(Ruby's POV)

Qrow: "The city of Mistral..."

Finally, we made it to Mistral! This trip was really long, and tiring... and stressful... and really emotionally troublesome... but we made it... and Qrow and Cassie are still alive! Anyways, we were all walking through this dark hallway with my uncle leading.

Nora: "Ugh! It's about time! Whose idea was it to walk again?"

Cassie: "Yours you dingus..." she deadpanned but Nora tried to play innocent.

Nora: "Pfft! Naaaahhhh...!" I giggled as Cassie shook her head with a smile.

Ever since we got here yesterday, she was smiling A LOT more... She was starting to go back to her normal self, and I'm really happy. Though I don't know how she'll react when we... IF we see Blake again...

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

Jaune: "Oh and you know, all those people and monsters that tried to murder us."

Ruby: "Pfft, we were fine! Only two of us almost died!" I looked at Qrow and Cassie, who both stared back at me.

Qrow and Cassie: "Hey."

I giggled before Nora looked at Ren.

Ren: "Hey." She too giggled.

Jaune: "So how much farther to Haven Academy?"

Cassie: "We shouldn't be far now... Right?" she looked at Qrow who nodded.

Qrow: "Yup but I figured I'd take you kids on the scenic route."

We continued on until we walked up to a big set of wooded doors. We opened them and were immediately greeted by a bright light but it quickly died down to reveal Mistral... I immediately ran up to the railing as we all looked at the beautiful kingdom in awe.

Ruby: "Wow... This... is... awesome!"

Qrow: "It certainly is something."

Cassie: "Mistral... Home again..." I looked back at her shocked.

Ruby: "Wait, you live here Cassie!?"

Cassie: "I thought you already knew... Well... it's more like LIVED here. Until..." she stopped herself and looked down.

Ruby: "Until?"

Cassie: "*sigh* It's nothing..." she sighed before she looked back up at me and pointed in a certain direction. "Look there, Rubes." I looked at where she was pointing, only to be shocked and amazed.

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

Cassie: "Vendors here'll sell you just about anything... whether they should or not."

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

Qrow: "Every inch. Stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets."

Nora: "Then we're going up!"

>>Time Skip brought to you by Chibi Cassie chasing after Chibi Ruby who had her Chōetsu-tekina Ten<<

(Cassie's POV)

We had made it to the top, where Haven Academy was and my goodness, I forgot how beautiful it was... in all honestly, if my family wasn't located in Mistral, I would have probably came here instead of Beacon... not to say I hated Beacon. I loved it more than other places...

Ruby: "We made it." I heard Ruby mumble to herself with a satisfied smile before she and the others continued forwards. However I grew suspicious and hung back with Qrow.

Cassie: "You feel that too...?"

Qrow: "Yeah... Something doesn't feel right... Be on your guard."

Cassie: "Of course. Ni. San. Standby mode."

I heard them roar faintly in my head as we entered Haven Academy's main building, which contained the Headmaster Office. However, it was completely vacant of staff.

Ruby: "Hello? HEELLLOOO!?!?"

Nora: "Maybe try... louder?"

Ren: "There doesn't seem to be anyone here."

Jaune: "Well, I guess school isn't really in session right now. Maybe that's it."

Qrow: "No, this isn't right... Come on." He and I began dashing forwards.

Ruby: "Wait for us!"

We all dashed through the building until we ended up in front of the Headmaster's office. Qrow and I immediately took out our weapons.

Qrow: "Get ready. There could be trouble." The others listened and took out their weapons. Just as Qrow kicked the door down, I saw a man I never thought I'd see for a while... Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart.

Leo: "AHHHH!!!"

Ruby, Nora and Jaune: "AHHHH!!!" Ren and I just stared at him in confusion while lowering our weapons.

Qrow: "Woah!" he grunted as he lost balance and fell over. At the same time, Leo fainted.

Cassie: "Um... Leonardo Lionheart?"

The man in question stood back and glared at Qrow.

Leo: "QROW! For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!" Qrow suddenly stood back up and looked at Leo, annoyed.

Qrow: "ME!? Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?" Leo looked confused before looking at his pocket watch.

Leo: "OH, right. My apologies. I guess time slipped away from me."

Qrow: "You're joking..."

Nora: "Where is everybody?"  he avoided Nora's question and noticed the rest of us.

Leo: "Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned."

Ruby: "Yes sir! Ruby Rose!"

Jaune: "Jaune Arc."

Nora: "Nora Valkyrie."

Ren: "Lie Ren."

Cassie: "Cassie Ghidra"

Leo: "G-Ghidra??? The youngest daughter of the-" I cut him off, not wanting to hear the names of those sick bastards.

Cassie: "Yes, yes Leo. It's nice to see you again. How has my big bro been here?"

Leo: Ah, he's certainly quite the character. He has Ms. Qixing wrapped around his finger at all times." He chuckled while I just sighed and rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms.

Cassie: "Sure does sound like him..." Leo chuckled at my comment.

Leo: "A pleasure to meet you all; Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but-"

Qrow: "What!? Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the relic!?"

Leo: "Qrow! The children-"

Qrow: "Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?"

Leo: "You... filled them in?"

Nora just leaned next to me and Ruby.

Nora: "So... is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?"

Cassie: "*sigh* Apparently..."

>>Small Time Skip<<

I stood next to Ruby in Leo's office while Ren and Nora sat off to one side and Jaune stood off to the other side. Qrow, however was in front of Leo's desk as the headmaster himself took a seat.

Leo: "I have to say Qrow, this all seems reckless, even for you."

Qrow: "Reckless is leaving one of the Relics unguarded. And it's not checking in with Oz for ages."

Leo: "There was nothing to check in about before the Fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos! Vale wasn't the only kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching, every house in every kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces..."

I noticed Ruby downcasting in sadness upon the mention of Penny, so I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, causing her to smile at me.

Leo: "...They saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens... and then 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. Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution and it's only getting worse."

Ruby: "W-What do you mean?"

Leo: "We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral Council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First it was the Dust Embargo. Now, it's the closing of the borders. I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale but it seems to have only worsened some of his more... unfortunate tendencies. And on top of that, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."

Qrow: "All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here!"

Ruby: "Okay! Okay. Things are bad. They're bad, but we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?"

Leo: "I thought you filled them in...?"

Qrow: "Mostly filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover okay? I quit teaching for a reason."

Cassie: "Is it because the Four Maidens are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics?"

Qrow: "That's right, Sparky."

Jaune: "Wait, how did you know that, Cassie?"

Cassie: "Ghidorah told me. Remember, he and I are the Summer Maiden's Guardian, so he knows this stuff."

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

Ren: "What happened to her?"

Leo: "She was determined at first when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran... Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now. And going back to the Guardian Beasts, we have no idea where Spring's Guardian is."

At that point, my heart sank... I knew... We all knew... except for him... Ruby placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, in an attempt to keep me from breaking down.

Leo: "Huh? What is it?" Qrow sighed...

Qrow: "Well, you see... We know who Spring's Guardian is... Princess Olympia Mosura, the last Princess of the Houtua Tribe and carrier of the Guardian Beast and Spring's Guardian Beast, Mothra, God of the Sea..."

Leo: "Really!? That's wonderful news! Where is she!?" he was excited... but...

Qrow: "She... lost her life in the Fall of Beacon... while-" I cut him off.

Cassie: "While fighting his bitch of a Daughter, Seraphim Branwen, the carrier of The Guardian Beast, Battra, The Demon God of Death and Winter's Guardian."

Just saying her name or the name of that damned Guardian Beast is enough to put me near into a panic attack... But thankfully, Ruby prevented that from happening..."

Leo: "Y-You're daughter... She's alive!?"

Qrow: "Yup and she's with Salem. And we're down two Guardian Beasts. As Cassie said, she killed the Princess. As for the second one, my son, Lazarus Branwen, he was the holder of Godzilla, The God of Life, but he was killed by Adam Taurus."

I felt Ruby tremble next to me but she was doing her best to keep it together.

Leo: "*sigh* I see... and what about Fall's Guardian, Iris?"

Ruby: "Cassandra's in patch with my sister."

Leo: "I see... Well things have just gotten a lot worse for us..."

Qrow: "Yeah but luckily, I have a pretty good idea where the Spring Maiden is." Leo looked at Qrow, shocked.

Leo: "Are you serious?"

Qrow: "It's not exactly good news."

Leo: "What are you talking about? This is incredible news! After all these years! Where!?"

Qrow: "I did some digging around. Looks like after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits. Specifically... the Branwen Tribe." Leo's smile faded away.

Leo: "Raven..."

Ruby let out a gasp.

Jaune: "Yang's mom?"

Cassie: "And Laz's aunt..."

Qrow: "That's right."

Qrow pulled out his scroll and put it on the table as a map projected from it.

Qrow: "That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back 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."

Leo: "Well Qrow, I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks."

Qrow: "A few weeks!?"

Leo: "That's right."

Qrow: "Leo, maybe you didn't hear me. MY sister has the Spring Maiden and I KNOW where she is. We NEED to go as soon as possible!" He demanded as he knocked some books off the desk, slightly angering Leo.

Leo: "And perhaps you didn't hear me. The kingdom is in shambles. As soon as possible does not mean tomorrow. It means, as soon as I can convince the council that I need Huntsmen more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon. "

Qrow: "Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen and these kids aren't exactly pushovers. And add to the fact that we have King Ghidorah and Cassie with us."

Nora: "Yeah!"

Ren: "Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?"

Cassie: "Well if I had to take a guess, if Raven really is Qrow's sister, then she won't hand over Spring without a fight."

Qrow: "I take offense..." he deadpanned at me while I just stuck my tongue out at him. He shook his head and looked back at Leo. "But she's right. We need to get the Spring Maiden as far away from here as possible. And just as Cassie said, Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight."

Leo: "Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched. And I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe. And it's true, Cassie might be the strongest of us all, but even she will struggle to take down a Maiden that's have no doubt years of experience."

Cassie: "Bitch you clearly underestimate my power..." I grumbled underneath my breath.

Leo: "We need to be positive we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail, Raven and her tribe will scatter, and we'll be lost. We get one shot at this, and it NEEDS to be perfect."

Qrow stared at him before sighing.

Qrow: "You know, Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here."

Leo: "Perhaps you're right, but he's not. I'm doing the very best I can."

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

Cassie: "Yeah. What about Cinder, Emerald and Mercury?"

Jaune: "They claimed they were from Haven. Do you have anything on them?"

Leo: "We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries."

I noticed Jaune looking down with a serious expression before he clenched his fists.

Qrow: "Well, I can't say this had been a warm reunion Leo."

Leo: "I'm sorry. I know you've all traveled a long way, but I will do everything I can to help."

Qrow: "Sure. We'll stay in the city for the time being. Local comms are still up, keep in touch. Come on kids."

We all began to leave but I heard Ruby call out to him.

Ruby: "It was nice meeting you Professor."

Leo: "Likewise."

Well, after that disaster, we were in the halls of the building.

Nora: "So, what do we do now?"

Qrow: "You kids head back to the house, I need a drink." He turned to walk off but stopped and looked at me. "You comin' Sparky?"

Cassie: "E-Eh? Oh, no, no. I'm fine now. I won't go that low..."

Qrow: "Kay." He replied before walking off. Then Ruby looked at me suspiciously.

Ruby: "Cassie, what was that about??"

Cassie: "O-Oh... Um you really don't want to know... trust me..."

>>Time Skip brought to you by Chibi Ruby and Chibi Cassie arguing over whether San's name is San or Kevin<<

Cassie: "His Name is San and will never be Kevin!"

Ruby: "But Kevin is such a cute name for him!!!"

Cassie: "I DON'T CARE! It's San!"

Ruby: "Kevin!"

Cassie: "SAN!!!"

Ruby: "KEVIN!!!"

Currently, I sat in the living room of the house we were staying in, drinking some water while reading a book. Jaune sat next to me while Nora and Ren sat on the other couch. Ruby on the other hand was upstairs in her room, reading comics or whatever.

Jaune: "Hey Cassie?"

Cassie: "Hm?" I kept my eyes on my book.

Jaune: "I never got a chance to apologize to you yesterday about saying those things to you about in the forest... So-" I cut him off by whacking him in the back of his head with my book. "O-Ow! Hey!"

Cassie: "Jaune you're really a dunce, you know that?"  he looked at me confused as I smiled at him.  "I understood your anger and honestly, if I wasn't so caught up with other things, I probably would have acted the same way. You didn't know about my past because I never told anyone, besides... Blake..."  I felt some bitterness in my voice as I said her name...  "Anyways, it's all in the past now." I got up and gave him a hug. "So I forgive you."

Jaune: "Thank you Cassie..."  he embraced back, causing me to giggle before we broke it and I playfully tapped his shoulder.

Cassie: "Sure thing, Vomit Boy."

Jaune: "Oh we are NOT starting with that again!"

Cassie: "*giggles* Sure, sure. Whatever you say."

Suddenly, a knock on the front door caught our attention. We looked at each other confused.

Cassie: "Get ready..." I said as summoned Ni and San to my side. Jaune walked up to the door before opening it, revealing a scrawny little farmhand boy.

Jaune: "Can I... help you?"

Boy: "Um... Yeah... Is there a Ruby Rose here?"

Ren and Nora suddenly got up in defense as I got ready with Ni and San.

Nora: "Why?"

Boy: "Well..." but just then...

Qrow: "I FOUND HIM!!! PFFFTT HAHAHAHAHAH!" He snorted before stumbling into the house...

Boy: "I think her Uncle could use some help..."

Cassie: "That is a massive understatement my boy..." I mumbled as I stared at the drunken old Bird, who stumbled onto the couch.

Qrow: "Woah... Ugh... Oof... *pants heavily* I found him..."

Cassie: "Okay... excuse my language ReaderGodzilla  but... HOW MANY DID YOU FUCKING DRINK QROW!?"

A/N: "HEY! Get back in the story Cassie!"

Cassie: "Ugh fine!"

Qrow: "Hehehe, you should have been there Sparky... It was a PARTY~!"

Cassie: "THAT DOESN'T ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION!!"

Ruby: "WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE!?" we heard Ruby scream from upstairs. We turned around to see her stomp into the living room. Immediately she pointed at me. "First of all, you Cassie! Give it up!" she took out her 'SWEAR JAR' and I sighed before putting in some Lien. "And second of all, Can't a girl read her comics in peace!?"

She heard Qrow laughing and turned to him before sighing and face palming.

Ruby: "Qrow... did you get drunk again?"

Qrow: "Maaayyybbbee~ Heh..."

Boy: "Oh... You have Silver Eyes."

We all looked at him more confused. Ruby turned to me but I srugged.

Ruby: "Who... are you?

Qrow: "Heh Heh... Hehehe..."

Boy: "Well, my name is Oscar Pine..."

Qrow: "Wait for it..."

Oscar: "But you probably know me as... Professor Ozpin...?"

We all gasped and looked at Oscar, shocked and confused as hell before...

Qrow: Heh... Heh Heh... Heh... I DID IT!!!!" he suddenly sat up and raised his arms into the air in excitement.

Cassie: "JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" but I knocked him out with a bonk to his head.

Qrow: "OOF!"

I sighed in frustration before Ruby pushed her 'SWEAR JAR' into my face again...

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST VOLUME 5

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And... We're... BACK!!!