A/N: This takes place after episode 3 of Volume 5 after the whole explanation Ozpin gave about the process of his reincarnation. I felt they never really focus on that as much as they should or even on how Oscar would be doing while going through this combining or merging of their souls. So this story was born.
I just really like Oscar, he's practically a kid who has some enormous responsibilities and the way he handles them are amazing all things considering. I think the show accurately showcases his internal struggles, especially with the fact that he has to lead the people against Salem and her forces. I can't wait to see how he does.
Until then, here's a little story while I wait for the season finale and volume 6 if there is going to be one.
…
Run. He doesn't hesitate when he is given that instruction, stumbling on his feet before moving as fast as he could away from what was hiding in the shadows.
The sky above was dark, the shattered moon illuminating the earth below. The area around him was full of the tall grass that he had to continuously push out of the way to see the path in front of him. It was quiet, too quiet, not even a cricket chirping or a small animal scurrying as would be the norm.
Oscar was running through the field. He didn't understand where he was or why he was currently running, but he did feel an all-consuming panic and hopelessness. He can hear something in the grass with him, moving much faster than him and can feel his heart beating faster.
He didn't understand what was happening, but he didn't have time to focus. He could ask questions when he escapes what's coming for him. If he ever does.
Run.
He's holding someone's smaller hand, pulling them after him, trying to get them both to safety. He had to save her, he could feel it resonating through his thoughts and bones. Nothing else mattered as much, not even his own life. The figure in the shadows couldn't have her.
Run. That keeps entering his head, advice from someone with better survival instincts, who knows nothing else can be done. They couldn't fight what was lurking after them, or even hide away now. They could only keep running and pray they could get away long enough.
The boy chances a glance behind him. He could see a flash of pink hair flopping in the wind behind him, as well as a hint of green eyes. He could also see from the corner of his eyes the blurred figure that was chasing them, able to catch up to them with ease should it want to. Which meant the only reason it was so behind them was that it wasn't trying to get them so quickly.
That realization made Oscar's already pounding heart escalate even more as he pushed himself to move faster. He knew it was toying with them. He knew they weren't going to make it out of this alive. But he still had to try. It was his responsibility to keep working until his last breath left his body.
He can hear the girl panting behind him. She wants to stop. She doesn't know what's going on. The tears he can see rolling down her face make it clear she knows enough to be aware of the danger they're in, the hopelessness of the situation. Yet they keep running, unsure where the grass was leading them, but too desperate to focus on a particular direction. They just had to get away.
There are footsteps behind them (surprising because Oscar was just coming to the conclusion that the thing behind them was a monster, able to chase them silently and ominously) and they are carefree and steady. Like this is just a walk in the park. Like it wasn't chasing after two people it wants so desperately to kill in cold blood.
Laughter rang throughout the open air, sending the hairs on the back of his neck up in fright. He can hear the girl opening her mouth, trying to ask something, but Oscar quickly clamps his hand over her lips, moving a bit slower as he took a moment to shake his head at her. Not now, they couldn't give their location away. It was a false worry to focus on, the person in the shadow knew where they were, was just playing with them like they were her prey, trapped in an endless maze with someone stronger and smarter at the controls.
He felt something graze the back of his head, needle-like fingernails combing his little hairs, and he knew now it was over. He was done for now.
But she could still survive.
Just as that thought came to his head, they burst through the grass to find himself standing at the end of a ditch. Below was dark and endless, sounds of Grimm growling and clawing clearly heard. Oscar looked frantically around, looking for someplace she could go, somewhere she could escape and not see what will happen when he's found.
"Okay," he wheezed, a little winded from his long run. "Go that way." He pointed to another patch of tall grass on the far side of the cliff, leading towards water if his ears were working properly. "Don't stop until you make it to the river, then jump in. The current will get you far away from here."
"But what about you?" A sweet, soft voice asked back, fear saturating her tone as her green eyes looked at him imploringly. "You said we'd stay together."
"I know. But she won't stop searching until she finds you, and I can't guarantee your safety if you stay with me."
"But what about you? Won't she find you?" The girl asked tearfully. Oscar forced a smile on his face, placing his hands on her shoulders as he said softly, "I'll be fine. Even if she does get me, I'll find a way back to you. I promise." The words made his mouth taste sour, the lies he had to tell making the relief and happiness on her face all that much harder to see.
Swallowing the negative emotions, he nudged her gently in the direction he had pointed out before. "Go now. Before she finds our spot." There a moment of hesitation, of the doubt to the other one's safety, but then the girl was running away, slipping through the grass and out of his life for good.
The boy sighed, knowing he would never see her again but happy he had at least kept her safe. Knowing what was coming now, he turned to face the field, weapon at the ready now that both his hands were free. He didn't have to wait long before she melted from the shadows, materializing right before his eyes, seeming to tower over him.
He watched as her eyes moved to study the area they were in, tsking as she saw who was missing. "I see you let her go, stayed so she could escape and I would have my fun with you. Isn't that correct, Vexus? Or should I say, Ozpin?"
Bile made it's way up his throat as he read the dark hunger in her eyes. He knew what would happen now. He was too weak to fight for long, he would be knocked down and made to suffer severely before he died. And he was resigned to that fate, ready to do what he must to fulfill his duty.
"Foolish ploy on your part. You know how much I love to play with my food." She took a moment to sign mockingly out loud. "Oh, well, may as well get this started. I may lose the brat for good, but at least I get to make you suffer, nice and slow until you're begging for it to end. For old time's sake."
Holding his sword at the ready, he watched with cold resolve in his eyes as her face morphed into that of a monster, before lunging at him with claws out and ink corrupting her vision.
…
Oscar gasped as he woke up, eyes searching the area above him immediately. His heart was still pounding, and he was covered in cold sweat, shivering and under the blue blankets of his bed. He could see the night filtering through his window, showing it was probably just after midnight. He could see the shattered moon from where he laid on the bed.
Sitting up with ease, the boy stared blankly at his sheets, unable to think of anything but what he had just dreamt. He wasn't stupid enough to hope it was just a nightmare. Ozpin had warned him that some memories would come while he was sleeping, but had also informed him that they would appear in a random order. One flashback could be peaceful, others could be horrific. Guess this was one of the more heinous ones.
He could feel himself trembling and the beginning of a massive headache coming on. He sighed to himself, looking up at the moon. The sky had looked just like that in the memory.
Oscar knew he should probably try to go back to sleep. He usually only experienced one thing that wasn't really his and yet was, but he couldn't find it in himself to sleep again. Not when he could still remember the panic he felt, hear the screams he had emanated, feel the nails digging into his skin. It was like it was happening to him, the phantom touches embedded into his own memory even as his adrenaline lowered and his heart slowed.
No, not his skin. One of Ozpin's reincarnations who had sacrificed himself to save a girl who had been important enough for some lady of darkness and shadows to chase after them. He couldn't remember her face, but he could still see her eyes, the way they had been soulless and evil.
At his aunt's place, whenever he couldn't sleep he would either read or seek comfort from his aunt, who never turned him away when he knocked on her door. He was too rallied up to pick up a book now, and he couldn't exactly go to any of the other people that were resting in the same place he was. There was always Qrow, whom he felt equal levels of caution and comradery towards, but he couldn't. The older Huntsman may be Ozpin's friend, but he wasn't Oscar's friend.
And yes, that statement didn't really make sense when you took into consideration the fact that he was technically talking about the same person, but if you thought on it long enough, you would know his line of thinking and probably agree with it as well. After all, the former Ozpin had obviously trusted Qrow very much and vice versa. But even if he was meant to be the new Ozpin, Oscar couldn't ignore the fact that he didn't really know these people whom Ozpin was quite familiar with. So he couldn't really look to them for comfort for any reason.
Needing to move around rather than sit and dwell on confusing and frightening things, Oscar moved the sheet from around him and got to his feet, ignoring the way they shook and how weak he felt standing. Taking a breath, he walked to the bathroom, silently opening and closing the door before he made his way to the sink and the mirror that was hung at his face level. He splashed cold water on his face, bowing his head as he tried to clear his mind.
Just breathe, his aunt would say as she knelt beside him while he did his best to follow her instruction. Breath, and process. That's all you can do about it now. Like most things suggested by his only living relative, it had worked. Another reason why he missed her so badly right now, he didn't know how to cope.
Another dream, Oscar?
The boy in question couldn't help but scoff at the inquiry. "You know it was. My thoughts are your thoughts and all that stuff."
I know. But you didn't appreciate me just blatantly flaunting the knowledge of your thoughts when we've spoken of such previously, so I decided to accommodate to your desires in that regard. I don't want to make this experience any harder for you.
Oscar was quiet as he went back to looking in the mirror. Ozpin was always more sensitive to his feelings whenever he had his dreams. Not that the man (or voice or whoever he was right now in Oscar's head) wasn't usually questioning about his well-being or always giving him advice that was meant to keep him (both of them) safe, but the blast from the past still made him more subdued and kind in an almost scary way. It reminded the boy too much of the time when his aunt had sat him down and explained that his parents were never coming back.
"Yeah, it was another one. You can see it for yourself if you want, I don't mind." Oscar said, too tired to be difficult at the time. Well, at least Ozpin described him as difficult at times when it comes to matters that pertained to Salem and the status of Remnant. He wasn't trying to be hard on purpose though, it's just sometimes he forgot about the voice in his head and the circumstances he was in. And then Ozpin would talk, and no one else would hear, and Oscar would once again question his sanity.
I've told you, you're perfectly sane. Not typical of course, but very much balanced. I promise you that.
Oscar should have known that now that permission was given Ozpin would feel free to respond to thoughts he didn't agree with. His sanity was the number one thing the voice in his head liked to reassure him about.
Oh, I see why this is bothering you so. This one is quite… unsettling. For both of us.
Oscar shuddered as he remembered inky eyes and sharp nails. "What was going on? Who were we running from and why?"
That was one of Salem earlier… lieutenants. Mabel was an extraordinarily spiteful and devoted follower who massively enjoyed killing and torturing for her. There were times when she even believed she was Salem. She was undoubtedly as sadistic as her.
"So, she was always like that? Always looked like that?" Oscar questioned as he thought of the pale skin and dark eyes.
No. Salem had always had a particular role in the creation of Grimm. Mabel was just one of her earlier experiments she turned into a human monster. She became deadly and has contributed to killing numerous forms of us as well as thousands of people.
"And…and what happened to her?"
Dead. Eventually, even Salem couldn't handle her level of bloodlust and had her destroyed by her own forces. I witnessed the whole thing from a hiding spot in the city they had resided in at the time. It… wasn't pretty.
Oscar gulped. "And… the girl we saved?"
Bella? She escaped of course and grew up to be a mighty huntress who fought hard for the people of Remnant. Was a loving mother of two kids and wife to a barkeeper, but never stopped looking for me. I came to see her when I could (in a different form but she didn't know it at the time of course) and finally revealed my identity just moments before she took her final breath. If things had been different, she and I would have been a family instead.
Oscar could hear in Ozpin's voice the regret and soberness of the man in his head, mourning a life that would never be and determined to move on as he had a job to do now. Dreaming of lost loves wasn't going to make anything fair or ameliorate the situation he and Oscar found themselves in.
The boy could only groan as he moved from the bathroom to his room, resting his head on the wall adjacent to his bed and slid down till he was sitting on the floor. He just wanted a good night's sleep without dreams of past lives and gruesome deaths. Was that really too much to ask now?
I'm sorry, Oscar.
Oscar sighed, "It's not your fault. Like you said before, they're random, and I'm smart enough to know most of your rebirth's deaths wasn't of old age. You wouldn't be merging with me if it was."
I appreciate the fact that I have your understanding, but it is my fault. Had I not kept certain things secret and made better choices when I was the headmaster at Beacon, perhaps you wouldn't be suffering the way you are now.
"That's not something you can guarantee. And I may have not wanted to listen to you before, but I know that the things you do are for the world, even at the expense of yourself and the new forms you take."
True. But it's not very fair to you, and I'm sorry for that as well.
Oscar shrugged as he leaned his head back against the wall. "Like I said, there's nothing you can really do but be there for me while I go through this. Feeling sorry won't make the dreams go away anyway."
There was a moment of silence as both boy and voice inside the boy's head thought for a while. Oscar wasn't sure how things were going to go from here. From what Qrow and the other teens had explained, Salem's new forces were deadly and smart. He was just a kid, even with Ozpin in his mind. How the heck was he supposed to become what he needs to be to save all of Remnant?
Do you like hot chocolate, Oscar?
The boy was surprised Ozpin interrupted his pondering to ask him a completely random question like that. "Uh, sure. It's okay, I guess."
Times like these, I enjoy a hot cup of cocoa myself. It always made me feel better for a little while, a comfort even in my current situation. I think a cup would do you some good right now.
Oscar had noticed Ozpin's obsession with the drink, especially in the mornings when adult generally had coffee. He didn't know if the man was just being sensitive to the fact he was in a kid's body or if it was something he learned to love after so many rebirths, but it was his usual go-to drink. He could see the olive branch and the comfort Ozpin was trying to extend his way, and he could appreciate the attempt. He could use something soothing right now.
Shrugging, Oscar replied, "Might as well. I wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep anyway."And so the young man got up and made his way to the kitchen.
…
So what did you think? This is a first RWBY fanfic, and I just wanted to write a story about Oscar, who is like at the top of my favorite characters list. I can' wait to see him in the season finale, and I hope he doesn't end up dead. Please stay tuned for chapter two when I eventually get to it.