Sienna Khan sat back on her throne in the White Fang's headquarters. She had been getting major backlash from a lot of faunus; ever since the White Fang were revealed to be present at the Fall of Beacon, the number of willing recruits had dropped significantly, and now faunus were even beginning to protest against the White Fang. It was all taking its toll of the tiger faunus leader.

Suddenly, she felt a presence from behind her and perked up a bit defensively.

"I know you're there" she said, "What do you want?"

"Relax, Sienna" a voice replied as Hector materialized behind her and walked around to face he, "The guards wouldn't have let me in, and I needed to see you."

"Hector" Sienna gasped in surprise, "It certainly has been a while."

"It has. But I'm not here for a friendly reunion. I'm here to shed some light on some things that may have escaped your attention. I feel the White Fang may be compromised."

Sienna leaned forward: "My first thought was to expel you since you turned your back on us, but this certainly has my interest. I'm listening."

…

The City of Mistral..." Qrow said.

"Ugh! It's about time!" Nora said as the team are walking through a stone brick tunnel illuminated by translucent lanterns "Whose idea was it to walk again?".

Dante coughed: "You guys." *cough*

Nora glares back at Dante.

"Well, we did face many obstacles. Broken airships, destroyed settlements..." Ren listed

"Oh, and, you know, all those people and monsters that tried to murder us" Jaune finished.

"Pfft, we were fine" Ruby said while looking at Qrow with a smile "Only one of us almost died".

Qrow looks at Ruby, smiling back "Hey".

Nora puts her hands on her hips and looks at Ren who looks back at her "Hey" Nora giggles in response.

"So, how much farther to Haven Academy?" Nora asked.

"Almost there. But I figured I'd take you kids on the scenic route" Qrow said.

The group approaches a pair of large, wooden double doors, which Qrow opens, flooding the tunnel with sunlight. Ruby 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.

"Wow!" Was all she could say. The others join her to take in the view of buildings and stone stairways perched on mountains "This... is... awesome!".

"Some views you just never get used to." Dante said, basking in the sun.

Qrow chuckled: "Agreed."

Below them, large crowds of people are going about their day - walking around, talking and buying merchandise legally and illegally.

"It's certainly something" Qrow said.

Ruby noticed a kiosk selling weapons "Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!"

"Vendors here'll sell you just about anything... whether they should or not" Qrow said.

"I certainly could use some of those weapons though." Dante said, rubbing his hands in glee.

"You probably already have plenty considering where you came from." Qrow replied.

Dante laughed: "There is no such thing as too many weapons my friend."

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed, high fiving Dante.

"They really made the most out of these mountains" Jaune commented.

"Every inch. Stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets" Qrow explained.

"And we are going up!" Nora declared, pointing upward.

"That's a yes" Qrow said amused at the sight "Well time to keep moving."

The team and Qrow enter the campus grounds of Haven Academy, which is devoid of any other people. They stop in a courtyard, where Ruby smiles and wipes a tear from her eye.

"We made it" The young Rose said.

Qrow stops behind them, and while they continue on their way, he takes a moment to glance around and lets out a sigh.

"Hello?" Ruby called out inside a hallway; she calls out once again, louder this time "Hello?!"

"Maybe try louder?" Nora suggested.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here" Ren said.

"Something's up" Dante said, getting a little tense.

"Well, I guess school isn't really in session right now. Maybe that's it" Jaune guessed.

"No, this isn't right. Come on" Qrow said as he hurries ahead.

"Wait for us!" Ruby said as the team picks up the pace to catch up, and soon, all six are running to a pair of wooden double doors.

Qrow comes to a stop in front of them, draws his sword, and extends the blade "Get ready. There could be trouble".

The team follow his lead in drawing their weapons. Dante runs up, his pistols drawn: "On three. One…"

"Two…" Qrow said. After a tense moment, they both said, "Three."

Qrow brings up his foot and kicks the door open. Just on the other side, a man widens his eyes, throws his hands into the air, and lets out a frightened scream. Jaune, Ruby, and Nora widen their eyes and scream as well, while Ren gives the headmaster a confused stare. Standing on one foot with his eyes wide, Qrow suddenly looks down, loses his balance, and falls. Shortly after, the man makes a noise and briefly faints. The team let their weapons down and stare, dumbfounded, while Qrow sits up.

"Uh, Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked.

Lionheart gasps and sits up "Qrow! For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!".

Qrow stands up with a growl "Me? Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?".

"Huh?" Lionheart pulls a pocket watch from his coat and checking it "Oh, right. Apologies. I guess time slipped away from me".

Qrow gave him a look "You're joking".

"You can't be that old already." Dante said. Lionheart looks at Dante and gives a somewhat shocked expression: "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well, you wouldn't be the first to say that." Dante replied.

While Lionheart stands up and the team put their weapons away, Nora asks a question "Where is everybody?".

"Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned" Lionheart said.

"Yes, sir" Ruby said giving a loose salute "Ruby Rose".

"Jaune Arc" Jaune said.

Nora was posing with her arms held stiffly out to the sides "Nora Valkyrie".

Ren putts his arms behind his back "Lie Ren".

Lionheart chuckles "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, Qrow briefly clenches his fists and then leans in toward Lionheart "What? Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?"

Lionheart looked between Qrow and the former students "Qrow, the children".

"Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?" Qrow demanded

Lionheart lets the information sink in "You... filled them in?".

"So, is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?" Nora asked.

"Not quite, no" Dante replied.

…

In the front room of the Belladonna Family Home, Ghira and Sun burst in through the front door, angry. Kali watches from the front porch.

"Unbelievable!" Ghira said enraged.

"Total garbage!" Sun angrily agreed.

Ghira lets out a growl, and he and Sun turn to each other and speak at the same time "Ghira and Sun: We can't let them get away with this!".

Kali was smiling at them "Well, at least you two can finally agree on something".

They look at her, then back at each other. Sun gives an awkward chuckle while rubbing his head, and Ghira glares slightly and growls, fists clenched. The three soon have their attention called to Blake, who speaks up from the porch "Guys. Everything's going to be okay. What happened?".

"We confronted Corsac and Fennec, but that chameleon girl took the fall for them" Sun explained "They spoke how disappointed they were, but anyone could see they were lying".

"I hope this so called "help" that Hector went to go find is worth it." Ghira said.

A little while later, Blake exits her father's study, stepping out onto the balcony where an armored guard is standing. The guard turns and addresses her "Good evening, miss. Can I get you anything?".

"Just a little time to myself, if that's alright" Blake said.

"Sure thing. Just call, if you need me" The guard walks into Ghira's study, shutting the door behind her.

Blake takes a deep sigh and is soon alerted by a familiar voice "You need better security".

Alarmed, Blake turns to see Ilia drop down onto the railing. The young Belladonna reaches for the door, but Ilia holds her hand up "Please! I-I just need to talk".

Blake slowly takes her hand away from the door "How could you take the fall for them, Ilia?"

Ilia stands up "Blake..."

"Corsac and Fennec blamed you. We confronted them tonight, and they deny knowing anything and everything found on your Scroll. They talked about how disappointed they were to hear that you'd sided with Adam. But you and I both know they're guilty" Blake said.

"You can't prove anything" Ilia said.

"That Scroll might not have been enough to lock them up, but it's enough to sway the Faunus here. When we go public tomorrow, they're not going to stand for any of it, and when Hector gets back and gives his testimony on the Fang's experiments, it's only going to fuel the fire. You should be with us, standing against them." Blake argued.

Ilia removes her mask, a solemn expression on her face "Your plan isn't gonna work, Blake. Please... just leave Menagerie before it's too late."

Blake stares at her in silence for a few moments "If you want me to leave. You're going to have to make me".

Ilia remains silent for a few moments before responding sadly "I know".

The chameleon Faunus dons her mask once again and steps backward off the balcony. Blake turns away and gains an angry expression, her cat ears folding. After a moment, the anger fades, and she sighs, taking on a saddened expression.

…

"So what I'm hearing" Sienna said after Hector had finished explaining everything to her, "Is that Adam has been going behind my back and now plans to overthrow me?"

"That basically sums it up, yeah." Hector replied, "We learned it all from Ilia's scroll."

Sienna leaned back in her throne and sighed: "I always suspected Adam was working in secret without my knowing, but I never thought he would go this far."

"His anger has consumed him" Hector explained, "My guess is he sees you as weak now."

Sienna's expression flared in anger: "Oh, believe me, I am FAR from weak. But I also have humane standards; I know when something is going too far."

"You really think Adam cares anymore?"

Sienna pursed her lips; Hector had a point: "How can I trust you?"

"Wait until your next meeting with Adam; I have a feeling he plans to get rid of you sooner than later. I'll be nearby for protection in case things get too extreme."

"You would protect me?" Sienna asked, a twinge of surprise in her voice.

"You were a good friend of mine in the past, Sienna. Plus, I'd take my chances with you any day instead of Adam."

Sienna nodded her head in understanding, then looked at Hector with a determined expression: "Very well. Stay nearby for as long as you need; next time Adam shows up, we'll both be ready."

Hector nodded and smiled: "I may actually have an idea for that."

Sienna smiled in return, pleased to see that even though Hector was no longer loyal to the White Fang, he still was willing to stand up for his friends: "I'm listening."

…

The team and Qrow are gathered in Lionheart's office, with the headmaster sitting behind his desk "I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you".

"No, reckless is leaving one of the Relics completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!" Qrow said, clearly upset.

"There was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" Lioneart said as he stands up 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 attacking each other... 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" Lionheart walks to a window and looks 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".

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Lionheart leans 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. I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more unfortunate tendencies" He sighs "And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is".

"All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here!" Qrow said, clear anger in his tone.

Ruby moves closer to the two "Okay! Okay. Things are bad; they're bad. But we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?".

Lionheart looks at Qrow "I thought you filled them in".

"Mostly filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason" Qrow said as he removes his flask from his shirt and taking a drink.

Lionheart sits back down in his chair "The four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and they are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics".

"What?" Jaune asked

"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" Qrow said and takes another sip from his drink "Spring is the problem".

"What happened to her?" Ruby asked.

"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 answered.

"I... know. At least... I have a pretty good idea" Qrow said.

Lionheart widens his eyes and stands up "Are you serious?".

"It's not exactly good news" Qrow pointed out.

Lionheart walks around to Qrow from behind his desk "What are you talking about? This is incredible news!" He grabs Qrow by the shoulders and shakes him a little "After all these years! Where?!".

Qrow shoves him off "I did some digging around. Looks like, after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe".

Lionheart's excitement fell "Raven".

Ruby lets out a small gasp of surprise as Jaune speaks Jaune "Yang's mom?".

"She has the Spring Maiden?" Lena asked.

"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".

Lionheart walks over and pats Qrow on the back "Well, Qrow, I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks".

Lionheart walks over to the computer, while Qrow clenches his fists "A few weeks?".

"That's right" Lionheart said as he walked back around behind the desk.

"Leo, maybe you didn't hear me. My sister has the Spring Maiden, and I know where she is. We need to go, as soon as possible!" Qrow snapped as he knocked books off the desk.

"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" Lionheart said angrily.

"Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen and these kids aren't exactly pushovers" Qrow said.

Nora: jumps up while Ruby fist pumps "Yeah!".

Ren stands up "Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?".

"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.

"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" Lionheart said.

Qrow: stares for several moments before sighing "You know Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here".

"Perhaps you're right. But he's not. I'm doing the very best I can" Lionheart said.

"There has to be something we can do" Ruby said in slight desperation.

"What about Cinder? She came with Emerald and Mercury from Haven. Do you have anything on them?" Jaune asked

"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries" Lionheart answered.

"Fantastic…" Dante sarcastically remarks.

"And what exactly are YOU doing here, Dante?" Lionheart asks, narrowing his eyes.

"I was sent ahead to check things out. The big guy knows about Beacon and he's preparing to come here."

Lionheart's eyes widened: "He's…coming here?"

Dante nodded: "His son's already here, as I'm sure you've seen from the news, but now that he knows what's coming, he's bringing in his army."

Lionheart quickly composed himself, though that was somewhat difficult: "You and I should discuss this later. I don't think even Qrow would go as far as to fill the kids in on this."

There's another moment of silence before Qrow speaks "Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo".

"I'm sorry. I know you've all traveled a long way. But I will do everything I can to help" Lionheart assured.

"Sure. We'll stay in the city for the time being" Qrow said as he takes out his Scroll and waggling it at Lionheart "Local comms are still up. Keep in touch. Come on, kids".

They all begin to walk out of the room. At the rear, Ruby turns around to face Lionheart again "It was nice meeting you, Professor".

"Likewise" Lionheart said.

Qrow and the team walk back down the academy hallway. Nora is the first to stop and speak "So, what do we do now?"

Qrow sighs and turns around "You five head back to the house. I need a drink".

He walks off, leaving the four teenagers looking at each other with concern. Still they began their trip back to the house.

Meanwhile, Lionheart sits back in his desk and sighs.

A slow clapping could suddenly be heard from a darker corner of the room. Lionheart looks up to see Roman casually walk up, a mischievous smile on his face.

"A+ for the secrecy, Professor." He said, "though your tone could use some work."

Lionheart sighed: "You know I did what I can."

Roman nodded: "I know. Now, I think it's time for ol Watts's daily checkup."

Lionheart nodded and hit a button on his desk, causing a symbol to flash up. Roman held out a recording device and nodded to Lionheart.

"Hello, Leo." Watts's voice came over the other end.

…

"What is going on out there?!" Ruby demanded as she stomped into the living room "Can't a girl take care of herself in peace?" Qrow burps and chuckles, catching Ruby's attention. She sighs and puts a hand to her forehead exasperatedly "Qrow, did you get drunk again?".

"Maybe" Qrow said, sounding like a child.

"Oh" Ruby noticed a boy looking at her "You have silver eyes".

Ruby looks at him, a touch surprised. She turns to Ren and Nora, who shrugs again, before looking back at the boy "Who... are you?"

Qrow chuckles from the couch as the boy speaks "Uh... Well. My name is Oscar Pine".

"Wait for it..." Qrow said.

"But you probably know me as... Professor Ozpin" Oscar said.

The team all gasp, and look confused. Jaune takes a couple steps back. Qrow continues chuckling and punching his fists into the air "I did it!".

He falls off the couch onto the floor, startling Nora who has her hands going to her mouth "Ooh!".