AN: Another longer chapter for you guys.
Once again, thanks to Lord Maximus for the help with this chapter.
Chapter 87
"Really? No questions?" Uncle Qrow asked, the group sitting around a campfire. Cloud's shoulder had been bandaged, and Ruby's uncle had just finished telling the rest of Team RNJR, plus Cloud, about the Maidens. The rest of the group was silent, not quite sure how to respond.
"Of course we have questions," Jaune said. "This is just… a lot to take in."
"Sure, of course," Uncle Qrow said with a sigh.
"So basically, these Maidens don't need Dust to use magic," Jaune said, trying to process it.
"Yeah," Uncle Qrow said.
"And there are four of them?" Nora asked.
"Yup. Always."
"Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone- a female- that they cared about?" Ren asked.
"Whoever was in their last thoughts," Uncle Qrow corrected. "Important distinction. Best option is someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way."
"And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha," Jaune said. "The night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of them."
"The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well."
"So you forced it on Pyrrha," Jaune said angrily. "She told me something had happened, but couldn't really explain it. But she was agonizing over it."
"We didn't force anything," Uncle Qrow defended himself. "We explained the situation and gave her a choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her." Instead of responding, Jaune got up and stepped away from the rest of the group.
"Ruby, you're being awfully quiet," Ren said. "You don't have questions for him?" Ruby's eyes widened at suddenly being put on the spot.
"I, uh…" she said, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. "I…kind of… already knew this stuff?"
"And you didn't tell us?" Jaune asked, sounding a little hurt. "When did you know? Did you know they picked Pyrrha?"
"I found out right after the Breach," Ruby said. "General Ironwood actually thought I was the one that attacked Amber, so he arrested Mom and my team. Professor Ozpin had to tell us about the Maidens to explain why he made that mistake. But I didn't know he had picked Pyrrha."
"Wait, why did the general think it was you?" Nora asked.
"Because the Keyblade lets her use magic," Cloud chimed in.
"Cloud!" Ruby said, a little angry that he just blurted it out.
"You'd have to tell them at some point," Cloud said. "The Keyblade is an ancient weapon that allows its wielder to access powerful magic, outside of this whole Maiden system."
"Well, that explains a lot actually," Nora said.
"What do you mean?' Ruby asked.
"We've seen you and Aqua do some pretty incredible stuff, and it makes sense if it's magic," Nora clarified. "But why didn't you tell us?"
"I'm sorry," Ruby said. "It's kind of a rule with Keyblade Wielders. There are certain things that we can't talk about. I didn't want to hide anything from you guys, but if there's one thing Mom made sure to drill into my head, it's not to tell anyone that the Keyblade lets us use magic." She looked over at her uncle. "But, hold on, that guy, Tyrian. Why was he after me? Does he know about the Keyblade?" Her uncle sighed.
"I don't know if the Keyblade had anything to do with it, but regardless, after Beacon, a target was painted on your back, even without it," he said. "I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait. And the fact that you were able to use them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many know about the silver eyes. Those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's part of the reason why I've been keeping an eye on you in order to make sure you were safe. All of you. Aqua's armor attacking me wasn't something I was expecting, though."
"Well, if you were keeping an eye on us this whole time, why didn't you just travel with us?" Ruby asked. "It seemed like that would've been way easier."
"He was using you as bait," Jaune said, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Don't you dare insinuate that I would use her as bait," Uncle Qrow said angrily. "She and Yang are the closest things I have to daughters, so watch your damn mouth, kid."
"Then what is all of this?!" Jaune yelled, turning back around to face Uncle Qrow. "Ruby's being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what?! Will you just tell us what's going on?!" Uncle Qrow glare at Jaune for a moment, before finally sighing.
"Would you sit down? You're gonna bring every Grimm for miles here at this rate." Jaune reluctantly sat down on a log, crossing his arms in frustration. "Not many people are religious these days. This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real.
"They were two brothers. The older sibling, the God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something—something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."
"The creatures of Grimm," Ruby guessed. She knew that the Heartless originated from people's hearts, so that only left the Grimm.
"You guessed it," Uncle Qrow said. "The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation… together, something that they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge , so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to chooses, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow- the path of light or the path of darkness. And that's how Humanity came to be."
"But…" Ren said. "What does that have to do with us?"
"Well, that's the kicker," Uncle Qrow said. "See, the four gifts to mankind—knowledge, creation, destruction and choice—aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the Gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world." Ruby's eyebrow raised at that. "That's exactly what the enemy wants. The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose—guarding the Relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the Relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself… and, of course, keeping them out of her reach." There was an awkward silence. "So yeah, there's that."
"Her," Ruby repeated. "You mean Salem?"
"That's right," Uncle Qrow said. "Not much is known about her. Quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants to Relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well."
James sat in front of a terminal, viewing the footage of his spar with Aqua. Since she had already established back in Beacon that she had no intention of sharing the secrets of her Keyblade, he decided to try and find out anything he could about her weapon through scanning it during their spar. That was what he was reviewing.
Aqua and that weapon of hers would be an invaluable asset against Salem, if only she was more cooperative.
While reviewing the footage, he noticed that there was an unexpected problem.
Her weapon wasn't appearing on the scans.
It wasn't that the scans couldn't pick up any information about the Keyblade. It was more like she didn't appear to be holding anything at all.
James pinched the bridge of his nose.
This was going to require a different approach.
Aqua stood in front of her bed in the dorm room she had been given, still in her workout clothes from the spar with James. While she understood the practicality of wearing a shirt that left her stomach exposed while she was actively working out, now that the spar was over, she was freezing.
Why the Academy located in the coldest climate in Remnant gave their students workout clothes like this was beyond her.
Which brought her to the outfit she had laid out for herself on her bed, another one provided to her by James.
It was the female uniform for Atlas Academy students.
It consisted of a white blouse under a dark grey vest with a tie. For the lower half of her body, it had a dark gray skirt, grey stockings, and black knee-high boots. While she always had a slight problem with how short the skirts were for Beacon's uniform, at least that one had some color.
James had claimed that it was given to her to help her "blend in", since the Academy housing a fully-fledged Huntress would be seen as weird. She had raised an eyebrow at that, but decided not to press the issue.
To be honest, Aqua figured she should just be grateful that she still had the figure of a 20-year-old, despite being almost 30.
She was about to change into the uniform when she was interrupted by a knock on the door. She sighed.
"Come in!" she called out, assuming it to be either James or Pietro. She was surprised to see two women in long coats walk into her dorm, one with blonde hair and one with blue hair.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the blonde one said. "I didn't realize you hadn't gotten changed yet."
"It's fine," Aqua said, giving them a friendly smile. "You would be…"
"Oh, sorry," the woman said again. "My name is Robyn. Robyn Hill." She gestured to the woman standing next to her. "This is May Marigold."
"Hi," May said.
"I've heard of you," Aqua said. "You've been helping out a lot down in Mantle, right?" Aqua asked. "Aqua Branwen, by the way." Aqua extended her hand, which Robyn took to shake.
"A pleasure," Robyn said. "And Mantle's my hometown, so I need to do what I can to help out."
"Well, after the experience I've had in Atlas, it's nice to see someone that's looking out for anyone other than themselves." May's eyes widened a little bit at that, for some reason, while Robyn hummed in appreciation.
"Thanks," she said. "But, honestly, I'm more curious about you."
"Oh?" Aqua asked, raising an eyebrow. "What about me?"
"There are some rumors circulating about you among the Atlas big-wigs," Robyn said. "People are saying that apparently you're a member of the Marigold family, with a Semblance like a Schnee."
"What?" Aqua asked, before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Oh, for the love of…" Then she realized something. "Wait, Marigold?" she asked, looking at May.
"Yeah, I used to belong to that family," Aqua's fellow bluenette said. When Aqua raised an eyebrow in confusion, she continued, "I left after we had a few…disagreements over both who I am and what I wanted to do with my life."
"I figured if there was secretly another Marigold that didn't suck like the rest of them, May here would want to know about it," Robyn said. Aqua smiled a little bit at the woman trying to help out her friend.
"Well, I'm sorry to say, but I'm not a Marigold," Aqua said. "I've been mistaken for a Schnee before, but I'm not one of those, either. I wasn't even born in Atlas, as far as I'm aware. Even if I was somehow, it doesn't matter much. I was raised on a temple in the mountains, so Atlas is never going to feel like home." Robyn chuckled a little.
"I have a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine," she said. "I lead of group of Huntresses down in Mantle. We could use the help of someone like you. You up for it?"
"I'm not going to be staying here much longer," Aqua said, shaking her head. "My daughters are off exploring Mistral, and I need to get back to them."
"Daughters?" May asked, raising an eyebrow. "You look too young to have daughters old enough to explore Mistral."
"Well, they kind of adopted me," Aqua said. When Robyn and May each raised an eyebrow, she elaborated. "I took care of them when their father… couldn't… so they eventually just started calling me 'mom'. And I've loved every second of it."
"Huh," Robyn said with a chuckle. "That's something we have in common. I took a kid in, too, a few years ago. His name's Prompto. Just graduated from the Academy, and he's a pretty strong Huntsman in his own right."
"You must be proud," Aqua said.
"I am. Don't tell him I said that, though. I got an image to maintain."
"If you're proud of your son, you should tell him," Aqua said with a frown. "I guarantee you it'll make him happy to hear that from you."
"Well, he's not my 'son', he's my little brother," Robyn said, muttering a little bit. "But, uh, I guess. I'll maybe give it a try."
"Robyn thinks she needs to always be tough in front of him," May said, snickering a little bit. "We all know she loves him, but we've been telling her for years that she doesn't say it enough."
"All right, that's enough of that," Robyn said to shut down the conversation. "We can talk about my family another time. Well then, Aqua, if you aren't going to stick around to join the Happy Huntresses, maybe you wouldn't mind coming down to Mantle?" Robyn asked, causing Aqua to raise an eyebrow at the name. "…Prompto picked it. You can meet the little brat, too, if you like. And the rest of the team." Aqua chuckled.
"I'd love to," she said. "After the last few days I've had, it definitely wouldn't hurt to spend time with some actual Huntresses."
"Good," Robyn said, before rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "Well, we'd better get going before the General comes looking for you. He and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye."
"I can't imagine why," Aqua said sarcastically. Sure, he may have helped her get her legs back, but she wasn't blind to James's flaws. His numerous, very major, flaws. Robyn chuckled again.
"Truly, a woman after my own heart," the blonde woman said. "Anyway, it was a genuine pleasure to meet you, Aqua," Robyn said as she and May headed for the door. "Whenever you feel like hanging out in Mantle, give me a call."
"Will do," Aqua said. "And it was lovely meeting you, too."
Weiss sat down at a small round table in her bedroom, Klein sitting across from her. He placed a tea set down on the table between them, and offered a cup to her. She smiled, accepting the tea.
"Thank you, Klein," she said with a smile. She may have been locked in the manor, but at least she could still count on Klein to help brighten up her day. That was still something Jacques hadn't taken away yet.
"Of course, Miss Schnee," Klein said, holding out the charm that the hooded man had given her. "And here. I believe this belongs to you." Weiss accepted the charm, looking it over.
"You got it back?" she asked, looking at the dragon emblazoned on it.
"Miss Aqua gave it to me," Klein answered, surprising Weiss. "I promised her I would return it to you."
"Thank you."
"There is another matter," Klein said, coughing uncomfortably. "Your father has been making calls to the Marigolds."
"Why?" Weiss asked, putting the charm away. Was this about marriage? She was pretty sure she had already rejected someone with the last name "Marigold", but she already planned to say no to anyone that wasn't Noctis, so she stopped paying attention to their names.
"It concerns Miss Aqua," Klein answered. "He already confronted your mother, accusing her of having an affair with the Marigolds and that Miss Aqua is her hidden fourth child."
"What? Oh…" Weiss rubbed her forehead, flashing back to Beacon. "Not again."
"Again?"
"I sort of… did the same thing to her, back at Beacon," Weiss said, blushing in embarrassment. "I suspected her of being my long lost older sister after I saw her Semblance. I even went and did a full-blown background check on her, but found nothing connecting her to us. It wasn't until she told me she was born in a settlement outside the kingdoms that I realized I had kind of jumped the gun."
"Really?" Klein asked, chuckling a bit. "You, jumping the gun?"
"Yeah, heard to believe, huh?" Weiss asked with an embarrassed smile on her face.
"Well, in your position I suppose you can't be blamed for it. She seems rather forgiving considering how happy you two were to see each other at the party, and how she defended you from your father," Klein commented.
"Yeah, we sorted things out and she's really forgiving," Weiss said, looking away for a second. "Any idea what Father is up to regarding her?"
"So far he's only contacting the Marigolds, but knowing him he's going to come to the same conclusion as you did," Klein answered.
"Oh no…" Weiss said, rubbing her face. "This my fault. I threw that tantrum at the party and now she's paying the price for sticking up for me."
"None of that," Klein said, his eyes turning red and his voice becoming gruffer. "You did nothing wrong. You stood up for the people of Vale, and you stood up for yourself. There's nothing wrong with someone who cares about you wanting to help you, and it's not your fault that you're father's a insecure prick." Both Klein's and Weiss's eyes widened at his language, before Klein's turned pink and he looked ashamed of himself. "F-forgive my language, Miss Schnee."
Weiss burst out laughing.
"I-It's fine," she said, wiping a laugh-filled tear from her eyes. "You didn't exactly say anything wrong." Klein's eyes turned yellow, and he smiled at her affectionately, one that Weiss returned.
Sometimes, she wondered what it would have been like if she had someone like Klein as her father. Just like what she felt with Aqua at the party, she found herself longing for the kind of relationships with her parents that she had with those two.
After leaving Beacon, she had finally learned what a real family was supposed to feel like, and she never wanted to be deprived of this wonderful feeling again.
Blake stood on the balcony outside her father's office, staring at the door.
"You know, you can always go in and say hi," he mother suddenly said from behind her, startling her. She turned around and saw that her mom was carrying a tray with a tea set on it.
"I don't wanna bother him," Blake said.
"A father's never too busy for his daughter," Mom said.
"Most of my friends would disagree with you on that," Blake said. Mom leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and handed her to tea tray, much to Blake's confusion.
"Here," Mom said, turning to walk away.
"What?" Blake asked. "Where are you going?"
"You've never been very talkative, but that boy you brought home loves to run his mouth, Mom said, walking back inside the house. "I wanna hear more about the adventures of Team RWBY."
As her mother left, Blake couldn't help the sense of dread she felt at the idea of Sun telling Mom about her team's antics. Her mother was right about one thing: Sun didn't know when to shut up, especially since he was clearly trying to impress her parents.
"Kali?" Dad asked from inside his office. "Is that you, dear?"
Blake couldn't help the whine that she let out at hearing his voice, before she reluctantly opened the office door and stepped inside.
"Uh, hey Dad," she said, looking at him straightening out some paperwork on his desk.
"Blake!" he said happily. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise."
"I…" Blake said, unsure of what else to say.
"Please, come sit," Dad said, standing up from his chair. They took seats near a large coffee table, Blake putting the tea set near her father.
"Don't worry, I've got it," Dad said. "Sit down, sit down."
"I don't want to keep you if you're—" Blake said, but her dad interrupted her.
"Nonsense, I've been cooped up in here all day." He picked up a cube of sugar and put it in the cup of tea closest to Blake. "You still take sugar, right?"
She didn't. He realized that from the look she gave him.
"Oh!" he said. "Sorry!"
"No, no, no, it's fine," she said.
"Here, take this one," Dad said, handing her a different cup.
"No, really. It's no big deal," Blake argued, taking the cup he originally offered her.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Old habits, I suppose." Blake took a sip of her tea, wincing when she burned her tongue. "Might want to let it cool."
"Right," she said, putting the cup down, leaving a bit of a pregnant silence in the air.
"So…" Dad said, trying to break the silence. "Is it… warm… in Vale?"
"Huh?"
"It just… Seems like your outfit doesn't cover very much." Blake looked down at herself, noticed that her shirt bared her midriff, and covered her stomach with her arms, turning away from him.
"It covers plenty," she said defensively.
"I mean, a little more armor might help. Don't you think?"
"I'm fine," Blake said. "I don't need armor. I can look after myself."
"I…" Dad said before sighing. "I know you can. I'm sorry." Blake looked away from him bowing her head sadly.
"Why?" she asked. Her dad looked at her in confusion. "Why would you say that?"
Her father moved himself next to her, putting a comforting hand on her back.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong? What did I say?"
"How can you still love me after what I did?"
"Blake…" her father said, wrapping his other arm around her to pull her into a hug. "Your mother and I will always love you."
"You were right," Blake said, trying to hold back the tears. "I shouted at you and yelled at you. But you were right. I called you cowards!"
"It's okay," he dad said, and Blake pulled away from him.
"I should have left the White Fang with you and Mom. I should've listened to you, and I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry." Her father gingerly put his hand on her chin so she could look at him, and used his thumb to wipe a tear away.
"Blake, it's fine," he said. "We never held anything against you, and I never feared you would fail. The only thing I ever feared was that you would fall down the wrong path, and I am so proud to see you haven't."
"But I did!" Blake said, sniffling a little. "I was—"
"And you pulled yourself out," Dad said. "You came back. There aren't many who possess that kind of strength and even fewer have the courage to face their demons again. Vale, Mountain Glenn, Beacon—you confronted the White Fang time after time."
"I didn't do it alone."
"No, you didn't. Which is why I wanted to ask you…Why did you leave Vale? Why did you leave your friends behind?"
"I…" she tried to say, but then the door fell into the room, with Sun on top of it. She turned around and stood up angrily after realizing that the boy had been eavesdropping. "Sun?!"
"Uh! Whoa!" He said, quickly standing up. "This isn't the bathroom! Uh, I'll just be going! Sorry to interrupt this tender family moment!" Blake and her father glared at him for a few seconds.
"I really don't like you," Dad said.
"Alright," Jaune said. "So, let's say we believe all this. There really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. 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?" Nora asked. "Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next?"
"The Headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon," Uncle Qrow said. "He's not dumb. He'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight?" He pointed at Jaune. "And to answer your question, it's the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the Relics, about Salem, there would be chaos. There'd be another Great War on our hands, and this time, you'd have to fight.
"Look, I had the same questions, too. But ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. 'We can't cause a panic'. Heh, can't tell you how many times I've heard that. Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other. She's trying to divide us—Humanity, and so far she's done a pretty damn good job."
"Alright, so what should we do?" Ruby asked.
"I really don't know," Uncle Qrow said, surprising everyone. "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 the last attack, and Vacuo is—well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, add in the fact that Spitfire and her crew claim to be 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."
Cloud suddenly grunted, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Well, now's as good a time as any to ask you about your story," Uncle Qrow said, looking at the blond mercenary. Cloud, for his part, looked at Ruby, causing everyone else to look at her, too. She sighed.
"Seriously?" She asked. "Cloud's not from Remnant."
"Wait, what?" Jaune asked.
"ALIEN?!" Nora yelled, jumping up and pointing at him.
"Nora, he's not an alien," Ren said, correcting his friend as he always did. He looked at Cloud questioningly. "You're not, right?"
"I wouldn't really say I'm an alien, but she's right, I'm not from Remnant," Cloud said. "As long as Miss Keyblade Wielder is okay with me talking about this."
"It's fine," Ruby said. "After everything we've heard about, I think it's okay to tell them about other worlds."
"Wait, there are other worlds besides this one?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah," Ruby said with a nod. "Actually, the job of a Keyblade Wielder is usually to travel to the other worlds and keep them safe from the Heartless. It's just that Mom got stuck on this world, and neither of us are capable of travelling like that. So, for now, we're just focusing on Remnant." The rest of Team RNJR was silent for a second.
"You know, I feel like learning that there are other worlds should've been a lot more shocking than it is." Jaune said.
"Well, you did learn a lot of shocking things tonight," Uncle Qrow said.
"So, Cloud, you never told me how you got here," Ruby said, making the man sigh.
"I don't really know how," he said. "I'd been looking for Sephiroth for a while, and it was while I happened to be visiting home that Sora told me he had just fought him."
"Sora is another Keyblade Wielder," Ruby said, since she had never actually explained who he was to the others.
"So, anyway, I met up with Sephiroth, we fought, and then we were suddenly transported away. When I woke up, I was in a forest near that village where we met."
"So, who is this Sephiroth guy, anyway?" Nora asked. Cloud sighed.
"In a way, I guess you can say he's me."
"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.
"A few years ago, I tried to get stronger by using the power of darkness," he said, making Ruby gasp. "And I did get stronger, but I was lost in the process. It took me a while to claw my way back to the light, but when I finally did it, he was there waiting for me. Sephiroth is my darkness."
"But… how did you survive that?" Ruby asked, being reminded of what happened to Uncle Ven. The Darkness in his heart was ripped out and became Vanitas, and according to Mom, it left him amnesiac and almost zombie-like.
"Honestly, I don't know," Cloud said. "Just got lucky, I guess. But let me tell you right now: when we run into Sephiroth, you let me handle him. Since he's part of my heart, he's my problem to deal with."
"That's not it works in this group," Ruby said. "You're travelling with us, so your problems are our problems."
"That's not—" Cloud tried to say.
"The pipsqueak's right," Uncle Qrow said. "Some things aren't worth fighting her on. We help each other out."
"…Whatever," Cloud said.
"Speaking of help," Uncle Qrow said, standing up and walking towards the mercenary. "You need your Aura unlocked. I know you can already do some pretty awesome stuff, but trust me, if we ever run into anyone like that Tyrian freak again, you're gonna thank me for this. You wouldn't have gotten that wound on your shoulder if you had Aura."
"…Fine," Cloud said, standing up with a grunt of pain. "Let's just get this over with." Uncle Qrow placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he began to glow with his red Aura, while Cloud started glowing a light blue. Finally, Uncle Qrow stumbled backwards, having used his Aura to unlock Cloud's.
"There, that oughta do it," Uncle Qrow said. "Now, give it a little time, and that wound should close right up. You weren't kidding about this Sephiroth guy being a part of you. Your soul is an absolute mess."
"You saw into my soul?" Cloud asked, sounding a little upset at that.
"Comes with the territory. Had to be done to unlock your Aura."
"Hold on, why didn't you need to say anything?" Jaune asked. "When Pyrrha unlocked mine, she recited this weird incantation thing."
"I've been doing this longer, kid," Uncle Qrow answered easily. "Now, before you go to bed, any other questions?"
"Um, yeah, actually," Ruby said. "Why didn't you just travel with us? Why all the secrecy?"
"This is your adventure," he said. "I told Aqua I would keep an eye on you, but I figured it would best to let you spread your wings. Once Tyrian and Aqua's armor showed up, though, I figured I needed to step in directly. These people are too dangerous, Keyblade or not. I gotta say, though, you did great out here on your own."
"Thanks," Ruby said happily, giving her uncle a hug. "I'm glad you're with us now."
"Me, too," Uncle Qrow said. "Love you, kiddo."
"I love you, too."
"Now then, if that's all…" Uncle Qrow said, before looking up and narrowing his eyes at a red-eyed black bird perched on a tree branch. "I'll take first watch, so all of you get to sleep."
He separated from the hug, and stepped out into the forest.
"Weiss, good of your to come," Jacques said, waiting in his office with Whitley as Weiss arrived. "I want to know about this Aqua Branwen." Weiss sat down in front of her father's desk.
"She was my teacher at Beacon," she said. "Probably one of the best teachers there, and before you ask, she's not a Schnee."
"Oh? And what makes you say that?" Jacques asked, his voice filled with doubt.
"I already asked her and she explained her story. She wasn't even born in Atlas," Weiss answered, and it was technically true.
Aqua wasn't born anywhere on Remnant.
"And you're sure she wasn't lying?" Jacques probed. "Not attempting to deceice you in order to get close to you and use you against your family?"
"I'm sure," Weiss said with a frown. What she wasn't about to tell him was she was at the point where she didn't need any outside help to turn her against the family. "Professor Branwen is not a liar or a Schnee, and she couldn't care less about the Schnee family."
"Be that as it may I'm not convinced," Jacques said. "She has the hair of a Marigold and the Semblance of a Schnee. This is a scandal that could damage both families."
"Her Semblance only summons copies of her friends, nothing else. There are plenty of Semblances that are similar to others," Weiss argued.
"Not to the Schnee Family's," Jacques retorted. "We cannot allow a possible lost relative to just pop up out of nowhere at a time like this."
By that, he of course meant at a time when he had finally solidified his power and chosen an heir he found acceptable. Just like when Weiss thought Aqua was her older sister, Jacques was afraid that as Mom's oldest, Aqua would have a legitimate claim to the Schnee Family, since she would have just as much Schnee blood as his own children.
"What will you do?" Weiss asked. "It's not like you can order her to come here and explain herself. She has no obligation."
"No, perhaps not," Jacques said, actually agreeing with her. "But inviting her is another option."
"…I doubt she'd be interested. She's only here because she was injured at Beacon and came here for treatment at General Ironwood's request. She'll want to head home soon," Weiss said, hoping to convince her father not to go after Aqua.
Truth be told she wasn't sure what would happen if her father managed to convince Aqua to come here, but even if Aqua could handle herself, this wasn't her battle. She shouldn't be forced to deal with her father when it was her problem to handle.
"Then we'll make it a quick visit," Jacques stated. "The Marigolds agreed it is a good idea to have a little chat with this Aqua Branwen and make sure there are no misunderstandings. And you'll be the one to invite her."
"Me?" Weiss asked.
"Yes. I doubt she'd refuse an invitation from a student, given your friendship that you showed at the party," Jacques remarked. "Should be easy to convince her to come."
"…"
"Need I remind you, girl, that you're already on thin ice with me?"
"…Fine," Weiss said. Jacques grinned at her.
"There, that wasn't so hard, now, was it?"
Sun's head jerked to the side as Blake slapped him across the face.
"No concept of privacy!" she yelled at him, slapping him again on the opposite cheek. "No respect for personal space!"
"I'm sorry, okay?!" Sun said, holding his face where she slapped him. "Ow, I'm sorry!" Blake just growled in frustration and stomped to the other end of the balcony. "Look, I promise it was important! I needed to find you to talk to you!"
"What, Sun?!" Blake asked in exasperation. "What could possibly be so important?!"
"I was talking to your mom and she said something weird about the White Fang!"
"I'm stopping you right there," Blake said, holding up a finger to silence him.
"But-!"
"I told you, I'm not here to fight the White Fang, I'm not here to fight anyone. I'm here to rest, to figure things out, and to see my family."
"Your mom said White Fang members don't wear masks in Menagerie," Sun said, refusing to let the issue go for some reason. Did he not know what "no" meant? "But I saw one at the market yesterday! I even have a picture!" He pulled his scroll out of his back packet, fully intending to show her.
"Sun!" Blake said angrily.
"Look, I'm trying to help!" he yelled back, only to Blake to snatch his scroll away and throw off the balcony and into the nearby trees.
"I don't want your help!"
"Ow!" the heard a feminine voice suddenly exclaim. Both Sun and Blake were surprised, before looking out at the nearby trees. They could barely see the outline of a Faunus girl wearing a white mask and a stealth suit, her hair pulled back into a long, tight ponytail. After a few seconds, the girl disappeared.
"A freakin' ninja?!" Sun yelled.
"A spy!" Blake said, stepping onto the railing.
"But why would—"
Blake didn't get to hear the rest of his question, as she leaped off the railing to chase after the girl.
Qrow stepped out into the forest, watching as the black bird from earlier flew down behind a tree. What emerged wasn't a bird, but a woman, with long black hair.
"What do you want?" Qrow asked the woman, his twin sister, Raven.
"That was an interesting story," Raven said. "Who would have thought that my sister-in-law was from another world this whole time?" Qrow reached behind him for his sword.
"I swear, if you're here for Ruby's Keyblade again…"
"Relax, little brother. I'm not after for her. For now, anyway."
"Then why the hell are you here?" he asked, not relaxing.
"Does she have it?" Raven asked.
Did she have—
"Fuck you," he said.
"Excuse me?" Raven asked.
"You made it very clear that you wanted nothing to do with Salem or Oz," Qrow explained. "Even left behind your husband and daughter. Now you think you can just stroll up to me like nothing happened and ask if she has the Relic? That's not how any of this works. I don't see why I should tell you jack shit."
"Does family mean nothing to you?" Raven asked.
"It means everything to me," Qrow retorted. "Problem is, you're not family. As far as I'm concerned, eleven years ago, after you kidnapped Ruby, I stopped having a sister. Maybe if I didn't hate your guts, I might be inclined to keep you in the loop, but you burned every bridge you had with anyone that isn't a thief and a murderer."
"They raised us!" Raven argued.
"Doesn't make them my family," Qrow said. "You, on the other hand, were made for each other. We may have been family once, but now you can eat shit and die, for all I care."
"…Fine," Raven said, turning around and opening a portal behind her. "Be that way. But don't come crying to me when Salem kills all of those kids."
"You're the last person I'd ever ask for help."
"Oh, and by the way, you might want to check on that friend of yours," Raven said, before stepping into the portal.
Qrow raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by that?
His eyes widened in realization, and he rushed back to the campsite that the kids and Cloud were sleeping at.
Qrow could hear the coughing before he saw him.
Cloud was braced up against a tree, splotches of purple staining both his shirt over his stomach and the bandages over his shoulder. He was hacking up a lung, leaving purple splotches on the ground, too.
"Shit," Qrow said, rushing towards Cloud to check on him. "Hey, you okay?" Instead of answering him, Cloud only coughed more before falling on his side, unconscious. "Damn it, not good."
"Uncle Qrow?' Ruby asked groggily, rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Wake the others up," Qrow said. "We need to move. I think Cloud's been poisoned."
AN: I have a feeling that Aqua and Robyn would be pretty good friends, especially since my version of these characters both served as a surrogate parental figure for someone else: Aqua for Yang and Ruby, and Robyn for Prompto.
Also, Robyn is one of the few legitimately nice people Aqua's met in Atlas that doesn't have any ulterior motives other than "help".
In other news, RWBY CHIBI IS COMING BACK! I'm so excited!
As always, thank you very much reading, and I'll see you all next time!