Author's note: "Talking." Thinking. For emphasis. "Mouthing communication." End author's note.
As they walked through the forest, Barragan thought back to their encounter with those creatures. He'd barely been able to sense them coming, and what his Pesquisa had been telling him was they were incredibly weak. He couldn't comprehend how such pitiful creatures had overpowered almost all of them so easily. Even when that bear had been right on top of him, he could barely sense anything from it. Based on the lack of a hole anywhere on it's body, it wasn't a Hollow, but something else entirely. Even so, how could beings as powerful as they were be overcome so easily by something so unbelievably weak?
It reminded him of when he had first become a hollow, when he had to hide from anything and everything before he could grow strong enough to defend himself. He absolutely hated that time of his life, and at that point, the three worlds were still one. He must have been a Gillian when they were divided because when he awoke as an Adjuchas, he was racing across the sands of Hueco Mundo. That had also been a time of great terror for him, but then he ascended to a Vasto Lorde and didn't have to worry about any of that anymore.
He didn't know where all that power he had attained had gone, but it was clear that he could no longer use it. With no one else being able to either, like it or not, they were going to have to work together.
"Jushiro." Barragan moved next to the long-haired man. "Do you have any idea what those things were?" He spoke lowly so Qrow wouldn't hear them.
"No, I haven't the faintest idea what they were. They behaved like gillians, but their reiatsu was so weak it wouldn't even be comparable to a newborn hollow. The lack of a hole is also disturbing, and the feeling they gave off is almost entirely different from anything I've sensed before. What about you? In all your time, have you ever come across something like that?"
"The only thing that comes to mind as being remotely similar are some of the oldest hollows. Before the world of the living and afterlife were separated, I vaguely remember creatures that resembled them, but even so, the weakest ones were far stronger. One could've torn an army of those things to pieces within minutes."
Jushiro tilted an eyebrow. "I understand most of what you said, but the part about your age doesn't make any sense. I didn't think the two could be one, but that can be discussed later. Since he's right here, I might as well ask this, Qrow, what they were."
"How are you going to explain how we don't know what they are?"
"Good question, any ideas?"
"Why don't you just say we call them hollows?" Ulquiorra practically appeared out of nowhere. Neither of them even sensed him coming. They must have been too distracted with the conversation. "It's simple, understandable and sensible."
"I suppose that works," Gin added. "But we shouldn't divulge any details unless absolutely necessary."
"Agreed," the other three said in unison.
It had been a few hours since he found the bunch of strange-looking kids in the woods a hundred miles away from Vale, and Qrow still didn't know what was up with them. He had located them by following a strange feeling flowing through the trees. It hadn't felt like Grimm, or other people, and if he was being completely honest it freaked him out. Something was off about these guys, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He guessed he could take them in a fight, especially if he let his Semblance wreak havoc, but he didn't want to take the chance.
"Hey." He stopped and turned to face them. "It's going to be dark soon and we're not going to be getting to the city until day after tomorrow, so I suggest we make camp. Better get up into the trees so you're not eaten in the middle of the night. I'll take first watch." He lept into the branches above them before signaling them to do the same. He watched as they all got closer to the trees and noticed something strange.
Excluding the Bat-Faunus, it looked like every single one of them tried to step onto the air itself. That's strange. Having not stepped on anything, their feet slammed to the ground and they looked shocked. Qrow wondered what they thought they were about to do, but decided not to ask. If they couldn't do it then it wasn't a problem, however, if they were faking not being able to do whatever it was they were trying to do, that could be a problem.
In the end, the Bat-Faunus, Ulquiorra if he remembered correctly, boosted the other three up before flying up himself. One of the advantages of having wings, you could get anywhere. They weren't terribly far from Vale by flight, but a day and a half by foot. He'd tell Ozpin tomorrow night, when he could actually get there and back before sunrise.
Gin leaned against the tree with his hands behind his head, looking up at the stars between the branches. He couldn't help but think about Rangiku and wonder how she was doing. Jushiro had been the last to die out of the four of them, but he hadn't asked yet, and frankly, he dreaded to. Then their was the problem of their Zanpakuto. Neither him nor Jushiro could release them. He could still feel Shinso, but for whatever reason, they couldn't communicate anymore.
"Captain Ukitake." Gin sat up.
"You must not call me 'Captain,' remember? Please, call me Jushiro," he responded in a hushed voice.
"Right, my apologies. If I may ask, do you know what happened to Rangiku?"
"Matsumoto?"
"Yes, we were close friends before we enrolled, but when we did, we drifted further apart. I'm concerned."
"Well, she survived. Last I knew, she was still fighting, but I died before I could find out more. I'm sorry, but have faith that she is alright. I don't know why, but I have a feeling Ichigo won."
"Was there another, encounter, after Aizen?"
Jushiro's face darkened. "The Quincies appeared. Almost everything was destroyed, but I heard a voice right before I remember waking up in that clearing. It said, 'Ichigo won the war.'"
"Hm." Gin placed a hand on his chin. "If that is to be believed, then Soul Society is safe. I hope she is too." His tongue flicked out. Jushiro looked toward the ground and hoped Rukia was alright.
Ulquiorra stood in the highest branches that would hold him and looked up at the night sky. For some reason, he could feel his newfound heart aching with a sense of, longing. He didn't know how else to describe it. He looked down at his open hand and felt something that he couldn't quite explain. Despite the cold night air, it felt warm. He felt the same thing in his chest, next to the ache.
He turned his head as he sensed the old man approaching. "Can't sleep?" Qrow asked.
"I haven't tried yet." He had almost forgotten that living creatures needed to sleep. How annoying. "And what about you?"
"I spend most of my nights travelling. Being a Huntsman, you have to learn to minimize the amount of sleep you need, and with me in particular, I need to travel long distances quickly and reliably. Not much time for rest out here." Qrow loosely crossed his arms, an open hand near the hilt of his sword.
Ulquiorra took note of that and turned away to climb back down, but then a thought struck him. "Tell me, is it normal for bats to sleep upside down?"
"Kid, I have no idea. I've only seen one Bat Faunus before and I didn't talk to him. Too busy trying not to get killed to strike up a conversation."
Faunus. So that is what Ichimaru and I are classified as. "And are you a Faunus yourself?"
"Why do you ask?"
Ulquiorra turned back around. "Because you're covered in the smell of bird."
Light shone through the trees, illuminating the forest floor and the five people suspended in the branches. Qrow looked at the others from his higher perch and noticed something a little odd. The Bat Faunus was hanging upside down in the tree and looked to be sleeping. Well that's odd. He noticed that the two white-haired 'teenagers' were waking up. The other two however, were not.
"Alright come on," he called. "Everybody up. It's time for breakfast." After a breakfast of fruit and various kinds of berries, they started walking again. The odd feeling coming off these kids was getting mildly stronger ever since he found them. He couldn't quite tell which one of them it was coming from though. After a few hours he could feel his throat drying out. "Okay, water break."
The four of them stopped and watched as Qrow pulled out a small knife and straw. He carved a small hole through the bark of the nearest tree and stuck the straw into the gap before putting a small bottle underneath the end. A mostly clear water flowed from the tree and filled the bottle in about a minute. Qrow took a drink from it and passed it around. They hadn't noticed how thirsty they were until the water hit their lips and they had to refill the bottle several times. By the time their thirst was quenched, they were off again.
It was another several hours before the next break. The sun was directly above them and beating down with an immense heat. All of them were sweating and Qrow filled the bottle a few more times with the tree-water.
Uquiorra had slowly been expanding his pesquisa since the fight with the black creatures. He could feel the presence of several different kinds of animals, but no people yet. His range was not nearly what it had been before and now that he had it as far out as he did, he was starting to have trouble focusing on it while walking. It was very confusing as he had not had any such difficulty before, but he was grateful for the break. It gave him time to focus on his surroundings better.
A presence passed on the edge of his senses. It didn't feel human, monster or animal. What was it? He stood up and redirected his focus in the direction he had sensed it in, which ended up expanding his range by about ten yards in that direction. Jushiro stood next to him.
"What is it?" The white haired man couldn't feel anything, but that didn't mean he should dismiss Ulquiorra's senses.
"I'm not sure," he responded. "It feels like those creatures from before."
"How far away?"
"Approximately three hundred yards." It should be exactly three hundred yards, but he did not know how accurate his internal measuring stick was now. "Give or take thirty feet."
"Where?" It was Qrow who asked the question and had already drawn his sword. Normally he could sense the grimm, but the strange feeling coming from these kids was overwhelming, and getting stronger.
"North of here." He drew Murcielago and everyone else readied their weapons as well. "It's stopped. Almost as if it's waiting for something." He closed his eyes in an effort to gain greater clarity. "It's moving, towards us."
Everyone looked north and after a few seconds heard trees being crushed under something huge. Almost before they could react, a gigantic Deathstalker bulldozed through the trees, surrounded by boar and bear looking creatures, along with many of the werewolf look-a-likes. The first thought going through Qrow's mind was, Well fuck.
Barragan swung Arrogante through a beowolf and slammed it into a boarbatusk's face. Both grimm fell.
Gin, who had given up on trying to release Shinso, just started stabbing and slashing. Three beowolves fell dead before he turned against a rather mean-looking boar.
Jushiro went for one of the bears and managed to put Sogyo no Kotowari into it's head through one of the eyes. Another one nearly snuck up on him and he spun around with a finger held out, trying to ready a Kido. It didn't work, obviously. Thankfully Qrow jumped on top of the bear and put his blade into it's back and all the way through it's torso, killing it.
"Thank you." Jushiro turned on a boar trying to skewer him and stabbed it through it's eye before dismembering and killing another one.
"Have you done this before?" Qrow cleaved an Ursa, beowolf and boarbatusk in half with a single swing.
"Never with this type of them." He sliced down two more boars and beheaded a beowolf.
Ulquiorra had taken to the air as soon as the giant scorpion tore through the trees and was trying to find a spot not on it's tail and not covered in armour. He looked down at the battlefield and everyone was doing surprisingly well considering how they had barely managed to survive their last encounter. There were only a dozen of them left, excluding the big one which posed the biggest issue. The strange thing was, it ignored everything else, including it's allies that desperately needed help, and was going straight for him.
He pointed a finger at it and tried firing a cero, momentarily forgetting that it wouldn't work. "Bloody Hell." He didn't swear very often, but now certainly seemed like a good time to. With that, he drew Murcielago and dove, barely dodging the tail and almost getting caught by the claws before driving his blade through the base of it's head. It screamed and would've thrown him off if he hadn't taken flight again. Spreading his wings above it once more, he came to the conclusion, That barely did anything.
"Ulquiorra!" Jushiro called. "Bring it around!" He saw that they had just finished off the last of the other monsters and flew towards them before landing in the middle of their group.
"What's the plan?" Ulquiorra turned back to face the giant scorpion.
"Did you find any weaknesses?" Jushiro asked him.
"None that are obvious. It has armour covering almost it's entire body, including the underside of it's legs."
"Understood. Qrow, any suggestions?"
"Take out the legs and it's claws. I'll go for the tail. Aim for the joints, that's where the armour is weakest." Qrow ran to the side as the scorpion charged in.
"I'll take a claw." Barragan raised Arrogante and charged the giant grimm. Ulquiorra went for the other claw while Jushiro and Gin started on the legs.
As Barragan charged, the scorpion opened it's claw and tried grabbing him. Unfortunately it got the equivalent of a knife between the fingers and it's claw split in two. It screamed and lept back, throwing everybody off. It began ignoring Ulquiorra for once and tried to swipe Barragan again with the other claw. This endeavor ended about as well as the last time. Now with both of it's claws split in two, it swung it's tail down and right into Barragan's head.
He saw the tail coming and tried to Sonido out of the way, but that didn't happen. What did happen was this: As the tail came in contact with his forehead, time slowed down and he felt his skin hardening. It felt like his Hierro had returned, and he felt a lot stronger. With the movement of the scorpion and everyone else around him completely stopped, he moved out from underneath the scorpion's tail and cleaved the stinger in half.
In an instant time began to move again and the scorpion flew backwards as a feeling of dread permeated the area. Barragan's Pesquisa was increasing in range as the power flowed out of him. He lept forward, Arrogante raised above his head, and brought it down as hard as his new strength would allow, splitting the armour on it's face. It screamed again and fled further back. Barragan went after it, slowing the time around him once again as his instinctual feel for the ability came back to him.
Without it even being able to defend itself, the scorpion stood there, frozen, as Barragan tore it's face to pieces. Strike after strike, blow after blow, piece after piece, the scorpion finally fell from it's feet, and with it's face torn from it's body entirely, Barragan stopped. Time sped up again and the scorpion was barely alive, if it could even be called that to begin with.
Barragan dropped to his hands and knees, Arrogante falling from his grip, panting. "Why? Why am I so exhausted? That should've been nothing more then a basic exercise for me." Then it hit him. "We truly are alive once again. I am nothing more then the humans I looked down upon for so long."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Qrow stood next to the others. "Who are you people? Where did you come from?"
"I told you," Jushiro responded. "We're from a village in the mountains-"
"Stop." Everyone looked at Ulquiorra as he was putting his shirt back on, wings folded against his back. "It was obvious from the very beginning he didn't believe us. It would be pointless to lie to him further. We might as well tell him what we know, in exchange for what he knows."
Night had fallen several hours ago and they all sat around a campfire. Qrow had his head in his hands. They were from another world entirely where they all died and came here, through means that they said were unknown to them. But they did say they saw a golden hand. Could it be? Could the God of Light be the one that saved them?
"Is all this true?" Qrow finally looked up at them.
"As true as time itself," Barragan said.
"We need to trust somebody in this new world, and it might as well be you." Jushiro stared at the man before them. "I hope you can trust us too."
"Yeah." Qrow thought for a second. There was still one thing that they hadn't brought up. "I noticed something last night, before we all went to sleep. Three of you tried to step onto the air. What was that about?"
"Oh, that," Jushiro responded. "Let me explain in a way you'll understand." He put a hand on his chin for a few seconds. "The air is permeated with spiritual energy called Reishi, or spirit particles. We used to be able to condense it out of the atmosphere and use it for footholds in the air. They stay in place until we take another step when they disappear. In practice it's a lot more complicated, but that's essentially how it's done."
"Reishi, spirit particles. That sounds a lot like Aura." He held his arm out and produced his Aura Cloak. "Does this look like what you're describing?"
Jushiro's eyes widened. "You're a Fullbringer?"
"And what, pray tell, is a Fullbringer?"
"Oh, my apologies," Jushiro replied. "A Fullbringer is a human with spiritual powers similar to that of a Hollow. They can also communicate with the Souls of inanimate objects. Everything has a soul afterall, no matter how small it may be. Your sword has a soul, and theoretically, you can communicate with it. I don't really know much about them other then that I'm afraid."
"And what about you guys? Since two of you have Aura, does that mean you're Fullbringers too?" He gestured to Ulquiorra and Barragan. "I've been sensing something off for the past two days and finally figured out where it was coming from." He pointed at Ulquiorra. "Then there's you." He pointed at Barragan. "You activated your Aura and Semblance earlier when we were fighting that Deathstalker."
"I was wondering why it's tail didn't pierce me after I slowed time. It seems my Hierro has returned as well."
"Is that what you call the Cloak?"
"No," Ulquiorra spoke this time. "A Hierro is the skin of an Arrancar, a transcendent form of Hollow, and is naturally much harder then that of many other creatures. While an Aura Cloak is similar in how it functions, that's where the similarities end. The Aura Cloak is much closer to that of a Shinigami. By intensifying their Spiritual concentration, they can make their skin harder. I'd imagine you already know about that though don't you?"
"I didn't know Aura could be made harder. Usually it's reserved for blocking attacks if need be and using a semblance. Barragan said he slowed time, so I assume that's what his semblance is. Sometimes a person can activate both their Aura and Semblance at the same time, though it doesn't happen often. As for you Ulquiorra, since you people don't originally come from here, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume your semblance was activated the moment your Aura was as well. Do you know what it could be?"
"Since Jushiro and Gin can't use Shikai or Bankai, assuming it's the same for Barragan and I, that leaves two possibilities. One is the high speed regeneration I regained when my 'Aura' was activated, or my Solita Vista."
Gin shivered. "I always found that ability rather disturbing, especially with the casual manner you had every single time you performed it."
"I was wondering if I retained it with my regeneration. I suppose now is a good time to test it. Jushiro, would you be so kind as to volunteer?"
"Um, sure," he answered. "I'm not sure what this entails though."
"You'll know soon enough," Barragan stated. With that, Ulquiorra stood up, walked across the campsite, and to the surprise of both Jushiro and Qrow, he tore his eye out of his head. While grasping it in his hand, he crushed it and brought it up to Jushiro's face before spreading the fragments in his eyes.
Jushiro saw Ulquiorra staring down at Ichigo from the top of a staircase. Ichigo was holding what looked like a small child in his arms, someone he didn't recognize. He walked down the steps to the floor below and came face to face with the Substitute Shinigami, who ran right past him.
"I have no quarrel with you," Ichigo said.
"And why not," 'Jushiro' asked.
"Because you haven't hurt any of my friends." The teenager began to walk away when 'Jushiro' asked another question.
"And what if I told you that I was the one who kidnapped your friend?" He brought his hand up as Ichigo dropped the child, turned around and came flying at him, the edge of Zangetsu at eye-level. The edge of the blade struck his wrist and the vision faded.
Jushiro blinked and saw Ulquiorra standing in front of him. "I didn't know such a thing was possible."
"What did you see?" Ulquiorra inquired.
"I saw you confronting Ichigo, next to a stairway. He had a small child under his arm." Jushiro looked at the green eyes staring him down. Wait, eyes?
"It seems my high speed regeneration and Solita Vista have stayed with me. It appears to be my 'Semblance' now." Ulquiorra sat back down.
Qrow was hunched over himself, facing away from everyone, heaving. "That was, the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. How can someone be so calm about ripping their own eye out of their head?" He faced them again, wiping his chin with his sleeve. "Isn't that painful?"
"Extremely, though this time it was considerably more painful then it used to be. It's also nice to confirm that my eye will grow back afterward."
"There is something seriously wrong with you." Qrow sighed. "Now that that's over, do you guys have any questions?"
Ulquiorra, once again, started. "What exactly is a Faunus?"
"A Faunus is essentially a human with animal traits. It's a lot more complicated then that but that's what it boils down to."
Barragan took the next question. "Who else has Aura? Does everybody with access to Aura have a Semblance?"
"While technically everyone can use Aura and everyone with Aura can develop a Semblance, not everyone goes that far. Usually the only people using Aura and Semblances are Huntsmen, but there are others. As far as who has it, I don't know?"
"What were those creatures we killed earlier?" Gin asked. "How do they work?"
"Grimm, monsters made of darkness, or evil energy, whichever you prefer. They're drawn to negative energy, usually following negative emotions. That's why they seem to be drawn to you guys. Ulquiorra is overflowing with that offsetting presence. Now that Barragan is also exuding a similar feeling, we'll have to be extra careful. You guys know how to conceal yourselves right?" They nodded. "Good, do that. We'll take tonight to rest, and I'll take you to see Ozpin tomorrow. One of you take first watch, I'm tired."
They all went into the trees and Ulquiorra decided to take the first shift.
A few hours passed and Ulquiorra stood at the very top of the canopy watching the stars go by. He was trying to find any constellations he recognized in an effort to pinpoint where they were. No luck. He couldn't find Sirius A, Polaris or Sigma Octanis. No Big Dipper, no Southern Cross, no Zodiacs, nothing. At best, they were no longer in the same galaxy, and at worst they were in a whole other universe. All possibilities equally likely and all equally annoying. Adjusting to this new world was going to be difficult, and it was surprising, but amazing, that they even spoke the same language.
The aching in his newfound heart grew stronger the longer he stared at the ever-moving sky. He caught sight of the moon in all it's shattered glory. "How did that happen?" As he followed the chunks of moon-rock, something hit him. This feeling in his chest, he remembered it from his day of endlessly wandering the sands of Hueco Mundo. This sensation was him wanting somewhere to belong, somewhere he wanted to defend, somewhere he could call home.
Las Noches was a place he had defended sure, but he had only done so because Aizen had ordered him to. He didn't really belong there, and everyone else either thought he was crazy, dull, or too loyal. Every single other Espada had their own reasons for being there, mainly goals they wished to achieve, but not Ulquiorra. He had only been there to serve Aizen, and he did with every bit of his existence, but in the end, it had gotten him killed.
The thought of Orihime and Ichigo came to his mind. Orihime had never given into Aizen's wishes, and no matter what he did, she was never afraid of him. Then there was Ichigo, the boy who had never given up trying to beat him. Even when he had fully unleashed his power, Ichigo never gave up. Even when a hole had been shot through his chest, the boy never gave up trying to protect his friends. And the last one that came to his mind, was Uryu Ishida, the Quincy who had also tried to defeat him.
Despite being faced with such an overwhelming force, he had also never given up. In the end, Ulquiorra had been defeated and killed by the people he thought as lesser then himself. "How wrong I was. In the end, it was their heart that allowed them to survive. It truly is an insurmountable obstacle."
Qrow woke up as Jushiro was taking over for Ulquiorra. He made sure the bat was sleeping before transforming into a bird and flying off. He didn't want them following him. Flying as fast as he could took him an hour to get to Beacon. When he did get there, he perched on the railing for the walkway circling the top of the tower and cawed before changing back. He walked around to the door and knocked.
Ozpin, being the night-owl that he is, opened the door. "This is quite unexpected. I thought you would at least call before showing up."
"I didn't want to talk to you about this over the phone," Qrow panted. "Too important, too strange."
"What is it?"
"Make sure the room is sealed off." He fell into the guest chair at Ozpin's desk.
Ozpin tapped the floor with his cane, a light green light coming from it before spreading across the room and covering all the surfaces. "What is it you found?"
"Four teenagers, in the middle of the wild-lands. They came out of nowhere." Qrow's lungs still strained for air. "Spent the last two days takin' 'em here."
"And what about these 'teenagers' is strange enough to make you escort them here?"
"They feel different, from every other person, I've ever met, except for you. Two of them feel almost exactly the same. They're also much older then they look. Based on the look in their eyes, I'd say every one of them has seen more combat and danger then everyone except for you." He slumped back in his chair, still panting.
Ozpin's eyes turned gravely dark. "You say they have vastly more experience then yourself. If I may ask, what first tipped you off to this?"
"The way they fought, for one thing. Each of them fought like demons out of Hell. The lack of hesitation in every swing and purpose they put into every step. Not a single move was wasted. The second reason is every so often it looked like they were trying to shoot something out of their fingers, almost as if it was second nature. And the last reason is they told me, outright." The two men made eye contact. "With everything I know about them, I'm inclined to believe them."
"Are they dangerous?" Ozpin's tone grew threatening.
"Potentially. I'd say that they could be more dangerous then you, or even, Salem."
When Qrow said the name, Ozpin's grip on his cane tightened until his knuckles grew white, and his teeth clenched. "More dangerous then Salem? Are you absolutely certain?"
Qrow nodded. "From what they said, they've faced far worse then her. That's why I'm bringing them to you. They claim to be in a severely weakened state and if they are a threat, you're the best chance we have of bringing them down."
"I understand," Ozpin said after a time. "Do you know their exact location?"
Qrow nodded.
"Good." Ozpin stood up and looked out the window behind him, into the Wilds. "Take Glynda, Port and Oobleck in a Bullhead and bring them here. I want to speak with them, personally."
"Understood." He got up and went to the elevator before Ozpin said one last thing.
"Wake Amber and bring her too. You may need some more heavy artillery."
"Will do." With that, Qrow closed the elevator and was on his way.
It was nearing the end of Gin's shift when he heard a noise that sounded like an engine. He stood up to get a better look and seemingly out of nowhere came what could only be described as an airship. It was coming from the direction they were headed.
"Everybody wake up!" He lept through the branches back to where everyone else was sleeping, poking and prodding until the other three were awake and had their weapons drawn. They clomb up the branches until they were almost entirely concealed from the forest floor. After a while, the engine sound stopped and people tromping through the underbrush could be clearly heard.
All of them completely silent, ready to pounce on whatever or whoever might be walking below them. They could hear five sets of feet, and four voices. Gin's eyes opened as a young-looking girl walked under the tree they were hiding in. She had short brown hair and a staff.
"If she makes a sound," Gin put a finger across his throat. Ulquiorra and Barragan nodded, but Jushiro shook his head.
"Qrow is with them." Jushiro mouthed and Gin closed his eyes and focused. He could vaguely sense Qrow's presence around fifty feet away, but was so vague he hadn't even considered it.
"If we come down," Ulquiorra 'said', "that will make them more responsive to communication." Everyone else nodded in agreement. "We signal our presence, drop our weapons and come down." Once again, everyone else nodded.
"We're up here," Gin called. "We're coming down." The girl looked up at them. "You might want to move." She nodded and they let their weapons fall to the ground.
When they got to the forest floor, the other four people on the ground had surrounded them, Qrow included. This new group included a rotund man with white hair and a mustache, sporting a very impractical looking weapon. There was also a woman with blonde hair and a riding crop. Then there was a thin, green haired amn with a thermos, Qrow and the brown-haired girl with the staff.
"There you are." Qrow walked up to them. "You guys hid your presences so quickly I couldn't find you."
"Good thing too," Jushiro said. "If it was anyone else, we would've gone undetected. Speaking of which, who are these people?"
"Glynda, Port, Oobleck and Amber." Qrow pointed to each of them. "I went to see Ozpin and he wants to see you guys as soon as possible."
"Alright," Jushiro said slowly. "We were expecting to travel for at least another twelve hours. How did you get there and back so fast?"
"I'll tell you later, if Ozpin will allow it. Come on, let's go."
Amber was, to say the least, nervous. Sitting across from this group of strangers in the airship was a little nerve-wracking. She wasn't very proficient in sensory stuff so she didn't know what was wrong, but in the very back of her mind was something screaming. The snake faunus, who Qrow introduced as Gin, had his eyes closed and was leaning against the wall. But even so, she couldn't help but think he was staring at her.
The one known as Barragan seemed to be sleeping, but he was giving off a strange feeling, almost similar to a grimm but completely different at the same time. The same feeling was coming from the bat faunus as well. The only one who didn't seem off like the rest of them was the one with the long white hair, Jushiro if she remembered correctly, though he still felt strange.
After a couple hours, the ship touched down on the landing pad of the school. After a quick discussion in the Headmaster's office, everyone was dismissed to reconvene in the morning. Amber couldn't help but think about all that had happened in the last few hours, and all the new information that had just been dumped on everybody. If she was being completely honest with herself, it scared her knowing what just one of them had been capable of, let alone imagining what the other three could do.
Author's note: I have no excuse for why this took so long. I was just being lazy and not working on it. Hopefully the next chapter will be out in about a week and not three months. My procrastination has just gotten stupid. End author's note.