Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Yang POV.
"Thank you for coming, Team STQK." Headmistress Salem said with a smile as she looked at Mom, Dad, Summer, and Qrow.
"Mom!?" I squealed in surprise as I watched the four of them go through Mom's portal.
"It's been over 20 years and you're still calling us that?" Uncle Qrow mocked as he approached.
"Let's get to the point, Salem, we have a lot to talk about." Mom said almost with a growl as she approached. Mom looked at me for a few seconds and nodded slightly before focusing on Headmistress Salem.
"Very well, Summer, if you could." Headmistress Salem said, giving Aunt Summer the floor.
"Wait." I interrupted abruptly, and all the adults looked at me. "First of all, I have nothing against you all being here, but could someone please explain WHY you're here?" I asked, completely confused.
"For the same reason we're all here. For Ruby and Merlot." Uncle Qrow said as he opened his flask and took a swig.
"Merlot, like the mad scientist Aunt Summer and Ruby faced?" I asked, confused. I'd heard and read the entire report, mostly from Ruby, who chattered endlessly during one of her calls.
But he had also seen the report that was distributed to all hunters in Vale and the other countries. Every country infested by Grimms had read the report. The emergence of new types of Grimms was valuable information.
And someone who was modifying them left and right? That was much worse. Everyone was on high alert for any sightings of Merlot. So Weiss, Blake, and Ilia were also aware of Merlot's information.
"Exactly. But in this case, it has more to do with what happened on Kamino. As we made clear, this moment should already be world news."
"That—" Headmistress Salem broke off as Aunt Summer's Scroll started beeping. She pulled it out immediately.
"It's Ruby, she wants a video call," Aunt Summer said.
"""Connect it!"" Dad, Uncle Qrow and I said at the same time.
"Speaking of coincidences, what perfect timing." Mom scoffed, but no one answered; Aunt Summer picked up the call.
"Mom! I fin- Dad?! Yang!? Uncle Qrow!? " Ruby squealed in surprise.
"Ruby! I'm so glad you called! " "Ruby! Are you okay?! " "Are you hurt?" " Why didn't you call sooner?!" "Hey kid, I heard there was a party on Kamino and you kicked ass."
We all speak at the same time.
"Aaahhh ! Stop! One question at a time! " Ruby squealed in a panic. "I'm fine! No injuries or anything! I was busy with the teachers! So calm down already! " Ruby exclaimed quickly. We all sighed in relief. I could hear Headmistress Salem chuckle slightly as she reached out to Aunt Summer.
"May I?" Headmistress Salem asked gently. Aunt Summer seemed conflicted, but handed her the scroll. Headmistress Salem took it and placed it on her desk. At that moment, a large holographic screen flickered and displayed Ruby's face.
"Huh? Wait, Aunt Raven's there too?! Yang's team?! And what about Headmistress Salem and Professor Goodwitch? " Ruby asked, sounding terribly confused.
"Hello again, Miss Rose, I must say your timing couldn't have been better, we were in a meeting," said Headmistress Salem.
"Oh no! I'm sorry for interrupting! " Ruby said quickly.
"Don't worry, Miss Rose, we were talking about you," said Headmistress Salem. Ruby froze and groaned loudly.
"Tell me it's not about Izumi," Ruby groaned wearily.
"I guess we're not the first," Headmistress Salem said gently. Ruby groaned.
"I've been getting hundreds of messages from people I've never spoken to in the last few hours, people from Patch I haven't seen in years, 80% of my Signal classmates who ignored me now want to be my best friends. I had to block dozens of numbers." Ruby sighed wearily.
"Ah... I suppose your... old contacts want to take advantage of your relationship with Young Miyamura," said Headmistress Salem with an understanding smile.
"Yes! I even had to freeze my social media! And I had to endure an hour-long PR lecture from the teachers." Ruby complained. My eyes widened; apparently, she was stuck in that situation too. I almost felt sorry for her.
"I see you've got everything under control," Aunt Summer said playfully. "Is Izumi okay?" she asked.
"Yes, he woke up a couple of hours ago. We were locked in a meeting with the teachers, the headmistress, and the police. We had a lot to cover, plus the long information session afterward, public relations, and all that. I was about to go to sleep, but the girls and I decided to check in first."
"I'm sure we'll all sleep for a whole day as soon as we go to bed," Ruby said, sounding terribly tired.
"That's good, I'm glad Izumi is okay," Aunt Summer said with a sigh of relief.
"Yes, it was just using up too much aura, nothing to worry about, I just need to rest for a couple of days. So... what's the meeting about? " Ruby asked curiously.
"The Grimms and Merlot," Mom said seriously. Ruby frowned and straightened up.
"I'm listening," Ruby said immediately, my eyes widening slightly at the complete change. That... she had changed. I'd never seen her so serious. Aunt Summer nodded and looked at Headmistress Salem, who stepped forward.
"The presence of Grimms in Japan is truly worrying to an alarming degree. Summer was tasked with working alongside Japanese hunters to find whoever was bringing the Grimms to Japan."
"Her investigation led her directly to Merlot, and then they learned everything that happened on the island and the missions with Miss Rose. Unfortunately, Merlot had escaped with a warping quirk, and that could place him anywhere in the world."
"The only clue we had was that the person with the deformity quirk was working with the League of Villains. And we got our confirmation last night on Kamino, when the villain known as All For One created a massive portal and brought a Grimm Wyvern to Japan," Headmistress Salem said solemnly.
"And you think it has anything to do with Merlot?" Weiss asked, frowning. "I thought Merlot mutated the Grimms, but none of the Grimms that fell on Japan had the green color of Merlot's Grimms," he added quickly.
"It definitely has something to do with Merlot," Uncle Qrow scoffed. "About two days ago, the Grimms started acting strangely. They became more frantic, panicked, and some tried to run straight northeast without a care in the world."
"And Atlas reported the same, General Ironwood confirmed that her Grimms began running in a northwest direction." Uncle Qrow said with a frown.
"Those directions...? What's supposed to be there? " Blake asked tensely. Headmistress Salem quickly manipulated the hologram and placed a map on it.
"Evernight." Headmistress Salem said solemnly.
"Do they... do they want to go back to the Land of Darkness?" Ilia asked, confused. Aunt Summer nodded.
"Yes, something happened two days ago with the Grimms, something that made ALL the Grimms in the world angry, and we don't know what it is. But I did find one thing out. Merlot is there," Aunt Summer said, frowning.
"Wait, Merlot's at Evernight?! How did they find out? " Ruby asked incredulously.
"I'm sure you're aware of the raid on Jaku Hospital?" Aunt Summer asked.
"Yes, I am. It was part of the post-briefing session, Garaki's lair," Ruby said immediately.
"Exactly! I was part of that squad," Aunt Summer said.
"Excuse me, could you update us?" I interrupted them both; apparently everyone except us was aware.
"Yeah, that's right, well, we obtained information that Garaki, a scientist who worked with All For One, the villain of the Kamino incident, was located beneath Jaku Hospital in Jaku City, Japan."
"I was nearby, investigating something about Merlot, when the alert came to gather all nearby affiliated heroes and hunters; I was called immediately."
"Unfortunately, when we entered Garaki's secret laboratory, it was completely empty. Luckily, there were things that had been forgotten and data that couldn't be erased. One of them contains information that we believe belongs to Merlot."
"In that data, they show partial blueprints of a special machine and many documents about tests of it. The machine was created to be used on the Grimms, so from what we were able to reconstruct from the partially erased data, it was intended to partially manipulate the Grimms."
"Not completely, they couldn't give them complete orders, but they would force them to go in a particular direction," Aunt Summer said solemnly.
"And you think he's calling everyone to Evernight?" Blake asked, almost pale.
"Perhaps, or we think it's a reaction to something else," Goodwitch said, frowning.
"Anything else?" I asked, almost fearfully.
"For Merlot to have had such a reaction to the Grimms, he would have had to place thousands of those devices in all the places where there is a concentration of Grimms, which... we are not completely ruling out."
"With a teleporter, it's quite possible they could have done it, but it's highly unlikely." Aunt Summer said with a grimace.
"Kurogiri is under arrest at UA," Ruby said immediately. All the adults stopped.
"Did they arrest the warper?" Uncle Qrow asked, frowning.
"If it's... I can't say much, I think there'll be an official announcement in a few hours. But Kurogiri is definitely at UA. All for One was the only other one with a warping quirk, and then there's Garaki. The... teachers believe that Garaki created a Nomu with a warping quirk, but it's too weak to use on a massive scale in rapid succession," Ruby said, wrinkling her nose.
"That... really helps, thank you, Miss Rose," Headmistress Salem said, nodding.
"Yes, that helps us rule out that option, so that leaves the other one... we don't know what it is, but it's safe to think that Merlot is trying something against the Grimm King Ozma and all the Grimms are reacting to that," Aunt Summer said solemnly.
"That…" Weiss tried to say in shock. And I was the same. Ozma, King of the Grimms, the boss of the Grimms' dungeon. He had already been accepted as a lost cause. Ozma couldn't be killed. All attempts had ended in failure. Even containing him wasn't feasible. The number of Grimms present when the dungeon door broke was countless.
And it kept creating more. The Grimms at this point were basically treated like a natural disaster. We could only defend ourselves against them, and Ozma… no one tried to attack Ozma because it was completely useless.
And Merlot was trying to do something with him? He was truly insane.
"That sounds... really worrying, but... what does that have to do with us? We're students." Blake asked, clenching his fists.
"Because we need help. Raven and Qrow lead the Branwen Tribe guild, and they, along with several dozen other hunter guilds, are on high alert. As I said, the Grimm are more agitated, furious, and dangerous; they're attacking everything in their path when they would often choose to ignore certain targets."
"So the hunters are being deployed everywhere. Fourth-year students will also begin to be deployed; you, along with the JNPR team, would be given the option if you wanted to help," Headmistress Salem said matter-of-factly.
"We'll do it." We all said at the same time almost immediately, most of the adults smiled slightly.
"Very well, once we're finished, we'll talk. Miss Rose, I expect you to be on your guard as well. All For One may be gone and the League of Villains may have left Japan, but you might still encounter Grimms, so keep your eyes open. I'll send all the information to Principal Nezu when we're done."
"Understood, thanks for the information!" Ruby said seriously.
"You too, Tai, inform Signal Academy and be careful in Patch," Headmistress Salem said gently. Dad just smiled and nodded.
"Don't worry, I haven't lost my touch," Dad said with a huge, confident smile.
"Well, with that settled, while the other hunters focus on stopping the frenzied Grimms, Raven and I were going to go to Evernight and look for Merlot, to stop whatever he's planning," Aunt Summer said firmly.
"You can't!!" Ruby screamed in a panic, we all froze and looked at Ruby's hologram, just in time to see Ruby hit her mouth.
"Can't I?" Aunt Summer asked, confused. Ruby squirmed in place.
"You can't go looking for Merlot!" Ruby blurted out quickly.
"Miss Rose... Merlot is a danger to everyone. Whatever he's doing in Evernight is upsetting all the Grimms, making them more violent, more dangerous. We have to stop him," Headmistress Salem said seriously. Ruby closed her eyes.
"You still can't go!" Ruby squealed in a panic, her eyes darting around.
"Ruby... you know something?" Uncle Qrow asked, frowning. Ruby bit her lip.
"I can't say it!" Ruby exclaimed sharply.
"Ruby, talk." Mom said firmly. Ruby shook her head.
"Ruby…" Aunt Summer tried to say slowly, Ruby finally priced herself in.
"All for One is still alive! Or will be! Garaki has a way to resurrect AFO and escaped when the heroes tried to stop him! He must be with Merlot along with all the villains from the League of Villains, it's really dangerous, they can't go!! " Ruby squealed quickly.
I spoke so fast that the words tumbled out one after the other, but even so, the message was fully understood, and I paled slightly. I could see that everyone else did too. Ruby gasped and covered her mouth once more.
"Principal Nezu is going to kill me." Ruby groaned in protest.
"Miss Rose, is... what you said true? All For One... can return?" Headmistress Salem asked solemnly. Ruby bit her lip before nodding.
"It is... UA has information that really points to AFO possibly returning within a couple of months to a year," Ruby said nervously. All the adults fell silent.
"Okay, new plan, your trip to Evernight is canceled," Headmistress Salem said immediately.
"Wait! But-"
"But nothing, Summer, if AFO has plans to return, we can't risk putting you at risk," Headmistress Salem said solemnly. Aunt Summer bit her lip.
"But Ruby said it could take months, we have to act now!" Aunt Summer retorted.
"Leave it, Summer, you can't handle this," Qrow said dryly. "Moving around Evernight without attracting the attention of all the frenzied Grimms will take both of you those months; it'll be completely useless by the time you arrive." Qrow said, and Aunt Summer squirmed before sighing resignedly.
I… wow, I mean… wow. Aunt Summer rarely backed down when it came to something like helping others or fulfilling her duties as a hunter; for her to simply give up was incredible. I could see Ruby's face, too, almost in shock.
"I just want to say, can't we bomb it?" I asked curiously. Mom snorted.
"We can't see over Evernight. The phenomenon that keeps that place in perpetual darkness interferes with satellites. Even Dragon isn't able to monitor Evernight, and sending drones doesn't work either; they're simply destroyed. We can't aim well enough," Mom said simply.
"There are also those things called laws," Uncle Qrow scoffed. "Bombing Evernight is prohibited. Ozma will not be killed, and the last thing we want is for him to move to another country and start invading the entire continent."
We all shuddered at that idea.
"Alright, Summer, get some rest. I'll contact Principal Nezu as soon as we're finished. He seems to have some important information that could be useful to us. Don't worry, Miss Rose, I won't mention your name." Headmistress Salem said, nodding in Ruby's direction.
"Perfect! I'm terrified of Principal Nezu!" Ruby said, her voice trembling slightly. I blinked in confusion, though I could see Headmistress Salem smiling amusedly. If I remembered correctly, Nezu was a… mouse? A dog? A very small polar bear? I had no idea, but… it didn't seem so scary?
"If that's all, then I have to go to sleep! I slept terribly the last two days and I just want to rest and have sex with Izumi. He promised he'd use his animal forms. I mean, I still have to get identical costumes for us to wear since, according to him, that would be fair, but anything for-" Ruby froze, realizing she'd been talking too much.
I stifled a laugh, cleared my throat, and looked at Blake.
"Wait, is that offensive to heteromorphs?" I asked, looking at Black and Ilia. They just looked at me with the exact same expression and raised an eyebrow without any emotion.
"I didn't mean it that way!" Ruby squealed in a panic, before I could even get embarrassed. "I mean! I have nothing against mutant quirks and all that, but Izumi doesn't seem to mind! In fact, it encourages it! So I wasn't saying it in a bad way!"
"The girls and I just let ourselves go and simply started throwing out ideas! Their bunny version is capable of multiplying!" Or the OX version of Izumi, who is super big, and we thought his dick would be just as big! Or in its snake version, did you know that snakes have something like two penises?! Will Izumi have two penises?! And not only that, there are more animals than he showed, like the elephant and the tiger, the possibilities-" Ruby snapped her mouth shut once again.
Her face went from blushing, to pale, to completely mortified.
"Forget that!" Ruby squealed in a panic, waving her scroll, her face contorted in disbelief. We all stared at Ruby, mortified.
"Qrow... your flask." Dad pleaded as he extended his hand in the direction of Uncle Qrow.
"Oh no, get your own, I want to erase this from my mind too." Uncle Qrow grumbled before pulling out his flask and taking long swigs.
"Let's go to a damn bar then, I really don't want to remember anything I just heard." Dad growled, and Qrow stopped.
"You know what, that's an excellent idea." Qrow grunted, grabbed Dad by the arm, and they both ran off.
"Dad! Uncle Qrow! " Ruby squealed in a panic, and I snorted.
"Well done, Ruby, you scared Dad and Uncle Qrow away by going perverted. I'm really impressed." I said with a shit-eating grin. Ruby blushed.
"I'm not a pervert!" Ruby squealed in a panic. Everyone, including Headmistress Salem and Professor Glinda, stared at her blankly. Ruby blushed even more. "W-well! There's nothing wrong with a young woman exploring her sexuality with her partner! I-Izumi says it's perfectly normal and encourages us to look for things we'd like to experience! " Ruby defended herself.
"Wait? Your fiancé said that? I really don't see how a... man would agree to that," Weiss said with a disbelieving grimace. Ruby gasped in offense and pointed at the screen.
"Let me tell you, men have the same sexual desire as women, so there's nothing wrong with a man liking sex without it meaning anything more than that!" Ruby quickly defended herself, Weiss's eyes widening.
"O-of course, there's nothing wrong with that," Weiss said immediately, sounding nervous.
"Besides, he's the most perverted of them all! His fetishes are a big deal," Ruby said panicked. I raised an eyebrow. "I mean, there are very few things he's against, but he's willing to try most things at least once, not to mention his insane stamina—he can last for hours!"
"Now you're showing off." I snorted dryly.
"I'm not bragging! There was that time we had sex for 12 hours! " Ruby shrieked in horror, and we all froze in place.
"Excuse me... how much did you say?" To my surprise, it was Professor Glinda who asked that question.
"12 hours! Izumi is a monster! His stamina is insane! There are four of us girls and she still has more stamina than all of us! " Ruby squealed in a panic. We all stared at her in disbelief.
"That... doesn't seem possible." Blake said in shock. Ruby walked up to the camera and looked completely serious.
"It is!" Ruby said firmly.
"Okay, that's enough, we're getting off topic. Ruby, stop... bragging, even if you're exaggerating." Aunt Summer said while massaging her temple. I could see an amused smile on Mom's lips as if she was enjoying the whole thing.
"I'm not exaggerating!! Do you know what torture that was?! I thought my hips were going to break!! I fainted 7 times from orgasms! I don't remember half the night, I only remember being used as a sex toy for Izumi!! I mean, I completely enjoyed it, but it was torture!!" Ruby shrieked in a panic. My mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"Okay, that's a lie," I said firmly.
"It's not!! The next day my whole body ached and I couldn't walk!! " Ruby insisted.
"You're grounded," Aunt Summer said. I could see her eyes tremble.
"Why?!" Ruby squealed incredulously.
"Because I said so." Aunt Summer snorted, crossing her arms and pouting. I could hear Headmistress Salem laughing. I stared at Aunt Summer incredulously. Was she jealous of Ruby?! I mean… to be fair, I was too. Not because I wanted to sleep with that Miyamura, no matter how handsome he was.
But 12 hours of sex? That… sounded really fun if it were true.
"It's not fair!" Ruby complained. Aunt Summer opened her mouth, but closed it when Weiss's Scroll began to play.
"I-I'm so sorry." Weiss squealed as she pulled out her Scroll.
"Don't apologize, thanks for cutting that out," I said dryly, while looking at Weiss amused; she looked like she was about to reject the call before she froze.
"It's my mother." Weiss said in a panic as she looked at the answering machine on her Scroll. We all froze in place and our faces darkened.
"Uh... is that good?" Ruby asked awkwardly from the screen.
"No, it's bad. Any news about Jacqueline Schnee is bad news," Blake said solemnly.
"Do you want privacy, Miss Schnee?" Headmistress Salem asked gently. Weiss wrinkled her face before she grunted and then sighed.
"No... if she's calling me right now, it's because she's planning something, and I'd rather you all know right away." Weiss sighed wearily. "Just... don't speak or interfere." We all nodded immediately.
Weiss sighed once more and finally answered the call while putting the Scroll on speakerphone.
"Mother." Weiss said as a greeting.
"Weiss!" said Jacqueline Schnee's voice; even over the phone, her tone sent shivers down my spine. "It's so good you answered," Jacqueline said, and she sounded... enthusiastic? Friendly? Weiss also seemed puzzled.
"W-well? Did something happen, Mom? " Weiss asked, confused.
"Don't worry, I just forgot to congratulate you on your new relationship with Miss Xiao Long," Jacqueline said cheerfully. I froze and stared incredulously at Weiss, who seemed even more confused than before. "Oh, right, and with Miss Belladonna and Miss Amitola too."
What? I looked bewildered at all my girlfriends, who mirrored my expression of utter bewilderment. Even Headmistress Salem seemed slightly confused.
After all, it was no secret that the four of us had been dating for over a year, almost two years, and at that moment Jacqueline Schnee's reaction was less than… stellar. Especially when she found out that Blake and Ilia were involved.
His words ranged from degradation to classism, to racism, and ended in a string of taunts that was truly impressive.
And now she was talking as if none of that had happened?
"I- thank you?" Weiss said, her face wrinkled with confusion.
"Mmm, I told you we have enough space in the mansion for you to invite them over for the holidays?" Jacqueline asked casually. That made Weiss's eyes widen.
"You want... you want me to invite my girlfriends over?" Weiss asked in shock.
"Of course! They're your... chosen partners, I'd be more than happy to invite them all. You can even invite the rest of their families. I'm sure they'll have a wonderful time," Jacqueline said cheerfully. Weiss looked completely mortified.
"B-but mother!" Weiss squealed, confused.
"Don't worry, Weiss, I'll have Kleine fix everything," Jacqueline said immediately. "By the way, have you thought about having children?" Jacqueline asked. We all choked at the same time and made a muffled noise as we tried to stifle it.
Weiss did not; in fact, she began to cough almost violently.
"Mother!?" Weiss yelled in disbelief; we were the same way.
"Don't be surprised, Weiss, it's better to have children at a young age. Did you know that lesbian couples tend to look for donors among their relatives? I understand that Miss Belladonna and Miss Amitola don't have any direct siblings from their main family. I'm sure they must have some siblings from another family, as is normal, but I heard that Miss Xiao Long has a brother." Jacqueline hummed casually.
"Mother!" Weiss shrieked in horror.
"Ah? Young Soul, was that his name? You're not convinced, I don't blame you, too young for the moment. And if that's not the case, what about Xiao Long's sister's partner? Miss Rose is engaged to someone, I'm sure it would be easy to achieve." Jacqueline said, too cheerfully, so much so that you could hear the greed in her voice.
And finally, we understood everything, where Jacqueline was trying to lead Weiss. Towards Izumi Miyamura, Ryuma's grandson. Headmistress Ozma and the other adults were right; our, or rather, my direct connection to Ruby was now something everyone would want to use.
All to reach Ryuma's grandson.
I knew that S-Rank hunters were highly sought after by countries all over the world, but it wasn't something I had really noticed. Now, being so close... familiar with one, made me realize how disconcerting it was.
"Understood, Mother. I'll consult with my team and your family. I still have things to do. I'm sorry, we'll talk later." Weiss said coldly and hung up before Jacqueline could reply. Weiss clenched her fist before taking a deep breath. "Sorry for that... spectacle." Weiss grumbled as she put away her Scroll.
"Don't worry, Miss Schnee," said Direct Salem with a comforting smile. "Miss Rose, I think you need to rest. It's best if we end this call here."
"O-of course, Headmistress Salem! Goodbye everyone!" " I'll send you a message when I wake up! " Ruby said, waving goodbye.
"Now... let's continue our conversation. I think we had some missions to discuss and... public relations." Headmistress Salem said with a sadistic smile. I visibly shuddered.
"Sorry, girls! We have to go find Tai and Qrow!" Aunt Summer squealed in a panic as she grabbed Mom and they ran off. Traitors!
I sighed in defeat, let's end this.
Author's Notes: Well, as I already warned a few weeks ago, for the next two weeks I will have to reduce the number of chapters I publish due to the holidays. I will try to write as much as I can, but I don't promise anything, but I will try to upload at least one chapter of each novel.
That said, happy holidays! Merry christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy holiday, whatever it is you're celebrating!
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.