A Cosmic Journey

A/N: Happy Monday to everyone again. It has come to my attention through a PM that I somehow passed the 100K word mark, something that completely flew over my head. So this week is me officially celebrating the longest piece of fiction I've written to date, woohoo! And, you know, the fact that some people like reading it, I hope. Now for some reviews.

Raidentensho: A naginata mode definitely sounds promising, but I'm not sure how it'd work with the hilts of Mirror's Edge being where the magazines are switched. Far more improbable weapon combos have been displayed in the show though, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. As for weight training, it'd certainly be nice to have that weakness of Kouzai's be covered, but I think the potential muscle imbalances would be an obstacle. Maybe if there's uniform pressure, like some sort of increased gravity device like from DBZ, that'd work.

Gizmo Gear: You can't spend nearly four years with a person and not pick up at least some of their habits. In this case, it happens to be not putting up with Ozpin's shenanigans, something that Beaconpoint Kouzai is all too happy to emulate.

AlexFalTon: Well, I'm happy to deliver surprises with my writing, so long as they're believable. Even for a consummate badass like Sun, there's no way he'd be able to survive Argus' cold climate for years without a wardrobe change. Aura is handy, but likely not that handy.

Oblivious IJ: I can see where the similarities between Chronometry and the Sharingan overlap, but I've written in some differences as well. For one, Kouzai doesn't have the ability to mimic body movements after seeing them, considering that's the entire point of Velvet's Mimicry semblance. He also doesn't really have the same predictive ability that Sharingan users are portrayed to have in seeing patterns of movement; Chronometry is more of having the time to react to enemies already committing to an attack. Those kinds of differences are what keep Chronometry reasonable in my opinion, and hopefully don't step on the toes of the semblances of canon characters. Thank you for making the comparison though, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

The Inquisitor: I gotta tell you, while complete planetary destruction would certainly solve the Grimm problem, along with a lot of other ones, I believe that Kouzai's rather fond of living. Not to mention the fact that he's likely out of 1ups, so wiping out Remnant wouldn't end well for him. I'll keep it in my back pocket though.

Chapter 13: Curses, Like Chickens

Chapter Date: 11/18/19

"Hah…hah…hah…"

"Are you alright, Kouzai? Did you seek to expend some excess energy during your walk?"

"Aww, man! If you wanted a workout, you should've asked me! We could've sparred, but noooo, now it's just me feeling antsy!"

"Nora, a spar between the two of you within Shion would've likely levelled a building. And you normally feel antsy."

"…And?..."

I managed to catch my breath during their banter, but my thoughts and heart rate were still racing. 'Qrow, here? Raven, here? Qrow and Raven, HERE?!' Something was severely off, or I was missing some piece of the puzzle here. Having peeked into the tavern, I'd seen Raven Branwen for the first time in two years, talking to Qrow, who he and I had the mutual misfortune of meeting each other. 'Please tell me she didn't notice me before she portaled out.'

The important thing though was that she had left, meaning she was no longer here, and hopefully not thinking of attacking Shion with her tribe anytime soon, if ever. So we might have avoided death by bandit attack, again. Qrow, though…

"Did you encounter something outside? Or someone?" Ren inquired, trying to interpret my expression and posture. Knowing I was caught, I nodded.

"Yeaaaahh, so turns out I bumped into a huntsman, from Beacon of all places." I thought fast as to how to spin this, and what I was spinning towards.

"OOH, we have to meet him! And get his autograph! And FIGHT him! Not necessarily in that order." Nora seemed ready to march out of the room, Magnhild in hand. Before semblance-powered sparring catastrophe struck the town, I grabbed Nora's shoulders and dug my heels in.

"Not so fast. It's nighttime right now, and who knows if he's working, so we shouldn't disturb him. Plus, he appeared to be a bit…out of sorts when I encountered him, due to distractions of the alcoholic variety."

"How…would he be working if he is heavily intoxicated?" Ren asked the obvious question.

"Considering it's apparently his default state-I mean, not every mission needs to be combat-oriented," I corrected. "He could be gathering information that required him blending in with the townsfolk."

Ren seemed doubtful, and to be honest I kind of was too, if Volume 6 was any indication of Qrow's efficiency when on a bender. Nora, though…

"So he's a fighter by day, and a spy by night. A man's man, smooth with the ladies…" Nora faked a gruff voice and grim face, before perking back up. "That settles it! We've gotta meet him tomorrow!"

I sighed, resigning myself to the search of a determined Nora. 'At least it isn't as bad as her idea to search for unicorn Grimm." Even Ren seemed thoughtful.

"Getting input on Beacon Academy from an accomplished huntsman would certainly be useful," Ren considered. "I'm just unsure of how difficult it will be to find him."

"That could be tough," I conceded. "If he's on assignment, he'll probably have to move fast, so tracking him down could take us a while even if he's still in Shion…"

… … …

"…Or he could be very easy to find," I sighed, a hand on my face. Somewhere, I must've been channeling Ruby's spirit, be it from the past, present or future.

"Are we…sure, that this is the individual in question? I believe your initial estimate on his level of intoxication was inexact." Ren stared skeptically towards the ground. Next to him, Nora bounced up and down on her feet.

"Oh, he's totally blasted. But that sword on his back's definitely for a Huntsman, or at least a good fighter. And look at him!" Another glance down at the slumped figure, no less than half a dozen bottles of what looked to be whiskey sloppily placed on and around him. "His tolerance is definitely superhuman."

"But perhaps not the kind we're looking for," I pointed out, before bending down. Having predicted we might come across a scene like this, I'd come prepared. "You both might wanna stand back…and get ready to catch me…"

Gripping the full bucket with one hand, I grasped Mirror's Edge with the other, and took a deep breath…before upending over a gallon of cold water on Qrow.

Even using Chronometry and having been prepared, I almost didn't get Mirror's Edge up in time before Harbinger crashed into the flat of the blade. The force behind the slash still had me forcibly backpedaling a few steps, before regaining my footing and digging Mirror's Edge into the ground in a move reminiscent of the sopping wet man across from me.

"The hell was that for, punk?" Qrow growled as he advanced on me, Harbinger still in his hand, albeit in its half-blade form. "Haven't you ever heard of letting a man get his shut-eye?"

'Don't freak out, Don't freak out, don't freak out.' I tossed the bucket behind me as I heard Ren deftly catch it, my eyes still focused on Qrow. "Not when it means letting a drunk three sheets to the wind lay whiskey-soaked in front of a tavern in the middle of town. The owner asked us to get you up."

"Pff, nice try," Qrow slurred. "The barkeep and I have an understanding. It was just easier to sleep off the night outside than trying to get upstairs."

"While I'm not sure if you're lying or not, and that's sad in of itself, the fact of the matter is you're kind of making Huntsmen in general look like idiots. And you're kind of in broad daylight in the middle of a village." My bluntness had Qrow looking sideways for a moment.

"…Still a stupid move to try and wake a Huntsmen like that, kid," Qrow muttered. "If you'd been a civilian, I could've accidentally cut your head off, or something similar."

"Eh, I'll assume that most civilians know better than to try and wake what looks like a huntsman with what definitely looks like a bad hangover." Qrow winced, the headache appearing to throb at my prompting. "Plus, you're a trained huntsman; you've got better instincts than that. I saw that you noted my weapon in front of me before lashing out with yours."

Qrow nodded slowly, before holstering Harbinger. "Good eyes kid. Speaking of, I noticed you…wait, you're that kid I bumped into last night!"

I did a small bow ironically reminiscent of Qrow during his fight with Winter in Volume 3. "Pleasure to see you again, despite nearly coming to blows with me twice now. And what was that about my eyes?"

Qrow squinted as I gazed up at him, and I realized he was checking to see if my eyes were silver. Indulging him, I activated Chronometry and felt the Aura pass over my irises. "Did you mean this?"

"…Guess you're not naturally silver-eyed then. Figured it was a long shot anyways; I've only met a couple other people with real silver eyes in my time," Qrow muttered as I cut the flow of Aura.

"Sorry, it's my semblance, not my real eye color. Wait, there are actually people with real silver irises?" I asked for consistency's sake, even though I knew exactly which two silver-eyes Qrow knew.

"Yup, rare as they are, they're most definitely real. Heh, put some red tint to your hair and use that semblance of yours, and you'd be pretty similar to someone I know with silver eyes." Qrow's smile soured, and he gazed off, before pulling his flask out and taking a gulp as Nora, Ren and I eyed each other.

"Umm, so what's a huntsman doing in a small town like this, especially while he's…resting," I finished lamely as Qrow directed a baleful eye at me from behind his flask.

"The kinda stuff that pipsqueaks like you three don't needa worry about. Reeeaaal classified stuff…" Qrow trailed off, before glancing sideways back at us and smirking. "Thing is, I'm not one of those stick in the mud types, and my assignment's just about done. So I'm just killing time 'round these parts before my boss hands off another mission. Y'know, killing Grimm, relaxing, that sorta thing."

"Riiiiiiiigggggghhhht…" Nora dragged out, even her being skeptical of Qrow's 'relaxation' before perking up. "So were you the reason why there weren't a lot of Grimm around the area while we were travelling here?"

Qrow smirked crookedly before ruffling Nora's hair. "Course I am, but that's just part of it. During the Vytal Festival, Grimm concentration outside populated areas tends to drop 'cause of all the happy feelings going 'round." Qrow realized he was still ruffling Nora's hair and hastily withdrew, coughing into his fist. "Makes things easier for Huntsmen operating outside the main cities, though the good ones'll still be doing their patrols as normal."

Qrow straightened and cracked his back, before waving as he started making his way towards the village outskirts. He got about ten feet before stopping and putting a hand to his chin in thought. After a moment, he turned his head back to look at us. "How's the idea of seeing a pro Huntsmen in action sound? I've still got my patrols today, and you three don't seem half bad, if the way you were able to block my strike was any indication."

"WE'RE IN!" Nora shouted, and Ren and I glanced at each other before shrugging.

"I suppose it would be beneficial to observe how a true Huntsmen performs in the field," Ren mused.

"That's the spirit. Now, who am I hauling along for the day?"

"Nora." I pointed to the energetic hammer-wielder. "Ren." Gestured over to our tranquil companion before pointing at myself. "Kouzai."

"Pleasure. Name's Qrow, and you don't needa last name 'cause none of you are calling me Sir or Mister. Now let's move, we've got ground to cover and drinks to come back to…'least, I do."

… … …

"Hey, Short, hyper and murderous! Smaller swings, more compact! And weave some kicks in or something, you've got legs! And Mr. Monk, use that semblance of yours in shorter bursts! You don't needa hide from the Grimm, just gotta disrupt them and get a good hit in."

'Well, if nothing else, I'm no longer doubting his expertise as a teacher.' I swayed and bisected a Beowolf as I watched Qrow alternate barking orders from the tree he was leaning against and taking generous swigs from his flask. '…his professional manner could use a touch-up though…'

We finished carving through a pack of Beowolves before turning to Qrow, who'd lazily dodged a Beowolf pouncing at him before picking up Harbinger and beheading the Grimm with one hand, the other still in the middle of upending the flask's contents into his mouth. Incredulous stares followed the silence as Qrow finished. "…hmm? We done already? Nice work."

"Yes, it was a valiant team effort, however could we have succeeded without you?" I drawled sarcastically. "And I noticed you never got around to me during your mid-fight critiques."

Qrow snorted. "Cute with the attitude. I 'never got around' to you 'cause you're the weakest out of you three. Your raw strength and speed are less than Pinkie here, and your hand-to-hand and Aura control are weaker than the Silent One. Really, your semblance is the only thing saving you from being a full-on jack-of-all-trades, and even that's limited by your Aura."

I bristled at the fair, but blunt assessment. "My style is to plan accordingly to capitalize on the opponent's weaknesses."

Qrow lost the smirk, though he was still plastered. "That kinda think-and-reach approach only works so long as you've got information on your enemy and time to plan. Without both of those, you're a kid with a bunch of half-baked strategies, instead of a competent fighter who's mastered a few."

'Well, Chronometry always gives me time to plan. As for information on my opponents…' I couldn't very well tell Qrow of the veritable database I'd compiled in my journals on characters of RWBY, so I took the dig at face value.

"Well, overall, you three weren't awful. Depending on the quality of the fodder, you all might be a shoo-in at the practical qualifications next year, assuming you're not students at a primary combat school like Sanctum." Qrow's smirk returned as we all shook our heads. "Didn't think so. You all fight with a touch more dirt than the good men and women at those schools usually like imparting. It's good to know life outside the main cities still cranks out the best Huntsmen. I just regret what that usually means…c'mon, let's get back to Shion. I've got a bottle of whiskey with my name on it."

As Qrow stumbled away, Nora was cupping her chin with her eyes narrowed. "Well he certainly seems down. Wonder what has his boxers in a twist. And I swear he looks familiar. Maybe it's the hair."

"I was more focused on his eyes, though you do have a point about his hairstyle," Ren added. "Kouzai, do you have an inkling as to where we might have encountered either him or perhaps his relatives before?"

'Yeah, when his sister almost slit our throats two years ago.' I did my best to keep all sweating internal as I shook my head. "I don't think so. I feel like anyone with his type of personality is tough to come across."

"True. I suppose we can always ask Qrow about his familial relations later," Ren commented as we began making our way back to Shion.

"OOH, a mystery! Nora 'Holmes' Valkyrie is on the case!" Nora exclaimed as she roped her arms around mine and Ren's shoulders. "Watsons! Our first job is to tail the huntsman back to his lair, and then find our where the best spots for fighting Grimm are because today was PATHETIC!"

"…Yes Nora…"

… … …

"-So really, with the Grimm experience you've all picked up, sleeping in Port's class is pretty much a given. Now, where was I?"

"We had asked about the practical qualification exams for students who never attended a primary combat school," Ren answered evenly, doing a remarkable job of not smacking Qrow upside the head while both him and I eyed Nora apprehensively as she eyed the drinks the waitress was passing around.

'Nora on caffeine energy drinks was bad enough.' Ren and I shuddered at the three long days that followed Nora sneaking in and chugging a six-pack of those. It was a tale of reverse-biblical proportions, where Nora ascended into a being of otherworldly energy, wreaked unspeakable havoc for three days, and proceeded to crash back to Remnant. Literally.

Now, we three accompanied Qrow inside one of the more family-friendly taverns in Shion, though the bartenders were clear on not serving minors any drinks. 'Bad for me, but really really good for Nora.'

"You'll be finnnneee," Qrow slurred as he knocked back another shot of whiskey. "Oz hasn't made the exams much harder since my time, and Rae' and I passed those with our eyes closed."

"Question; who's Rae'?" Nora interjected, and Qrow stiffened as he realized he'd let that slip. 'Ah crap, thought he'd at least be able to keep that under wraps. Nora and Ren are pretty forgiving people, but they might not take too kindly to knowing exactly who Qrow's sister is…'

"A sister, and no one you needa worry bout' Carrot-top." Qrow went to ruffle Nora's hair again, but seemed to sober up for an instant and drew his hand back as if burned, something that didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you alright, Qrow?" Ren asked, glancing over at me with one hand rising. I slowly shook my head in response. 'Not yet.'

Qrow's response was to knock back another shot and glance towards the wooden ceiling. "Family troubles. Nuthin' to worry 'bout."

My eyes narrowed. 'There's only four people that could get him like this within the family, and one of them is dead. Is it just the regular spat with Raven, or did something happen to Ruby and Yang?'

Getting answers out of him might've been easier if he continued spiraling, but I wasn't that cruel. I nodded to Ren, and he slowly extended his hand and laid it on Qrow's shoulder, before activating Tranquility…and gasping.

"Ren, what's wrong?" Nora was out of her chair and by his side instantly, while I focused in on Qrow and Ren. Ren's Tranquility was certainly keeping him calm, but the gray pallor attempting to creep over Qrow's figure kept blinking off, like it was meeting resistance.

"So much…despair…it's fighting my semblance…" Ren gritted out, feeling the waves of Qrow's emotion wash over him even as he himself remained calm. "And something else…it's like…my semblance is being cancelled out by something…"

I looked over at Qrow in growing realization and dread. 'Cancelled out…dust, it's Qrow's Misfortune semblance! Qrow's negativity and semblance are perfectly countering Tranquility!'

There was still a loose piece of the puzzle jangling around in my head, but it wasn't falling into place.

WHOOOOOSH-WHOOOOOOOOSH

Everyone inside the tavern glanced skyward as we heard small gusts flying past in the air above, before a bone-chilling call pierced our ears.

And all of a sudden, things made sense, in the worst way possible.

"No, no no no…" I leapt up from my seat and followed Qrow's near-blurring form out the door to gaze up at the sunset-framed sky…

That had a few dozen Nevermore streaking towards Shion. 'Mierda…'

"EVERYONE STAY INSIDE AND BARRICADE YOURSELVES!" I shouted, hoping my voice would carry as I whipped out Mirror's Edge, seeing Nora and Ren doing the same. "Nora, Ren, shoot those bitches down! I'll cover you!"

"Where's Qrow?" Nora asked after firing a grenade, and amidst the sudden shrieks of Nevermore in the sky, we all reflexively looked up to see a cape-wearing scythe-wielder descending on the flocks of Grimm from above. "How'd he get up there?"

"Fight now, ask later!" I replied, shielding Nora with Mirror's Edge as a rain of Nevermore feathers rocketed towards the ground. Head on a swivel, I saw Ren perched on the inn's roof, Tranquility active as he fired Stormflower with impunity.

A number of growls had me looking towards eye-level, and I split Mirror's Edge into my longswords. "We have Beowolves incoming! Nora, I'll cover your back but you have to play it safe! You're the firepower here, so we can't have you taking risks, got it?" Nora mutely nodded, and I settled for that as I turned to face the stray Beowolves coming from outside the town.

'Why couldn't Shion have some sort of wall or gate? Anything to keep the Grimm out?' I muttered internally as I cleaved a Beowolf at the torso in real time. It was riskier to forgo using Chronometry, but I needed to conserve whatever resources I had, and Aura was the most precious of them. 'Okay, put the pieces together while you're working.'

The Grimm. Qrow. Misfortune. Negativity. Raven, Ruby, Yang or Summer. Shion. The Vytal festival.

'UHHHH, come on!' I growled as swayed out of reach of a Beowolf's claws. 'The pieces are all there, I just need to put them together…'

The three remaining Beowolves congregated across from me in the town square, and I put my thoughts on the backburner and prepared to activate Chronometry. Before either party could charge in, a Nevermore's body crashed down onto the Beowolves, ripping up the stonework underneath at the point of impact. Atop the fading Grimm was a thunderous Qrow.

And then it hit me.

"YOU!" I roared, striding forward and glaring at Qrow. A quick glance showed Nora, Ren and Qrow had dispatched the Nevermore, but that was a small priority at the moment. "THIS IS ALL ON YOU!"

"The hell're you talking 'bout?" Qrow growled back, and he stood his ground as I grabbed a fistful of his dress shirt and flung a hand outwards.

"How long have you been here?" I demanded, drawing a confused look from Qrow.

"A week or so, what's it matter?"

"And how many patrols have you done for the area around Shion?" I saw Nora and Ren approaching at my periphery.

"I don't know, about twenty-three. Again, what's the point of asking?"

"You're spewing negativity," I accused, and Ren's eyes widened as he caught on. Qrow, whether by obstinacy or intoxication, wasn't quite there yet. "Every time you went out on patrol, you were circling the areas around Shion like a lure for Grimm."

Nora gasped, but Qrow gripped my hand tight. "I killed all the Grimm around Shion. There weren't many of them, since the Vytal Festival was happening."

"That's what you thought, but it takes more than some happy feelings to really ward off the Grimm" I hissed, and Qrow became confused again. "You didn't find many Grimm because they weren't coming. They were waiting, waiting for this."

"You're spouting some idiocy here. Grimm don't wait around and plan-"

"But they do, like the Goliaths in Vale," I shot back as Qrow froze. "All it'd take is a lure of negativity, a bunch of Grimm, and something going very wrong. Like your semblance."

Qrow's hand tightened to bone-breaking levels around my wrist. "How, the hell, do you know about my semblance?"

It was Ren who answered. "Because your semblance was interfering with mine. I was trying to use my semblance to calm your emotions inside the tavern, but something was distorting my Aura flow beyond the overwhelming depression arising from you. Your semblance does something to the natural environment."

"Including semblances and the Grimm, it seems." I took the easy answer Ren provided me, as Qrow wrenched my hand off his shirt and pulled out his scroll. "What are you doing?"

"Getting reinforcements. More waves are incoming, and you three aren't enough to cover the whole village." Qrow had all the subtlety and grace of a baseball bat with nails hammered in, but his point still stood. "…Oz, it's Qrow. We have a situation, Grimm attack in Shion. Have Leo redirect some backup over."

Nora, Ren and I remained tense, glancing around the wide streets of Shion for any signs of more Grimm, before Qrow's voice caught our attention again.

"WHAT? A few hours!? Oz, you can't be serious, Shion needs reinforcements now…what do you mean, there's a situation in Mistral?...The Mistral Council?...Those dust-damned assholes! They'd keep quiet this just to keep morale up?...Damnit, fine. I've got three huntsmen-in-training here, and pray to the Brothers that's enough. Get here fast, Oz. I mean it."

Qrow viciously pocketed his scroll and turned back to us with an expression mixing frustration, anger, and a lot of sadness. "Bad news, kids. There's some commotion back in Mistral, and the Council's trying to keep a lid on news getting in and out of the city. If news about a Grimm attack in the Kingdom's outskirts or news about crime in the city where the Vytal Festival is break out, people across the kingdoms might lose some of those happy feelings I was talking about. And when that happens…"

"Grimm." Ren's face hardened, and hands gripped Stormflower. Beside him, Nora looked just as worried for him as she'd been in this exact same village in the show.

"Right in one," Qrow sighed. "My boss'll send backup as soon as he can discreetly, but it'll be from Mistral, meaning they'll only get here for the cleanup. The brunt of the attack'll have to be handled by us four." I drove Mirror's Edge into the dirt in frustration, and Qrow winced, looking more fatigued than I'd ever seen him, be it in the show or in person.

"Look, I'll cover the main entrance by the forest, handle most of the waves. I just need you three to cover the other sides since Shion's not exactly one for walls. Just…make sure to keep your distance from me while we're fighting. I can, uh, get a bit explosive while fighting and uh, don't wanna get any of you caught in the crossfire. If you need help, just shout an' I'll be there if I can…" Qrow trailed off as howls rang out in the now-evening sky, and he awkwardly nodded at us before turning to head towards Shion's main entrance.

"Where's he going? We need to stick together," Nora muttered, hefting Magnhild. The howls of Beowolves on multiple sides took priority.

"He's probably the type that works better alone." I wasn't covering for Qrow per se, but having Nora and Ren stick by him was a worrying thought with Qrow's current mental state affecting his semblance in such a way. "And it sucks, but we also need to handle things ourselves. There's three other entrances to Shion, and we can't cover all three as a group. Ren, take the north side. Nora, the east. I'll watch the west. We might not be staying safe, but no matter what, stay alive. If you have to give ground, fall back to the town square and we can meet up."

We all dashed off to separate sides of the village, and no sooner did I reach the edge of Shion's west side that Beowolves streaked out from the tree line. Looking left and right at the seeming ring of Grimm emerging as a pack, I counted at least twenty on my side alone. 'Yeeaaaahhh, I need Chronometry for this.' Activating my semblance, I held my longswords out as the Grimm neared Shion's buildings. 'Alright, full circle here. Time to see what I'm worth.'

Dashing forward, I ducked under one Beowolf's swipe and stabbed through its torso. Twisting around, I swept low with my other longsword and cut another Grimm's legs out from under it, stabbing it's skull as it hit the ground. Pivoting, I turned to block a slash with Mirror's Edge in greatsword form, then rotated around to cleave through another three with a full revolution. Splitting the sword apart again, I took a deep breath as the pack closed in on me.

Parry. Slash. Block. Stab.

Dodge. Parry. Hammer. Deflect. Sway. Cleave.

Parry. Parry. Parry. Slash. Parry. Block. Parry.

The number of Beowolves left swarming me dwindled, but I was giving ground back towards the town square. Keeping my escrima stance up just to parry the multitude of slashes and bites, I glanced sideways at a Beowolf and looked past into the window of a home, where parents covered a child in terror.

'Sonofa…c'mon, you can do better than this! You have to do better than this!' I gritted my teeth and opened up my defenses, trading glancing blows to deliver my own fatal attacks. 'Let them graze your skin to cleave their flesh.'

A whirlwind of steel, I darted around the wide streets that were my battlegrounds, feeling my muscles start to burn from the forceful Aura I was pumping into them for increased strength. But slowly, the tide of Grimm petered out, and I stabbed Mirror's Edge into the ground as I caught my breath. Walking back to the town square, I saw Nora and Ren returning from their own battles. Ren's hair hung damp against his head, and Nora was slumped forward with arms limp by her sides. Before I could call out to them, a shout echoed from the main entrance.

"THAT ALL YOU GOT! I'M RIGHT HERE!" Qrow's shouts carried down the street, as he blurred through a near-flood of Beowolves, Harbinger a windmill of twirling lethal metal.

"He's hurting, so much…" Nora whispered, and Ren nodded wordlessly. I, on the other hand…

"OI!" I yelled, Mirror's Edge crashing into a Beowolf at Qrow's back. "You need to calm down now, or your negativity and semblance are gonna keep bringing Grimm to Shion, and we can't keep this up."

"Nobody asked you to, I'll fix my own mess," Qrow growled, stopping for a moment as the last Beowolf faded to ash. His gaze was fixed everywhere but me though. "Just stay out of my way and-"

"Alright, that's it," I seethed, standing directly in front of him. "What happened to you to turn you into this, huh? The way you are now, you shouldn't be on active missions at all!"

"The work I do needs to be done," Qrow grunted, trying to shove his way past me. "And I'm the only one to do it."

"I don't give a damn whether that's true or not," I shot back, tensing my legs to stand my ground. "If you're trying to do work like this, as you are now, you're just putting others' lives at risk. You have to know that."

Qrow froze, and finally looked at me. His expression, a tortured mix of sadness, rage, and self-loathing had me freezing as well.

"I know that," he murmured. "I. know. But without the work, without…having the pipsqueaks in my life…what do I have left?"

Gears were running into overdrive. 'By pipsqueaks, he's probably not talking about Nora, Ren and I. So the only other ones Qrow would get this torn up about are…oh gods…'

"What's wrong with your family?" I blurted out, heedless of anything about myself I might be giving away. 'If something happened to Ruby or Yang…'

Qrow's gaze held mine for a long moment, seeming to search for something, something he could trust. Whatever he found had him looking away with a grunt. "Their…mother, returned after a time away. The family is whole now, in a manner of speaking…they don't need me around."

'Mother?...oh gods, oh damn…Raven…the fight….holy…dust, this all happened because of me…' I put a hand against Qrow to steady myself, but I sagged forward with my other hand on my knee. Breath to my lungs came in short gasps.

"Hey kid, you-" A full roar cut Qrow off, as other roars echoed in conjunction. "Are you kidding me? A nest of Manticores? The worst timing…" Qrow gently, but firmly pushed me back upright and shoved Mirror's Edge into my hands.

"Alright kid, get outta here, I'll handle these. You three watch the village in case anything else shows up. Stay sharp." Shoving me back as one of the Manticores dived, I mechanically jogged back to the town square where Nora and Ren were resting.

"Does he need our help?" Nora asked, shifting Magnhild to hammer mode, although the weapon's head laid on the ground.

"No, he wants us to watch over the town while he's fighting, in case anything else comes." I fed back the words Qrow had told me, my mind still awhirl. 'Raven…but how did…that couldn't have…'

"Alright, if he insists," Nora pouted, though with a clear note of relief. "We have had a pretty thorough leg-breaking session."

"You mean Grimm-killing," Ren pointed out from his meditative position on the floor. "Luckily however, it appears that most of the Grimm packs have been handled, with the remaining Manticore pack being handled by Qrow. As Grimm typically like to group together in types, that should be all the Grimm we could face."

'Not unless you count the Sphinx,' I thought to myself. 'Wait. Beowolves, Nevermore, Manticores…there was one more type of Grimm native to Mistral…'

CRASH

We all stood with weapons drawn as a tree seemed to disappear from the canopy to the west. Nora eyed the tree line. "Anyone have eyes on what brand of ugly we're facing next?"

CRASH

Another tree fell, this one collapsing towards Shion. Ren squinted. "I can't see into the forest while it's so dark."

"Way ahead of you." I activated Chronometry, and focused on any minute movements happening by the trees. 'Nothing on the ground…nothing in the sky…noth-no wait!'

SNAP

A dark shape erupted above the canopy, soaring over the buildings as it barreled towards the town square.

'No wings…huge and bulky…sonofagrimm…'

Enormous, meaty fists struck the ground by our position, and we took wide stances to stabilize our balance. Out of the resulting smoke came one fist, then another, as the disproportionate body revealed itself. White bone plates like armor over its shoulder, ribs and torso. A skull mask with two glowing orbs of red shining within. Even larger than the one Ruby faced, it stood over ten feet in height.

"Beringel."

… … …

… … …

"Hmm…"

"Is something wrong, Raven?"

"No, just my semblance notifying me. It appears that my idiot brother is in the middle of battle. Considering he hasn't moved at all since I left, he's likely still in Shion. Terrible place to defend, no walls or gates or even a town guard."

"Will you be going to aid him?"

"No. Qrow can take care of himself. And I haven't changed nearly enough to change my rule of one. Qrow…has racked up quite a bit more than just one, considering all the times I saved his skin before and during Beacon."

"Is…that boy still with him?"

"Why yes, Kouzai is still with Qrow. He also seemed quite a bit more capable than the last time we encountered one another, even if his stealth could use some work."

"…Don't you have a semblance that lets you know where-"

"Break time is over, back to training. After all, you do want to have the upper hand the next time you come across Kouzai, don't you?"

"…Yes…"

"Then prepare yourself."

A/N: Harambe has returned…

All jokes aside, the Grimm attack on Shion was a perfect storm of variables, both natural and those created by Kouzai's actions. Weak defenses, Kingdom politics, and Qrow's depression mixed with his semblance made for a very real look at what is still the true enemy of Remnant. You can bring down criminals, tussle with bandits, and have run-ins with terrorists, but the Grimm will always return. So here's to hoping. And three guesses as to who was speaking in the stinger, haha.

OMAKE

"Roman, if I have to walk into the headquarters of one of your 'friends' and be held at gunpoint one more time, we're gonna have one hell of a talk." I fell silent as more firearms pointed in our direction. On his part, my words seemed to bounce harmlessly off Roman as he slowly spread his arms wide, mindful of the dozen or so guns pointed at him.

"Lil' Miss! Good to see you again! What's it been, like, seven years or so? You look just as stunning as ever! Is it the tea? It is, isn't it?" Roman's insincerity was directly correlated to the number of teeth he'd flash while smiling, and nearly every single one of those suckers was on display at the moment. Across the table, Lil' Miss Malachite had all but her narrowed eyes hidden behind her fan.

A long moment of silence. Two. Three, four…

"Hah…it's been eight. You'd have known that if you were a better criminal mastermind." Lil' Miss rolled her eyes, snapped her fan shut, and waved the dozens of guns off Roman, Neo and I. Neo literally had no reaction other than to continue eating her ice cream from that Atlesian ice cream stand from topside; not that she'd reacted to the guns even being pointed at her in the first place. 'Then again, is she even really there?'

I didn't want to risk breaking any illusion that Neo might've set up with Overactive Imagination, and instead focused on the conversation between Roman and Lil' Miss Malachite.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm an excellent criminal mastermind, thank you very much! I'm wanted in all four kingdoms, and I've got Vale's underworld mostly under my thumb at this point."

"A good mastermind wouldn't be known about, let alone wanted 'cross the kingdoms. And you could've had all of Vale by now if you'd hired some more men into your crew."

"Ehh, you know me, what's the use of power if others don't know you've got it? And I like to see to matters personally, hence why I've taken this little trip across the pond."

"Hmph, well, if you'd rather talk business right away…lemme just handle this first," Lil' Miss trailed off before turning to me. "Sooo, this' the one new protégé that you've picked up. The one that I've been hearing about."

"Yup, this one here comes complete with his own depressing backstory, near-sociopathic work ethic, and enough wit and tenacity to make even me balk at times," Roman cheerfully exclaimed as I directed some Neo-trademarked silent murder at him.

"Oh I've been hearin' plenty about this one," Lil' Miss purred, and I shivered as her smirk promised amusement while her eyes promised pain, before abruptly returning to Roman. "Now, I'll preface this by sayin' this ain't gonna be nearly as easy as Vacuo was. Besides havin' poor security in general, this time the Vytal Festival's got extra security, somethin' easily turned towards any enterprising, Remnant-renowned thief."

"Heard it all before, Lil' Miss," Roman breezed as he leaned on Melodic Cudgel. "So long as there's a good score to be had, you can count us in."

"Good," Lil' Miss purred. "After all, I'm sure the Vytal Festival crowds have been waitin' for the main attraction of Roman Torchwick stealing some priceless, national resource. We wouldn' wanna deprive the good people of their spectacle entertainmen' now would we?"

"If by 'spectacle entertainment' you mean 'fleeing for our lives with a kingdom's worth of police and Huntsmen chasing us, then sure," I grumbled to a giggling Neo. "This Mithril better be worth it."

A/N: Well, look at that. That's the first time I've managed to make events across all three viewpoints match up. Ah, the difficulties of writing a Vale-centric, a Mistral-centric and Remnant-wide chain of events. Ah, who am I kidding, I love planning this stuff.

-SE

Next Chapter Date: 11/25/19