Intermission

World of Remnant

Blitzball

Okay, I've hope I would have a chance to discuss this, ever since I first heard of it. Okay, let's delve into it.

(A map of Remnant is shown)

So it's no secret that Remnant has a long and dark history. The biggest reason being is because of the Grimm.

(Beowulf Grimm are shown traveling all over the lands of Remnant)

The Grimm cause destruction, causing people to feel negative emotions and negative emotions bring even more Grimm.

(Villages on fire are shown next all across the lands)

It became a vicious cycle, even after the four kingdoms were founded.

(The Kingdoms were shown next, being represented by their symbols:)

(The green laurel wreath of Vale)

(The blue lantern of Mistral)

(The white staff of Atlas)

(And the orange swords of Vacuo)

And even with our brave Huntsmen stepping up to defend us, if we don't have something keeping us feeling good, the higher the chance the Grimm will come for us.

(Humanoid figures were shown next around the kingdoms, holding swords and spears as the Grimm rushed at them)

There's the basic stuff to make you feel good: houses, food, entertaining programs And then there's the stuff outside like sports.

And about a decade ago a brand new sport kicked off in Vacuo.

Blitzball.

(The camera zooms in on the Kingdom of Vacuo)

Now it's no secret that Vacuo has had it a little rough in the last century and even with the efforts of certain people to try and help them…

(The Schnee Family Symbol is shown)

But if there's one thing the people of Vacuo have that makes them strong, it's their 'never say die' attitude and they'll take any challenge thrown their way, in real life…or in games.

You see, some strange showed up a few years ago.

He had no home or at least no way back to his home.

(The outline of a muscular human was shown, entering the lands of Vacuo)

And we all know the number one rule in Vacuo: If you can survive here, you're welcome here.

Well this guy showed he could not just survive but he made it a point of letting everyone know it.

(The man held up a large sword as Grimm surrounded him and he instantly cut through all of them.)

He took the toughest missions and came back with barely even a scratch. Saved a lot of lives, put down a few too but they were bandits and that's okay in Vacuo. He eventually became a celebrity or as close to what one is considered in Vacuo and he came with a lot of stories.

(The man sat on the ground and was surrounded by a bunch of people)

He said he came from an island that no one else knew about and was looking for a way back. He talked about what it was like there and what games they played.

And then he had an idea.

(The man is then shown standing before a pool of water)

You remember Vacuo's deal with Ansem Schnee?

Well he delivered on his promise and started shipping ice and water to Vacuo which became a treasured resource. It reached a point that Vacuo was willing to trust him, at least with a long enough stick but the stranger introduced a new kind of power.

(The water rose up, becoming a large sphere and the man jumped in)

A sport that literally takes place underwater.

In Vacuo.

Tell me, I wasn't the only one laughing at how crazy that sounded.

(The man preformed all sorts of twists and turns, batting a ball around the sphere of water)

But the people liked what they say.

(Other people started jumping in and joining the man in the sport)

And it got really popular, really fast.

(A stadium was then built around a massive sphere of water)

Out of all the popular sports to come out of Vacuo, one that is played underwater was probably the last kind that anyone would expect.

But it stuck.

And soon word spread of a brand new sport and suddenly it was talked about all over Remnant.

(A map of Remnant is shown again with a Blitzball stadium now in every kingdom)

It's one thing to play a sport but it's brand new to play one underwater and people liked watching it just as much as playing it. It got popular enough that not only was a stadium built in each kingdom but our wise leaders found a way to make it even more popular.

(The Amity Colosseum is then shown)

The Amity Colosseum, originally used to host the Vytal Festival every two years in one of the Kingdoms, depending on time now had a new purpose. The unique biomes and Dust controls made it perfect to host a new kind of tournament:

The Intercontinental Blitzball Tournament.

(The center of the Amity Arena, a sphere of water is shown with multiple teams lining up to play. Green represented Vale, blue represented Mistral, white represented Atlas and orange represented Vacuo.)

A brand new sports league where teams from Kingdoms would compete in Blitzball, giving people something good to watch and to promote good relations between the kingdoms.

(Lines of Blitzball players were shown standing together, seemingly posing. Each of them a different color with one even being grey colored with partially slicked back hair. Another was colored white hair with his hair pushed to the left and had a cowlick.)

Needless to say it took very fast and became as popular as the Vytal Festival itself. Rather than waiting every two years, Amity would host a Blitzball Tournament once every year in whatever kingdom it happened to be in.

(The games were shown with a full audience cheering and applauding)

A chance to celebrate something new and to keep the competitive spirit between kingdoms alive and giving people who weren't cutout to be Huntsmen a chance to strive for something else.

Heheh…Who knew it would take some crazy crackpot in a bar to make it all possible?

(The screen fades to black)

Xxx

At a bar, Raven sat at the counter with her Grimm mask on the side. She took a sip of her drink and placed it back on the counter rather roughly. It was enough to make sure the bartender and the nearby customers stayed far away from her.

Raven was furious still about everything.

DiZ outwitted and outmatched her in every possible way and in every moment during their encounter. It was enough to show her he was maybe more dangerous than Oz or Salem. Even if she goes to any of those two she would still be in major trouble. Salem would force her to do her bidding even unlocking that vault with her powers of the Spring Maiden. Ozpin would not just be displeased but disgusted with her for what she has done and the powers that she had to do to acquire them.

She was desperate enough that she took up work as a Huntress again, even though it infuriated her to do so.

Every single mission she took as a huntress was good at times and completed for the benefit of the tribe as well on the orders from DiZ himself. A few members reasoned that it was impossible that DiZ could be keeping an eye on the tribe 24/7 and tried going out on their own and they never came back. Only one of them was allowed to give out the message. Surprisingly Raven was actually grateful for that, considering those who followed the ignorant idiot disobeyed her.

It would send the right message to the tribe to heed her warning and commands.

To protect innocent civilians DiZ obviously took them to that digital prison he had shown her and they were likely imprisoned for the rest of their lives. That wasn't only an example but a warning for her and the rest of the tribe. Luckily for her, it seemed DiZ knew that they had gone against her orders but it was concerning he was keeping an eye on her and the tribe.

And that group that was likely imprisoned in that digital place would be for a long time… Raven knew that was just a warning shot.

Even if they did it out of their own free will without her permission she got off lucky and the rest of the tribe did too. Those who do not have brains are not fit to be in the tribe either. So it was not a total loss but a very good reason for them not to do it either by her order or behind her back their independent intentions.

There is no one she can turn to.

DiZ has them in the palm of their hand. No matter where they go unintentionally or not they have to be careful about their choices. Raven had no clue how he was monitoring the tribe so closely since they were out in the deep forests of Anima, away from any civilization.

Could he be tracking her scroll?

They had a few electronics for practical reasons but if DiZ could engineer a digital prison he was probably a master in computer electronics.

Raven thinking so hard and desperately when one of the memories and stories that Oz had spoken about was the Ocean Knight or Silver Knight.

"RAGH!" A man with dark hair and red eyes charged at the woman in silver armor who raised her white and blue sword like weapon.

SQUILCH!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" The man screamed as his right arm was cut off and fell to the ground, blood spilling as he fell to his knees.

She was a little girl at the time but she remembered seeing the woman in the armor.

"Raven, Qrow, my children…" The man was now sitting in bed, looking directly at her. "You both have an important task for the tribe. The strong live and the weak die…That is our creed and we have lived by it. Only we face a threat."

He coughed and covered his mouth with his remaining hand.

"You two will go to Beacon Academy. Aside from Grimm, Huntsmen are the only threats to our tribe. You are both at the appropriate age. Enter Beacon Academy for it is hailed as the greatest Huntsmen Academy on Remnant." He continued. "Learn how to be Huntsmen. Learn how to kill Huntsmen and become the best warriors to ever graduate from that academy. And find out the identity of the woman who did this to me!"

He held up his bandaged stump where his right arm used to be.

"She was a Huntress…Only a Huntress could have done this to a member of our tribe. Find out who she is so we can have our revenge."

The one who cut off the arm of the man who raised her and her brother.

She had almost forgotten that day.

"The Silver Knight?"

Ozpin closed a book as he looked up at the young Raven. "You wish to know of her?"

"Yes." Raven nodded. "She is considered a legend around Mistral but you know more about her."

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed I do. The Silver Knight is indeed as real as myself, Salem and the Maidens."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "So has she lived as long as you? Is she like you?"

"Not exactly." Ozpin put the book down. "I do not know the full story of how she has lived so long but I know this much. It seems her…ability is tied to my own curse. Whenever I die, she disappears and only reappears when I have reincarnated."

Raven's eyes widened in surprise. "Disappears and reappears?"

"I was surprised about it myself. What was more surprising is that whenever she reappears, she is returned to the same young age she was when I first met her. She ages like a normal person does but always returns to that specific age when I have reincarnated." Ozpin explained.

Raven was silent, taking a moment to process all of this. "And when did you reincarnate?"

"Just when I was starting at Beacon myself." Ozpin answered as he brought up a picture for Raven to see.

Her eyes widened when she saw a young Ozpin with three others. One of them was a woman with blue hair and eyes, dressed primarily in black with blue cloths around her waist and silver pointed high heeled shoes.

"Her name is Aqua and we were Team AEON." Ozpin placed the picture on the desk. "In many ways, we were much like Team STRQ back then."

Raven carefully looked over the picture. "And where is she now?"

"Sadly, I do not know." Ozpin closed his eyes and sighed. "We graduated from Beacon and after I became headmaster here we went our separate ways."

"Did she know?" Raven asked.

"Oh, she knows." Ozpin smiled. "She turned down working with me but she was always someone to count on, no matter what. I have faith that if we are ever in need…She will come. It's who she is. She never forsakes she considers a friend."

When she thought about that person she realized that the Silver and the Bronze Knights would be more of a chance for them to get out. The only problem is that she had no idea where either of them were they were. So this means she has to take each one of these missions as a huntress to help her tribe and seek out information about the two knights.

Oz had a close relationship mostly with the Silver Knight. She had blue hair, and ocean-blue eyes, and wore black and blue clothes, and silver armor. It was harder than a needle in a haystack but it's worth it to ask her to get out of DiZ's grasp.

Although, Aqua is supposedly a kind-hearted nature hero so she has to trick her to help her out in her tribe of bandits.

Xxx

Sometime Later

Of everything that had happened in this crazy ordeal Ozpin had rethought that info broker DiZ came in handy with the information to cut out the small problems that became major issues and resolved them nicely. He had personally looked into all the corrupted members that were listed on the folder that DiZ had given him and with the help with his friend General James Ironwood whom he had also shared the information who had looked into the matter personally as well Ozpin could safely say he had cleaned up a bit of Vale's problems nicely. He made all the arrests of the corrupted members, even the police officers who worked for or were even bribed by Roman Torchwick. By doing that and clearing the citizens that were accused due to their heritage were now set free and they were informed of the reason why they were arrested because of their outcome.

Roman and the Blood Fang had been trying to rally up their White Fang members to join the Blood Fang by making it look like the Vale police had been corrupt and prejudiced against the Faunus. When the Faunus found out about this were not only beyond crossed with the Blood Fang but were willing to snitch out all of their recruitment areas to join Blood Fang groups and point out the locations throughout the city. Surprisingly enough DiZ's information about the corrupted council and police force had removed a great deal of problems from the situation and even yielded great results that the Faunus refused to join the agreement of the Blood Fang and sold them out instead of their intentions going downhill for the Blood Fang. Oz had hated to admit to this but he needed to clean up his backyard to make sure this won't happen again.

Now there were true investigators who found a lot of stolen shipments of dust caused by Roman Torchwick who had the help of likely someone from inside the Atlesian military. So many dust shipments were stolen that it enough to more than maintain an army and their locations had somehow been leaked out to the Blood Fang. Sadly the Blood Fang was only a small cell group which meant they won't be able to make any raids or start rioting without more members joining their cause. It didn't stop there until they found information about Roman's plans and his alliance with the Blood Fang.

They had stolen Atlesian military technology and supposedly moved their operations out of the city of Vale so now they had to find out where they were setting up their base of operations. Outside of Vale there were little places to a possible base, considering the natural protection of the mountains that protected Vale from the Grimm. The headmaster was relieved and yet now exhausted beyond belief. He picked up his scroll and called his friend to meet up very soon at the private place they could chat.

A secluded location in Beacon Academy he made that was quite handy.

Xxx

Ozpin and his visitor Qrow came over to the headmaster's table to pour a bottle of 12-year-old Atlesian wine. He was saving it for a special occasion since both of them have their moments of talking about their rough times that they could be good friends over time.

"So I heard you and Jimmy really cleaned house." Qrow commented as he and Ozpin sat down on some comfortable looking chairs in front of a fire place with the fire already lit. "Almost makes up for him being an idiot for bringing his entire fleet to Vale."

"The information provided by DiZ might have saved us a great deal of trouble." Ozpin sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "He was right when he said I let the corruption in Vale fester for too long."

"You're a busy man, Oz but there is a reason I never really liked the councils in charge. Too quick to look out for themselves." Qrow replied, sipping his drink. "Really helped huh?"

"We stopped the Blood Fang being led by Adam Taurus who we know is leading the Vale branch from convincing the White Fang still led by Ghira Belladonna to join them but I am sure they are still enough pose a threat." Ozpin answered. "With the corrupted officials Torchwick had been bribing we finally have some good police and detectives working again and they managed to figure out that the Blood Fang was moving their operations out of Vale while crippling the illegal Dust trade in Vale."

"Meaning Torchwick doesn't have a leg to stand on anymore. Not that he really did." Qrow commented. "DiZ really came through for ya."

"He did." Ozpin nodded. "Though we should still remain on guard around him. We barely know anything about him."

"Not going to argue with you on that." Qrow took another sip. "By the way I don't suppose you've heard what's going on in Anima."

"What has happened?" Ozpin sighed, believing it was something bad.

"I did a little looking around while again trying to find the Spring Maiden. Turns out Raven has been taking active Huntsmen missions again." Qrow answered.

Ozpin looked at Qrow. "Really?"

"She's been working hard to keep herself anonymous, keeping that stupid mask on, coming it late at night and accepting any mission that only involves clearing out Grimm or taking in criminals or killing them if they are affiliated with Shan-Yu. She collects her money and then leaves, nothing said." Qrow answered. "It's been happening for a few years now since I last saw her."

"What do you make of that?" Ozpin asked curiously.

"I think Raven's got a problem that won't go away. Almost like someone convinced her to stop raiding villages." Qrow put the glass down. "I doubt Leo was able to do anything about that."

"And she wouldn't have stopped if you or I tried to speak with her." Ozpin threw in. "This suggests only someone she believes is dangerous enough to her and the entire tribe would be enough to convince her to stop her raids."

"DiZ." Qrow said flatly. "He must have put on a real scare for her. And she's collecting money from missions to try and keep the tribe fed and happy."

"Agreed." Ozpin stared at the fire. "He must be more dangerous than we initially thought. Another reason to be on guard. Have you tried getting in contact with Raven to see what she might know?"

"Nope." Qrow simply said. "Even if DiZ is the cause of it and even if we are on guard around him, this is her problem. Not ours and I don't really plan on talking to her. Her and the tribe are not my problem anymore."

Ozpin let it be, respecting his friend's wishes.

The two buddies enjoyed their time over the hours about their recent events and reports. Suddenly, the Headmaster of Beacon changed the subject to a personal interest that came up long ago.

"It makes me wonder about my previous life and my second chance to start something new, if I had made the choice of choosing her instead of Salem." Ozpin said out of the blue.

Qrow looked over to his friend about what he meant by that. He quickly recalled his friend's story of reincarnation.

And the story about the new gods.

When he realized who Oz was talking about when he said 'her instead of Salem'.

"Hold on a moment I do remember a lot of things that you told me in your days when you first started your life again. But are you saying you thought about choosing Aqua as your wife instead of Salem?" Qrow asked with a surprised look on his face.

The headmaster nodded that he was right on the mark. "If I chose Aqua I believe things would be a lot different. Although, I didn't listen to her either what she had told me, Diggs who is the name of that previous life filled me in on the lost memories."

He took a quick drink and set it back down, tasting the richness and bitterness of the drink. Qrow knew his friend very well but finding out about this including his love interest that he knew of makes him realize they were kind of like the headmaster in him are kindred. Both of them took for granted women they had drawn interest to for some time and being more than friends. Sadly he took it for granted and never had a chance to tell her.

Except for the headmaster Ozpin he was in between the lines of two girls one was a true friend, instead, the other girl was not what he expected. She had other lives to ruin causing disaster one after another by her awful choices.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have fall in love with her and left her long ago." He finished his glass and then he brought out the large bottle and poured a little bit more gazing upon it. "If only I had listened to my friend. She had her own secrets and turned me down about joining my cause but her plans after the Great War made a large change for everyone, especially her company creating more promising and hopeful better future for all the kingdoms including the fifth one."

Oz drew an index finger around the rim of the glass making a singing note. Qrow looked over his friend knowing the headmaster can hold his liquor better than him even pretending to be drunk. He can tell he's not drowning in liquor telling him all of this. The one he rescued from a cruel father of a king and then fell in love with that turned out to be nothing more than a wretched woman after his first life and second.

While the other was a friend, a comrade in arms, a woman warrior mage with grace and agility like no other who aided him against a tyrannical warlord and a monstrous demon who sought to bring harm to the world. Known in many legends as the Ocean Knight she was worthier to be someone who could unite this world instead of him.

Even the Brothers favored her more than their own creations.

"With my experience, it's like women are a different species or something." Qrow said as he took another sip.

"Well, what about your relationships, Qrow? Did any of them ever actually stick out?" Ozpin asked curiously.

"Hmmm…Honestly, most of the relationships I've been in were one night stand ins if I'm gonna be honest. Though if I had to pick a couple relationships that really stand out were her along with…Summer Rose and Winter Schnee." Qrow spoke up.

Ozpin looked over at Qrow. "I wondered about that from time to time. You really had something with Summer?"

"No…Our relationship was…complicated. It was honestly a love triangle between her, Tai and me." Qrow answered.

Ozpin was silent for a moment…and then smiled. "You and Taiyang had a thing together. Well, that confirms uncomfortable thoughts I had regarding Team STRQ."

"Kiss my ass." Qrow simply said and immediately the two laughed. "Yeah well…Until her death she decided to be with Tai. A part of that reason was me…that's also kind of the reason I never settled down. Because of my Semblance I never wanted Summer or her to get hurt so I let them both go."

Ozpin nodded his head in understanding.

"But Winter…she's a bit different. I don't know, with how tough she is…She just seemed like the person who wouldn't care about my Semblance." Qrow chuckled. "Hehehe…And man oh man…I love making her mad."

"Hmm…As I recall, she tried to kill you when you two first met much like she did earlier when you came back here. When was that?" Ozpin brought a hand to his chin.

"I like them feisty." Qrow said and shook his head. "But I think I'm old enough to be her dad…So yeah, probably wouldn't work."

Ozpin scoffed. "You're at least two decades younger than her father and he looks even younger than his age would suggest."

"Still, didn't want the fame and having to try and measure up to," Qrow raised his glass in a dramatic fashion. "Ansem the Wise."

"I suppose that's one reason." Ozpin rolled his eyes.

"And the fact that she is technically her granddaughter." Qrow took another sip.

"Hmm…" Ozpin hummed at that. "That would be awkward. Her memories still have not returned even if her skills and power have remained intact."

"Though there is no way to know for sure she won't disappear if and when you die." Qrow pointed out.

Ozpin nodded in agreement. "Yes. There is that possibility. I hope it isn't the case but we still don't know how she was able to follow me through time. There is evidently much more to the Keyblade than any of us thought possible."

"At this point, nothing surprises me anymore." Qrow said as he and Ozpin finished their drinks.

They poured at least one more glass of Atlesian wine. They then lifted them up and both clinked their glasses together before drinking it all down.