AN: So, in three days, it will be the 2-year anniversary of the very chapter of this fanfic being uploaded. I'm honestly astounded that I've been able to keep this up for so long. Thank you to everybody that's supported me throughout this long journey, especially the ones who have been here since the begining! I love each and every one of you!
AND we reached over 2,000 reviews! Thank you all so much!
So, I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent at the end of the chapter. I just have something about Ironwood I need to get off my chest.
Once again, thanks to Lord Maximus for the help with this chapter!
Chapter 93
Several Years Ago….
"First of all, I want to thank you all again for taking me in."
The Rose/Xiao Long family had gathered in the living room at Aqua's request after a small celebration over Tai returning from rehab. Aqua had only said it was time to tell the truth, but hadn't said what that meant. Qrow already knew what she was going to say, having been told alongside Ozpin when Aqua first came to Remnant.
"Second, I think it's time I tell you about the Keyblade's origins," Aqua said, instantly getting their attention. "Before meeting me, did you ever hear anything about a weapon similar to the Keyblade, or monsters like the Heartless?"
"No," Ruby said, shaking her head, as did Yang.
"I kind of wondered about that," Tai admitted.
"Well, the truth is that neither the Keyblade nor the Heartless are from this world," Aqua said, getting right to it. "And neither am I."
"Huh?" Both Ruby and Yang questioned.
"I never heard of Remnant, the Grimm, or Aura because I wasn't born here," Aqua clarified.
"You're an…" Ruby gasped. "Alien?!" Aqua giggled.
"Technically, but I'm still human, Ruby. The best way for me to explain is to start by asking this: what do you see when you look at the sky at night?"
"Stars," Yang answered.
"And what are stars, Yang?"
"Well… They say in school that stars are great big balls of gas," Yang answered.
"Yes, they are that in the scientific sense. They are also the representation of other worlds," Aqua replied, shocking the three.
"Wha-?!" Ruby and Yang gasped.
"It's true. Each star represents another world that's been walled off from the rest. The stars in the night sky are the only way one can see these worlds. That's because all the worlds exist as part of a balance known as the World Order, which is meant to protect them from the Darkness. The Heartless are part of the ever-expanding Darkness that seeks to devour the hearts of these worlds and the people that are part of them," Aqua continued. "All worlds exist as part of two realms: the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness. The Heartless obviously come from the Realm of Darkness, and they are an almost impossible force to stop, except for this."
Aqua then summoned her Keyblade and held it up.
"The Keyblade. The one weapon that can destroy the Heartless and also reverse the damage they inflict on these worlds. With the Keyblade's power, one is able to travel to other worlds, sealing the hearts of these worlds to protect them from the Heartless, which happens to be the duty of those who were chosen to wield it, such as myself…" Aqua dismissed her Keyblade and looked at Ruby. "And you, Ruby."
"Me?" Ruby asked, gesturing to herself.
"Yes. That is why the Heartless attacked you the night we met, and again here, and possibly at Raven's camp, though they could have been after me as well. As the only weapon that can destroy them, the Heartless are driven by a fanatical instinct to seek out and destroy anyone with a Keyblade to prevent them from using it. Without the Keyblade, Heartless would rampage across the worlds with no one to stop them." Aqua nodded and continued.
"Wow… So you're like a super Huntress!" Ruby said with an excited smile.
"Well, a Huntress and a Keyblade wielder are similar," Aqua admitted.
"So you can go to other worlds?" Yang asked. Aqua sighed.
"Not right now. I'm sort of stuck on Remnant for the time being… Not that that's a bad thing," she quickly said with a smile at the girls. "At least I have you two for company."
The girls giggled at that.
"So, you wanted to train Ruby to protect her from the Heartless?" Tai asked. Aqua nodded.
"The Keyblade chooses its wielder and the fact it chose Ruby at the time I was brought here leads me to believe that it's not a coincidence." She looked at the young girl. "Ruby, do you remember that strange dream you had before you could summon your Keyblade whenever you wanted?" Ruby shuddered a bit, but nodded.
"Yeah."
"Well, thar dream happens when you perform a ritual that enables you to master summoning your Keyblade, but it also gives a hint of what your destiny as a wielder of the Keyblade is. All Keyblade wielders have important roles to play in protecting the worlds, but when you told me that the voice in your dream said you would bring back the light, it gave me a clue what it might be," Aqua explained, summoning her Keyblade again. "I believe it meant to say you're the one who will restore Remnant to the Realm of Light."
Ruby, Yang, and Tai looked absolutely floored by this, and Aqua couldn't blame them.
"I guess it's a bit of a surprise but—"
"THAT'S SO COOL!" Ruby jumped off the couch with an excited smile. "So how do I do that? Do I have to fight some evil Heartless monster?!" Aqua looked surprised, but then cleared her throat.
"Hopefully not. You see, I came to Remnant after I fell into the Realm of Darkness, so I guess that means the world that Remnant is part of exists in the Realm of Darkness."
"Kind of makes sense with all the Grimm," Tai commented.
"Maybe," Aqua said with a shrug. "Basically to restore Remnant to the Realm of Light, Ruby needs to seal the Keyhole leading to Remnant's heart. I believe when she seals it that will do the trick."
"A Keyhole?" Ruby and Yang asked.
"A Keyhole," Aqua nodded and summoned her Keyblade.
She pointed up and there was a brilliant beam of light that shot out at the ceiling. The light collided with something that looked like it was partly a keyhole, but then the image broke apart.
"That was me just trying to seal the keyhole to Remnant's heart just now." Aqua lowered her Keyblade and looked at the shell shocked Rose/Xiao Long family. "As you can see, I failed because for some reason, the Keyhole won't manifest itself, which means it'll have be done the hard way."
"And what is the hard way?" Tai asked, gathering his wits.
"In order to seal the world's heart, Ruby will have to look for the physical incarnation of Remnant's Keyhole," Aqua said with a small smile. "Think of it like one of those magical quests you see in fairy tales. Since we have no idea where it is, she'll have to venture across Remnant, When she's ready of course, to find the Keyhole and seal it. It could be here, or it could be on the other side of the world." Ruby's eyes lit up like stars.
"You mean like an adventure all over the world?"
"Basically, yes," Aqua shrugged.
"That… Is… AWESOME!" Ruby said with absolute glee at the idea of a world-spanning adventure. "When do I start?"
"Not for a good ling while," Aqua answered with a stern gaze. "Training to master the Keyblade takes years and it won't be easy, Ruby. It will perhaps be harder than training to be a Huntress. So before you even think of packing, you should focus on mastering the Keyblade first, especially if you can fight the Grimm or Heartless without mine or Qrow's help."
"Oh… Right," Ruby rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "That makes sense."
"Well, here we are," Uncle Qrow said. "The City of Mistral."
"Ugh!" Nora groaned. "It's about time!" Team RNJR, plus Uncle Qrow and Cloud were walking through a brick tunnel to head towards the city proper. "Whose idea was it to walk again?"
"Long trips build character," Cloud said.
"Do fighting monsters and murderers do that, too?" Jaune asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, they do," Cloud said. "And since we almost died, I'd say we all grew quite a bit." The others chuckled good-naturedly, with the exception of Ren. Nora gave her friend a concerned look, but he either didn't notice it or chose to ignore it.
"So, how much farther to Haven Academy?" Jaune asked.
"Almost there," Uncle Qrow answered. "But I figured I'd take you all on the scenic route."
Uncle Qrow opened a large set of wooden doors, leading them out onto a large observation platform, allowing them to see Mistral, the city itself having been built along the side of a large, steep mountain. Ruby excited peeked over the railing, looking out into the massive city, so very different from Vale.
"Wow!" she exclaimed taking in all the sights. "This…is… awesome!" All around them, large crowds of people were gathering around, perusing the wares sold at market stalls.
"It's certainly something," Uncle Qrow said. Ruby noticed a nearby weapons kiosk.
"Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!"
"Vendors here'll sell you just about anything… whether they should or not," Uncle Qrow said.
"The black market just operates openly here?" Cloud asked.
"Mistral is pretty notorious for corruption," Uncle Qrow explained. "Cops and politicians get a cut of the profits in exchange for turning a blind eye. Besides, even if they wanted to, they couldn't police the entire city. It's too big."
"They really made the most out of these mountains," Jaune said.
"Every inch. Stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets."
"And we are going up!" Nora said, enthusiastically pointing upwards.
Weiss and Aqua decided to pass the time on the ship by practicing their sword forms and even doing some light sparring in the cargo hold. It wasn't anything serious, but they both needed to work on their training as they both hadn't been in an actual fight for a few months before Aqua got her legs back. Once they were done, they sat against the wall, sipping from a few canteens of water.
"Hey, Aqua," Weiss said suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"When you unlocked your Semblance, did you have any trouble with it at the beginning?" Weiss asked. Aqua hummed a bit.
"Well, I learned I could summon copies of people close to me. Friends I made on this world and other worlds."
"I mean, what constitutes a friend in your eyes?" Weiss questioned.
"Well… With me, friends were people I could rely on when it counted, no matter the odds or whatever annoying quirks they might have had," Aqua answered, glancing at Weiss. "Why the sudden questions?"
"Summoning is the one part of my Semblance I've always had trouble with until now. My sister… Well, she was flawless, but that's no surprise. She's amazing at everything she does," Weiss explained. "Back at Beacon, she advised me to hone my summoning, seeing a Semblance like a muscle. She told me to think about my fallen opponents, and how their defeats made me stronger. But even after all this time, I have a little trouble, even though I'm getting better. I was wondering how you handled yours."
"Well," Aqua said, putting a hand to her chin in thought. "My Semblance focusses on my bonds with my friends and family. I kind of always looked to them for strength, especially when times were difficult. I can summon almost all of them… Unless the person is either dead, or their heart is missing, like Terra, Ven and my master." Weiss gave her a sympathetic look.
"So that's why you never summoned them."
"My master believed some friendships can be so strong they can last more than one lifetime if the heart is strong enough." Aqua glanced at the floor. "Guess mine isn't that strong. I had hoped to show Ruby and Yang my friends and master, if only because they're all part of this strange yet amazing family." Weiss leaned against the wall.
"You make it work so well, though. Better at it than me." Aqua frowned.
"Maybe that right there is the problem."
"Huh?"
"This self-doubt you have… Weiss, do you remember back on the first day of my class when I said you and the others were lacking a crucial part of being a true Huntress?" Aqua asked as she stood up.
"…Yeah?" Weiss slowly answered.
"For some it was a lack of training and physical strength like Jaune, others a lack of temperament like Yang, or maybe even a lack of using your head like Cardin and his team," Aqua explained before pointing at Weiss's chest. "For you it's the same as Ruby. Your heart."
"My heart?" Weiss asked in confusion.
"Did Ruby tell you what happened to her at Signal?" Aqua asked to which Weiss nodded. "Well, that affected her confidence in herself a great deal. I told her we Keyblade wielders keep our abilities secret for a reason, but I wasn't upset with her for saving her classmates. She had the right mindset at the time, but the reaction from them caused her to doubt herself and become afraid of her own abilities."
"And what does that have to do with me?" Weiss asked.
"…Up until now you had Jacques in your way of trying to become a Huntress," Aqua answered, surprising Weiss. "He was controlling and never supportive of you, and that wouldn't make for an ideal environment to allow you to grow. I think the real reason you're getting better now is because you cast off your fears of him, like you did back in his office."
"You think my father was holding me back?"
"Physically no, but mentally and emotionally…" Aqua sighed. "It can cause that kind of self-doubt that can impede your skills rather than helping them grow. Let's try something." She gestured for Weiss to stand up. "Watch this. Weiss."
Weiss watched in shock to see a crystalline copy of herself appear.
"…You can make a copy of me now?"
"We're friends, aren't we?" Aqua smiled while shrugging. "Does this surprise you?" Weiss stared for a second, but then shook her head.
"…Not really."
"Good. That means you don't have any doubts about our friendship. Same as me. I don't doubt any of my friendships," Aqua said, stepping back. "Now you try summoning. Think back to that office when we confronted Jacques and Ironwood. You hesitated, but then you powered on through, even though I was the one that started that whole mess."
"Well, you had good reason to. I can't believe they both teamed up to keep you prisoner," Weiss said with a scowl.
"Well, think of the strength you must have had when you let loose all your frustrations on your father," Aqua instructed. "No hesitation, no doubt, no fear. You may have bee afraid at first, but fear is only the precursor for valor if you have the time. Maybe now you might have that kind of trouble."
Taking to heart what Aqua said, Weiss focused herself on her summoning. In the past, she had struggled before, but for some reason her mind, and maybe even her heart was clearer now. When she opened her eyes, she saw she had summoned the same armor that her father had used to try and stop her from leaving for Beacon. She dispelled it and tried summoning again, this time it was the Boarbatusk that she had accidentally summoned at the charity.
"No doubts…" Weiss said with a grateful smile to Aqua, who returned it. "Mind and Heart."
"For someone who's supposedly not good at this, you sure learn fast," Aqua complimented as Weiss dispelled her summon.
"Thanks… I had a good teacher," Weiss said with a smile before pulling the cham she got from the Hooded Man. "Now what about this? Any clue what it is?"
"It's obviously a magical charm considering who gave it to you. I think it might be a summon as well," Aqua answered.
"Really?"
Aqua nodded.
"Ruby suddenly summoned a flying elephant on the night Beacon was attacked. It came from a charm she had found in her pocket, but had no clue how she got it."
"A… flying elephant?" Weiss just stared.
"Hey, it's magic. Don't question it," Aqua said with a shrug. "By the looks of that charm, if it is a summon, then it might be a dragon."
"A dragon?" Weiss stared at the charm and noticed it really did look like a dragon. "So, I might have an actual dragon?"
"Yep," Aqua said, noting the excited look on Weiss's face. "Just, when you try to summon it, try not to do it in a populated area for obvious reasons."
"Of course," Weiss said. "I'm not that reckless."
Why was he still crying?!
Pyrrha held Achilles in her arms, trying desperately to get him to stop crying so she could put him down for a nap. He was apparently a devious little baby, as every time she thought he had finally calmed down and she went to lay him in his crib, he would start crying again.
Maybe he just wanted his mother to keep holding him? That was the explanation Pyrrha decided to go with, since she liked the idea of her son not wanting to stop snuggling, but she was tired! She couldn't think of any other explanation. She had fed him, she had changed his diaper, so what else could it be? She just wanted to take a nap!
"Come on, sweetie, please," Pyrrha pleaded with her son, cradling him in her arms. "Mommy just wants a break."
She had asked Aqua for some advice when she saw her in Atlas. What was it?
Granted, Aqua never had to deal with Ruby and Yang when they were newborns, but surely some of it applied here, right?
Maybe she should try singing? Aqua told her that her daughters always liked it when she sang to them. Maybe this would help him get sleepy enough?
There was that one song that Aqua had taught her…
"In you and I, there's a new land.
Angels in flight.
My sanctuary, my sanctuary,
Where fears and lies melt away."
She started to sing softly, Achilles finally stopping with his crying to look up at her with curious eyes.
"Music will tie
What's left of me,
What's left of me now."
She started to gently rock Achilles as she sang.
"I watch you, fast asleep.
All I fear means nothing.
In you and I, there's a new land.
Angels in flight,
My sanctuary, my sanctuary,
Where fears and lies melt away.
Music will tie.
What's left of me.
What's left of me."
Achilles closed his eyes, his breathing beginning to level out. Pyrrha couldn't let her excitement show in her voice, or it might stop working.
Babies could smell fear.
"You show me how to see,
That nothing is whole and,
Nothing is broken.
In you and I, there's a new land.
Angels in flight,
My sanctuary, my sanctuary,
Where fears and lies melt away.
Music will tie,
What's left of me
What's left of me now…"
Achilles was breathing slowly and evenly now, so Pyrrha quietly crept up to the crib and began lowering him in.
"My fears, my lies
Melt away…"
She laid Achilles down, the boy showing no sign of waking up. She gently leaned forward, and gave her son a kiss on his forehead.
She sighed in relief.
Finally, she could take a nap of her own.
Honestly, despite how difficult having a child was at times…
Pyrrha couldn't remember ever being happier.
"So, how much farther?" Weiss asked the ship's captain, the two women having returned to the cabin for a status update.
"We're in the home stretch now," the pilot answered.
"Oh, good," Aqua said. "I can't wait until Atlas is a distant memory."
"Well, you're in luck. No more stops from here to Mistral. Sorry for the long trip. Keeping us off the radar's been harder than I thought. Lots of air traffic around northern Anima."
"It's fine," Weiss said. "I just hope we haven't been a burden." The man chuckled.
"You and your money are more than welcome on this ship, ladies." The garbled transmission was suddenly picked up by the ship's radio. "What the…?"
"Is everything okay?" Weiss asked as the pilot tried to adjust the radio.
"I don't know," he answered. "We're still over Lake Matsu. Shouldn't be picking up broadcasts this far from Mistral. Someone must be close."
"Mayday, mayday!" A woman's voice shouted over the radio, catching Weiss and Aqua's attention. "We are a small passenger flight, and out Huntress is down! We aren't equipped to deal with this!"
"Oh, man," the pilot said.
"The Grimm hit us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline! Get them off us! If anyone can hear this—Ah!"
The transmission abruptly cut off, and the pilot started turning the ship to the right.
"We're going to help them, right?" Weiss asked.
"What? No. I'm trying to avoid them," the pilot said.
"We can't just leave them to die!" Aqua argued.
"Look, if we picked up their transmission, I'm sure someone else did, too. But this is a cargo ship. I'm not sure what good you think she'll be in a fight. But I'm being paid to bring you both to Mistral, and that's what I'm going to do. This is my ship, and if I say we're not going, then we're not going."
"But—"
"If you don't like, too bad. I'll turn this ship around and send you back to Atlas."
"…Fine," Aqua finally relented, storming down back to the cargo hold.
"We made it," Ruby said, her voice full of relief as the group stood in the courtyard of Haven's campus. Making it here was the entire reason why she left home, and finally being here was almost overwhelming. Uncle Qrow looked around in confusion, and Ruby realized that the place seemed empty.
"Hello?" Ruby called out. No response. The group quickly walked through the front door of what they assumed was the main building. "Hello?!"
"Maybe try louder?" Nora suggested.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here," Ren said.
"Well, I guess school isn't really in session right now," Jaune said. "Maybe that's it."
"If what you said is true, Qrow, then this place is supposed to protect one of the relics," Cloud said. "So, why aren't we even seeing any teachers?"
"Cloud's right," Uncle Qrow said. "Something's wrong. Come on!" He ran farther down the hallway, the group following behind them until they reached a large wooden door. Uncle Qrow took up a position in front of the door, drawing his sword. He gestured to Cloud, and the mercenary drew his own weapon, taking up a position next to the door, so he'd be out of sight of anyone on the other side. "Get ready. There could be trouble."
The teens responded by readying their own weapons, and Uncle Qrow kicked in the door, revealing a large office with a desk on the other end of the room. A man with swept-back gray hair and beard, wearing a dignified suit, screamed in terror from behind the desk. The others were startled by this, especially Uncle Qrow, who lost his balance and fell over. The man behind the desk suddenly face-planted into his desk, evidently having fainted.
From his position next to the door, Ruby could see Cloud smack his palm against his forehead.
"Uh, Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked, waking the man up.
"Qrow!" the man shouted, standing up and allowing the group to see his lion tail. "For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!"
"Me?!" Uncle Qrow asked in frustration as he stood up. "Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?"
"Huh?" Professor Lionheart asked before pulling out a pocket watch and checking the time. "Oh, right. Apologies. I guess time slipped away from me."
"You're joking," Uncle Qrow said.
"Well, this is off to a great start," Cloud said sarcastically, putting his sword behind his back.
"So, where is everybody?" Nora asked, as the rest of the group put their weapons away as well.
"Ah, you must be the people Qrow mentioned," the Headmaster said.
"Yes, sir," Ruby said. "Ruby Rose."
"Jaune Arc."
"Lie Ren."
"Nora Valkyrie."
"I'm Cloud Strife."
"A pleasure to meet you all. Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but—"
"What?" Uncle Qrow interrupted. "Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?"
"Qrow, the children!" Lionheart quickly said, trying to get Uncle Qrow to stop talking.
"Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?"
"You… filled them in?" Headmaster Lionheart asked, looking concerned for some reason.
"So, is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?" Nora asked.
"At this point, I'm more surprised when things don't get weird," Cloud said.
Blake stepped out onto the balcony of her father's study, an armored guard standing watch. Her family, plus Sun and Tifa, had confronted the Albains about what they had found on the scroll Blake swiped from Ilia.
It hadn't gone quite as well as they'd hoped, leaving both Blake's dad and Sun furious.
"Good evening, miss," the guard said. "Can I get you anything?"
"Just a little time to myself, if that's alright."
"Sure thing. Just call if you need me." The guard walked inside and closed the door, leaving Blake alone on the balcony. Blake let out a deep sigh.
"You need better security," a voice said, startling Blake. She looked up to see Ilia land on the railing. Blake quickly reached for the door.
"Please!" Ilia said, holding up her hand. "I-I just need to talk." Blake slowly took her hand away from the door and looked up at her old friend.
"How could you take the fall for them, Ilia?" Blake asked.
"Blake…"
"Corsac and Fennec blamed you. We confronted them tonight, and they denied knowing anything and everything found on your scroll. They talked about disappointed they were to hear that you'd sided with Adam. But you and I both know they're guilty."
"You can't prove anything," Ilia said.
"That scroll might not have been enough to lock them up, but its enough to sway the Faunus here. When we go public tomorrow, they're not going to stand for any of it. And neither should you." Ilia finally removed her mask, revealing a sad look.
"Your plan isn't gonna work, Blake. Please… just leave Menagerie before it's too late."
"…You're going to have to make me."
"…I know." Ilia put her mask back on, and jumped off the railing, escaping into the nearby trees.
Blake let out a sad sigh.
She and Ilia used to be inseparable.
Was their friendship just another thing the White Fang had stolen from her?
"I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you," Headmaster Lionheart said after being told about what the group had been doing. He had been especially unhappy to hear that Cloud, a mercenary that a teenage girl had hired, was also told about Salem, the Maidens, and the Relics.
"No, reckless is leaving one of the Relics completely unguarded," Uncle Qrow countered. "It's not checking in with Oz for ages!"
"There was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" the headmaster shouted, standing up from his chair. "Vale wasn't the only Kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces…" Ruby looked down sadly, remembering Penny's death. "…Saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens… and then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us. Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution. And it's only gotten worse."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas," the headmaster explained. "First, it was the Dust embargo, now it's the closing of borders. I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more unfortunate tendencies." He sighed. "And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."
"All the more reason we need the Huntsman and Huntresses here!" Uncle Qrow shouted.
"Okay!" Ruby said, stepping between the two men. "Okay. Things are bad. But we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?"
"I thought you filled them in," the headmaster said, looking to Uncle Qrow.
"Mostly filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason."
"For some reason, I can't picture you as a teacher at all," Cloud chimed in from his spot, leaning against the wall on the other side of the room.
"Didn't ask you," Uncle Qrow said. Headmaster Lionheart sat back down in his chair.
"The four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and they are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics."
"What?" Jaune asked.
"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden," Uncle Qrow explained. "Winter for the gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice, and Spring for Knowledge."
"I'm starting to think there was more to the attack on Beacon than just Cinder wanting to get her hands on the Fall Maiden's powers," Cloud said.
"Pretty much," Uncle Qrow said. "Her ultimate goal was most likely the Relic of Choice, which she needed Fall's powers to get to. For right now, though, Spring is the problem we need to focus on."
"What happened to her?" Ren asked.
"She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child," the headmaster explained. "She… ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now."
"I…know," Uncle Qrow said. "At least… I have a pretty good idea."
"Are you serious?" Headmaster Lionheart asked, standing up excitedly.
"It's not exactly good news."
"What are you talking about?" the professor asked, walking around his desk to take Qrow by the shoulders. "This is incredible news! After all these years! Where?!" Uncle Qrow shoved the man off.
"I did some digging around. Looks like, after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe."
"Raven," Lionheart said, drawing a surprised gasp from Ruby.
"Who?" Jaune asked.
"My sister," Uncle Qrow responded, pulling out his scroll and projecting a map of Remnant, before zooming in on a specific section. "That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier."
"Well, Qrow, I've got to hand it to you," the headmaster said, patting Uncle Qrow on the back. "With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks.
"A few weeks?" Uncle Qrow said angrily.
"That's right."
"Leo, maybe you didn't hear me. My sister has the Spring Maiden, and I know where she is. We need to go, as soon as possible!"
"And perhaps you didn't here me!" Lionheart said, just as angrily. "This Kingdom is in shambles. 'As soon as possible' does not mean tomorrow. It means, as so as I can convince the council that I need Huntsman more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon."
"Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen, Cloud over there is a professional merc, and these kids aren't exactly pushovers."
"Yeah!" Nora said excitedly.
"Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?" Ren asked.
"We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible," Uncle Qrow said. "And Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight."
"Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched," Headmaster Lionheart said, ignoring Uncle Qrow's muttering of "I'm stronger". "And I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe and a Maiden that's no doubt had years to hone her skills. And again, no offense, but I don't exactly trust the loyalty of a mercenary."
"Don't worry about it," Cloud said. "I've been told mercs have a pretty shitty reputation."
"We need to be positive that we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail Raven and her tribe will scatter. And we'll be lost. We get one shot at this. And it needs to be perfect." After a few seconds, Uncle Qrow sighed.
"You know Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here."
"Perhaps you're right. But he's not. I'm doing the very best I can."
"There has to be something we can do," Ruby said.
"What about Cinder?" Jaune asked. "She came with Emerald and Mercury from Haven. Do you have anything on them?"
"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon," the headmaster said. "Nothing but lies and forgeries."
Ruby and Jaune were both disappointed that the main reason they went to Haven, finding Cinder, was a total dead-end after all this travelling.
"Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo," Uncle Qrow said.
"I'm sorry. I know you've all travelled a long way. But I will do everything I can to help."
"Sure. We'll stay in the city for the time being," Uncle Qrow said, taking out his scroll and showing it to Lionheart. "Local comms are still up. Keep in touch. Come on." He turned and moved to leave the room, the group following him out. Ruby stopped and looked back at the weary-looking headmaster.
"It was nice meeting you, Professor."
"Likewise," he said.
Leonardo slumped in his seat once the group had left.
He couldn't say that it felt good lying to Qrow or those children.
Suddenly, a hologram of the letter "W" appeared over his desk.
"Oh, Leo," the condescending voice of Arthur Watts said. "We have got to work on your improvisational skills."
"Excuse me," a young voice said, grabbing Qrow's attention. He had gone out to grab dinner for the group, when a teenage boy with brown hair got his attention. "Qrow Branwen?"
Qrow took a good look at the boy, who looked nervous for some reason. Qrow's eyes widened.
Please don't be mine. Please don't be mine. Please don't be mine. He silently pleaded to himself.
That would have been difficult to explain to Aqua.
"Shut up, I'm getting there," the boy said, turning his head slightly and speaking to seemingly no one. Qrow's eyes narrowed as he looked at the boy. "Um… I'm supposed to tell you… I'd like my cane back."
Qrow let out a huge sigh of relief, reaching behind his back to grab the collapsed handle of Ozpin's cane.
"It's good to see you again, Oz," he said, tossing the cane to the boy. As soon as the boy caught it, the cane extended. He looked up at Qrow in confusion.
Qrow just chuckled.
Yang walked into the bar of a gas station, taking off her sunglasses as she approached.
"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" the bartender asked.
"A water," Yang said. "It's hot out."
"Ohh. Sure."
A few seats down, a man who had clearly had a few too many drinks started laughing. He had unkempt dark blond hair, and looking Yang up and down, not even trying to hide his lecherous gaze.
"Are you telling me you're too young to drink?" he asked. "You look like a regular Huntress. And a beauty at that."
"I'm good," Yang said. "Thanks, pal."
Why did men always seem to think they could have any of what she had going on?
Though, she had no shame in admitting that he was right about her being beautiful. She was wearing a dark beige motorcycle jacket over an orange crop top, both short enough to leave a little bit of her midriff exposed, and she had swapped out her shorts for tight black pants and brown knee-high boots.
"Seriously," the man said, still not taking the hint and walking closer to her. "Not too bulky. Not too lean. You're…"
"Just right," Yang said, rolling her eyes. "Yup. Like I said, I'm good."
"And your hair…" he said, reaching out to try to touch it.
Hell no!
She grabbed his wrist, turning to look at him with red eyes. Before he could react, her new metal arm slammed into his jaw, knocking him clear out of the bar. The bartender placed a bottle of water down on the counter.
"This one's on the house," he said. "He's been driving me crazy."
She reached for the bottle with her left hand, only to notice it starting to shake. She grabbed it with her prosthetic, forcing herself to calm down. She picked up the water and started guzzling it.
"So, what brings you around these parts?"
Yang held up a finger until she was done drinking.
"Thanks. I'm heading up to Mistral. My sister and my mom should be up there."
"Well, if you're gonna be travelling that far, be careful. Bandits like to prowl around here, ambush people on the road. The most dangerous ones are Raven's crew."
"Raven?" Yang asked, surprised. "As in Raven Branwen?"
"Yeah. She's trouble."
"Tell me about it," Yang said. "Thanks again," she said, heading out to get back on her bike.
"Hey, girlie!" the man yelled.
"Seriously?" she asked. "This isn't over?"
"I'm with Raven's tribe," he said, smiling. Yang noticed that she had knocked out one of his teeth. "You'd better get on your knees and apologize."
"Not gonna happen, punk," she said, spinning her wheels to kick up dust into his face before speeding off.
Oscar followed behind Qrow as he approached a house, the two of them carrying dinner with them. The older man knocked on the door, and a tall blond young man opened it.
"Hey, Qrow," the blond boy said.
"I'm back," the Huntsman said. "Picked someone up, too. Come on, kid."
The two of them stepped into the house, seeing another blond, an older one this time, along with a boy with long black hair and…
Probably the most beautiful girl Oscar had ever seen.
She had short ginger hair, wore a shirt with a heart-shaped cut-out on the chest, and a short, pink, puffy skirt.
Oscar felt his face heat up as he looked at this red-haired goddess standing before him.
"So, uh, who's the cute little boy?" Nora asked.
CUTE?! She thought he was CUTE!
"Please, calm down, Oscar," Ozpin's voice scolded from inside his head. "We share our thoughts, and I used to teach her."
Another girl, one with short black hair and a red cape, and was honestly also pretty cute, walked into the room.
"Oh, hey Uncle Qrow," she said. "You're back." She looked at Oscar, and that's when he noticed…
"You have silver eyes…" he said. The new girl looked at the others, who were just as confused as she was.
"Who… are you?"
"Uh… Well, my name is Oscar Pine."
"Wait for it…" Qrow said.
"But you probably know me as… Professor Ozpin?"
…
"HUH?!"
"The general is what?!"
Winter Schnee couldn't believe what she had just been told. General Ironwood and her own… father had been put in the hospital by none other than Qrow's wife, Aqua.
"Yes, ma'am," the messenger said. "Their injuries were not fatal, but both will be staying in the hospital for an extended period of time. Mr. Schnee was beaten badly and electrocuted over the course of what seems to be a few hours. The hospital staff want to check him for symptoms such as numbness, seizures, breathing problems, and any problems with his vision."
"And the general?"
"He had similar bruising consistent with physical abuse, his prosthetics were electrocuted and short circuiting when he was found with his arm and leg torn off."
"What?!" Winter exclaimed.
"The prosthetic arm and leg!" the messenger quickly said. "He was also frozen, but his Aura protected him. He has given this order to you, Specialist Schnee. If you accept you are to hunt down Aqua Branwen and bring her back by any means necessary. Mr. Schnee has also offered a ten million Lien reward for her to be brought in."
"Winter looked over the medical reports along with General Ironwood's orders. She didn't give a damn about her father's bounty, but assaulting the general?
Clearly Aqua was more insane than even Qrow if she did this.
"Where do I start?" Winter asked.
"All we know is that she took an airship and is heading for Mistral," the officer reported.
"…Get a hold of all of Mistral's air traffic and look up all the ones that had just come back from Atlas," Winter ordered. "Send the men we have to any nearby air fields to check any and all recently-arrived ships."
"Understood, Specialist."
"Was there anything else?"
"…Yes, according to reports, when Aqua Branwen left, she had your younger sister with her."
Weiss?!
"Was she alright?" Winter asked.
"We aren't sure. General Ironwood is operating under the assumption that she is using your sister as a hostage."
This was…
Winter's fists clenched.
Why would Aqua do such a thing?!
"Understood," Winter said. "Tell the general I will have Aqua Branwen in custody by the end of the week."
AN: And the plot thickens. It's honestly kind of difficult working Cloud into some of these scenes, considering the fact that he's kind of a man of few words and would likely prefer to let Ruby handle most of the talking, since she's his client.
I also thought I would throw in that little joke about Qrow being scared that Oscar is his just to show how much he's changed since he met Aqua.
Now, for my Ironwood tangent.
I recently re-watched Volume 7 and 8, and I came to a realization about why Ironwood makes some of the decisions that he makes, and how he ultimately made them wrong.
Essentially, some of Ironwood's decisions are made because he's trying to basically be the next Ozpin, but he doesn't understand why Oz did the things that he did.
For example, he made Penny the Protector of Mantle because he was taking Ozpin's suggestion about the difference between what an army represents and what a guardian represents to heart. He made Penny the Protector of Mantle so they had a guardian to look to and feel safe. The problem is that she was made a guardian on top of an already-established military presence, which caused the people of Mantle to just look at her as another one of Ironwood's drones. It's telling that "the Protector of Mantle" was a title that Ironwood gave her, and not the people of Mantle, since they already picked Robyn as their Hometown Hero. In fact, no one from Mantle ever refers to Penny by that title until she helps repel the Grimm at the end of Volume 7, except for Robyn, who says it sarcastically. In fact, when she says it Penny was currently stopping supplies that were supposed to go to Mantle from reaching the people that needed it, further driving the home the irony that she was "the Protector of Mantle", but Mantle just saw her as an oppressor, just like how they viewed Ironwood.
Another example was his decision to create his own Inner Circle, since Oz had one. He had a group of people he could trust that he told about Salem. The problem is that Ironwood was incapable of ever fully trusting anyone but himself. Unlike Ozpin, who wasn't afraid of having a dissenting voice in his ear, as evidenced by how often he fought with Ironwood, James saw dissent as a sign of disloyalty. Therefore, instead of surrounding himself with people who would be able to offer up new ideas if they thought he was going down the wrong path, he just surrounded himself with people who were already trained/conditioned/indoctrinated to not question him, leading to his bad decisions going unchallenged and reinforced.
The irony is that as much as Oz famously didn't fully trust anyone with the truth, he still offered more real trust to people than Ironwood did.
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!