I think this could go without being said, but I'm just going to clarify that I will not try to upload on a schedule. I have to deal with too many things for that, and I want to keep my uploads fun for myself as well as for you all; if it's not fun, I get Writer's Block and I really don't want that. So, I'll be doing my uploads whenever I wish. I hope you all understand.
As for the story, it might feel a bit slow this chapter. This and the previous chapter are set between Volumes 4 and 5, and I'm using that as an excuse to help everyone get used to the characters' personality changes. Ruby is more intuitive and less bubbly (not any less excitable, though) and Qrow will transition over time into being less brooding and more protective. The other characters are also changing in their own ways, but I'll leave it to you to find the differences.
I hope you all enjoy the story. Until next time!

~Chapter 3~

Qrow's sleep that night, much to his displeasure the following morning, hadn't been quite as peaceful as he would have hoped. With the revelations of the previous day plaguing his mind, he hadn't quite slept as much as he wanted to. Still, he thought, waking up to the sight of your former leader and schoolyard crush isn't such a bad way to wake up.

Morning, sleepyhead, she said in his mind, her unmoving lips in the shape of a smile.

"'Sup, airhead?" he replied.

She didn't fall for his bait. You didn't sleep well.

"Nah, I slept like a babe."

If by 'babe', you mean like how Ruby slept when she was born...yes, you definitely did.

"So you're watching me in my sleep now?"

Yes I am, lover boy, she responded, I've had quite a lot of my schedule freed up for the past decade, considering I'm a disembodied soul and all that. My academy crush risks life and limb for my children every day of his life and barely sleeps at all, so yes...when he finally has the first semi-peaceful, sober sleep he's had in years, you can bet your sweet ass I'm watching him.

"Sum-"

Don't start, please. So, she said, floating over him so he's staring at the ceiling through her head, schedule for today. Now.

Qrow cringed slightly at the sight of her defying mortal physics. "That's really creepy."

Do something about it.

"Of course. Let's just move you out of the way with my big, meaty, ghost-grabbing hands." He clenched and unclenched his hands to drive the point home.

Definitely the first two... Qrow heard her mutter. Uh, moving on! Yes, schedule, so... she moved onto his mattress instead so she looked like she was laying down beside him. He relaxed his cringe into a more passive frown.

"Well, first I need to get up and get dressed."

Can you humor me and take this seriously for five seconds?

"I could, but it's starting to become clear to me how much I like seeing you flustered."

That pun was so bad that I'm not even going to chastise you for it. I'll just let it sink in and make you wallow in misery over it. I hope you realize the level of stupidity you just released into the world.

"Okay, okay, I'm done fooling around." He waved his arms apologetically. "I need to tell the kids about what you told me yesterday before I talked with the kids. About Lionheart. Now," he looked at her with a very serious expression, "I get that he's not the most...outgoing individual out there. But to say he's on Salem's side? What brought this on?"

I've been spying on him since around 8 months before the Vytal Tournament.

"Sunflower, I trust you with my life. Even with you being a ghost. But Leonardo, lion-hearted or not, would never have betrayed Ozpin. He's in our Inner Circle, why would he just throw that away to side with the enemy? What do you even have on him?"

He has digital communication with Arthur Watts, for one. He personally signed the papers for Cinder Fall's "enrollment" at Haven Academy. He has a Class D-3 honest-to-gods Seer living in his closet.

"Excuse me?!"

Yeah, a Seer. Y'know, jellyfish Grimm with a spherical body and spiked tentacles. He uses it to talk with Salem. Directly. And being that they normally start out at Combat Rank E-1 and have a variance of 6...yeah.

Qrow paused. "Please tell me you're shitting me."

I wish I was.

"This...this just got ten times worse. Fifty times worse. If what you're saying is true, then-! H-He knows Ozpin's biggest plans! And he has direct correspondence with Salem?!"

I'm sorry.

"I just can't...gods, I need to get the kids out of here–"

No.

"Summer, this is way out of their league! You can't just expect them to go in there with flowers and chocolate when there's a gods-damned Grimm waiting to strangle them at a moment's notice!"

And if they don't? What then? Qrow, this is my daughter at risk against a traitor to humanity! But what if it was just you going in alone?

She sighs a great sigh before continuing, glazed orbs looking depressingly through him. I hate this as much as you do. If I was alive, I'd go in there right now and skin his cowardly hide. But...

"I know," Qrow whispered. "I hate it too, but dammit you're right. He's expecting the kids...if he doesn't see the kids, he'll get suspicious. And that's not even starting on – wait a sec, I was going to give him Raven's location!"

Might as well give it to him.

"What? Why?!"

Because she needs to be drawn out. Yes, it's by Salem's forces...but it'd be better for us if we can control how they move and draw Raven out at the same time, so we'll have an advantage against both of them. 'Kill two birds with one stone', as the saying goes.

"Unoriginal jokes aside," he slightly growled, "you're making Raven a scapegoat?"

No. I...used to think along those lines after she up and left, but no, I'm not. We're merely...putting her in a position she can't refuse.

"You're using Raven as a decoy to delay Salem's plans...I take it I'm training the rugrats, then?"

Yep, she affirmed, popping the "p" again, but we'll go over the fine points of that later. First, we need to tell the kids about Lionheart.

"Might as well get your insight on why you agree with me. So, why?"

Because we have too much to lose if they let anything slip. Especially because of...y'know, this. She pointed to him, then at herself. If Leonardo took the existence of the Second Semblance to Salem, then we might as well admit defeat right here. Plus, I feel like we've kept the children in the dark too long, have we not?

"Heh, there's a reason why you were always the brains of the team, Flower."

Of course! What else would you expect from my supreme awesomeness?

The two chuckled, relieving some tension from their conversation. Qrow grimaced at the door as though it were made of a smelly, sticky goo.

"I'm too damn sober for this."

Hush. You're good as you'll ever be.

"Everything's going to go to shit, isn't it?"

It won't. Believe that, please. And if you can't, then believe in me.

"What if I fuck everything up?"

Then I'll be right here fucking up with you, floating body and everything that comes with it.

"...Thanks, Leader."

That's what I'm here for! Now come, let's get this over with...


"So," said Jaune.

"Yep," Qrow replied.

"This...just went up to Danger Level Max," said Ren.

"That's putting it lightly," stated his girlfriend. "We're walking into what's pretty much enemy territory now, and we have to keep a smile on our faces the whole time?"

"No, that'd be if everything was hunky-dory and we weren't dealing with Salem at our doorstep," Qrow rebuked.

"Thanks for telling us, Uncle Qrow," Ruby says with a small smile, "and he means that we just go in like we were going to in the first place. Just...not saying anything about anything to the Headmaster."

"Oof, yeah," Jaune includes, "imagine if we told him about Qrow's new Semblance? I don't even want to think about it."

"So, u-um," Ruby stuttered, "what does mom think about all this?"

"She was the one who told me everything in the first place."

"That does makes sense," Ren confirmed, looking at Qrow. "You've been in bed this whole time, and our mission in the first place was to give Lionheart information about the plot against Haven Academy. Going by what you've told us, he's close enough to Ozpin that no one would even think to suspect him. Summer Rose, meanwhile, has a...convenient ability to observe things without being noticed. Or interacted with."

"Until now," Jaune added in. Ren nodded.

Ruby breathed. "This won't be pleasant at all, will it?"

"Likely not, pipsqueak."

Ren raised his head up higher. "I take it there's more?"

Qrow shook his head uncomfortably, "Yeah, but...it's sensitive information. Too sensitive to say in detail in an area like this. We're already pushing it talking about Lionheart like this where people can potentially overhear."

Ruby's eyes brightened, some of her worries forgotten at the implication of his words. She hopped in place excitedly. "So we're finally going into Mistral?"

"Yep."

"Let's take the time to enjoy ourselves, then," Nora butted in. "We cool off and prepare ourselves for Lionheart so we can break his legs!"

"We're not doing any leg-breaking yet, Nora," Ren said.

"You mentioned a yet~"

"Promises of much-deserved limb-based injuries aside," Ruby said, "Nora's right. We should all take some time to unwind a little in Mistral before we see him. And break his legs," she added quickly, earning a small cheer from Nora.

"Just tell us something before we leave, Qrow," said Jaune. "This 'sensitive information' you're not telling us yet, what're you doing with it?"

"Well, our esteemed Headmaster's been hungry for info. So I'm gonna give it to him."

"Does it involve mom?" Ruby asked.

"Nope, it's something I was going to include with our mission details already. Let's just say, as Summer put it, we're 'killing two birds with one stone'."

"I trust you then," Ruby smiled. She turned around, a hand caressing her folded Crescent Rose as she placed it on her back. "Now onward! Off to the city of Mistral!"

"After we sign out of the hospital."

"Hehe, right. Out of the hospital first, then Mistral!"


"Did we really have to walk," Nora complained.

"Thought you kids wanted to go on the scenic route," Qrow said.

"A healthy walk is good for the heart," Jaune said, before following up with thoughtful look on his face, "or so my mom always said."

"Great advice to follow," Ruby replied, before the group fell into silence for several minutes. Ruby looked between Nora and Ren, seeing their hands intertwined. Her eyes momentarily switched to Jaune, but they immediately went in the other direction. A deep, regretful frown clouded her former smile with Qrow noticing unbeknownst to her.

Qrow took the time to study Ruby as they walked. Despite the smile she kept on her face most of the time, he knew Ruby more than well enough to know how hard the recent events were on her. She'd lost some good friends, one of which he was partially responsible in making happen. He knew that one of the main reasons Ruby left Patch was because more than anything — more than even her family — she'd needed her friends, those who had lost as much and even more than she had.

He glanced at the Ark and knew he felt the same as Ruby. He empathized with the boy, as his own leader (currently floating soundlessly behind the group) had been taken from the world long before her time. He remembered Ruby mentioning that Pyrrha had confronted Cinder Fall right after kissing the boy. It's no wonder he's so serious about his training, Qrow thought, but maybe I can use that to my advantage to make it more effective. He could definitely use some mobility, and a ranged weapon in his lacking arsenal would go a long way for him.

Taking a look at Ren and Nora, he started contemplating his life choices. Ren shouldn't be to tough to train, but he didn't want to risk stirring up more hidden baggage when they already have to deal with Lionheart's betrayal. Nora, on the other hand, is the opposite; no visible baggage, but would be a lot of work to deal with. He'd likely need Jaune and Ren to give him some insight on her quirks.

Doesn't look like they'll be too difficult for you to train them, I think, Summer commented. Qrow kept silent and listened to her, choosing to let the children enjoy their moment of silence.

The real problem, she continued, noting his attention, is looking for a spot somewhat close to the academy where Lionheart can't spy on any of you. Depending on how your meeting goes you might be allowed to have access to the forest to slay some Grimm, but even then it looks like you'll have a close eye on you. You five just being here makes you his target. It'll be even harder to keep attention off of you if anyone else we know arrives.

Qrow hummed in thought. He knew he'd end up meeting up with his sister (even if he sometimes wished they weren't related) once he and the kids got everything situated, but he never thought of the possibility of more arriving. Now that he thought about it, he just knew Yang just had to be out there on Bumblebee by now, searching for Raven again. Tai would obviously be staying home, as he couldn't really leave Patch right now, and despite what happened to her the Firecracker hadn't completely lost her bang. Back to Yang, he had a feeling Raven would dump her daughter on him once the women met. He supposed, then, that the Gods would probably bring the rest of Team RWBY together at some point...during his time at Beacon, he'd gone through so much more cliche shit that he thought it was some kind of hereditary curse.

The thing I'm most worried about is his reaction to Ruby and her Silver Eyes, she concluded. We can't avoid meeting with him, nor can we leave anyone out. Plus, he already knows she has the Eyes; honestly, he's likely just going to lay it on for the dramatic tension, preying on the 'fact' that you all don't know what I told you. Once we meet with him, though, it'll be like flipping a switch. Like, the 'now that she's here, we can start with our evil plans' switch. So you're gonna need to fully prepare them all — especially Ruby — for the confrontation, 'cause once we go back to our lodging we're on a thin timer.

"You're talking with mom again, aren't you?" Ruby asked. Qrow looked at Ruby, and notes the others are also doing so.

"More like she's talking to me, we can't read each others' minds."

"Oh, that's...kinda interesting, actually. I thought ghosts could?"

"How many movies did you binge watch to figure that out?"

"I'll have you know it was from a book. No movies involved!"

"It was The Man With Two Souls. One of the only books Ruby read before the, uh...the Filth Purge." Jaune looked awkwardly to the side as he said this.

"Rubes got her hands on the catgirl's erotica and threw it in a bonfire," Qrow stated.

"You knew?"

"Course I knew, pipsqeak. Kinda hard not to after finding out from Oz that my stolen alcohol was used as lighter fluid." Ruby had the decency to laugh sheepishly as Qrow half-glared at her.

"Back to the topic at hand," Ren said, "I doubt what Summer said is something we can talk about out here, right?"

Qrow nodded, placing a hand on his flask. "Right. Just...she says to be careful. And to find a place to train where we won't be watched."

"That's not suspicious at all," Nora commented sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe we should let them watch," Jaune stated. Everyone's eyes now went to him, and he flinched under the new pressure. "I mean, just think about it," he explained, "Beacon fell, and we're here in Mistral to talk to Lionheart about...things. What does he expect us to do in the meantime?"

"He does have a point," Ruby said. "If we look like we're trying to hide stuff from him, he'll get suspicious. And...let's say he does have us watched. If whoever he sends to watch us eventually stop watching us..."

"Then we'll know something's up because he's using them for more important things than watching his former allies' movements," Ren said. "And with everything that's going on right now, he can't just use random students as spies or he'll get found out. The few people he could use that wouldn't raise suspicion with us would be spread so thin that any change to their routine will be obvious."

"I don't give you kids enough credit," Qrow commented thoughtfully, "that's some good deductive reasoning."

"Anyone would learn something after watching Sun and Neptune flounder about...uh, no offense to them," said Ruby, twiddling her fingers. "Oh, but we should take care of any electronics he has put up, too. If he's talking with someone electronically, then he can hear us talking electronically too, right?"

"True," Qrow commented, "I'll have the place debugged when we get to our lodging. Maybe it'll give Nora an excuse to train her Semblance."

"So we're really gonna act like everything's normal, then?" Nora asked.

"Only until we have to start breaking legs," replied Jaune, earning a small smile from the hyperactive girl.

"Yay! Also, sure I'll help debug. Ren and I, uh...had to do our fair share of it before Beacon. And extra tips on it wouldn't hurt."

"Looks like we're here."

Ren's exclamation stole everyone's attention. Indeed, their path was impeded by a pair of large metallic doors, signalling Mistral's entrance. Qrow chuckled, grabbing and pulling the doorknobs.

As the party got used to the daylight, Ruby jogged forward to lean on the railing. The landscape ahead was beautiful, with foliage covering most of the area. On the mountainside sat many traditional-looking houses, and a man-made waterfall cascaded down with clean, shining water. With the water vapor in the air due to the waterfall and Mistral's post-rain weather, the sunshine created a slight fog in the distance, adding to the city's unique charm.

"This. Is. Awesome!" Ruby yelled, arms splayed out to take in all the scenery at once. "It's beautiful!"

"It's something, alright," Qrow affirmed, the rest of the group taking some time to see Mistral for themselves.

"You don't like it?" Ren asked.

"Meh, it's not that bad...I'd give it 7.8."

"Why not 8?" Nora asked.

"Too much water," the Branwen answered.

Summer laughed. Remember when we were sent here in our second year to help with the Nevermore outbreak, and you got tossed in the waterfall by one of them? You rode it down like a wave, and when you got down to the bottom you made the biggest splash ever!

"Way too much water..." He shivered.

"Will we be staying together or splitting up?" Ren asked.

"It shouldn't hurt to split up," Jaune answered, "but just in case, we shouldn't venture too far from each other. Keep an eye on one another."

"Except Drunkle Qrow, he'll probably head to the closest bar," Ruby half-joked.

"Ye of little faith, I'll save that until after our meeting with the esteemed Headmaster," the Drunkle retorted, "the Brothers know I'll need one after this mess."

"Sounds good," Ruby said. She grinned, leading the way as they began the rest of their walk into Mistral.