Warning: I do not own RWBY, that belongs to Oum & Rooster Teeth
P.S. Looking for Beta(someone who is skilled in writing fighting scenes will be preferable)
Bold: other speaking
Bold: other thinking
Hi: normal thinking
Hi: normal speaking
AN: This is inspired on what happened since ep 3 of vol 6. So expect spoilers.
Also for story I'll be experimenting with various POV's so things may be different then want normal readers expect.
EDIT(12/7/18) This is a revison of chapter 1 because I found the POV thing rather ... disappointing and hope to change for better.
EDIT(3/30/19) This is making sure to change the numbers from actual numbers to words as well as minor details
MISTRAL, UNKNOWN FOREST
The forest of Mistral, one of the many beauties that dotted the land of remnant. A land filled with its share of bandits, grimm, and other ... less desirable things. And in one of these forest is where this story begins, as all story's do.
A girl poking someone with a stick.
"Nora ... I don't think you should keep poking the man"
"Aw, but why sis? He makes funny noises when I poke him"
"Masdwaesp"
"See! He makes funny noises when he grumbles"
"~sigh~ Nora, please get off of him, the last thing we need is the scary man to wake up"
"But why Pyr? He doesn't look so scary" argued Nora.
"Can't you see the giant sword in his hands. The last thing we need is the man to wake up in a angry mood. please Nora, let's just go, the last thing Jaune and Ren need is to worry for us" pleaded Pyrrha. Grabbing the other girls arm and tugging her to leave.
...
...
...
Red eyes cracked open
The man shoot upright, bringing his massive blade close to him as he held the handle tightly as possible.
"EEEHHH" cried Pyrrha and Nora as the two fell off the man and onto the ground.
"Where the hell am I, the fucks going on" demanded the man, bloodshot eyes darting the area for any signs of the enemy.
...
...
...
"U-U-Ummm, M-M-Mister" called Pyrrha.
Red eye locked onto the source, as said source flinched, only to widen in surprise at what they saw. Two girls, couldn't have been more than six or seven years old. One had bright red hair tied in a small ponytail while the other had orange hair in a shortcut.
"What the? Why are two little girls doing here in the forest?" asked the man to himself.
Nora, hearing the mans muttering gave him a glare, well more like a cute pout his own nieces gave, before giving the man a piece of her mind.
"HHeeyy, I'm not small, I'm big" Nora declared.
"Heh, sure you are ... ummmm?"
"Nora, just Nora" introduced Nora.
"Well then Nora, do you or your friend there know where we are? Because I sure don't?" asked the man.
"First of all that's my big sis Pyrrha over there. And secondly ... ummm, hey sis where are we?"
Pyrrha shrugged her shoulders."Mm, Ren & Jaune had the map so they should know."
"Great, so we have no idea on where we are, possibly the middle of nowhere I could assume, and I have to watch four brats on top of it. ~sigh~ It these days I hate my semblance" sighed the man.
"Hey, you take that back I'm not a brat you big meanie" Nora growled.
"Whoa there kid, no need to get feisty, the last thing any of us need is attracting grimm" the man warned.
"Grimm? Are you a hunter?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yep, the names Qrow, Qrow Branwen" the newly named Qrow introduced, going as far as to take a small bow.
"WOAH, OhwowarealhunterIwonderwhatyoudoOH-" zoomed Nora
"Slow down there lighting bolt, you got a lot of energy inside of you, try to tone it down a bit, alright" Qrow advised. "Now paintbrush, you said that there was two more of you and that they had a map, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well why don't we go meet up with them, I'm sure they must be worried with you" Qrow said.
"And why should we let you come with us" Pyrrha questioned, distrust evident in her eyes.
"Well besides possibly facing grimm by yourself, I'm a great storyteller" Qrow offered.
"WOW, a storyteller and a hunter! Please, Pyr can we bring him, please, please, please, ppppllleeeaaassseee" begged Nora.
"..."
"PPPPPPPPleeeeaaaaaaassssseeeeee"
"... Mm, fine. But I have my eye on you Mr. Qrow" Pyrrha warned.
"Well than lead the way paintbrush"
A FEW MINUTES LATER
Passing through a myriad of tree branches and hidden potholes laying about the three of them finally reached what seemed to be a large cave.
"So this is the place than paintbrush? Looks like it can use some ... improvement" Qrow spoke.
"Well home is wherever you make it" Nora quipped.
"Heh, not wrong about that lighting bolt. So, where are the other two of you?"
"JAUNE, REN, Come out there's a person here!" Nora shouted.
...
"You brought somebody here" replied a somewhat timid voice.
"Yeah, now come on out here"
It took a few seconds but from the cave two boys emerged. One had bright blonde hair with azure eyes while the other one had pure black hair, save for that one pin strand, and bright pink eyes.
"The yellow one is Jaune and the one with black hair is Ren. There are brothers" explained Nora.
"Brothers? You sure don't like your related with each other" Looking it all four them either they had a single unfaithful father or a whore of a mother ... that or genetics decided to fuck all.
"And what's that suppose to mean" asked Pyrrha, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Depends on how you look at it paintbrush" Qrow retorted. "Now, I heard from your sisters that one of you have a map. Can I see it?"
"Um ... well if Pyrrha says it's ok" Jaune replied.
"He can, as long as he promises to give it back to us, right?" Pyrrha answered, looking at Qrow.
"Cross my heart paintbrush"
Opening his satchel Jaune pulled out a long tub. Opening the top a rolled up piece of paper sided out before handing it over to Qrow.
"Thanks kid, now let's see where we are ..."
Looking over the paper red eyes scrunched together as they started to narrow. A grim look appeared on his mouth before he handed the map back to Jaune.
"Shit, just how drunk was I when I shifted ... bah, nothing can be done about it now" Qrow muttered to himself. Before Qrow could speak to the kids a crackle of thunder was heard ... and soon after the pouring of rain.
...
...
...
"Um, wasn't it just sunny a minute ago" Ren asked to himself.
...
...
...
"~sigh~ It these days, these days I despise my semblance" Qrow sighed
xxx Inside the Cave xxx
"So, I hope you don't mind me bunking in your home for the evening" Qrow apologized.
The five of them rushing into the cave to avoid getting anymore wet.
"It's ok mister, it'll be pretty mean to leave out there" Jaune replied.
...
...
...
"Say, not to be nosy or anything but what are all four of you doing here in the wild? Shouldn't you be at home or something, your parents could be awfully worried for?" asked Qrow.
...
...
"Were orphans" finally spoke Ren.
"Oh, ... well what about your orphanage matron or whoever is running the joint?"
"It's none of your beeswax old man" Pyrrha spat.
"So the shitty one then huh"
...
...
...
"The people there were ... were mean" whispered Ren "... when we did something bad they'll hit us and send us off to our beds."
"I see ... so I guess you four decided to run."
Silence was his response
Qrow only sighed as he took a swig from his flask. "Why does this stuff always happen to me, I swear the world knows why and just loves seeing me suffer. Still, can't leave these brats here by themselves. Because if ain't my morals it sure hell be summer's ghost, she'll find a way to kick my ass no matter what."
"So, do any of you have an actual plan after you reach the next town? Because if you can't find a way through the front door than your doomed."
"What do you mean? Can't we just go through the front door?" asked Jaune.
"Unless the town has enough food to feed four more mouths I doubt they'll let you in. At best, you can beg for a bag of supplies that'll last you till the next town. Of course that is not taking in bandits or grimm into account. Still, even if you did get in you'll just be thrown in their orphanage" Qrow explained.
...
"Oh ..." whispered Jaune.
"Yeah ..." Qrow muttered
...
...
"Do you think they'll see us as freaks as well" asked Nora.
"Nora!" Pyrrha hissed.
"Freaks? What are you, a faunas or something?"
Nora shook her head. "No, I'm human. But, ... but when we show that the matron gets really angry and hurts us more."
"What do mean by that, you aren't making sense?"
"But, your a huntsman, so don't you guys have that" questioned Pyrrha. Looking at Qrow accusingly. "Or are you lying to us."
"I ain't lying, I'm a certified hunter paintbrush. But what do you mean by that" replied Qrow.
"This!" raising both her arms up Pyrrha's body began to glow, a vivid array of colors of all sorts. From her hand four orbs, each the size of a baseball, emerged fourth as they circled around each other in perfect unison.
"Don't all you hunters have ... this?" Pyrrha said. In front of her a gaping Qrow stood dead still, with his finger the only thing shaking.
...
...
"Fuck my life"
...
"What does fuck mean?" Nora asked.
Qrow groaned even louder.
VALE, BEACON ACADEMY
Beacon academy, the kingdom of Vale's school for hunters and one considered to be the best among them all. Originally designed as the castle for the old royal family it has been heavily re-modified since. Now it houses and teach the future defenders of mankind. And at the center of the academy was the famous tower of beacon, where the current headmaster resided.
"Qrow, it's good to see you again. last time I checked you still had a mission in Mistral, but instead you came back early, with four children no less. So who was it this time then?" the immortal wizard greeted cheerfully.
"Shut it Oz, I don't want to deal with your games now. This is serious" growled Qrow, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"Oh? And what would that be" Ozpin asked. Curious by how tensed his own spymaster was being.
Qrow's arms fell as he gave a tired sigh. "It probably be better to show you instead, I don't think words can explain this well. Call Glynda to get the redhead in here, she'll show you."
Pressing the buzzer near my desk the headmaster called in for Pyrrha. A few seconds passed before the door behind the two clicked, and in came Pyrrha, hair shadowing her eyes.
"Yes Sir" the young girl asked timidly.
"Miss Pyrrha, that is your name correct?" Oz started. The girl bobbed her head in agreement. "Well, my friend Qrow here told me that you have something special that has caused previous grief to you and your family."
"You mean beatings? Than yes, our ... powers have harmed us" Pyrrha replied.
"I see" he responded. A tinge of pity was felt, no matter how older he got the sight of someone so young be forced to go through such pain always brought a pang to the immortal spirit.
"But before you show us this power I have a question for you Pyrrha. I understand that after escaping your orphanage you'd hope to move into the next town, what did you hope to do afterward?"
"To come here sir"
"Here?" Ozpin asked.
The girl nodded. "We heard that beacon made hero's, so Jau-We, hoped to come because we thought somebody could help us."
"Hm, the four of them had believed beacon could help control their powers, but now it seems they no longer believe that. Do they have some kind of unique semblance, or maybe something else?" mentally mused Ozpin.
"But now ... now we don't know what too do" finished Pyrrha.
"I see" replied Ozpin, only to then stayed silent for a while. An old trick in the book, letting the girl stew in her own anxiety as the various clocks around him clicked their merrily way.
...
"Pyrrha, I assure you that beacon academy can help with whatever problem you and your family are facing. Many hunters/huntresses have passed through here, each one holding powers unique to them and some not so. I promise you that at least one of the dozens of teachers here knows how to help you ma'am" he assured her.
"I ... I, thank you sir" the girl bowed. for a brief second I could see a look of appreciation in her eyes.
"Now, will you mind sharing this power with us. Go on, we won't judge."
The young girl bite her lip, anxiety perhaps? Stretching her arms her body began to glow.
...
*FSHIISS*
...
...
Ozpin ignored the burning coffee spilling on his thigh, though he couldn't say the same for the girl.
"Magic" he whispered. It should've been impossible, the brothers had made sure to strip all of humanity of it's magical potential. Could they have missed a few? No, it couldn't have been, it has been over several millennia's since his reincarnation back to remnant.
If there were still those capable of magic shouldn't have he or Salem found them by now?
Could this be a sign from the gods?
Either way the wizard pushed those thoughts away for now. What he needed was to make sure those four could not leave his sight. If Salem ever got wind of this ... she would hunt the four to the ends of worlds and beyond no matter the cost. Should even one of them acquired somebody else who could perform magic the fragile balance between him and Salem would shift ...
but four?
"Forgive for me Pyrrha for my action, it's just surprising to see somebody else with power similar to mine own" Ozpin explained, calling forth a tiny bit of magic to make his point. And it seemed to have worked, already the girl face shot up in equal surprise. And her eyes told me everything the wizard needed to know.
"Now, I understand that you must have lot's of questions, but I ask of you to wait. Right now me and Mr. branwen have to discuss about you and your siblings housing. After all, sending you back to the orphanage would only do more harm than good" he said, motioning her to leave.
Only after a few seconds after she left did he release a breath that even he himself did not know.
...
"Qrow ..." said Ozpin, any humor in his tone vanished, "Find everything about those four, I don't care how many bodies need to disappear, how many stones to turn over, or how many feathers need to ruffled. Find me every last drop of info on them, if you need to you can call James. I'll have him informed, he'll be in charged of their security."
"You sure aren't pulling anything her Oz" Qrow commented.
"You and I know that is not an option."
"Yeah, I know. Just let me say hi to nieces and I'll be on it, I'll see if Tai can dig up something on his own" replied Qrow, waving Ozpin off.
...
Before thrown out the window, courtesy of Glynda's semblance.
"Why did you have to do that Miss. Goodwitch? I just asked what 'fuck' meant" Nora asked innocently.
VALE, OZPIN'S HOME, YEARS LATER
Nora hated the rain. It made her wet, cold, unhappy, and made her sick too which meant veggie smoothies, ~blech~.
It also reminded her of the orphanage, something that she would rather not remember. But not something she could do, every time those dark clouds rolled and poured there contents it just brought memories that couldn't stop coming up.
Everything was always cold and dark, that was of course not taking in the matron. Now Nora wasn't someone who got angry easily, but that women ... that women made her angry. She was so strict and cold, everything was so controlled, and if you stepped out line physical punishment was the response. Freedom was but a far away dream when dealing with her.
That was of course before her family got their powers.
Orphan, Girl, and Freak
The words the matron spoke as they revealed their magic and when she saw said matron with the most angriest/scared face she ever saw. After that things somehow got worse. She'd keep them from the rest of the group, always at the corner of the room. When adults came in they were forced into the attic until they left. And when one of them pulled out their powers
That's when the beatings came
Even to this day Nora could never understand how she had survived such an ordeal. If it was just her she would've long snapped, but that never happened ... because of her family.
Ren was always the quite one, never really speaking out or going out and beyond. But if you messed with his family, it was no more nice Ren, and not even Nora liked no more nice Ren.
Than there was Jaune, the big brother of the group. Also known as Jaune-Jaune, or as fearless leader. It didn't matter what life threw at him, her big brother always found a way to get up afterwards and keep on moving. Even when bullies tired to hurt Nora he was always there at the nick of time with Pyrrha at his side.
Which came to Nora's last sibling, Pyrrha. She was the big sis of the family, not someone to mess around with. To the world she was strict, a bit rough on the edges. But get pass that?
The best sibling you could ever wish for, if you want to do something than she will she'll support you to the very end and damn the earth before missing it. It also helped that she was the strongest out of all of them, easily taking care of bullies whenever they dared to hurt Nora or any of them for that matter.
Of course this all changed when Qrow, or uncle Qrow as Nora like to call him, found them and brought them to Ozpin.
Just walking towards to Beacon alone was an amazing sight for the young girl, having never seen such massive buildings before. And all the weapons ... oh she couldn't resist and tried to touch as many as she could, earning no end of ire from Qrow.
But things after that were somewhat of a blur for the ginger haired girl. It wasn't long till the four of them were whisked away to new place. A somewhat large home, It was an ok house, not to big but not to small ... just right.
There she and her siblings were washed up and severed dinner, before being hustled towards the living room where they were left to their own devices.
It was here Pyrrha explained about her little meeting with Ozpin, and how he too also held the same powers as them, magic.
To say Nora as shock would be wrong ... she was elastic. To know somebody else had the same powers that they have, it was a good feeling to know you weren't alone. And so they continued to talk about Ozpin, until said man finally arrived, it was there they learned said man would be adopting them.
The following days after that were ... awkward to say the least.
Even before they had unlocked their magic nobody really took notice of them, sure they would give them a glance, but that was really it. But for somebody to outright say they are going to be adopted by said speaker, it was an odd experience. At least Ozpin was kind enough to give us space to think on what just happened.
At first it was hard to know what the call Ozpin. Did they call him dad, pops, father, or Mr. Ozpin? In the end they went with Mr. Ozpin and thus starting her days as one of his daughters.
The man wasn't a bad person in any sort of ways, sure he was never there all the time, a very busy man as he liked to say, but at least he us gave warm food and a safe home. More than the orphanage ever gave her or her family.
For school, it was a bit rough. The orphanage may have given them an education but it wasn't exactly up to date. So bad grades were a common in the early weeks. Bullies were a common as well, but she and her family knew how take care of them so they weren't a problem.
Luckily that nice blonde lady, Glynda, Nora believed, from beacon helped out a lot. So it wasn't long till they were at everyone else's level.
And than after that it was ... kinda of boring. Nothing really bad happen, but nothing good ever happened either.
Just repetition
For the first few years of course,
until yesterday.
VALE, BEACON TOWER
It was raining
Ozpin understood why people gave such negative connotations to those black clouds above. Even he once hated them ... a long time ago of course. But not anymore, one the traits of being immortal, you get to see things in different then before.
Now, now he saw them as a shower. Something to wash away one's problem and let one to think, something that he needed.
It had been more than years since he had given Qrow his mission. There was so little to go over, and creating any picture about the four kid's past had been a nightmare. Never before had he seen the spymaster call in so many favors and debts, probably sure that he saw Raven in one Qrow's reports.
But in the end they had finally created a somewhat stable idea on their past.
Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, & Ren Lie.
And they were all cousins
A bit distant ones but nonetheless family. All of their parents had originated from towns nearby to one the had previously lived. All of them now destroyed by either Grimm or bandits. Apparently their families must have quite close because they were all brought to the town by a single women, who died minutes later by her wounds.
Qrow had of course investigated the ruins but not much could be scavenged. Long has it been since somebody else had stepped foot in the town. Bandits, looters, and the rare curious grimm have long since looted everything. The only thing of value left was the crest of their families.
A double crescent, a hammer with lighting in the middle, the upper half of a blade, and lotus.
From there it was finding any survivors and getting what info they held on the families. It had taken more than year before Qrow had found one. For a total of six years it taken for the spymaster to find every last survivor of the towns, not all of them provided relevant info but everything was welcomed at this point.
Only for what the survivors had said just added another layer to this mess.
It seemed the children's abilities were not unique to them, their parent also had the capability of using magic. Meaning that there must've been survivors.
but than how?
How did so many survive with their magic intact and avoided the war between him and Salem?
It must have been the brothers, who else could have done it. But that still didn't make any sense, why would the brothers save those people and ignored the rest.
Were they loyal followers or maybe they were the descendants from the first followers of the gods?
It seemed a likely possibility.
But as the years gone by the bloodline became harder to trace back and the more time was spent on thinking.
The brothers were not entities that played favorite, while having various flaws that even Ozpin could attest to playing favorites was not something they did.
Everything they did has meaning, from Salem's immortality to Ozpin's own curse, everything had meaning.
And there was simply no reason why the gods would spare a few of their creations while damming the rest.
No, the only two beings that should have magic was Salem, myself, and ...
...
...
...
"No, it couldn't be. They all died in his confrontation with Salem, he saw the bodies for brothers sake" Ozpin whispered
"Or did you? Only three were found" whispered his treacherous mind.
"No! ... Even if she did survived our battle than how did she survive the aftermath? Starvation, Grimm, bandits, so many things could have killed her. She was just a child!" He argued
"A child with magic."
"A child nonetheless"
...
"... The facts are laid before you Oz, I know you can't deny it. Isabella lived ... she had to live to have children, and those kids? Their ours. You can't deny it ... because I can't deny it" Ozpin mind- ... no, one of his past incarnation spoke.
...
...
...
He pressed the buzzer under the desk.
"Glynda, I'll be heading off home, I leave everything to you for today."
The rest of the trip back home was quite, not a single sound was made. Even as Ozpin entered his home he didn't dare to speak. Although, he did see a light coming from the living room. As he walked towards it and turned ...
he froze
What others would see a group of kids playing a game.
He saw a memory
The room & furniture disappeared before his eyes, and replacing it was a style far in the old days of man, and there laid him ... in his first incarnation.
In a barely lit room huddled four young girls.
The youngest turned and saw him.
She smiled.
"Hi papa/Mr. Ozpin" spoke Joan/Nora.
The memory ended.
...
...
...
In a swift act the wizard quickly closed the gap between him and Nora. Staring deep into her eyes.
They were Joan's, full of energy and life.
...
...
...
And he hugged them ... all of them.
Holding them so tight to his chest, as if they could slip any moment. Something warm and wet came from his eyes. Tears, Ozpin was crying and he continued to do so.
His family was alive. He had a family
...
and so did Salem.
Ozpin knew what he had to do.
They couldn't be allowed to become huntsmen. He could never allow Salem to find out.
Ugh, three time, three god damn time I had to revise the main idea. Let me tell you that it is not fun, especially when you take in college work and upcoming exams.
But ignoring that all I can be glad to say this is piece is done. But before I end it I should probably explain a few things.
- Yes, I know that technically Ozpin soul does merges with whoever is his host at the time but in this fic those host leave ... echos of themselves that can interact with Ozpin for just a brief moment.
- Also for the next chapter it will be at random, since the current way of updating my different stories isn't working I'm just going with whatever is on my mind or at least till Thanksgiving break.
- For those who may ask how in the living hell did Ozpin or Salem miss JNPR or their families? Well their are some reasons I can't explain without spoiling but one of them is the size of remnant. Remnant is huge place people and neither Salem nor Ozpin are omnipresence, not even Salem can see everything with her Grimm ... or can she? (Double shit if she can) So of course their is a chance they may just overlook them.
From robotgod456