AN: Sorry that this a little bit.
I want to thank Lord Maximus and ZeroTheOne for the help with this chapter.
Chapter 103
"Raven, we have a problem," Vernal said, barging into her leader's camp and interrupting Raven's daily routine of sharpening her sword.
"What is it?" Raven asked, annoyed at the interruption.
"Salem's found us," Vernal reported, startling Raven. It took the bandit queen a few seconds to recover from her shock.
"Salem… okay."
"Five of her followers are waiting to speak with you."
Raven stood up, and took a shaky breath. "Right. We planned for this… Bring me my helmet."
Emerald warily looked around at the fallen bandits on the ground as a woman with long black hair and wearing a Grimm mask stepped out of the largest tent in the center of the camp. Sephiroth, standing at the head of their group with Cinder dutifully behind him, smirked.
"I don't recall inviting so many guests into our home," the bandit's leader, Raven, said. "Either I'm losing my memory, or you've all lost your spines!" Raven yelled at the remaining bandits, whom were standing nervously around them.
"Some were brave," Sephiroth said. "They paid the price. The others are clearly the smart ones. Now, unless you're just as stupid as them, you'll hear us out. But to be honest, I hope you're going to be stupid."
Raven's expression couldn't be read behind her mask, and she turned to address the other bandits. "Leave us. Pack your things, then break down camp. We're moving." The bandits quickly scattered to do just that, clearly much more eager to do anything else than face the possibility of fighting Sephiroth.
"Little late to run and hide," Watts said. "You've been on our master's list for some time, so you must understand that we cannot allow you to slip away."
"I know all about your master, but I don't believe we've met," Raven said.
"We're the guys you should be afraid of," Mercury said smugly.
"Nice scar," Raven said to him dismissively.
"Why you-!" Mercury tried to say.
"Silence, pup," Sephiroth said without looking at the boy. "I'm almost tempted to let her at you. I'm sure she'd like to. The girl you humiliated in Vale was her daughter. You certainly aren't as useful to us as Raven is." Mercury's eyes widened, and Emerald couldn't help but feel a little satisfied. If Cinder was angry enough at him at scar his face after what he did to Yang, what would the girl's mother do to him?
"…Who are you?" Raven asked. "I recognize the Fall Maiden and the scientist, but I've never seen you before."
"My name is Sephiroth." Watts cleared his throat.
"Technically, I was also a doctor," he chimed in.
"Supposedly, you have something Salem wants. For your sake, that had better be correct."
"Vernal!" Raven ordered, and a bandit woman with short hair stepped forward. Sephiroth smirked.
"The elusive Spring Maiden, I presume," he said. "Show me."
Raven and Vernal glanced at each other, and Raven nodded. Vernal sighed and closed her eyes, holding out her hand. The wind started to pick up, the sky turning gray and clouds forming. They could hear the sound of thunder, and Emerald had to cover her eyes when a bolt of lightning suddenly impact the ground in front of them. She felt a large hand hold her shoulder, and was surprised to see that it was Sephiroth. He looked down to her briefly before looking back up at Vernal, and for some reason…
He started chuckling.
Vernal eventually lowered her hand, the weather settling back to normal as she opened her eyes. Sephiroth continued looking amused.
"Vernal has done well under my guidance. I'd take into consideration before you try anything," Raven said.
"The fact that you think you can hurt me is frankly amusing," Sephiroth said. "You try anything, and you'll be dead before you can draw your sword. It's in your best interest to just shut up and listen."
"The Maidens are merely a means to an end," Watts said, stepping forward. "Salem's true desires are the Relics locked inside the Huntsman Academies. Come with us. Allow Vernal here to unlock the Relic of Knowledge, and all previous acts of defiance against Salem will be forgiven." Emerald noticed that Sephiroth's smirk returned when Watts mentioned Vernal's name for some reason. "It's the best deal either of you are going to get."
"You talk as if walking straight into Haven will be easy," Raven countered.
"It will," Watts said. "Leonardo is loyal to our master. All we need is the key to the vault. You already turned your back on Ozpin already, what's one extra step?"
"I'm not helping Salem, I'm not helping Oz!" Raven said, gripping the hilt of her sword. "I don't want a part in any of this!"
"That ship has sailed," Sephiroth commented. "If you thought that Salem would just ignore you harboring a Maiden, you're even dumber than I thought. Cinder here has the ability to take Maiden powers from others. You have a choice. Either Vernal goes to Haven, or everyone in this camp dies and Cinder does it herself." Cinder said nothing, as always.
"I need time to think this over," Raven said.
"You don't have time," Watts said. "In a few days, Haven Academy will be destroyed by the White Fang. You're going to choose now."
"Backed me into a corner, huh?" Raven asked. After a few seconds, she finally took her hand off the hilt of her sword and removed her mask. "Agreements like these are built on trust. And forgive me for saying, but I don't trust a single one of you. You're going to need to give me more."
"You are in a poor position to negotiate."
"I want my brother dead," Raven suddenly said, surprising Emerald.
"Who's that?" Sephiroth asked.
"Her brother is Qrow," Emerald explained.
"I see," Sephiroth said with a smirk.
"That's right," Raven said. "He knows I have Spring. And if I help you get your Relics, he's going to become an even bigger problem than he already is. I have enough problems to deal with. He hates me, but he trusts Ozpin's other lieutenants. If Leo really is loyal to you, then you can order him to invite Qrow into an ambush. He arrives at Haven, we take him down, you get your Relic, and we all leave happy."
"Interesting," Sephiroth said.
"Wait, let's pause for a moment," Watts said. "We have our objective- retrieving the Relic of Knowledge. Now Qrow Branwen may be on our list of individuals we would very much like dead, but he's not going to go down without a fight, and he's not going to fight quietly. Our advantage here is just as you said- we walk straight into Haven, no resistance, no one the wiser. A battle with your brother throws that all out the window."
"He's good, but not that good," Raven argued. "All of us against him? It'll be over in a heartbeat."
"But it's not just him," Emerald said. "He has the students with him. He has Ruby! And that mercenary she hired! We don't know what he's capable of."
"Ah, yes. Cloud is with her," Sephiroth said.
"If we leave that school a bloody mess, we will draw the attention of the authorities!" Watts said. "The Kingdom will be on high alert, and the White Fang's attack will be ruined!"
"If keeping your promise to the pawns matters so much to you, then wait until the day of the attack. I can kill Cloud, Raven can kill Qrow, and Salem gets her trinket."
"Then, Salem leaves my people alone. For good," Raven said.
"You have a deal," Sephiroth said, holding out his hand with a smirk to attempt to shake her hand. However, Watts, clearly not knowing who he was dealing with, grabbed the silver-haired man's wrist. Sephiroth looked up at the man with a scowl.
"What do you think you're doing?" Watts demanded. "You can't just alter the plan like this for your personal vendetta."
"Unhand me, or you'll lose the hand," Sephiroth said, and after a second, Watts complied. "What Salem wants doesn't matter to me. Unlike you, I don't work for her." Watt's eyes widened, before Sephiroth turned his attention back to Raven. "As for you, you have yourself a deal." He held his hand out again, and after a while, Raven shook it.
"So what is this about, Midas?"
Midas Goult stared down the three highly-ranked mercenaries he had hired to take revenge on the blonde girl and her group. Adorning his face, near his right eye was a trio of new scars, thanks to that damn lion of hers. "Gentlemen, I have a problem with some Huntsmen that I need to be handled immediately. I'm willing to pay handsomely."
"There are still some Huntsmen around? Mistral seems to have lost most of them from what I heard," the dark-skinned man with a sickle for an arm said.
This was Daniel Robitalle, a dangerous assassin with Huntsman training, even though he never attended any academy. He was ruthless, skilled, and took any dangerous mission as long as he was paid.
"These are from out of town," Midas said, bringing up his scroll and showing them pictures of their targets.
"What? A few Huntsmen and a group of kids…" the second member, Hidekazu Kobayashi, laughed. He was a very tall man with a large mane of dark pinkish hair, "This will be too easy."
The third one, Chuck Hector, looked over the picture and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, but they might have some tricks up their sleeves… I know a couple of them. One of the is Qrow Branwen, former member of Team STRQ, twin brother of Raven Branwen, who's the leader of the Branwen tribe, and was Ozpin's right hand."
That caused the other two to pause.
"And with him is his wife, Aqua Branwen." Chuck smirked. "Word has it she's as skilled a Huntress as he is and that she's wanted in Atlas for… assaulting Jacques Schnee and General Ironwood."
"What?!" Hidekazu gaped.
"Yes, here is their file," Midas said, uploading their files to their scrolls.
Daniel held his up. "Name: Qrow Branwen, a professional Huntsman that wields a sword that changes into a scythe or a gun. His Semblance is unknown. Threat level: High."
Chuck was next. "Name: Aqua Branwen. Her hunting record only goes back a decade, but it says she was born outside the kingdoms and raised in a temple, but the location is unknown. She wields a key-shaped sword that she can somehow summon and dismiss, possibly as part of her Semblance, which is the ability to summon crystal copies of people she emotionally bonds with. Threat level: High bordering on extreme."
Hidekazu perked up at the mention of Aqua's Semblance. "Summon?! Is she a Schnee?"
"Apparently not, but one of them is a Schnee," Daniel answered, holding up a picture of Weiss. "Name: Weiss Schnee, daughter of Schnee Dust Company President Jacques Schnee and Willow Schnee. She's apparently been disinherited, but still retains a large amount of Lien that she took when she raw away. Her weapon is a rapier than she can channel Dust through, and her Semblance is the classic Schnee family Semblance for summoning Glyphs in a number of ways. Threat Level: Medium."
"WHAT?!" Hidekazu screamed, making everyone jump as a furious look appeared on the crime boss's face.
"What's the big deal?" Chuck asked, annoyed and confused.
"I've had a bone to pick with the Schnees for a long time," Hidekazu said angrily. "I will make that girl suffer for her family's crimes. Leave her to me. If anyone gets my way, I will kill them with my bare hands!"
"Fine but speak to me like that again and you won't be leaving here alive," Chuck spat.
"Hah, you'd be dead before you could raise that robot arm of yours," Hidekazu retorted.
Midas immediately butt in. "Knock it off, both of you! I hired you both to be professionals! Kill each other on your own time, not mine!"
Chuck and Hidekazu glared at Midas, but complied.
"Now then, on the matter of revenge, I have my own target," Midas said, holding up a picture of Yang. "This one."
"Hmm… Yang Xiao Long, daughter to Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen of the Branwen tribe, but has apparently been living with Qrow and Aqua, since the latter is listed as her adopted mother, half sibling to Ruby Rose. A former student from Beacon that possesses high-powered gauntlets, and a Semblance that can absorb kinetic energy from enemy attacks, and strike back with the power added from her enemy's attacks. Threat Level: High but potentially Extreme." Daniel said, looking at Yang's file. "Isn't she the one who had a sex video leaked to the public by her boyfriend?"
"Yes. Do please mention that to her and see if it riles her up," Midas advised. "Now there are four more Huntsmen- and Huntress-in-Training in training with them and an unknown one."
"And there is her half-sister: Ruby Rose. Daughter of Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose, yet is listed as the adopted daughter of Aqua Branwen like her sister. Yet another student from Beacon, and a Huntress-in-training. Even though she's the youngest, she's fast and deadly. Like her Uncle Qrow, she wields a sword that can change into a scythe and sniper, and like her aunt, she can somehow summon it, and the weapon is key-shaped. Her Semblance seems to be rose-themed, as she can summon petals, vines, and move at superhuman speed," Chuck continued. "Threat Level: High but possibly Extreme."
"Hmm… Nora Valkyire, parents: unknown, place of birth: unknown. A former student from Beacon that uses her Warhammer than can change into a grenade launcher. Her Semblance allows her to absorb massive amounts of electricity and using it to charge her muscles to gain superhuman strength. Threat Level: Medium," Daniel continued, bringing up the next file. "Jaune Arc, originates from Vale and descendant from a long line of Huntsmen and Huntresses, and the former partner of the Invincible Girl Pyrrha Nikos. Wields a sword and shield with the ability to combine into a two-handed sword. Former student of Beacon, and his Semblance is unknown. "Threat Level: low when alone."
"And their final member is Lie Ren. A skilled martial artist with twin pistols with blades on them. Semblance unknown and threat level is medium," Chuck said before looking at Cloud and Oscar. "Any ideas on them?"
"Nothing, but the blond man seems to be skilled from what I saw, so I would put him at a high level, while the boy is barely worth a glance," Midas answered.
"Well, the bounty from the Branwens alone should make this worth it," Chuck said, closing his scroll. "A chance to put down more of Ozpin's men is always a welcome one for me."
"Now then, gentlemen," Midas said, leaning forward. "Let's get to work."
Ghira launched himself off a pillar, pouncing on a White Fang soldier and slashing him with his claws. He grabbed the spear of another charging soldier, throwing her at Fennec, knocking him down. Corsac pointed his dagger at him, which began to glow red. Ghira, growling threw the spear at him as the Fox Faunus launched a fireball at him. The spear travelled through the fireball, making it explode, before continuing to travel straight ahead and pinning Corsac to the wall by his hood.
"Brother!" Fennec shouted, getting up and making his weapon glow as he activated the Dust inside it. As he was about to launch his attack, Tifa jumped in front of him, grabbing him by the wrist and wrenching it down before kicking him in the face. He rolled to recover, trying to slash at the young woman, but deflected the attack with an open palm, punching him hard in the stomach and making him recoil. At that moment, the window shattered, and Sun jumped in, kicking Fennec away. Corsac finally managed to rip his hood off and free himself, quickly helping his brother get up. Blake then jumped down from the balcony, pointing her weapon at the brothers.
"Dad!" she said. "Where's Mom?"
"I'm not sure," Ghira said. "I got ambushed right away."
"Once we take down Corsac and Fennec—" Blake tried to say before her father interrupted her.
"No, go now."
"But—"
"Tifa and I have this covered," Ghira said, as the woman took up a defensive stance next to him. "Go find your mother."
"Go on," Tifa said. "These two need to learn their lesson."
"Go, you two!" Ghira said, before devoting his full attention to the Albain brothers.
"…Fine!" Blake said, she and Sun turning to look for Kali. "Just be safe!"
"We'll be fine!" Tifa said. "Just go!"
The situation was worse than Raven had feared it would be. It was just a matter of time before Salem's people found her, but she wasn't expecting anyone like that Sephiroth man.
She couldn't remember the last time she felt a presence that overwhelming.
She heard the flap of her tent open, but she didn't look up. "Yes, Vernal?"
"I followed them as you asked," her second-in-command reported.
"Did they spot you?" Raven asked, prompting Vernal to scoff.
"Of course not. The have a ship two klicks west of here, looks like they're staying there for now."
"Thank you, Vernal. Anything else?"
"Do you… actually believe they'll let us go once they have the Relic?" Vernal asked uncertainly.
"Of course not," Raven answered. "They'll never leave us alone. Once our purpose has come and gone, we'll be discarded. Salem only uses people until they are not longer useful. If we want to have any chance of defending ourselves against her, then we need this Relic." She stood up. "If Qrow and those brats want to follow Ozpin, then let them. When the chaos reaches its peak, we'll grab the Relic and make our escape."
"And the fact that your daughter will be a part of all that?"
"Doesn't matter. This path won't be easy for us either, but we must do what's right for the tribe."
"I know. I'll do whatever it takes."
"Good."
Qrow leaned against the railing of the balcony, looking out over the night's sky, his scroll in his hand and opened to a particular page. Aqua had fallen asleep, and he had only gotten half-dressed to come out, only wearing his pants. He had something on his mind.
He and Aqua had been married for two years now, and they hadn't been able to celebrate either of their first two wedding anniversaries.
A problem he was currently trying to do something about.
He knew that they had big mission coming up, but he was allowed to do something for his wife, especially since they still needed to really celebrate her getting her legs back, even if Jimmy had apparently gone nuts.
He was taken out of his thoughts when he felt a pair of slender arms wrap themselves around him from behind. He smiled as he put his scroll back in his pocket, before putting his hands on hers.
"Are you okay?" Aqua asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Qrow said. "Just got a lot on my mind."
"Anything in particular?"
"Nothing you need to worry about," he said, turning around to give her a kiss, only to be stopped when he saw what she was wearing.
Adorning her lower body was only a pair of black panties, and on her upper body was a very familiar grey button-up shirt.
It was his.
Only a single button had been done up in the middle of the shirt, leaving the deep valley of her cleavage exposed, and the bottom half was open as well, revealing her stomach.
He could feel his jaw practically hit the floor.
Even after all these years, she still amazed him every time he looked at her.
"See something you like?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"You…" he said, finding it hard to find the words. "You're so beautiful."
"Thank you," she said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. "And you're very handsome."
He could keep looking in the morning.
For now, all he could do was greedily take her lips.
He had a feeling they weren't going to get much more sleep tonight.
Blake and Sun burst into the atrium, Blake quickly noticing Ilia standing on the balcony above them, weapon in hand.
"Sun, go," Blake said. "Find my mom."
"You got this?" he asked.
"Yes."
"…Fine," he said, turning to go look for Blake's mother. Ilia moved to stop him, but Blake quickly fired at her, making her abandon that action.
"Let's finish this," Blake said.
Ilia said nothing, and got into a fighting stance.
AN: I wanted to do another bit of fluff with Qrow and Aqua, and I'm taking a little bit of liberties with the timeline of when the Battle of Haven happens. In canon, it's basically like a day away. That's not the case here. I want to have a nice family moment, since they haven't had a chance to celebrate their first two anniversaries, so I want to have that for them before they go back to doing their jobs.
So, these OCs that I introduced in this chapter were donated to me by Lord Maximus, like Midas was. Here are the descriptions that he provided for me, pretty much word-for word.
"The first is Daniel Robitalle, based off the Candyman who was based off a tale only he's still human, not a demon. He is only interested in money and will take any job to do it. His Semblance allows him to control swarms of killer bees and he has a robotic arm with a sickle instead of a right arm that can change into a gun to fire different kind of Dust modified bullets and can be used a grappling hook. His personality is similar to the Candyman as he works as an assassin, taking on jobs for killing high valued targets and doesn't care about how immoral his methods are, as long as he gets paid.
The second is Chuck Hector, a former Huntsmen who lost his wife and family in a Grimm attack and has since gone rogue with his own idea of justice and believes Ozpin who convinced Ironwood to give him his new arm and the Kingdoms saw all Huntsmen as disposable pawns and sought to become his own kind of hunter that carries out his own method of justice, even though less than honourable and he deeply hates Ozpin and those associated with him in the same manner as Hazel.
He had lost his arm in the attack and like Yang and Daniel it was replaced with a robotic arm with a gigantic mechanical arm with three pronged figures, big enough to hold a person with a Gatling-gun design for the wrist and forearm for the outside portion in which the inside was a giant cannon barrel, held together by large bolts at the wrist. He is a prodigy that graduated from Beacon at a young age like Ozpin did, with a Semblance that manifests as a hurricane. I posted their appearances on a previous message. Anyways he also carries a short orange sword with a gun handle that is called Furious Stinger.
And the third person I had in mind is named Hidekazu Kobayashi:
Appearance: Hidekazu stand's around 7'4 tall, with a huge and massive muscular build. He wears a black and dark pink sleeveless samurai-like yukata that has ancient Japanese words on the front sides and is open on the torso area to reveal his big muscular abs, bandage wrapped around his lower arms area, dark pink armor plates made of titanium on the higher arms area and on the neck and brown Geta shoes on his feet. He also has huge mane of dark pinkish hair, very pale skin tone while having a red and black Kabuki makeup on his face with black lips along with a small pointy black goatee beard.
Personality: Hidekazu is overall, an eccentric character, perhaps the most within the 'Tetsu Kirazu' gang(even though he is the mighty leader of them). He seems to honor the samurai code of honor very heavily as he comically attempts to take his own life after dishonoring himself. As he accepts the blame for nearly anything, even the faults of others, this happens quite often in his appearances. Before he commits seppuku, however, he instinctively activates his Aura unintentionally saving his own life in a rather comical way.
Hidekazu also is a person who thinks that 'real men' shouldn't cry or give up. Hidekazu resembles a character in kabuki (traditional Japanese theater). He is a very loud character, and he has a strange way of speaking, talks rather slowly and tends to repeat or draw out syllables and words in the manner of kabuki actors.
But still, he is powerful and brutal leader of the 'Tetsu Kirazu' gang while also showing himself to be a warrior that shows no mercy to anyone. He has also grown a big hatred of Jacques Schnee and the SDC after Jacque destroyed his family's famous theater, and he made himself a promise that he would have revenge. He hates the Schnee family as much as Hazel hates Ozpin and the moment he hears about Weiss being with their enemies he singles her out as the one he wants to kill above all others.
Powers and Abilities: His Semblance allows him to control and manipulate his own hair, making large fists or multiple spears out of it and he can even combine Dust with his hair in the same manner Hazel injects Dust into his own body, causing his hair to change colour to match that Dust he uses and since it is only in his hair he avoids feeling pain.
Weapon: Hidekazu's weapon is called 'Hageshi Fukushu' (Translation: Furious Revenge). This weapon is a long and impressive looking dark pink and black metallic Khakkhara staff that can change to a Sniper Rifle with a silencer and also can activate a Buzz Saw Blade from the top of the staff. It can also activate an burning aura on the top of the staff with some Fire Dust in it and can make powerful attacks with it, but also can shoot many other dust like Ice, Lightning and Wind Dust."
If you have questions about the OCs, I would suggest asking Lord Maximus directly, as they're his characters and know them better than me. The story line with Midas was also almost entirely provided to me by Lord Maximus as well.
Also, ZeroTheOne was the one that suggested Midas getting that new scar on his face.
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!