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Guest: Actually, it was supposed to be intentional. It's a nickname Yang has for Qrow. I guess I should have been clear on that. So that's my fault.

Present day

The Crow Bar, the Kingdom of Vale. . .

This year was not good, Qrow Branwen concluded as he sat in his chair in the bar, his tail slightly swinging behind him. The Fall Maiden was attacked by an unknown assailant and, for the first time in the history of the Seasons, half of her power was stolen. This resulted in Amber being scarred and comatose. Qrow was assigned to hunt down the assailant, putting his job at Signal Academy on hold.

He didn't get a good look at the assailant's face only that it was a woman. He suspected that there was a Semblance involved on that. His instincts told him that he had encountered her before. Which didn't really narrow it down. He had met a lot of women in the past. And believe him, he had tried to use his extra sense to locate her, but it seemed that there was something hiding her from his senses.

The next worst thing was that he had been attacked by numerous bounty hunters. He had a hunch that the Queen had sent them to stall him from hunting down the pawn that had attacked Amber. The only message Qrow could send to Ozpin was that the Queen had new pawns.

That was obvious but Qrow couldn't clarify after that. For the rest of the year, the Reptilian Faunus had to fight tooth, claw against numerous bounty hunters followed by Creatures of Grimm that were fresh from the Pools of Darkness.

So as soon as he arrived at Vale, he went to his favorite bar. He was now on his tenth round. That may seem a bit much, but he didn't care. Besides, alcohol had lost its effect on him long ago. Besides, he needed a drink.

Right now, there was a broadcast of the Vytal Festival Tournament battles. The Haven team SSSN had just beaten the Vacuo team INDGO. By the very slimmest chance.

"Wow, that was some fight." the bartender commented next to Qrow who scoffed. "That was a mess." And it was true. If it was a real fight, Team SSSN would be dead. That blue haired boy needs to work on his fear of water.

"Come on, man." The bartender said. "You didn't like the last fight or the fight before that. What fight are you here for?"

The fight Qrow was here for was one that didn't involve the Vytal Festival and more like the survival of the kingdom, but he couldn't really tell the bartender, of all people, that. He paused and sniffed the air. There was another person he knew very well nearby. He turned his head and saw an Atlassian ship with ribbons flying over Vale. "That one," he grumbled before he stood up, downed his drink and put on his 'Town Drunk' act. He wobbled side to side with a chuckle.

"Happy Vytal Festival," he said, placing his glass down and a couple of Lien cards on the counter before walking out of the bar in a drunken manner. The bartender watched him leave as he dried a glass before he moved to grab the Lien only to knock Qrow's glass off the counter and it shattered to pieces. "Aw man," the man mumbled to himself.

After leaving Amity Arena, Ruby Rose chased after Weiss Schnee through the crowd at Beacon Academy, trying to get her partner to talk. Ever since she looked at an Atlassian ship flying above Amity Arena, Weiss had been acting weird. Seemingly acting nervous about seeing someone. "Weiss, what's the big deal?" she asked as she ran after the heiress through the crowd. "Who is it?" She paused to catch her breath as she saw Weiss stop near the ship and saw a woman walking out of the ship. "Who is she?"

"Winter," was all Weiss said with a smile. Winter? Where have I heard that name? Ruby thought to herself before realization dawned. "Wait, your sister?"

"Winter!" Weiss called out as she ran over to the Atlas Specialist. Winter turned to face Weiss as she and Ruby stopped a few feet from her. "Winter, I'm so happy to see you!" she paused and cleared her throat. "I mean, your presence honors us."

Winter looked around at the academy. "Beacon. It's been a long time," she mused. "The air feels different."

"Well, it is fall," Ruby shrugged. "So yeah, it's definitely colder." For some reason Ruby would never know, Weiss punched her hard enough that it left her stunned for a few moments.

"So, what brings you here?" Weiss asked her sister while Ruby rubbed her arm and looked to Weiss confused, to which the heiress ignored. "Classified," Winter replied almost robotically. "Oh, of course. How long are you staying?" Weiss asked.

"Classified," Winter repeated. Weiss' smile never faltered as she nodded. "Of course."

Ruby had recovered from the punch and looked back and forth between the two sisters before shifting back and forth on her feet. "Well, this is nice. . . I think," she mumbled to herself.

"You're going to love it here!" Weiss suddenly said in excitement. "I know you travel a lot but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale too! The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it? I-"

"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its bureaucracy." Winter cut her off. "That's not why I'm here."

Weiss looked down, ashamed. "Right. I'm sorry."

"Nor did I come to see my own flesh and blood fail so miserably in battle." Winter added. "But it seems I had no choice in the matter."

"But we won!" Weiss protested. "Only a novice would consider that a victory." Winter shook her head. "I counted three strikes missed."

Now Ruby was confused. Why were three missed strikes that bad? Shouldn't they just focus that they won the match? Winter turned to her Atlassian Knights and waved her hand. "Leave us," she commanded, and the androids took a few steps back. Winter sighed before smiling lightly at her sister. "How have you been?"

"Oh, splendid!" Weiss replied eagerly. "I'm actually the top rank of our sparring class. The rest of my studies are going well and I-" Suddenly Winter slapped Weiss on the head.

"Silence, you boob!" Winter snapped as a red bump throbbed on Weiss's head. "I don't recall asking about your ranking. I asked how you've been! Are you eating properly? Have you taken any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

"Well, there's Ruby," Weiss gestured to the silver eyed girl who snickered and poked at Weiss's bump and pushed it down. "Boob," she snickered while Weiss winced in pain.

"I see. So this is the leader you've wrote of," Winter stated, looking at Ruby with a judging gaze. "How appropriately. . . underwhelming."

"Uh. . . thank you," Ruby said slowly. Winter nodded to her. "Greetings, Ruby Rose. I wish to thank you for befriending my sister."

"Oh! Of course," Ruby attempted to salute and curtsy. "The honor is in my. . . court?" she then almost tripped. She frantically waved her hands to regain her balance before chuckling nervously at the Atlassian Specialist.

Winter stared at the young Huntress in training before turning to Weiss. "I have business with the General and your headmaster," she stated. "But seeing as I'm early, why take me to your quarters?"

"Really?" Weiss asked eagerly. "Yes, I wish to inspect them and see that they're up to my personal standards." replied Winter. Weiss nodded and gestured for her to follow. "Of course. Just so you're aware, the bunkbeds only look unstable."

"Bunkbeds?" Winter repeated slowly in confusion. Since when did Beacon have bunkbeds?

Behind the two Schnee sisters, the androids followed but Ruby stayed behind. "I'll catch up! Wait!" she paused and raked her brain for the right words. How did upperclassmen speak? "I mean, I will reconvene with you both at a later. . . juncture!" she moved to the side, flapping her arms slightly like a bird. "At a juncture, yeah."

Just as she walked away, a crow with dull red eyes flew into view and towards the Schnee sisters and the Atlassian Knights.

(A bad feeling about this, I have.)

As the Schnee sisters neared the entrance to Beacon Academy, Winter heard the sound of metal ripping. "Hey!" a voice called out behind them. Turning around, they saw two of the AK-2000's on the ground, broken and headless with one being held by the perpetrator. The remaining two AK's aimed their rifles at the perpetrator. A Reptilian Faunus. It was Qrow Branwen.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen." Qrow drawled in a drunken manner before tossing the android to the ground.

Winter narrowed her blue eyes before calling out to the Faunus. "Halt!"

"Excuse me!" With experience of a handful of students calling her Ice Queen, Weiss marched to Qrow thinking that the Faunus was talking to her. She was briefly taken back by his appearance. As far as she knew, Faunus had a trait or two of their animal species, yet this man had multiple traits. A long scaly tail, a row of dorsal fins down his spine that were shaped like shards of glass and dark gray scales. Weiss can safely say she has never seen a Faunus like him. All she can say was that he's reptilian. She shook her head and stopped in front of the Faunus.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" she asked before Qrow placed a hand on her head, holding a finger to his lips. "Shh, sh. Not you, Ice Princess." he said before pushing her to the side and walked a few wobbly steps forward. "Hey!" Weiss whined at the gesture of being pushed aside.

"You," he drawled as he glared at Winter who met his glare with her own. Nearby a raven with crimson red eyes cawed and crowed from a perch on a lamp post. Qrow turned his head to the bird and glared at it before it flew out of view. He turned his head back to Winter. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town," he said as his tail gestured towards the Atlassian ship. "Guess you're here too."

"I'm standing right before you," Winter replied. Qrow squinted his eyes before smirking slightly. "So it would seem."

"You realize you just destroyed Atlas Military property?" Winter asked. Qrow blinked and looked at the decapitated androids before his dull crimson eyes blinked. "Oh. . . Ohhh. I'm sorry," he apologized, holding his hands up. "See, I mistook this for. . . sentient garbage," he smirked at the end.

"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow." Winter grounded out after a deep breath and a step towards the Reptilian Faunus. Weiss walked up to her sister's side with a confused expression. "Wait, you two know each other?" she asked.

"Jeez, you Atlas Specialist must think you're so special, don't you?" Qrow asked.

"It's in the title," Winter replied coolly. "Heh. True but titles don't mean anything." Qrow snorted. "Your actions speak for themselves. And you know what your actions have proven? That you're a bunch of sell outs, just like your boss."

"I'm not sure what you think you're implying but I've heard enough." Winter replied, anger in her tone.

"Oh I've heard too," Qrow replied with a glare. "I've heard how Ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin."

"Ozpin?" Weiss repeated in confusion. Winter stiffened before pushing the younger Schnee back. "Weiss, it's time for you to go." she said curtly, adding more confusion to Weiss.

"Listen to your sister, Weiss." called Qrow. He gestures to the people around him. "She'll protect you, just like Atlas is going to protect all of us."

"If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" Winter growled as she pulled out her saber. Unbothered, Qrow smirked and pushed his hair back. "Alright then. Come take it."

The two stared at one another before Winter rushed to Qrow and moved to stab Qrow in the face. The Faunus merely tilted his head with a mocking grin. He tilted his head side to side, dodging each of Winter's stabs before he stepped to the side to dodge Winter's overhead strike and his tail pushed her forward. She stumbled before straightening and looking back at the Faunus who tilted his head and wiggled his eyebrows. She gritted her teeth and tried to stab him in the torso and he leaned back until he was in a limbo position.

Winter swung her saber again and this time Qrow pulled his sword out and blocked it. Winter's frustrated scowl reflected off the large blade before Qrow pushed her back.

The two straightened and held their sword and saber evenly before Qrow lightly tapped his sword against hers. The Faunus feigned a few strikes before spinning around went to stab at her stomach. Winter blocked the strike before stepping out of Qrow's range. The Faunus followed her with a few spins as she backflipped three times while deflecting his sword between every flip.

As the two fought, Ruby and Mercury Black-Branwen ran by Weiss's side. "We heard commotion!" The silver haired boy exclaimed while Ruby asked worriedly. "What's going on?"

"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" Weiss said.

"Your sister? Well, then he must have a good reason," Mercury remarked drily. "Oh no! Who would do such a thing?!" Ruby said before she and Mercury saw who it was.

"That's not any crazy guy! That's Qrow freaking Branwen!" Mercury shouted in excitement.

"Who?" Weiss asked before Ruby shouted excitedly. "THAT'S MY UNCLE!"

Weiss looked at the silver eyed girl in surprise. "What?!"

"Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered. Mercury grinned a little mischievously. "Slap it while you're at it!"

"Uh, Teach him respect, Winter!" Weiss shouted to her sister.

Among the crowd behind them, Emerald Sustrai saw the Faunus fighting the Atlas Specialist. Her crimson red eyes widened in fear and surprise she began to back away and ran to the school.

Winter ducked under Qrow's blade and slammed her pommel against Qrow's head. A glint flickered in his dull crimson eyes before he jumped in the air, Harbinger above his head.

Winter used her Semblance to propel herself away just as Harbinger slammed into the pavement and shattered it. He glanced up and saw Winter backflipping in the air. He spun his sword in the air a little before running after. He sliced through a light pole when she ducked before jumped over him twice and then landed on top his sword.

He glanced up a little surprised and back at his sword. There's a euphemism for this sort of thing, he thought. It's on the tip of my tongue but I can't think of it. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Winter kicked him in the face. He recoiled in slight pain and disgust. Who knows where those boots have been. He threw Harbinger at her in frustration when she jumped onto the stump of the light pole before she jumped onto another light pole.

This time, Qrow aimed Harbinger and pulled the trigger making her jump to the stone wall nearby. She glared down at him before running up the wall and Qrow ran alongside her and fired Dust round after Dust round at her.

He jumped onto another wall and continued to fire at her until it seemed that he finally landed a hit on her when she was consumed by a fiery white explosion. Qrow narrowed his dull crimson eyes. Just before the smoke cleared, Winter launched towards him and pulled out her parring dagger. Qrow held Harbinger up with a small grin. "Come to Daddy," he muttered before their blades met and the concrete beneath Qrow's feet gave away and the two fighters fell to the ground.

A large crater formed when Qrow landed on his back and Winter straddled his waist with her blades held at his throat where his gills were at. "Who's your Daddy now?" the Specialist asked.

Qrow merely chuckled in response. "Enjoy this while you can, Ice Queen." he said, running his tail up her back. "You're not always going to be on top." Winter looked down at him confused before she realized the position they were in and used a glyph to launch herself off him.

"What?" he asked innocently while standing up. "Was it something I said?"

With a growl, Winter charged at him again. Qrow parried most of her strikes with a teasing and mocking grin before she used both of her blades to push him. Qrow skidded to a halt with Harbinger before glancing back at Winter.

Said woman glared at the Faunus before she twirled her saber and then used a Summoning Glyph to send a flock of white Nevermores to Qrow. Really, Ice Queen? he thought as he covered his face. Birds? I feel insulted! He gritted his teeth before he channeled Aura to his tail and send a wave of Aura to Winter's feet and broke her glyph.

Winter stumbled briefly before glaring back at the Reptilian Faunus and then formed a glyph behind her. Qrow pulled the trigger on Harbinger's hilt. The gears within began to turn and then the blade began to split before curling like a hook.

Winter entered a battle stance. Qrow stopped glaring as he saw someone behind Winter. He stopped the transformation and placed Harbinger behind his back. He could see Winter look confused by his action but that disappeared when Qrow waved his finger in a 'Come here' gesture.

Winter lost her cool and launched towards the Reptilian Faunus who simply leaned his head back to expose his covered gills to her blade before a voice shouted behind her, "SCHNEE!"

Said woman stopped in her tracks, her blade two inches from Qrow's throat, and she turned her head slightly to see General James Ironwood and Penny Polendina behind him with two Atlassian Knights.

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter said, straightening up while Qrow snickered mentally. Looks like she's getting in trouble.

"What in the world are you doing?" Ironwood demanded.

"He started the altercation, sir!" Winter said before Qrow spoke up, leaning to the side, his hands behind his hand. "That's actually not true. She attacked first."

"Is that right?" Ironwood asked, turning his gaze to Winter. The Specialist tried to think of an excuse but came up with nothing. It was true. She did strike first.

The General looked at the students that were watching the scene before turning to the Reptilian Faunus. "And you?" he asked, getting a confused look from the Faunus. He rolled his eyes and clarified, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Qrow replied.

"Now, now, Everyone." Another voice spoke before Ironwood could. Beacon's Headmaster Ozpin and the Combat Class Professor/Deputy Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch walked into view. "There's an sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the Coliseum." Ozpin said "Which I assure you has better seats. And popcorn."

"Break it up, everyone!" Glynda ordered the crowd before turning to Qrow's direction. "We will take care of this mess."

Qrow looked around, ignoring the glare Winter sent him before he heard a young girl's voice squeal out, "UNCLE QROOOW!" He suddenly felt someone hugging his arm. He looked down and saw Ruby hanging on his arm.

"Hi." she said with a smile before kicking her legs in the air excitedly. "It's so good to see you! Did you miss me?! Did you miss me?!"

Qrow stared at her with a blank expression before grinning. "Nope." he said before ruffling her hair then gravity took hold of Ruby, and she slipped down Qrow's arm.

"Qrow, a word please?" Ozpin said as Glynda used her telekinetic Semblance to repair the crater Qrow made with Harbinger.

"I think I'm in trouble," Qrow whispered behind his hand to Ruby and Mercury who walked up to them both. Ruby shrugged. "I mean, you did tear up the courtyard."

"Yeah, I guess I did," Qrow remarked.

"Eh, it's not something that hasn't happened before." Mercury said dismissively. Qrow snorted. It was good to see Haven hadn't taken the kid's snark. He holds a fist to them both to bump with their own. "Catch you kids later," Qrow bid before he walked after the headmaster.

"And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense," Weiss said drily as she stood by their side with crossed arms.

"You're just mad because he whupped your sister's butt," Ruby said, elbowing her partner who frowned. "That was a draw at best." she said.

"Yeah, and I'm a Frog Faunus," Mercury scoffed with an eyeroll.

Winter paced back and forth in the headmaster's office as Ironwood stood by the desk. I can't believe him! she ranted mentally. He disappeared for months, and the first thing he does is destroy my Knights and get me in trouble!

Speak of the God of Darkness and he shall appear.

The elevator doors opened, and it revealed Qrow and the Beacon staff. The Faunus smirked and waved his eyebrows at her. "What were you thinking?!" Winter asked angrily.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood declared.

Good luck trying, Qrow thought as he pulled his flask out and saying, "If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself."

"While I wouldn't condone his behavior," Glynda said, crossing her arms and glancing to Winter. "Retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation."

"He was drunk!" Winter said before Glynda snapped, "HE'S ALWAYS DRUNK!"

Every eye turned to Qrow and sure enough, the Faunus was drinking from his flask. He paused at their stares and shrugged.

Despite knowing that Qrow was faking it, Ozpin was annoyed and exasperated, nonetheless. "Qrow, why are you here?"

"You've been out of contact for weeks!" Ironwood snapped. "You can't just go dark like that in the field!"

"I'm getting tired of having to remind you that I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy!" Qrow snapped in a tone that suggested he wasn't drunk.

"General," Winter corrected. "Whatever." The Faunus dismissed before turning to the others. "You've sent me to get intel on the enemy well guess, I followed their trail here. And you know what that means."

"Yes, we do." Ironwood replied.

"Oh good. I'm glad that this past half a year has been kind to you," Qrow said. "Sitting in comfy seats and indoors while I've been fighting tooth, claw and sword to keep you all informed!"

Ironwood sighed. "Qrow-"

"Communications may been lost, I got a new Scroll two months ago." Qrow said. "But you know what I saw during that time between and now? No new messages. Communication is a two-way street. There's a send button right here."

"We've had reasons to assume you've been compromised." Winter replied.

"And I have reason to believe that you don't need to be here." Qrow turned to the others. "Unless we got a new member in the Circle."

"Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back at my ship." Ironwood said to the surprise of Winter.

"But sir!" she protested. "Winter, leave." the General ordered. The Specialist sighed before saluting to her superior. She glared at Qrow who simply winked before she walked to the elevator. Qrow watched her leave before turning back to the others.

"Go on," Ironwood offered.

"The infiltrator isn't just a normal pawn," Qrow said solemnly. "They're the one responsible for Autumn's condition."

"What?!" Glynda exclaimed. Qrow sighed. "Yeah, that's all I know. And I can bet all the Lien I have in my storage shacks that they know we're on to them because someone," he glares at Ironwood "wasn't being discrete."

"Discrete wasn't working," Ironwood replied as he placed his Scroll on the desk and a hologram of his fleet appears.

"Really? It seemed to be working the past eighty years." Qrow remarked. "Until you came along."

"I'm here because this is what was necessary," Ironwood said. "No, you're here because Ozpin wanted you here." Qrow retorted. "He made you a part of this-despite my saying! - and opened your eyes to the real fight that was in front of us!"

"And I'm grateful." Ironwood said with a nod.

"And I suppose getting the Council of Vale to turn on him is your way of showing it?" Qrow asked.

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them," Ironwood said. "Someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe. And our enemies will know our strength."

Qrow begins laughing in response. "You think they'll be scared of your little ships? I've been out there, and I've seen what she's made and let me tell you. They are fear."

"And fear will bring the Grimm." Ozpin said, standing from his chair. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort, but an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now." He taps the side of his head with his index finger. "A question in the back of everyone's mind." He then gestures to the hologram of the Atlassian fleet. "If this is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight?"

Ironwood looked to the others and sees that none of them are on his side of this matter. He sighs and picks up his Scroll, unaware of the black Queen chess piece that appeared on the screen. "Fine. Then what do you suggest we do?" he asked.

"I suggest we find our guardian." Ozpin replied.

"Are you sure?" Cinder Fall asked Emerald. The green haired girl nodded. "He had the tail, the scales and the scythe." she said. "What do we do?"

"We'll speed up the course," the black-haired woman replied. "We have to hurry before he finds us before we set the plan in motion. Speaking of which," she walked over to the desk and picked up her Scroll. "It seems we have a new access point."

"Anywhere good?" Emerald asked.

"You could say that," Cinder replied. "Go to your dorms. We'll need to set everything up tomorrow."

"Yes, Ma'am." Emerald said with a dutiful nod and Neo gave a salute before they both walked out. Cinder scrolled through pictures of different students. "Let's give the crowd a good fight."

Meanwhile Emerald and Neo met Mercury. "Hey, did I miss anything?" he asked.

"Nope, Cinder just wants us rested for the next fights." Emerald shook her head. Mercury shrugged. "Okay then." With that, he turned away to head to his dorm.