I do not own RWBY or make any money from this work of fiction. RWBY is owned by the good people at Roosterteeth (or at least I think they do last I checked).
AN: Hi folks! It's been a while. I was hoping to have the first chapter of this story out by now, but sadly we're all just gonna have to settle for the prologue.
In case you were wondering this is a story about Ozpin's origins, from his family to how he formed the Ozilluminati (or whatever the hell it's called). Anyway, considering episode 4 of volume 4, I'm pretty sure that my story diverges greatly from RWBY cannon, so just to be on the safe side, I'm calling this an AU. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!
Prologue: Summer's Birds
Ozpin simply couldn't believe it. After all he'd done, after all he had sacrificed to keep this kingdom safe, the kingdom and it's people couldn't have even been bothered to remember his fucking name and jot it down in their textbooks. For this, I lost my family?
Disgusted with himself and the world, Ozpin slammed the history book shut and stormed out of the library.
"Excuse me! Sir, do you need anything?" called out the pretty blonde librarian, but Ozpin didn't answer her, instead stomping past her desk.
Reaching the library doors, Ozpin threw them open with a resounding whoosh, then slammed them closed behind him.
Angry and hurt, Ozpin didn't know what to do or where to go. What he did know was that he needed to get as far away from the library as possible before he gave in to the urge to burn it all to the ground.
Walking down the street, Ozpin couldn't help but look around and watch all the people walking by him, talking about vapid things like what celebrity will be up next on "Grimm Tamer," while others shopped and wasted money on trivial things like the latest Scroll model. I gave up my life for this?!
Ozpin wanted to yell at the injustice of it all. After everything he had done, after everything he had survived, he deserved to live happily, without a care in the world, just like the people surrounding him. More to the point, he deserved to live peacefully with his family. A family that was dead and, according to the history books, have been dead for over 60 years. What god did I piss off to deserve this?
Ozpin kept walking. Last thing he needed was to make a spectacle of himself in public and become the next poster boy for soldiers with PTSD.
Before Ozpin knew it, it was already dark out, and he had walked so far for so long, winding his way through and around the city, that he had no idea where in the city he was.
Having finally cooled off a little from his discovery in the library, Ozpin stopped on the corner of an intersection to figure out where he was. Lafaillette and 3rd . . . wait, this isn't all that far from the slums. Slums that, according to the history books, no longer exist.
Tired and emotionally exhausted, Ozpin didn't know where to go or what to do. He had no place to call home, and he was a complete stranger in this place and time. That's when a stray thought occurred to him. I wonder if the Rocker is still open?
Praying for something even remotely familiar, Ozpin headed further away from the center of the city.
After another hour of walking in the poorly lit streets, Ozpin found the Rocker. Or at least where the Rocker used to be. It was still a huge, redbrick building. However, instead of it's old welcoming, the sign above the entrance showed a big black dog chasing a duck. "Welcome to The Dog And The Duck."
Underneath the welcoming sign was a smaller one. It read: "We have beer as cold as your boyfriend's/girlfriend's heart."
Ozpin snorted. "Wow. Really?"
Shaking his head, Ozpin genuinely considered walking inside, but decided against it. There was nothing in there that he wanted. Not even their coffee. Coffee's probably crappy here anyways. Bet it'll taste like tar.
Feeling more and more disoriented and out of place with every passing second, Ozpin didn't know what to do with himself.
That's when he heard some voices yelling further down the street. Angry and low, to Ozpin those yells where definitely trouble. Just walk away, Ozpin. This isn't your time, and these are no longer your people.
But as much as Ozpin tried to talk himself out of it, curiosity got the better of him. Heading down the street, Ozpin followed the voices to the entrance of an alley.
What he saw really shouldn't have surprised him. Near the back of the alley where a couple of kids getting held up by three men. I can't fucking believe it. More than half a century later, and our society is still so fucking awful. Why am I even surprised?
Ozpin was about to walk away, but stopped when he heard the voice of a little girl.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!"
Ozpin whipped his head back around to the alley. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the child. She was the one who had told him where to find the library.
"Or what?" said one of the men, kicking the boy while he was down.
"The boss wants his money," said another of the men, reaching down and grabbing the boy by his black hair and wrenching it upwards. "Your pa and your hoe are way past due on the rent, kid. And you know how Torch gets when he doesn't get his money on time. Nothing personal, kid. You're just collateral." With his free hand, he socked the boy as hard as he could across the face.
"I said leave him alone!" screeched the little girl. Somehow she had found a tire iron. She tried to swing it at the man who was beating the stuffing out of the boy, but the other two men intercepted her.
Grabbing her by the arm, one of the men wrenched the tire iron out of her hands. Laughing smugly, he gave her a closer look and a lecherous smile. "Well, aren't you a pretty little thing. Hey, Doug, I think I know what I'm taking home tonight."
That threat went down Ozpin's spine like ice water, and if Ozpin thought it was bad, the little girl looked horrified.
"NO! Don't you lay a hand on her you sack of shi–" said the boy, but was interrupted by another blow to the face.
"You might want to think more about yourself, punk. Where's Torch's money?!"
Ozpin couldn't take anymore of this. He was not a bystander, and whether or not these where his people, he would not stand idly by and watch them be victimized.
Storming into the alley, Ozpin got tunnel vision as he rapidly closed the distance between himself and the three men.
As the man went to bury his fist in the poor kids face, Ozpin grabbed his upper arm, twisted it behind his back, and yanked upwards. With a sickening pop, the collector's arm popped out of his shoulder socket.
"Gah! Oh gods, what the hell!?" screamed the collector, trying to turn on Ozpin. But before he could, Ozpin grabbed him by his good arm and slung him over his shoulder. The man hit the concrete with a vicious crash.
"What the fuck?" said one of the other men, turning around to see what was going on.
"Walk away. Now," said Ozpin, trying to keep his voice as calm and level as possible, when all he wanted to do was ram his cane into their most uncomfortable orifices.
One the men actually had the gall to snort at him. "Who the fuck do you think you are? A cop?" Sneering, the man gave Ozpin a disgusted once over, getting a good look at Ozpin's torn and bloody uniform. "You're out of your league, you homeless piece of shit. You walk away now, and we'll forget this ever happened."
Ozpin glowered at him. I'm going to enjoy this more than should, aren't I? "I'm a soldier in Vale's military corp, squad 237. This is your last warning: leave, or wind up like your friend."
The other man burst out laughing. "A soldier?! What the fuck are you talking about? Vale hasn't had a organized military force in years, you dumb shit."
Ok, that was news to Ozpin. Why would we disband our military?
Before Ozpin could contemplate the issue any further, one of the other men said, "Oh, screw this dumbass." He took a switchblade out of his pocket. "Let's just waste him."
They advanced on him, one with a knife and the other with the tire iron.
The little girls eyes lit up in recognition as she finally got a look at Ozpin without one of the thugs blocking her view. "Sir, run!"
Instead of heeding her words, Ozpin unstrapped Magnus's old cane from his left leg. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The first to reach him was the man with the knife. He slashed upwards at Ozpin's head. To Ozpin, the attack was so horribly telegraphed that he didn't need to dodge or even parry the blow. Instead, he grabbed the man's wrist with his free hand and jerked it sideways, breaking his hold on the knife.
Ozpin proceeded to bash him across the face with the cane once, twice, three times, before the other man even got near him.
As the other man swung the tire iron, Ozpin twisted his friend around in front of him to take the blow across his jaw.
The knife-wielding thug hit the ground without so much as a groan.
"You sonuvabitch!" screamed the remaining thug. He swung the tire iron again, but he overextended. Moving to the side, Ozpin let the blow pass by him and tripped the thug.
The man hit the ground hard, skinning his face and forearms.
Scrambling away, he tried to grab the tire iron where he had dropped it. But as he placed his hand on it, Ozpin's foot came down to crush and pin his hand on the tire iron.
Twisting his head around, the man's face came nose-to-tip with Ozpin's cane. And at the base of the cane was an opening that looked suspiciously like . . .. "Oh, no way. Tell me that's not–"
"A gun? Yes. My cane is also a gun."
Swallowing hard, the man looked up into Ozpin's face. He didn't know that Ozpin had no intention of killing him, but Ozpin wanted to put the fear of the gods into this man for even so much as daring to threaten rape against a child.
So, Ozpin kept his features as calm and blank as possible as he activated the gears and prepped the cane to fire.
"L-l-l-look, man. There's no need to kill me, I swear. I-I won't go near the kids again." Looking at the children and back at Ozpin, he tried for a different approach. "You can't kill me in front of kids! You'll scar them for life!"
Ozpin lifted a taunting brow at that hypocritical remark. "Like you haven't already? Besides, it might be cathartic for them to see you and your buddies getting your just desserts."
The thug didn't respond at first, but by this point he was sweating bullets through his greasy beard. "I-I-I . . . Come on, man! Please, please don't kill me!"
Ozpin was disgusted by the sight of this pathetic excuse for a human being sniveling on the floor . . . but, he was even more disgusted in himself. 'Cause honestly, he felt like a bully beating the snot out of some kid for his lunch money. But he knew better. People like these three men think that if no ones watching, they can get away with anything. And Ozpin needed to prove to them that there where consequences to their actions. Not to mention, the children's situation resonated strongly with Ozpin and his past experiences.
Lowering the cane, Ozpin said, "You're right. I'm not going to kill you in front of kids."
The thug let out a relieved breath. "Thank you, thank you so–"
Before he could finish his sentence, Ozpin whipped the tip of the cane back in front of his face, cutting him off. "I'm not the one you should be thanking," Ozpin growled. "The ones you should be thanking are those kids. They're the only things stopping me from gutting you on the floor, you putrid piece of human refuse. Now, apologize to them."
The thug just stared at Ozpin like he was insane. "Wha–"
"I said 'apologize to them!'" Ozpin roared, pressing the tip of the cane harder into the thugs face.
Gasping in pain, the thug said, "I'm s-sorry!"
Growling, Ozpin pressed down harder. "What exactly are you sorry for?"
"I'm sorry f-f-for beating on the kid, a-and for threatening him and his sister and mom, and a-a-and a-and–"
Rolling his eyes at the pathetic display, Ozpin grumbled, "Oh, that's enough. I think it's time you took a nap."
Looking back up at him in fear, the thug said, "Wait, wha–"
Before he could finish what he was saying, Ozpin flipped the cane in the air, grabbing the tip of the cane out of the air and clubbed the man across the face with the pommel. The thug's head dropped to the cement like a stone in water.
Sighing through his nose, Ozpin reattached Magnus's cane to his upper thigh. After making sure that it was secure, he turned around to face the kids. What he saw actually made him flinch backwards with guilt.
The boy, battered, bruised, and bloody, stood on shaky legs between him and the girl, as if Ozpin were going to attack them next.
The worst part was that Ozpin couldn't even blame them for their fear. They'd just watched him brutalize these men and psychologically torture one of them. That couldn't have been any worse unless he had murdered all three men in front of these kids.
Clearing his throat, Ozpin went down on his knees to put himself at around the same height as the children, and slowly spread his hands to show that he was unarmed. "I'm sorry if I scared you. Are you ok?"
Snorting, the boy spat a globule of blood onto the concrete between them. "Oh yeah, I'm just peachy. You know, broken nose, bruised ribs. Nothing a good night's rest won't help with."
Ozpin actually chuckled at the kid's response. Damn. Snarky little bugger. Taking a closer look at the boy, Ozpin couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed the very hard-to-miss red eyes. They all but glowed in the dark. And his stance and bearing . . . There's just something about this kid. He seems so . . . familiar.
Apparently Ozpin's humor caught the boy by surprise, because his angry glower was replaced by confusion.
Looking past the boy, Ozpin asked the girl, "Are you all right?"
Peering around the boys shoulder, she timidly nodded her head. "Aren't you the man who asked where the library was?"
Ozpin smiled as she recognized him. "Yes, that was me. Thank you very much for your help."
Before the girl could say anything else, the boy interjected. "Why are you here?" he asked accusingly.
Raising his hands a little higher, Ozpin tried to placate the boy. "I wasn't following either of you, if that's what you're thinking. I was just heading to see if an old haunt of mine was still around when I heard some noise coming down the street."
Still suspicious of him, the boy asked, "Where were you heading?"
"An old bar called The Rocker."
The kid narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Never heard of it."
Ozpin laughed lightly. "Yeah, didn't think you would. It's been replaced by another bar called The Dog and The Duck. I was debating whether or not I should head in for a drink when I heard you guys."
The boy's eyes lit up in recognition. "That place is a dump."
Offended, Ozpin said, "I'll have you know, when I was a kid it was the best place to go to listen to live music, plus the coffee there was phenomenal."
The boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever, old-timer." Before the boy could stop himself, he asked, "What does phenomenal mean?" The boys eyes widened in surprise and fear, as if Ozpin was going to mock him for his lack of vernacular.
But to the boy's shock, instead of mocking him, Ozpin smiled and said, "It pretty much means awesome."
The boy's features relaxed by a fraction of a degree at Ozpin's answer.
Sighing, Ozpin said, "Look, now that you both are ok, I'll leave if that's what you want. I just want to make sure that you can head home safely."
The boy's face scrunched up in consternation, as if unused to kindness from strangers. A concept that Ozpin was all too familiar with.
The girl leaned forward to whisper something in the boy's ear. He grimaced, but after a bit more whispering from the girl, he nodded. "Fine. If you're so concerned about us, you can tag along. But," the boy pointed to Ozpin's cane, "I want you to give me your weapon."
Without hesitating, Ozpin unclasped the cane from his leg and walked up to the boy. Lifting it in the air so that the children could get a better look at the cane, Ozpin said, "This cane's very important to me. It was a gift from an old friend."
The boy flinched back, as if he thought that his demand had offended Ozpin and he was about to attack them.
But instead of attacking them, Ozpin knelt down in front of them and offered the boy the pommel of the cane. "I'm not giving this to you, but I see no harm in letting you borrow it for a little bit." Smiling, Ozpin said, "Just promise to be careful with it. It's a weapon, and weapons aren't for show, and they aren't for protection. They're only for one thing, and one thing only. If you think you're in danger," Ozpin showed the boy how to use the cane, "then aim, and don't hesitate to pull the trigger."
With that, Ozpin backed away from the kids. "Alright, let's get you two home."
XXXXX
It was a tense walk. The children where constantly peering over their shoulders, whether it be to check for more debt collectors or to make sure Ozpin wouldn't attack them. As for Ozpin, he made sure to stay near the kids in case anything went wrong, but not so close that it would make them uncomfortable, all the while looking about to see if anyone might attack the children.
He had asked the children about this "Torch" character, but they hadn't told him anything that he hadn't already guessed: he was a loan shark that the boy's parents owed money to. A loan shark who made a habit of sending "debt collectors" to get him his money if his "clients" are even a day late.
Luckily, they arrived at the children's home a few blocks away. It was a crooked, rundown apartment building on a block that looked like it had been pulled out of a giant dumpster.
"Hey, you should head home," said the boy to the girl.
Concerned, she began to protest, but the boy cut her off. "Summer, your parents are going to be worried sick. And if they think I had something to do with it, they're never going to let us hang out ever again."
A stubborn glower replaced the look of concern on her face. "Shut up!" she snapped, surprising both Ozpin and the boy. Pointing at the boy's face, she went on. "Who do you think's going to help patch you up? Your mom? Your sister? No! I am! So shut your mouth and get your butt inside!"
Flabbergasted, the boy worked his jaw up and down, but nothing came out.
Without waiting for a response, the girl stormed past him and up the stairs into the apartment building.
Ozpin chuckled.
The boy whirled on him. "What?!" he snapped.
Smiling, Ozpin said, "Nothing, much. It's just good to have someone out there who cares enough to stick with you, no matter how bad things look."
Once again, Ozpin's response caught the boy off guard. "You know, you're really smart for an old guy."
Sighing, Ozpin said, "What do you mean, 'old guy'? I'm barely into my twenties."
Shocked, the boy said, "But your hair's silver. Old people have silver hair."
Sighing, Ozpin said, "No, you see, my hair was actually brown– You know what? Fine, whatever."
The boy actually laughed at that. "Now you sound like your twenty."
Ozpin snorted. Sobering quickly, Ozpin said, "You might not want to keep your friend waiting."
Holding his hand out, Ozpin waited for the boy to give him back his cane. When the boy hesitated, Ozpin said in a kindly tone, "Can I have my cane back?"
"Um, yeah, sure." But the boy still didn't give him back the cane. Instead, he asked Ozpin, "Can I just ask you a quick question?"
Chuckling, Ozpin said, "You just did."
Glaring, the boy said, "Come on, you know what I mean."
Ozpin chuckled. "Yeah, I'm just teasing you. What did you want to ask me?"
The boy hesitated only a moment. "What's a soldier?"
Ozpin took a moment to think before he responded. "In a sense, a soldier is a defender. While police uphold the law and protect the people of the kingdom or city they are posted in, a soldier is responsible for protecting the lives of all of the citizens of a kingdom. They are sent outside the walls of the kingdoms to fight anything that might threaten a kingdom, whether that be the Gimm, or other humans."
"Oh," the boy whispered. "So, it's like being a Huntsman."
Ozpin blinked and quirked his head to the side at the new term. "What's a Huntsman?"
"Well, they're kinda like what you described."
Slightly disgusted, Ozpin said, "So, the government gives them the authority to kill other people?"
The boy looked just as disgusted as Ozpin was. "What?! No! Huntsman are charged with protecting human and faunus life at any cost. They're only allowed to kill creatures of Grimm and make civilian arrests. Nothing else."
Ozpin scratched his chin. "Hmm . . ."
A Huntsman, huh? Thinking about his past and experiences, he couldn't help but think about how maybe that might be able to make up for some of the bad he had done as a soldier. All the lives he had taken, the futures that where lost because of him . . ..
"How do you become a Huntsman?"
The boy scratched the side of his head. "Well . . . If I'm remembering right, there's four different Huntsman academies, one in each kingdom. And, um, you're supposed to get admitted to them after being trained at these combat schools."
More intrigued than he thought he would be, Ozpin asked, "Is there a way to be admitted if you don't go to one of these combat schools?"
The boy had to take a moment to think before he responded. "Um, I think there's actually an entry test that you can take before the school year starts. You could probably go to Beacon tomorrow and ask one of the teachers, or something."
Before Ozpin could ask what is Beacon or when does the school year start, the kid blurted out, "Do you want to come inside? It doesn't look like you have anywhere to stay tonight, and if you want, I can show you where Beacon is tomorrow."
Ozpin was surprised by how desperate the boy sounded. That's when Ozpin realized just how scared the boy must have been of more collectors coming in the middle of the night. Poor kid. Sounds like he has it even worse than I did when I was a boy.
Smiling, Ozpin said, "Thank you for your kind offer. I'd much appreciate it."
The boy smiled in relief. Extending his hand, the boy said, "I'm Qrow."
Taking his hand, Ozpin gave Qrow a firm but gentle handshake. "Nice to meet you Qrow. I'm Ozpin." He hesitated a moment before asking, "Qrow, if you don't mind me asking, is your last Branwen?"
Qrow's eyes widened almost comically. "How'd you know that?"
Ozpin smiled as he confirmed his suspicions. "I knew a member of your family. He had the same red eyes as you."
"Oh," muttered Qrow, not sure what to make of this. "Um, anyway, why don't we head inside? It's getting a little chilly."
Ozpin followed Qrow up the stone stairs and up to the door. Next to the door was a small keypad. Qrow quickly typed in a five-digit code. Ozpin followed the boy through the door and up two flights of stairs. Walking down the hall, Qrow stopped at door 216 and knocked rapidly on it. A minute later, the door was opened a crack, and another pair of red eyes peered out to look at them.
"About damn time, Qrow. Summer's tearing a hole through the floor." The girl on the other side opened the door.
She was slightly taller than Qrow, although that wasn't saying much. She wore her hair long, whereas her brother kept his dark hair so closely cropped to his head that it was practically a crew cut.
Ozpin was severely stunned. She looks so much like Emma.
She looked past her brother to narrow her gaze on Ozpin. "Who're you?" There couldn't have been more suspicion in her voice if her tongue was wearing a tiny "Don't talk to strangers" t-shirt.
Trying to not put her off, Ozpin said, "Hi, I'm Ozpin. Are you Qrow's sister?"
Sniffing indignantly, she pulled Qrow into the apartment behind her and blocked Ozpin from following him in. "Yeah. What's it to you?"
Before Ozpin could say anything, Qrow grabbed his sister by the shoulder and said to Ozpin, "Sorry, just give us a minute." He pulled his sister into the apartment and slammed the door in Ozpin's face.
Ozpin stood alone in the hallway, slightly flabbergasted. Uh, what's going on? From the other side of door, Ozpin could hear the two siblings arguing. While he couldn't make out any of their arguing, it sounded like a second female voice joined in.
Ozpin winced. Oh, boy. If it's two on one, Qrow doesn't stand a chance. Oum knows I've never been able to win an argument against both my sisters.
After a few more minutes of incoherent yelling and one very loud smacking noise, the door finally opened. "Hi," said Qrow, a very distinct red hand print coloring the side of his face, "you can come in now."
Stunned, it took Ozpin a minute before he responded. "Um, thanks."
Stepping into the modest apartment, Ozpin introduced himself to the two girls. Pointing to the silver-eyed girl first, Qrow said, "This is my friend, Summer," then turning to the other girl, "and this is my sister, Raven."
Leaning conspiratorially over towards Ozpin, Qrow began to whisper out the side of his mouth, "She's a bit of a bi–"
Eyes widening in shock, Ozpin slapped his hand over Qrow's mouth. "I'm gonna stop you right there. 'Cause if you finish that sentence, your probably going to end up with another slap mark to match the one you already have," said Ozpin, indicating Raven with a nod of his head.
Qrow's eyes followed Ozpin's to see what he was talking about. What he saw terrified him. Raven, a slow tic working in her jaw, had her eyes narrowed on Qrow like she could run him through with a kitchen knife.
Pulling Ozpin's hand off his face, Qrow swallowed nervously. "Heh heh heh, right."
Trying to block out the terrifying mental image of his sister beating his ass, Qrow said, "Sorry, but we only have two beds. If you want, you can sleep on the couch."
"Thank you." Ozpin meant it. His whole body ached, and a couch sounded far more comfortable than the concrete outside.
Qrow led him to the kitchen, which happened to double as the living room. Behind the couch where two rooms. Through the open doors, Ozpin could see that one was a bedroom and the other was a bathroom. Peering further into the bathroom, Ozpin could have sworn that he saw another mattress on the floor next to the toilet.
As he went to lie die, Raven "hmped" and stormed over to the bedroom. "Summer! Come on, girl time talk! No boys aloud!" At that last part she glared at Ozpin and her brother.
Instead of listening to Raven, Summer went to the bathroom. "Just a sec. I need to patch up Qrow first." Turning around, she motioned Qrow over. "Come on, Qrow. We need to clean you up."
Sheepishly, Qrow headed over to the bathroom to join Summer, who had already taken out a roll of gauze. "I'll get this ready, you go ahead and wash the blood off your face." With that, she closed the door so that Qrow could get to the sink in the cramped bathroom.
For a moment, Raven seemed sad, or, dare Ozpin say, disappointed. But the look quickly faded away to another glare that she leveled at Ozpin. "Stay out of my room." Before Ozpin could respond, she slammed the door hard enough to cause the paint to crack. Sighing, Ozpin mumbled, "Yep, definitely a Branwen."
Laying down on the couch, Ozpin closed his eyes and tried to relax, punching one of the tacky sofa pillows into a comfortable shape.
However, it took him a while before he finally fell asleep. He simply couldn't believe how disturbingly similar his childhood was to the current living circumstances of these children. It's just not right.
Eventually, Ozpin was able to get to sleep, but he didn't find any peace there. Instead, voices from his past and his mistakes came back to haunt him.
XXXXX
"Ozpin! Cherise! Please, help me! I'm scared!"
"Dili, I love you, and . . . I'm sorry. This is Private Skylos, signing off."
"You were right, Ozpin. Sometimes, there are things in this world worth dying for, same as there are things worth living for. But how do you choose between the two? . . . If something happens to me, can you promise to look after my wife and son?"
"What do we fight for?! Not money, nor fame and glory! We fight for those we love, because if we don't, than who will?!"
"Benjamin Branwen, you are hereby accused of treason against the Crown and Court of Mantle. How do you plead?"
"I curse you, Ozpin! No matter where you go, you will never find peace, and no one will ever hold faith with you, not even your own putrid family! Never again will you be able to place your trust in others, for fear of them stabbing you in the back! I curse you to a life of fear!"
"I love you all. And I am so sorry that I am abandoning you to this life."
"The doctors said that I lost the baby."
"He looks so much like his father, doesn't he? Gods, I miss him."
"Why?! Why the fuck didn't you just listen to me this one goddamn time, you selfish bastard?!"
"I miss you so much, Sam."
"Pathetic."
"You think you could stop me? You are nothing."
XXXXX
"Mister?"
Ozpin came awake with a violent start. On reflex, he reached toward the sound of the voice, electricity dancing across his fingers.
Just before his hand made contact, Ozpin saw who had woken him up. It was the little silver-eyed girl, Summer. With a horrible shock, he stopped his arm before he actually touched the girl and caused her harm.
Looking from the girl's confused face to his hand and back again, Ozpin quickly whipped his arm behind his back, as if he could hide the fact that he had almost subconsciously killed this girl. What am I doing? What is wrong with me?! Ozpin didn't know why he was so jumpy, but one thing was for certain: he needed to be more careful around others. Luckily, it seemed that the girl hadn't noticed the sparks of green electricity dancing across his hand.
If the last 24 hours had proven anything to him, it was that he was no longer a soldier, and honestly, he was ok with that. Because, as important as his job was, the simply fact is that he didn't want to kill anyone ever again. He never had. And yet he was disturbingly efficient at it.
Trying to shake his head of that disturbing thought, he cleared his throat. "Summer, right? Is there something I can do for you?"
Frowning, she asked the last thing that Ozpin was expecting. Well, second last thing. "Are you ok?"
Blinking, it took Ozpin a full minute to process such an innocuous, mundane question. Honestly, no, he wasn't. As horrible as his past was, his present proved that all his struggles and sacrifices where literally a lesson in futility, because know they held no consequence to the present world and it's state of affairs.
Swallowing back his tears of grief and frustration, Ozpin tried to go for a smile that he was certain looked forced. "I'm fine. Why do ask?"
Her brow creasing even further, Summer said, "Because you where screaming people's names. 'Magnus, Valentina, Cherise, Terra, Diligere, Felix, Fido, Simon, Noa, Samantha, Salem.' You even screamed 'Mom.' It sounded like you where having a nightmare."
It was then that Ozpin realized that they weren't alone. Standing behind Summer where the Branwen siblings, Raven glaring at him and Qrow still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
Cringing, Ozpin said, "I'm sorry that I woke you all up. I'm feeling better now." Looking above their heads, Ozpin looked out the window over the kitchen sink to see that it was still very dark outside. "Why don't you all go back to bed? When it's morning, I'll take us all out to eat for breakfast. My treat, of course."
The kids exchanged looks of concern and uncertainty, but eventually, they all went back to bed.
Ozpin tried to follow their example, but he still slept fretfully, his dreams plagued by the memories of all the mistakes he had made and all the friends and family that he had lost because of them.
AN: …Um, so I feel like I have a bit of explaining to do. You see, I came up with the idea for this story by one conversation that Ozpin had with Ruby in cannon: "Ruby, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet." Suffice it to say, this is not a overall happy story (geez, I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately). That being said, I'm not going to go out of my way to depress the fuck out of you, the reader(s). Also, taking into consideration that this story is heavily based in the past, there are going to be a lot of OCs. Figured I should warn you if that's not your cup of tea/coffee/gin/marmalade (don't ask about that last one).
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy my rendition of Ozpin's past, and good luck on any upcoming final exams (probably not posting anything until afterwards).
P.S. And remember, don't be a hater, but be a CONGRATULATOR! And please leave a review, comment, or positive piece of criticism. Cause honestly, any kind of feedback helps me to understand what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.