"Yes"
"W-What…?"
It was dark out, they all stood in front of the house of Jaune's sister.
All of team RWBY and what's left team JNPR stood around the former farmhand, his eyes darkened and his expression solemn.
Jaune was the one who voiced the question, his eyes widened in shock as he took a step back "No...no your lying!" He shouted angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the immortal wizard in the boy's body "Just like always! She wouldn't have-!"
"JAUNE!" he stopped at hearing Ruby's voice, and he turned his head to see her stern look.
It said 'You want to make the same mistake again?'
Glancing at the fourteen year old's tired state, looking down at the dirt rather than Jaune himself, the knight with all of his willpower tried to restrain his anger.
"...she knew" Ozpin told them quietly again "I told her about Salem"
"...everything?" Blake asked quietly, voicing the question everyone wanted to ask.
He slowly nodded mechanically "...yes"
"But…" Jaune shook his head, grabbing his hair in confusion and panic "B-But...that doesn't make sense! Why would she...why would she...why would she sacrifice herself if SHE KNEW IT WAS FOR NOTHING!?"
.
.
.
Ozpin didn't had the strength to correct him, the others weren't sure if his silence was an admission of guilt or...something worse.
"I am telling the truth" He said after a while of silence.
"Why!?" Yang shouted suddenly, stepping forward "Why tell her!? And if her- why not us!?" She waved her arms about "Why was it such a big deal for you to tell us if it wasn't for her!?"
Ozpin looked up at the Xiao Long, and her eyes widened at just how...dead his eyes were.
There were tears on the corner of them, ones that he let come down his face, but his expression was unchanging through it. No move to wipe them, to sob...nothing.
Just a tired expression.
"The maiden power…" Ruby spoke, and everyone turned to her "You...its the only thing that makes sense…"
.
.
.
"Yes" he confirmed, and sighed "every maiden...I had always told them the truth" he laughed softly "Maybe I shouldn't have...if I didn't Ms. Nikos would still be here"
That surprised all of them, and Jaune to glare in full force "What are you talking about!? What did you-"
"I told her everything" He interrupted, and they all stood in silence as they listened "For every maiden, I told them that Salem could not be killed...so that they would not get the idea of using their powers to kill her, or to underestimate the danger" He sighed.
"No" He stopped himself "...no...that's not why, at least...not the whole reason…" He looked down at his hand-
Spring…
Summer…
Fall…
Winter…
The memories of those four girls faces flashed in his mind "...I did it because the maidens were my gift...to those four girls who gave me hope" he chuckled darkly "My curse on them...what I didn't realize that I burdened them with...I had no right to hold the truth from Ms. Nikos if I was placing such a burden on her"
Countless deaths, innocent girls dying…
"I told her...how we couldn't kill her, that she would have to keep the power away from her…what it would entail with the relics"
Flashback…
"The world...would be destroyed?"
Pyrrha Nikos stood in Ozpin's office atop Beacon tower, rising out of her seat and eyes widened in fear.
Ozpin nodded grimly "...yes, so I beg of you...do not take this decision lightly"
Pyrrha stared at the headmaster, she almost didn't catch it, but there was a sort of pleading behind his eyes.
"You want me to refuse…"
Ozpin sighed tiredly, putting his hands on his desk...and she watched as he set down his glasses, she had never seen him without them.
She'd never seen his eyes quite so clearly, so human and tired.
"Part of me does" He admitted quietly "...but, I know what needs to be done...even so, if you do not wish for this burden, I will not force it on you…" He stayed quiet for a moment "...this is the first time in a long time that...I will be offering it to someone willing, this power, this responsiblity...I want you to know what it entails"
Pyrrha stared at the top of the table, her body still and her face conflicted "I...I don't...what's the point then?"
.
.
.
"What's the point of all this if...if she can't die?" She questioned quietly.
"To buy time"
Her eyes widened, and she looked up at Ozpin.
"We can't beat her by killing her...I...I have tried" He admitted "Even after learning she can't be killed, I still tried...and failed, just like Jinn said I would"
A large intake of breath went through his lungs, and he released it "...but I refuse to give up, there is still hope for humanity, and I will not stop fighting for it" His eyes shined a determination she had never seen in him before, a continuous fire in his eyes, one that stood the tests of time.
"There is good in the people of this world, and while Salem is there to try and tear us down...we still came so close to peace, there are still those willing to fight for a better future" He finished, and watched as Pyrrha stared at him in uncertainty. "I don't believe our destiny is to simply turn in to ashes, I am certain of it"
She was surprised and shocked at his clear conviction, that hope.
.
.
.
"I still accept"
The headmaster's eyes widened "Ms. Nikos-"
"I believe you" She said sincerely, glancing out the window of Beacon academy "...even if the enemy can't be fought through combat, I don't think she's unbeatable"
She turned her head back to him "And even if I'm just another person who falls keeping that power from her…" She let out a shuddering breathe, but her eyes screamed conviction in her words "As long as I buy time for humanity to come together...its worth it"
Everyone stared at the former farmhand in shock, their eyes unblinking.
"She…" Weiss muttered quietly "She...sacrificed herself, just to buy time"
"RAHHHHH!"
Jaune shouted and punched the nearby wall of his sister's house, banging against it "WHY!? DAMNIT WHY!?"
Nora and Ren came up to him, hugging him, trying to calm him down as tears flowed down his cheeks, only they were crying as well.
While team RWBY just stood still, unmoving even when Saphhrine came out to try and comfort Jaune, asking him what was wrong.
Qrow turned to look at Ozpin, he was looking down at the dirt "..." He stepped toward him, trying to put a hand on his shoulder-
He stepped back away from it.
"Don't pretend"
Team RWBY and Qrow stopped to stare at him "Oz-"
"Don't" He repeated quietly "You've made it clear what I am to you all, and you are all right to feel that way"
Qrow flinched along with the rest of team RWBY "Ozpin…" Ruby called out "We...we-"
"I'm sorry" He said simply, turned around "I was wrong"
Everyone stilled.
"...what...what are you talking about?" Yang questioned quietly, the tone of hopelessness making them all worried.
"We can't win"
"...w-what?" Ruby let out in shock as he turned to her.
There was no hope in his eyes.
"...you can keep fighting if you wish...but I'm done" He said as he turned away from them.
Yang's eyes turned red "What!? You can't just quit-"
"WHY NOT!?"
They all stood still in fear at the powerful shout he gave, the multiple voices mixing with Oscar's sending chills down their spines.
"I have done this for thousands of years!" He growled "And EVERY time I get close to my goal...she wins" he laughed bitterly "And its not even her fault! Its mine!"
Qrow tried to interject "Oz-"
"This isn't the first time people went against me after learning the truth" He continued, laughing as if it was some big joke "HAHA- its just...no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try...and its because of one thing I couldn't accept"
"There is no hope for us"
He grinded his teeth "I never should've accepted that offer from the god of light" he turned around to face them, taking slow steps in their direction "I never should've let those girls give me hope!" he shouted, and they all started taking steps back, eyes wide with fear "AND I SHOULDN' HAVE EVER SAVED HER FROM THAT TOWER!"
.
.
.
"If it weren't for me…" He chuckled bitterly as he stared at the dirt "humanity would still be whole...I'm sorry, I…" He brought his hands up to his face, wiping the tears that kept streaming down his face "...I won't interfere with your lives anymore"
He turned around, facing away from them "I won't steal the lives of my reincarnations, I won't send people to their deaths for a pointless war...I'm done"
"Oz, wait!" Qrow cried out-
"Goodbye"
And Oscar's aura glowed for a moment "Wha-" Qrow grabbed the boy and turned him around to face him…
To Oscar's pained eyes.
Captaindrake123: Well, here's an angsty one shot for you. I always kinda wondered if Pyrrha talked with Ozpin more than what we saw, and if he told her the truth. because when I look back on it, Pyrrha was VERY stressed and panicky about her predicament, even more than one would expect. At least in my opinion.