A/N: Prepare yourselves for the introduction of Qrow, the drunken badass. Oh, and Winter the Icy Empress, I guess. Also, remember the Big Four from waaaaaay back in Chapter 6? Well, it's about to become relevant again, as you might see by the title. Hope you enjoy!

Also, sorry if the title was a bit odd. It was either down to this or Mighty No. 3, and I thought this one was more appropriate.

Review Responses:

Guest: Ding ding ding! You are correct! Team MTN is indeed none other than the infamous Big Three from HeroAca. They are located in Mistral and should become relevant once we go there and improve on Volume 5. Let's be honest, it definitely wasn't the worst, but it certainly could've been better.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or My Hero Academia. They belong to Monty Oum, Kohei Horikoshi, and their respective publishing companies. Please support the official releases.

I do not own the cover image.

Chapter 28: Black Reaper Blues

Izuku and Shoto lightly jogged behind Ruby and Weiss, the latter of whom was running (somehow with heels on) to the admittedly gaudy looking ship that was now landing at one of the smaller air ports at the Beacon docks, the former of the two panting as she asked her teammate, "Weiss? Why are we running? Who is she?!

"… and why did you drag us along as well?" Shoto asked as Izuku nodded in agreement, currently unable to speak due to the fact that he too was panting, though at a significantly lower volume than Ruby.

"Winter..." was all that Weiss said as she gazed at the airship with longing.

"Your sister?!"

"… never mind, this should be hilarious," Shoto commented with a slight, sly smile on his face, causing Izuku to sweat drop as he thought, This is probably gonna end badly.

The ship folded in its wings inward as it landed, the small group of four reaching it as the doors opened and the disembarking ramp extended to the ground, and the distinct click of the specialist's shoes echoing against the polished metal as she reached the concrete ground of the dock.

She was a tall young woman, with a fair complexion, white hair and slate blue eyes. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the rear left corner of her head, causing her bangs to fall towards the right side of her face, and leaving a small curled lock of hair that reached below her left ear. Her attire was blue, white and gray colored. It consisted of a white coat with a red brooch, exposed upper arms and black gloves. Her pants had garters incorporated into them. This was one of the top Specialists in the Atlas Army, daughter and former heiress to one of the most powerful companies in the world, and the elder sister of their good and trusted friend, Winter Schnee.

Accompanying her were four Atlesian Knight Model 200s, or simply AK's, as they were often referred to, two walking alongside her as she stepped off the ramp to meet her little sister and her approaching companions.

"Winter! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Weiss greeted her sister with no less enthusiasm than she'd ran here with. Seriously, she wasn't even winded! How was this possible- NO ONE KNEW! WE GET IT! IT'S NOT CLEVER ANYMORE!

Okay, okay, jeez...

The white-haired heiress then realized just how informal she was being, briefly curtsying as she corrected herself, "Your presence honors us," causing Ruby and Izuku to become briefly confused as to how they should greet their friend's sibling. Shoto simply stood silently with a small smirk on his face, knowing that despite the uptight army attitude, Winter was indeed a caring person at heart. She'd taught him how to fence, after all, back when she had been enlisted by his father to privately tutor him in the way of the sword whenever she could. Needless to say, they got along fairly well.

"Beacon... it's been quite a while. The air feels... different," Winter said absentmindedly as she gazed at the surrounding architecture with an analytical gaze that only the likes of Izuku could rival.

"Well, it's fall, so I guess it's a little colder," Ruby commented before Weiss punched her over the head, causing the rose themed girl's eyes to go comically white with the pain.

"Hey Winter. How've you been?" Shoto asked as casually as ever.

"Fairly well, thank you for the concern," She answered, just as casually.

"Wait, WHAT?! You two know each other?!" Weiss almost screamed in surprise.

"Well, I did teach him to fence in my spare time."

"So... wait, you're that student she kept mentioning?!" She snapped towards Shoto with surprise in her eyes.

"Well, yeah. I asked her to not tell anybody my name because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and I didn't tell you because it would've been kinda awkward," Shoto answered as he scratched the back of his neck.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration of her friend before turning back to Winter with a much kinder smile on her face, asking, "So, what are you doing here?"

"Classified," Winter answered with a quick and snappy tone.

"How long is this going to go on?" Izuku asked his partner, not entirely sure how to react to the situation since he was an only child himself.

"I don't know. Although if the conversations between my other siblings are anything to go by, this could take a while."

Ironically, it was also at this exact moment that their attentions were drawn back to the conversation between the sisters when they heard Winter say, "I'm more than familiar with how the kingdom handles its bureaucracy. That's not why I came."

"Right! I'm sorry," Weiss said in a dejected tone.

"Is she going to be okay?" Izuku asked his partner once more.

"Yeah. She may not look it, but when it comes down to it, Winter really does care about her family. Well, most of them anyway," Shoto said with a knowing tone in his voice.

"Only a novice would ever refer to that as a victory. I counted at least three strikes missed," Winter said before turning to her bots and saying, "Leave us," to her AK escorts, who graciously backed away from the group before she sighed in relief and finally asked her sister, "How have these past few months been treating you?"

Weiss perked up at this, almost immediately responding, "Oh! Splendid! Thank you for asking. I'm currently holding one of the top ranks in the class, and I'm also one top students on the first ear leader boards-"

It was almost immediately after this that they heard Winter smack her sister upside the head, shouting, "Silence, you boob! I don't recall asking about your ranking. I asked how you've been. Are you eating well? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

"Well, there's Ruby and Shoto," Weiss pointed to the two, the former giggling slightly as she muttered 'boob' under her breath as she pressed down on the cartoonish bump that had formed on Weiss' forehead. The heiress then noticing that Izuku as well and continued, "Midoriya's more of an acquaintance, really, but he's nice enough. He's a bit... strange, though."

Ruby then turned to her green haired friend, noticing that he was looked rather down at the fact that his note frenzies were being called out, and asked, "Are you just gonna take that?"

"She's not wrong," he answered with his head still sagging as a strange cloud appeared over his head and began to rain on him. How was this possible? I don't know, but some deity somewhere in the world of Remnant was likely laughing at him.

"Greetings Ruby Rose," their attention was drawn to the platinum haired specialist once more as she continued. "I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister."

"Oh! Erm... yes! Of course! The honor is in my... court," Ruby said as she tried, and mostly failed, to be polite to her teammate's sister.

Winter only looked at Ruby with an unreadable expression for a few more seconds before she turned to Shoto and said, "It's been a while since your last lesson. Have you been practicing?"

"Every day," Shoto replied, "I still owe you for that beat down you gave me. I think I'm still nursing a bruise or two," he absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder as he said this.

"Very good. I look forward to seeing the results of you time here. Yours as well, Weiss. I can tell by looking that you're not the same girl who used to train with me. On to other matters; I currently have business with the general and your headmaster, as well as some of the teachers here.

"However, I do appear to be rather early. Perhaps you could show me to your quarters in the meantime?" Winter asked with as much disciple as could be expected from an Atlas Specialist. Despite the uptightness of the request, she did appear to be genuinely curious as to the living conditions of her sister.

"Splendid!" Weiss replied as she began to lead her sister to the dorm room that housed her team with a squad of AKs in tow, briefly noting, "And the bunkbeds only look unstable, I promise."

"… Bunkbeds?"

"I'll... er... Shoto, help me with this," Ruby asked the half and half leader across from her.

"Just leave it. They're probably gonna be a while," Shoto replied.

"W-well, we should probably get going too. I've still got some hand to hand stuff to run through if you guys wanna come with," Izuku offered his friends.

"Nah, thanks. I promised Yang I'd play video games with her. I think she's training for a rematch with you, fair warning," Ruby responded.

"The offer sounds fun. Meet you in the ring?" Shoto answered with an eager tone.

"Sure thing!" Izuku said as a man stumbled into his shoulder, hearing a brief but slurred apology come from the man's lips as he walked with a bit of a drunken stumble down the paved road to Beacon Academy.

Izuku and Shoto too began to walk down this path, only for about five seconds of silence to pass before, in front of the conversing partners, was heard the distinct noise of circuitry powering down and metal being ripped apart. They then properly looked ahead, getting a better look at the man who had accidentally bumped into Izuku earlier; the colors were a dead giveaway. He was tall with a thin, lean yet lanky physical form, and rather pale in appearance, with graying, black, slicked back hair that looked reminiscent of feathers, along with dull yet playful red eyes and slight stubble along his jawline. He wore a red cloak that was fairly tattered, with a gray dress shirt with a long tail, a pair of black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He also wore a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right ring finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant. Near the bottom of his back was a currently retracted sword with a guard that looked as though it were made of gears along with a gun mechanism built near the guard, and familiar looking runes ran along the length of the blade; at least, the part they could see. The man in question also held one of the AKs he'd dismantled by the torso, the other laying on the ground by his feet, both now without their heads. Izuku couldn't quite place the reason, but the man across from him somehow felt... familiar. Like he might've seen him before. But where?

"Hey!" He called after the two platinum haired women with undisguised hostility in his voice. He was obviously not a fan of the Schnee family, that much was certain. "Yeah. I'm talking to you, Ice Queen," was all he said before he threw the other AK body to the ground.

"Excuse me!" Weiss yelled to the man she stomped towards him with an angry fume about her, saying, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

The man then placed a hand on the white-haired heiress' head, then saying, "Sssssssshhhhh. Not you," before shoving her to the side and taking a few more steps towards Winter, stopping near the center of the pathway before saying much more harshly than before, "You."

Wait, is he... but that would be way too much of a coincidence. It's too insane to be true, Izuku thought to himself as he watched the confrontation between this man and Winter begin to unfold.

A nearby black bird, he couldn't quite tell if it was a raven or a crow, briefly cawed before the man began to speak again. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours a few minutes ago. Guess you're here too."

"I'm standing right in front of you," Winter answered with all the seriousness she'd shown to the group earlier, though for whatever reason this time it had been amplified beyond what someone would consider to be tolerable in regular conversation.

As if to add insult to metaphorical injury, the man the squinted at Winter before he continued, "That does seem to be the case."

"You realize that you've just destroyed Atlas Military property, do you not?" Winter asked more as a statement than as an actual question.

"Hey, Izuku?" Shoto asked his partner. "Do you have any idea who that guy is? He's really pissing Winter off."

"… maybe. I'm not entirely sure, but it seems like they have a history of some kind," Izuku observed before they heard from the icy empress, "I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow."

Okay, I've definitely heard that name before. Maybe I wrote it down somewhere? Izuku scanned his thoughts for the name only to find no such results immediately popping up. I'll have to look for it later.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Weiss asked in surprise.

The man, now named Qrow, continued as though he hadn't even heard Weiss, saying, "My fucking Oum, you Atlas Specialists think you're so special, don't you?"

"It's in the title," Winter responded with even colder hostility.

"Well, you know what you really are?" Qrow readjusted his stance, making himself look far more intimidating as he continued, "A buncha sellouts and backstabbers. Just like your boss."

"We should probably leave before things get any worse," Shoto suggested, noticing the crowd that was beginning to gather around the two possibly soon to be combatants. Izuku, however, was entirely focused on the discussion between Winter and Qrow, and if you listened closely enough, you could hear the green haired inheritor mumbling various notes under his breath, so quietly that you wouldn't even hear them if you weren't deliberately listening for them.

"Oh, I heard too. I heard ol' Ironwood decided to finally turn his back on Ozpin."

He knows two of the headmasters?! Personally?! Seriously, who is this guy and why does he seem so familiar to me?!

"Ozpin?" Weiss asked in confusion before Winter placed herself in front of her sister as she ordered, "Weiss, it's time for you to go."

"Listen to big sister, Weiss," Qrow jaded, his voice dripping with undisguised sarcasm as he said, "She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is gonna protect all of us, huh?"

"If you do not hold your tongue-" Winter quickly drew her saber from its hold, "-then I shall gladly remove it!"

Qrow considered this for a few moments before saying, "Alright then," and he swept his bangs back and continued, "Come and take it," sticking out said fleshy non-appendage to taunt his now definite opponent into making the first strike of what was to be a rather long fight.

(the same exact moment, the same exact place, Qrow's POV)

(A/N: Whichever song you feel is most appropriate. I've got nothing for this one. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them to me in the reviews! Fair warning: it's pretty long)

It was as predictable as it was fast, the white-haired specialist would've appeared to be teleporting to anyone else, as she landed in front of Qrow and almost immediately began with a skewering stab aimed for his head, which was so telegraphed that it may as well have been moving in slow motion, the red eyed reaper only needing to tilt his head slightly to avoid the blow.

She made another for his head, also easily avoided. Another blow, another dodge. And another. And another. And one last skewer, after which he licked a bit of the blade just to piss Winter off a little bit more.

And this should tempt her to make a downwards slash, Qrow thought as he gave a sarcastic bow to Winter, causing her to make the aforementioned attack towards his seemingly unguarded back.

The clang of steel meeting steel rang throughout the courtyard, Qrow's still retracted weapon, Harbinger, blocking Winter's downward slash with hardly more than a slight tap to angle it upwards. He then spun around brought his weapon to bare and, to add further insult to metaphorical injury, wielded it with his off hand. This should at least throw her off.

Winter cautiously brought her sword down to match his, which Qrow sarcastically responded to with a light tap on the blade. After a brief tension of seeing who would strike first, Qrow lashed out with several back handed slashes, which Winter expertly back pedaled away from, and they then clashed against each other, Winter glaring with her signature icy stare while Qrow simply gave her a nonchalant grin.

They then began to exchange various blows and attempted slashes; high block, low parry, mid strike, she's behind you now, dodge, aim for her head-

My Oum, I don't remember her being this fast. Hmm... this'll be tricky to not take seriously if she goes any faster, Qrow briefly thought as they continued to exchange blows across the widened section of the courtyard with blinding speed, only reappearing into normal view when they stopped to briefly clash. Although... there seemed to be one person there who was following them through every single strike and step. His hair was green and naturally curly, with freckles lined on his cheeks and piercing green eyes. It reminded him of someone. Someone he'd hardly stopped thinking of for the longest time; almost as much as Summer, really. But this...

Holy shit, is that Hisashi's kid? And why do I feel One for All's power coming from him? Also, what's that presence his weapon's giving off-

He was quickly brought out of this train of thought when Winter slashed at his head, a strike that he quickly blocked countering with a wayward jab leading into a downward strike which she parried with an upward slash of her own before making a stab towards him, countered with another sideways slash and a flip strike, pushing her back to the narrower section of the courtyard, where Winter made a counter to one of Qrow's lighter overhead slashes and socked him in the face with the guard of her saber.

Okay, that was actually a decent punch, Qrow thought as he brought his head back to its normal position, a gleaming hunger now present within his eye. Not a lustful hunger, though at certain times he'd felt that one as well. This was the hunger for challenge. Maybe I can start taking this a bit seriously. Just a bit. If I actually got serious I'd probably kill her. I'm sure Oz wouldn't mind. Glynda maybe, but it's just a courtyard. Who cares if I fuck it up a bit? Oh! Note to self: after this is over, I've gotta find that kid with the green hair. Need to ask him a few things.

The red eyed reaper then brought Harbinger above his head and smashed it into the ground that Winter had just dodged from, causing a notably large crater to form on the once smooth and surprisingly crackless concrete. He then looked up to see Winter jumping back with a cocky smirk on her face, flipping to rebalance herself as she landed back on the ground.

Oh no you don't, you frigid bitch! Qrow sliced through the nearby lamppost as he thought this, not giving Winter a second to even think. However, she jumped over his form and landed behind him with a cocky smirk on her face, backflipping once more as he widely swung at her. She then landed on Harbinger's blade with that same cocky smirk on her face, backflipping once more as she kicked him in the face.

Okay, that was just uncalled for! Qrow thought angrily as he threw Harbinger at the 'trunk' of the lamppost that Winter had landed on, causing her to jump even higher and land on top of one of the nearer lights. This was a short-lived respite as Qrow tore his weapon from the 'trunk' and brought Harbinger's dual shotgun barrels to bare, firing at the white-haired specialist and causing her to once again backflip away, this time towards the beginning of one of the concrete arches that outlined Beacon Academy.

Okay, are you entirely sure that your Semblance is actually glyphs? It seems to just be an ability that lets you flip everywhere and land perfectly, Qrow thought in an annoyed tone, catching another glare from Winter before she ran up the arch with the red eyed reaper hot on her tail, firing shell after shell of buckshot towards her, each of them just barely missing her feet.

Qrow then hopped onto one of the lower arches and continued to fire on her, only for Winter to throw down some kind of smoke screen in the middle of her path. This caused Qrow to abruptly stop and look intently at the cloud, retracting his shotgun as he did so.

He wasn't disappointed, as it hardly even took a second for her to fly out of the cloud and begin shooting right towards him. Anticipating quite the impact coming his way, he held Harbinger in the standard two-handed grip, preparing for a full-on strike as Winter popped a parrying stiletto dagger from the hilt of her saber.

The strike met Harbinger's edge full force, causing a large crack to appear in the concrete below Qrow before they were both flung off the arch and back onto the ground. The melee began once again with Winter giving significantly deadlier slashes with the added addition of her nearly unpredictable off hand.

This is why I hate fighting anyone who's ambidextrous, Qrow thought as he was launched back to the widened section of the courtyard, stabbing and ragging Harbinger into the concrete in order to slow himself down, stopping near the center as he brought into a backhanded grip with a cocky smirk on his face. Then again, this is getting kinda fun.

A brief glance to the side let him see the same green haired boy from before frantically scribbling down notes in a notebook with some sort of title heading on the cover written in messy lettering. If he wasn't currently holding Harbinger in his right hand, Qrow would've been tempted to take that hand and face palm himself with it. Either this is some stupid coincidence or you passed your habits on to your kid. I'm betting on the latter.

His attention was then brought back to Winter as she stabbed her saber into the ground, a glyph appearing beneath her as she summoned a flock of newborn Nevermores and sent them flying for the red eyed reaper in question, kicking up a gust that pushed him back ever so slightly as the bodies of the ghostly birds began ton pepper his form.

Okay, this is just annoying. Qrow thought as he swung Harbinger upwards, creating something akin to an energy slash that was aimed right for Winter, and she just barely managed to avoid it.

After this attack was made, the white-haired specialist made a glyph form behind her, her face shifting from frustrated to one of intense concentration. Qrow, with a similar look, began to shift Harbinger into its scythe form, various pieces of the blade splitting apart as the main body itself began to shape into a curve into another, far deadlier edge.

Qrow's eyes then flashed in recognition, knowing that he would be going too far if he used his scythe on Winter. She was incredibly skilled, no one could deny that, but he doubted that she could last for long against him if he even began to really get serious. So, with a silent smile he canceled the transformation and placed Harbinger back onto its original resting place.

If I'm predicting this correctly, she'll come flying at me in a fit of murderous rage, Qrow thought as he taunted Winter by gingerly exposing his cheek towards her and making a 'come at me' gesture towards it.

This predictably made the white haired specialist scream in pure rage as she launched herself with speed that surprised even Ruby, her saber aimed right for the red eyed reaper's jugular before a loud, definitive yell cried out from behind her, causing her to stop just inches away from Qrow's throat.

"SCHNEE!"

Heh. Right on time, Jimmy. Qrow thought as Winter lowered her saber from his neck and snapped to attention almost immediately, their fight now an afterthought to their implications. Then he realized the amount of talking he was in for, though his face gave away no such realization, as he continued in his thoughts, Well, shit. Guess I'll have to find that kid later.

(A/N: End whichever song you're playing. Or don't, whatever you prefer)

(the exact same moment, the exact same place, Shoto's POV)

That was certainly quite the fight, the half and half leader thought to himself as he watched his fencing tutor get lectured by her direct superior, General Ironwood himself. Still, who's that other guy? Izuku said he looked familiar, so he must've been on TV at some point, at least.

"He started the altercation, sir!"

Shoto then tuned back in to the conversation, hearing the red eyed reaper say, "That's actually not true. She attacked first."

Izuku then looked up from his hastily scribbled down notes, likely involving many of the man's swordplay techniques, muttering, "Well, he's not wrong."

"And you," Ironwood said in a harsh tone, stepping closer as he continued, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Jimmy," Qrow said with the same nonchalant smirk on his face.

"I-"

"Now, now everyone," the calm voice of Beacons headmaster rang throughout the courtyard as he approached with his signature coffee mug in hand with Goodwitch and Aizawa at his back, further explaining, "There is a sanction fight happening not very far from here, at the coliseum. And I can assure you that it has better seats than this, as well as popcorn."

"Please leave the premises immediately! We shall take care of this mess," Goodwitch said with far more hostility in her voice though it was accidental.

"Just do what she says and we can fix up the courtyard," Aizawa said in his normal deadpan, after which many of the former spectators began to file out of the courtyard and wandered about aimlessly; at least as far as they could tell.

"Hey, isn't that the girl who was with Ruby before we went to the docks?" His freckled teammate asked as they saw their rose themed friend wave goodbye to Penny, who they hadn't seen since the aforementioned dock incident.

"I think so. I also heard she managed to get into the doubles round without much effort, so if we're up against her next round, I'd get ready for a tough fight. Although... she did manage to basically beat down all those goons and even two Bullheads without so much as breaking a sweat, so..."

"We have no way of beating her?"

"I'll think of one. No one's unbeatable. With the exception of All Might, at least."

And there's the fanboy I know and treasure like a brother.

"UNCLE QROOOOOWWW!" They heard Ruby yell at a high volume as she zoomed over and latched onto Qrow's arm. He lifted the arm without much effort at all as his apparent niece responded, "Hi.

"Ahh! It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!"

There was only a second of odd silence before the red eyed reaper responded in a playful tone, "Nope," as a similar smile played out across his face and caused Ruby's grin to widen even further. He nuzzled her hair with his free hand, an affection that could only be given by an incredibly close family member. Shoto's faced briefly flashed with jealousy as he remembered a time when he was younger, when his mother would do the same to him whenever he was being particularly silly.

"Qrow!" His attention was retaken by Ozpin, causing Ruby to drop from his arm with an audible grunt, and as Glynda repaired the bridge behind him, he continued, "A word, please?"

The red eyed reaper then leaned down to his niece and whispered, "I think I'm in trouble."

"Hey, you still up for training?" Shoto asked.

"Yep! Just gonna ask Ruby a quick question or two first," Izuku said as he walked over to his rose themed friend with an enthusiasm that he wasn't able to hide.

"I swear, if Ruby rubs this fight in my face, I'll never let her hear the end of it," Weiss silently vented as she stood next to the half and half leader while the two in question spoke at length, the subject presumably being Ruby's uncle.

"He did kinda kick Winter's ass, though," Shoto pointed out.

"That was a draw, at best," the white-haired heiress said with a huff.

(Izuku's POV)

"Who was that guy? You said he was your uncle, and I could've sworn I'd heard his name somewhere before..." Izuku asked Ruby with an intrigued look on his face, and though he managed to contain himself, his mind was abuzz with almost nonstop excitement

"Yeah, he's my uncle, Qrow Branwen. Taught me how to fight too! I think you two would get along. I mean, you've got similar weapons, so that's definitely a good topic," she gestured to Tempest, which was still sitting snugly in the same position on Izuku's back.

"But I don't think his real name is that well known. I never paid much attention to the headlines, but apparently he's called something like... Black Reaper, I think?"

For the first time since she'd met the green haired boy, Izuku managed to fumble his notes in pure, unfiltered surprise. Not quite convinced, he questioned once more, "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Why? Is something wrong?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion.

"If he's really here, and those two are here too, then that means... no way, it's too convenient. The chances of three of them being in the same place are just too low unless this is some sort of cosmic coincidence or something..." Izuku muttered this and various other things under his breath, and, to Ruby's knowledge, he didn't even stop to inhale.

"Izuku!" Her volume caused him to flinch and realize that he went into yet another mumbling frenzy. "Sorry about that."

"Nevermind that, what's got you so surprised?"

"Well..." Izuku leaned in clsoe and lowered his tone so that only his rose themed friend would be able to hear his, continuing in a tone that left no doubt of his seriousness, "… this is probably going to shock you, but if your uncle is who you say he is, then this Vytal Festival is the largest gathering of the Big Four in the last decade."

This caused Ruby's eyes to widen in shock and stutter uncontrollably before passing out on the ground, almost immediately causing Izuku to worry and, after a trying to wake her up to no avail, shurgged her over his shoulder and promptly began rushing to Team RWBY's dorm with all haste with Weiss and Shoto trailing behind him.

(Ozpin's tower, about ten minutes later, Qrow's POV)

The elevator ride up to Ozpin's office was silent, as Qrow expected it would be. Glynda's glare was a bit unnerving, but it wasn't anything that he hadn't dealt with previously. The doors opened to a pacing Winter, a fuming Ironwood, and an always smiling (in his current form, at least) All Might, though he could sense some form of disappointment being directed his way.

He shrugged it off as he and the others entered, Winter almost immediately shouting, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood said with a rather angered look now adorning his features.

"If I was ever one of your men, I'd have shot myself a long time ago. Save you the ammo," Qrow responded as he took a sip from his scratched up, slightly dented flask with the leather that held his symbol: that of a single eye made of gears and an outline made of a single, black wing.

"Now, now you two. There's no need for this kind of hostility between allies, is there?" All Might asked in his iconic voice, though Qrow could tell from experience that it was incredibly strained.

"He has a point, ya know. I don't like Atlas either, but that was a bit harsh. Even if she is a specialist," Aizawa helped the ginning man's argument, though he held contempt in his tone.

Glynda then turned to Winter and said, "While I certainly wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating the way you did only made things worse."

"He was drunk!"

"When is he not drunk?" Glynda and Aizawa said in simultaneous deadpan. They then turned to find that Qrow was currently taking rather large gulps from his flask, the red eyed reaper suddenly stopping and holding the bottle away from himself like it was something disgusting even though he wanted even more of it.

Ozpin then sighed as he sat down in his chair and asked, "Qrow, why are you here?"

"You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!" Ironwood attempted to berate the red eyed reaper, though it did nothing but annoy him.

"I'm not one of your special ops, Jimmy."

"General," Winter stepped forward defensively as she said this.

"Who the hell cares?" Qrow responded in kind.

"I understand that you're a bit... stressed at the moment, Mr. Branwen, but it would help a great deal if you could simply tell us why you're here," All Might asked with a far kinder tone than Ironwood.

Qrow then rubbed his temples with his left hand, looking back up as he answered, "Oz sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you that our enemy is here."

There was an awkward silence that persisted throughout the room before Ironwood leaned against Ozpin's desk and said, "We know."

"Oh! Oh, you know. Well, thank Oum I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!" Qrow said with an undeniable amount of hostility, aimed specifically at Ironwood.

*Sigh* "Qrow-"

"Communication's a two-way street, pal," he then pulled out his Scroll, "You see this? That's the send button!"

There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds after that, which was only broken when Aizawa spoke up, saying, "He has a point, ya know. We should've at least attempted to contact him before all this happened."

"They had reason to assume he was compromised," Winter objected.

"And I have reason to assume that you don't need to be here. Seriously, who the hell invited her?" Qrow asked, knowing full well that the white-haired specialist couldn't quite be trusted with everything that they knew just yet. Oh well. He didn't trust her anyway. And from the looks of things, neither did Aizawa.

"Schnee, we will discuss this incident back on my ship," Ironwood said with finality in his tone.

"But sir-"

"Winter. Leave."

With a rather reluctant look on her face, she simply faced her superior, saluted him, and answered, "Yes, sir," before doing a one eighty on her heel and walking to the elevator, only briefly stopping to glare at Qrow as she continued to the exit.

As soon as they were certain that Winter was out of ear shot, All Might let go of his powered form, his suit, once barely able to contain his form, now overly baggy and far too large for him to wear. "That was kinda harsh, Qrow. She wanted to help us."

"I know. Problem is, I don't exactly have the highest opinion of specialists. To make matters worse: she's a Schnee. She may not be her father, but if there's one thing she inherited from that greedy bastard, it's his drive."

"That's not what were here to discuss. Please, go on Qrow," Ironwood said with impatience.

"This infiltrator isn't another pawn like the others we've dealt with over the years," he turned and took another swig from his flask as he continued, "They're the ones responsible for Autumn's condition."

This caused everyone else's eyes to widen with surprise, Goodwitch uttering, "What?!" under her breath. Aizawa, though he did not voice this opinion alooud, seemed to be thinking the exact same thing, if his normally neutral expression being overtaken by surprise was anything to go by. Ironwood simply remained stoic while Ozpin only gripped his coffee mug even tighter. And Toshinori? Well, he was downright pissed, if his clenched fists were anything to go by.

Qrow finished drinking from his flask, turning back to the gathered group and began a speech that seemed to be directed specifically at Ironwood. "Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals or headmasters. Or even symbols of hope and justice itself. The people in this room, the leaders of the other academies, we've had to keep people safe from things the rest of the world doesn't even know about. It's why we've stayed in the shadows, why we've always met behind closed doors, so you tell me, Jimmy. When you brought half of your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet? Or did you just not give a flying fuck about the implications of a massive armed force showing up in the middle of a peace festival?!"

This was followed by several seconds of uncomfortable silence, the others in the room waiting for the general to answer Qrow's practical declaration of war. When he finally did answer, it was in the same monotone that he usually used, saying, "Discreet wasn't working."

He placed his own Scroll on Ozpin's desk, causing a hologram to load and appear in to room as a hologram as he continued as he walked from the desk to the projection, "I'm here because this is what we needed."

"Bullshit," Aizawa said with a rather hostile look in his eye, surprising everyone in the room aside from Ozpin and Toshinori as he continued, "You're only here because Ozpin wanted you here. I still don't know why he let you into this in the first place."

"And I am grateful for the secrets and the truth that he's shared with me, with all of us," Ironwood attempted to defend himself.

"Oh, well you've got a really odd way of showing that gratitude," Qrow gave his two cents on the matter.

"The people of Vale needed someone who would act. Someone who could cover more ground than even All Might. No offense, Toshinori, but you simply can't be everywhere at once, even if you are incredibly fast. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe. And our enemies will feel our strength."

This only caused Qrow to chuckle, which grew into a full-blown laugh as he continued, "Y-you, you think they're scared of your little ships?! Me and Aizawa? We've had to sift through the Grimmlands, we've seen the things she's made, and I'm telling you: They. Are. Fear."

Ironwood looked to the disheveled man for confirmation, to which he replied, "It's been a while since I've gone on patrol out there, but he's not wrong. In fact, I don't think there are enough words in all the languages on Remnant to express the horrors she's... experimented with over the years. So yeah: they're fear alright."

"And fear will only bring the Grimm," Ozpin said as he stood from his chair, "Thus, the cycle of hatred and violence will respark and spin out of control. Again. And we may not survive if it does."

Toshinori then took a long sip from his own coffee cup, then saying, "I get what you're trying to accomplish here James: intimidate the enemy and reassure the citizens, it's psychological tactics 101. But this strategy could be catastrophic for everyone in Vale if it backfires. And like you said earlier, I'm fast, but speed isn't my specialty, and even if it was, I can't be everywhere at once. If this backfires, a lot of people could die."

Then Aizawa continued, "I don't care what you think you were doing, bringing half of your army here, but the reason doesn't matter anymore. If you really wanted to make Vale feel safe, you needed a guardian, a symbol of peace and comfort. And All Might has done a damn fine job of being just that for the past few years. Armies are symbols of war and death. There's been plenty of talking among the people for them to piece together this question, even if no one to my knowledge has yet voiced it. If this army is what we need to defend ourselves, if this is the biggest gathering of Big Four members in years, if this is the largest tournament involving hunter and huntress recruits since the festival began, just what the hell are we going up against?"

Ironwood scanned the room and noticed that all eyes were on him, expecting an answer of some kind. He simply sighed, walked over to Ozpin's desk, picked up his Scroll, and began to walk for the elevator doors, only stopping halfway to ask, "So, what would you suggest we do?"

"Personally, I suggest we do two things. First: we must find a new candidate for the Fall Maiden, before Autumn is... no longer with us. And second: we must bring Toshinori's successor up to speed on the current situation as soon as possible, and, if necessary, prepare him for the worst-case scenario."

This got everyone's attention, causing everyone except Ozpin to look at Toshinori with either confusion, surprise, or a mixture of the two.

"What's he talking about?" Asked Goodwitch, and though he did not voice it, Aizawa appeared to be asking the same question, if his expression was anything to go by.

"You... you can't be serious. You've already chosen?" Ironwood asked Toshinori, his normally stoic face now wide with shock.

And Qrow? He just asked, "Wait, are they a kid about yay high with green hair and freckles? And a sword that gave off this... weird presence?"

"… yeah, that's Izuku. But how did you know?"

"I sensed him when I was fighting with Winter. Seems like a sharp kid, even if he's a bit... odd. And I'm pretty sure that his dad's Hisashi Midoriya. He looks fairly similar, so I wouldn't be surprised. Still why would you-"

"Okay, hold on," Aizawa said before they could discuss Izuku any further. "Could someone please tell me just what the hell you're talking about?"

"I'm curious as well," Glynda said with an intrigued look behind her glasses.

Toshinori was silent for a bit before he walked over to the side of the room, grabbed a couple of chairs, and set them down, going back briefly for another so that he could sit as well. Now resting in the surprisingly comfortable chair, he said, "You might want to sit down for this. It's a really long story."

(meanwhile, in Team CDEM's dorm room, Dabi's POV)

"And you're certain?" Cinder asked Mercury for what seemed to be the something hundredth time in the past minute.

"Bad hair, used a sword/scythe combo, and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was definitely him," Mercury said with a tone that used not even a speck of sarcasm, an extremely rare thing to ever hear from someone like him.

"So, what now?" Emerald asked with a hint of fear behind her eyes. They'd clearly faced this man before, otherwise they wouldn't even be having this discussion. Dabi, however, only silently observed the conversation, sitting in his usual corner, cleaning and sharpening Purgatory, as he usually did, while his 'leader' pace throughout the room with a seemingly calm demeanor.

And it seemed that it truly was calm, as she simply responded, "Nothing. Things might move a little slower now, but it other than that, our plans shouldn't be hindered. Besides, they have no idea who we really are, so there's no reason to worry."

Dabi sighed and finally spoke, "Arrogance has lend to the downfall of many an ambitious rebel. Don't underestimate them. And don't forget that now, with the addition of this Qrow person, three of the Big Four are in Vale. If this backfires, some of us won't be leaving here without cuffs. Or maybe even our lives."

"I know, Dabi, but they haven't even the slightest inclination as to our true identities. And the last of the technical heavy lifting is being taken care of by our dear old friend Watts," Cinder responded as she walked over to the desk with her Scroll, her signature cocky smirk ever present on her face as she swiped through the info. "Hmm. Speaking of: we appear to have a new access point."

"Anywhere good?" Emerald asked.

"You could say that," Cinder said before she locked eyes with Dabi, who had just finished work on Purgatory, and continued, "You two, go to your rooms. I need to talk with Dabi."

"Yes ma'am," Emerald said, though Dabi sensed reluctance in her voice.

"Got it," was all Mercury said before he and his partner got up and left the room, the door closing with a barely audible click behind them.

Cinder sighed as she walked over to Dabi and sat down in front of him with her legs crossed. This actually surprised him, since she'd only actually bothered to get close to him to keep up appearances. Then, she asked a question he'd hoped no one would ever ask;

"Why are you so scared of Atlas? They're nothing against the power my master wields, so tell me: what is it that terrifies you about that barren land of science?"

Maybe he never expected it to be voiced the way that Cinder had, nor did she seem to show any concern when she asked it. She was looking for a weak point. Something to exploit. How typical of her.

"I have nothing to say. Not to you," Dabi said as he stood up and began to walk towards the door, stopping as he reached the handle and said over his shoulder, "But I will give you a warning. People say that Grimm are the real monsters, but trust me. There are far worse things than Grimm in this world. And plenty of them live in Atlas."

He then left the room to a now alone Cinder who, if he was guessing right, was selecting the matchups for the doubles round in the next two days. Oh well.

It wasn't like that outcomes affected him anyhow.

A/N: Aaaaaand that's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed! It was actually a lot of fun writing Qrow's thoughts during his fight with Winter. They might not be entirely in character, so let me know if I made any mistakes in the reviews! Seriously, it helps out a lot, and I can never thank you guys enough for the support you show. You're all awesome!

Next Chapter: Apr. 22nd

Seeya in the next one!