It's me, back at it again with yet another character study. Shocking.

Since it's a little difficult working with characters who share a headspace, the formatting for this chapter is:
1. Regular quotes is whoever is in control talking out loud to the group
2. Italics is Oscar specifically, mentally to Ozpin
3. Bold is Ozpin specifically, mentally to Oscar

A cold wind ripped through him as hazel eyes started scanning the white expanse of the valley in front of him. The one they had just crash landed into. Where did he even begin? This was supposed to be a simple trip, one, couple hour train ride from Mistral to Argus. It was going to be even easier than when he had taken a train from his farm to Mistral, what with not having to worry about getting the tickets and having the funds and all that. The hard part wasn't even supposed to begin until they hit Argus, and even then the only roadblock they were supposed to hit was figuring out how to get into Atlas.

And yet here they were, now stranded in the mountains after a train wreck. For it already being midday, it was still way too early for this many things to have gone wrong.

And if the Grimm attack, the discovery that the Relic they were transporting may have been a factor in the Grimm attack (something that would have been nice to know before they boarded a train filled with innocent people), getting split up from Team JNR, and being practically stranded in the mountains weren't enough…there was a little old lady who apparently decided to stow away on the back half of the train and was stuck here with them.

For lack of knowing where else to look or what else to catalogue, Oscar turned his attention towards her. She was short, with gray hair, a cane, and a weird contraption covering her eyes. He had never seen the technology before in person, but he could take a guess it was to help with her eyesight. His aunt had taught him never to presume anything, but he would wager a bet by looking at the sophistication of the device that she would be blind without it. Yet none of that seemed to stop the confidence coming off of her as she gave her greeting. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought she had fun on that ride…which was a stark contrast to everyone else at the moment.

The gravity of their situation started to sink in as he took in the wreckage behind her. The train cars they severed from the rest of the train were completely off the rails, and even if they could be reset onto the track they didn't look to be in any operational shape. And that wasn't even considering they had no power supply to get them up and running again even if they were functional. They had no motorized way to get out of here. Well…they had Yang's bike but who knew if that even made it through the crash, and really how would all of them fit on one bike anyways? That was impossible. They really were stuck here with no way out but by foot.

Oh Gods we're stranded…

"You did well holding your own against the Grimm. The worst of the fight is over, there is no reason to panic now."

The voice in his head was a small reassurance, if nothing else. Because Ozpin was right, as he often was, there was no reason to panic now. The Grimm were dealt with and everyone was alright at the moment, even the old lady. They were safe, relatively speaking, and they would be able to get themselves out of this, just as they had with every other situation they found themselves in.

So as everyone else started going about the area, collecting their things from the debris of the wreckage, Oscar stepped forward to do the only thing he could think of doing, which was help the newcomer out of the train. His aunt had taught him some manners after all, and helping and respecting the elderly was included in that package. "Hello," he greeted the woman with a smile and held out his hand to her in an offer to help.

"Why, that is quite unnecessary young man," the woman retorted and Oscar frowned. She almost sounded insulted. But as she took a step forward and wobbled as the unstable train car shifted around her, she took his hand and he helped her out and onto the snow-covered ground below.

"My name is Oscar," he added as he helped her traverse the snow. He hoped it would earn him her name in return as much as he hoped it would distract her from the chattering going on behind them. Yang was in a mood it seemed, and while he couldn't necessarily blame the blonde, he didn't want the woman he was helping to hear Yang complaining about her and their current state anymore than he wanted to be reminded of it himself. There was no reason to panic, Oz was right.

"My name is Maria Calavera, and I am not defenseless!" So much for her not hearing Yang, but at least they had a name now. As Maria continued her defense, Oscar couldn't help but to laugh. It seemed they had found someone just as fiery as Yang…and at least she had a sense of humor.

His smile immediately fell as the topic switched to the Relic, and the weight of the situation they found themselves in rested on him again. Right…that bit of information. They readily handled the Grimm attack on the train with little issue, aside from the current one staring them in the face, but something still didn't sit right with him. Why wouldn't Oz have given them that information? Why didn't he at least know that information? Ozpin had a way of hiding or blocking knowledge from him, just the same as he could share knowledge with him; he had learned that pretty early on. He always figured that was for the best, so as not to overwhelm him or the bond that they now shared. He respected that and never pushed, both for the man's privacy as well as not wanting to overwhelm himself.

But this…that the Relic maybe attracted Grimm? It seemed so small in terms of their bond but so important to tell everyone else. Had they known that going in, they could've been more prepared to face the inevitable. It was a safety concern.

"I believed the risk was minimal. Perhaps I should have reassessed."

Oscar didn't know if he could fully accept that. "Maybe we should talk about that sort of thing before you decide?"

"What happened to no more lies and half-truths?" He looked up as he felt a bunch of eyes land on him. Good question, he was wondering the same thing, and he made it a point to ask. "What did happen to that?" he asked while verbally agreeing with Yang. He only received a tired sigh in response as he started stepping aside from the control over his body.

Oscar felt the dizzying presence of someone else as Ozpin took control. It happened every time and yet he still wasn't quite used to it. Nor had he fully gotten used to the feeling of practically floating over his own body when Oz had control, though it was much less unsettling now than the first couple of times it happened. He watched and waited quietly as Oz began explaining to everyone else.

"I did not lie to you," Oz started and that was…technically true. But withholding information wasn't that much better.

"Well you certainly didn't tell us everything about the Relic," Yang snapped back, and Oscar could feel a sense of regret and a sense of frustration at her words. It took him a moment to realize that wasn't coming from him, but coming from Oz.

"She's right though, you know," Oscar said, "Not telling them everything is pretty similar to lying."

"Please, now is not the time…" He didn't know if Ozpin was talking to him or Yang. Probably both. And maybe it wasn't, being trapped in the middle of the mountains, but when would be the time?

"No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!" Yang shouted.

Oz sighed and folded his hands behind his back. "It is true the Grimm are attracted to the Relics. It's faint, but undeniable. I believe it has to do with their origin, but I'm not entirely sure," he finally relented. "Regardless," he continued before anyone, even Oscar, could interject, "I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option."

"I can kind of see your point," Oscar admitted. He could feel through the bond Oz thought he was doing what was best for everyone. Still, he shook his head, "But still, wouldn't it have been better to tell everyone so they could be prepared in case this happened? I mean, I guess they already were but…still. If you had told them in Mistral when you were explaining the Relic, they would've had time to accept it and settle down."

"I did not know if they would settle down or the weight of the knowledge would only rest heavier on all of you. You are still young, after all, you should not have to worry about such things."

"You know, I'm getting real tired of people choosing what's best for me," Weiss remarked, and Oscar found himself sympathizing.

"I know we're young but they've been through a lot. And you're living in my head," Oscar said, "They did everything they could to protect Beacon. I didn't even want to leave my farm, but in the end I still did. Maybe you should trust us a little more that we'll do what we have to."

He got a relenting sigh in response. "Perhaps…once we are in Argus we will discuss it further." If nothing else, Ozpin was open-minded at least. They would have a discussion about it later, Oscar trusted him on his word there. Oz had always kept it in the past, that was why he was allowed to fight Lionheart at Mistral. And deal with the Grimm now. Ozpin may have felt he was always choosing what was best for everyone, but he was willing to admit when he might have been wrong.

If that had been the end of it, Oscar would've called it a win. Instead, he felt a chilling anxiety through the bond as the conversation switched to Lionheart and what the people knew of him. It was rightfully a touchy subject, but he didn't expect anyone to disagree with what Ozpin did. He didn't. Telling an entire kingdom of people the headmaster of their top school was actually an agent for the top terror of the world they didn't even know about didn't exactly seem like the smartest of plans. Even he could tell that much.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth," Ozpin answered Yang's angry accusation. And Oscar still agreed. "And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, and not for the unfortunate missteps he made in his final years."

"Missteps?" Oscar asked at the same time as Yang's outbursts. While he agreed Oz made the right decision there, missteps was hardly the word he'd use to describe what Lionheart had done.

Ozpin sighed again and answered both at the same time, "What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible. I am not here to argue differently…" And that felt like a pointed remark towards him, because Oscar could feel the willingness to argue bubbling up. He was the one who had fought Mistral's headmaster, after all. What Lionheart had done were more than missteps. "…But does one lapse in judgment truly negate all of his good?" Ozpin continued, "Do we not all have regrets? You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man he was before Salem found him."

Yet, something didn't add up. Oscar could tell he was holding back on something, something he wouldn't be able to push into even if he tried. "Do you regret what happened?" he asked, and the mixture of emotions he got in response were hard to parse. "Did you tell him everything before Salem found him?" The anxious silence he felt in response was enough of an answer, and Oscar felt a bit of indignation burn through him.

Because maybe Oz was right, they hadn't met the man before Salem got to him. Maybe Leo Lionheart had been a wonderful, brave, kindhearted man before Salem turned him. Maybe he was ready to give up everything for humanity back then. And maybe, just maybe, if he had known the full truth…whatever that even was at this point…Salem wouldn't have been able to turn him. She wouldn't have had anything to use to manipulate him with. Oscar wanted to believe that, he had to believe it. He needed to believe in Leo, and everyone else for that matter. He needed to believe people would generally choose the right thing if all the information was given to them. He hadn't been with this group for as long, he hadn't endured as much as they had, but he had learned enough and gotten enough glimpses from oz to know that if Remnant stood any chance against Salem, people generally had to choose the right thing and keep fighting.

At the end of the day, Oscar knew he would…all of the information would just make it easier in the long run.

"You have to give people a chance!" he exclaimed. "I know not everyone will make the right choice, but I have to believe most will! Lionheart was only one against a group of many who—"

"Do you really think Leo was the first?!"

He hadn't been paying attention enough to the outside conversation to know if that was a response to him or everyone else. Oscar didn't have much time to question it though as images of people he didn't know flickered around him. He groaned with a sickening feeling sinking in him as he realized these images were old memories Oz had lost his grip on. Memories of others, people from a long life who eventually turned on this one soul and an understandable fear that history had a nasty tendency to repeat itself.

He shrunk back from the memories in an attempt to distance himself. "Just how many were there?" The question slipped out, he hadn't meant to ask it but his shock forced him to speak.

"…I've lost count. I'm sorry, you shouldn't be seeing this."

Oscar frowns, disliking the regret in Ozpin's tone. This was what he wanted to see, flashes of the truth and what had really happened to Oz. He wanted to understand, it was all he wanted since Ozpin first reincarnated into him. "And how many were there that stood by you regardless?"

"I don't know that either."

Oscar didn't know if Oz refused to answer him because he really didn't know, or if he was simply distracted by the other conversation and…everything it apparently brought up. "That he didn't say those exact same words to me? I'm sorry, but you have to understand that my behaviors are backed by experience—" Evidently. "—I'm not saying that I have reason to think you will betray me—"

Oscar didn't know if he believed that either, and in the bond that they shared there was doubt. He couldn't say that he necessarily blamed Oz, not after what he had just seen, but there was something still there. Something heavy, incredibly…familiar and heavy was weighing on him. Oscar had felt this secret's weight come in waves every so often, sometimes when talking with the group, but mostly at night, when he and Oz were alone and should've been sleeping. After a while he'd stopped asking about it after repeatedly only being met with silence. Any brief glimpses at the ever-pooling memories did nothing to help with his understanding of it either.

He had left it alone for a while. He was starting to wonder now though if that was the best decision. Maybe it was time to push back at it, it could be a good thing. The group would get information they desperately need and Ozpin would finally get to see people will still stand by him.

"—I'm saying that I have reasons for the things that I do, the secrets I keep, the reason I—"

He did, Oscar knew that as well. But it was getting old and he was tired and at a time like this, where another secret led to another tragedy, it needed to end. For everyone's sake. Ozpin needed to trust someone. "Is it fair to keep asking them to put their lives on the line for something they don't understand? How much longer can you do that?" he asked, "How much longer can you keep doing that to me?" He only got a wave of frustration in response, followed quickly by a freezing fear.

"—Where's the Relic?"

The Relic…another weight, another secret. He hadn't been paying attention to it much back in Mistral, far more fascinated with the story and new information about the Relic of Knowledge, but it had been there during Oz's explanation then too. "You lied to them about something else, too?" Oscar asked and without a second thought, threw all of his mental capacity against the block Ozpin had on the information. Probably out of sheer surprise, his block slowly lost its hold, and shock quickly flooded Oscar from the information.

"It's still useable?! Why wouldn't you tell them that?!"

"They could use it to ask anything."

Ozpin didn't outright say what the issue with that was, but the implication was there in the nervousness exuding through their bond. They could ask about him. Another wave of indignation washed through Oscar. "So what if they do? Isn't it about time that we all got some answers? Had you just told them from the start, they probably wouldn't have asked anything!"

"I've come to know older, wiser men to be tempted by lesser things than infinite knowledge."

"Then you tell them it's still useable but that you're saving it for important questions! Now it's obvious to everyone that you're hiding something, of course they'll ask now!"

"We'll discuss this later, Oscar."

No, no he was done being silenced and disregarded like this. He knew maybe Ozpin would keep to his word with that too, but he was done with not having any answers! That's all it had been since he left his farm to go to Mistral, vague acknowledgements and half-truths. He knew everyone had their right to their secrets, his aunt had taught him not be a busybody and respect people's boundaries, but this was getting to be too much. He was done living on blind faith. He wanted something to go on, and the rest deserved it too.

And he wanted Ozpin to see that despite everything he'd been through, whatever all of that even was, there were still good people he could trust in the world. He was beginning to wonder how much Oz believed that himself.

"I need you to listen to me—" Oz stopped, eyes widening as he could do nothing but stare ahead. "Oscar, what are you doing?!"

Oscar pushed against the older soul's current control with everything he had. It was a struggle, but it was enough to stop Ozpin and whatever lie or non-answer he was going to say next. "Hurry…" Oscar croaked out.

"Oscar stop this nonsense!"

"…he's…"

"Oscar, I have given you the choice to be in control of your own body since I was reincarnated. This is the only instance where I cannot let that happen."

He felt a force against him and pushed back again.

"…trying to stop you!" The effort caused him to collapse as he and Oz did what he could only describe as the mental equivalent of a tackle. His body collapsed to the snow as the two wrestled for control.

"Oscar, you need to stop this at once. You have no clue what you are doing!"

"You need to trust them!"

"Her name…"

"Oscar please!" There had never been a note of true anger in his admonishments, but the truly desperate begging in his tone became apparent with those two words. It gave Oscar a bit of pause and he felt a bit of regret at making the man sound like that, but it didn't stop him. He believed in what he was doing. Whatever it was, whatever happened next he did trust this group.

And at the very least, Ozpin should trust that.

"Then at least trust me!"

"…is Jinn."

For all you Oz lovers out there, don't worry. I'm one of you. This scene will be addressed again by the end, but I really want to believe that throughout it Oscar really did think the was doing what was best for everyone.

Hope you enjoyed!
~Stormy