Welcome to Haven.
Sometime had passed since the Team and Qrow had arrived in Mistral, and after having spent some time for some much needed rest, they were finally ready to head for Haven Academy. Qrow and Team RNJR are walking through a stone brick tunnel illuminated by translucent lanterns.
"The City of Mistral..." Qrow said.
"Ugh! It's about time! Whose idea was it to walk again?" Nora asked.
"Well, we did face many obstacles. Broken airships, destroyed settlements..." Ren began listing.
"Oh, and, you know, all those people and monsters that tried to murder us" Jaune added.
"Not to mention the dangerous terrains we had to go through" Lucina finished.
"Pfft, we were fine" Ruby said before looking at Qrow with a smile "Only one of us almost died".
Qrow looks at Ruby, smiling back "Hey".
Nora puts her hands on her hips and looks at Ren. Silently reminding him that he also came close to dying several times due to how reckless he was.
Ren looks back at Nora "Hey".
Nora giggles in response as Jaune spoke "So, how much farther to Haven Academy?".
"Almost there. But I figured I'd take you kids on the scenic route" Qrow said as the group approaches a pair of large, wooden double doors, which Qrow opens, flooding the tunnel with sunlight.
Ruby runs out onto a massive platform that doubles as an elevator, stopping at the railing to gaze out over the city in wide-eyed awe "Wow!" The others join her to take in the view of buildings and stone stairways perched on mountains "This... is... awesome!".
Below them, large crowds of people are going about their day - walking around, talking and buying merchandise legally and illegally.
"It's certainly something" Qrow said.
Ruby noticed a kiosk selling weapons "Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!".
Lucina rolled her eyes but smiled "Of course you would notice the weapons. Starting to wonder if I should feel jealous".
"Oh no need for that, Lucina. Your weapon is beautiful too" Ruby said, causing Lucina to give her a funny look and Ruby realized what she said "I mean, you are beautiful! Not your weapon! I mean your sword is beautiful too, but you're more beautiful!".
The others teens began snickering at Ruby stumbling over her words as Lucina only giggled. After they had arrived in Mistral, Lucina and Ruby had confessed their feelings for each other, and they decided to tell the others as soon as they could so they could avoid potential awkward moments. The others supported them completely, with Nora outright saying it was about time... but this also opened the doors for a lot of teasing.
Qrow smiled before getting back on track "Vendors here'll sell you just about anything... whether they should or not".
"They really made the most out of these mountains" Jaune noticed.
"Every inch. Stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets" Qrow said.
"And we are going up!" Nora said, pointing upward.
They were indeed going up, to the best place in Mistral.
Meanwhile the Atlesian cargo airship flies over an enormous lake. This was the ship Weiss and Bernadetta snuck out of Atlas on, and were on their way to Weiss' older sister, Winter. Could be the only place they could be safe, but most of all, free.
"So, how much farther?" Weiss asked, standing in the back, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed and with Bernadetta next to her.
"We're in the home stretch now" The Pilot answered "No more stops from here to Mistral. Sorry for the long trip. Keeping us off the radar's been harder than I thought. Lots of air traffic around northern Anima".
"It's fine. I... just hope we haven't been a burden" Weiss said.
The Pilot chuckles "You and your money are more than welcome on this ship, kid".
"At least he's honest" Bernadetta whispered, making Weiss smile.
The ship's radio suddenly picks up a transmission and the Pilot looks at it "What the...?",
He reaches over and adjusts a slider, evening out the wavelengths on the screen.
"Is everything okay?" Weiss asked in concern.
"I don't know. We're still over Lake Matsu. Shouldn't be picking up broadcasts this far from Mistral. Someone must be close" The Pilot answered.
A female Mistral pilot begins speaking over the radio in a panic. Hearing this, Weiss and Bernadetta stands up straight and listens closely "Mayday, mayday! We are a small passenger flight, and our Huntress is down! We aren't equipped to deal with this!".
"Oh man" The Pilot said in some worry.
"The Grimm hit us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline!" The woman said, before Bernadetta and Weiss' eyes widen as the sound of an explosion and the Mistral Pilot gasping can be heard "Get them off us! If anyone can hear this- Ah!".
The girls' expressions grows even more concerned as the Mistral Pilot cries out and the transmission abruptly ends. The Atlas pilot turns off his radio and turns the ship.
Weiss walks over to him and grabs onto a handle in the ceiling "We're going to help them, right?".
The Pilot gave her a look "What? No. I'm trying to avoid them".
"Avoid them? They will die if we don't do something!" Bernadetta said, struggling to believe the pilot would just leave innocent people to die.
"Look, if we picked up their transmission, I'm sure someone else did, too. Besides, this is a cargo ship. She's not much good in a fight. I just wanna finish this job and get home. Sorry, kid. My ship, my rules" The Pilot said, his tone final.
Weiss closes her eyes for a moment, then gazes out the windshield as the ship turns to the right and continues flying over the lake. Bernadetta looks down, knowing she had no other choice but to obey the pilot as they left the people to fend for themselves... This would haunt her, she just knows it.
Back in Mistral, the team and Qrow enter the campus grounds of Haven Academy, which is devoid of any other people. They stop in a courtyard, where Ruby smiles and wipes a tear from her eye. Lucin places a hand on her shoulder, and she sighs.
"We made it" Ruby said.
"We sure did" Lucina agreed.
Qrow stops behind them, and while they continue on their way, he takes a moment to glance around and lets out a sigh. Something wasn't right here... Where is everyone?
"Hello?" Inside a hallway, the team is following Qrow, and Ruby calls out once again, louder this time "Hello?!".
"Maybe try louder?" Nora suggested, though she wasn't sure herself.
"Given how loud she's been already, someone should've at least come out to complain about it" Lucina said, earning a small glare from Ruby.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here" Ren said.
"Well, I guess school isn't really in session right now. Maybe that's it" Jaune guessed.
"No, this isn't right. Come on" Qrow hurries ahead.
"Wait for us!" Ruby said as she and the rest picks up the pace to catch up, and soon, all six are running to a pair of wooden double doors.
Qrow comes to a stop in front of them, draws his sword, and extends the blade "Get ready. There could be trouble".
The team follow his lead in drawing their weapons. Qrow brings up his foot and kicks the door open. Just on the other side, a man widens his eyes, throws his hands into the air, and lets out a frightened scream. Lucina, Jaune, Ruby, and Nora widen their eyes and scream as well, while Ren gives the headmaster a confused stare. Standing on one foot with his eyes wide, Qrow suddenly looks down, loses his balance, and falls. Shortly after, the man makes a noise and briefly faints. The team let their weapons down and stare, dumbfounded, while Qrow sits up.
"Uh, Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked.
Lionheart gasps and sits up "Qrow! For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!".
Qrow stands up with a growl "Me? Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?".
"Huh?" Lionheart pulls a pocket watch from his coat and checked it "Oh, right. Apologies. I guess time slipped away from me".
Qrow gave him an 'Are you serious?' look "You're joking".
While Lionheart stands up and the others put their weapons away, Nora asks a question "Where is everybody?".
Lionheart looks at them "Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned".
"Yes, sir" Ruby gives a loose salute "Ruby Rose".
"Jaune Arc" Jaune aid.
Nora began posing with her arms held stiffly out to the sides "Nora Valkyrie".
Ren putts his arms behind his back "Lie Ren".
Lucina gives a small wave "Lucina Lowell".
Lionheart chuckles "A pleasure to meet you all. Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but-".
Hearing this, Qrow briefly clenches his fists and then leans in toward Lionheart "What? Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?".
Lionheart got wide eyes "Qrow, the children".
"Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?" Qrow demanded
Lionheart takes a moment to let the information sink in "You... filled them in?".
"So, is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?" Nora asked.
"Nope, not one bit" Lucina answered.
In the front room of the Belladonna Family Home, Ghira and Sun burst in through the front door, angry. Kali and Lyrewatches from the front porch.
"Unbelievable!" Ghira said in anger.
"Total garbage!" Sun agreed.
Ghira lets out a growl, and he and Sun turn to each other speaking at the same time "We can't let them get away with this!".
Kali smiles "Well, at least you two can finally agree on something".
"Well they had to at some point" Lyre said.
Ghira and Sun look at them, then back at each other. Sun gives an awkward chuckle while rubbing his head, and Ghira glares slightly and growls, fists clenched. The four soon have their attention called to Blake, who speaks up from the porch.
"Guys. Everything's going to be okay" She said.
A little while later, Lyre sits on the roof, eyes closed... After a few moments she opens her eyes as she sensed something.
"Finally showing yourself... Sis" She said, not turning around to look at her sister, who was standing behind her.
"Why did you come here, Lyre?" Lethe asked.
Lyre still didn't turn around "My friend needed help, so I came with her. And now she needs my help more than ever".
"So you are going on some noble crusade to stop the monsters of the White Fang? Even after all that happened, you still haven't learned anything" Lethe said.
Lyre final stands up and turns around "Oh shut up! You really think you have any ground left to stand on after everything you did?! Because of you and your monster friends, innocent people died and you nearly tore my throat out! I'm still recovering from that".
Lethe looked down "I... I didn't mean to... I was just mad and-".
"And you became the very thing humans say you are. A feral animal. Lethe, you are not on the right side, you must realize that by now" Lyre said.
"There is no right side in war, Lyre. Only the side you believe in. And if there is even a smallest chance that we can finally make humans pay, and lift the Faunus up to the position we deserve. Then it's worth the cost" Lethe said.
Lyre narrowed her eyes "Even killing me?".
Lethe looks at her before walking up to her and put a hand on her shoulder "Not if you leave. Get out of Menagerie, Lyre. I can even make sure you get away safely, and I can easily make up an excuse on how you got away. Please Lyre, just listen to me, and leave".
Lyre was silent for a moment, before removing Lethe's hand from her shoulder "Nothing good ever came from listening to you. And you refuse to listen to me... You never believed in me. But the people here will listen, when we go public with the information we got from your friend's scroll".
"Are you so naive that you think that will work?" Lethe asked.
"Won't know unless we try" Lyre said.
Lethe sighed before she turned around and began to walk away "Fine, have it your way. Just remember, what happens next, is on you. But you are not the only one who is trying to help someone you love".
Lyre watched her leave before she looked down, her fists clenched.
Elswere, Lethe met up with Ilia, who looked sad.
"Let me guess, Blake didn't heed your warning?" Lethe asked.
Ilia sighed "No... She didn't...".
"Same with Lyre. Both hold on to their impossible dream" Lethe said.
"Yeah..." Ilia agreed but was barely paying attention.
"You ok?" Lethe asked.
"Blake... She was the last person I wanted to fight..." Ilia answered.
Lethe knew why, so she made Ilia look at her and stroke her cheek "I understand, Ilia... But you can move on from that now".
Ilia looked at her, before her freckles turned pink "I know... Will you...?".
Lethe smiled "Of course".
With that... the two White Fang members kissed.
The teens and Qrow are gathered in Lionheart's office, with the headmaster sitting behind his desk.
"I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you" Lionheart said.
"No, reckless is leaving one of the Relics completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!" Qrow shot back
"There was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" Lionheart said, standing from his chair, fists clenched "Vale wasn't the only Kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces, saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens... and then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us" He walked to a window and looking outside "Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution. And it's only gotten worse".
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
Lionheart leans on the windowsill "We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo, now it's the closing of borders" He turns and looks at Qrow "I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more unfortunate tendencies. And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is".
"All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here!" Qrow pointed out.
Ruby moves closer to the two "Okay! Okay. Things are bad; they're bad. But we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?".
Lionheart looks at Qrow "I thought you filled them in".
"Mostly filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason" Qrow said while taking his flask from his shirt drinks.
Lionheart sits back down in his chair "The four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and they are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics".
"What?" Jaune asked.
"How is that possible? Where are the relics even? And why can only the Maidens reach them?" Lucina added.
"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden. Winter for the gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice and Spring for Knowledge" Qrow answered before taking another drink "Spring is the problem".
"What happened to her?" Ren asked.
Lionheart looked down "She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now".
"I... know. At least... I have a pretty good idea" Qrow said.
Lionheart widens his eyes and stands up "Are you serious?".
"It's not exactly good news" Qrow said.
Lionheart walks around to Qrow from behind his desk "What are you talking about? This is incredible news!" He grabs Qrow by the shoulders and began shaking him "After all these years! Where?!".
Qrow shoves him off "I did some digging around. Looks like, after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe".
"Raven" Lionheart realized.
Ruby lets out a small gasp of surprise as Jaune speaks "Yang's mom?".
"That's right" Qrow pulls out his Scroll, walking over to and placing it on Lionheart's desk. The hologram monitor on the desk displays a map of Remnant "That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier".
Lionheart walks over and patting Qrow on the back "Well, Qrow, I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks".
Lionheart walks over to the computer, while Qrow clenches his fists "A few weeks?".
Lionheart pulls up a hologram keyboard and taps a few keys "That's right".
As he walks back around his desk Qrow began losing his temper "Leo, maybe you didn't hear me. My sister has the Spring Maiden, and I know where she is. We need to go, as soon as possible!"
He knocks books off the desk, Lucina gulped. She made a mental note to never piss Qrow of.
Lionheart glares at him angrily "And perhaps you didn't hear me. This Kingdom is in shambles. "As soon as possible" does not mean tomorrow. It means, as soon as I can convince the council that I need Huntsmen more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon".
"Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen and these kids aren't exactly pushovers" Qrow said.
Nora jumps up while Ruby fistpumps "Yeah!".
Ren stands up "Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?".
"I have a feeling Raven isn't one for peaceful solutions" Lucina said
"You're right. We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible. And Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight" Qrow said.
"Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched. And I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe and a Maiden that's no doubt had years to hone her skills. We need to be positive we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail Raven and her tribe will scatter. And we'll be lost. We get one shot at this. And it needs to be perfect" Lionheart explained.
Qrow stares for several seconds before sighing "You know Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here".
"Perhaps you're right. But he's not. I'm doing the very best I can" Lionheart said.
"There has to be something we can do" Ruby said.
"What about Cinder? She came with Líf, Emerald and Mercury from Haven. Do you have anything on them?" Jaune asked.
"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries" Lionheart answered.
Jaune tightens his fists and glares at the floor in anger. Lucina looked away, hearing Cinder's name alone was enough to make her angry... She just wanted Cinder out of her life for good... And knowing she was still out there was not a comforting thought.
There's another beat of silence before Qrow speaks "Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo".
"I'm sorry. I know you've all traveled a long way. But I will do everything I can to help" Lionheart said.
"Sure. We'll stay in the city for the time being" Qrow said before taking out his Scroll and waggling it at Lionheart "Local comms are still up. Keep in touch. Come on, kids".
They all begin to file out of the room. At the rear, Ruby turns around to face Lionheart again "It was nice meeting you, Professor".
Lionheart takes a moment to respond "Likewise".
After Ruby departs, Lionheart hangs his head, looking stressed. A holographic W projects up from his desk, followed by the sound of Watts' voice "Oh, Leo. We have got to work on your improvisational skills".
Qrow and the teens walk back down the academy hallway.
Nora is the first to stop and speak "So, what do we do now?".
Qrow sighs and turns around "You five head back to the house. I need a drink".
He walks off, leaving the five teenagers looking at each other with concern.
Two familiar bikes are parked at a fuel station named "Just Rite". Inside, a bartender cleans a glass.
"Aren't you two a little young to be drinking?" He asked
Yang takes off her aviator sunglasses "A water. It's hot out".
"Long travels really wears you out, ya know" Severa said.
"Ohhh. Sure" The bartender disappears below the counter and laughter comes from the drunk man a few seats down from the girls.
"Are you telling me you're too young to drink? You both look like a regular Huntresses. And real beauties at that" He said.
"We're good. Thanks, pal" Yang said.
"Yeah, look elswhere if you want to flirt" Severa said
The Guy approached Yang undeterred "Seriously. Not too bulky. Not too lean. You're...".
"Just right. Yup. Like I said, we're good" Yang said.
The mook puts his hand on the countertop next to Yang with a soft moan before reaching out with his other "And your hair...".
Severa grabs his wrist before he can touch Yang's hair "Keep your filthy hands of my cousin!".
He barely glances in the correct direction before Severa's fist slams into the side of his face. Falling backward, a tooth knocked out of his mouth, the man hits the floor and rolls like a bowling ball out the doors.
"I could've handled that" Yang said.
"I know. But you are my cousin, so instincts tells me to help you" Severa said, earning a smile from Yang. She was still getting used to the knowlade that she and Severa are cousins, but she likes it.
The Bartender straightens and sets two bottles of water on the counter "This one's on the house. He's been driving me crazy".
Yang reaches for for a bottle with her left hand, but it trembles. Her metal hand grabs and steadies it. Severa looked at her in concern. Yang gives a long, shaky sigh before picking up the bottle and guzzling the water down. Severa sighed and did the same.
"So, what brings you two around these parts?" The bartender asked.
Yang holds up a finger, still guzzling until the water is gone "Thanks. And we're, uh, looking for someone".
The Bartender chuckles "Not too many people come out here. Too far from the Kingdoms. Only person worth notin' around here is... well, Ra-".
Yang cuts him off "Raven Branwen. Thanks again".
The Bartender looked worried "N-now, missy! You don't want to go messin' with bandits! They're a world of trouble!".
"We are aware" Severa said as she and Yang leaves.
Outside, the Shady Man is on the ground holding his face, but he calls out to the girls as they straddles and engages their bikes "Hey, girls!".
"Seriously? This isn't over?" Yang asked annoyed.
"I heard you two are... looking for someone. Heh" He gives her a toothless grin.
Back in Mistral, Lucina was laying on a bed and sighed. They were aware of that not all their problems would just go away as soon as they arrived in Misral... But she had hoped for something more than this. She looked up when Ruby entered the room.
"Hey Ruby. You got anything planned?" Lucina asked.
"No, I'm just going to read some comics" Ruby said.
Lucina motioned with her hand "Come here for a sec".
Confused Ruby walked up to her "What is-Whaaa!".
Lucina suddenly yanked Ruby on top of her. Holding Ruby close while pressing her head agains her chest "Gotcha".
Ruby blushed "L-Lucina!".
"Your comics can wait. Right now it's cuddle time" Lucina said.
"O-Ok..." Ruby said as she listened to Lucina's heartbeat "This... feels nice...".
Lucina smiled "You know what else is nice?".
Ruby looked up and was about to ask what... Before Lucina kissed her on the lips, making her blush even more. She was still new to kissing, so it was hard to figure out what to do without her mind going blank. The kiss lasted for a bit before they slowly pulled back.
"Warn me before you kiss me like that" Ruby said.
Lucina giggled "But then I wouldn't get to see your cute reactions".
Ruby pouts, before she smirked and kissed Lucina, which surprised her. But Lucina quickly kissed back, holding Ruby close... However, their romantic moment was interrupted by a lot of commotion outside. Annoyed both girls decided to go check what was going on.
"What is going on out there?! Can't a girl enjoy some time with her girlfriend in peace!?" Ruby demanded before Qrow burps and chuckles catch her attention. She sighs and puts a hand to her forehead exasperatedly "Qrow, did you get drunk again?".
"Maybe" Qrow answered in a clearly drunken tone.
"Oh. You have silver eyes" Both Lucina and Ruby looked to see a young boy, who looked even younger than Ruby.
Ruby looks at him, a touch surprised. She turns to Ren and Nora, who shrugs, before looking back at the boy "Who... are you?".
"Uh... Well. My name is Oscar Pine" The boy answered.
"Wait for it..." Qrow said.
"But you probably know me as... Professor Ozpin" Oscar said.
The team all gasp, and look confused. Jaune takes a couple steps back.
Qrow continues chuckling while punching his fists into the air "I did it!".
He falls off the couch onto the floor, startling Nora "Ooh!".
"Ok... What the hell is going on!?" Lucina demanded.
"Yeah... It's very confusing" Oscar said.
Confusing was putting it mildly. This was downright unbelivable.
.
And so, Volume 5 has begun. Skipped the shorts, because I couldn't think of anything to write that would add anything to the story. So I just went straight to Volume 5.
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Tell me what you think.
