Life of a Grimmborn Chapter 32: Answers and Reunions

A/N: Ummm… Hey guys… So things have been rather confusing and interesting at the same time. On top of all that this whole COVID thing is going on so that was nice on top of that. But now with social distancing being more tangable than ever within my life, I now have more time to write. So that's a positive at least. This chapter took a bit longer due to me having to reread and have a friend of mine reread the fic to make sure I didn't accidently retcon anything due to my extended hiatus but now we are back! So let's get this ride underway and enjoy it!

"Ugh it's about time." Nora said as she walked through a tunnel with Jaune, Ren, Ruby, and Qrow. "Whose idea was it to walk again?"

"Well we did face many obstacles." Ren commented. "Broken airships, destroyed settlements."

"Oh and you know, all those people and monsters that tried to MURDER US?" Jaune added.

Ruby waved off the concern of her friends. "Pft, we were fine. Only one of us almost died."

"Hey." Qrow warned, knowing full well his niece was referring to him just now.

It had been a long journey to get to Mistral for Team RNJR. They had experienced many things along the way. There had been many battles against Grimm, including a Nuckleve that had been responsible for the destruction of Ren's home and family. They had fought against Tyrian Callows, who was after Ruby, and learned about many things from Qrow afterwards. The maidens. Salem, leader of the Grimm. Alter, leader of the Grimmborn. The non-aggression pact between the two, and how dangerous each of them were. Even now, it was all still a lot to take in. But it also provided a lot of answers.

"So how much farther to Haven Academy?" Jaune asked.

"Almost there." Qrow told him. "Kind of figured I take you kids on the scenic route." They soon reached the end of the tunnel where a pair of doors were present. Qrow pushed them open and sunlight poured into the dark tunnel as the city of Mistral stretched out before them.

Once outside, Ruby ran over to the nearby rails and stared in awe of the sight before her. "Wow."

Waterfalls fell down from above while buildings the likes of which none of them had ever seen stretched out before them. Ruby herself could only think of one way to describe the scenery. "This. Is. Awesome!"

"It's certainly something." Qrow said in agreement.

"Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Vendors here will sell you just about anything, whether they should or not." Qrow commented.

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

"Every inch." Qrow nodded. "And stay away from the lower levels, but the higher up you go the nicer it gets."

"And we are going up!" Nora grinned.

Team RNJR walked with Qrow through the city. The veteran Huntsman had been here plenty of times so he was not as impacted by the foreign architecture. But Ruby and the others seemed to be soaking up every inch of it. They had an important mission ahead of them, but right now all they could think about was how beautiful all of this seemed.

"Just a little bit longer and we'll be there." Ruby said. "Hopefully Headmaster Lionheart can-"

"RUBY!"

"Huh? What was- Woah!" Out of nowhere, Ruby found herself tackled to the ground. Qrow and the three members of JNPR with her were just as surprised as the young girl from the sudden figure. But as Ruby shook the dizziness from her head and her vision cleared, she widened her eyes at who she saw.

Ophelia Talius. Member of Team KOVE.

Her outfit seems to have changed drastically from when they last met. Her long brown hair was tied up into a horsetail style held by a red band. She wore an orange zip-up puffer vest with a white tank top and blue skinny jeans with a white belt that tied two holsters on both of her hips for her weapons. Her wolf tail wagged excitedly at seeing her friends once again.

"Ophelia!" Ruby gasped in joy as she hugged her friend back. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"Same to you! It's so good to see a familiar face after so long!" the wolf faunus said.

Jaune walked up to the member of KOVE. "After the trip here, you are definitely a sight for sore eyes, Ophelia. But where's Vect-"

"BOO!" Vector shouted as he suddenly appeared right behind Jaune. Everyone but Ophelia jumped a little, but Jaune himself took it a step further and let out a girlish scream as he jumped in fright. Vector fell to the ground laughing at Jaune's reaction. "Hahahahahahaha! Oh man, that was priceless! I see you're still as skittish as ever, Vomit Boy."

Vector himself looked to be more of the same of his combat outfit from Beacon. He had on a vermillion hoodie with the sleeves ripped off and open to show off a black t-shirt with a white triangle design that formed a circling arrow along with a belt strapped around his chest that held the holster for his weapon. He had on a pair of parachute pants that was a similar color to his hoodie that had a chain hanging around the beltline with a pair of grey sneakers to tie the outfit together.

"And I see you haven't changed much either, Vector." Jaune said with a sigh. "And that was one time! You can drop the nickname!"

"Maybe when you learn to drop the girly scream." Vector said with a smirk as he got to his feet. "But in all seriousness, it's good to see you guys again."

"I heard you were coming here." Ren said. "When did you arrive?"

"About two weeks ago. We've been staying with a relative of mine." Ophelia explained.

"And training every second." Vector said with a cocky grin. "Meet the new and improved Vector Vermillion! Stronger! Faster! And most importantly, handsomer."

Ruby and the others rolled their eyes at Vector. "So what about Eden and Sienna?"

Ophelia and Vector both frowned. "They're not here yet. They're… still looking for Kor."

"Oh…" Ruby said, realizing she brought up a touchy subject for the duo. "W-Well I'm sure they're doing just fine! It's those two! Like anything could stop the two of them."

Ophelia's lips curved upwards just enough to smile. "Yeah. Thanks, you guys."

Qrow rolled his eyes and walked past the kids, taking a swig of his flask. "Well you kids have fun and catch up. I'll go ahead and talk with Leo."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. "We can go with you."

"Nah, you kids go ahead and chat. I'll be fine." Qrow said. He cracked a small grin, but with his back to everyone, none of them could see it. With how bad the world was getting, having good friends was important. He felt a little jealous if he was being honest.

The six teens watched as Qrow walked into the school. Deciding to get the conversation rolling again, Vector showed a smirk. So, you guys want to check out our new and improved weapons?"

"Yes! Yesohmygoshamilliontimesyes!" Ruby exclaimed. Her eyes looked like that of a puppy having a treat waved in front of it. "Let me see!"

"Heh, check 'em out!" Vector said as he and Ophelia showed off their upgraded weapons.

Ophelia's twin blades had been modified from the ground up. No longer did she have the two swords, but rather her ice blade was fully converted into a long nosed barrel magnum while her fire blade turned into a shortsword. "Say hello to my new weapon, Frost & Fire!"

Vector on the other hand had modified his weapon as well but completely foregone the use of a gun form. Rather, his scimitar's handle elongated into a staff while the blade traveled along the top end of it. The newly formed glave stood at eight feet tall with the bladed part taking up at least three of those feet. "And this is the Slash Viper: New Groove!"

Jaune and his team couldn't deny that the improvements looked rather impressive. Ruby however let the excitement get to her a little too much and fainted.

"Is she ok?" Ophelia asked.

"Yo, Rubes! Wakey, wakey." Vector called out.

"Ahh… weapons…" Ruby mumbled in her sleep, drool coming out from her mouth.

"Ok I think she's gonna be daydreaming for a bit." Nora said.

"Let's bring her to my relative's place. Better a nice warm couch compared to the cold hard ground." Ophelia offered.

"Sounds good." Jaune said. He lifted Ruby up from the ground and began following Vector and Ophelia to the house they were staying at. It had been a long hard journey to get to Mistral, but things were finally starting to look up for them.

"Now then, Leo. There are a few things I want to make clear to you."

Headmaster Leo Lionheart nodded his head, trying his best to hide how much his body was shaking in fear. The squid-like Grimm in front of him was acting as a communication device between himself and Salem. He hated himself for betraying Ozpin. He doubted he or anyone else would ever forgive him. But what choice did he have? When he first came face to face with Salem, even he knew just how powerless he was to stop her. Submitting to her was the only option. He would have died otherwise.

"My associate Cinder will be arriving at Mistral in the coming weeks to assist you and Arthur with locating the Spring Maiden." Salem explained. "When they find her and bring her, you are to lead them to the vault. They will take the relic, be on their way, and you will be doing everything in your power to avoid any unwanted eyes spotting them during the meantime."

"Yes, Your Grace." Leo nodded obediently.

"In addition to this, there is one other matter I wish to discuss." Salem said, her expression growing even more serious than before. "There have not been any Grimmborn sightings in Mistral, have there?"

Leo shook his head. "No, I have not seen nor heard anything regarding them as of yet."

"Good. I will hold you to your word on that, Leo." Salem told him. "However, should I find that you are lying to me, or that you are trying to hide Grimmborn from me, there will be nothing waiting for you and Mistral other than complete and total annihilation. You don't want that, do you?"

"N-No! Of course not, Your Grace!"

"I'm glad we understand each other." Salem told him. One of the tentacles of the floating Grimm came up with its sharp end aimed straight at Leo's head. "Because you know full well that defying me is an effort in futility, don't you?"

"Yes… Your Grace."

Salem showed a satisfied grin as the Grimm's tentacle dropped back down. "If you hear anything new regarding the Spring Maiden or the Grimmborn, you are to notify me immediately. Is that understood?" The nod she received from the headmaster was answer enough for her. "Very well then. Until next time."

With that, the image of Salem vanished. Leo let out a sigh of relief. Even having been nothing but obedient since he had sworn loyalty to Salem, the leader of the Grimm still terrified him to this day. It was clear this was the only choice for him though. Ozpin had never had a concrete plan for defeating her or Alter. It was all he could do to keep them at bay. Given that Alter's goal seemed to be the destruction of everything non-Grimmborn, allying with Salem really was the best of his possible choices. And with Ozpin dead, it became all the more clear just how much more in control Salem was.

Leo walked back into his office. The stress of all this was starting to be too much for his heart to bear. As he headed towards his desk, he heard a knock at the door. Leo nearly jumped out of his own skin as he heard it.

Cautiously, the headmaster inched his way to the door. Could it be Watts, wondering if there was any update he should be aware of? He took a deep breath before cracking the door open. It wasn't Watts who was on the other end. It was instead someone that he really didn't want to deal with right now.

"Long time no see, Leo." Qrow greeted. "Got time for a chat?"

Yang and Weiss sat together in Raven's tent. Sitting across from them on the other end of the table was the leader of the Branwen tribe herself. Yang's mother Raven.

It had been a long trip for both Yang and Weiss. Weiss had run away from home, but not before being attacked by Zelia and discovering something beyond horrific within her own home. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know what those freaks of nature her father was hiding were. On her way to Mistral, her ship had crashed and she had been taken hostage by the Branwen on the other hand had sought out the group of bandits in hopes of finding her sister Ruby faster. She had not been expecting to find Weiss at the camp however. It had been a welcome surprise though, seeing a friendly face after so long.

"So, what's the 'truth'?" Yang asked, wondering what her mother had been referring to earlier when they had just spoken outside.

Raven took a sip of her tea before looking at the cups that had been poured for Yang and Weiss. "You know, it's better when it's hot."

"You know, you're really obnoxious." Weiss quipped back.

Raven let out a sigh. "The truth is that truth is hard to come by. A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else. By now your uncle has surely told Ruby and her friends plenty of stories."

"Well he's never given me a reason to doubt him before." Yang said.

"That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist." Raven told her daughter. "You know, you and your teammates might as well be the poster children for Huntsman academies. Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a better place. It's adorable."

"It's what Huntsman and Huntresses do." Yang glared back.

"Not all of them. Some people are just in it for the money and the fame, and there's even more that are just looking to grow stronger. Your Uncle Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen. We did it to learn how to kill Huntsmen." The gasping reactions from Yang and Weiss brought a smirk to Raven's lips. "Daddy and uncle left that part out, hm? Aside from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce. And Qrow and I were the perfect age. The entrance exam's were childsplay compared to what we'd already been through. We were good. So good, that we caught the attention of Beacon's very own headmaster, Professor Ozpin. Even after we were put on a team, I could tell he was keeping his eye on us. Back then I thought it was because he knew. But it was Team STRQ he was interested in."

"What do you mean by that?" Yang asked.

"Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules and get into more trouble than we should've. Sound familiar?"

Yang and Weiss glanced at each other. They couldn't deny that what Raven was saying sounded awfully familiar to their time at Beacon. Yang soon turned back to her mother. "What's your point?"

"How much do you know about Professor Ozpin?" Raven questioned.

"He was… a prodigy." Weiss answered. "One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school."

"Because that's how he planned it." Raven told her. "Because the man you know as Ozpin designed those schools and has followers inside every academy on Remnant that are loyal to him and no one else."

"That doesn't make any sense." Yang said. "How could he have- No. Why would someone even do that?"

"Because old man Oz has a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world. One that he eventually entrusted to our team. And once I knew, there was no going back. I needed to know more, but with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became."

"Okay, then tell us." Yang said. "What's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?"

"Is it the Grimmborn?" Weiss asked.

"That is one of them. But not the biggest one." Raven told them. "The creatures of Grimm... have a master named Salem. She can't be stopped, she can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet."

Weiss and Yang took a few seconds to let Raven's words sink in. But they still found it hard to believe. Weiss was the first one of them to speak. "What?"

"That's not all." Raven explained. "Going back to the Grimmborn, how much do you know about a being called Alter?"

"Alter?" Weiss asked. "Who's she?"

"She's the leader of the Grimmborn." Yang answered. Weiss and Raven looked towards her. "Dad and Qrow told me after the Fall of Beacon. I know she leads the Grimmborn, is after anyone with silver eyes, and killed Ruby's mom."

Weiss widened her eyes, even more shocked by this. "But Ruby's eyes are-"

"Silver." Yang nodded in confirmation. "That's another reason I need to find Ruby. To keep her safe. Cause while Alter doesn't know about Ruby, the second she does, she'll hunt her down."

"Anything else you know?" Raven asked.

"Not really." Yang admitted. "That's about all Qrow told us."

"Well it's a start I suppose." Raven said.

"But you still haven't answered my main question." Yang continued as her eyes narrowed. "How were you able to teleport to Kor when your Semblance shouldn't allow you to do that?"

This caught Weiss's attention as well as Raven's annoyance. Her daughter was too damn persistent for her own good but the bandit leader refused to acknowledge the irony of the situation. "Of course… I'll keep this as simple as I can make it for you to understand. Back in the day when you were so young, Ozpin assigned my team and I a mission to retrieve an artifact. But as we got there and opened up the chamber for where it laid, a primordial version of Alter was already awake. She was a wild, manic and sporadic monster who moved like liquid and could reform itself from any injury. Carelessness on… Summer's part had ended up with her being killed…"

Weiss turned a bit pale at that while Yang frowned deeper in remembering her talk with her dad. "And where is this going?"

"Impatient brat, I'm getting there." Raven said a bit more cross than she had intended to. Composing herself with a cough, she continued. "In my rage at her death, I sliced off a chunk of her which caused the monster to scream and flee while grabbing the two urns that were in the room with her. The pile of darkness from her inky black shape began to try and escape as well but I wouldn't let it. I held on to it long enough for it to meld with my body and become a part of me."

Lifting a part of her armor and underclothing, both girls gasped at the sight of Raven's lower stomach having a black area of skin that seemed to very softly pulsate as it looked to travel upwards to her torso. "This segment of my body is a mixture of myself and Alter, giving me a connection with her. Alter is also connected to your friend Kor and the king of the grimmborn, Xavok. As such, any of her direct connections I also have access to."

Within a few moments, Raven lowered her armor back to its normal place which prompted Yang to speak. "But why go after Kor? Why not the king and make things easier?"

"It's not that simple. Whenever I use my Semblance to teleport, Alter herself becomes acutely aware of my location due to my displacement from my previous location. If I teleport anywhere where she is nearby, I cannot say with confidence that I could kill both her and their king. He wields incredible might, moreso a rival to Alter in strength than anything. They both inspire fear and respect among the grimmborn race and are not so easily overcome. Your friend Kor, being the weakest of the three seemed to be the best option."

"But that doesn't explain why him out of every possible grimmborn. Just because he has some weird connection with Alter?"

Weiss's question was valid but not something they needed to know. "Kor's connection to Alter is much more dangerous than any of you know. If Alter is allowed to get her way, it will mean the extinction of all life on Remnant. For one reason or another, he is a key to that goal and if I destroyed that key then Alter would be set back to square one."

"But where does that leave this Salem person? Wouldn't they work together for mutual benefit?"

"You're sharper than I first guessed. But no, there is a key factor of difference between their two goals. Alter wants complete and total annihilation of life that isn't grimmborn. While Salem wishes to dominate and rule everything on Remnant. Believe it or not, the two of them are in a constant turf war over who will succeed first."

Weiss worriedly scratched her chin in thought. If everything that Raven was telling them was to be believed, then humanity was in danger from two fronts. A ruler of the grimm and a ruler of the grimmborn both fighting for their evil goals.

"In any case, that is the reason why I can teleport to your friend and why I must kill him. Denying Alter her ambitions will at least be able to stop one of those beasts from obtaining their goals." Raven concluded, putting down her empty tea cup.

Yang slowly stood up with the more firm glare that she could muster. "We aren't going to let you kill Kor. He has nothing to do with Alter."

Taking the challenge her daughter presented, the bandit leader stood up as well. "Yang, if you knew the depths of Alter's plot then you'd wish him dead too."

"You don't know that."

"I actually do. He's just as evil as any other grimmborn and will only serve to bring catastrophe if left unchecked."

"Says who!?"

"Says Alter!"

"Enough!"

Both mother and daughter looked to Weiss who had been sitting silent between them for a bit as she stood up in the middle of them. "It's clear here that there's a lot more going on than what your mother is telling us. Raven, you speak of Kor being an agent of disaster but don't have any tangible proof of these claims. I've fought a grimmborn stoked in the flames of hatred and I know what their race is capable of. Even I am guilty of my misguided anger towards Kor now that I looked back on my actions. But at the same time, if he truly is to be feared and killed then why don't you present more sound reasoning for such an idea? Just because this Alter person desires Kor doesn't mean that he bares her sins."

Raven could only groan in response as she rubbed her temples in frustration. "You kids just can't understand. Even if I were to tell you everything, it would only give Alter a reason to come kill you. And she doesn't play with her food like Salem, she would rip your throat out for even blinking at her weird."

"And why should we believe any of this? Or believe you for that matter?"

Giving a soft smirk, Raven nodded at her daughter's question. "Now you're catching on. So far you've done nothing but accept what's in front of you. But the reality is that you need to question everyone and everything. Otherwise you'll end up being as blind as Qrow… and your fool of a father-."

Like clockwork the table below them was blown to bits as Yang discharged her weapon directly at it. Her eyes burning red with a fierce hatred in them. "Don't you DARE talk about MY family like that!"

At the sound Vernal had come back into the tent to restrain Yang but a quick motion from her leader stopped the movement. Weiss stared at the woman carefully as she slowly came to her friend's side. "Yang, calm down. Please."

"You should listen to your friend and let me finish what I was going to say." It took every ounce of resistance not to utterly lose it and attack her mother. But eventually the bright red eyes gave way to her usual lilac. She let Ember Celica return to its normal form and relaxed her body the best she could. "Good girl. As I was going to say, there is such a thing as knowing too much."

"Explain."

"There's not much to explain. The more you know, the more Alter and Salem will see you as either a threat or a tool to be used against those you love. If I tell you everything then your life is forfeit." In a blink of an eye, Raven had unsheathed her sword and had it right to Weiss's neck. "And unlike most in this world, there would be zero doubt on immediately acting on what they desire, unlike what you see here."

As quickly as the blade touched her neck, so did it disappear. Breathing a sigh of relief before tensing back up again as Raven began to walk towards the back entrance of the tent. "Tai told you about my Semblance, right?" She didn't look to confirm as she opened up the flap. "Well, I doubt he told you what Oz did to me and my brother." With those words, she exited the tent with Vernal motioning for the two girls to follow. It took them a bit to follow through the flap but they did so, walking into an open field with nothing around it but the barricade the bandits built.

"Mom?" Yang called out, but no one answered.

"Hey… You think all of that she was saying was true? About the Grimmborn, that Salem person and Alter?" Weiss asked as she tentatively looked around.

Yang shook her head. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not. Crazy as it is, if it's true then we'll deal with it when she sends us to Ruby and the others."

From high on the trees, they heard the cawing of a bird that was louder than the rest. The blonde looked on high to see a black bird staring down at them with its red beady eyes before taking flight. Circling around the confused teens as fast as it could.

"I've… seen this bird before…"

The two continue to watch the raven fly in the dusk-colored sky. It descends, flying and weaving between the trees, before shapeshifting into Raven herself. She lands back on the ground on her feet, while Yang and Weiss look on in shock as she stands back up.

"How… did you do that?"

"Well, I could tell you…" In a flash that they could barely follow, Raven took one of her swords and slashed the air behind her to form a portal. "Or you could go ask your uncle."

A frown adorned Yang's face at that remark. "What? So you're just letting us go?"

"I'm giving you a choice. Either you wash your hands of all this, live a quiet, normal live away from the Grimmborn and Salem. Or…" She moved aside to give a clear pathway to the portal. "You can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against those forces, and meet the same fate as so many others. But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?"

"All I care about is making sure my sister is safe."

Scoffing, Raven allowed the two of them safe passage through the portal. The Bumblebee carried both teens as the driver began to move to the portal.

"Yang." The call from her mother got her to stop one last time to look at her. "I am absolutely serious when I say these words. Do not pursue Alter and do not trust your Grimmborn friend. It'll all lead to ruin."

"Forgive me if I don't care to take advice from a deadbeat."

The cold remark was all that Raven was left with as Yang and Weiss went through the portal as it vanished. The tribe leader sighed in frustration as she went back into her tent. She needed to prepare for her upcoming mission against any threat Alter would present.

Life of a Grimmborn Chapter 32: Answers and Reunions -End-

A/N: Alright now we have most of our heroes reunited with the exception of a small handful. What of Blake, Sienna and Eden you ask? Those answers and much more will be answered in the next chapter!

For real though, I'm terribly sorry for the wait you guys had to endure for the next chapter. I promised I would never abandon this fic and I intend to keep that promise. I'm just grateful you all put up with my crap scheduling when it comes to releases lol. But until next time be sure to drop a review, keep yourselves clean and safe. Wash hands and body on the regular if you go outside and keep the kids and elderly away from any danger.

~Deviljho's Hatred