Lily's POV
"That's just about all of them." I said. "I told you, you could do it." Ash praised with a soft smile.
"Splendid work indeed, Miss Rose! With the Grimm out of our hair, reconstruction Beacon to its former glory will go along much more smoothly." Dr. Oobleck said.
"I'm glad I was able to help," I smiled. "I'm sorry I can't stay to help with reconstruction. There's still some things I need to take care of."
"We understand, Miss Rose. Good luck on your tasks." Professor Port said. I bowed my head as a sign of respect, then left Beacon with Ash following behind me.
"Shall we be off then? To Mistral?" Ash suggested. "Absolutely." I agreed. Using his powers, Ash summoned a Nevermore to us and we used it to fly to Mistral.
Upon arriving, we decided to head to Haven Academy to talk with the headmaster. There's just one problem. I have no idea where the academy is.
I'm totally lost. Whelp, time to ask for directions. I went up to a house in random and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door was answered.
"Hi. Sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could direct me to Haven Acade-!"
My sentence was cut off with a gasp when I saw who had answered the door. It was Jaune Arc from Beacon!
"L-Lily?!" He said, just as surprised as I was. "Jaune?! How... What are you doing here in Mistral?!" I asked.
"Lily?"
Jaune moved aside to reveal Ruby standing behind from just a few feet away. My eyes widened in disbelief. "Ruby..." I whispered.
I took a couple steps forward before running towards her, finding myself in her arms. She hugged me back tightly as tears started to fall down my cheeks.
"I'm so sorry...!" I sobbed. "I shouldn't have run off! I shouldn't have left you!"
"Lily, it's okay. Really. I'm... I'm just glad you're not hurt." Ruby said, smiling at me in relief. I softly smiled back and hugged her again with my head against her chest.
"Um, who's your friend?" Ren asked. I turned to him. "This is Ash." I introduced. "Mother, are these people your friends?" Ash asked.
"Yes, they are." I confirmed. "Mother?!" Everyone exclaimed in shock. "Oh, yeah. Ash is my son." I informed. "What?!" They shouted.
I giggled sheepishly while rubbing the back of my neck. "It's a long story."
*****
"Wait, let me get this straight. The story of the Four Maidens... It's real? Including magic?" I asked. "Yep." Uncle Qrow answered.
"And Ozpin reincarnated into a farm boy? And this Salem person wants to destroy Remnant?" I asked.
"That's the long and short of it." Jaune answered. "And we need to gather four relics hidden beneath the Huntsmen Academies in order to stop her?" I said.
"Exactly." Ren said. "This all sounds... weird." I commented.
"I understand it's a lot to take in." Ozpin said from inside the farm boy's body. "Can we get back to the part how Lily is a mother? And to a humanoid Grimm?!" Nora asked.
"Yeah, how did that happen again?" Ruby asked. "It... just sorta happened," I said. "I was in the woods and I stopped Ash from being attacked by a Grimm. After that, I just became his mother."
"Was he always this tall?" Nora asked. "No," I giggled. "He grew rather quickly after two weeks. But I was out most of the time."
"What do you mean?"
"I got shot and fell off a cliff."
"You got shot and fell off a cliff?! How are you alive?!" Ruby said. "That's just the thing. I have no idea. I should've died from the fall or the gunshot wound, but I didn't." I informed.
"Are you saying Ash saved you?"
"No. It wasn't me who saved Mother. It was her power that saved her."
"Her... power?" Ruby said. "I don't exactly know how it works. But I think... I turn into some kind of a Grimm? But it was the shape of a human. All I know is, I should've died from that fall, and I didn't."
"Maybe you're tougher than you think." Ruby grinned, making me smile slightly. "So, about Ozpin being reincarnated?" I mentioned.
"This is perfect! We were stuck at a dead end, but now, we can just take cute, little boy Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!" Nora cheered.
"Please don't call me that." Ozpin requested. "We're not sure that's the best idea." Uncle Qrow said. Nora groaned and sulked on the couch while crossing her arms over her chest.
"But I thought the headmasters all took their orders from you?" Ren mentioned to Ozpin.
"That was the intention," He replied. "Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during the times of reincarnation. But Qrow told me about your meeting with Leonardo,"
Ozpin stood up from the chair he was sitting in and walked forward with his hands behind his back.
"He isn't just behaving irrationally, he's disobeying specific instructions I had left him. Something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities either. No outside of this room knows that I've paired with Oscar, and I think it may be best to keep it that way."
"Play things close to the chest until we get a better hand." Qrow translated.
"Precisely. Now, we have two steps ahead of us," Ozpin mentioned while turning around to face us. "The first is enlisting the aid of more Huntsmen."
"But the Mistral council-"
"Doesn't own every Huntsman in the Kingdom," Uncle Qrow interrupted Ren. "And I've been here enough times to know where we can find some more."
"So long as they're trustworthy." Ozpin stated. "You can trust them to put up a good fight," Qrow said. "I'll throw together a list tonight."
He leaned back on the couch with one of his legs on the table, and it broke. Ash hummed with curiosity while tilting his head to the side.
"After that, we can move onto step two." Ozpin continued. "What's step two?" I asked. Which is...?" I asked, trailing off. "Getting you five into fighting shape." He said.
"But Professor, we already know how to fight." Ruby stated, referring to herself and everyone else. Ozpin raised his cane at Ruby, the end near her face.
"You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand-to-hand combat." Ozpin stated. "Well, uh, yeah." Ruby agreed.
"Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved. But sorry to say, you've yet to unlock your Semblance," Ozpin lectured, his cane now aimed at him.
"All of you 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 strength his body and aura."
"I don't get it." Ash said while tilting his head the other way. "He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice with expedite the process." Ozpin explained.
"But if Qrow is out looking for Huntsmen, then who's going to teach us?" Ruby asked.
Ozpin suddenly leaped up into the air, flipped his body around, and landed on the couch while standing up like a professional.
"Well, I believe I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy," He reminded as he twirled his cane in his hand. All of us were in either shock or disbelief.
"We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it would occur prior to students' return. It's not much time, but it's better than nothing. Just don't expect me to go easy on you."
"Wait a second, Professor. You mentioned how five of us need get back into fighting shape. Who's the fifth person you're referring to?" I asked.
"I believe he's referring to you, Mother. You lack the ability to wield a weapon while also lacking in hand-to-hand combat." Ash explained.
I sulked because I hate training. It feels like I'm living with Dad all over again.