Qrow needed a drink. A real one. Everything was giving him a headache.

First there was being poisoned, leaving Ruby and her friends defenseless. Then, there was waking up to hear the news that Jimmy just closed Atlas's borders, panicking pretty much everyone.

Now, Leonardo closed down Haven and sent everyone packing, leaving the relics defenseless, against Ozpin's orders.

"You know, Oz wouldn't be happy about any of this, if he were here." Qrow drawled, looking right at Leonardo.

The headmaster avoided his gaze, which made Qrow sigh. He remembered a time when Lionheart would have stared straight into the eyes of death, and tell it to fuck off. Now he won't even look into the eyes of an old friend.

"...Now that you mention him..." Leonardo muttered, pulling an envelope from his drawer. There was a broken wax seal emblazoned with the symbol of Vale, probably from Beacon or the Council.

"I received this from Glynda yesterday. To say it took me by surprise would be an... understatement." Lionheart continued, handing it to Qrow.

Raising an eyebrow, Qrow took the envelope, opening it and reading what's inside.

Leonardo,

I hope this letter finds you well. Nothing new to share, but I hope Haven and your students are alright. Goodness knows with how much panic is going on nowadays.

Reclaiming Beacon is going... slowly. While we have contained the Grimm to just the school, the rest of Vale is still exuding negativity, which is only making the Grimm more desperate in their attempts to go into the city. Nothing we couldn't handle however.

This may seem as an odd request for you, but could you do me a favor and help an old friend of mine? He's come back from a trip sooner than expected, and is looking for an old heirloom. Hopefully, he'll be coming to Mistral with another associate, the one with the black bird.

With regards,

Glynda

Qrow gaped, reading the letter. Ozpin's back? So soon? Didn't he say it took him years to come back?

"Well?" Leonardo urges, looking back and forth between him and the kids. "Which one is he?"

Team RNJR frowns, looking at each other, not understanding what was happening. "You okay, uncle Qrow?"

Qrow snapped out of it, shaking his head and looking at Lionheart. "He's not any of the kids, that's for sure. But Leo, this is great news!" Qrow says, grinning.

"Is it?" Leonardo asks, frowning. "Glynda said it herself. He's back, much sooner than we expected. What does it mean?"

Before Qrow could answer, Ruby spoke up. "Uhhh, Uncle Qrow? What are you two talking about? Who's back?"

Leonardo looked back at Qrow, a mixture of exasperation, confusion, and agitation on his expression. "You didn't tell them?!"

"I only told them what they needed to know!"

"Well, what did you tell them?"

"The basics! Salem, the Gods, the maidens, the relics-"

"And you didn't tell them about Ozpin?!"

"Hey!" Both grown men looked back again at the teenagers. "What about Ozpin?" The short one with the grenade launcher- Nora- asks.

Qrow sighed. "Maybe you four should sit down. It's a long story..."

Arthur Watts couldn't help but be fascinated by the Seer Grimm. A creature that could be used both for visual and verbal communication is quite interesting, even if it was probably magic.

But still, fascination or not, Arthur wasn't going near any of them again.

Not after one was doing it's best to crush his windpipe with it's tentacles.

"Say that again...?" Salem asked through the Seer, voice deceptively calm. This did nothing to calm Arthur down.

Forcing the words out even as he was choking, Watts spoke. "L-Lionheart has reported that... that O-Ozpin has returned... coming to Mistral!"

"So soon?" Salem growled, and the tentacle tightened around his neck.

"Just... the messenger..."

A moment of silence, and the Seer's tentacles slackened, letting Watts collapse to the floor, coughing and wheezing.

"And where is Lionheart now?" Salem demanded, the Seer in front of Arthur now raising it's spiked tentacles threateningly.

"In a meeting- cough!- with Qrow Branwen and his students. Ozpin's little attack bird survived Tyrian's poison." Watts even had a secret camera inside Leonardo's office, along with a recording bug in the mahogany desk to listen in. All with the headmaster's knowledge, of course.

"..." Salem was silent, either stewing in rage or contemplating on what horror to bestow on her nemesis' latest host. "Bring Lionheart here, as soon as you can. The attack on Haven will still go as planned, although some adjustments will be made for new... variables."

Watts nodded, straightening himself. "It will be done Ma'am."

The Seer retreated to his bag. "Do not disappoint me, Watts..."

And with that ominous farewell, the Grimm went dormant.

"Ozpin's... immortal?"

The silver-eyed girl looked at Qrow in disbelief. Leonardo felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. He felt the same way when he was revealed the truth.

"Yup." Qrow answered with his usual grace. "He's cursed to keep on hopping into new bodies, till he manages to kill Her for good."

"And you knew about this? Why didn't you tell us?" The blonde boy- John, if he remembers correctly- speaks up.

"The same reason why we didn't tell the rest of the kingdoms about magic, or the maidens and relics. They'll think we're insane at best, or panic at worst. Either way, it draws the Grimm." Leonardo explains. "We'll only make Her job easier."

Oh, the irony.

"So where's Ozpin 2.0 now? The letter said he'd be traveling with Mr. Branwen." Miss Valkyrie asks, sprawled on a seat.

"I dunno. Leo said he got the envelope yesterday, but with how reliable the mail system is, Glynda could have made it last week or last month. Either way, Oz's new incarnation hasn't contacted me or Leo yet." Qrow explains.

"Well, at least we have backup. Magical backup, too!" Ruby says, optimistic.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, kid. But Oz ain't gonna be able to do much magic without this." Qrow pulls out a familiar handle, pressed it once, and the rest of the cane sprouted out from within.

"The professor's cane?" The silent young man, Ren, asks.

"Mhm. It's also the only way Oz can use his magic. Without it, all he and his host wouldn't be able to do much."

A sudden blur flew in front of Qrow and Lionheart, nearly giving the latter a heart attack.

Nora leans into Qrow, smile a bit too wide. "So it's magic?! What can we do with it? Is there a super secret curse that would kill us if we use it too long? Ooh, can it make me a giant snake? Make me a giant snake!"

Instead of making a giant snake, Qrow lightly smacks the girl away. ("Ow!") "We can't use it, cause we don't have magic. Think of it as a bow with no arrows. Besides, why would you want a giant snake?"

"To kill it." Nora says, as if the answer was obvious.

"Right..." Qrow turns to Leonardo. "This is the first great news you gave us. But there's one more thing I need to be sure of. Cinder and her cronies-"

"I hate to disappoint you Qrow, but we found nothing. Everything about them were lies and forgeries." Leonardo said quickly.

Qrow raises an eyebrow, but it was the John boy that looked more upset than anything.

At last, Qrow sighs. "We'll be staying in the city." The huntsman informed Leo, wagging his Scroll. "Keep in touch."

As the students file out of the room, Leonardo only slumps when the door is closed.

Children. Now he will be responsible for the deaths of children too...

"Boss! There's a trespasser at the camp! She-"

"So? Kill her."

"We're trying Boss! But she's kicking the shit out of everyone! You and Vernal need to get here, please!"

A pause.

"What does she look like?"

"What-"

"The trespasser. What does she look like?"

"I- she's blonde, got red eyes, has some metal arm she painted green-"

"Let her pass."

"W-What?"

Raven glared at the man. The bandit got the hint and scurried off.

"So, my daughter was strong enough after all..."