I expected. My beta won't be able to go over the next chapter until next week and I want to get you guys the best chapter I can. So no chapter this week. I hope you all have a great Christmas!