Author's Note:
I do not own Library of Ruina or RWBY. These series belong to Project Moon and RoosterTeeth respectively (I guess not anymore...). Everything I say is to not be taken as canon, they are merely add-ons to the story to flesh it out.
I'm back guys, and here with Chapter 21! Sorry the chapter took so long to be made, I was just lazy and stuck with college work, no other excuses. I only got back into writing after a certain event happened a few weeks ago, but I'll talk about that shortly. Regardless, I'm thankful for everyone sticking with me.
Well, let's talk why I got quickly made this chapter. Rooster Teeth is shutting down after about 20 years. I remember watching Red vs Blue back in middle school and learning about RWBY. These guys made my childhood and it's sad to see this happen to them. It's been a couple of rough few years for them, but regardless I enjoyed what they were doing. Although the people behind the worlds we love and the people we came to enjoy are going away, the legacy they left behind won't ever be forgotten... I don't want to ramble about a sad topic any longer so I'll leave it with this: Thank you, Rooster Teeth, for making so many memories and funny moments for everyone to enjoy.
Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Reveiws:
littehoke - Thanks! I just hope I get more time to continue writing so I can pump stuff out faster. Hopefully this summer I can work on it more.
VGBlackwing - Isn't there something like how high-ranking Fixers don't fuck with Sweepers or something? I know that either Roland or Gebura could sweep the Sweepers gameplay-wise; but lore-wise, we can only speculate I guess.
Argorok - Cinder is just overconfident in her abilities, it's something she always does in every fight. Binah, on the other hand, is a much more powerful and tactical fighter. It's no wonder that even if Cinder was at her prime, she'd lose to Binah.
Emm26 - Part of the Invitation Process is that the Guest would enter a contract where they will either get books or get turned into a book. From what I can understand, Angela can book them anytime she wants, but that wouldn't be fair. As we can see from the Reverberation Ensemble raid on the Library, they are Uninvited Guests, but we still somehow get their books. Cinder is the same as the Ensemble, an Uninvited Guest, by creating an unpromptu Reception.
–?–
In the night sky, two figures are seen in a forest clearing on top of a hill, watching the shattered moon slowly move toward the west. The cool air flowed around them, blowing some dust and grass into the sky. One is sitting down while the other is standing. The seated figure is gazing up at the moon and the stars surrounding it—the bright, broken moon outshining all the other smaller lights in the sky. On the other hand, the standing figure is looking down toward the bottom of the hill—orange and yellow lights illuminate the ground.
"When do you think we'll get out of this place?" One of the figures asks.
The other shakes their head. "You're still on that? This is where we belong. This place is home."
Not much was said after that. They just continued to stare toward the moon and the bottom, respectively. It wasn't until another figure carrying a torch walked closer to them; the seated figure sitting up to watch the person.
"You two, the leader wants to talk to you. Get your asses over there quickly."
One of the figures sighs, while the other complies.
Once they reached their little "home," both figures walked down a path amidst the bright torches and crudely set-up tents made of rugged cloth and bones of animals or Grimm. Giant wooden spikes surround the entire place, protecting them from outsiders yet keeping them trapped. Other figures, dressed in whatever they could find, walked, talked, or ate all over the place. There wasn't a part of the area that wasn't uninhabited. Their people were numerous, after all.
Once the two figures reached their leader's tent, they pulled the sheets aside and entered. The first thing they felt was the warm sensation coming from the little fire in the middle of the tent. A giant man was sitting near a small wooden table with a cloth running under it, allowing the man to sit without dirtying himself. Without any prompt, the two smaller figures sat opposite the man, awaiting his command.
"You two."
"Yes, leader," both of them spoke simultaneously.
"I have decided to give you two a mission of sorts."
"What kind of mission?" One of them asked.
"A crucial task. One that is of importance to the tribe."
"We're ready for anything."
"Good," the man said. "I want you two to enroll in Beacon."
"Beacon? Beacon Academy? That academy?"
"Yes."
"But, that's where the Huntsmen train at."
"Yes."
"Why?" One of the figures questioned.
"The Huntsmen are getting more and more numerous and stronger. At this rate, the tribe will fall in due time."
"Alright!" The other figure shouted. "What do you need us to do?"
The man looked at the figure with a stern face, but in his eyes was melancholy. He looked at the two, with sorrowful eyes, before ultimately sighing. "As I said, you two will enroll in Beacon. Learn their ways, their weaknesses, learning everything about what makes a Huntsman, a Huntsman. After that, you will come back and teach us every tactic, every weakness, every single bit."
"Understood," one of the figures stood up. "When do we leave?"
"Impatience, it is unbecoming of you." At his words, the figure quieted down. Sighing once more, the leader's downcast eyes stared at his closed hands. "As soon as possible. We have taught you what you need to know, it will prepare you for this. Remember, the tribe is counting on you two."7
"We won't let you or the tribe down," one of the figures declared, taking off out of the tent, most likely going to prepare to leave.
"That girl, honestly…" The man closed his eyes, rubbing them.
Without any else to say, the other figure stood up, hoping to catch up with the other. They walked toward the exit, only to be stopped by the voice of their leader.
"The fate of our tribe may rest on your shoulders, Qrow."
Soon, the leader's words start to distort. The name Qrow repeats over and over again, getting more and more distorted. Soon, it grows louder. The area around the figure starts to contort, twisting into nothing. Then, darkness takes over.
–FOREVER FALL FOREST–
"—row. Qroooow. Qrooooooooow!" A voice called out. "Qrow, wake up!"
After receiving no response, Roland put his hand to his chin, trying to think of a way to get the drunken huntsman to wake up. Calling out didn't work, nor did shaking the tree where Qrow lay sleeping.
"Welp, desperate times call for desperate measures," Roland shrugged. The black fixer wandered over to the tree and pulled a bottle of water from his gloves. Putting strength into his legs, Roland crouched and jumped high to reach Qrow. With a flick of his wrist, he sprayed water all over Qrow.
"HAUUGH ugh," Qrow jolted up instantly. He looked around in a panic before realizing he was drenched. "Roland, I just want you to know. I hate you."
"You asked to wake up super early," Roland replied, pointing to the rising sun. It was very early, the area painted in a faint glow, yet dark enough to hide in the shadows. "And yet you overindulged."
"Yeah, yeah, just let me get down," Qrow sighed, jumping off the branch and landing next to Roland. He dusted himself off, focusing on his eyes, ridding them of any crust.
"You sure slept soundly after downing all that alcohol. I've never seen anyone drink more than Netzach, and I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing."
Qrow scoffed, "Can it. I like to indulge."
"Have a good dream at least? You were muttering about something."
"I guess," Qrow yawned and stretched simultaneously. "I saw someone I haven't seen in a long time in a place I don't want to see for a long time."
"Hmm, I can relate to that," Roland said. "So, remind me again, why are we up this early?"
"The Faunus have better senses than us humans, so it's just better to pick a time when the wind is calm," Qrow explained. "Plus, we're downwind, so it'll be even harder for them to smell us. And with your glove-silence-thingie, we don't have to worry about sound."
"Gotcha," Roland acknowledged. "What're we waiting for then?"
"Nothin', let's just get this over with." Qrow started to walk ahead, with Roland following behind.
–SOMETIME LATER–
Even in the midst of a mission, the black fixer still found time to appreciate the scenery around him. Much like everything Remnant had to offer, the Forever Fall was truly a beautiful place. Roland gazed far into the distance to see how deep the forest went—he knew it was a big piece of land, but how big would it be compared to the City? It would probably cover only a Nest, he presumed. However, there was something important Roland had to know.
"I gotta ask, Qrow."
The grizzled huntsman grunted in response, knowing where this was going. Every single, brother-damn time.
"Really? A bird? And a Q?"
"Yes. My name is a bird. My family likes birds. The Q was something they thought was funny and cool. Get over it."
"Sheesh, didn't mean to strike a nerve," Roland apologized. "Hey, I feel like you had it better than me. I didn't grow up with a family."
Qrow only looks at the monochromatic man. "Orphan?"
"Yeah, a lot of people from the City are."
"There's also a lotta orphans in Remnant because of random Grimm attacks. But, I'm sure that you otherworlders probably had it harder, considering all the messed up stuff Greenie's been telling me," Qrow said. He couldn't imagine what a "Night in the Backstreets" would look like if it happened on Remnant.
"Mhm, well, I was one of the lucky few. Not a lot of kids make it to their adult lives. At the very least my granny picked me up when I was just a kid. She gave me this name, taught me how to survive, then disappeared somewhere," Roland spoke, remembering the purple woman.
"Fighting at a young age, huh?"
"Yeah, pretty much like what you huntsmen do for your kids," Roland pointed out. Recalling some details about Qrow, Roland continued, "Speaking of which, you're older than me, right? Got any kids? Family even?"
"You already know about Pipsqueak and Firecracker." The huntsman saw the confused expression on the fixer's face, correcting himself. "Ruby and Yang."
Roland only nodded in acknowledgment, prompting Qrow to continue.
"Either way, I don't think any girl, other than the crazy ones, would probably be into this," Qrow replied as he gestured to himself. "It's been a bit of a… rough time getting into relationships because of my Semblance. Other than that, I do have a bitch of a sister I share the same blood with." Qrow ended with a self-deprecating chuckle.
Roland narrowed his eyes a bit at that last part. Seeing the huntsman's expression, Roland patted the huntsman's back. "Cheer up buddy. Let's change the subject."
Qrow sobered up, emotionally, not physically. He started thinking of something to ask. "About before, you said that your world has a grading system from 9 through 1. You pointed out that Ruby and Yang would be Grades 5 and 4. What about me?"
"From what I can tell, you'd probably be… a high-ranking Grade 2? Probably around there. I'd have to see you fight to accurately see how good you are," Roland guessed.
"Grade 2? That's it? I'm one of the best huntsmen available, and yet I'm a 2. What's the difference between a 2 and a 1?"
"Well, that depends, but I'm just gonna assume that you mean in terms of combat so," Roland mused. "Let's see… can you take on an entire horde of Grimm? Like 100."
Intrigued, Qrow clarified, "What kind of Grimm? Beowolves? Boarbatusks?" He could do Beowolves with no problem.
"Uh, let's say those monkey Grimm from Anima."
"Hell no," Qrow instantly refused. "Are you serious?"
"If a Grade 1 Fixer can take down a Star of the City with some margin of error, then they should be able to take down all those Grimm with no sweat." To be fair, he was only comparing Qrow to himself, Yujin, and Xiao. Although he had only fought against a Ursa and a Beowolf, he was sure all three of them would wipe the floor with some of the toughest Grimm. Plus, it didn't help that he fought bigger and tougher monsters before.
"What about you?" Qrow asked. "What's your Grade?"
"I'm Grade 1, or rather, was Grade 1."
"Really? What happened?"
"Hmm," Roland hummed. He didn't want people to know what he did. "Let's just say that I really messed up, big time. A little bit of mistakes there, and a bit here, and boom: rock bottom. Stuff happens, y'know?"
"I getcha," Qrow admitted. "What else can ya tell me about the City? Like what's it like living there? I heard from Greenie that it sucks, but are there any positives, at all? There has to be something."
Soon, both of them decided to have some breakfast. Roland brought out some refreshments and snacks from his gloves, handing some to Qrow. It was just a simple sandwich and bottles of water. It was the only essentials other than his Gloves and Mask Roland brought with him; Qrow, as you know, brought his flasks.
Although there weren't many positives to living in the City, the fixer just talked about what he liked most: food. Disregarding the horrific nature of the City, he had to give it to the culture—there was so much food. There were so many varieties compared to Remnant, and it wasn't even close. He could probably go on and on about his favorite meals, but he had to move on to another topic.
Another thing was the music. Good lords was the music amazing to hear in the City. Sure, Remnant's music is exceptional, but hearing the music in the City was… home to him. Except for that thing's music, it would still be too soon if Roland ever heard a piano again.
"So Qrow, what's it like living in Remnant then?" Even though he'd only been here for a few months, Roland still hadn't seen anything outside of Vale. He'd been meaning to visit Atlas to see the snow. The only place in the City he knew that had snow was District 25, and he didn't want to go there because he heard some bad things about that place.
"Well, I'm sure everyone has a different perspective on life, but I'd say it's fine."
"'Fine?'" Roland blinked at that. "Just 'fine? You have magic, crazy powers, and all this other stuff, and you say 'fine.'"
"Yup. Grimm, Huntsmen, Dust, Aura, Semblances, Magic. Don't know what else to say; you've been living here for a while now, you should already know the answer."
Roland groaned, "You'll give me your real answer sooner or later."
"Sure, maybe I'll tell you later."
"I'll hold you to it."
–QROW–
As the two approached closer and closer to the mission target, Roland equipped his gloves, dampening the sound around himself. Qrow, on the other hand, transformed himself into his avian form. The latter would provide surveillance and backup whenever needed while the former would sneak in.
"Just so you know, try not to get poop on me," Roland joked as he held his mask in his hand. "The suit is extremely expensive."
The black bird rolled its head as if rolling its eyes before taking off into the morning sky. With that out of the way, Roland put on the mask, disappearing from Qrow's line of sight. However, if the huntsman focused extremely hard on Roland's brief presence, he could see the man. It would take months, if not years, for most people to get used to seeing him with the mask on according to Roland. Only extremely gifted Fixers were able to see Roland as soon as they met him. That being said, it really boosted Qrow's ego.
Up in the air, Qrow found the White Fang camp just ahead. It was very easy to see as there was a lingering smoke trail above the camp. The camp was in a forest clearing, and multiple tree stumps were found on the perimeter, telling Qrow that they were expanding the camp. It looked like there were two sections to the camp: one for the main base and the other for the parked bullheads. For a group of terrorists, they looked well-supplied.
Upon being above the camp, the corvid saw multiple tents set up, lots of armed guards, and…
'What the hell?' Qrow thought to himself. 'Adam, fucking, Taurus. The man's just walking around.'
Qrow remembered hearing about the faunus taking out a pro-huntsmen team by himself. The only reason he recalled it was because some of the huntsman were people he was acquainted with—the world of pro-huntsmen was far and few after all. If anything, he wanted to go out and arrest the criminal.
As he began thinking, he came to the realization that was a terrible idea. It was one thing to invade a base filled with White Fang but add a high-ranking member in the White Fang to the mix, then even Qrow wouldn't be able to handle that many people. Too many variables, too little information. However, that didn't matter as this was just a recon mission. There was no need to pick a fight.
Soon, Qrow found two White Fang members sitting down next to some of the trees while talking to each other. It seemed like they were keeping watch for the camp. He perched himself on a branch, seeing if he could overhear what these goons were blabbering about.
"All I'm saying is," the one with a wolf's tail said, "you should play it. "
"I've told you for the last time. I ain't gonna play your gambling game. I'm not going to spend my money on PNGs," the one with bear ears countered.
The wolf faunus shook his head. "First of all, it's called 'gacha,' and secondly, the 'PNGs' have a better personality than you right now," he jabbed.
"Whatever," the other White Fang member shook his head. "If you're so into converting people to your 'gacha,' why don't you get Taurus or one of the triplets to play it?"
"I'll pass. Taurus is too edgy for me; I just want someone to talk to about a game I like, not hear about how his girlfriend left."
"Don't fault him for that. That Belladonna girl was holding him back."
"Yeah, you're right…" The wolf sighed. "Anyways, what were we talking about again?"
"The Triplets?" The bear reminded him.
"Oh right." He nodded. "Uh, I'm a… little nervous."
"What? Scared?"
"'Scared?' No man," the wolf faunus admitted, looking around to see if someone was listening to them. Even though a single bird was watching them, he paid no mind to it. "It's… It's the girl," he whispered.
"What's wrong with her?" The bear faunus confusedly asked.
The wolf faunus sighed, "Never mind, it's nothing."
"Come on, you can tell me. Uncle Maho can keep a secret."
"Oh shut up."
As Qrow listened to these two, he had a sneaking suspicion that listening to them was a huge waste of time. He should get back to Roland and see what he's doing. It'd be only a matter of time before the whole base gets up and running.
"Hey, you smell that?" The wolf faunus suddenly questioned.
The bear faunus sniffed the air, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah. It's that smell."
'Oh shit,' Qrow instantly realized. He had been so engrossed in listening to them that he hadn't realized that the wind had changed direction—it was blowing from his back. His human scent carried over to his bird form. The smell was basically in their face.
If he left them smelling a human around their base, it could lead them to become more cautious and suspicious; it would directly affect Roland as he was in the middle of their camp. He needed to take care of them now. Qrow flew down from the branch he was settling on, transforming behind the tree.
"Oh," the wolf's voice lit up in surprise. "It's nearby."
"I think it's behind that tree."
With Harbinger out in its sword form, Qrow stood battle-ready. His back hugged the tree and he waited for the two to reach him. Just as both of the White Fang members came closer, a powerful scent hit Qrow in the face.
'What is that smell?' Qrow quietly sniffed around, searching for whatever was giving off that scent. It smelled good. However, as he trailed the smell with his nose, it led him to… him. One big whiff and Qrow realized what the smell was. It was the sme—
"The sweet sweet smell of alcohol," one of them answered. "I can taste it in the air."
"I haven't had a drink since we entered this brother-forsaken forest," the other commented.
The huntsman's eye twitched as he mentally facepalmed himself. Qrow put away his weapon and stared at his remaining jug of joy. He had shared good times with it, however, the mission comes first. Regrettably, he decided to part ways with his beloved. Immediately, the two White Fang members came around the tree—both of them coming from either side of the tree.
"Who the hell," the wolf faunus picked up the flask and inspected it, "left this bad boy here."
"I dunno. Who leaves a flask of what… whiskey right next to a tree?" the bear questioned as he took a whiff of the alcohol.
"It's bourbon, dipshit."
"What's the difference? Alcohol is alcohol."
"Sure, alcohol is alcohol, but not all alcohol is the same. Bourbon is whiskey, but it uses 51% of corn in the grain mix. Whereas whiskey just has a bunch of different combinations to make it a little different. The flask right there is just bourbon—smooth to the tongue, and gentle with the liver."
"Yeah, dude. That's the reason."
"Smartass."
"Whatever… wait, who the fuck said that?"
Both of the White Fang members slowly looked up, only to see a stubbled huntsman hanging from a tree by his legs. He was staring at them with this sort of interest, but not caring look as they were discussing liquor.
"So, what's your guys' favorite drink?" Qrow interestedly asked.
Panic filled both of the faunus's faces. The bear faunus, especially, could barely make out the words, "Hu-Huma—"
Before he could scream out for his fellow brothers, Qrow grabbed both their heads and smashed them together, knocking both of them out in the process. Their bodies collapsed together and fell to the dirt floor. At the same time, Qrow leaped off his branch and landed perfectly next to the two.
"And here I thought we had something special," the huntsman sighed. Then, Qrow realized something. He was supposed to interrogate them. "Ah, crap… Well, they're knocked out now." Qrow pulled out his Scroll, checking the time. It hadn't even been half an hour since they infiltrated the camp. He just hoped that Roland was doing something already so they could get out of here faster.
–ROLAND–
After parting ways with Qrow, Roland had a leisurely time walking past some guards. Despite being a terrorist group, there were few to sneak by. Jumping behind a larger tent than the rest, the masked fixer maneuvered past a couple more guards, making sure they didn't see him.
Even if he had his Perception Blocking Mask, it still would be suspicious if someone noticed something and alerted others. After finding their
"While I was sleeping on a dirt ground," Roland tiredly whispered, "the others were partying it out and eating all kinds of good stuff. Man, I'm jealous…"
Hiding behind some crates no bigger than half his height, Roland slowly opened one up to see what was inside. As he guessed, there were plenty of rations and other dried foods. As he closed the crate, he counted the number of boxes. From the looks of it, there were rations for months if not a year. Water seemed to be not an issue either based on the giant canisters near the crates.
Roland knew the White Fang were terrorists—they had been a hot topic ever since they had landed here in Remnant—and what they had done. He had also fought Torchwick, a person working with them, twice. Despite their differences, Roland understands why they hate how the world treats them. The thing he didn't understand was why they were camped out here in the middle of the forest.
They had enough supplies to siege a small portion of the City, but it wasn't like they had the personnel to bulk up their attack. He recalled the cat faunus of Team RWBY mentioning that there were hundreds if not thousands of White Fang forces scattered throughout Remnant. Did they split up their forces? Were there multiple encampments? If so, how many?
Whatever. Roland will just find something here to point them in the right direction. Maybe it'll help lead him to Torchwick so he can get his hands on his neck and tell him how his "acquaintance" knows "her" name. For now, he just needed to find where they kept their documents or something.
Just as he thought of that, a person poked their head out from the tent in front of him. Immediately snapping their head toward Roland's direction, the fixer ducked behind a box to hide himself.
Roland hoped that the person didn't notice his presence.
Upon peaking around the box, Roland looked at the person once more—they were standing tall outside the tent they were just in. The first thing that popped out was the bright neon green ends at the tips of her brown hair. Above her head, there was a pair of what looked like donkey ears. On her back, it was a brass tuba. If Roland had to guess, it was another weapon—probably fired some kind of cannon or something ridiculous. She was also wearing a dress shirt and a black vest with a green tie; and on her face was the standard White Fang mask. As the fixer pondered, the woman started to waltz over to his crate, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Hello?"
As he hid once again, Roland backed away and moved to another place to hide. He didn't want to get caught.
Upon reaching the crate, the person found nothing. She felt like something was watching her—something familiar. She studied the crate and the surroundings before someone called out to them.
"Oi, Melody, get over here," a random voice called over. "Taurus wants you."
"Hmmph. Damn red-head." Reluctantly, she left.
–QROW–
The two White Fang members the Huntsman had incapacitated were now sitting next to the tree. He had both of their weapons stripped away from them—a knife and mace, and took off their masks. He could leave them here, but they would probably get attacked by a Grimm or something. Even if he was technically their enemy, he was first and foremost a huntsman.
"Woooaa—"
Qrow immediately turned his attention to the noise.
"...My head," the bear faunus groaned as tried to clutch his head, however, he found that his arms and legs were bound to a rope. His eyes were very blurry as he tried to look around the place. He felt someone next to him. "Gray, is that you?"
The wolf faunus could only grumble as he was awakened by his friend talking to him. "What do you want? Just give me five minutes."
"All I remember is finding that booze, and now I can't move." The fog in the bear faunus's head was starting to clear up. "What happened?"
Upon no response, the faunus looked over to see that his friend had gone back to sleep.
"Why's my mask off?" As the bear faunus looked around them, he noticed that there were three of them. At first, he disregarded it but once the memories right before they knocked out came back to him, he realized. "Oh, shit! Hu—"
All of a sudden, a steel blade flashed in his face, reflecting his terrified expression to himself. He traced the sword back to its owner, who was not happy to see him almost call out to his Brothers.
"Tell me something useful, or I'll have to hurt you," Qrow calmly asked.
"I-I-I…"
"Take your time," Qrow reassured. "We got all day. Actually, we don't have all day. Hurry up."
"I… w-will not talk to you, human." He said that last part with a bitter tone. "Our Brothers will find us, and they will kill you, you spineless human."
After letting that sink in, Qrow sighed, "That was the best conversation I've had with a White Fang ever." He particularly didn't like talking with the White Fang, not the Faunus in general, but just the White Fang. Most would either attack him or just cuss him out entirely. "You are doing wonders for your group."
"Why are you here, human?"
"Uh, why are you here?" Qrow countered.
"I won't answer to a human, human."
"Then I guess we're stuck in a stalemate. Great." Reaching behind himself, Qrow grabbed that thing.
"What?" The faunus narrowed his eyes, watching Qrow pull out something. An incentive? "Nothing a human can offer will sway me."
Qrow then pulled out the flask, uncapping it. "If you want some, just ask."
Just before the White Fang was about to deny that, instantly, the whiff of alcohol hit the faunus like a truck. He couldn't do anything to stop the smell from entering his nostrils. The smell of alcohol was too strong. Even though he wanted it to stop, he couldn't. It was the smell of the thing he had been craving for months.
–A FEW MINUTES LATER–
Maho cried, "Ouwuahhgh, I'm a mess!"
"It'll be fine, big man," Qrow tried to reassure. He didn't know when he became a babysitter, but he just rolled with it. "Don't think like that."
"You don't know that! My nephew, who I love with all my heart, told me that I have 'bad vibes!' I don't even know what that means! I though I was fine, so I didn't think about it; but then, I felt really sick one day so I went to a doctor and told them it. Apparently, my 'bad vibes' were really just severe psychological distress! I'm barely 24 years old and I have 'bad vibes!'" The bear faunus slurred, tears welling up. "What's happening to meeeee!"
"Oh brothers," Qrow sighed. He had hoped that tempting the faunus with alcohol would loosen his lips, but it turned out to be a little too loose. The only thing he had learned was his name and his backstory. Snapping his fingers to get the man's attention, Qrow tried to change the topic, "Hey, what is Adam Taurus's Semblance? What do you think he's doing here? And—"
"Who?"
"Taurus. Adam Taurus. Why is he her—"
Maho cut him off again, "Taurusss, Adammmm. Ohhh… He's a bit of a looney guy, I hope he gets well. I kinda like him."
"I didn't ask about his mental health, nor if you like him."
"Semblance? I think he can—"
"Are you on a delay?" Qrow questioned with a baffled tone.
"—hit people harder when they hit him or something, I dunno."
'So like Yang's…' Qrow thought. A worrying Semblance. Alright, that's pretty good information. Next, he was curious about someone else. "Hey, who're the Triplets? You two were talking about them earlier."
"Them? They're White Fang."
"No duh," Qrow sarcastically responded. "Who are they?"
"Hmm, they play good music. Ugh… hmmmm… That's it."
"'That's it?!'" Qrow yelled. "They play good music. That's it?"
"Yup."
"I must be out of my mind wasting some good stuff on ya." Qrow shook his head. "My Semblance must be messing with me right now."
Instantly, the forgotten person next to them jumped up. Qrow could only turn his full attention to the now awoken faunus, which of whom was sober. The wolf faunus's eyes jumped all over the place. When the sober faunus looked at his friend, he noticed how shitfaced he looked. Then, turning his gaze to the human, he realized that he didn't have his weapon on him. In that instant, sweat started to appear on the faunus's face.
Qrow grabbed onto the handle of Harbinger. "Let's just have a nice conversation. No need to shout." Although the words were nice to hear, the tone, however, was the complete opposite.
The wolf faunus's eyes widened as he slowly started to shuffle backward, finding that his hands and legs were bound. Frantically looking around anyone, the faunus started to panic. Once he realized that there was no one to help him, the wolf faunus realized what to do next. Upon looking at the wolf's eyes, the message was loud and clear to Qrow.
"Don't do it," Qrow warned.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The wolf faunus immediately scrambled to get up and screamed as loud as he could, "HUma— ACKK." Before he could finish calling out the intruder, he was forcibly tackled to the ground and placed into a chokehold with a hand covering his mouth. On top of him, Qrow tightly held the faunus in place while keeping an eye out for anyone who could've heard it.
After a few seconds, it seemed like the coast was clear. He was sure that there would've been someone else who would've come to see what happened. Faunus' hearing is pretty good after all. Thank the brothers that didn't happen.
"Are you guys playing: shout the word 'human'? I can play too!"
Turning around, the huntsman saw the drunken bear faunus sitting up. His drunken face contrasted with Qrow's panic-filled face as the huntsman reached out for the bear faunus. "Hold on—"
"HUUUMMAAAANNNNNNN!"
The echoes of the word reverberated across the entire forest—the quietness of the forest shattered. A few birds might've flown away due to the sheer noise it produced. After the distant sounds faded away, the sounds of alarms started to roar.
"Oh… that's bad."
"I like this fun game you guys are playing."
"Dammit," Qrow sighed. Looking back down to his victim, Qrow released the man from the chokehold. "You're free to go, buddy." Although, the man was already unconscious. Then, he addressed the other faunus, "You, stay with your friend. Make sure you both get home safe."
"Roger Roger, Mr. Human," the bear faunus saluted.
Qrow smiled, "Also, spend more time with your nephew. And look up slang words nowadays; the kids use them a lot."
"Okayy!" After that, the bear faunus crashed into the ground, unconscious.
Now that Qrow was officially done with that shit, he took out his Scroll and immediately called Roland. Once the call picked up, Qrow talked first. "Got anything?"
["Yeah, some documents and a Scroll," Roland answered. "Now let's get the hell out of here."]
"Couldn't have said truer words. Meet me by this point here." Qrow tapped on a map leading toward the Eastern side of the camp, compared to the Southern section of the forest where he was right now.
["Copy."]
With that, the call ended, prompting Qrow to immediately transform into his avian form. Taking off, he looked downward to see the first responders looking around for the intruders. There were around 7 White Fang members, each having different animal traits and equipped with their weapons. Upon spotting two bodies lying on the ground, they rushed toward them.
As they looked upon their knocked-out friends, screeches and roars rang throughout the forest. It was the cries of Grimm, several Ursai and Beowolves were rushing toward the afraid White Fang members. The sight of unconscious allies and unknown human intruders had put the White Fang members on edge—they became a little too negative, thus attracting the Grimm.
Qrow, flying around the group of White Fang, saw how many Grimm were starting to gather in the forest—it was fourteen Beowolves, two Ursa Minors, and one Ursa Major specifically. Despite having more numbers, around 25 members, the White Fang would stand no chance against that. Even if they had some training against the Grimm, it would be hardly any training than what a huntsman would undergo.
"I thought that the Grimm wouldn't attack us!"
"Oh, Brothers!"
"There's so many!"
"Your negative feelings are gonna attract more! Stay calm!" One of the White Fang members stood behind the others, holding out a hand. "Hold the line! Taurus and one of the Brasswell siblings are coming!"
As they gathered into formation, the first Ursa along with four Beowolves rushed toward the White Fang and clashed directly with the first group. Surprisingly, they held the Beowolves long enough for others to get strikes on the Grimm. On the other hand, it seemed like they were struggling with the Ursa Minor, but it seemed like they knew what they were doing. Thankfully, it meant that Qrow wouldn't need to intervene.
Without a second thought, Qrow continued to fly eastward.
–ROLAND–
–A FEW MINUTES BEFORE–
Meanwhile, Roland found the jackpot. After managing to hide from that woman, he entered one of the tents and only found one bed, meaning that only one person slept here. Since no one was here to stop him, he looked all over the place. If anything, this was probably a high-ranking White Fang member based on the stuff lying around. A map on a board, a desk, a nice-looking bed, and a bunch of other amenities. Noticing a Scroll on a desk, Roland walked over.
"Lucky me~," Roland talked to himself as he picked up the Scroll and placed it in his glove's dimensional pocket. It probably has something important in it, but he should get more stuff to be safe. Eyeing all the paper documents and cool souvenirs, he smirked. "Hope the owner doesn't mind."
After gathering a bunch of papers, Roland had to compliment the White Fang. For a terrorist group, they were more organized than a bunch of Syndicates ever were in the City. Hell, this desk alone was more organized than the entire City because of how neat and tidy it was.
Pulling out a binder, the fixer read what some of it was about. Skimming through most of the paperwork, a lot of it was details about the White Fang, some reallocation of White Fang members southeast, and an unnamed group of humans, and one… other interesting thing.
The photograph of one raven-haired girl, Blake Belladonna.
As Roland looked at a board off to the side, there were so many notes and bullet points about where Blake's location could be. Details about how far she could move, how quickly, and where she could go. Roland did remember that the raven-haired girl said that she was in the White Fang at some point, but left recently. Whoever this tent belonged to, they wanted to find her.
There were many drops of what looked like dried water scattered at the bottom of the paper, but Roland didn't question it any further.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming toward the tent. Without panicking, Roland knew what he had to do. Placing the photograph and documents into his gloves, he limited his silencing ability to only a few inches from him and looked around inside the gloves for two specific items. He had used this item to hide himself and his best bud during a mission before—if it could work there, it should work here. The other was just to counter Faunus' senses. Immediately, Roland put both of them on.
Soon, the tent's entrance/exit opened up. In came three White Fang members, one of them had red hair and a katana sheath on his left hip, one had his hood up and a chainsaw strapped to his back, and the last one had short indigo hair and a trombone in his hand.
Curiously, Roland couldn't see the last two's faunus traits, leading him to question if they were faunus. With the White Fang's motto of "hating humans," it seemed obvious that they wouldn't work with humans, but with the Torchwick situation, it seemed like the opposite. Well, it could be assumed that the bulky man with the chainsaw is a Faunus because he was wearing the White Fang uniform. The other person, the indigo-haired man, was wearing something similar to that woman from earlier, except it was an indigo tie instead of green.
"Edward, go to the Southern Branch. Our… allies," Adam said bitterly, "require some help."
"Are you sure, Adam? We don't have to listen to them anymore."
"Regardless, they believe we will still cooperate with them, but in reality, they will be dancing to our tune. Now go."
"Gotcha, I'll see to it. Take care, Adam."
"As do you."
Once the big White Fang member left the tent, silence took hold as Roland watched from the other side of the tent. Speaking of Roland, the man was trying to not move a muscle. In the corner of the tent, the fixer stood still with three items on hand: his gloves, his mask, and one lamp head. All of that, covered in baking soda. Roland found some when he was in Beacon's kitchens and borrowed it.
The combination of standing perfectly still with his silencing ability and barely noticeable due to the mask's power; and you get the best disguise: literally no disguise. Although he had no idea how long the baking soda would mask his scent yet, it didn't matter as long as it was working. Regarding the lamp head, back in the City, Roland would always bring this up against Olivier whenever he was losing an argument. He heard of a very skilled assassin back then using a cardboard box to sneak his way into Nests and Syndicate bases; however, when people caught wind of this, it didn't end well for people who tried to copy his strategy.
Lamp heads, on the other hand, were much more practical. You can see much more than being inside a box, and you get to counterattack much more quickly than if you were crouched in a box. It also took up less space so you can hide easier. He really had to appreciate his ingenuity. All in all, Roland had mastered the art of hiding in plain sight.
'That's why I'm th—' Roland paused. He realized that he hadn't been paying attention to what was in front of him. 'Oh shoot, what's happening?'
Adam stood in front of the maps he had placed on a board. He crossed his arms and looked all over the map, staring for a few moments. The bull faunus softly spoke, "Jazz."
At his name being called, the indigo-haired man perked up. "Yes, Adam?"
"You mentioned that Blake might be in Vale, why?"
"It's the closest city. Since she probably doesn't have any money or any means of getting shelter, she probably went to Beacon," Jazz theorized, his sharp teeth showing, telling Roland that he was indeed a Faunus.
"Why Beacon?"
"Well, Beacon held their entrance ceremony a little after Blake left. Huntsman Academies usually give their students food and shelter. Considering that Beacon's really friendly toward the Faunus and she's around the age of normal huntsmen students, I'd say that she's at Beacon in Vale," Jazz surmised.
Roland had to give credit to the man. Every part of his speculation was entirely logical. Logical to the point that it was entirely correct.
"She's White Fang," Adam countered. "Think they'll just let a White Fang member into Beacon?"
"Dunno. Maybe they didn't catch that."
It was at this moment that Roland realized something he should've gotten earlier. 'Oh, is that the Adam Taurus?' He heard about what the man had done. While he was impressed with how notorious the man was, he couldn't condone that he killed innocents who had nothing to do with faunus hatred. He heard that he attacked his own brethren too who were trying to stop him. Maybe if he killed him right now, then the White Fang might dissolve. Without their leader, they wouldn't have anyone strong to unite under and Torchwick wouldn't have the White Fang act as cannon fodder for him—a two-for-one deal if Roland might say so.
Just as the thought passed, a horn blared throughout the camp. All three of them knew something bad was going down, so Adam and the other faunus immediately rushed out from his tent with the fixer slowly taking off the headlamp. As Roland cautiously peered outside the tent, dozens of white-masked faunus darting around the camp in a frenzy.
"Qrow, you'd better be doing something useful right now," Roland muttered under his breath. He waited for an opportune moment to jump out and run. As Roland sprinted out of the camp, his Scroll started to buzz. It seemed like Qrow was calling him.
[Once the call picked up, Qrow talked first. "Got anything?"]
"Yeah, some documents and a Scroll," Roland answered, looking for a way out. "Now let's get the hell out of here."
["Couldn't have said truer words. Meet me by this point here." At the same time, Roland's Scroll vibrated.]
"Copy."
After the brief conversation, the Scroll displayed a position Eastward. Roland bided his time and rushed past the gates into the tree line, taking advantage of all the chaos in the camp. However, amid his rush, the fixer seemed to not notice the faunus lurking on the edge of the camp. Unseen, they watched as the mysterious black blur vanished into the dense red forest.
Calling onto his Scroll, the faunus dialed up his siblings, "Hey, I think something just ran out from the camp. Eastside. I'mma go follow it."
["The base is on full alert. Ignore it," his dear brother replied. "The humans might have found us."]
"Yeah, but I got a sneaking suspicion that they just ran out from the camp."
["Sonata."]
"What? I got a hunch."
["Your hunches are never correct. You end up getting hurt because of them."]
["Don't go too far. Stay safe, Sona," his sister's voice came through.]
"That's two-to-one, Jazz," Sonata argued. "You're in the minority."
[On the other end of the call, Sonata heard his brother sigh, "Fine, just get back as soon as you can. Mel, can you—"]
["Yeah yeah, I got my tuba."]
"Thank you guys! Love ya! Bye!" As soon as the call ended, Cy fixed his magenta tie and plugged in his headphones. The faunus rushed into the forest, hoping to catch up with the black blur.
–A FEW MINUTES LATER–
"Where is he?" Roland checked his Scroll. Looking around himself, he only saw red leaves, trees, and bushes scattered all over the place. "Tells me to be here and he isn't here himself, what a standup. Haaa…"
He hadn't felt like this since his time working as a Fixer. Doing missions and then thinking about what was happening back at home. By now, the party was most likely long over and people were probably starting to wake up—he was sure that Team RWBY and Team JNPR were already oversleeping. Malkuth and the other normal Librarians were probably sleeping while Yesod and the studious Librarians were studying something, and Angela could still be doing that project Ozpin and General Ironwood tasked her with. There were so many things that could be happening.
Suddenly, one of the bushes started to wobble. Finally, Qrow was here.
"Phew, I thought I lost ya there."
Instead of the drunken huntsman he was expecting, a faunus with a magenta mohawk came out from the bushes. Much like those two other White Fang members before, this man was wearing a dress shirt with a black vest and a magenta tie. On his back, Roland saw that there was a French horn strapped to him like a bag. Although, Roland was curious as to if it was still called a French horn, considering that French wasn't a language in Remnant. It was one in the City, but people rarely spoke it nowadays.
"Hello? Not gonna speak?"
Roland narrowed his eyes past his mask. "Yes? What do you need?"
"Woah, no need to be so hostile, dude, dudette, or whatever you are," Sonata laughed, taking off his headphones. "Also, can you stop doing that muting Semblance of yours? I can't hear myself think."
"Sorry about that," the fixer apologized. "I'll be going now if that's alright with you."
"Hey hey hey, I'm not done with you yet. You see, if you couldn't tell already. I'm White Fang, and you're not. Since I can't tell if you're a human or a faunus, you're either a traitor running away or a dirty human. And you probably don't know what we do to—"
"Sorry, I can't hear you over the silence," Roland said as he turned up his glove's silencing ability. The faunus was trying to speak, but couldn't hear himself at all.
Rightfully pissed, the magenta-colored faunus grabbed out his French horn. Now that Roland could fully see his weapon, he could see that the instrument's levers were color-coordinated: red, blue, and green. Roland is a smart man, he fully knows what those colors mean. What he didn't know, what was they did. Sticking his hand into the hole of the horn, Sonata started to play his music. Roland, albeit annoyed, was mildly intrigued.
Then, the fight started.
–A FEW MINUTES LATER–
Up in the sky, a crow flew downward to fly behind a tree. After turning back, Qrow came from around the tree. He was scratching the back of his head as he yawned. The drunken huntsman opened his eyes to the black fixer sitting on the stump of a tree with what looked like a White Fang member sprawled out on the ground, unconscious.
The faunus was face-planted into the ground with his ass to the sky and his pockets were run through. Everything he owned was scattered all over the ground floor next to him with his Scroll in Roland's hands.
"Looks like you had fun," Qrow commented.
"I did not. This guy was hardly a challenge," Roland complained as he swiped through the man's Scroll. "If anything, it was more of a tease."
After the faunus had started playing, Roland thought something would happen but nothing did. Even the White Fang member was confused as to why his music wasn't playing, but it seemed like he forgot that it was useless as Roland just blocked out the noise. After face-palming, Roland ran up to him and punched him in the stomach without a single thought. The aftermath is what Qrow sees right now.
"Did you get anything from him at least?" In response, Roland shook his head, leaving Qrow to shrug.
Sighing, Roland tossed the faunus's Scroll back to its owner. "Well, let's skedaddle. I called the pilot earlier."
"Wait, you're not just thinking of leaving this guy here, right?"
Confused at first, Roland soon realized, "Oh, right." He walked over and picked up the unconscious faunus's Scroll. Going through the contact list, Roland dialed one of the names he heard earlier before.
["Sona, what did you find?"]
"Uh, Sona's not here right now. Please leave a message after the beep," Roland joked.
["... Who are you? And where's my brother?"]
"He's fine, although a little unconscious. Come pick him up. I'll send you our location, but we'll be gone before then." At that moment, the call disconnected, leaving Roland to toss the Scroll again. Turning back to Qrow, the fixer gave him a deadpanned look. "We good?"
"We're good," Qrow nodded. "Let's go."
–BULLHEAD–
Since then, an awkward silence loomed over the two of them. Both of them were sitting on opposite sides of the aircraft. Qrow was staring outside the window, watching the afternoon sunrise; on the other hand, Roland was staring at Qrow. The silence still persisted, even after Roland put away his gloves. He had to say something.
"Can you tell me about it now?"
Qrow turned to look at the fixer, confusion in his eyes. "About what?"
"What is Remnant to you?"
"I said that it was fine," Qrow remembered their earlier conversation.
"Don't give me that half-assed response."
Now that they were staring at each other, the huntsman noticed how genuinely serious yet intrigued Roland was. Qrow reluctantly sighed, "It's like a cage. We're trapped here, forced to bunch together because of the Grimm."
"If the Grimm are so oppressive, why do the people hate each other? Don't you think it would be easier to unite?"
"It's hard to understand people."
"I know, I come from a place where it's shoot first, ask later."
"So why are you asking me this?"
"The Branwen Tribe."
Instantly, Qrow's demeanor shattered. "What about them?"
"Last night, I read that they pillaged an entire village and killed everyone—they didn't spare anyone," Roland said. "I guess when you come from a tribe of bandits, it is hard to understand people, Mr. Branwen."
Suddenly, Qrow started to laugh, although it was a self-deprecating laugh. Even Roland started to get concerned for him. After a while, Qrow stopped. "Yeah, the Branwen Tribe—my 'people'—the tribe whose shit-filled blood flows through my veins."
"Is that why you were drinking a lot last night? To wash the blood away with alcohol?"
"Yeah, I don't have much control over those people. The only thing I can do is just drink it away." Qrow took out a flask, watching the sun reflect off the metal. "It gets even more depressing on how much I've been excommunicated."
"They don't consider you family?" Roland asked.
"Only one does, but the rest… not so much," Qrow shrugged. He didn't really care for anyone else in the tribe anyway.
"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it, but I'm curious about your story. How did an ex-tribesman become an alcoholic huntsman?" Roland curiously mused.
The other person in the conversation popped open the flask and took a shot. Once he was done, he wiped his mouth using his arm. "Fine, but I'm leaving out some details."
"Fine by me," Roland shrugged, glad to get to know something about the mysterious drunken huntsman.
"My sister and I were raised in a bandit tribe somewhere in Mistral. Like you said: we pillaged, stole, and even killed people. All of that just to get food on the table. Our father, the leader, wanted us to be his successors, so he trained us till we almost died. If we wanted to live, then we had to take it using our hands."
He explained how his life was just mundane and lifeless, considering that he took lives from people when he was just a kid. He hated everything about the tribe; he knew that there was more to the world than just stealing from others. After a group of huntsmen ruined a raid on a village—
"—he decided to send us to a huntsmen academy, Beacon specifically. He told us to learn how huntsmen operate and learn their weaknesses—he wanted us to learn how to kill huntsmen. Heh, now look at me, I became one instead. Anyway, we got into a team: Team STRQ. Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao-Long, Raven Branwen, and me, Qrow Branwen. A team full of idiots." Qrow looked reminiscent of the past.
"Wait, wait, wait," Roland paused the story, realizing something. "'Rose?' 'Xiao-Long?' Ruby and Yang's parents were part of your team?"
"Yup, now if you add in the fact that they're half-sisters and both of them are my nieces…"
"Wait." Roland thought about it for a moment. After realizing something, a grin grew on the fixer's face. "Oh damn, so this Taiyang fella got the whole team, didn't he?"
"Yea— wait, no. No, no no no no," Qrow realized what he just said. "Not the whole team. He didn't include me, you freak."
Roland could only laugh. "Sorry, sorry. Couldn't resist the temptations."
"Screw off," Qrow annoyingly scowled at him, only for Roland to laugh it off even more. "Well, it didn't last for long. After Yang was born, Raven and I had a little talk. She wanted to take Yang back to the tribe to raise her, and I was almost about to agree."
"But I remembered a time when Summer was talking to me, just after we became partners. She told me something. Something that always stuck with me," Qrow said with a soft tone. "A person with a heart of gold is what she called me. It was the first time anyone had said anything positive about me at that point. Brothers, she would slap that nonsense out of me if she heard me say that, hehehe… Well, that and the fact that Ozpin gave us the lifetime of an opportunity to save the world, I couldn't just leave. After I denied Raven's proposal to leave, she decided to take off alone, leaving behind her husband and daughter."
Qrow continued, "It doesn't help that Raven's been actively leading the tribe at this point. The world's gotten a lot crappier after that point. I've gotten messages and people talking behind my back about my connections with the tribe. Thankfully Ozpin denied those claims. Up till now, I have no idea if it was my Semblance or just life screwing me over, but everything's been an uphill battle ever since we graduated from Beacon."
"Well, all I can say is this, Qrow: we'll keep trying," Roland said as he gave a small smile. "We'll try and try again to do what we can till we drop. Even if the world collapses on you, with the right people by your side, there's a small chance that everything ends up alright. Look on the bright side, you have a family that loves and wants you—Ruby keeps telling me about her 'oh-so-amazing uncle' that I probably know more about you than you think. Yang mentions getting a family get-together before the Vytal Festival comes by. Think about them before you do something irrational, old-timer."
Chuckling, Qrow shook his head, "Who're you calling an old timer? I'm barely in my 40s."
"So? I'm in my 30s and being alive in these crazy monster-filled worlds is a miracle in and of itself."
"Heh, damn right. Well, you said that you messed up big time before. Will you tell me that at least?"
Roland paused, not knowing how to spin the story. Realizing that he would have to bite the bullet at some point, he might as well get drunk over it. "Come to Netzach's drinking parties, then I'll tell ya. Beacon's just right there."
Confused at first, Qrow slowly got the implications and nodded his head. "Sure."
–AFTERNOON–
–DOCKS, BEACON ACADEMY–
"Where's a horse around here? I'm starving," Roland joked as he stepped out of the bullhead. Stretching his arms, he looked around the place. Like always, it was empty around this time. Turning to look toward his fellow companion, he noticed that he was walking away. "Qrow, where are you going? We got time to make it for lunch before heading to Ozpin's."
"Nah, you go by yourself," Qrow assured. "Just hand me what you got on those Scrolls, I'll head over to Ozpin first. He'll probably ask you to swing by later just to confirm some things."
"Mmm, alright," Roland agreed. He pulled out the Scroll he took with him and a neat folder full of documents, giving both of them to Qrow. The huntsman grabbed both of them and started to walk off. "I'll catch you later at one of Netzach's drinking parties."
"Sure, I'll probably be there if I'm not busy. Then again, I'm always busy," Qrow chuckled.
After watching the drunken huntsman leave, the black fixer wandered over to the cafeteria. Since most of the students were in their classes, there was almost no one eating. Now that he was back at Beacon, Roland wondered what to do next after getting something to eat.
There were probably some kids who would like extra training, but Roland wanted to relax after a mission. There wasn't much that Roland wanted to learn about either—it was either stuff that wasn't necessary to know or stuff that he just didn't care about. The other Librarians, barring Netzach, were probably doing something else, so it'd be rude to bother them. Oh well, he hadn't seen Angela in a while, so he might as well go talk to her.
First, it was time for some food.
–HEADMASTER'S OFFICE, BEACON ACADEMY–
"They were here, Ozpin!" Ironwood shouted, expressing his frustration as he slammed his fist into the table.
Equally angry, Glynda pointed out, "We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James."
As Ozpin began to
"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?!" Ironwood argued.
Just before Glynda could counter the General's words, an alert played from Ozpin's desk, signifying that someone arrived via elevator. Glad that someone came to stop this conversation, Ozpin spoke, "Come in."
Out of the elevator, Qrow steps out and into the room. Upon seeing who was there, the huntsman realized that this was going to be a mess. He tried to walk out, only to realize that the elevator had already gone back down.
"Qrow, so glad you can join us," Ozpin greeted.
Turning back around, Qrow gave him a tired expression. "Yeah, super glad."
As the huntsman made his way toward Ozpin's desk, he was stopped by Ironwood, who gave him a small smile. Greeting him, James called his name, "Qrow."
"Ironwood."
"How's life treating you, Qrow?" James asked.
"It has its ups and downs," the huntsman shrugged, taking out a flask and then looking at him. "Mainly downs now."
"Are you seriously drinking in front of us right now?!" Glynda shouted.
Qrow looked at Glynda before taking a swig, telling her that was his answer. All Glynda could do was yell at him some more.
"Nevermind them Qrow," Ozpin interjected. "What did you find?"
"Find what, Ozpin?" Ironwood intriguingly asked, unaware of the mission.
"Some stuff." The huntsman pulled out the Scroll and the folder, throwing them onto Ozpin's desk. The folder's contents slid out from the folder, showing everyone what was written. "Don't ask me why they're on paper, Roland was the one who grabbed them. As for the Scroll, it might be a burner."
Grabbing one of the papers, Ozpin scanned it from top to bottom, finding a mass gathering of White Fang members in the Southeast. The Headmaster tried to understand why the White Fang would congregate there of all places. The only places there were… He hummed at the thought.
"The White Fang tend not to use technology to store their information," Ironwood explained as he read through one of the papers. "My analysts believe that they fear their information being leaked or hacked. That and the fact that Menagerie does not have a CCT Tower is what supports that theory."
"Maybe you should install one there," Qrow suggested. "Might help with our non-existent relations with them."
Glynda, curious as to what they held, picked up one of the documents, and read it. As she read through the first few passages, instantly, she became shocked.
"'Due to the threat of an unknown group of humans, we will now be focusing our attention on attacking Vale,'" Glynda grimly repeated the words on the document. The words that left her mouth caused everyone else in the room to go quiet. "'Realistically, it is not feasible, but due to the power they held, it is possible. They somehow have pacified the surrounding Grimm of the Forever Fall Forest. Taurus recommends following them to not risk endangering the lives of our brothers despite our hatred of humans. Furthermore, Taurus has informed us that we will be organizing a raid on Beacon soon. Due to that, we will be conducting more training to fight against Huntsmen.'"
The blonde professor would cut herself off from there. The room continued to be silent as everyone present was taking in that information.
"Well, at least the guy knows how to write nicely," Qrow joked, however, the atmosphere was too tense for any relief.
Silence would soon take hold again, but it would break as someone slammed his fist again on the desk, causing some papers to drift off the desk.
"Ozpin! I demand that we take immediate action!" James shouted.
"We cannot," Ozpin said calmly.
"People's lives are at stake, Ozpin!"
"I understand, but—"
"No buts, Ozpin. The Fall Maiden is in a coma and the Grimm have been increasingly becoming aggressive and stronger. Vale is in an extreme Dust shortage, investigators have gone around asking about the Paladin roaming around the streets of Vale, and someone attacked my men in the middle of the night! Four of them were found dead! Now, there is going to be an attack on Vale! I simply cannot tolerate this any further!" Ironwood cut him off.
"Trust me, James, I don't either," Ozpin gave him a firm nod, but an understanding gaze.
–DINING HALL, BEACON ACADEMY–
Upon opening the doors to the cafeteria, Roland was met with what he already expected: barely anyone. Immediately, Roland went to check out what they were serving. Once he got what he liked, he walked toward the tables. Now that he was walking past them, there was a good bit of everyone on campus. There were some students, some of Beacon's staff, teachers, and… Malkuth?
"Malkuth?" Roland repeated.
"Hmm?" The long brown-haired librarian perked up upon hearing her name. Squinting her eyes, she realized who it was. "Oh, Roland? Good morning."
"It's 'good afternoon,'" Roland corrected her.
Realizing her mistake, she slammed her head on the table. The coffee mug on the table shakes as a result. "Oh, right. Sorry, I just woke up."
"I can see that," Roland chuckled. "Still not much of a morning person are you?"
"Yeah."
"Did you fall off the bed this time?" Roland asked, remembering the many times when the fixer found the Patron of History lying on the ground on her floor.
"No… and don't say that aloud." She nervously looked around the room to see if anyone heard the fixer.
"Sorry sorry," Roland apologized as he scratched the back of his head. He placed his plate of food on the table and took a seat in front of her. "Well, what's got you up this late in the morning?"
Malkuth took a sip of her coffee, seemingly reviving the energy in her. "Last night, I stayed behind to help clean up the mess at the Dance Hall. Forgetting about the assembly today," she says with a sigh.
"There's an assembly?"
"Yeah, it's about the students' field trips."
"Oh yeah, that," Roland nodded in acknowledgment. "Didn't think too much about that. I guess it's analogous to a new Fixer's first mission."
"Maybe," Malkuth accepted.
"What time is the assembly?"
"After classes end," Malkuth answered. "And it'll be at the amphitheater."
"Gotcha," Roland said as he took a bite of his sandwich. "So, how did the party turn out? Was it fun?"
"'Fun?' It was plenty fun, but I was just… bothered by something during it," Malkuth confessed. When Roland gave her a confused look, she explained further. "One of General Ironwood's soldiers looked way too familiar to me. He didn't stay long, but there was something about him that I couldn't put my finger on."
"You sure you guys still have your memories from your past lives?"
"Yeah… but then again… eh whatever, I'll deal with it another time."
Roland grinned, "Glad to see that you're yourself again."
"It's not like something like that will bother me all day," Malkith huffed, eyeing Roland's plate. "Give me a piece please, I'm hungry."
"Sure sure, just be sure to save me some. It's my plate after all," Roland sighed. Upon seeing Malkuth grab two of his sandwiches and a bagel, he gave her a deadpan stare.
In response, she could only giggle.
Well, he couldn't stay mad at her either, so he chuckled along with her.
–?, THE LIBRARY–
After consuming his breakfast and splitting off from Malkuth, Roland traveled to the Library to see how Angela was doing down there. Since she already knew that he was in the Library, he kindly asked for the door. Instead, he got snapped to her.
"Oof, hadn't done that in a while," Roland commented as he got used to the feeling again.
"It is easier for me to bring you here instead of using a door," Angela argued.
"Yeah, but walking in looks way cooler than just teleporting out of thin air."
"You are not teleporting, I am breaking down your body into Light and then rebuilding them back up here," Angela corrected.
"Eh, same difference," Roland shrugged. "Anyways, what're you cooking?"
"'Cooking?'" Angela cocked her head. "I do not believe I am making any meal."
Roland facepalmed, "It's an expression. I'm asking what you're doing?"
"I see." Angela nodded. "Well, to answer your question, look at this."
The Librarian Director gestured behind her. Roland had terrible eyes as he did not notice the giant metal coffin with a person inside of it. It wasn't there before when he was here. It was a woman with short brown hair and light brown skin, but the left side of her face was extremely scarred as if something tore into her face. She was wearing little to no clothing, only covering the important bits.
"Mmh, I didn't know we were kidnapping and experimenting on people. I knew this was a Nest thing. Can't believe I believed you."
"Stop joking."
"Alright, but who is she?"
"Amber, the Fall Maiden."
"Cool," Roland said as he walked up closer to her. "So this is a Maiden. Seems normal to me."
"As Ozpin put it, she holds extreme power. Power not seen anywhere else in Remnant. Even with the Light, it is difficult to understand how the power works."
"What? You can't just book her and heal her like you did for me?" Roland questioned.
Angela shook her head. "Ozpin and General Ironwood wouldn't allow it. After she got attacked, they won't risk the Maiden's power fading away."
"I guess that's somewhat understandable," Roland shrugged. "Well, what are you doing then?"
To answer that, the Head Librarian snapped her fingers, bringing them to a room. Instantly, Roland knew what this room was: it was one of the rooms an Assistant Librarian used. The blackened interior with a bed, nightstand, and a bookshelf. There was one door, but based on how the room felt, Roland guessed it would be locked. Roland hummed as he looked around the room. As he gazed around, his eyes landed on the bed. A person was lying there. Intrigued, the Fixer walked over.
"Oh, it's you."
Author's Note:
It's a wrap! Hopefully, you enjoyed reading this stealthy mission Roland and Qrow took (although it wasn't very stealthy, both of them made their presence known) but regardless, they completed their mission.
I can see that some of you guys were asking for a Gebura vs Mercury and Emerald fight, but sorry, that's wasn't planned for this chapter. After the Binah fight, I didn't want to do another big fight scene thingie so I opted for a quick ass-whooping from Roland. Plus, I always thought that Roland and Qrow were kinda similar: both lost someone dear to them, their life was in shambles, lived terrible lives, and were top fighters of their generation. The only difference is that Roland gave into the mentality of the City while Qrow chose to refuse his destiny of becoming a killer like the people of his tribe.
Moving on, you can definitely see where the story splits off from canon. Instead of Ruby entering Ozpin's office, it's Qrow. I won't go into more detail, but I don't feel like this is the part where it will completely derail from the canon story, just some things will be different.
Anyways, that's all from me. If you see a mistake or something wrong, just tell me and I'll be sure to correct them when I can.
See you guys later!