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Alma Mater
June 26th, 4-81 — Mistral, near Kuroyuri
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Qrow had been carried out of quite a few places in his life, mostly taverns.
Being carried into a place was… a bit different.
Not that he had any choice in the matter. Ever since the fight with that scorpion-tailed freak, the man had been getting weaker and weaker. He could bear the pain in the beginning – pain was nothing new to Qrow Branwen – but after a time it rendered him unable to even walk on his own two feet. It seemed like scorpion venom was nothing to sneeze at.
Ruby and Jaune were carrying him through an abandoned town to make the trip easier on him. Ren and Nora had taken a different route through the mountains in the hope of saving time. And all because he'd been careless.
No… unlucky.
But what else was new?
Qrow may have carried actual medicine with him on his travels – he was still a damn Huntsman, thank you very much – but his painkiller of choice (20-proof, by the way) had no effect on this particular brand of hurt. All it took was one look at his bandages to make that clear. Wounds didn't normally bleed purple.
Sleep tried to engulf him numerous times during the walk, but the pain kept it from taking him all the way. The kids didn't bother trying to talk to him, especially after their little fireside chat the other night, which did nothing to put the man at ease.
Instead his mind wandered, drifting into the past… to the good ol' days at Beacon. And he let it drift. Anything was better than dwelling on the constant pain that had become a part of him.
They should reach Haven before they attracted any Grimm.
If they were lucky.
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March 12th, 4-58 — Beacon Academy
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They were coming up on the end of their first year together, and Qrow had finally started getting comfortable around his teammates. Sharing a dorm room was an unwelcome change at first, but he quickly got used to it (faster than Raven did, at any rate). Dealing with teachers and other students was also a switch, but the boy was nothing if not flexible.
"You lying, cheating, piece of shit! !"
"Oh yeah? You're the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do! WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!"
"I'm leaving you and I'M TAKING RAVEN WITH ME! ! !"
"Aaaaaand we're done for today," Qrow said as he quickly gathered up the cards strewn about the table. Yet another round of Remnant: The Game in which diplomatic relations rapidly broke down into full-scale war. Nobody won the game, either.
At this rate, team STRQ would be banned from the library.
Qrow's partner, the young Summer Rose, had gained a bit of a reputation among the other first-years as… something like a mother-in-training. She was always paying more attention to the kids around her than to herself. It was like she couldn't help it. All too often he would catch the girl ignoring her own needs to give other students help that they didn't desperately need (skipping her lunch for an impromptu session of tutoring was her most common offense).
Summer's constant companion throughout the year was actually Raven's partner, the blonde man called Taiyang. He was a stand-out among the students as well, but for other… less noble reasons. He often acted first and thought second, and him getting in trouble with other students of the female variety was a weekly event. Was it any wonder that he and Qrow got along so well?
It needed to be said, however, that both Taiyang and Summer were proving themselves to be exceptional warriors. If they fought together, not even Qrow and Raven could stand against them. That was a high compliment.
Now if they could just play a normal card game without going for each other's throats…
A tired sigh caught everybody's attention; Professor Goodwitch was rubbing her temples as she waited for a moment to speak. She seemed to do that a lot. "I'm here to collect you all for special training. If you wish to participate in the 29th Vytal Festival Tournament, you will need to attend this session."
"Oh, okay," Summer said with a smile.
"We'll be… right there…" Taiyang wheezed from within her iron grip.
Goodwitch sighed again, then added, "I will be deducting points for tardiness." She turned smartly on her heels and marched out the way she came. Qrow paused his efforts to get one look at her retreating form – a very, very quick look – before finishing the cleanup.
Summer and Taiyang went out first to get ready. Qrow stood up from the table to follow, but the quiet voice of Raven stopped him before he got too far.
"What are we even doing here, brother?"
Qrow looked over at his sister, a girl only minutes older than himself who had been sitting quietly at the table throughout their game. Her arms were crossed in thought. She clearly had something on her mind.
Despite growing up together, Raven had become very distant from her brother over the last year. They barely ever spoke, and when they did it was short and to the point, just like now. They may not have gotten along well before coming to Beacon, but they at least shared their thoughts freely. Now… it was like they were almost strangers.
"I'd say…" Qrow let the words hang in the air as he turned to head for the door. "…The answer lies with those two. Shall we?"
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June 27th, 4-81 — Downtown Vale
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Taiyang didn't dare let his mind wander as he measured out exactly how much Dust he needed. He'd done that once before… but then Mulberry had made absolutely sure he never forgot it again.
He shuddered at the memory.
13 individual vials of Dust sat before him on the counter, ready to go into the Blender. They varied in type, but all were the common varieties – Fire, Wind, Electric, Gravity, Plant and Rock. No need for the expensive types like Hard Light. Thankfully no one was around to ask what he was doing – Summer was still at the city library with Goodwitch, Port and Oobleck were fetching a few supplies, and Zwei was currently distracting both Mulberry and Peach. Taiyang had the Dust Lab to himself.
They called it that, but the sign over the door said 'From Dust Till Dawn' in big letters. The old shopkeep, like most other civilians in Vale, had evacuated almost a year ago. The night of the Fall. Beacon staff and the remaining students had taken temporary possession of this shop, along with a few others in the city, though Goodwitch assured him that all affected business owners would be compensated once repairs were finished.
And after an entire year, that was actually looking plausible. Grimm still inhabited the school campus, but the city itself was virtually monster-free. Repairs and civil work had been progressing for a few months now, and Goodwitch was confident that they could welcome the refugees back before the end of the year.
That is, if they could just take care of THAT.
Sitting atop the ruined CCT tower was the only thing that hadn't changed at all since that fateful night; a gigantic Grimm, frozen in stone, that continued attracting more and more Grimm to itself day and night. With that thing keeping the monster population going strong, there was no way Glynda could declare an end to the crisis.
Taiyang carefully loaded two vials into the Blender and hit the button.
Summer had seen the photos back home, but actually arriving in Vale had still been a shock. Granted, they'd seen plenty of giant Grimm during their days as team STRQ, but never had one parked itself right on top of their school of all places. That was nigh-unforgivable. Her expression when she first saw the Wyvern was one of anger, but also one of planning. Summer was up to something.
Blending was done. He removed the vial of mixed Dust, loaded two more and started it up.
Glynda, to no one's surprise, passed out as soon as the two of them showed up. Summer had instantly been bombarded with questions as soon as the other teachers heard the news, but Taiyang managed to beat them off. Once it was clear this wasn't a trick (and Glynda had woken up), they found themselves at the city's only surviving bar to celebrate her return. And nobody got black-out drunk for once.
The big guy who ran the bar, who everyone called 'Junior,' seemed a bit shady but otherwise happy to have the business. Tai had to steer clear of the twins who worked there; he didn't want to incur the wrath of a jealous and tipsy wife.
Second batch was done. Next up was a three-part mixture-
"Um… excuse me?"
One vial of Fire Dust (!) slipped in his hands, but Taiyang recovered before it spilled even one granule. Whew. After he calmed his pounding heart, he looked over and found a woman standing at the open door of the old shop.
A woman who could be best described as 'falling out of her clothes.'
Damn.
Once he tore his gaze away from the woman's blouse – or what was left of it – Taiyang found himself staring at a pair of amazingly deep blue eyes set beneath a head of smooth, flowing black hair. Her candy lips were curled in a smile that just barely reached her eyes. She wore common clothes, nothing fancy, but… it seemed she had an aversion to buttons. And zippers. And skirts that actually covered the entire thigh.
Did he spill some Fire Dust after all? It was suddenly getting hot…
"Eyes up here, Shaggy."
Taiyang damn near dropped the vial again before he sputtered and coughed something close to an apology. He quickly put his mind back on his work long enough to get the next few vials loaded into the Blender and pressed the button.
Stepping back, he cleared his throat and said, as professionally as possible, "Sorry about that, Ma'am. The shop's closed right now-"
"Actually, I'm looking for someone," the woman cut him off with a calm but firm tone of voice. She crossed her arms under her… chest… which only served to lift her… assets… back into view. "Do you know where I can find a man named Taiyang Xiao Long? I heard he was in town."
"I… uh… well…" Words refused to form in his brain with those twin balloons demanding his full attention. They were easily twice the size of Summer's. "I… I think… I'm Taiyang."
"You 'think' you are?"
"Last I checked… yeah."
The woman giggled, her chest vibrated, and Taiyang felt an unwanted reaction happening somewhere down south. I'm a married man, I'm a married man, I'm a married man…
"Well in that case…" the woman sauntered her way around the counter, her melons getting there a few minutes ahead of the rest of her. "Can I ask you a few questions?"
She gave Taiyang an grand view of her flawless skin by sliding one of her legs out from underneath her sad excuse for a skirt.
Her bottom lip jutted out far enough to trip over. "…Pretty please?"
"…"
Hi, this is Taiyang's rational mind. He can't talk right now, so please leave a message and he'll get back to you as soon as his brain has enough blood to function properly; it's currently diverted to another source.
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He remembered nothing else until after the woman was gone.
All he knew for certain was that his lips tingled, he was out of breath, his shirt was partly unbuttoned, and his belt had been loosened by one belt loop. Half an hour had passed without him even noticing.
Oddly enough, his other vials of Dust were correctly mixed by the time he came to his senses. When did he do that?
More importantly… where did that woman disappear to?
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Well that was far easier than expected, Emmya Tremaine thought to herself as she strode down the street.
She twirled her Scroll in her hand as she made her way to the library. Beacon may have moved in, but they couldn't very well stop normal civilians from using public facilities. And that's all she was… a 'normal civilian.'
Yeah, and did you hear the one about the tortoise over in Vacuo that learned how to fly?
Subtle Suggestion was a powerful tool against the weak-minded, and Emmya made sure to use every trick in the book to make it even more potent. Men were the easiest to manipulate – show a bit of skin and they immediately regress into cavemen. Stick out your bottom lip and they'd be all too happy to give up the access codes to the local CCT network.
It was too bad they were in such an open storefront. It had been quite a while since her last fling, and she was getting… antsy. With a bit more cover, she would have probably gone all the way – the man seemed eager enough – but alas, it was not to be. Shame.
And besides, she was on a tight schedule. She needed information, and now she had the access.
Had fun, saved myself a few steps AND it should make Master happy, she thought as she went inside. And as long as he's happy, he won't send me off on any more of these damn fetch quests. What a pain in the ass…
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The next day, Summer and Taiyang were ready to depart.
They stood outside the city library. Glynda handed Summer's Scroll back to her, along with a small bundle of Lien. "I've uploaded the necessary reports to help fill in the gaps, along with access codes to both Haven and Atlas' CCT network, if you should need them."
"Thank you, Professor."
"And I confirmed what we discussed yesterday – there is no file on Dr. Chianti in Vale's server. I did find a few reports from the time period you mentioned, and have included those as well. It should give you a starting point, if nothing else."
Taiyang walked over with raised eyebrows, clearly wondering what they were talking about. Summer said, "Apparently the guy I was after… Dr. Chianti, the Time Machine guy… survived the encounter and was taken to Lushu after his arrest. If we're lucky, he might still be there. Professor Goodwitch has agreed to charter a flight for us to go straight there and-"
"What about Haven? Meeting up with the girls?"
Summer's stomach completely flipped over. "W-We can… head there afterwards. B-Besides… I still need to find the full report on what happened. Since the incident occurred in Mistral, that file will be in Haven's system."
Taiyang nodded, either not noticing his wife's distress or carefully ignoring it. "I guess that's not so bad. Like a little vacation; Lushu is a big place and it happens to be good with tourists."
A pair of voices spoke up from behind them, chortling at the scene. "Of course it helps to think of it as a honeymoon… though it's easy to imagine what he'll be looking at, eh Peter?"
"Indeed it is, Bart… a town like that is notorious for… other attractions, is it not?"
"Like skirts that ride a bit too high on the leg?"
"Or blouses that leave nothing to the imagination?"
"This IS the infamous Taiyang Xiao Long we're talking about, after all…"
"Now, now, Bart… not when his wife is standing right there…"
The pair of Professors stood to one side, laughing as they watched Taiyang flail for a bit, but Summer could read her husband's face with little difficulty. He could deny it all he wanted, but the man was as guilty as a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar.
She had to smile. After all these years, Taiyang hadn't grown up a bit.
Glynda quietly pulled Summer's attention back, saying, "As I mentioned last night, Professor Ozpin is still out there somewhere. The odds are good that either Qrow or James can help you find him."
"James?"
"Ironwood. He's the General of Atlas now."
"Oh, him! Good to know he's moved up from Major. How's he been doing?"
"After everything that went down last year… not good. Nobody really trusts Atlas anymore, and he's taking the lion's share of the blame."
"…Do you think he'll talk to me if I go see him?"
"Miss Rose, I don't think anyone on Remnant would refuse to see you right now. As for Qrow… I tracked the signal from his Scroll to Haven Academy. I called them an hour ago, and according to a secretary at the school, he and the students he was escorting just arrived this morning."
"The students… that includes my Ruby?"
"Indeed. I was told that Qrow suffered some severe injuries and is on bed rest, but the rest of the kids are fine. Apparently they had to fight a powerful Grimm before they made it to the school."
Summer chuckled. "That sounds like my daughter. Can't keep herself out of trouble."
Glynda chuckled as well. "If you only knew the whole story…" A moment passed without any words. Glynda leaned in and gave her an awkward hug, muttering, "It's so good to have you back Summer."
"It… It's good to be back," she said.
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Several minutes later, Summer and Taiyang were at the airship dock with their few belongings, ready to step in and take off. Zwei, who had no intention of being left at home by himself, wagged his stubby tail by their feet as everyone said their goodbyes. Glynda and the other teachers had gathered to see them off, but one more face stepped forward first…
"Hey there, lover boy," said a very… voluptuous woman as she marched right up to Taiyang, hips swaying with each step. Her voice carried a playful growl. "Leaving without saying goodbye?"
Summer was ready to dismiss this woman as unimportant, a passing fancy, but then she glanced over at Tai. The look that had come over her husband's face resembled a fish that had been yanked out of the water, lips gaping open and struggling to catch a breath.
One of Summer's eyes started twitching.
The woman ignored Summer as she placed herself completely inside Taiyang's comfort zone, pressing her boobs up against his chest as he turned purple. She draped her arms over his shoulders and leaned close, breathing into his face. To his credit, Tai did actually try to speak, but his mouth had gone full derp. And his eyes seemed broken… he couldn't look up at her face.
The twitch got stronger, pulling up the side of her mouth.
Voices from the side indicated that the teachers were also watching the scene, most of them disapproving (though Port's mustache was bent in a very smiling way). Glynda actually had her riding crop in her hand, her face dark.
Finally realizing she had an audience, the strange woman stepped back and looked around with what could only be feigned ignorance. "Oh dear… did I interrupt something? My apologies, deary."
"Oh… it's no trouble," Summer's mouth said without any conscious input. Her vision shifted slightly as the twitch forced her neck to spasm.
"Well that's good to know," the woman replied. "I'd hate to think I was getting between a married couple or something."
"I AM MARRIED!" Taiyang finally managed to bark, startling everyone present.
The woman barely missed a beat. "Actually, Shaggy… I snuck a look at your files. In legal terms, you're single. Huntsman Widower Procedures." In simple terms, this means that five years after a spouse is declared missing or dead, marital status automatically reverts for the remaining member of the couple. Saves on paperwork for couples that don't last through particularly dangerous missions.
Ignoring the fact that this woman had somehow managed a look at classified information, what she had to say was… more than a little jarring. Even Summer's twitch stopped to reflect on it. She hadn't considered that detail before now. It had been 12 years, which is a lot more than 5.
"You, my hairy man, are on the market." The woman actually licked her lips at that last part.
Somehow, while Summer wasn't paying attention, her swords left their strap all on their own and jumped into her hands. Even her feet got in on the act and made her jump in between her husband and the woman who seemed intent to take him away.
And she was growling. Summer never growled.
"Seems I pushed a bit too far," the mysterious woman said, more to herself than for anyone else. "Sorry, sorry… I'll stop."
"…" Summer glared silently.
As the woman turned to walk away, she leaned back and said, "By the way… thanks for showing me a good time… Tai." She blew him a kiss and walked away.
The handles of Agni and Varuna groaned in pain as Summer's grip tightened to inhuman levels. Her head turned slowly, neck creaking like a rusty hinge, as she looked upon her loving, faithful husband and the father of her two children. A man who was sweating bullets.
"In… In my defense… I was left unsupervised," he said in a shaky voice.
Zwei gave an indignant bork from ground level.
Summer Rose never considered herself a jealous woman. Up until now, she really had no reason to. Up until now, Tai had never allowed anyone to flirt with him so openly (other than herself). He would usually escape or beat them off with a stick. The man had assured her just after their marriage that his womanizing days were over (Qrow had a hearty laugh when he heard about that).
But he let that woman hang all over him. And based on what she said, he'd not only allowed it… but they may have gone even further.
And that made Summer feel… unpleasant.
They were going to have a very long talk before they landed at Lushu. And if he was lucky, he might still be alive when they got there.
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June 29th, 4-81 — Lushu
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"You… are not the man I'm supposed to be meeting."
"Dr. Rory, my father sends his regards and his deepest regret that he cannot honor the Oldoak Contract. He has sent me in his stead."
"Your father…? I see. I didn't realize you were his son."
"Oliver Oldoak VII, at your service."
"The seventh… sheesh. I forgot how you people like your lineage names. So is your old man feeling okay? Should I come out and see him?"
"…I'm going to drop the formalities for a moment, sir; Pops told me that if he laid eyes on you one more time, he'd gladly use up his Ghost to take both you and himself down together."
"HA! Now that sounds more like the man I knew. And… I take it by how you're sitting while looking away from me that-"
"Yes, he told me all about you, Dr. Rory. You'll forgive me if I don't meet your gaze."
"He figured out the trick. That man is smarter than I gave him credit for. Very well… if you're really the son of the Oldoak family, then you will possess the skills needed for a… job. I assume you do?"
"… … …I am able to use the Ghost, yes."
"How do I know you're telling the truth if you won't look at me?"
"Don't bother, Dr. Rory. I won't look and I have no reason to lie."
"And how do you know I'm not holding a gun to your head right now?"
"Simple… we're sitting in a five-star sushi restaurant in the Upper City. They have a strict no-weapons policy up here."
"Observant. And smarter than your old man was when we first met. I'm officially impressed."
"Is there something specific you needed me for, or are we just here to shoot the breeze?"
"There is a woman scheduled to arrive here in less than an hour, dock #4. According to my contact, she's traveling with a blonde man and a dog. She and the man are both experienced Huntsman. I don't care what you do about the man, but I want that woman dead."
"Personal grudge?"
"Does that matter?"
"I suppose not. And as this falls within the terms of the Contract, I can't really argue. Time frame?"
"As soon as you can manage. Although… maybe give the happy couple a day or two to enjoy themselves before you make your move. But make no mistake… … … Summer Rose cannot be allowed to leave this city alive!"
"…"
"Oh… and don't harm the dog."
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Author's Note: Yes, I'm making a bunch of new OCs. Yes, there are even more on the way. No, I'm not sorry.
This part of the story may feel a bit meandering, but just know that there is a reason for this; I really want to get to the end before the story grows stale. I don't have a detailed plan laid out in my head, so a lot of this is gonna be just… whatever I think can of. As long as I'm having fun writing it, I'll keep putting it out.
(As a side note, the day after I post this chapter is when the last episode of volume 8 becomes free to watch online. In other words, I'll be busy for a few hours.)
(^ω^)