Unforeseen Complications.
Inside the Belladonna Family Home. Ghira, wearing glasses, paces back and forth looking at a piece of paper in hands, while Kali, Blake, Lyre and Sun all wait for him to be ready. Ghira then stops pacing and takes one last look at the speech he has written down, before sighing as his wife places a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"Yes. It won't be easy for the people to hear, but the truth often isn't. I know they'll do the right thing" Ghira said.
Blake then comes up and places a hand on her father's arm, giving an affectionate snuggle. Suddenly, the three are taken by surprise when another hand pats on Ghira's back.
He looks behind to see Sun "You got this".
The three give a brief look at Sun as he stands back and smiles, Lyre smiled as well "Once we get the truth out, we can start working on undermining the White Fang and stop them from destroying Haven. Like Sun said: You got this".
Ghira gained a faint smiled before he opens the doors as his family and Sun step out of the home to greet the crowd gathering outside. Some people in the crowd are wearing press badges and holding scrolls up to record the event. Others in attendance include Corsac and Fennec, who are bowing their heads, as well as Saber Rodentia and other Menagerie Guards.
Ghira steps up to the podium and raises his hand to quiet the crowd down "Thank you all for assembling here. I wanted to take time to address some of the rumors that have been circulating around our island. I believe that it is important for the people of this territory to understand the truth. No matter how you feel about the human race, I think we can all agree that the event now known as the Fall of Beacon was a tragedy. A tragedy that will set both man and Faunus-kind back. While the main aggressor is still unknown, we do have official confirmation that Adam Taurus... the leader of a powerful splinter group working inside the White Fang, was partially responsible for these attacks. His actions not only tarnished the reputation of an organization originally created to bring peace and equality to all, but to our entire race. With each day that this man remains unpunished, it becomes increasingly difficult to condemn those that look down upon us".
The crowd starts murmuring among themselves.
Ghira raises his hand again to quiet the crowd down "Recently, a spy from the same splinter group set their sights on this very home. My own daughter, Blake, and her friend did their very best to apprehend this individual. While they were unsuccessful after being physically assaulted and seriously injured, they were successful in obtaining the assailant's Scroll. With this, we have been able to ascertain that Adam Taurus has plans to overthrow the current leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan, and take over the reins himself".
At this, the crowd starts to loudly murmur in concern.
"His radical plans do not stop there, the documents on this scroll proclaim his next target to be Haven Academy and its attached CCT Tower. Their plan is to strike on the last full moon before the beginning of the Fall semester, roughly two months from today. I have sent my swiftest messenger to the government of Mistral, but I believe we have a greater responsibility. My relationship with the White Fang has been... an interesting one. Years ago, I led the organization to help try and create a world where I, and every Faunus who wished, could walk alongside the human race. And while I believe we made great strides toward this goal, it was made clear to me that the people both in and out of the White Fang wanted faster results. So I stepped down, and Sienna Khan was appointed as my successor. It's true that I do not fully condone many of her methods. What I do condone is what Sienna fights for: the idea that the Faunus and humans are, and should be, equal. Adam Taurus does not seem to have that goal in mind. What he has done benefits no one but himself. I think it's time that the Faunus showed the world that we are equals! Time that we snuff out this splinter group, and restore the White Fang to what it once was!" Ghira said and The crowd begins to cheer at this remark "To do this, I think the answer is clear, we must go to Haven and protect it at all costs!".
At this, the crowd suddenly stops cheering, showing some hesitance.
Ghira sees this and clears his throat "Before we proceed any further, I'd like to invite my daughter to come and share her story. Not only as a former member of the White Fang but also as a survivor of the Fall of Beacon" Blake steps up to the podium and faces her father "You can do this".
Suddenly, a familiar voice yells out from the crowd "TRAITORS!".
Ilia uncloaks herself, wearing her Grimm mask and clenching her teeth angrily. Blake gives a surprised look before glaring back at her.
Sun glares at her intensely "Ilia...".
"You have some nerves showing yourself here!" Lyre said in anger.
Ilia ignored her completely "Cowards... After everything the humans have done to us, everything they've put us through, you're asking us to help them?!".
Ghira tried to reason with her "I know we haven't been treated fairly...".
"Where was their help when the Dust companies treated our people like slaves?! Where was their help when Kingdoms hunted Faunus just for being who they are?! Where was my help when my parents were killed in a Dust mine?! WHERE?!" Ilia shouts.
"Young lady, progress takes patience and cooperation!" Ghira said.
"The Belladonnas are the worse kind of Faunus! They want us to work with the same people that are trying to hold us down! If you truly, truly want to help your people... now is the time to support Adam, not the Belladonnas! He will bring about the future that you deserve. And if you are unwilling to fight, know that the White Fang will do it for you!" Ilia said.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Lyre suddenly screams, silencing everyone who looked at her "How dare you stand there preaching about helping our people?! What have you and your feral friends EVER done to help us?! Name ONE thing you did that made our lives better!".
Ilia glares at her "We-".
"SHUT UP!" Lyre cut her of loudly "You are nothing but beasts! All you've ever done is justify humanity's fear and hatred towards us! You destroy everything you touch and kill anyone who dares think differently from you! My own sister nearly tore my throat out, all because I had the gal to have hope for a better future that wasn't built on corpses!".
The crowd looked shocked and some even disgusted by what they just heard. Where the White Fang really that violent?
"Me... Blake... Sun... Our closest friends where humans. I was the only faunus on my team, yet they helped and supported me more than other Faunus ever did, even my own sister didn't make me as happy as they did, if anything she was holding me back because she never trusted my judgment. I was at peace, I was happy... Then the White Fang showed up, AND RUINED EVERYTHING!".
Ilia looked around and noticed many of the crowd were glaring at her in utter disgust and hate... Whatever she was trying to accomplish was crumbling fast.
Lyre took a breath before looking back up with angry tears "I despise the White Fang... And do you all want to know why? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!".
With the situation getting out of hand, Ilia quickly uses her weapon to get out of the crowd and flee.
"After her!" Saber and the rest of the Menagerie guards move to chase down Ilia, while Corsac and Fennec exchange looks, a sign things didn't go as they planed.
Blake and Ghira angrily glare from the stage, while Kali has a worried look on her face... Before Lyre finally broke down and rushed inside, her emotions going out of control. All while Lethe watched everything from a roof top.
Back in Mistral, Oscar is sitting on a red armchair, nervously looking at the Huntsmen and Huntresses as they fawn over him.
"Did he age backwards?" Nora asked.
"He's possessed!" Jane declared.
"Or reincarnated!" Ren said.
"Or this is just a disguise" Lucina said.
"Oh! Isn't it weird?" Ruby asked.
"It is very weird, yes" Oscar said.
"Okay, okay" Qrow emerges from the kitchen holding a cup in his hand, having finally sobered up "Let's all just take a second and remember that this is very overwhelming for everyone".
The Team all step back together and nervously chuckle.
Oscar looks at Qrow "Thanks".
Qrow then takes a seat on the couch next to Oscar. Ruby and Nora have taken a seat on the couch perpendicular to Qrow's, while Jaune and Ren remain standing. Oscar then shares a brief look with Ruby, who giggles, causing Oscar to blush. Lucina gives him a warning glare, sending a clear message that Ruby is already taken.
"Ah, sorry!" Oscar briefly looks away "It's just I've never really met Huntsmen and Huntresses before".
"Well, uh... we've never met a person with two souls! So, first times all around" Ruby said.
Oscar smiles and chuckles at Ruby before he hears Qrow clear his throat "Not to break up the whole 'getting-to-know-you' game, but we need to have a talk. Mind showing us your little parlor trick, kid?".
Oscar groans "Yeah, okay. Just so you know, I'll still be here".
The teenagers look at him in confusion. Oscar then lowers his head and closes his eyes. Suddenly, a green and white aura shines from his body for a moment, Oscar opens up his eyes, which are now glowing, and he smiles.
When he speaks, they all hear a familiar voice overlapping with a bunch of other voices, including Oscar's "It is so very good to see you again, students".
All of the teens share brief looks of confusion.
"Wait, what just happened?" Jaune asked.
Ren looked confused as well "Professor... Ozpin?".
Ozpin nods "Correct. And though I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present mentally. He's merely handed over the control, so to speak".
Oscar spoke inside his mind "Just don't make us do anything embarrassing".
"I'm afraid this all must be very perplexing" Ozpin said.
"And alarming, and bizarre, and just really kind of hard to believe overall!" Nora said.
Ozpin chuckles "It's good to see you children still have your sense of humor. I know you've all been through tremendous hardship already. I'm sorry".
"I mean, it's not your fault" Ruby assured, though Lucina didn't really agree.
"It's all my fault" Ozpin said and as he continues to speak, Qrow gets up and goes back to the kitchen to get something "I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, and I wasn't exaggerating. I'm... cursed. For thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded soul. The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form, and clearly wasn't my last. It's... an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved".
"So who... what... are you?" Jaune asked.
"I am the combination of countless men who've spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant" Ozpin began explaining as Qrow walks back into the room and hands him a cup of tea "With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me. This curse was bestowed upon me by the Gods, because I failed to stop Salem in the past. But we must stop her now".
"And how do we do that?" Ruby asked.
"We start... by ensuring the safety of the Relic of Knowledge" Ozpin answered.
At night, Weiss awakens to find herself trapped in a cage and her wrists bound by rope. She saw Bernadetta laying next to her and gently shook her.
"Bernie, Bernie wake up" She whispered.
Bernadetta blinks awake and sits up "Weiss? Wait, what happened?".
Thy look around and notices the bandits from earlier that took thm. One of them is drinking, while the other notices the girls waking up.
He taps his drinking friend on the chest "Well, well, well, look who's awake".
"Wha... what's going on? Where am we?" Weiss demanded.
Suddenly a woman emerges from her tent "You know... I never thought I'd see a Schnee in this camp".
"Vernal!?" The two bandits suddenly stand at attention. Vernal walks over to Weiss' cage, holding Myrtenaster in her hand.
Weiss stands up, while her captor admires her weapon "What do you want?".
"Straight to the point. I like it. We don't normally deal in trafficking people - not really worth our time. But, once we realized we had a Schnee, and another rich kid, that changed" Vernal said.
"You're going to ransom us back to our fathers, is that it?" Weiss asked, and Bernadetta looked horrified at that.
"It's a shame you're a Schnee. You'd probably do quite well around here" Vernal said.
Weiss glares "I would never sink to your level".
Vernal's expression then changes to a frown "Just keep quiet and cooperate and you'll be back in your mansion before you know it. Don't make this complicated".
"No wait!" Bernadetta suddenly spoke, causing Vernal to look at her "You can't send us back. I know a lot of people think we're living the good life, but we don't! My home was nothing but a cage, and my father... Please, don't send me back to him".
Vernal looks down for a second and then sighs "It's not my call, little bird. Our leader makes the decisions around here".
"Who is your leader?" Weiss said, vaguely remembering the woman who knocked her out.
"Her name is Raven, and she isn't someone you want to cross" Everyone looked and saw Mareeta walking up.
"What are you doing Mareeta? You are supposed to be sleeping. You overused your eyes again" Vernal said.
"Just needed some air. I'm sure mother won't be upset unless I leave the camp" Mareeta said.
Bernadetta began piecing somethings together "Wait... Raven? As in Raven Brawen?".
"You know who she is?" Weiss asked.
"Yang told me once, though she didn't know any details" Bernadetta said before looking at Mareeta "But Raven is Yang's mother... Does that mean you're...".
Mareeta glares at her "That is non of your business. I'm aware of the family I have outside the tribe, but my loyalty will always be to the family I have here".
Vernal puts a hand on Mareeta's shoulder "Calm down Mareeta. Just go back to sleep".
"Fine..." Mareeta said before walking away.
Weiss watched her leave before she spoke "You said you wanted to avoid complications. What's going to make this complicated is when my sister finds out I didn't make it to Mistral. You know my sister, don't you? Winter Schnee? Special Operative of the Atlas Military? She's in Mistral now, and when she hears I'm missing, it won't take her long to find me - and you" Suddenly, the bandits start laughing, much to Weiss' surprise "What's so funny?".
Vernal laughs a little "Oh, I don't know if it's more funny or sad, but you're clearly out of the loop. Your sister isn't in Mistral anymore. No Atlas personnel are in Mistral anymore. General Ironwood closed the borders and recalled all his little troops and tin cans. No one is coming to rescue you".
The bandits are once again laughing as Vernal walks away from the girls, and Weiss closes her eyes forlornly.
Bernadetta was worried about what could happen. But she couldn't stop thinking about Mareeta. If she was Yang's sister, then why would Raven abandon Yang but keep Mareeta? She had silver eyes, just like Bernadetta and Ruby did... Something wasn't right here.
Back in Mistral, the group were continuing their talk.
"This is perfect! We were stuck at a dead end, but now, we can just take little cute boy Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!" Nora said happily.
Ozpin deadpans "Please don't call me that".
"We're not sure that's the best idea" Qrow said.
Nora pouts and groans and goes back to sit down next to Ruby and Ren.
"But I thought the Headmasters all took their orders from you" Ren pointed out.
"That was the intention. Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation. But Qrow told me about your meeting with Leonardo" Ozpin gets up and walks towards a painting of Mistral "He isn't just behaving irrationally, he's disobeying specific instructions I had left him. Something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities, either. No one outside of this room knows that I've paired with Oscar, and I think it may be best to keep it that way".
"Are you saying... Lionheart might be a traitor?" Lucina asked.
"I don't want to imagine he would ever turn on me. But until I know for sure what's going on, we better play it safe" Ozpin answered.
"Play things close to the chest until we get a better hand" Qrow said.
"Precisely. Now, we have two steps ahead of us" Ozpin turns around to face the rest of the group "The first is enlisting the aid of more Huntsmen".
"But the Mistral council-" Ren began to remind them that Lionheart had told them the council wasn't willing to part with any Huntsmen at the moment.
However Qrow quickly cuts in "Doesn't own every Huntsman in the Kingdom, and I've been here enough times to know where we can find some more".
"So long as they're trustworthy" Ozpin said.
"You can trust them to put up a good fight. I'll throw together a list tonight" Qrow puts his foot on the table, but his Semblance causes one of the legs to break and spill his cup of tea.
"Good luck with that" Nora said.
Qrow groans as he cleans up his mess. Lucina really felt sorry for him sometimes.
"After that, we can move on to step two" Ozpin said.
"What's step two?" Nora asked.
Suddenly, Ozpin has staff in his hand "Getting you five into fighting shape".
The Team once again exchange looks of confusion.
"But, uh, we already know how to fight" Ruby pointed out.
Ozpin points to Ruby "You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand-to-hand combat".
Ruby looked embarrassed "Well, uh, yeah".
Ozpin pointis to Jaune "Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved, but sorry to say, you've yet to unlock your Semblance. All of you still have a-ways to go before you're ready to pose any real threat against Salem and her forces. And though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his body and his Aura".
Oscar spoke in his mind again "Wait, what?".
"He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will expedite the process" Ozpin said.
"But if Qrow's out looking for Huntsmen, then who's going to teach us?" Ruby asked.
Ozpin then propels himself into the air with his cane, spinning counterclockwise into a barrel roll before landing onto the seat of the armchair, twirling his cane "Well, I believe I was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy".
All of the teens have various looks on their faces.
"We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it would occur prior to students' return. It's not much time, but it's better than nothing. Just don't expect me to go easy on you" Suddenly, Ozpin glows green and white again, switching control back to Oscar.
He has a hard time keeping his balance on the armchair before falling backwards groaning "You've gotta be kidding me".
Lucina couldn't help but to giggle "Welcome to the team, Oscar. Be ready for a lot of crazy stuff".
"Thanks for the heads up..." Oscar said weakly.
Back at the bandit camp, the two bandits have fallen asleep. Weiss notices this, and silently uses her Semblance to create a small summoning Glyph. A small Arma Gigas appears in her hands, sword at the ready.
"Weiss...?" Bernadetta asked while staring at the tiny Arma Gigas.
"No worries Bernadetta. We are not going back to Atlas. That, I promise" Weiss said with a smile.
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Tell me what you think.
