Ok so after many months, I give you you guys an actual chapter. No Authors Note BS, no asking for you to vote on something. Just straight up story. Although I have to warn you guys, there's not much for action. It is the down time and exposition within V5.
But let's get a quick recap real quick.
So the last story chapter was simple enough. Noble drove the group to Ren's home town and fought the Nuckelavee, got the team to Mistral and had a moment with Ruby. Meeting Leo and her having ' a funny feeling' and leaving a couple of bugs, and Oscar coming into the picture with Shadow asking about a sharpie.
Ok everyone caught up? Yes? Ok. Here we go
Leonardo Lionheart sat at his desk as he waited for for Aurthor Watts to arrive. He took a breath as he thought about the last thirty minutes. His mind was in turmoil. He was going to gather any information he could and hand it over to Salam, and then have them killed. But to kill such an innocent and young girl? Hell any of them for that matter. The orange haired girl, and the two boys, is such a waist. They could do so many things with their lives. Farmers or soldiers. Tradesmen or doctors. Husband and wives. Mothers and fathers.
He blew out the breath he took in. A coward. That was all he was. A coward and a fool. A fool that would turn his back on his friends and colleges because he was afraid. He knew that Salam wanted to burn Haven to the ground to spite Ozpin. And what could he do to stop her? Nothing. He has seen what she can do, and it horrified him to his core.
He heard the door open as Watts walked.
" Well. We shouldn't keep the queen waiting." he said gesturing towards the hidden door.
Leo walked up to the book shelves and pulled a lamp.
" You know, it is almost meme worthy that you had to pull a lamp to open a door. What is this? ``Pirates of the Carabian?" Watts asked no one. Leo shrugged as they entered the long hallway towards a floating ball with tentacles. The glass bulb lit up as Salam and Cinder appeared in the sphere.
" Your-your grace. Are you there?" Leo cowardly said as he bowed.
The bulb filled with smoke and presented an image of Salam and Cinder.
" Leonardo, are you here to report?" She asked
Before he could answer,Watts came up and tapped the bulb.
" I still can't get over how this thing works." he said before his town switched to a mocking one, " Oh and Cinder is here as well! Is she done potty training yet?"
" Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Watts." Cinder angrily said to him.
" Oh. You recover. Terrific."
" Watts, Leo. Report." Salam said cutting off any further argument.
Watts backed up to be seen.
" We have some news on the Spring Maiden." Watts reported.
" Really? And how did yo come by this?" Salam asked.
" A little bird told us." Watts said.
Salam just had an expectant look, waiting for some one to through her the bone she can clearly see. Watts pushed Leo forward, with leo having a pained look.
" Your grace, Qrow Brawnwen was the one to tell us this. He and the students came by earlier and said that she was with Ravenand her tribe." Leo said timidly.
" Is the girl with him." Cinder asked with clear hatred towards Ruby.
" Ms. Rose was in attendance. But you must hurry! They might…grrraa!"
The ceare lashed out with a tentacle and wrapped it around his throat.
" Leo. You are becoming braver. See to it that it stops." Salam said as Leo started to choke.
The seerer let him go as he started to gasp for air.
" Watts. You are to accompany Cinder and her team to Raven's tribe and 'convince' her to join us for her tribe's sake. Then return to us. Tyrian is in need of a new tail."
Watts growled. " The girl?" he asked.
Salam nodded and was about to end the call, but Leo spoke up.
" With all do respect your grace, I still have one more thing I need to say." He said as he growled.
Salam looked at him.
" There was another person with him. A heavily armored huntress or a war android that they managed to get from Atlas. I am not entirely sure. All that I know was that it moved without making a sound and was somehow invisible." He said averting his eyes.
" Interesting. You are both dismissed." Salam said as the bulb clouded and cleared.
Watts stretched as he turned to the door.
" Well. I must be off. That little child of a bitch Cinder is in need of my assistance." he said as they entered the office. " Keep the tea warm."
Watts opened the door and left, leaving Leo at his desk with a look of guilt, regret, and shame.
When Qrow woke up that morning, his head split like a log. He groaned as he got to his feet and made his way to the kitchen to get something for his headache. After some stumbling and searching he found what he was looking for. He ran the water into a glass and downed the pills. As he went to turn the faucet off however, his eye caught something distorted. He looked closer and saw something on his face. Frowning he went to the bathroom and flipped on the light and looked into the mirror. What met his eyes was a Sharpied on mustache and monocle.
He blinked. Blinked again as if it was an aberration. When it didn't fade, he calmly left the bathroom and into the living room. There he saw the group of kids talking and chatting with their resonant tank being accounted for.
" Who among you did this to me?" he asked the group getting their attention while pointing to his face.
The kids all held back giggles with Nora full on chuckling.
" Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?" he asked.
" There was an opportunity and we took it!" Nora squealed as she held her stomach laughing and fell onto her back.
Qrow just groaned as he went back into the bathroom and cleaned up his ugly face. When he came back a few minutes later, Noble was now standing there with her AI standing on a datapad on a table. The AI looked at him and smirked.
" I see you had to wash off your face." he said.
Qrow shot him a death glare. " You encouraged this didn't you."
" Guilty as charged." ShadowHawk said with a grin.
Qrow just groaned, " I hate you."
" Love you to man"
" All right. Now can this kid explain why he is here and why the children might know him as a different person?" Nat asked.
That got the room to shut up as the kid in question sighed. Qrow went to the kitchen and got a cup of coffee. He was going to need it to help explain things. When he came back, he sat down as Oscar took the main chair.
" Just so you know, I will still be here while Ozpin talks." Oscar said to the group.
He took a breath as he sat back. He suddenly jolted upwards as a yellow flash was seen. When he opened his eyes, they were green but with a golden hugh to them. The kid smiled as he looked at the assembled group.
" It is so very good to see my students again." a voice that was a mix of Oscar and someone else talking from beyond the grave.
The four students had looks of shock as the voice that sounded familiar to them. For Nat however, she had her eyes squeezed shut not out of pain, but at how close the voice sounds to someone she thinks she knew before her amnesia. A grey haired man with green clothing and an ever present coffee mug. That was all she could get before the image slipped away.
" Hey kid. You Okay? Your blood pressure just jumped." ShadowHawk said within the confines of her helmet.
" Fine. But that voice sounds so close to someone I knew. I just can't place it." She told him.
" It will come in time Nat. Just let it come naturally." was all Shadow said before paying attention to what the kid had to say.
"...I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still with us mentally. He just, let me take over the controls. So to speak." the kid with a new voice was saying.
" Shit. Ok so the kid is called Ozpin now just so you know." Shadow said cursing.
" I am sure this is all very perplexing…"
" And alarming, and bizarre, and really hard to believe." Nora stated.
Ozpinn laughed as he said that he was glad to see their sense of humor was intact. He suddenly looked down with a bit of pain.
" I am sorry for all the hardships you had to go through to get to this point." Ozpin said.
" Well, what happened wasn't your fault." Ruby said trying to cheer the guy up.
" Hmm. Remember when I told you I have made more mistakes than any man, woman or child on this planet? I wasn't exaggerating. I am, cursed. For thousands of years I have been walking the surface of Remnant. Living and dyeing to reincarnate into a like minded sole." He took a breath gathering his thoughts, " The professor Ozpin you knew was not my first form, and this one shall certainly not be the last. It's a process that takes a toll on everyone involved."
" So what is your final form? Is it something cool? Can you go super saiyan? Or am I thinking of a different show? Are you collecting balls? Dragon Balls? Get all of them and you get to make a wish?" Shadow asked out of nowhere as he popped up on the coffee table.
The group just looked at the AI with blank looks.
" What? It is a fair question. I know we are not in Dragon Ball Z but he just said that this was not his final form. Come on, am I the only one who wants to see his final form?"
" I guess we can finally address the big armored white elephant in the room…"
" Wait." said elephant said, " What are you. Because from what I can gather, reincarnation is only theory and has never been proven."
Ozpin took a breath, " I am the culmination of countless men who gave their lives to protect Remnant. And with each rebirth, my sole is merged with a new host. I may change," Ozpin was saying as Qrow handed him a mug. He looked deep into the rich brown steaming liquid as he spoke, "But our memories stay. I was cursed by the gods for failing to kill Salam in the past. So we must do it now." he finished.
" How." Nat asked.
" We start by ensuring the safety of the relic of knowledge. But I must ask. Who and what are you?"
" I am Lieutenant Natsizuki. Spartan B-312. Noble Six of Noble Team." Nat sounded off.
" A team? Are they here?" Ozpin asked with hope.
"Negative. It is just me. The rest, with the exception of one, are all dead."
Ozpin sighed. " More good people lost. I am sorry to hear it."
" They died fighting. And took as many of them alien bastards to hell with them." ShadowHawk said.
Ozpin arched an eyebrow. " Alien?"
" Oh yea that is right. You are not in the loop. So. Long story short Nat and I are from a planet far, far away. We are in a war with some religious fanatics that want to wipe humanity off the face of the galaxy. We have been fighting a losing war for nearly thirty years with little victory. We are out numbers, out gunned, and out classed. Nat and I managed to get out of there through an experimental portal that brought us here." Shadow said by way of explanation.
Ozpin look stunned.
" Ok. Now it is my turn to question if this is believable."
" It is." Ruby said matter of factly. When Ozpin's gaze landed on her she continued, " I have been having dreams. Most of them involved an alien landscape with dead bodies littering the ground and her finishing one off. And well she has been having the same dream as well. Meeting me. Handing me mom's emblem."
" I see." he said turning to her. " You knew Summer Rose?"
" Possibly. I know her somehow. But that memory is still needing to click into place. I took a nasty hit to the head while training and that caused me amnisa. All I know is that she was a kind sweet person that was a bit of a badass." She said.
Ozpin hummed in agreement. " That she was."
" I also showed them what we went through in the last twenty-four hours of our fight that could easily be brought here." ShadowHawk said.
" THIS IS GREAT!" Nora shouted getting everyone's attention. " All we have to do is take cute boy Ozpin her to see Lionheart and get everything straightened out!"
Ozpin just had a look of annoyance at the comparison, " Don't call me that."
Nora just huffed and plopped down on the couch and listen to Ren as he asked about the other headmaster taking orders from him.
" That was the intention. Four lieutenants I could trust especially with times of reincarnation." Ozpin was saying as he got up and paced, " Qrow told me of your meeting with Lionheart. Something is not right. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out the possibility either. No one outside of this room knows I have paired up with Oscar. Let's keep it that way."
" Playing things close to the chest, until we can get dealt a better hand." Qrow chimed.
" Indeed. Nat. How many people know of your existence not counting this room?"
" Scorpio boy and Lionheart sadly. I was trying to stealth that out and get as much intel as I could until a certain pair of someone's blew my cover." she said directing her gaze to both Ruby and Jaune.
They each had sheepish looks mixed with fear.
" Hmm. Tyrian. That may not be as big as a problem. Has anyone seen you in action? What all you can bring to the table?"
" I fought Tyrian. He would be the only one to have a good feel for what I can do. But not much else. And Lionheart only knows that I can stealth and cloak. And only Leo knows of Shadow Hawk here." She said pointing to said biker boy who gave " Yo."
" I see. So for the most part, everyone would know that you are a wild card. I am sure that I can speak for everyone here, that we would like to know what you can do. Is that possible? I would like to know what you are capable of so I can try to come up with a working strategy."
" Lets just call her a badass on steroids. She can flip tanks all by herself and has made militia groups disappear in a single night. Hell I think she did some headhunting for ONI." Shadow Hawk said to the group, " And as for weapons? Well. Weapons are part of her religion."
Ruby perked up at that, " Really? You have a religion that has and uses weapons?"
" Kid. You are over nine thousand on the adorable meter. There is no such thing aside from the Covenant. I just saw a meme that had that line in it." Shadow said.
Ruby deflated.
" But cheer up. I am sure your mom would not want you in a cult like that anyway."
Ruby blew out a breath, " Yeah. I guess you are right. But still, weapons are life." She said leaning back.
" And the other thing is to recruit more Huntsmen." Oz said picking his speech back up.
" But the council…" Ren started.
" Not all the huntsmen here listen to the council. Believe me. I have been here enough to know some of them and where to look." Qrow said cutting off Ren.
" As long as they are trustworthy." Ozpin said turning to look at Qrow.
" They are. And they can fight pretty damn well too."
" Then we can move onto step two, or whatever we are on." Oz said walking back to the chair and picking up the cain.
Ruby asked what that would be. She got her answer.
" Getting you four into fighting shape!" He said turning around.
The teens looked confused.
" Uhh. We already know how to fight." Ruby said.
Oz pointed his cane at her. " You can fight only if you have Crescent Rose. Unless you have gotten better with hand to hand over the past year, you still need training." He said as Ruby agreed. He then pointed to Jaune, " And you still have to unlock your semblance, is that right?" Jaune nodded. " As for the rest, it never hurts to keep up with your training. If for no other reason then to keep them sharp. Oscar may now have my knowledge, but it will take a while before his body can get the muscle memory that I have had. And his aura needs strengthening. Practicing will exhibit the process." he said.
" Qrow is out looking for more huntsmen, who would be teaching us?" Ruby asked.
Before anyone could answer, Nat spoke. First with a chuckle, " Who do you think." she stated.
Ozpin simply smiled at her before he sprung up onto the chair, " Yes indeed. Who. I am a former headmaster and she is a soldier. What I can't teach, I am sure she can." He said. " we have one month before classes resumes. That is not a lot of time but it is what we got. IF Salam were to strike, it would be during that gap. Just don't expect me to go easy on you." Ozpin said before the same flash was seen aaaaand Osar was back. He looked confused and fell flat on his face.
" Have a nice trip?" Shadow asked the boy as he was on the floor.
Qrow got up saying that he was going to start getting a list together of local Huntsmen that he can call on.
" Ouch. You have gotta be kidding me!" Oscar groaned out earning a laugh from the others.
After Qrow made his list, he got to work on finding the huntsman he knew would be willing to help in this crusade. But after meeting failure after failure did he start to feel the pressure. He looked at the last place he was going to check and sighed. He walked up to the run down house and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he tried a bit harder. Still nothing. He was about to go for a third when it opened to reveal a man.
" Oh. I am looking for Heather Shield?" Qrow asked the man.
The man just looked at him.
" Look man I have had a rough day, so if you can tell me where she is that would be great." Qrow groaned out just as a little girl came up to the man.
" Daddy. Does he know where mommy is?" She asked as she grabbed the hem of her father's shirt, wrap? Thing? It's a long shirt that goes to about the thigh and for men alright.
Qrow looked at the family with bewilderment.
" ...I-I- hhh. I am sorry to bother you." He finally told the two.
The girl looked back up to her father before she slowly turned away. Qrow backed out into the street as the rain started to soak him. He felt the storm of thoughts in his head as he made his way back to the bar he first checked as he pulled his flask out and just looked at it. As if it had the answers. He sighed and put it away. The storm reflecting his mood.
When he answered, the bar keep looked at him with annoyance.
" Got a lot of nerve coming back here. Unless you brought that idiot with you." he growled out.
" How much did Shiro owe you?" Qrow asked getting to the point.
" I would say about 16,000 Lein."
Qrow took out a card and handed it to him, much to the bar keeps confusion.
" You must be in real trouble if you are paying me off."
" Shiro's name is clear." was all Qrow said before he started to leave.
" Yea." the keep said still shocked at what happened. The shock turned into sorrow as Qrow shut the door.
" You idiot." was all the bar keep said with a shake of his head as he just kept sharpening his knife.
As Qrow made it back to Haven he looked at all the names he gathered. All were on missions. Some were in progress, others missing.
' How could so many Huntsmen just go missing like that?' he thought as he took a seat at the bench and contemplated.
Meanwhile at the house, the kids were having a sparring session. Ruby and Oscar were sparring hand to hand, while Ren was meditating, Jaune was watching on trying to pick things up, and Nora? Well she does what a Nora does. Probably taking a beowulf hostage and using it for target practice or something. That girl is crazy you know that? Note to anyone: DON'T GIVE HER ANYTHING THAT GIVES ENERGY!
As for Nat? She was hanging back playing ref as she watched the spar go on. To say she was disappointed would be an understatement. Ruby would be lucky to wound the pride of a lowly grunt. If this girl wanted any hope of fighting, she was going to need to step in. Hell even the surprise hit she got on Oscar was a lucky one shot that she stopped to cheer herself on.
She was surprised to see a flash as Ozpin took over. The joy Ruby felt at her success of landing a punch, to dread as she tried to back out of it. She then got her ass handed to her.
" That is enough. Ruby and Jaune. Here. Now." Nat commanded.
Both persons came up the her.
" You two have shown the smallest amount of unarmed combat. Now I don't have the time nor the facilities to fully train you. But you will know the basics at least. I am going to give you the building blocks, and you are going to find your own style of unarmed fighting. Jaune, you are a swordsmen. You already have some of the blocks to work with. And Ruby, you are small and nimble. You might not have the raw power behind a punch, but you can use your size to your advantage. And there's one thing that I need to make absolutely clear. When in a fight against other human beings, there is no such thing as a fair fight. If you need to fight dirty to survive, do so."
They had questions about fighting dirty and how each huntsmen should be held with a sense of honor, and when honor has no place on the battlefield. Mainly when black-ops is in question. Remember, ONI took six year old kids and brainwashed them into being the perfect soldier. That was unethical and wrong on so many levels. And she did tell them what she could under secrecy.
For the rest of the morning and afternoon, it was sparring. They went up to when Qrow should be on his way back with company, so they called it a day and started to make supper. Nat took the time to get Ozpin up to speed on what she can do and what she can bring to the party. To say he was impressed with the arsenal would be an understatement.
" Where were you during the fall of Beacon?" He asked more out of shock.
Nat just looked at him through her visor. " probably off on a backwater world full of Innes that were trying to destroy any UNSC forces and cripple us while talking on the Covenant." She said.
" Wait, are you saying that they tried to push out and kill the UNSC and make a deal with a genocidal race of aliens?"
" Pretty much." She said.
" Damn. That is like a small village killing huntsmen that are trying to protect them during a mass grimm invasion." Ozpin compared.
Nat was going to answer when she heard the sound of an engine. She took the steps back up stairs just as Qrow opened the door.
" I ammmm baaaaaack!" He called.
She herd Ruby call an "OK!" from the kitchen as Qrow answered that she may want to come to him. All he got was a " Be right there!"
" Is it me or is something burning?" Shadow asked as two other girls came in behind Qrow. One was in a blue dress that started as a dark blue at the top turn ice bue towards her thighs and blue heels. She had three gems hanging from the bottom part of the gem that connected the color and added some modesty over her boob window. She had white hair and ice blue eyes. On her waist was a white ribbon that held a rapier.
The other had long blond hair that reached her waist with lilac eyes. Her outfit consisted of a leather jacket with an orange top underneath, black pants with a brown belt with two gold lined tails hanging from the belt. A purple bandana wrapped around her left knee with brown boots that reach her knees. The notable features were her right arm which is a cybernetic prosthetic, and that her jacket was open enough to show her midriff and her umm 'Ahhhemmmms'. As for a weapon, the only thing she can see was a yellow bracelet on her left wrist.
" Ruby, you may want to come see this." Qrow called again.
There was a second as she heard the girl tell Ren to take over before she came in with a tray with tea.
" We didn't know how many people would be coming so we cooked all of the food…" She stopped herself as her eyes landed on the two. She dropped the tray as she began to tear up.
" Yang. I-I am so sorry. I know I should have stayed but I didn't know if you wanted me around so I-" Ruby was saying as Yang walked closer to her and embraced her.
" I am just so glad you are safe." The now named Yang said as Ruby just cried into her sisters embrace. The other girl just averted her eyes letting the touching moment pass between sister. She whipped a tear from her eye as she heard her name. She looked back and saw the two with open arms welcoming her in. She did not waste a beat and lept into the hug.
" Now that is a real sweet moment. Ahhhh, it's a shame we couldn't have this at home ye- know?" Shadow said to her in her helmet.
" Yea. We could use all the moral we can get back home." She responded with a smile of her own.
The other kids came in to see their long lost comrades and friends with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts.
In the middle of the woods we see a camp. Not just any camp, but Ravens camp. Wooden walls around the perimeter with different sizes of tents for different functions. Some were bigger for kitchens, others were smaller for personnel, and one that was more...ornate. The command tent. Ravens tent. She was sitting with a wet stone sharpening her blade.
She thought about Yang. Her own daughter was here, and she chose to leave her for her sister. And she could not blame her. Raven was never there for her. She kept an eye on her through the years, but she never interacted with her. Until yesterday. Yesterday Yang came walking in like a boss. She demanded answers. She could easily be a tribesmen leader. She had the strength, tenacity, and the courage to be one.
But Yang chose her sister over her mother. And why shouldn't she? Her and Ruby have always been there for eachother. Where she, her mother hasn't. She was here keeping the tribe out of Vale. She knew that if they did, they would choose Patch. And if they chose to camp on Patch, they may run into Yang. And if they ran into Yang and the others, they would possibly need to kill them. Yang and Ruby included.
She took a breath as she did another pass, as Vernal entered her tent.
" Raven. Salam and her forces have found us." She said.
Raven paused as she let the news sink in.
" I had hoped that we had more time. I will be right there." She said.
Vernal exited the tent and stood to the side as Raven got up and sheathed her blade. She then grabbed her mask and donned it before she exited the tent.
After a few minutes of talking and threatening, they came to an agreement. She wanted Qrow dead as a show of good faith. She knew Cinder was going to go back on her word, and as such made sure her secret was safe. The only thing she wished she had was an ace in the whole. Sadly she didn't have one. And knowing that Cinder had a revenge hard on for Ruby, knew that she would not get out unskathed.
As Raven looked at the map in her tent thinking over what just happened, Vernal came back from her scouting mission.
" They are staying in a bullhead on the other end of the clearing." Vernal reported.
" Where you seen?"
" No."
" Ok. I got a couple of people I need to see." Raven said as she turned to face her.
" May I ask who it is?" Vernal asked.
Raven thought about it for a few moments.
" I suppose I can tell you. I am seeing my dead teammate who was like a little sister. I need to apologise for what is about to happen to her daughter. I promised her that we would not harm her, but Cinder changes that. I hate to break a promise but I can't think of a way to tip her off and keep her out of the fighting without showing it was me. The second would be Lionheart."
" I didn't know you had such a feeling for a dead woman. I don't know how deep the bond was, but for what it is worth, I wish you luck and am sorry to hear of you loss." Vernal said as she went back outside and Raven took flight.
" Kid, I know you don't fully trust the children, but do you really have to keep you bucket on your head and eat in your room away from them?" Shadow asked.
Nat, who had her helmet off to eat, looked at him.
" It is obvious that two of them are sisters and I want to let them catch up without me asking questions and being a distraction." Nat said to him as she took a fork full of noodles and ate it. She set the fork back in the bowl, witch was three of nine, and turned to him. " Did any of your bugs get anything of interesting?"
" I got something. But not sure what it means. A Watts came to talk to Leo yesterday. The only thing I got was not wanting to keep the queen waiting and saying something about pulling a lamp to open a door and how meme worthy it is. A door was then her to open and shut a couple of times. Not sure what all they were talking about. So either Salam was in a hidden door and he ratted us out, or, he and this Watts is part of some sort of kinky ring and they were to service their queen." Shadow said.
Nat just looked at him. " And why would that second possibility be a thing?" She asked.
" Do you know how many people are part of some underground freaky dinky crap? Besides that would be more likely than Salam having an agent there in the school that would take them out if word got out."
Nat could not argue, but still she couldn't help but think that something else was up. She finished off her bowl and started another.
" OK I need to ask. How much can you eat woman?"
" I will probably need another bowl after I get done with these. I am a Spartan. I can eat a lot. High metabolism."
Shadow just had a blank look. " Damn. Do you mind if I join you?" he asked as he sat down with a table forming and a wok with noodles and alike. She nodded as he sat and ate with her.
As they ate, she would catch Shadow staring at her from the corner of her eye.
" What?" She asked.
" Nothing. It is just that you and Ruby share a striking resemblance. It is probably a coincidence though."
Nat looked at him before shrugging and going back to eating.
Dinner was in full swing, and everyone was having a good time. Talking and catching up just as Nat said they would. They were laughing as Weiss told them of her time back in Atlas and her accident. Nora called BS and was met with a summoned Bourbastalker. Ruby filled Yang and Weiss on their journey here. The towns they visited as well as the nights they spent under the stars. Saving the fight with Tyrian and meeting Nat for the last as it was the coolest.
" Wait? She knew mom?" Yang asked.
" Yes. Apparently this place called 'sword base' on reach witnessed a flash in a nearby forest. What they found there was mom, broken and crippled. They managed to get her to a hospital and got her stable...some what. It was obvious that mom was going to pass. But they did get some tests in and cloned her. Where her clone is? Is anyone's best guess." Ruby told her.
Yang had a look of shock and pain. Her mom died on a different world. A world they could not go to. A world that was now glass according to Ruby.
" She did manage to bring back moms stuff. Her clothes. Noble Rose. Everything." Ruby told her.
Yang brought her hands under her chin showing off her prosthetic. Aaaaand that brought new excitement and explanations. Even and arm wrestle between Nora and Yang. With it being, what a tie?
They cleaned up still talking when Qrow yelled out, " How can six kids make so much noise during dinner!? I am nursing a hangover you know."
They turned to look at him as he, Oscar and Noble were standing there.
" I believe you all may want to clean up. I am sure you two are going to want to get filled in on the past twenty-four hours here." Shadow said sitting on Six's shoulder pointing to Yang and Weiss.
They looked at the little biker guy before nodding and walked towards the living room.
Once seated with everyone else, both Qrow and Nat told them what was going on, and how Nat got here. And as a little bit of evidence, Shadow projected the last fight at the Pillar Of Autumn.
Once that was done, the two sat their letting this new information take hold.
" Magic. Salam. The Maidens. It's all true?" Weiss finally asked.
Qrow nodded as Ozpin confirmed it.
" You forgot something. You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother." Yang said to him with a bit of a bite.
" Ohhhh brother. Here we go." Qrow uttered out.
" Hmm. That is a secret I thought she would not have given up so easily. She must have trusted you a great deal if she told you." Ozpin told her hoping to put the fiery blond at ease. It did not. If any thing she just looked more mad. " While I have the ability to reincarnate, it isn't out a few hey benefits. Like the Maidens, I have a magical power. Using this power, I was able to give the Branwen twins the ability to see more,to move freely without the burden of their bodies. I well, gave them the ability to turn into birds. " He said with a bit of pride and mirth. " kind of ridiculous saying it out loud."
" Wait, What?" Oscar said mentally.
Ozpin just jerked his head and herd an ouch.
The group of teens looked at Qrow with shock.
" You turned them into...birds." Ren said.
" Ok, now your just messing with us." Nora stated.
" What else is new." Jaune.
" He is telling the truth. We saw it. Yang's mom...changed. Right in front of us." Weiss said.
" If that is the case. Then I think we can use if for a more strategic purpose." Noble said getting the rooms attention.
" What do you mean?" Ozpin asked.
" Qrow can fly around and be a literal eye in the sky. Give him a sniper and he can go from one place to another with no problem. Set up take a few shots and move again. Repeat as needed. Give him a camcorder and have him take video of what we could be dealing with. If we know where Salam's base is, he can recon it and we might be able to rig the place to blow. Or send in an airstrike." Nat said using this new intel to plan out an attack plan.
" A sound strategy. But I am not sure how well that would work out. I kept her a secret for a reason." Ozpin said.
" But how could you do this?" Yang shouted to Ozpin.
" YANG. We chose this. We wanted this." Qrow said to her getting her to sit back.
Nat tuned the rest out as she made battle plans. As Ozpin was talking about the why and how of his reasonings, Shadow got another message from his bug. He listened to the interaction between Raven and Leo as they planned to set a trap for the team within the next couple of days. He was going to tell Nat the news when he heard Ozpin say that he bestowed four young women powers, and that it cost him a great deal from his reserves. To create the first four maidens.
" I knew it! I bet they were young and beautiful women and that you were once and old hermit! Are you a perv as well?" Shadow shouted at him getting the attention of others attention.
" NO! AND WHY IN THE HELL WOULD I DO SUCH A THING?" Ozpin shot back.
" BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE A PLOT IN AN ANIME!" Shadow said as he pulled in a poster of a random anime.
Ozpin groaned in frustration. " What is with you?"
" Oh please. I am probably pushing rampancy. I can pretty much do what I want."
" Grrrr. -sigh- It was never my intention to lie to any of you. There are just some matters I like to play really close to the chest. As I am sure Noble can attest to." He said gesturing to the towering figure in white armor. " Everyone has a choice. The Brawnwen's chose their, and later one chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self interests. Now all of you have a choice. No one would fault you if you turn around and leave." Ozpin said.
No one moved to leave.
Yang took a breath, " I will follow Ruby. She seems to have a knack for this kind of thing. So I will trust her. But if we do this, no more half truths, no more lies. You need to be straightforward with us."
Ozpin nodded.
" Then I suggest you all take some time to rest. To take the time to reconnect with each other. It is important to strengthen these bonds, and even forge new ones." He placed a hand on Yangs shoulder. He then flashed as Oscar took control. Once he realized that his hand was on a bombshell of a woman, he freaked and snapped his hand back to his chest with a blush and nerves smile. Yang just looked at him with a coy smile and a knowing look.
" Daaahhhhhh, isn't that adorable. Can I get a shipp name for this please?" ShadowHawk said with a smile. Everyone just looked at the hologram. " Come on people! I can't be the only one that can see a shipp here!?"
"Uuuuhhhh. Sure? Whatever you say. Ummmm Ma'am, does he have a virus or something?" Yang asked, " Because he is like 14 and I am 18. That is a big no go for me. I want someone around my own age and is just as adventeris." Yang said as she looked at the AI.
Noble just looked at her and simply said " I don't know to be honest."
Raven flew from her old home to Summer's head stone. She had to come here. Had to apologise and atone for what was about to happen.
" Hey Summ. I got some news. This, this is really hard for me to say and I don't know what to do. I am in a bit of a pickle, and it concerns your daughter. And for that I am sorry." Raven said to her deceased friend, " My tribe is being threatened into submission by Salams forces. This cunt named Cinder wants my corporation and to hand over the Spring Maiden. I in turn told them she was mine, but I can loan her to them. But that was not enough. They want to kill our daughters team. And I am going to have to go along with it. Cinder wants Ruby dead at the least, but I am sure that if she has a say in it, Ruby would be tortured and broken before Cinder would let her die."
Raven waited not really knowing what else to say.
" Believe me when I say that if I am able to save her, I would. Both her and Yang are sweet girls. Hell the other two that make up their team are sweet as well." she paused, " I am looking for an opening. And if I find one, I will use it to save them. After all, when we go to grab the relic, it will be Cinder that gets defeated. Let's face it, she doesn't know that I am the Maiden she seeks. And that will be her downfall. I just hope that you can forgive me if I am unable to. The last thing I want to do is do wrong to Ruby and as such to you as well."
Raven paused again looking for more to say.
" Summer, I know you would be happy to see your daughter fully grown and following in your footsteps. And I do hope to whoever is up there watching over our destiny, that you would be able to forgive me. And when my time comes, I hope to see you with open arms waiting to welcome me into the hereafter." She said wiping a tear away from her eye.
" I love you sis. Please forgive me if anything happens. I hope that something comes up that will be a game changer."
And with that Raven slashed a portal into existence and walked through to see Vernal their waiting.
" How did it go?" she asked.
" Leo is going to do what I asked. Lure Qrow and the others into a trap. Then go get the relic, kill Cinder and go from there." Raven said to her proxy Maiden.
" Lets just hope they dont catch on."
Like I said and as you can see, we went through some of the most boring parts of Volume 5. Ozpin talking and everyone getting ready for the finally. Now we do get some training from Noble to Jaune and Ruby. Now will Ruby now a hand to hand master? No. Her hand to hand is still garbage. The training really only showed her how much she help she needs and where to focus on. Only a surprise hit to stagger and then done.
So yea. I hope you all did not fall asleep. That would be very sad. But I would not blame you if you did. Volume 5 had a lot of sitting and talking with most of the action in Menagerie and finally. On a personal note, I some people really dislike the four and five and while I can see and understand that, but I still enjoy them. Especially when 4 had the World Of Remnant to take care of the boring exposition so the actual show can do the story.
So is there anything I need or should talk about? I am not sure. You tell me. But I am sure some are wondering why Raven's attitude. Well, like I have said before, I would like for Raven to be redeemed. The pieces are there at the end of 5. Now we just need an execution.
So I guess, all I have left is what do you guys and gals got? Any questions or wanting to BS, feel free to ask or bring it up.
Now to the reviews!
IcyDoom
I found the info on the armor by watching the video UNSC armamentproject mjolnir by halo canon
Oh. I did not know he did that. When you broke down the armor, it was done in such a way that I thought it was from Installation 00. Really close in the breakdown. I mean I knew he did a breakdown of different exo-skeleton and some differences in the different versions in suits. Actually, scratch that. I might have seen it, just not really remember it and get it confused with Installation 00. Sorry dude, my bad.
So with that being said my fellow Spartans, Guardians, Aces, Assassins... Fly Fast, Check 6, and I will see you all on the virtual battlefield.