Into the Fire

-Higanbana, Anima-

"Thanks for the drink… Have a good night."

And thus, he left the tavern leaving only Qrow at the table. He let out a sigh, hoping Roman would at least take up on what he had to offer, for his daughter's sake. It hadn't been long till a second glass had been placed in front of him. It had been given to him by a different waitress.

"Oh--" He started to say to her, "--I didn't--"

"From the woman upstairs--" The Waitress explained, "--Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind the bottom shelf."

Qrow looked a bit perplexed as he looked up to the second floor. He had a pretty good idea on who had given him the drink.

"Thanks." He said to the waitress.

"But--" She soon said to him with a smile before giving him a wink, "--I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you~."

She soon went back to work, as Qrow couldn't help but smile back at the waitress. He looked back up the stairs again, before he made a decision in his head. He took the drink in his hand before he headed on up the stairs. By the time he reached the top, who saw an all too familiar face.

It had been a woman with ​​a shallow cut black and red dress with black shorts underneath, with a series of beaded necklaces and a belt that wrapped around her waist and carried her weapon's sheath. Attached also is a long black object that is either fur or feathers, with a red and white bandana material hanging from behind her.

Her forearms bear red armored gauntlets that protrude outwards and black fingerless gloves. Her heels gained a red sole, her leggings becoming solid black and her eyes now a darker crimson color. She had long black hair and a set of red eyes as the waitress had said to him.

Beside her, she had a mask that resembled that of Grimm.

Though she bore a resemblance to his own niece… Yang.

"... Hello brother." She said with a smile.

There had been a pause between the two.

"Raven." Was all Qrow had greeted with before he approached her table.

He would've taken a seat across from her, but he eyed the mask as if he had been telling her something. Rolling her eyes--The woman, Raven took the mask and moved it over, not even bother to take it off the table. It was then, he finally took his seat.

"So--What do you want?" He asked.

"A girl just can't catch up with her family?" Raven asked with a playful little smile.

"She could--But you're not." Qrow replied with a tone, "So how about we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these coming."

Of course, Qrow had been referring to his drink that Raven had been kind enough to provide. She soon lost her smile as she looked up to her twin.

"... Does she have them?"

Qrow didn't reply right away as he circled his finger around the glass. Finally he had spoken up, "... Did you know Yang lost her arm?"

Raven had been taken back at this, "That's not--"

"--Rhetorical question, I know you know." Qrow said, sounding a bit harshly, "It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up a family and carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist. I know I kept leaving my daughters for Oz, but I still give a damn about them unlike you."

"I SAVED her." She protested.

"ONCE--Because that was your rule wasn't it? A real 'Mom of the Year' material sis."

Raven had soon taken hold of his wrist as to stop him from taking the drink.

"I told you Beacon would fall, and it did--" Raven soon said, "--I told you Ozpin would fail and he has. Now tell me… Does Salem have them?"

Qrow raised his eyebrow at this, "I thought you weren't interested in all of that."

"She killed Trinity… I just want to know what we're up against."

"... And which we are you referring to?"

Raven glared at her brother before she finally released his wrist. She sat back in her seat as did Qrow; he finally took a sip from his drink.

"You should come back Raven--" Qrow soon told her, "--The only way we'll beat her is by working together. All of us."

"You're the one who left." Raven told him, "The tribe raised us--And you turned your back on them."

He placed his drink on the table, as he gave her a certain look in his eye, "... They were killers and thieves."

"They were your family."

"You have a VERY skewed perception of that word."

Raven had stood up abruptly at this as she glared at her brother, "I lead our people now. And as their leader I will do EVERYTHING in our power to ensure our survival."

"I know--" Qrow said calmly, "--I saw. The people of Shion saw too."

Raven's expression didn't change at this, "... The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."

"Well you've certainly got someone strong on your side." He said, "I've seen the damage."

"We couldn't have known the Grimm would've set in as quickly as they did."

"I'm not talking about the Grimm. And I'm not talking about you either."

Raven looked over to Qrow, as she gave a chuckle, as if she had been amused by this sort of statement. "If you don't know where the Relic is--Trinity's children… Then we have nothing left to talk about." She went to take her mask away from the table, though Qrow placed his hand on the mask as well, as if to stop her from doing so.

"I don't know where the Spring Maiden is either--" He said, "--But if you do, I need you to tell me."

Raven chuckled again as she took the mask, "Why would I do that?"

"Because without her--We're all going to die."

Raven snickered at this, "And which WE are you referring to?"

Raven put on her mask, and with a swing of her sword, she opened a bright red portal before stepping inside; the moment she stepped in the portal, it soon vanished. Though not before Qrow could hear the sound of a gasp followed by the sound of glass shattering.

He saw that it was the waitress from earlier, shaking in fear. Her eyes looked like Qrow.

"Make this one a double." Qrow said to the waitress, referring to his drink.

***

-A Few Weeks Later; Mistral-

Some time had passed since team RNJR, CRMS along with former criminal Roman and Huntsman Qrow arrived in Mistral, though none of them actually believed to be here. Traveling for months, going through one hardship after another had all been worth it. The first step had been done and over with as they felt like they were getting closer to their goal.

After stopping by the hospital picking up Melody and Roman in disguise, after having been discharged, as they had been on their way towards the one place they had been looking to get to for all those months. Frosty had been by Melody's side as his tail had been wagging.

Qrow took a deep breath of relief, "The City of Mistral…"

"Well--It's about time!" Nora said as she slouched a little, "Who's idea was it to walk again?"

"All of ours genius." Rosario answered, "You even agreed to doing this."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Nora said with a pout.

"To be fair--" Ren soon said, "--We did face many obstacles. Broken airships, destroyed settlements--"

"Not to mention all the monsters and people that tried to quote on quote murder us." Jaune soon added.

"That and Melody's surprise alter ego and the Grimm we encountered." Scout said, before she said to Cristal, Melody and Senka, "Uh no offense."

"None taken." Cristal said.

"It's not like I haven't heard of that before." Melody said as it looked as though she had a set of bandages wrapped around her head.

"Still--I'm surprised we managed to survive all of that." Roman said as he had been using his cane to help him walk, "And I've been on several jobs worse than this!"

Ruby only scoffed at this, "We were fine--Only a few of us almost died."

"Hey!" Qrow, Melody, Roman and Cristal said as she had looked to them in particular.

"Hey!" Ren said as Nora gave a look towards him as she only let out a giggle.

"How much farther is it to Haven Academy?" Jaune asked as he had been curious.

"We're almost there--" Qrow replied, "--But I'd thought after everything that's happened, I'd give you guys the scenic route."

Many of them wondered what he meant exactly as they approached a pair of doors made of wood. Qrow opened the doors swiftly, and they were greeted with light at first before they had seen the view. Ruby and Cristal were more taken back by the view.

The city before them was beautiful. There were buildings as far as the eye could see. Most of the buildings were stacked on top of mountains and cliffs, not to mention the trees complimented the scenery as well as the waterfall with the crystal clear water.

Ruby and Cristals eyes sparkled at the sight of it all as the two girls had been thinking the same thing.

"This--"

"Is--"

"--AWESOME!!" Ruby and Cristal exclaimed as they shouted as loud as they could.

Melody let out a whistle while Frosty leaned on the railing when he stood up on his hind legs, "Now that is a view."

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Scout said.

"Well, it certainly is something." Qrow said.

"Eh--" Roman said, with a shrug, "--You've seen one you've seen them all."

"You've been here before dad?" Cristal asked.

"Only on jobs." He replied, "I got bored of it after the third time I came here."

"Oooo!" Ruby said as her eyes sparkled, "Look at all the cool weapons down there!"

Cristal had been taken back as she noticed the weapons stand down below, "Now THAT'S a katana!"

"Calm down little Gem." Roman said, noticing her excitement as Cristal had been bouncing a little.

"They look so cool!" Ruby added as her eyes sparkled.

"The vendors around these parts will sell you just about anything." Qrow explained as if he had been a tour guide, "Whether they should or not."

"They really made the most out of these mountains." Jaune had commented.

"Every inch." Qrow said, "But stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets."

"And we're going up!" Nora said with a smile.

Just as this was said, the platform they were on started to move upward, in the direction where Haven Academy had been.

***

-Somewhere Outside Mistral; Lake Matsu-

Weiss and her sisters had been traveling together as stowaways for the past week, and already they had gotten used to the small space which the ship had provided; As a matter of fact it had been easy for them. The ship had mostly been quiet minus Van and Nilla's giggles, and how they played with one another thanks to their semblance.

The ship had been over an enormous lake and they had decided to have some breakfast with the pilot who they were grateful for to have him bring them this far. They had already set up a picnic blanket as they ate what looked to be some muffins that had been a special container while drinking some milk from a thermos that Van had carried in her bag.

The three sisters, Nava, Van and Nilla had been enjoying themselves while Weiss had been sitting on one of the chairs provided. The twins' eyes practically lit up as they happily munched on the muffins.

"We're going to see our big sister, and all you can think about is sweets?" Weiss said to her sister amused.

"Well it's not my fault that I have such a sweet tooth you know!" Nilla said, sticking her tongue out a little.

"Nilla! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Van complained as she hit her on the head.

"Don't hit me! I'll hit you back!" Nilla exclaimed before hitting her back like she said.

Weiss and Nava only laughed at the twins' banter as they continued to eat. "Still--" Nava said as she poured herself a drink from a thermos she had, "--It'll be great to see Winter again. I wonder how she's been doing for the past few months."

"We'll know when we see her." Weiss said, "I'm just glad that you're with us."

"Yeah, me too." She replied before she stood up. She soon handed an extra muffin to the pilot along with a drink which he happily took.

"Thanks." He said before taking them; he set aside the drink before he took a bite from the muffin, "In case any of you were wondering we won't be making any more stops from here to Mistral. Sorry about the long trip. Keeping us off the radar's been harder than I thought. There's a lot of traffic around Northern Anima."

"It's alright." Weiss said, "I just hope we haven't been a burden to you."

"If we have been, we apologize." Nava said as she bowed her head.

The Pilot merely chuckled, "Nonsense. You and your money are more than welcome on this ship, kid."

"Thanks again for flying us over to Mistral mister!" Van said.

"It's really fun being in the air!" Nilla added.

The Pilot laughed, "Glad you kids got some entertainment on this flight."

Just than the ship's computer began to make what sounded to be like static which had gotten all of their attention. "What the--?" The Pilot said before he started to adjust the slider to help even out the wavelengths.

"Mister?" Nilla said as she stood along with Van, "Is everything okay?"

"Not sure." The Pilot replied, "We're still over Lake Matsu. We shouldn't be picking up broadcasts this far from Mistral."

Soon after he managed to even out the wavelengths, a voice came out from the computer which made some of them jump.

"Mayday! Mayday!" A woman's voice in distress said, "We are a small passenger flight and our Huntress is down! We aren't equipped to deal with this!"

"That's a distress signal!" Nava said with worry.

"Oh man." The Pilot said.

They had continued to listen to the broadcast and it had gotten worse by the second, "The Grimm hit us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline!"

Weiss, Nava and the twins' eyes widened slightly when they heard an explosion.

"Get them off us!" The Mistral Pilot in the transmission said, "If anyone can hear this--Aaahh!"

The transmission came to end leaving Weiss and her sister filled with worry about the Mistral Pilot. The Pilot turned off his transceiver before he turned the ship slightly making most of them jump at the sudden turn.

"Hang on." Weiss said, adjusting herself, "We're going to go help them right?"

"What?" The Pilot said, "No, I'm trying to avoid them."

"But you can't do that!" Van said, "They're living lives on that ship!"

"Not to mention there's a Huntress on board who's hurt!" Nilla added.

"We can't just leave them like that!" Nava protested.

"We're gonna have to if we want to stay out of Grimm territory." The Pilot said.

"But…" Weiss said, "... They'll die."

The Pilot sighed, "Look--If we picked up their transmission, I'm sure someone else did too. Besides, this is a cargo ship. She's not much good in a fight, plus you got your little siblings to worry about. I'm sorry, my ship, my rules."

Weiss let out a sigh as allowed the pilot to go through his path. Van and Nilla took both of her hands before she herself gave them both a hug. Nava only gave a solemn sigh as she had her gaze out the window to get the glimpse of the sun rising over the horizon.

***

-Haven Academy-

The two teams now stood before Haven Academy, taking every moment to appreciate the scenery and architect as they had walked into its courtyard. Ruby stopped in her tracks as she took a look at the building that lay right in front of them; she couldn't help but think back to their journey on getting there and all the hardships they went through and the lives they could've lost along the way.

As this thought came to her head, Ruby felt her eyes water up. Cristal placed her hand on her shoulder just as she sniffled.

"... We made it." Ruby said with a smile.

"Yes, we did." Cristal said with a sigh of relief before she gave her a poke on the cheek, "Now you just gonna stand there and cry or are we gonna head inside?"

Ruby gave a pout as Cristal walked ahead, while Melody couldn't help but giggle, "I wasn't about to cry!" Ruby said as she caught up with her.

"Of course you weren't." Cristal said with a hint of sarcasm, which Ruby couldn't help but groan at; the group caught up with their two leaders, while Roman and Qrow lagged behind the group, as they all had a look on their faces.

"... Does this seem--Off to you?" Roman asked him.

"... Yeah." Qrow said as he looked around. The two of them soon caught up with the rest of the group.

They had gotten inside Haven Academy, as they found themselves walking down the halls. Though they were all surprised when they saw that no one had been around; they all couldn't help but find it a bit odd.

"Excuse me?" Scout called out, "Is anyone here? We're here to see Headmaster Lionheart!"

They had gotten no answer from anyone, which they still couldn't help but find odd.

"Hello?!" Ruby called out, "HELLO!?"

They still didn't get an answer; the closest thing they had gotten was silence.

"Huh--They're all busy or something?" Rosario asked.

"You can try yelling louder?" Nora suggested, which only had Rosario facepalm herself.

"Maybe it's just me that hasn't been to school since Signal--" Melody said, "--But shouldn't there be you know--People here?"

"Well…" Jaune said to the group, "I guess school isn't really in session by now. Maybe that's it."

"Either that or they're waiting to jump out and scare us." Cristal suggested jokingly.

"No--" Roman soon said as it made the group flinch, "--Somethings wrong."

"He's right--" Qrow said, "--Come on!"

Before anyone knew it, Qrow dashed straight down the hall, with Roman following behind despite his wound aggravating him slightly.

"Dad!" Cristal and Melody shouted to their parents.

"Wait for us!" Ruby called out as the group started to follow behind.

They followed them until they had gotten to an office that they assumed had belonged to the Headmaster. Qrow armed his weapon and the others followed.

"Get ready!" Qrow said to them, "There could be trouble!"

The group nodded as they were ready to fight, whoever came through the door; even Frosty started to growl as he showed teeth. Qrow soon kicked down the door, taking a man with a beard by surprise.

He threw his hands in the air as he let out a scream as Frosty let out a noise of his own, mostly out of fright, and the group screamed excluding Roman.

Qrow, who was still on one foot, lost his balance and fell into Roman, making them fall to the floor, and the bearded man fainted suddenly, leaving the group dumbfounded.

".... What just happened?" Rosario couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know…" Cristal replied awkwardly.

"I'm--Trying to process what's going on myself…" Scout said.

"Ummm… Are you Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked.

The man, named Lionheart, sat up with a gasp, before looking at the Huntsman on the floor. "Qrow!" He yelled, "For crying out loud! You nearly scared me to death!" Qrow stood up as he couldn't help but growl as he went to help Roman up.

"Me?!" Qrow yelled, "Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?!"

Lionheart had a confused look before he looked at a watch he had on his coat pocket, checking the time. "Oh, right." Lionheart said, "Apologizes. I guess time slipped away from me."

"You're kidding me?" Qrow said with a raised eyebrow. The group put away their weapons, seeing as how there wasn't any threat to worry about.

"Well Leo…" Roman said as he brushed himself off, "... After all these years, you haven't changed huh?"

Lionheart stood up from the floor as he was surprised to see him standing there. "Roman Torchwick?" Lionheart said shocked, "I haven't seen you since the birth of your child… This is indeed a surprise."

"A lot of people assume many things about me." Roman said, "And yet here I am alive and well."

"I can see--" Lionheart said before he noticed his daughter, "--And, you must be his eldest daughter… Cristal isn't it?"

"... Do you know me?" Cristal asked, shocked.

"Ah yes, you wouldn't remember me." He said, "Last I remember seeing you, was when you were just a baby." His expression looked saddened, "I'm--Very sorry about your mother. She was a very good friend of mine. Not to mention your little sister… I hope she's alive and well somewhere out there."

Cristal's own expression saddened, "... Thanks, it's nice to hear that."

Lionheart soon looked to the rest that stood behind both him and Qrow. "Ah, you must be the students that Qrow mentioned."

"Technically they're the students--" Melody said as she gestured to RNJR, before gesturing to herself, Rosario and Scout, "--I'm a dropout, she's a hunter, and she's the official junior doctor in her village."

"Oh right." Lionheart said, "I apologize Miss--"

"--Melody Wren Branwen." She said with a bow of her head, "I'm the official leader of CRMS."

"Rosario Black." Rosario said.

"Scout Lapis at your service." Scout said with a smile she soon gave Frosty a pat on the head as his tail wagged, "And this is Melody's companion Frosty!"

Lionheart looked to Melody with a bit of shock, "Qrow, I didn't realize you had a daughter."

"I've got two actually." Qrow said, "And I'd rather it be kept that way."

"And I'm Melody's cousin!" Ruby said as she hooked her arm around her arm, "Ruby Rose!"

"Jaune Arc." Jaune said as he bowed a little.

"Nora Valkyrie!" Nora said as she couldn't help but pose.

"Lie Ren." Ren said, putting his hands behind his back.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Leonardo Lionheart at your service." Lionheart said, "I'm afraid my staff is currently away until classes resume and--"

"WHAT!?" Qrow exclaimed mostly out of anger after hearing this, "Leo you can't be serious! If none of your staff are here then who's guarding the Relic?"

Lionheart gasped at this looking at the two teams as well as Roman. "Qrow! Roman is right here! And the children--!" Lionheart said.

"They already know, I filled them in." He explained, "What the hell do you mean by your staff being away?"

The headmaster's eyes widened in complete and utter shock as he let the information sink in his head. "You FILLED them in?" Everyone couldn't help but stand there awkwardly at the situation right now.

It hadn't been long before Nora leaned over to Ruby, "So… Is this going not like anyone thought it would?" Nora asked them.

It hadn't been long before Lionheart had taken them into their office. There they had told them they told him of their journey to coming to the city, most of the hardships they had to endure.

Though of course they didn't tell them what had happened to Melody in Kuroyuri, about how she turned into a creature that wasn't even a Grimm. They wanted it to be kept that way, the less people know the better is what Qrow had told them.

Lionheart had sat at his desk trying to contemplate the information that they had told him; especially at the fact that he had told them about the Relics. Most of them sat on the chairs that had been provided, while a couple of them stood.

"I have to say Qrow…" Lionheart said, "... This is all reckless, even for someone like you."

"No!" Qrow said, "Reckless is leaving the Relic completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!"

"I know I stopped talking to Ozpin after what happened to Trinity but even I find that to be pretty low, even for someone like you." Roman said.

"There was nothing to check in about even before the fall of Beacon!" Lionheart argued, "But since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cristal asked.

"It means child… Beacon wasn't the only one to suffer that night." The Headmaster explained, he soon turned to the rest of the group, and at one point, Cristal and even Roman went to comfort Ruby at the mention of a certain someone, "Everyone was watching. Every house, in every Kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces, saw monsters crawling all over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking and then…" Lionheart soon had a solemn look on his face, "...Nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us."

Lionheart soon walked towards the window still having the solemn look in his eye before he continued, Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world you know, and it makes infiltraly harder to protect. We lost so many Huntsmen… Teachers from this very institution… And it only gets worse."

Everyone looked at one another as they couldn't help but think what he was saying at that point. "What do you mean by worse?" Scout asked as she tilted her head a little.

Lionheart leaned against the windowsill before he replied, "We may have dealt with Grimm in the past, but the Mistral council is still at odds with the representatives from Atlas. First it was the Dust embargo, and now they're closing its borders." He turned to look over at Qrow, "I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale but it only seemed to have worsened more of his unfortunate tendencies. Not to mention, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."

"All the more reason we need the Huntsman here!" Qrow yelled as anger was heard in his voice as he stomped over to Lionheart.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rosario said as she had gotten between them along with Ruby, "That sob story you had was really cute, but you know what?! Take it from me, shit happens, but we sure as hell won't get anywhere unless you all have level heads right now!"

"She's right--" Ruby said, "--Things are bad, they're bad! But we can figure this out!" She soon turned to Lionheart, "Why is the Spring Maiden so important?"

"I thought you filled them in." Lionheart said as he gave him a questioning look.

"Mostly--Filled in." Qrow replied, before taking out his flask and taking a sip, "There was a lot to cover okay? I quit teaching for a reason."

"Care to explain to us, what exactly is so special of the Spring Maidens?" Roman asked, "I've been getting the feeling there's more to it than them possessing magic. And judging from your looks, it looks like I'm right to assume that much."

Lionheart sat down as he let out a sigh; he placed his hand on his head before replying, "... The Four Maidens, as you know… Have the power to perform feats of magic. And they… Are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics."

The whole group looked at one another equally shocked to hear this newfound information.

"What?" Jaune spoke up.

"... Are you saying--This Maiden is a walking key?" Scout asked, shocked.

"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden." Qrow explained, "Winter for the gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice and Spring for Knowledge."

"And judging from your little argument just now--" Melody said, "--I'm guessing whoever the Spring Maiden is the problem."

"... She is, I'm afraid." Qrow replied as he took a sip.

"What happened to her?" Ren asked.

Lionheart began to explain once more after giving a single glance over to Qrow, "She was determined at first when she inherited her powers, but the weight and responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She… Ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago I'm afraid. There's no telling where she could be now."

"In other words you have no idea where she is." Roman concluded and sounded a bit annoyed, "Well that's just great."

"That's not entirely true." Qrow said, earning a look from him, "I know where she is. Or at least, I have a pretty good idea on where she could be."

Lionheart's eyes brightened at this as he stood up, walking over to the Huntsman, placing his hands on his shoulders, "What in the world are you talking about!? This is incredible news! After all these years, where?!"

Qrow shook him off before he responded, "I did some digging around. Looks like after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits… The Branwen Tribe--To be exact."

"... Raven." Lionheart had concluded as he looked troubled.

Ruby eyes widened as she let out a gasp while Melody had a look of shock of her own. Even Roman looked shocked to hear that name, as did Cristal.

"Yang's mom?!" Jaune asked, confused.

"Melody's aunt?!" Rosario and Scout said as they were surprised.

"Fraid so." The Huntsman replied.

"Then, you must have an idea on where she could be, right?" Roman asked.

This time Qrow didn't respond; He instead walked over to Lionheart's desk and placed his scroll on the table and a map appeared for everyone to view. He soon zoomed in on a certain section of the map before saying, "That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier."

"Well Qrow…" Lionheart said looking over at the map, "I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force within a few weeks."

"A few weeks!?" Qrow exclaimed, "Are you kidding me!?"

Roman watched as Lionheart went to the keypad that appeared when Qrow put up the map. He had given a look of suspicion when he caught the word "copy" on the keypad before he disconnected. "No I'm not." Lionheart replied.

"Maybe you didn't hear me!" Qrow soon yelled, "My sister has the Spring Maiden and I know where she is! We need to go as soon as possible!" In a fit of rage, he knocked the books off the desk, scaring the others as Frosty jumped back out of shock.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me!" Lionheart soon said with anger in his voice , "The Kingdom is in shambles. As soon as possible doesn't mean tomorrow. It means as soon as I can convince the council that I need the Huntsmen more than they do! Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't high on their priorities list right now!"

"Please, like they would be of much help anyway." Roman said, "We'll do this whole thing by ourselves. You're both trained Huntsmen, I can put up a fight, and not to mention them--" He pointed over to teams RNJR and CRMS, "--I've seen them do things that no other Huntsman and Huntress are capable of doing. I speak from experience since they kicked my ass before. If you ask me, they're more than capable of handling themselves."

"YEAH!" Nora shouted excitedly as she jumped from her seat.

"Now hold on a minute!" Scout said, "Hasn't there been enough violence already?"

"I agree, maybe there's a more peaceful way to approach this?" Ren suggested.

Qrow ignored the young teens as he said to Lionheart, "We need to get the Spring Maiden, find Destiny and get them and Cristal far away as quickly as possible! But you know as well as I do that Raven isn't just going to give up her prized position!"

"Unfortunately you and your sister are evenly matched, and I'm not the fighter that I used to be." Lionheart said, "Not to mention that these children and I can't take on an entire Bandit Tribe and a Maiden who no doubt has had years to hone her skills! We need to be certain we can apprehend Spring because if we fail, not only will Raven's tribe scatter but everything will be lost. We get ONE shot at this. And it needs to be perfect."

The whole group stayed silent to this, and they looked to Qrow as if they were expecting an answer out of him, but he couldn't help but find Lionheart's logic making sense. Cristal soon spoke up again, "You know… I don't remember much about Ozpin, but I'm sure he would be very disappointed to hear this kind of thing from you."

"Perhaps your right, Cristal." The Headmaster said, "But unfortunately he's not here, I'm doing everything I can."

"There has to be something we can do." Ruby said.

"I say we start with my ex-boss Cinder." Roman suggested, "From what I heard from a source of mine, she came from here along with Mercury and his little street rat friend. You must have some kind of information on them don't you Leo?"

"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon." Lionheart replied, "Nothing but lies and forgeries."

Roman clicked his tongue at this while Jaune clenched his fist; Rosario turned her head to the side at the thought of the certain name he had mentioned.

"Well then…" Qrow said, "I can't say that this has been a very welcoming reunion."

Lionheart had said, "I'm very sorry, I know you all traveled a long way. But believe me when I say that I will do everything I can to help."

"Of course you will." Roman said as he rolled his eyes.

"Roman, come on." Ruby said.

"In the meantime we'll stay in the city." Qrow said, "Local comms are still up. We'll keep in touch. Let's go guys." With that the group turned to leave the office, but not before Ruby stopped and turned to Lionheart.

"It was nice meeting you." Ruby said with a smile.

"Likewise." Lionheart said with a smile.

"Red!" Roman called out, "You coming or what?"

"Yeah!" Ruby yelled back, "Hold your horse's orange head!"

As soon as he left Lionheart had a stressed look on his face as he hung his head. A letter W appeared just on his desk, and came a voice he had been all too familiar with. It had been the man known as Arthur Watts.

"Oh Leo." Watts said, "We have got to work on your improvisation."

***

-Kuro Kuana, Menagerie-

Seizing their culprits proved to be more of a challenge than the Belladonna family had thought. Not only did two members of the White Fang managed to slip away from them, but earlier that night they went to see Corsac and Fennec about the scroll they had gotten from Illia a couple of weeks ago, and let's just say they were less than happy with what they had to say about it.

The double doors swung open and in came Ghira, his daughter Shae and Sun Wukong. They stomped in aggressively as they were mad about what had occured.

"UNBELIEVABLE!" Ghira yelled.

"ABSOLUTE BS!" Shae exclaimed.

"TOTAL GARBAGE!" Sun shouted.

"WE CAN'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS!!" The three yelled when they turned to one another.

Kali, and Angel who stood out at the front porch couldn't help but smile

"Well, at least the three of you can finally agree on something." Kali said as she held her eldest daughter's hands.

"It's very reassuring that you're getting along now." Angel said with a relieved smile.

They looked back to Sun who started to laugh nervously as he rubbed the back of his head; Ghira gave Sun a glare while Shae couldn't help but hiss a little as her pupils became silted.

Blake soon came into view as she reassured them, "Guys. Everything's going to be okay."

A little time had passed in the household, and both Blake and Shae decided to get some fresh air. They stepped off into the balcony, finding one of the guards posted at their home.

"Good evening." She said to them kindly, "Can I get you anything?"

"Not at the moment, thanks." Shae replied.

"Just some time to ourselves if that's alright?" Blake soon added.

"Sure thing." She said, "Just give a shout if you need anything."

With that being said she left the balcony to give them privacy like they wanted. They both stood in silence as they looked at the view; they enjoyed the sounds of the ocean in the distance and the gentle breeze. It wasn't long until--

"You need better security."

Both siblings jumped at the voice, but both stood their ground as they knew who it had belonged to. It had been Illia who had jumped out of the darkness and onto the railing.

"Wait!" Illia quickly said when she saw Blake reach for the door, "I just need to talk."

"How do we know that your friends are going to kill us right now?" Shae asked.

"Trust me I came here alone." Illia replied, "I'm not looking to start a fight."

Blake and Shae looked at one another before they turned back to Illia. After a brief moment Blake had retracted her hand.

"Illia…" She started to say, "... How could you take the fall for them like that?"

Illia stood, she turned away avoiding her gaze.

"We confronted Corsac and Fennec tonight and you know what they had to say about it?" Shae said as she approached her, "They said that they didn't know anything about what had been on your scroll and that they're disappointed to hear that you sided with Adam." Illia looked to Shae and only her as her pupils were now thin.

"You know the truth, Illia." She said, "You know that they're lying. They're both guilty."

"You can't prove anything." Illia had stated, "None of you can."

"Maybe." Blake said, "It might not be enough to lock them up, but it's enough to sway the Fanus here. When we go public tomorrow they're not going to stand for it. And neither should you."

Once more Illia stayed silent to this as she turned away from them. She flinched a little when Kobi took her hand into his own.

"Please Illia." Shae said, "You can help us. It's not too late to change sides, you know." Gently, she removed her hand away from her own, before she reached for her mask removing it; her face revealed that her eyes that she had but a solemn look.

"Your plan's not gonna work." She told them as she finally looked at Blake, "... Please… Just leave Menagerie before it's too late."

Shae gave a shocked look before the ears on his head drooped slightly, giving Illia a sad look. Blake however kept her expression stern.

"You're going to have to make us." Was all Blake told her.

Illia let out a sigh, before she responded with sadness in her voice, "... I know."

Right when she was about to take her leave, Kobi took her hand again as he gave her a pleading look.

"Don't go back." She begged. Again, she had a solemn look in her eyes; she kneeled down on the railing before she leaned forward, getting closer to Shae. Her ears perked up when she felt her lips on his cheek.

"I'm sorry." She whispered before leaning back.

Placing her mask back on, she dropped from the balcony before disappearing into the night.

-Somewhere In Anima; JustRite Station-

Yang and Maize had been on the road for the last few weeks. The girls didn't once mind each other's company nor did they mind the outdoors, nor did they mind the open road. It was rather peaceful with the exception of their being an occasional Grimm here and there.

Neither of them seemed to mind it, as they found it to be stress relieving taking out the grimm. They had eventually stopped at a gas station to refill on the bumblebee; they even helped themselves to some of the refreshments the establishment had.

The Bartender couldn't help but look at them oddly as he cleaned up his glass.

"Ain't you two a bit young to be drinking?" He asked.

Yang only smiled, "I'll have a water--It's hot out."

"I'll take an ice cream." Maize said, "Any kind of flavor will do."

"Oh--Sure." The Bartender said as he started to look around for the water, though not before he handed Maize a blue popsicle, which she happily ate once she got it out of the wrappings.

"Mmm! This is pretty good!" Maize said, "And they say there isn't anything you can put sea salt on! Want to try some Yang?"

"Nah, that's okay cuz." Yang replied.

"You're missing out." Maize said with a shrug as she continued to eat the popsicle.

It hadn't been long before they heard laughter coming from a man. "Are you telling me--" He said as he had been just near them, "--You're friend there is too young to drink?" The girls only gave a nonchalant look to the man as they noticed his attire. They had recognized he had been a bandit.

"You look like a regular huntress!" The Bandit--Shay said, "And a beauty at that…"

"Oh boy…"Maize said as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm good--" Yang said, "--Thanks pal."

Shay approached Yang, as he looked to be confident, "Seriously--Not too bulky, not too lean, you're--"

"--Just right?" Maize said as she munched on her popsicle, "Yeah, she's heard it before. Though if I were you, I'd really stop whatever it is your doing."

Shay ignored Maize as he reached out toYang, "... And your hair--"

Before he could touch even a strain on her head, Yang took hold of his wrist; her eyes shined red, as it took him back. He was soon taken by surprise as she threw a fist across his face, knocking out a tooth in the process. She sent him flying out of the establishment.

"Tried to warn him." Maize said casually as she bit off another piece of the popsicle, "Oh well."

The owner smiled, as he handed Yang the bottle of water, "This ones on the house. He's been driving me crazy."

Yang went to take the water bottle but her hand started to shake. With her metal appendage she got it to stop trembling as she took a deep breath. Maize's look softened at this, before she gave her a nudge and a smile. Yang smiled back before she took the bottle.

She opened the water bottle before she started to drink from it.

"So--What brings you and your friend around these parts?" The Owner asked curiously.

"Oh you know, sightseeing all the best parts of Anima." Maize replied as she had been on the verge of finishing her popsicle.

"And--" Yang soon added as she finished her water bottle, "--We're looking for something."

"We don't get that many people around here." The Owner replied, with a chuckle, "Too far from the Kingdoms. Only person worth notin' around here is… Well Ra--"

"Raven Branwen." The girls said as their expressions changed.

The whole store had been silent as only the music was filling the void of silence. Maize finished up her popsicle as she tossed away the stick, before placing some lien on the counter.

"Thanks again sir." Maize said with a smile, "Let's go cuz."

"Yeah." Yang said as she had gotten her glasses.

"H-Hang on you two!" The Owner said as they went to step out, "You don't want to go messin' with bandits! They're a world of trouble!"

"... So I've heard." Yang said as she followed her cousin outside.

Setting on her glasses she hopped onto her Bumblebee while Maize got on the back setting goggles over her eyes before pulling out a map from her bag.

"What do you think?" Yang asked.

"Based on the information I can assume that her and the tribe should be within the radius of this station." Maize explained drawing a circle with her finger as she showed her, "And based on the amount of evidence and marks we've seen from them, they could still be here. I'd say we have two options."

"Please tell me they're good ones."

"More like one bad one worse kind of option."

"Might as well say it now."

Maize soon folded up the map and placed it back in her bag before explaining, "Well the first option, which is the bad one, is to find out where they raided and catch them in the act which would be a disgrace to us as Huntresses since we want to protect people. And our worst option--We make a lot of noise and have them come to us which might result in our deaths."

Yang groaned as she slumped over, while Maize looked just as dejected as she did. The girls pondered on what should be done and which option they would go for, until---

"Hey--girlie." Shay said as he seemed to have regained consciousness.

The girls groaned again, this time it sounded louder then before.

"Seriously?" Yang said, "This isn't over?"

"Didn't you learn your lesson?!" Maize said.

Shay brushed away the dirt before he gave them a toothless grin, "I heard you two---Are looking for someone."

***

-Mistral; Later that Night-

Both teams returned to the place they would call home for the night. Though the original plan had been to stay at a hotel, Qrow had provided them with a house he had often used for when he was working odd jobs for Ozpin in the city itself. They had enough space for where they could train, and not to mention a spectacular view of the mountains themselves. It had been nice for them to live in luxury after traveling for so long.

They had been doing their own thing to pass the time after returning from Haven. While Scout played cards with Nora, Ren had been reading a book and Jaune had been watching the local stations displayed on the TV provided, and Frosty had been sleeping on the couch.

Rosario had been looking at the map of the city particularly with what the lower levels had provided as she looked to be contemplating about something as she sat on the floor.

Her pigtails had been undone as her prosthetic leg had been off; she wore a simple black tank top revealing her scars and a pair of dark gray shorts.

Melody soon entered the room with a towel over her shoulders, wearing a jersey shirt with the Signal school insignia and long gray sweatpants.

"The heck is all of this?" Melody asked, "Are you planning on starting a campaign for Remnant?"

"Nope--" Rosario replied, playing with her hair a bit, "--It's just a map I picked up when I last came to the city. Just remembering how the layout of the lower levels look just in case."

"In case of what?" Jaune asked as it peaked his interest.

"In case we need anything down there." She replied, "Which I'm hoping we don't since I'd like to avoid a certain someone."

The group looked curious by this as Rosario sensed their stares. "What do you mean?" Nora asked, "Do you have a crazy ex boyfriend down there?"

"Definitely no--" Rosario said, "--Though it's something equivalent to that."

"Then what?" Scout asked.

Rosario sighed, "See, after I left Cinder's faction I had to hide myself so she wouldn't find me and kill me. I ended up coming to Mistral but went to the lower levels and hid among a group after they helped me to disappear. I spent a couple of years with them before I turned into a bounty hunter."

"You mean you joined a group of bandits?" Ren asked.

"Worse---" She said as she shuddered, "---Lil' Miss Malachite."

Jaune, Ren and Nora looked confused while Melody and Scout had a look of surprise on their faces.

"Lil Miss Malachite?!" Melody said, "As in THE gangster Lil Miss Malachite?!"

"Yuuup." Rosario replied.

"As in the leader of the worlds largest gang in all over Remnant Lil Miss Malachite?!" Scout asked surprised.

"... Uh-huh." Rosario replied casually.

"Uh--" Jaune soon said confused, "--Who's Lil' Miss Malachite?"

"Only one of the worst criminals out there!" Melody replied, "No one, not even the Huntsman and Huntresses arrested her since she is just that powerful!"

"They say she has eyes and ears all over the four kingdoms!" Scout explained, "No secret, not even your darkest ones are safe from the likes of her!" She soon turned over to Rosario, "You mean you ACTUALLY worked for her?!"

"For a brief period of time." Rosario replied, "She had me do odd jobs here and there, sometimes with--" She soon hissed through her teeth, "--Her daughters the Malachite twins. Though I cut ties with them after I bested one of her own men in a fight."

"Who knew you used to be a gangster?" Nora said, earning a look from her.

"It doesn't seem like we'll be in the city for very long though--" Ren said, "--And we're on the upper floors, why are you worried about them?"

"I'd rather not have them figure out I'm back in town unless I want it---" Rosraio reasoned, "--Which I'm hoping I won't have to resort to so let's leave it at that. Sides--" The look on her face changed, "--Something about that headmaster didn't sit right with me."

"But--He's willing to help us in any way he can." Jaune reasoned, "Plus he knows Ozpin personally so--"

"Even so, something about it feels off." Rosario said cutting him off, "It was almost like he had been hiding something from us. I don't think even Qrow noticed that considering their history."

"Hiding something?" Scout asked, "Like what?"

"... Don't know." She replied, "But I've been wrong before, so it's probably nothing."

"Speaking of hiding--" Melody said, "--Where's Roman and Cristal anyway? Haven't seen them since we got back."

"They went out exploring the city." Jaune replied, "Since Cristal hasn't been anywhere but Vale, Roman decided to take her on a tour."

"It'll be good for Cristal." Ren said, "She could use some quality time with her father after being apart for so long."

KNOCK, KNOCK--The door went as it made them jump.

"Oh! That might be them--" Jaube said, "--Roman must've forgotten to take the key."

"Just like in the few hotels we've stayed in." Nora said, as she snickered a little, "For a former thief he can be really silly!"

"And very scattered brain." Melody added.

Jaune opened the door as they expected to see Roman and Cristal with them with a few souvenirs. Though much to their surprise, it wasn't them.

Instead it had been a young farmer boy with tan like skin and freckles standing at the door, looking nervous about something.

"Uh--" Jaune said, "--Can we help you?"

"Um yeah--" The boy replied, "--Is there a Melody Branwen here?"

The group looked over to Melody as she shrugged. She went over to the door, as she approached the young boy.

"I'm her--" She announced, "--Is something wrong?"

"Well--" He started to say before---

"I FOUND HIM!!!"

Qrow suddenly came into view as he slumped over the boy as the others jumped; even Frosty looked surprised at the sight of him as it stirred from his slumber.

"Oh no---" Melody said as she had been making a face.

"--I think your dad could use some help." He said, as he tried to keep Qrow up as he sounded like he was laughing.

Melody quickly took Qrow from the poor farm boy, minding the smell of alcohol as it nearly made her gag.

"I am SO sorry for the trouble." Melody said as she had gotten him inside with effort, "Come on dad!"

"I-Is he okay?!" Scout asked with worry.

"He'll be fine--" Melody replied, "--This isn't the first time he came home drunk." She couldn't help but make a face, "Okay that sounded better in my head."

Qrow hiccuped a little before he said to his daughter, slurring his words a little, "You see this Wren?! You see this?! I found him!"

"Yes you did--" Melody replied not quite understanding what he meant, "--Time for sleepy night, night pops!"

She got him to lay down on the couch once Frosty moved out of his way.

Qrow hiccuped again, "I--I found him."

"Oh geez this is gonna drive me nuts--" Melody said as she facepalmed herself before she turned to the group, "--Could someone ge--"

"WHAT IS GOING ON OUT THERE?!" A familiar voice called out.

"--Nevermind." Melody soon finished.

Ruby soon came stomping in the room, looking irritated by all the noise. "CAN'T A GIRL READ HER COMIC BOOKS IN PEACE!?" She exclaimed.

The group said nothing as they pointed to Qrow as he was still laughing. Ruby sighed as she too facepalmed herself.

"Qrow?" Ruby said, "Did you get drunk again?"

"Maaaybeee~" Qrow replied without a care in the world which only had Ruby groaning in annoyance.

"Welp, time to get him sober--" Melody said, "--Do me a favor and run the bath." Her face soon turned dark as it made most flinch; Ruby and even Frosty however remained unphased, "MAKE IT COLD."

"Roger, dodger. I'll fill the tub with ice." Ruby said about to leave the room, but---

"Oh--" The farm boy said before he stepped into the room, looking at Ruby in particular almost as though he was in a trance, "---You… Have silver eyes…"

This time, everyone looked puzzled as it had been a strange term for the farm boy to say. Not to mention Ruby found it to be… Oddly familiar.

"Who… Are you?" Ruby asked.

The farm boy looked nervous before he stood straight, and put his hands behind his back almost like he had been presenting himself.

"Well--" The farm boy said, "--My name is Oscar Pine--"

"Wait for it~" Qrow said out of the corner of their eye.

"But---" The farm boy added with slight hesitation, "--You might know me as… Professor Ozpin."

At this, it had left them stunned; their jaws dropped to the floor as they looked at the boy named Oscar.

"...What?" Was all Rosario said as she had still been processing.

"Guys!!" They heard Cristal call out, though neither of them bothered to move. Even after she and Roman came into the house.

"Guys, you'll never guess who we just--" Roman said before he noticed the look on everyone's faces and even Oscar as he waved awkwardly to him, "--I feel like we missed something here…"

"Are we having a party or something?" Cristal asked, "And--Why is Qrow drunk?"

Soon enough a boy with blonde hair and a girl with light red hair and white eyes stepped in; they looked to be farm workers themselves judging from the outfits alone as the girl with light red hair wore long overalls with a white collared shirt and brown work boots with a red flannel; even her red hair was tied back in a ponytail.

The boy with blond hair and blue eyes had on a green collared shirt with a brown vest and a pair of jean slacks and white shoes as he looked to be holding a grimm plush.

"Oh neato!" The girl with light red hair said, "We having a party or something?"

"Sure looks that way." The boy with blue eyes said.

"Sage? Coby?" Oscar said shocked as the group looked shocked.

"Oscar?" The light red hair girl--Sage said, "You were invited too?"

"So this is where you've been!" Coby said.

"Wait, that's not--" Oscar said, "--Why are you guys even--?!"

Soon enough everyone, minus the newcomers and Roman, Cristal and even Qrow (Since he was too drunk) were taken back when a familiar young girl with magenta and orange hair and an eyepatch came sliding in.

Literally.

"Wassup people!?" She said, "I'm back in the--EEP!"

The young girl ended up falling flat on her face as her leg suddenly popped off, almost looking cartoonish.

"Destiny!" Roman and Cristal exclaimed in a panic as they rushed over to her.

They helped her up as team RNJR had a mixture of shock, worry, yet excitement and relief in their eyes, by the sound of her name.

"Ow--" Destiny said as she rubbed her face, "--In my head I saw that differently. Can I get a do-over?"

"When you get that leg looked at." Roman told her as he helped her attach her leg.

"... Destiny…?" Ruby said as she looked like she was ready to cry.

Destiny flinched at her name before she looked at her… And smiled.

"... Hi Ruby." She said as she waved.

At that moment Ruby couldn't contain herself as tears ran down her cheeks. Going as far as to using her semblance, she rushed to the young girl… Giving her a hug as red rose petals seemed to have surrounded them.

Destiny couldn't help but laugh softly as she hugged her back without a second thought. Both held on to each other tightly as they refused to let each other go.

"Destiny?!" Jaune exclaimed as he had been in tears as well.

"Dessie!!" Nora shouted as she ran over to her and the boy's followed suit. They all soon joined in on the hug as Destiny let it happen, leaning into their embrace.

"You're alive!" Ren exclaimed with relief, "You're safe!"

Senka who had been upstairs the whole time heard the commotion as he flew down startling Oscar, Sage and Coby. Destiny had a smile on her face at the sight of the Grimm, despite him being small.

"Senka!" Destiny said as she held out her hands towards him when he flew in circles, "Come here precious baby!"

Senka flew into her arms, as Destiny gave him a hug, squeezing him like a plush she had carried.

"Where have you been?!" Ruby said, "Are you okay!? What happened!?"

"How did you get all the way out here?!" Nora asked.

"What happened to your leg!?" Jaune said as he noticed her prosthesis.

Destiny had sniffled as she rubbed her eye, removing her eyepatch revealing her grimm eye. "It's a really, really long story." Destiny said, "Though I don't think you'll believe me when I tell you."

This time, Oscar, Sage and Coby were the ones to have a look of shock as they watched the moment happen as well as Melody, Rosario and Scout. That was until--

"WE DID IT!!" Qrow cheered before he fell off the couch startling everyone--Even the kids as they shrieked.