A Living Myth RWBY X Child!Dragon Faunus! Male! Reader

Chapter 18 (R): Welcome to Haven and Unforeseen Complications

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Chapter 18: Haven At Last

A few days after the incident with the giant Grimm in Kuroyuri (Qrow later identified it as a Nuckelavee), the group had finally, finally, made it to their destination. Considering everything that had happened and what they had learned, (Y/N) considered it a small miracle they had made it in one piece. Currently, Qrow was leading the team through the tunnel that led to the city.
"The city of Mistral."
"Ugh!" Nora groaned. "It's about time! Whose idea was it to walk again?"
"Well, we did face many obstacles." Ren pointed out. "Broken airships, destroyed settlements."
Jaune joined in. "Oh, and, you know, all those people and monsters that tried to murder us."
Ruby waved it off. "We were fine. Only one of us almost died."
"Hey." Qrow warned in a joking manner.
Ruby then side hugged her brother. "Besides, (Y/N) finally figured out his Semblance! I think that's worth celebrating."
"Yeah!" Nora agreed, roughing up the boy's hair. "At the rate you're going, you're gonna be the youngest Huntsman in Remnant's history!"
The boy grinned. "Well, good thing I had some great teachers."
The girls awed and nearly squeezed his lights out as the other males chuckled.
"So, how much further to Haven Academy?" Jaune asked.
"Almost there." Qrow answered. "But I figured I'd take you kids on the scenic route."
The older male pushed open the doors, revealing the massive city of Mistral. Ruby and (Y/N) raced towards the end of the walkway and stared out in awe. The entire city was built into the sides of the mountains, almost blending to lush green which burst with life all around them. The little dragon was half tempted to fly through one of the waterfalls for the hell of it.
"This. Is. AWESOME!" Ruby yelled.
"It's certainly something." Qrow agreed as everyone looked down at the market place below them.
It was like one of those mythical bazaars in the stories Blake would read to (Y/N). It was so teeming with activity and full of items of all sorts that it didn't seem real. Ruby, of course, was only focused on one thing.
"Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!"
"Vendors here'll sell you just about anything." Qrow explained, eyeing a couple of shady figures in the corner. "Whether they should or not."
"They really made the most of these mountains." Jaune said, eyeing the architecture with great interest.
"Every inch."
(Y/N) nearly jumped over the railings, as if he were trying to see everything all at once. "How did they do this? It must've taken ages to get all the stuff up the mountain!"
"Couldn't tell ya." Qrow then pulled him back by his collar. "What I can tell ya, is that you should stay away from the lower levels. The higher you go, the nicer it gets."
"And we are going up!" Nora declared.
(Timeskip)
Haven Academy was big, but not as big as Beacon. (Y/N) didn't know what to expect given no one besides Qrow had been to Haven before, but he had been expecting more similarities between the two Huntsman Academies. Haven was beautiful for different reasons than Beacon. It was far more open to nature, being made up of several smaller buildings connected by pathways surrounded by greenery. If (Y/N) didn't have such a bias, he'd likely prefer to study here given he could much more easily spread his wings.
As they approached the main building, Ruby stopped to wipe a tear from her eye. The relief of finally arriving hit her in an instant.
"We made it."
The others joined her in taking in the small victory before continuing in. The interior was a large hallway decorated by bright red rugs, landscape paintings, and trophy cases.
"Hello?" Ruby called out. "Hello?"
"Maybe try louder?" Nora suggested.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here." Ren noted.
"Well, I guess school isn't really in session right now." Jaune pointed out. "Maybe that's it."
"No." Qrow cut in, looking worried. "This isn't right. Come on!"
They all ran to a door in back that looked to be the headmaster's office. Qrow pulled out Harbinger.
"Get ready, there could be trouble."
Everyone immediately drew their weapons and prepared for a fight as Qrow kicked down the door. There wasn't trouble on the other side, just an older looking lion Faunus, who shrieked, causing the kids to shriek, and promptly fainted after Qrow fell back due to balancing issues.
No one moved for a moment, until (Y/N) put away his blades.
"Well that was lame."
"Uh, Professor Lionheart?" Ruby said, unsure.
The man gasped, slowly sitting up.
"Qrow! For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!"
Qrow growled, standing up. "Me? Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?"
"Huh?" Lionheart took out his watch and sighed. "Oh, right. Apologies. I guess time slipped away from me."
"You're joking."
"Where is everybody?" Nora asked as everyone put away their weapons.
The headmaster smiled. "Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned."
"Yes sir!" Ruby said. "Ruby Rose."
"Jaune Arc."
"Nora Valkrie."
"Lie Ren."
"(Y/N) Rose-Xiao Long."
Lionheart chuckled. "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-,"
"What?!" Qrow said sharply. "Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?"
"Qrow, the children!"
"Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?"
Leo looked puzzled. "You filled them in?"
"Soooo." Nora drawled. "Is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?"
(Timeskip)
Lionheart let them all into his office as Qrow detailed what had happened and why they were here. The headmaster sat at his desk, looking unconvinced.
"I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you."
Qrow glared at him. "No, reckless is leaving one of the Relics completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages."
"There was nothing to check in about before the Fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" Leo stood up. "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, saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens, and then, nothing. You could feel the dread in the air."
The group all bowed their heads, the memories of that terrible night replaying in their heads.
"With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us." He turned his back to them, gazing out the window. "Mistral's controlled 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 gotten worse."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council is still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust Embargo, now it's the closing of borders." Leo turned to Qrow. "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 everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."
"All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here!" Qrow argued.
"Okay! Okay!" Ruby interjected, getting between the men. "Things are bad, they're bad, but we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?"
"I thought you filled them in." Leo said.
Qrow rolled his eyes. "Mostly filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason."
As Qrow drank, Lionheart sat down.
"The four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and they are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics."
(Y/N) tilted his head, confused. "Why?"
"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden." Qrow answered. "Winter for the Gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice, and Spring for Knowledge." He took another swing. "Spring is the problem."
"What happened to her?" Ren asked.
Neither male seemed to want to answer the question, but eventually the Faunus explained.
"She was determined at first with 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."
"I know." Qrow admitted. "At least, I have a pretty good idea."
Leo shot up. "Are you serious?"
"It's not exactly good news."
The Faunus rushed around the desk. "What are you talking about? This is incredible news! After all these years, where?"
Qrow pushed the headmaster away, frowning deeply. "I did some digging around. Looks like after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe."
Leo deflated. "Raven."
Ruby gasped softly as (Y/N) pondered why the name sounded so familiar. Jaune answered him.
"Yang's mom?"
Qrow nodded, putting his Scroll on the desk and pulling out a holographic map. "That's right. That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier."
Leo placed a hand on his colleague's shoulder. "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."
"A few weeks?!" Qrow repeated.
"That's right." The headmaster said, walking behind the desk again.
"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!"
"And perhaps you didn't hear me. This Kingdom is in shambles. As soon as possible does not mean tomorrow. It means as soon as I can convince the rest of 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 leaned in. "Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen, and these kids aren't exactly pushovers."
"Yeah!" Nora cheered.
Ren stood up to be the voice of reason. "Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?"
"We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible." Qrow urged. "And Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight."
"Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched." Leo pointed out. "And I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students, that child, and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe and a Maiden that's no doubt had years to hone her skills. We need to be positive that 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 sighed. "You know Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here."
"Perhaps you're right, but he's not. I'm doing the very best I can."
"Professor Lionheart?" (Y/N) suddenly spoke up.
"Yes, young man?"
"I don't mean to get off topic, but something's been bothering me for a while. Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury all said they came to Beacon from Haven. Is that true?"
For a split second, Lionheart's facade cracked. Throughout this entire conversation, (Y/N) knew the older Faunus was hiding something from them. Above all, he was scared to death. Of what, the boy couldn't say, but it must have been bad. Recovering, the headmaster sat up straight.
"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries."
From the corner of his eye, (Y/N) saw Jaune fist clench. He knew how important this was to Jaune, and he wasn't about to let it go.
"How long were they here for? Maybe we can get more information from their classmates."
"From what I know, they had not attended for long and what time they did spent was to themselves. The staff and I have investigated and found nothing."
"Sun, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet didn't seem to know them. If they were that isolated, why choose them to represent Haven in the Vytal Festival?"
"Young man!" The headmaster snapped. "If you have something to say, be plain about it, but do not throw half hearted accusations."
"Well don't throw excuses."
"(Y/N)!" Ruby said sharply as Qrow decided to end things.
"Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo."
The headmaster sighed. "I'm sorry. I know you've all traveled a long way, but I will do everything I can to help."
"Sure." (Y/N) huffed, only to be nudged by Qrow.
"We'll stay in the city for the time being. Local comms are still up. Keep in touch." Qrow then mentioned the group to follow. "Come on, kids."
(Y/N) followed closely after Qrow, his blood running hot. The Huntsman seemed to notice.
"Firebreather?"
"He's lying." The boy whispered.
Qrow sighed. "I know."
"So, what do we do now?" Nora asked.
The Huntsman turned to the rest of the group. "You five head back to the house. I need a drink."
He walked off, leaving the kids to look at each other uncomfortably.
(Timeskip)
It was dark by the time they got back to the house, and (Y/N) honestly just wanted to curl up and relax. Ruby was right beside him, comic in hand.
"You know we have to talk about how you acted today." Ruby said.
(Y/N) buried his face in a pillow. "No, we don't."
"(Y/N), I know you're angry, I'm angry too, but you can't take it out on other people."
"Ruby, Lionheart is shifty! Qrow agrees with me! He was hiding something from us. I saw it!"
"(Y/N), we keep having to go over this about your Soul Vision."
He shot up. "I don't get what the problem is with me using it on strangers. If I had trusted it that first time, maybe we wouldn't be here!"
Ruby frowned. (Y/N) was still holding onto guilt about what had happened at Beacon. Before she could reassure him, a recuse outside caught their attention. Ruby got up, (Y/N) tailing her.
"What is going on out there? Can't a girl read her comics in peace?" Her face fell as she saw Qrow sprawled out on the couch, clearly wasted. "Qrow, did you get drunk again?
"Maybe?" He moaned.
(Y/N) shook his head before looking at a stranger in the doorway. He must have been younger than Ruby and not much older than him, but something about his was...familiar.
"Who's he?"
The boy just looked at Ruby. "You have...silver eyes."
"Who are you?" Ruby asked.
The boy fidgeted. "Uh well, my name is Oscar Pine..."
"Wait for it..." Qrow said.
"But you probably know me as Professor Ozpin."
Everyone froze, not exactly processing the information before an inebriated Qrow shouted.
"I did it!"
He then promptly passed out.
(Timeskip)
Once Qrow had sobered up, they all gathered around poor Oscar, clearly with questions.
"Did he age backwards?" Nora asked.
"He's possessed!" Jaune stated.
Ren tilted his head. "Or reincarnated."
"I'm gonna say zombie." (Y/N) added.
"Oh, isn't it weird!?" Ruby said, looking at their guest expectantly.
"It is very weird, yes." Oscar admitted as Qrow walked in.
"Okay, okay. Let's all just take a second and remember that this is very overwhelming for everyone."
Upon that, the Beacon team immediately backed off, laughing nervously.
Oscar glanced back gratefully. "Thanks."
Qrow nodded, taking a seat. Oscar glanced at Ruby, who smiled kindly back. The boy blushed, looking away.
"Ah, sorry! It's just I've never really met Huntsmen and Huntresses before."
"Well, uh, we've never met a person with two souls!" Ruby tried to cheer him up. "Some first times all around."
Oscar chuckled before Qrow cleared his throat.
"Not to break up the whole getting to know you game, but we need to have a talk. Mind showing us your little parlor trick, kid?"
Oscar groaned. "Yeah, okay. Just so you know, I'll still be here."
Everyone looked at each other confused as Oscar sat still and closed his eyes. A green aura enveloped him as he sat up straight, his body now like a completely different person. As he opened his again, they were a bright yellow before fading back to their normal color. He smiled.
"It is so very good to see you again, students."
They all blinked in surprise. The voice coming out of Oscar's mouth wasn't his own, not entirely. It was blended with a voice they all knew.
(Y/N) was the first to speak. "Professor Ozpin?"
"Correct. And though I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present mentally. He's merely handed over the control, so to speak. I'm afraid this all must be very perplexing."
"And alarming." Nora cut in. "And bizarre. And just really kinda hard to believe over all!"
Ozpin chuckled. "It's good to see you children still have your sense of humor. I know you all have been through tremendous hardships already. I'm sorry."
Ruby looked down. "I mean, it's not your fault."
"It's all my fault." Ozpin admitted. "I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet, and I wasn't exaggerating. I'm cursed. For thousands of years, I have walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like minded soul. The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form, and clearly wasn't my last. It's an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved."
"So who...what...are you?" Jaune asked.
"I am the combination of countless men who've spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant. With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another, and I am changed, but my memories stay with me." Qrow handed Oz a cup of coffee, causing him to look for Lorene at his reflections. "This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods because I failed to stop Salem in the past, but we must stop her now."
"And how do we do that?" (Y/N) asked.
"We start by ensuring the safety of the Relic of Knowledge."
"This is perfect!" Nora cheered animatedly. "We were stuck at a dead end, but now we can just take little cute boy Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!"
"Please don't call me that."
"We're not sure that's the best idea." Qrow said.
Nora groaned as Ren stepped in.
"But I thought all the headmasters took their orders from you."
"That was the intention. Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation, but Qrow told me about your meeting with Leonardo." Oz stood up, walking toward a painting of Mistral on the other side of the room. "He isn't just behaving irrationally, he's disobeying specific instructions I had left him. Something's wrong. In addition, (Y/N). Qrow mentioned what you told him. Care to elaborate?"
The young dragon perked up. "Yeah, the whole time we were talking to him, I could tell he was hiding things from us. He almost cracked when I asked about Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury. Something's really wrong with him."
The former headmaster nodded. "I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities either. No one outside of this room knows that I have paired with Oscar, and I think that it may be best to keep it that way."
"Play things close to the chest." Qrow elaborated. "Until we get a better hand."
"Precisely." Oz then turned back to them. "Now, we have two steps ahead of us. The first is enlisting the aid of more Huntsmen."
"But the Mistral council-," Qrow cut off Ren.
"Doesn't own every Huntsmen in the Kingdom, and I've been here enough times to know where we can find some more."
"So long as they're trustworthy." Ozpin chimed in.
"You can trust them to put up a good fight. I'll throw together a list tonight."
Qrow tried to lean his feet against the coffee table, but it immediately snapped, causing his coffee mug to shatter on the ground.
"Good luck with that." Nora snarked before being elbowed by (Y/N).
Ozpin ignored that as he walked in front of the kids.
"After that, we can move on to step two."
Nora stood up. "What's step two?"
Oz turned to them, cane in hand. "Getting you five into fighting shape."
"But, uh, we already know how to fight." Ruby pointed out.
Oz pointed the cane at her. "You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand-to-hand combat."
"Well, uh, yeah..."
He then turned to Jaune. "Mr Arc. I'm glad to hear you've improved, but sorry to say you've yet to unlock your Semblance."
Jaune glanced away shamefully as it was (Y/N)'s turn.
"(Y/N), while you have come leaps and bounds in your fight prowess and have even discovered how to utilize your Semblance, you are a long way from mastering it. Not to mention you simply lack the experience of everyone else in this room. We'll have to supplement that through solidifying your skills. All of you still have a ways to go before you're ready to pose any real threat against Salem and her forces. And though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his body and his Aura. He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will expedite the process."
"But if Qrow's out looking for Huntsmen, then who's gonna teach us?" Ruby asked.
Oz back flipped into the chair he was sitting in, twirling his cane expertly.
"Well, I believe I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy. We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it occur prior to the students' return. It's not much time, but it's better than nothing. Just don't expect me to go easy on you."
Ozpin then seemingly gave control back to Oscar because immediately, the farm boy lost balance and fell back out of the chair.
"You've gotta be kidding me..."
(Timeskip)
(Y/N) was out on the roof stargazing as everyone else prepped for bed. It was a lot to take in and he just wanted some time to figure out his thoughts on all this, otherwise he wouldn't get a wink of sleep. Even after Beacon fell, he couldn't imagine their lives would get so crazy. Dangerous maybe, but magic and people who could come back from the dead? That certainly wasn't what he thought would happen.
"(Y/N)."
Looking down, he saw Oscar looking up at him, though given that he was posed distinguishably with the cane, it seems Ozpin was in control at the moment.
"May we speak for a moment?"
"Coming." The boy said, gliding down from his perch. "What's up, Professor?"
Ozpin sighed, frowning. "I feel the need to apologize to you specifically for all this. You are far too young to be caught in the middle of this."
"It's...all right. You didn't mean for this to happen. I would've followed Ruby no matter what happened."
The former headmaster walked past him, taking a seat on the porch.
"I'm afraid I must confess that while I didn't want you to be involved at the moment, I did suspect that you would inevitably become tangled in this conflict."
(Y/N) tilted his head, sitting next to Oz. "Qrow mentioned I was always a risk. Why?"
"(Y/N), have you ever wondered why dragon Faunus are so rare, to the point people doubt their existence."
The boy glanced away, remembering the talk with Qrow in the forest. "Because someone's hunting them. Is Salem...?"
"Yes." Oz answered immediately. "Though I haven't seen many dragon Faunus for myself even throughout my many lives, I always suspected Salem was involved."
"Why us though?"
Oz didn't answer, though (Y/N) suspected he did have an idea. His guess was that he wouldn't like the answer.
"Regardless of the truth, (Y/N), she isn't trying to kill you, not yet at least. Considering Tyrian attempted to abduct you alongside your sister, I imagine she has an interest in you. When you first arrived at Beacon, I knew it would only be a matter of time before she learned about you. However, given Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury, she's known about you for almost as long as we have."
The boy growled. "So why not just kill me? If she hates us so much, why not get rid of me before I learn how to fight?"
"You're young (Y/N), and though you are far wiser and more aware than those your own age, youth by its nature makes you more...malleable."
"Malleable?"
"Let me elaborate: why did you come to trust me and the other professors at Beacon, despite your previous experiences with unfamiliar adults?"
(Y/N) thought for a moment. "Because my sisters said I could trust you."
"And why did you trust your sisters?"
"Because they protected me, they made me feel safe after so long."
"I don't want to understate this, (Y/N): that time between you escaping and being found was a critical time. You were at your most vulnerable. It was tremendously fortunate that the first people who came across you were your sisters. I shudder to think what would have happened if Cinder and team found you first."
This made the boy freeze. What would have happened? They probably would've left him for dead, but...if they had saved him, would they have brought him to Beacon or would they have just handed him off to Salem? He remembered how scared he had been that first day. Every shadow looked like an enemy, but deep down, he was desperate for someone to help him, to protect. It almost made him feel sick that in his desperation, the people who could've turned to would be their enemies. If that were the case, what would he have become?
Seeing the boy beginning to trend that dark path of "What Ifs", Ozpin pulled him back.
"Furthermore, even as a dragon Faunus, you've always been exceptional (Y/N). Your powers and skills have developed at a rate far beyond what can be considered natural, and whether this is due to you as an individual or what you had to endure, it doesn't change the fact you have the potential to be powerful...and dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"There is a final ability that I am aware of, (Y/N), and it is something that you have tapped into without knowing. The night of the Fall, you unlocked your Semblance, yes, but you also tapped into a very dangerous part of you, a part that is meant to be a last resort of your kind."
"What?"
"When you lost control in the cafeteria, that was your primal instincts taking over to protect you. In a sense, it is a beast, a beast meant to be a self defense mechanism, but a beast nonetheless. Its sole drive is self preservation at the cost of everything and anyone else around you. It's fortunate you lost consciousness after defeating Adam Taurus, otherwise..."
(Y/N) gulped. "Are you saying it...I would've attacked Yang and Blake?"
Ozpin nodded. "That is probable. In that state, you wouldn't have been able to discern them as family, only threats."
"Why are you telling me this!?"
Oz placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because, even if it is frightening, it is a part of you, something that will always exist within you. To ignore it is to give it the opportunity to lash out at those around you. To fear or hate it is to feed it and let it consume you. You must learn to coexist with it, to recognize it as part of yourself as much as your wings and tail."
"...okay."
"I'm sorry. I wish you have more time to live ignorant of these threats, to enjoy your youth without this shadow, but the world has grown too dangerous for that. However, take pride in this: Salem has failed to realize you are not the same scared little boy found that day. You have grown stronger and wiser than many adults can claim to be. And you have found a family again, people I know you remain loyal to till the end. Cherish that."
The boy smiled sadly at him. "Thanks, Professor."