Chapter 5: The Qrow
Remnant, Continent of Sanus
POV: Adam Taurus
Premise: "The end of revenge play is always uncertain."
5 days earlier...
Within an abandoned, run-down castle far away from the City of Vale. The remnants of the White Fang under Adam Taurus were taking refuge. The bull Faunus himself was standing at the top of the castle's old tower. It was almost midnight, the sky was pitch black, but he could see everything. The forest, his men, and the light of Vale's skyline off in the distance.
He was on the verge of glory until the Reds and Blues ruined everything, they exposed the truth of their attack and used it as a fuel to light a fire the White Fang couldn't control. Then they gave both him and Neo Politian the body of Roman Torchwick as an act of respect. The girl herself was holding onto whatever contacts Torchwick had, and were still willing to send supplies. But after the Coalition was formed, all hell broke loose. Some were arrested, others broke their deal and fled to either Vacuo or away from the city, some were lucky bastards who got away with it.
But even after all that, morale was low, and new members were becoming somewhat of a memory. All that were left were the hardliners in Vale, while the moderates fled back to Mistral to work with Sienna Khan.
As he looked over the dark night, Adam noticed a bullhead arrive at the castle, and he knew immediately who it was. He quickly made his way to it as it landed. Once the doors opened, Adam expected Cinder to be there, instead he noticed a man in light blue armor that looked a little too familiar.
Adam unsheathed his weapon, ready to attack until…
"Adam!" Cinder shouted as she, Emerald, and Mercury exited the bullhead, "He's with us."
"More like you're with me." the man retorted before looking back at Adam, "Let's talk business, Adam…"
POV Change: Weiss Schnee
Present…
Weiss ran towards the bullhead docks at Beacon, all while being followed by Ruby and Caboose.
"Weiss!" Ruby shouted at her friend after catching up to her, "What's the big deal!? Who's she!?"
Weiss could stare at a woman exiting the bullhead and smile. The woman looked like an older version of herself in her early 20s. She had her white hair tied into a bun, with it high on the left side of the back of her head, while her bangs were shaped around the right side of her face, a small curled lock of hair reaching almost to her left shoulder. She wore a rather formal military uniform with a rapier at her side.
"Winter…" Weiss muttered
Ruby and Caboose looked at one another with surprised expressions until the former spoke, "Wait, your sister?"
"Winter!" Weiss shouted at her sister, who turned slowly as the trio ran up to her
"Winter! I'm so happy to see you!" Weiss said, but then quickly curtsied, "Oh...your presence honors us."
"It does?" Caboose muttered, which made Ruby giggle
"Beacon...it's been a long time." Winter said as she looked around the academy, "The air feels different."
"I mean it is fall, so, eh, it's kinda cooler." Ruby muttered, to which Weiss hit her in the shoulder
"So what are you doing here?" Weiss asked her sister
"Classified." Winter replied
"Oh, right." Weiss muttered, "Well, how long are you staying?"
"Classified." Winter repeated
"Of course." Weiss nodded and smiled
"Well...this is nice...I think…" Caboose muttered, "Nothing like my sisters."
"You're going to love it here!" Weiss continued, "I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas!" she added on a low whisper, "Vale too. The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it!? I-"
"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its... bureaucracy." Winter cut her off, "That is not why I came."
"Right. I'm sorry!" Weiss replied
"Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle." she added, "But it appears that I have no choice in the matter."
Weiss looked at her puzzled along with Caboose.
"But we won!" said Weiss
"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory." Winter replied rather coldly, "I counted at least three strikes missed."
She then turned to the Atlesian soldier and Knights beside her, "Leave us."
Once the soldiers left the area, Winter turned back to face her sister, this time with a more warming look, "How have you been?"
"Oh, splendid!" Weiss replied, "Thank you for asking. I'm actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class! And the rest of my studies are going wonderfully, too! I'm-"
Before Weiss could continue, Winter slapped right on the head, leaving a big bump on her head.
"Silence you boob!" Winter hissed, "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?"
"Well, there's Ruby." Weiss replied while gesturing to her friend
"Heh, boob." Ruby chuckled as she poked the massive bump on Weiss' head back into place
"I see. So this is the leader you wrote of." Winter said, as she looked at Ruby, "How appropriately...underwhelming."
"Um...thanks!" Ruby replied
Winter then looked at Caboose, "This one on the other hand, does not need any introductions."
"Hello, I'm Caboose." Caboose said to her
"Greetings, Ruby Rose, you to Michael J. Caboose." Winter said to them both, "I wish to thank both of you, and the latter's team for taking an interest in my sister."
"Yeah...Tucker would've ruined it." Caboose muttered
"Oh! Uh, yes, of course!" Ruby said as she attempted to curty and salute at the same time, "The honor is in my... court!"
Ruby then nearly lost her balance, but was saved by Caboose.
"I have business with the General and your Headmaster." Winter explained to her sister, "But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?"
"Really?" Weiss asked
"Yes. I wish to inspect them and make sure that they are up to my personal standards." Winter replied, as she and Weiss walked towards Beacon, all while Atlesian Knight followed them.
"Of course." said Weiss, "Just so you're aware, the bunk beds only look unstable."
"Bunk beds?" Winter questioned
As the two walked away, they left both Ruby and Caboose behind.
"Oh, bye!" Caboose shouted, "...She seemed nice."
"Yep."
As the Schnee sisters walked through the complex, they were interrupted by the sound of an Atlesian Knight being attacked. Its head then slid towards them, "Hey!"
The attacker turned out to be the man from the bar in Vale.
"Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen." he said to them
"Halt!" Winter shouted at her guards
"Excuse me!" Weiss said as she stormed toward the man, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to!?"
The man stopped Weiss by placing his hand on her forehead and pushed her aside, "Sssshhh, not you...You."
He stared at Winter, who stared back at him.
"I'm standing right in front of you." Winter said irritatedly
The man squinted his eyes through his lazy state of mind, "So it would seem."
"You realize you just destroyed Atlas Military property." Winter states
"Oh, oh I'm sorry." the man said sarcastically, "See, I mistook this for some sort of...sentient garbage."
Winter sneered at him even more, "I don;t have time for you immature games, Qrow."
"Wait, you two know each other?" Weiss asked her sister
"Geez, you Atlas Specialists think you're so special, don't you?" Qrow retorted, ignoring Weiss' question
"It's in the title." Winter hissed
"Well, you know what you're really are?" Qrow began, "A bunch of sellouts. Just like your boss. Atl least those tin-can marines are doing something about it...admittedly a bit too much in my opinion."
Winter at this point sneered, "I'm not sure what you think you're implying, but I've heard enough."
"Oh I heard, too." Qrow retorted, "I heard ol' Ironwood and the Reds and Blues finally turned their back on Ozpin."
"What?" Weiss muttered, "Ozpin?"
Winter then shoved her sister aside, "Weiss, it's time for you to go."
"What-"
"Listen to big sister Weiss." Qorw cut her off, "She'll protect you. Just like Atlas and the Coalition are going to protect all of us, huh?"
That made Winter snap, "If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" she shouted while drawing her sword
"Alright then…" Qrow muttered while slicking his hair back, "...Come take it."
The square cleared before Winter charged at Qrow, making several quick, but futile thrusts at Qrow's head as he swiftly bobbed away from the blade, teasing her with several faces until he mockingly bowed towards her. A downward strike was blocked by the base of Harbinger, right before he tossed it in the air and pointed it towards Winter. The two openly clashed blades as Qrow landed a downwards strike, and aggressively swiped at Winter, forcing her to do a series of back handsprings away from the greatsword and eventually block it.
It was then that Ruby and Caboose arrived at the scene.
"What is going on!?" Ruby asked Weiss
"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" Weiss explained
"Oh no! Who would do such a th-THAT IS MY UNCLE!" Ruby shouted upon seeing Qrow
"What!?" Weiss cried
"Kick her butt Uncle Qrow! Ruby shouted to her uncle
Weiss decided to get in on the motivation as well, "Teach him respect Winter!"
Caboose on the other hand, had a perfect reaction, "Neat."
Both Winter and Qrow parried each of their foe's strikes with rapid speed, as Winter dodged a two-handed swing before smacking Qrow's left cheek with the pommel of her saber. But Qrow grinned as his left eye blinked brightly and Winter was forced to leap away with a glyph as Qrow slammed his sword on the ground, shattering the pavement.
Winter then broke away from the mid air crane stance as she landed near a lamppost, which was subsequently destroyed with a swipe from Qrow. Winter then leaps above him and dodges his swings, finally leaping on top of his sword, then giving him an excellent view of her foot as she kicked him in the face. Winter backflipped onto the stump that used to be a lamppost, but then leapt off onto a railing high above, right as Qrow threw his sword at the stump. Qrow transformed his weapon, firing a cannon shot at Winter and forcing her to jump onto the side of a concrete, arched pillar. She used her sword to stay on the vertical surface until Qrow ran forward and tried firing more blasts at her, which she dodged by scaling the pillar's face and eventually leaping onto the archway itself. Qrow followed suit on the opposite structure, firing off round after round at his opponent.
Qrow then searched for Winter as he saw a cloud of white steam consume her, narrowing his gaze. Suddenly, Winter flew towards him, separating her bifurcated saber into two, and Qrow blocked her attack. The arch collapses from the force, causing the two to crash back down to ground level, continuing their furious attacks towards each other. Qrow was forced backward and dragged his sword in the ground to slow to a stop before holding it in a one-handed stance, to the cheer of the audience.
Winter then stabbed the ground with one of her swords, summoning a glyph that created a flock of small white Nevermores, which began flying towards him. Qrow swung his sword at the flock, causing a few to burst into small clouds of steam. He then sent an Aura arc at Winter, causing her to jump back and putting an end to the birds. Winter angrily summoned a second glyph behind her, and the blade of Qrow's sword began to transform in a sequence initiated by its clockwork gears. But suddenly, his gaze traveled elsewhere, and he suddenly sheathed his sword, instead beckoned his bewildered opponent to come at him with his right index finger. The glyph faded away, and there was a bright flash of light, followed by Winter speeding forward with light trailing behind her. Just as the tip of Winter's blade closed in on Qrow's throat, the two of them heard an odd sound.
"What the hell is that music?" Qrow muttered
"YEE-HA!" someone shouted, until both Qrow and Winter flet the full force of Red Team's Warthog hit them, sending them flying to the ground.
"Ow…" Winter groaned
Ruby on the other hand, started to snicker before bursting into laughter
"T-that w-was-s perfect!" she laughed
Sarge, the one driving the jeep, jumped out of the Warthog with his shotgun in hand, "What in Sam Hill is all this!? Starting a fight without me!?"
"It was kinda personal buddy." Qrow replied as he got off the ground
"SCHNEE!"
The crowd and fighters all noticed Ironwood standing nearby, along with a girl with orange hair.
"General Ironwood sir!" Winter announced, while standing at attention
Ironwood glared at her before turning to Sarge, "Excellent job and stopping this impromptu fight Sergeant."
"No problem." Sarge replied, "And its Colonel."
Ironwood then looked back at Winter and Qrow, "What in the world do you think you're doing?"
"He started the altercation sir!" Winter protested
"That's actually not true." Qrow butted in while putting his arms behind his head, "She attacked first."
"Is that right?" Ironwood asked Winter, who simply looked down in shame. Ironwood then set his sights on Qrow, "And you. What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing." Qrow retorted
"I-"
"Now, now, everyone." Ozpin announced as he and Glynda arrived 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."
"Break it up everyone!" Glynda shouted, "We'll deal with this mess!"
Ironwood then looked at both Sarge and Winter, "Let's go."
As the trio left the complex, the orange turned and waved at Ruby before walking away. Ruby did the same before setting her sights on Qrow.
"Uncle Qrow!" she shouted before grabbing onto his arm, and hung from it, "Hi. It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me!?"
"Nope." Orpw replied before ruffling her hair
"Qrow!"
Qrow looked over at Ozpin and Glynda. The latter was currently cleaning up the mess left from the fight.
"A word please." Oz said to him
"I think I'm in trouble." Qrow whispered discreetly
"You did kinda tear up the courtyard." Ruby replied
"Yeah, I did." he chuckled before winking and setting her down, "Catch ya later kid."
Qrow then walked over to join the others. Ozpin then looked at Caboose.
"You to Caboose." he said to him
Ruby looked at Caboose in confusion. To which the blue soldier shrugged and walked off. Once they all left, Weiss walked up to Ruby.
"And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense." she said
"You're just mad because he whooped but." Ruby replied while nudging Weiss' shoulder
"That was a draw, at best!"
POV Change: Ozpin's Office
Winter paced back and forth impatiently while Ironwood and all of the Reds and Blues stooding waiting for Ozpin.
"So...you're Weiss' sister." Tucker said to her, which made Winter slow down her pacing to speak
"I am." she answered
"Weiss never said she had a sister." Donut added
"Hmm."
Just then, Oz, Glynda, Qrow, and Caboose arrived. With Qrow smirking in amusement
"What were you thinking!?" Winter snapped at him
"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood added
Qrow began to take a flask out of his pocket, "If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself."
"OOOOHHHH!" Tucker, Sarge, Grif, even Wash cried out at the burn
Ironwood rolled his eyes at their behavior, but had come to get used to it. Glynda and Winter on the other hand glared at them.
"While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation." Glynda said to Winter, while ignoring the Reds and Blues
"He was drunk!" Winter cried
"He's always drunk!"
This made all heads turn in Qrow's direction. The latter was currently drinking from his flask, but stopped after seeing that everyone was staring at him He looked at the flask before grimacing.
"That better be Jack Daniels." Grif said to him
Ozpin gave Qrow a look of disbelief before sighing and sitting down, "Qrow, why are you here?"
"You've been out of contact for weeks!" Ironwood intervened, "You can't just go dark in the field!"
"I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy." Qrow retorted
"General." Winter corrected him
"Whatever." Qrow brushed her aside, "You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."
"Was here." Carolina corrected him, "Your intel's off."
"Not by the slightest pretty-face." Qrow continued, "You saved Beacon during the breach, but I wouldn't get too lazy now."
"Qrow…" Ironwood sighed, but was cut off
"Communication's a two-way street, pal." Qrow said to him before whipping out his scroll, "You see this, that's the SEND button."
"They had to assume you were compromised." Winter said to him
"And I assume you don't need to be here." Qorw retorted, "Seriously, who invited her?"
Most of the Reds and Blues shrugged, not really knowing why Winter was called to Beacon. Ironwood then spoke up.
"Schnee we'll discuss this incident on my ship." he said
Winter looked at him surprised, "But sir!"
"Winter. Leave."
Winter sighed before saluting him, "Yes sir!"
She then gave a winking Qrow a dirty glare before entering the elevator. Once she was gone, Ironwood spoke.
"Go on."
Qrow took out his flask once more, had a sip before putting it away.
"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or soldiers, or Generals, or Headmasters." he began, "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! 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!?"
"Alright kids, break it up." Sarge cut in, getting in between them, "Listen here dirtbag, Tinman here is just trying to protect the people."
"Well he's got a very funny way of showing it." Qrow retorted, "At least you people have the decency to keep your troops hidden and quiet."
"Indeed." said Ironwood, "The people of Vale wanted protection, and we've given them just that. When they look towards us, they feel safe."
"Only towards these fellas." Qrow retorted while pointing at the Reds and Blues
"Now hold on for a second dipshit." Simmons interjected, "Who the fuck are you?"
"Name's Qrow, Qrow Branwen." Qrow introduced himself
"...Qrow…" Grif muttered, "We're-"
"I already know who you are." Qrow continued, "Oz gave me the shtick before I went out of contact. Nice burn for the Ice Queen, blue boy."
"Hey, I'm aqua."
"Seafoam green in my opinion." Qrow chuckled
"Oz tell you anything else?" Wash asked
Qrow shrugged, "Stopped an attack on Beacon, that's history in the making. You happen to know my nieces, much obliged for saving them."
"No problem." Doc muttered
"And that you're all fucking crazy." Qrow added
"Part of our charm." Kai quipped, which gained Qrow's attention
"So you're the maiden?" he said to her
Kai's visor then went up in flames, showing him her powers.
"Not bad." he replied before turning to Oz, "I assume you've been training."
"To the best of our abilities." Ozpin said, "But I believe we should get back on topic."
"Or not, cuz I agree with Qrow on this one." Tucker announced, "White Fang, Grimm, they've all gone quiet. To the average joe, seems alright. To us, whole a different fucking story. We've spotted an old castle beyond the city walls, we're going to investigate it for any suspicious activity. Care to join?"
"Heh, I'm in." Qrow replied
"Ship's prepared, let's move out." Sarge said before they made their way towards the elevator
"One more thing though." Qrow spoke up, "I heard a rumor about one of you fella. Which one of you has a thing for my niece?"
The Reds and Blues all looked at one another before moving to the side, leaving none other than Caboose standing in front of Qrow.
"Hello." Caboose said to him
"Him?" Qrow asked
"Yep." Tucker replied, "It's a long story."
"Hmm, we'll talk later blue boy." Qrow said to Caboose, "After the mission."
"Um, I'm staying here." Caboose suddenly announced
"You're what?" Grif muttered
"Why?" Donut added, "We could use your help Caboose."
"Uh, I need to speak with Ruby." Caboose replied, "See we both have been busy with the festival and bad guys running around...I want to take some time to be with her. You know, friend stuff."
"Huh, that's probably the sweetest, yet weirdest thing I've ever heard." Sarge muttered
"Alright, see ya when we get back." Tucker said to him
"No funny business." Qrow added
Caboose tilted his head, "What funny business?"
"Exactly."
POV Change: RvB Compound
As the Prowler departed Beacon, Caboose watched as his armor was put away in storage. He wasn't gonna need it anytime soon. For now, Ruby was his top priority. No bad guy was gonna stop it.
...or at least he hoped...