If a crow could frown then Qrow Branwen would have been frowning heavily as he flew above Raven's camp.
Instead of the normal hustle and bustle of a bandit tribe, Qrow was instead greeted by emptiness and silence as he transformed back into his human form once he landed.
Even when out raiding, the camp never should have been this empty. There would have been followers, medics, and smiths waiting on the wings for the raiding party to return.
Right now however, all that awaited Qrow were tattered tents being blown by the wind and a busted wooden wall.
"Hello? Raven? Anybody home?"
He didn't expect an answer, not really, but Harbinger snapped out when he heard a rustle come out of what was supposed to be Raven's tent.
He held his breath for one single second, watching the tent flaps flutter, and then his sword flashed.
A Boarbatusk squealed and fell dead as Qrow decapitated the Grimm once it rushed out from Raven's tent.
"Damn." He spat out, glaring at the smoking body as howls sounded out from outside the abandoned camp.
Whatever happened here left no survivors for if there were, they would already be chastising Qrow for attracting the Grimm.
Instead however, all Qrow heard as he transformed back into a crow to fly away were the grunts, roars, and howls of Grimm from the forest coming in to check the commotion.
Qrow saw a Beringel charge in, breaking down whatever obstacle stood in its way as wood and felt were flung away.
Qrow crowed as he watched Grimm congregate where he had just been and as he flew away from the abandoned camp, he had one thought in mind.
The Branwen Tribe was either destroyed or in hiding.
Damn.
Not knowing for sure gave Qrow complicated feelings. On one hand, it was good that bandits would no longer disturb this area. On the other, it was his family one way or another.
There was also the mystery of just how something like this could happen.
The Branwen Tribe was not small. It was a village in on itself with Raven at the very top who never would have left the tribe in such a state.
She would at least have asked him for help if the situation was truly dire even if they both knew he would refuse.
The fact that she didn't meant that she did not want to involve him or she was already facing off against someone on his and Ozpin's side.
Did Lionheart send in Huntsmen to deal with Raven?
He would have to know considering this was his turf and all but for some reason, Qrow thought it unlikely.
Lionheart knew Raven was his family. More than that, they both knew it was more worth it to leave Raven alone.
As troublesome as they were for the locals, the Branwen Tribe was relatively contained to one spot in Mistral alone.
For the Huntsmen protecting a continent as large as Mistral, that was a boon they were willing to keep considering they were already stretched so thin protecting the people from the Grimm.
Rerouting Hunstmen to face off against Raven would have left certain areas vulnerable, not to mention, the losses they would incur.
Qrow frowned.
Now that he thought about it, it was far more unlikely for Lionheart to have sent someone to clean up the Branwen Tribe.
They would have needed at least a full team of Veteran Huntsmen to take on Raven, not to mention the additional forces that they would need to fight off the rest of the tribe.
Such a gathering of force would send waves across the local Huntsmen Network and Qrow would have at least heard of it.
The fact that it didn't meant it was something else.
Whoever or whatever the Branwen Tribe fought must have been powerful.
Lionheart had to be warned if they wanted to get to the bottom of this and then after that, Ozpin had to know.
Ozpin knew something was happening under his academy.
More specifically, something with their resident Rusted Knight, Ser Arc.
He didn't know what it was exactly but he knew it was inevitable. There was only so much a man from the future could innocently do before he decided to make big moves after all.
Regardless, it's not like Ozpin didn't partially sanction it himself all those months ago.
Ozpin already agreed that while the Rusted Knight refused to tell him everything, he would still be acting for the good of Remnant.
Ozpin only had to provide him help when asked.
It might have looked like a one sided deal with Ozpin getting the short end of the stick but it's not like Ser Arc didn't tell Ozpin anything.
The Fall of Atlas and Winter Maiden's fate came to mind.
A frown wormed its way onto Ozpin's face at the thought.
He still didn't know how to break the news to James but he was going to leave that up to Ser Arc once they met. All he did for now however was to warn James to be on the lookout. It was vague and somewhat stating the obvious but it should make James to look deeper into things.
Ozpin himself didn't know the details of how such a thing could happen but it was enough to push him to make some changes.
Already he had given instructions for harder combat classes across all years, simulating disadvantageous fights during spars, and even Survival Training for first years.
While he was aware he would be pushing the students hard, it was for their own good should they ever need to combat the future Ser Arc lived through.
A future that the Rusted Knight seemed to be finally doing something to prevent.
Ding!
His Scroll rang and Ozpin was already reading the message as a glint appeared on his eyes.
"Going to go out soon but I need more training before I go." Ser Jaune Arc messaged.
It was short and straight to the point and a grin was already creeping up Ozpin's face as an idea formed in his mind.
His fingers were already sending messages for Glynda, Port, and Oobleck to join them in their usual training room. A room dedicated for the sole use of Beacon's faculty yet even as his professors sent their affirmatives, Ozpin was already going further.
Messages were sent out to Qrow, to James, and even to both Theodore and Lionheart.
He didn't tell them the details but he told them to bring their best and be ready for a fight.
And while some of his cohorts weren't going to arrive anytime soon, Ozpin wasn't going to miss this chance to test Ser Arc's limits should the opportunity arise.
In fact, if Ser Arc was finally going to go out and face the world, he should be able to take on this much or at least last long enough to their satisfaction.
But if he couldn't? If Ser Arc fails and is found wanting?
Well then they were the ones who needed to be ready.
For now however, he had a training to see to.
"They're looking at us." Pyrrha whispered, almost jolting Jaune out of focus.
His wings flickered, dropping him down towards the training floor by just a bit before he managed to materialize his wings.
"I know they're looking at us. They're supposed to be looking at us." He mumbled back, his wings flapping as he tilted to the side to avoid an explosion.
It had been a day since Blake came crying to him in the night.
It had also been a day since Jaune decided that he wasn't going to take any chances before he went to apprehend Roman Torchwick down at the docks.
Which in turn resulted into a day of training with Beacon's faculty.
Both Glynda and Ozpin were obviously there but what was a less common sight was the presence of both Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck.
They watched from the sidelines, studying his every move as they prepared to substitute for Glynda in order to test his endurance.
"No, Jaune. This isn't the usual way of looking at us. This is a strange way."
"What do you mean?"
"Port and Oobleck hasn't stopped eyeing you and Glynda while snickering and gasping to each other."
His eyebrows climbed upwards at that and his wings skipped a beat at the distraction.
It was mistake as an explosion immediately engulfed him after that. Glynda had telekinetically sent Fire Dust straight at him!
His Magic Armor immediately cracked ever so slightly as he was hit by the explosion.
It only shook him for a bit but Jaune immediately extinguished his wings and dropped down to the floor to maintain his focus.
"Enough!"
Jaune froze as Ozpin called off the spar and the sound of a cane hitting the floor echoed even as he and Glynda stared at each other.
"Professor Arc, you've been distracted." Ozpin stated and Jaune cringed as he heard the Curious Cat snicker from beneath Ozpin's feet.
"That's Rusty, alright. Always thinking about something far away even when we were in the Ever After."
"Sorry, I just had a lot in my mind is all." He replied coolly, completely ignoring the cat even as heat crept up his cheeks.
It was somewhat embarrassing to be caught lacking it as it was he himself who asked for this training. Ozpin raising an eyebrow, did not help things.
"Is that so? Mind sharing it with us or is it about something private between you and Glynda? Would you like us to replace her for now so you could maintain your focus?" Ozpin called out even as Jaune's eyes hardened at the uncharacteristic harshness.
"Is it because they are mating?" The Curious Cat cut in innocently, and Jaune's eyes immediately widened as a growl left his lips.
"That is not-!"
"Calm, Jaune. It's nothing they didn't know before."
Jaune breathed at Pyrrha's reminder.
Right, it was just the Curious Cat not being familiar with social and biological norms for humans beings.
There was also the reminder that they all knew about his relationship with Glynda.
Honestly speaking, he almost forgot about that after everything that had happened and while they didn't know about Tsune and Peach just yet, it was still unpleasant to be called out using his relationship.
Jaune winced as he saw Glynda flush at the insinuation of unprofessionalism.
He knew his lover hated being called out for unprofessionalism or being involved in such.
And right now, Jaune was the one pulling her down so he immediately moved to rectify that.
"No, nothing like that. I'm just thinking about what I'm going to do soon."
"Oh? And what are you going to do soon?"
Classic Ozpin, trying to fish for more information from him. Even the Curious Cat tilted its head in curiosity. Joke's on them though, this was information Jaune was willing to share.
"Nothing much, just planning on busting down some criminals that are unwittingly working for Salem." He shrugged, watching as Ozpin's eyes hardened.
"Explain."
Hook, line, and sinker.
Topic successfully changed.
"One of Salem's lieutenants is using the White Fang and Roman Torchwick to gather Dust. I plan on busting them down with Glynda soon." He smiled, winking at Glynda who smiled back at him.
"And you're only telling us this now?" Ozpin tilted his head incredulously but Jaune only chuckled at him.
"Careful, Ozpin, remember our deal."
The air between them froze and even Port and Oobleck stopped gossiping as they sensed the tension between them.
If Jaune was being honest with himself however, he was already having second thoughts about their previous deal. Changes were already made and he wasn't sure if things were still going to go the same way.
Part of him thought that they should just spill everything and dump the load onto Ozpin. The other part of him however was filled with fear.
Fear that if he completely spilled everything then it would all change and his future knowledge would be useless. That he would lose the element of surprise and he would suffer even more than last time.
Judging by recent news and how Blake came crying to him last night however, Roman Torchwick was still on track on working with the White Fang while stealing Dust.
That, at least gave him a measure of assurance. If things still went as they should, then Jaune had the chance to arrest Roman Torchwick and temporarily cripple the White Fang.
While it wasn't Cinder, that at least would hinder any more plans she had for Vale.
After that? He'll cross that bridge when they get there though he already had an idea of what he wanted to do.
Arresting Roman would change too much and so there would need to be some adjustments.
That was for later though, but right now he was just wary about changing things more.
Thus, his reluctance to share anything of note with Ozpin.
Which, understandably, the immortal wizard did not like as he pursed his lips at Jaune.
Eventually however, Ozpin sighed reluctantly.
"Forgive me. It seems with my age, I am not used to being the one being kept from secrets."
"Heh, not so fun to be on the other side of the fence, is it?" Jaune smirked good-naturedly as Ozpin could only smile wryly at that.
"I presume there's a reason why you are sharing this now however?"
"Yes, my knowledge of particular events are spotty and second hand at best but something happened recently that jogged my memory. I have an idea when and where Roman Torchwick and the White Fang will be in the next 48 hours."
"I see. I assume this involved Ms. Belladonna during the days of future past?"
Jaune froze, that was a fancy way of saying events in his future but he only shook his head incredulously though he really shouldn't have been surprised. Considering Ozpin apparently also knew about Jaune's fake transcripts, it wasn't so far-fetched to think tha he also knew about Blake's previous involvement with the White Fang.
"Right." Jaune sighed before turning towards Glynda. "I'm going to need Glynda, Tsune, and Peach to stake out-"
"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOUNG MAN!"
He blinked as Port suddenly materialized beside him as if he had Ruby's Semblance.
"You're not going to leave us men here, are you?" Oobleck asked, raising his glasses even as Port put an arm over Jaune's shoulder.
"Don't you think it's time for us men to go on an outing?" Port grinned before Jaune paled as he saw the older man blink at him. "Unless of course you want to do something else with the ladies?"
Eyebrows wagged and even Ozpin raised one in curiosity as he looked at Jaune. Thankfully, Jaune wasn't alone, Glynda coughed embarrassedly as she glared at Port.
"Don't be daft, Peter. We will mainly be there to arrest some criminals."
Peter Port however only huffed with mirth in his eyes.
"Oh? Handcuffs will be involved then."
Jaune saw Glynda flush red at that before he suddenly ducked under Peter's arm and pushed himself away.
"Alright, what is going on with you two?" He asked, frowning as Port and Oobleck laughed with each other.
"That is workplace harassment, you know." Glynda glared angrily, freezing both Port and Oobleck in place as Glynda tightened her hold on her riding crop.
"Ah, forgive us, Jaune, Glynda. We just heard a rumor making rounds around the academy today. A rumor originating from Team RWBY." Oobleck coughed out embarrassedly even as both Jaune and Glynda paled.
No, no, no. This was not good.
"Oh no." Pyrrha whispered in commiseration as she realized the same thing he did.
Team RWBY?
They might have been his friends but that only made Jaune much more aware of how troublesome they were.
Problems always seemed to follow that group and while that was true then, Jaune feared it was also true now.
And considering they saw Glynda, Tsune, and Peach inside his room, he had an idea of what this rumor could be.
His thoughts are proven true once Ozpin asked to hear the rumor.
"Oh? and what is this rumor? I'm afraid I'm not as in touch with my students as I thought."
Peter straightened, gathering every single inch of dignified air in his body as he looked at Jaune with pride in his eyes.
"It is my pride and joy to announce that our resident knight is..." He trailed off and Jaune could only palm his head and sigh as Peter raised both hands with a smile on his face. "Is...dating multiple women!"
Claps sounded out from that as Oobleck threw imaginary confetti around Port while Ozpin's eyes widened.
Even the Curious Cat blinked in shock before opening its dastardly mouth.
"Does that mean he is mating with all of them?"
You could have cut the air with butter as they all froze in awkwardness at the Curious Cat's question.
Eventually however, they watched as the Curious Cat began to glow before it was suddenly pulled into Glynda's hands.
"THAT. IS. NONE. OF. YOUR. BUSINESS!"
Each word was punctuated with a squeeze as the Curious Cat choked and gasped under Glynda's furious grasp.
"That's-glurkh-not a no!"
Jaune could only watch however when Port suddenly pointed at the both of them.
"Aha! He's right!"
Glynda only glowed brighter and Jaune moved to interrupt a potential murder from happening as he suddenly clapped his hands while enhanced by Aura.
Like it or not, he did not want the Curious Cat to die just yet.
CLAP!
The sound silenced them all but Glynda still kept blushing even as she released the Curious Cat.
"Guys, let's focus on what is important."
"But this is important." Peter smiled but Jaune had the perfect rebuttal for that.
"Not as important as busting the White Fang and Roman Torchwick. Care to join us?"
He grinned as Peter squealed excitedly before moving towards his side again and slinging a hand over his shoulder.
"I thought you would never ask! Now come! Let us go over the yonder and have wild adventures, young lad!"
"We're just going to Vale."
"Adventures! Why, I remember when I was a young buck such as yourself! Women-"
Jaune rolled his eyes as Peter rambled on before looking back at Glynda who was pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"I'll catch up. I just have a cat to wash." Glynda growled and Jaune grinned as he heard the cat whimper at his lover's tone of voice.
"Go on, Ser Arc. You have my faculty at your disposal." Ozpin interrupted, nodding at Oobleck who was already pushing them towards the door.
"Nostalgic, isn't it? It almost feels like you're in a team again." Pyrrha muttered, almost freezing Jaune in place as the thought entered his mind.
While part of Jaune lamented that he wasn't going to be able to spend time with his lovers, Pyrrha was right.
He couldn't help but feel secure as he felt like he was in a team again.
No, he was in a team.
Jaune couldn't help but laugh at that.
Peter only took that as a sign that he was interested in his story and continued on and so it was did Jaune, Peter, and Bart walk out of Beacon to arrest some criminals.
With a lineup like that, what's the worst that could happen?
Later that night.
Fire.
Fire roamed everywhere as Vale's docks were engulfed in hellish fire as a black rage overcame Jaune Arc while he screamed into the night.
"CINDER!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
A bit short but next chapter will be coming out this Saturday or Sunday. As an apology however, I added a small excerpt of an upcoming story of mine.
As for Cinder being in Vale? Just wait and see. ;)
P.S. For those who do not know yet, I posted a Glynda pic in the NSFW portion of the discord two weeks ago. :)
Divergent from Thy Rusted Knight's Ch 2 and 3.
-
THE WARP
"For the Emperor!"
"Hold the line!"
"The Emperor protects!"
"Keep faith and He shall see us through!"
"Incoming!"
"They're overwhelming us!"
"There's too many of them!"
"...Mommy, I'm scared."
"Hush, little one. He will-"
He wept.
He wept just as he had always done.
For more than ten thousand years, the Master of Mankind wept as hundreds of thousands of prayers were thrown towards him. Prayers for healing, bravery, courage, and salvation, prayers that he could not all answer.
Already, trillions cried out in agony as daemons invaded their worlds. His broken mind tried to keep up but even as pieces of him blessed certain warriors and granted miracles, it was not enough.
It was never enough.
So he wept for the whole of Humanity.
He wept for his empire.
And in the deepest parts of his shattered mind, he wept for his sons.
It was only now that he was at his lowest did he see his folly.
So full of arrogance and hubris was he that he did not see how he himself casted the first stone that broke his empire.
Angron's plea came to mind, followed by Kurze's defeated glares, and then Lorgar's cry of pain as Monarchia burned.
Tens, hundreds, and thousands of instances, of moments where he could have been better, where he could have been a father, reminded him of his failings.
His own actions led to bitterness and hatred to fester within his sons and that was that was needed for Chaos to steal them from him.
And so again, the Emperor wept.
Guilliman rising might have been a ray of hope but it was akin to one ray of light fighting against the encroaching darkness.
And even now, he could see that the light was already flickering, demoralized by the Emperor's own words that were twisted by his shattering mind.
Instead of being inspired by words full of hope and instruction, Guilliman was weighed down by his words.
Of the weight of empire, humanity, and himself.
Five thousand years.
By his calculation, that's how long it would take before the Primaris are entirely spent and the Imperium was back to slowly being grinded by the dark.
Even now, he already wept for the fate of the hundreds of trillions of souls not reached by his light in Imperium Nihilus.
He had no doubt that daemons and xenos already preyed on his people not reached by the light.
Once, he was the dominant power in the galaxy. Able to move the tapestries of Fate and Destiny to the benefit of mankind.
Now?
Now he could not even move his own body much less help his people, unable to do anything but power the Astronomicon and hold back the tide for as long as he could.
And so he wept, immobile, unable to do anything but watch as his empire rotted away.
While his dream for Humanity was continuously distorted by those who profess to fight in his name.
For in the grim darkness of the 42nd Millenium, there was only war.
Until...
A blink.
It lasted for a moment. It lasted for eternity.
But it was as if a light flashed through the Immaterium, catching his attention like a moth to a flame.
Now flashes of light weren't anything new or strange but this had the weight of fate with it. It was like a ripple hiding behind the undercurrents of the Warp. A ripple that by all means should have been ignored.
Desperation lasting ten thousand years however, had pushed even a being such as the Emperor of Mankind scouring for every single ripple that might give his people a chance.
The flash might have only lasted briefly but he was already sending a shard of himself to peer at it.
What he saw however shocked him enough that the Astronomicon flickered, dooming almost a million souls navigating the Warp as he tried to move most of his attention.
It was slow, it was painful, but eventually, enough parts of his shattered mind focused on the source of the ripples to view it.
It was Warp and not Warp at the same time.
As if realspace had enveloped a portion of the Warp before being enveloped by the Warp itself.
Confusing to say the least.
Trying to make sense of it would have occupied his already shattered mind too much so he did not.
He satisfied himself with labelling it as reality within not reality that is within another reality and only allowed himself to look at the realm's manifestation.
It was a tree.
A giant tree to be exact.
A great tree, reminiscent of mankind's ages old depiction of Yggdrasil.
It spoke of power as if it was part of the Immaterium ruled by the Four Chaos Gods.
This part however was not so hostile and while the Emperor of Mankind would have loved to examine it in more detail, he could only dally for so long lest the Ruinous Powers notice his inattention.
He turned his focus towards the tree again and peered inside of it.
It felt like like parting a veil or a curtain and the next thing he knew, he was staring at four beings.
Three of those beings smelled like the Warp with one of them seemingly more potent than the others, an elder perhaps?
Nay...
It was the great tree itself.
The Emperor's eyes narrowed at that.
It was not a Chaos God but just the fact that it could carve a part of the Immaterium as its own realm spoke of power.
It was definitely above a Daemon Prince that was for sure.
Still, his attention did not linger long for the fourth being was a human.
His eyes blinked at that realization and then the human did something incredible.
The man bared his soul inside the Warp.
Now a human baring their soul inside the Warp? Nothing new.
Humans have been doing it for ages since the first psykers were born but everyone also knew that that was just a recipe for disaster.
More often than not, the Warp overwhelmed any fool baring the soul to them before they are ripped apart by the daemons inhabiting within.
That wasn't what was happening here however.
What shocked the Emperor the most this time however was that this human wasn't just baring his soul. He was linking it with the denizens of the Warp beside him!
More than that, he seemed to be enhancing them!
How?!
In his very very long life, the Master of Mankind thought he had seen it all. From the deepest and darkest secrets of magic to the highest peaks of power one can achieve.
He thought nothing else would be able to surprise him regardless of how novel they were as long as he used his knowledge and experience to comprehend them.
There was no explanation his shattered mind could think of now however to answer just how can one man not just link his soul to daemons but also enhance them!
It was supposed to be the other way around! A human's soul was akin to a candle in the night compared to the bonfire of what passes for a Warpborn's soul! A daemon's soul!
Yet here a human was, enhancing two of them.
And it didn't seem like he was tiring either!
In fact, it seemed like he was even enhancing himself!
Even in the esoteric arts of magic and the Warp, something must always come from something.
So, where was this man's strength of soul coming from?!
The Emperor watched, transfixed as the man seemed to breathe and before he knew it, he was raising a sword.
A sword glowing with so much light and soulfire that the Emperor would swear that he almost felt the heat touch his face but as the sword descended, he finally realized what the man was doing.
Those ripples he sensed from earlier? Attempts to break through the Warp.
This, however was not an attempt.
It was a feat.
The Warp sundered, tearing into itself as the space in front of the human opened like a tear in reality.
He felt it then.
Hope.
Surprise!
A RWBY x WARHAMMER 40K crossover?!
Connected to Thy Rusted Knight?!
Well, here it is!
Want to support me, vote on polls, get early access, look at some fanarts?
You can find my P place in the link below.
pa tr eon.c o m (slash) MrLightbringer0
Just delete the spaces in between and use / for the slash.