Fortune Favors The Prepared

-[Ozpin]-

In his centuries of life he'd had ups and downs in his war against Salem. Mount Glenn was a constant reminder of that. 

He remembered it like it was just yesterday when the reports of the city being overrun came to his chambers in the palace. It was dark time for all. 

To hear that the ancient dragon type grimm that kept Mount Glenn a desolate ruin was destroyed, by an unknown individual no less, was astonishing. 

Oobleck had already briefed him on what happened, from the bombing plans to the grimm being destroyed. He had to meet this boy. 

Said boy was currently in one of the unused dorm rooms freshening up from his stay in the mountain. It was the least he could offer. 

The sound of the elevator door opening brought him out of his thoughts and his attention towards the youth in question. He took in the boy's appearance. 

Lengthy black hair that was swept the side of his face and smooth skin. Due to a lack of clean personal clothing, he sported the beacon academy uniform, or at least part of it. He wore the button up white shirt and black pants and disregarded the rest of it. 

"I really needed that." The boy muttered with a relieved look, walking into the office. 

"It's good to know you're feeling quite refreshed Mr Shaw." Ozpin said in a conversational manner as the boy observed the office. 

Corvus Shaw, that was his name according to what the boy had told Oobleck. 

"Though Dr Oobleck has already informed me of your predicament, I'd like to hear it from you if you don't mind." He added, Corvus' eyes focusing on him. 

"There's not much to say really. I woke up in the streets of Mount Glenn with a good chunk of my memories missing, spent the next few weeks derailing a kingdom ending plot and killed a giant grimm." Corvus said so casually that you'd think he was talking about the weather. 

"How did you know what the white fang were planning?" Ozpin asked, that was another question on his mind. 

An amnesiac youth was the last person he'd expect to play hero after waking up in an unfamiliar environment. Maybe there was still hope in the youths of today. 

"You're kidding, right?" Corvus asked, a brow raised. "It was hard to miss them given the fact that they were roaming about every night."

"Even then, you had to have known the risks you'd be taking to attempt to face them. Most huntsmen would avoid such a risk." Ozpin said, trying to gleam an answer…any answer he could get. 

"I have amnesia, not dementia. I remember enough to know that if one kingdom falls, the others go down with it. Not exactly the best situation to start searching for my roots." The boy said as if it was an obvious answer. 

He held in a sigh. "In regards to what you said earlier, how exactly did you single handedly kill a grimm that many have tried and failed to destroy?" He asked, still finding it hard to believe. 

Even after Oobleck had shown him a picture of the now empty mountaintop where the grimm previously laid, it was still baffling. 

"Forgive me but I'd rather not share the specifics of my semblance." Corvus said with a faraway look that gave him pause. 

What kind of semblance could he have that would warrant such hesitation? He'd seen a lot of semblances over the years and come across more than a few odd ones. His curiosity only grew. 

He needed to know what it was. The fact that an untrained boy could slay the Wyvern on his own meant that it was a very strong semblance. Possibly strong enough to give humanity the upper hand in this war against Salem. 

Pushing too much would only drive him away and that was the last thing they needed. He'd have to warn Ironwood, the Atlas general was already making his way to Beacon Tower. 

"Hmm. Very well. Moving on, since you're unable to remember a good deal of your identity, I called in a few favors to search around." Ozpin revealed to him, watching him perk up a bit. The look in his eyes, he didn't believe they would succeed. 

Interesting. 

"What did you find?" Corvus asked. 

"They're still searching. You will be notified if they find something." He said, searching for traces of disappointment in his expression and finding none. Either he had given up hope or he was missing something. "For now, I think you deserve some rest. You've been through quite an ordeal. Until we're able to dig up more about you, you're welcome to stay in one of the rooms."

"I can work with that." The slight sag of his shoulders showed relief. 

The longer he was here, the higher the chances of him getting more answers on how he defeated the grimm and on what his semblance was. Children tended to let thing slip when amongst their peers. 

-[Corvus]-

Yeah I'm getting out of this place when I get the chance. I have no interest in becoming a student here at Beacon but I might need to crash here for a while until I can find a place in the city. 

On another note, I haven't felt so refreshed since the day I arrived on this world. I'm finally clean and in neater clothes, despite them being part of the uniform here. 

My actual clothes are in my pocket space. With all the enchantments I put, I'm not letting anyone get their hands on them. This still leaves my question unanswered; what am I going to do now?

From how much I remember about Marcus' choices in the CYOA, he'd survive pretty well if he also got sent here so I'm not too worried. He's a smart kid when he tries hard enough. 

Pulling out the white fang mask enchanted with X-ray vision, I held it to my eye, looking through the walls and around the dormitory. 

Barely a minute after I began my search, I found who I was looking for; Cinder Fall. She, Mercury and Emerald were in a room not too far from the room I'm currently in. They're discussing something but unfortunately, I have no way of listening in. Though, from the look on her face, she's not happy. 

That makes me quite happy.

I do take a moment to appreciate the curves on this villainess. Let it be known that I'm not the most moral person. The only reason I'm even trying to stop Salem is that I'm not so depraved that I'd want the world destroyed, there are limits. 

Tossing the mask back into my pocket space, I focus on the equipment I'm currently wearing. I enchanted these shoes with the ability to teleport me anywhere in sight.

The pants are imbued with a minor speed enhancement. Then there's my ring of sustenance and shielding, and my ring of…holding? The ring that contains my pocket space. 

I'm at Beacon so I don't exactly need a cloak from Grimm, for now at least. I also don't have the luxury of crafting my own items right now so I'm simply going to get objects that I can enchant. 

At least that was what my intention. 

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you're stalking me." I said, facing the four huntresses in training who had trailed me until I reached the docking area. 

Ruby had the decency to look sheepish. "Since our mission was kind of cut short, Professor Ozpin wanted us to keep an eye on you. You know, with the whole amnesia thing." She explained. 

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. Of course. "Thanks but I think I'll do fine on my own. I don't need a babysitter."

"How exactly do you plan on getting around Vale if you don't know the city that well?" Yang asked in a smug manner, arms crossed. 

"There's this handy feature called the map. I'm sure I'll make do." I said with a roll of my eyes. Five people strolling around the city like tourists dragged too much attention and is too weird for me to be comfortable with. 

To think I could have been doing homework right about now… The thought almost made me chuckle before I was brought back to the present by Blake chiming in. 

"Maybe we should just let him go on his own." The cat faunus suggested, causing her white haired partner to snap towards her. 

"Professor Ozpin wants us to escort him around and show him the city. What if something happens out there?" Weiss argued. 

"What's the worst that could happen?" Yang asked, cashing Weiss to round up on her. 

"This is ridiculous." I muttered, turning and continuing on my way to an available airship. 

"What did you say?" Weiss screeched. 

"As much as I would love to listen to you all bicker about how you want to babysit me, there isn't much time till it gets dark and I'd rather not be wandering around at night." I said, not stopping. 

Sure they're hot and fun and all but right now I have more important things to do like setting myself up with a place to stay that isn't bugged with Ozpin's cameras and spies. 

The money I scrounged up from looting the white fang would probably be enough for me to get a few things but I doubt it'll get me a house. 

+++

After a quick round of discussion amongst themselves, it was decided that Ruby would be my escort. Ruby decided it, invoking her 'power' as team leader and to be fair, she knew the city better than Blake and Weiss. 

Either way, I'm in the city and with Ruby as my guide, I'm quickly learning the layout. 

"That right there is the comic bookstore! Oh and that one is the dust shop! And that is…" she's quite energetic as she pointed out different shops and places as we moved around. 

More like she zipped around and I was dragged along. 

"What about that one?" I asked, pointing to a store that had an anvil as its logo. 

"That's my favorite one. It's the weapon shop, you can buy all kinds of weapons and ammo there!" She explained. "Though, most huntsmen and huntresses make their own weapons."

That's a bummer. I thought it was an actual forge where I could make something. I would have probably tried to get a job there so I could use the equipment and materials. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the case. 

"You really love weapons, don't you? That's disturbing for a fourteen year old." I said dryly as we strolled further, my eyes scanning everything in sight. 

"Hey! I'm fifteen for your information!" She exclaimed in indignation. 

"Yep, that makes a whole lot of difference." If the angry pout on her face is supposed to make her look fierce, it didn't work. She just looked more like a child. 

My eyes caught a shop which I didn't hesitate to enter. 

"The Pawn shop?" Ruby asked, looking around in confusion.

"It's the best place to get decent quality items at a cheap price." I said, moving around after greeting the man at the desk, Ruby following behind me. 

"That's great and all but you don't exactly have any money." She pointed out. 

"Not true. I had some lien in my pocket when I first woke up. I'm not completely helpless." I shot back as I perused the items on display. 

At some point Ruby wandered off to another section of the store, leaving me to search to my heart's content. 

I would have gone to a jewelry store but the prices alone would discourage me. Jewelry is made to last and endure, making them the best items to enchant. 

-[Ozpin]-

"I can't believe you just let him go. We need answers Ozpin." James Ironwood argued, standing in front of Ozpin's desk. 

Glynda stood to the side. "Surely you're not suggesting forcing him to divulge the details of his semblance." She said in a questioning manner.

"If it's powerful enough to allow an untrained civilian to kill an ancient Grimm then we need to know more about it!" The general said, not denying her statement. "We could finally deal a blow to her."

His reference to Salem put a pause on the argument for just a brief moment before Ozpin sighed. 

"As much as I too am longing for answers, we cannot simply brute force this. Should we attempt to force him, any goodwill we may have garnered would fade away." Ozpin explained, his pattern of speech relaying his understanding of both scenarios.

Given the scenario, it was safe to say that Corvus wasn't a plant from Salem. Salem would never let go of a grimm that she cultivated for decades. There was also the white light that Oobleck reported that came from the mountain. 

The light of silver eyes. Yet, Corvus didn't have silver eyes like a certain underaged student of his. It's likely that his semblance allowed him to mimic the power of silver eyes or something resembling it.

There were truly a wide variety of semblances in the world so it was possible. If the boy wanted to keep it secret, it meant that he knew the significance of the silver light, of silver eyes. 

And possibly Salem. It was a stretch but it was possible. He'd explained that much to James but the man, though his heart is in the right place, tended to take the aggressive path too quickly. 

Perhaps it was time for Qrow to come back. They'd been out of contact for a while but he was confident that he was still alive. 

This was truly a delicate matter. He wanted to observe Corvus for a while. Power of that magnitude would be wasted if it wasn't directed. He'd wait and see the boy's nature. Whether or not he brought him into the fold would depend on him.