RWBY: MRRN

Volume 6, Chapter 1: Mourning and Understanding

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.

Author's Notes: This is a continuation of Volume 5. If you have not read it, then do so to avoid confusion. Hope you enjoy this next Volume!

I want to give a shoutout to everyone who's supported me the entire way. I never thought I'd write FIVE RWBY Volumes, but here I am, having written five full volumes! Thank you all for your support!

As for the trolls and haters who just want to spew hate and such…GET OFF MY PAGE!

"Everyone, thank you for coming," Silvio spoke atop a podium in front of Haven Academy, the former site of the battle from three days ago. Many people, including those who had fought in the Battle of Haven, were present to honor those who had fallen. Alongside him were members of the Mistral Council, Ghira Belladonna, his own family, and Teams COAL and MRRN.

"Three days ago, those responsible for the Fall of Beacon attempted to destroy Haven as well. Three days ago, many brave men and women fought against the Iron Knights and White Fang. Many of those who fought lived to stand here today…but many others did not share the same fate. They gave their lives to defend not just the Academy, but all of Mistral." Silvio took out a few papers and placed them on the podium.

"This isn't a speech; this is a list of those who have died. Many of them were militia under my family's command while others were the Huntsmen who died defending Haven's borders when our negativity attracted hordes of Grimm and the Iron Knights. Others were because the former Headmaster of Haven Academy, Leonardo Lionheart, was revealed to have given the information on almost all of Mistral's Huntsmen to the Iron Knights."

In Oscar's mind, Ozpin felt regret at the way Leonardo was being remembered by the people of Mistral. It was true that he had betrayed the Huntsmen, but he had seen the shame in his former friend's eyes when they fought. He who was once a strong and brave Huntsman was reduced to a cowardly traitor who was too afraid of Salem to stand against her.

In Ozpin's opinion, Leo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service to the Kingdom of Mistral, not for the terrible choices he made during his service to Salem. When he first met Leo, he was a bit nervous, but he was capable of showing great bravery and strength in the face of adversary. Sadly, there was nothing he could do now to repair Leonardo's memory; now, he would only be remembered as a cowardly traitor who betrayed Mistral.

"Many of you present lost friends and loved ones during the Battle of Haven. I express my dearest condolences to all of you for your losses. Let us pray that the souls of those who have left this world may rest in peace." Silvio stepped down from the podium and his uncle, Benjamin Steel, took over.

"It's never easy losing a loved one. I served in the Mistral Military for years; during those years, I lost many friends, including one who was the godfather to my son. Those who have died would not want us to mourn forever; they'd want us to remember them as they were and honor their memory through our actions….which is what I plan to do. In two days' time, I shall take my squadron and hunt down the Iron Knights who fled Haven. To those who wish to join us, we welcome your help; to those who stay…I pray you find peace with your losses." Benjamin stood down and Ghira walked up alongside Blake. The Cat waved at her teammates in the audience; Ruby and Weiss reciprocated the gesture, but Yang just looked at her and then back at Ghira.

"Yang!" Ruby quietly scolded. "Why didn't you wave?" Yang didn't answer.

"First, I'd like to thank the Mistral Council for giving me the opportunity to speak to everyone," Ghira started, receiving gestures from the Council members present.

"Many Faunus in Mistral suffered because of the actions of our own; Adam Taurus aided in the Fall of Beacon, blind to the consequences that were being felt by all Faunus. This tragedy drove people to form the Wild Hunt, led by the deceased Darren Moss, to kill Faunus and anyone who helped them. These actions have created even greater strains between humans and Faunus alike…but I do not believe it is irreparable. The White Fang was originally founded to create equality between our two races, but we wanted to seek it through peace and understanding. Those led by Adam Taurus sought their dream through bloodshed and violence, which has cost countless lives, both human and Faunus."

Ghira hesitated for a moment, thinking of his next words carefully. Blake put a hand on his shoulder, receiving a warm smile from him before turning his attention back to the mike.

"That is why I've come to a decision: I plan to take back the White Fang and restore it to what it once was. I plan to achieve equality through understanding, not terrorism. With the aid of the Mistral Council, I pray we can make this dream a reality. But first, we must repair the damage Adam Taurus and those who he's allied with has caused."

Once the speeches were done, families went to the burials of their loved ones while those who were from outside the Kingdom were prepared to be transported back.

One of the caskets holding the body of Gaspar Dorado was approached by Teams MRRN, JNPR and RWBY, all looking down sorrowfully at their fallen comrade. With them were Gaspar's teammates, Orchid Wilson and Luke Denim, who were going to escort his body home to his father in Vale.

"Does anyone have anything they'd like to say before we depart?" one of the Steel Elite Soldiers asked, wearing armor similar to the ancient Mistral samurai.

"I do," Math offered, making everyone turn to look at him.

"When we first met Gaspar, he was…not exactly pleasant. But after he got his head on straight, he sought to make things right for himself, to prove that he was superior to the person we first met. When Beacon needed help, he, like many other students, put his life on the lone. When Mistral needed help, he answered the call to join the Militia. During the Battle of Haven, he fought…and lost his life during so. In the end, he proved that he had changed for the better. I hope his soul is at peace now."

"Thank you," Orchid responded. "Yeah, Gaspar…he was a lot to handle when we first met. But he did turn around and proved that people can change when they want to; he was given the chance and did so."

The Steel Elite Soldiers covered up the casket and moved it onto the airship that would take him back to Vale, followed by Orchid and Luke.

"Whoever would've thought we'd mourn his death?" Nasser asked himself. "It's funny how life works sometimes."

-0-

"You told Luna!?" Ozpin asked in a shocked manner after returning to the Steel Manor when the funeral service was concluded.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Yang questioned. "Salem was brought up several times when Luna and Oren were around, along with the Relic and you as well. Did you really think they wouldn't ask questions?"

"We don't know if we can trust them with the truth," Ozpin claimed. "What if the wrong people find out about this? We-"

"You know, Ozpin, for all your preaching about the strength of humanity, you don't trust them that much," Math spoke out. "You're so keen on keeping so many secrets from everyone, including us. What happened to your beliefs in humanity's strength?"

"This is about the wrong people finding out about the Relics," Ozpin answered. "The Relics are extremely powerful; if they fall into the wrong hands, there's no telling of what the consequences could be."

"They're not stupid, Ozpin," Math retorted. "I'm pretty sure Team COAL is fully aware of what could happen if the wrong people find out. Do you honestly believe they'll just go around, telling everyone they come into contact with?"

"Math, as much as you don't want to hear this, Ozpin has a point," Blake claimed, much to Yang's surprise. "He's not saying Team COAL is stupid; what he is saying is that there is a chance of the wrong people finding out about the Relics. We need to be careful about who we tell."

"Blake, if we didn't tell Luna after what happened in the Vault, they could've become more suspicious of us," Yang claimed. "Speaking of suspicious, how was Raven able to turn into a bird? I thought her Semblance was portals."

"That's true," Ozpin confirmed. "Back when Raven was with us, I needed help in finding the Maidens quickly. Forest's Semblance allowed him to turn into a Vacuo Golden Eagle, so I took the idea and applied it to the Branwens…I gave them the ability to turn into birds."

"You can…give power like that?" Robin asked. "How is that possible?"

"It's been possible for me during my years of reincarnation," Ozpin explained. "One perk of my curse was the power that came with it, given to me to combat Salem. But during one of my reincarnations, I fell into a deep depression and tried to find a way out of my mission. I was approached by four women, who helped me to become motivated in my mission again."

"Four women?" Saf asked. "Wait…do you mean…?"

"Yes," Ozpin confirmed. "I was the old man in that tale. I created the Four Maidens."

"You created the Maidens?" Math asked. "Are you insane?!"

"Pardon?" Ozpin asked.

"I remember what you told us about the Maidens before Beacon fell," Math reminded. "What made you think it was such a good idea to give those women powers? Did you think about what would happen if those powers fell into the wrong hands, like the Fall Maiden's fell into Cinder's?"

"Mr. Kendrick, I understand you don't trust me," Ozpin answered.

"Don't trust you?" Math asked. "No…I loathe you. You keep ignoring everything we say, make false promises, don't own up to what you preach about your faith in humanity, and on top of that-"

"Okay, kid, knock it off!" Qrow barked. "We get it; you hate Ozpin. Why don't you do us a favor and just shut up because I'm tired of hearing you constantly insult him?"

"Oh, you're one to talk," Math growled. "You blindly do whatever Ozpin says and you turn a blind eye whenever he does something wrong; when you're not doing that, you're either getting drunk or picking fights with people, like you did with Weiss's sister."

"For the last time, kid, I did not support Ozpin forcing the Maiden powers onto your girlfriend," Qrow reminded angrily. "Ozpin is our best chance against Salem and all you do is go out of your way to insult him. You won't even give him a chance to prove himself."

"Because he PROVES he's a control freak! He PROVES that he keeps on telling lies and half-truths!"

"Stop it," Glaucus spoke, stepping between the two of them. "This infighting needs to stop. We have more important matters to attend to."

"He's right," Ruo agreed. "Until Mistral's borders have been deemed safe, all transportation inside and outside the Kingdom has been closed…including the Argus Limited."

"Even with the Militia's numbers and help from Benjamin Steel, it's going to be difficult," Forest brought up. "We need help from Atlas. Hopefully, Ironwood is willing to help us; the Atlas Council cannot ignore the fact that Haven was attacked."

"Nor that most of Mistral's Huntsmen are dead," Pyrrha brought up. "I still can't believe Professor Lionheart…"

"What's done is done," Jinse spoke. "The damage he did cannot be undone, but we can still save Mistral from the brink."

"Then let's hope Ironwood is willing to help," Yang spoke.

-0-

Later that day, Mathdon sat in his room, drawing up upgrades for Dochas-Mhadaidh. The first upgrade was turning the scabbard into a shotgun barrel, which would allow for ranged attacks besides his shield and Aura Swords. This would also mean changing the hilt of his sword so it could double as a trigger for the weapon.

The second upgrade was for the sword itself, which would involve inserting additional blade edges into the weapon, similar to Jaune's Zweihander. When activated, the blade would widen and the edges could be infused with Dust for stronger attacks. Odds are, he'd choose Fire, Earth or Lightning Dust for the infusion into his blade.

"I wonder if the others are upgrading their weapons as well," he wondered before hearing a knock at the door. The swordsman stood up from his chair and walked over to the door; to his surprise, Qrow Branwen stood there.

"Qrow?" he asked.

"Look, kid, we need to talk," he claimed. Math sighed and let Qrow walk into his room, who then leaned on the wall with his arms crossed.

"Don't tell you've come here to say how wrong I've been about Ozpin," Math told the scythe user. "He lied to us. To all of us."

"You're not even giving him a chance to make up for what he did," Qrow responded. "This is getting out of hand."

"Excuse me, Qrow, but after what happened, I'm not inclined to trust him," the autistic wolf swordsman replied. "He kept important information from us on our mission where we encountered Valkoin; if Forest, Sterling and Ruadh hadn't been there, my team would've been killed." Qrow sighed before taking a drink from his flask.

"Kid, you have every reason not to trust Ozpin, but you're making him your enemy when the real enemy is Salem. She's the one who destroyed Beacon. She's the one who recruited Cinder. Oz has done some things I don't agree with, but I know for a fact he's not our enemy. He's been fighting Salem even before we were born, before the Kingdoms were created. He'd been doing his best and all you're doing is finding ways to criticize him."

"I criticize him because he needs to stop omitting important information," Math claimed. "He needs to be more open with his allies instead of keeping us in the dark."

"He promised to stop," Qrow reminded. "You won't even give him a chance to prove it."

"He betrayed us!" Math shouted. "My team and the woman I love almost died because of him! Alan Kura died because we weren't prepared to fight the Iron Knights! Will you stop acting like I'm the only one in the wrong?"

Qrow's eyes widened in surprise at Math's outburst. He was trying his best to remain calm and civil with Math, but he wasn't sharing the same idea of how to proceed in this conversation. This infighting between them needed to stop, but if Math wasn't open to it, there wouldn't be much Qrow could do.

"Why are you so loyal to him?" Math asked, having calmed down. "Why are you so insistent that he's a good man in spite of everything?" Qrow sighed.

"You're not the only one who's living with something you cannot control. Glaucus told me about your Asperger's."

Math almost felt his heart stop after hearing Qrow say that. He felt he shouldn't, but he had gone through too much to simply dismiss it.

"You…know?" he asked, almost shyly, a complete contrast to his usual self.

"Yeah," Qrow answered. "Really messed up what happened at Aurum."

"What…what does my Asperger's have to do with this?" Math asked the scythe user as he started to sit down. "You said…I'm not the only living with something-" One of the chair's legs broke and Math fell onto the floor, prompting Qrow to help him up and then groaning in annoyance.

"That's what I mean," Qrow explained.

"Mean what?" Math asked.

"My Semblance," Qrow answered. "I'm guessing you haven't been told what it is."

"No…" Math answered. Qrow put his flask away in his shirt, then looked out the window away from Math's eyes.

"Crows have always been a sign of bad luck. Even before I unlocked my Semblance, everyone figured that's what I'd do; it's how I got my name. My Semblance…isn't something I do, it's just there wherever I go, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune to everyone…and it doesn't matter who; friend or foe, they're all affected."

"You…you can't control it?" Math asked, feeling immense empathy and sadness for the scythe user.

"After I unlocked it, I'd cause people trouble wherever I went. It didn't matter who."

"I'm sorry!" a younger Qrow apologized to a female student who had been sprayed by hot water from a broken pipe. "It was an accident!"

"You're an accident!" one of the nearby students shouted at Qrow. "Ever since you unlocked your Semblance, you can't do anything but hurt people, just like you hurt her!"

"I didn't mean to!" Qrow cried out. "It just happened!"

"Because of you, freak!" the student shouted.

"Hey!" Tai shouted, walking up to the student. "You leave my pal alone! He's done nothing wrong!"

"He shouldn't even be here!" the student replied. "He's nothing but trouble!"

"I was cursed the moment I unlocked my Semblance. Ever since then, no one wanted me around and they were right not to; I could only cause pain and misery to everyone I met."

"Qrow…I'm sorry," Math apologized. "I didn't think anyone else would understand what it's like, to be judged for what you are, for something you had no control over."

"Ozpin was different," Qrow continued. "Instead of a bad luck charm, he saw someone who wanted to help people. He gave me a purpose, a reason to fight, to do some good instead of only causing harm."

Math could sense the immense sadness Qrow felt for having his Semblance. Like Math, he had been judged and hated for something he couldn't control; Math for his Asperger's, Qrow for his Semblance. They were seen as nothing more than inferior or dangerous to everyone else.

Then came along people who saw them for more; Glaucus and Forest saw Mathdon for his desire to become a Huntsman, Ozpin saw past Qrow's terrible Semblance. In some ways, there were very much alike.

"Look, kid, what Ozpin did was wrong…what we did was wrong," the drunkard admitted. "But Ozpin is still our best chance at beating Salem. If we don't stop her, no one will…and that means working together. You need to give Ozpin a chance to prove himself." Math let out a heavy sigh.

"When I first met Ozpin, I thought of him as a wise and just man who saw people for who they were, ignoring the prejudices of the world. But after what happened…I don't know what to think of him anymore. I don't even know if I can trust him the way I did before."

"You don't have to be his best friend," Qrow explained. "Ozpin is a lot of things, but he's not a monster. He doesn't have the luxury of making the easy decisions, not when the fate of the world is on his shoulders. I'm not excusing what he did to Pyrrha, but he can prove he regrets what he did if you give him the chance."

Math was unsure of how to answer. Indeed, he had been very hostile towards Ozpin lately, but he believed his hostility was justified due to Ozpin's lies and forcing Pyrrha to take the Maiden powers against her will. Ozpin had violated his trust to an extent that made the wolf swordsman feel that it could not be regained.

But after hearing Qrow's story, it shined light on the kind of man Ozpin may be underneath everything; a weakening man who had been burdened with a tremendous responsibility to save the world from Salem. He had endured pain and suffering none of them could ever imagine, especially since none of them could ever reincarnate.

"Okay," Math agreed. "If Ozpin really wants to prove he's trustworthy, then I'll give him the chance."

"Thanks," Qrow spoke before noticing the art on the table. "Are these upgrades?"

"Silvio's offered us some resources to make upgrades to our weapons," Math answered. "Any chance Ruby or Yang will upgrade theirs?"

"Ruby's going nuts for the chance to upgrade Crescent Rose," Qrow stated. As for Yang, she's looking into building a new pair of gauntlets. I don't know the details, but she gave some bad fire pun."

"Sounds like Yang," Math chuckled. "Well, I plan to do the upgrades before we leave for Argus."

"Better get on it, then," the scythe user insisted before walking to the door.

"Hey, Qrow," Math addressed. "Thanks."

"For what?" he asked.

"For…reminding me I'm the not only one struggling."

-0-

"Hello, Yang," Blake greeted as they ran into each other in the hallway.

"Hey, Blake," Yang responded in a monotone voice. Blake reached over and put her hand on Yang's arm.

"What's going on?" the Cat asked. "Don't give me the cold shoulder." Yang's eyes glared down at her former teammate, remembering her abandonment of the team…twice.

"I'm sorry, did you want a 'welcome back' party?" she asked. "We've got better things to do." Blake frowned as she stopped Yang from trying to leave.

"Don't do that to me," she demanded. "I'm back and-"

"For how much longer?" the yellow dragon questioned. "A week? A month? Two months? How long before you run away again?" Blake slowly let her hand fall from Yang's arm, taken back by her teammate's reaction.

"Yang, I know what I did was wrong and I thought-"

"Well, you thought wrong," Yang interrupted again. "You don't get to disappear for months, come back and expect everything to be okay. You abandoned us…twice."

"Yang, I was scared-"

"Yeah, you were scared," Yang interrupted once more. "You would rather run than face your problems. We accepted you back after you accidentally revealed yourself as a Faunus and a former member of the White Fang and disappeared for two days. You PROMISED you'd never abandoned us again, but you tried to go after Torchwick by yourself and I had to stop you. Even after all that, you...you turned your back on us when we needed you! You weren't scared, you were selfish!"

"Yang, just hear me out-"

"I heard you out TWICE!" Yang interrupted, not giving Blake a chance. "You made that promise to not run away again and you broke it. When Beacon fell, you just ran to Menagerie and stayed there. If Haven wasn't going to be attacked, would you have come here?"

Blake was silent, unable to answer. If she hadn't learned of Haven being targeted by the White Fang, it was entirely possible that she would've remained in Menagerie with her parents, stuck in her self-pity. She may not have come back at all.

"Exactly," Yang pointed out. "You would've stayed in Menagerie and done nothing."

"You're wrong, Yang," Blake claimed.

"This time, I'm not," Yang responded.

"I'm not that person anymore. I'm not running anymore, Yang."

"Then prove it."

"Guys!" Ruby called out, breaking up the fight. "Please." Yang didn't respond, instead walking off in anger towards her teammate for abandoning the team twice.

"Just…give Yang time," Ruby assured Blake. "She'll come around."

"I hope so," Blake responded.

-0-

"So, we have the green light?" a Huntsman mercenary asked Jacques in his office.

"We do," Jacques agreed. "The Atlas Council has agreed to send Huntsmen to Mistral to aid in protecting their borders. You really can't trust a Faunus."

"No, you can't," the mercenary agreed with a chuckle. "So, our basic contract?"

"Find Weiss and bring her back to me alive," Jacques demanded. "If she dies out there, there's no telling of what I could face as a result. People could assume I had her killed."

"I understand," the mercenary spoke. "What about those who travel with her?"

"Those brats, do with them as you please," Jacques responded. "But I want no witnesses. Weiss belongs to me and I will put her back in her place."

"She really is an ungrateful brat, isn't she, sir?"

"Yes, she is. Now go and join up with the others." The mercenary nodded his head and left Jacques's study, leaving the corrupt CEO by himself.

"Weiss, you little piece of…How dare you defy me! I gave you everything you could've wanted, yet you remain ungrateful! You went to Beacon when you should've remained here where you belong. You ran away when you should've obeyed me and remained in the manor. You are a defiant little girl, but when you return, I will ensure that you remember your place, that you belong to me. I will destroy your dreams until you realize what your purpose is: to serve me."

Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed the start of Volume 6! I'll be going back and forth on my RWBY and Fire Emblem Fanfics while I'm on Fanfiction! Hope you enjoy!