Welcome back! Author note at the bottom!

XXX

"Oz, please. Can't you remember anything from before?" Qrow ran a hand through his hair. "Don't you remember me at all?"

"Ah…" The old man scratched his head, eyes narrowing in concentration. "I'm sorry, nothing really rings a bell. Though my memory's a bit fuzzy in my old age." Qrow sighed.

This had been going on for a couple hours. When they had first arrived, everyone had been elated to finally find Professor Ozpin, but what they had actually found was an elderly man with no memory of life as Ozpin. Qrow had been trying to talk to him for the past two or three hours, attempting to remind him of the memories they had shared together, to no avail. The kids' optimism was waning.

Beth had been on the move constantly since they arrived, from trying to find some food or water to serve, to taking care of the overgrown garden, to helping Qrow with questions. Now she paced back and forth, with worried eyes that stayed on Oz. She had made Qrow promise that if he was unable to get Qrow to remember him, she could speak to Ozpin alone and show him her magic. Qrow was initially wary of the suggestion. After all, how could they be sure that he hadn't lost all memory of magic and the Four Maidens as well? If that were the case, Beth's magic might just frighten or confuse him. But Qrow agreed, only after insisting on speaking with Oz first.

"May I try?" Beth asked. Qrow sighed, running a hand through his hair again and leaving it in messy spikes.

"There must be something you remember," Qrow insisted.

"Young man, I believe you and I have met before, a long time ago perhaps. After all, you know my name … or at least, a name that sounds very familiar," the old man admitted. "But I'm not sure if I can help you."

"Qrow," Beth said, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. Qrow slumped forward a bit, then nodded, moving out of the way. The old man's eyes followed Beth as she sat down in front of him, smiling sweetly.

"You will be asking me the same questions, won't you, Miss?" The old man said with a sad smile. Beth returned the smile.

"Not quite, though I will begin with the same question. Do you recognize me? Is there anything about me that seems familiar?"

Ozpin peered at her, scratching his chin. "You don't look familiar, but there is something about you that reminds me of someone." Qrow's head snapped to attention and Beth's smile widened.

"That's good," she soothed. "Do you know why that is?"

"... Can't say for sure. It could be … well, perhaps it's your Aura," the old man said, squinting at her again. "But I don't know for sure."

"That's ok, sir," Beth said politely. "Now, I'm going to try something, and I ask that you please not overreact too much. I'd like to show you some of the powers I'm able to use." Ozpin tilted his head to the side, looking curious and confused, but he didn't deny her request. Instead, after a long moment, he nodded. It hurt Qrow a little, to see Ozpin in such a different, older, and frail state. This shell of a once powerful man barely resembled the calm and professional headmaster Qrow had worked with for years.

Beth held out a hand, and a ball of light blazed within it, a tiny flame at the center.

The kids jumped a bit, still unused to Beth's show of her powers. Nora's eyes went wide as she leaned forward, Ren nonchalantly placing a hand on her arm as a light warning to stay back. Ruby watched with curiosity, and though Jaune's expression was more reserved than his friends, he too seemed curious. Qrow kept his gaze on Beth and Oz, watching carefully.

"I'm not going to hurt you sir," Beth reassured. "And if any of this is too much for you, let me know and I'll stop immediately." The old man looked perplexed, but he didn't stop her. Instead, he simply nodded. "Ok. Then I would like to show you some of my powers, and I would like to tell you how I got those powers. But first, do you know what this is?"

The man squinted his eyes again and scratched his head, jostling his patchwork hat. "Is it your Semblance?" Qrow's hopes fell again.

"This is useless," he muttered. "It's not going to work."

"Please be patient," Beth said quietly, not taking her eyes off of Ozpin. "We might not get him to remember everything, but I believe he might remember his first incarnation - the life where he gifted the original Maidens with powers." The old man perked up a bit at her statement.

"What's that you're talking about?" he asked.

"Some people you met long ago," Beth said. "And the gifts you gave them. Please tell me, has anyone ever visited you before? A group of people?" Again, the old man scratched his head, concentrating. He looked like he was trying very hard to remember.

"Maybe. It's been a long time. Everything happened so long ago," he said softly.

"Take your time," Beth said with a smile. She waited a few moments, letting him watch the flickering light she had summoned, then she spoke again. "What do you know of magic?"

"Magic," the man said, his voice still quiet and low. "A long time ago many people had magic. Now it's gone. It remains the stuff of fairy tales."

"What was your experience with magic?" Beth coaxed.

"I … I ... ," he shook his head. "That was so long ago. I didn't use my magic. Or did I? I...I don't know. I was so old, so sick of trying to fix the world that I hid myself away."

"Wow. If he doesn't remember anything, how are we gonna fight Salem?" Nora said in disbelief. Immediately Ozpin's head snapped to hers, his dull eyes gaining a hint of life. He stared at her, his entire body frozen still.

"Oz?" Qrow asked worriedly.

"That name," Ozpin whispered. "That name …"

"What about it?" Beth asked, reaching out a comforting hand. Ruby stood up from her seat, ignoring the surprised looks of her friends.

"Do you know about Salem? Do you know how to defeat her?" she asked in a clear voice.

"That name," Ozpin repeated. "That name sounds familiar. That name has haunted me." He furrowed his brows. "Salem. She has persisted for generations now. It must be centuries since …" He stopped, looking down at his gnarled hands.

"Since when?" Beth asked gently. Qrow moved closer, eyes wide.

"It does not matter," Ozpin murmured.

"Yes, it does. It could help us."

"I shouldn't say it."

"You have to!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Ruby," Qrow warned. His niece frowned, falling back into her chair with a huff.

"We won't force you to do anything you don't want to," Beth said in a calm tone, trying to reassure Ozpin. "But you should know, everyone is here because they have met you before, and you gave them a mission that they're trying to complete. A mission to stop whatever plans Salem has for Remnant." Ozpin stiffened, but Beth continued anyway, her voice still gentle. "Qrow was a good friend of yours. He was the one who you shared information with, and the one who took the secret missions you gave. He tried to save one of my friends, another Maiden like me. And a long, long time ago, you gave your own magic as a gift to four girls, the original four Maidens. I have some of that magic now." Beth's pale green eyes began to glow bright, and a few flickers of light trailed along the edge of her eyes before they faded. Ozpin raised his head, meeting her eyes. Qrow couldn't help noticing again how old and frail this version of Ozpin seemed, how muddled he was.

"Salem is the reason magic left this world," he whispered. Silence followed that bombshell, until the news seemed to hit everyone and was met with a mixture of gasps and widened, almost horrified eyes as they each processed what that meant. Remnant had once been filled with magic. Somehow, Salem had done something to make it disappear. Maybe she somehow destroyed magic; there was no telling what had happened if Ozpin couldn't remember. Qrow took a few steps forward, kneeling down on one leg before the older man.

"Oz, what is Salem trying to do now?" he asked, his tone pleading. Ozpin gazed at him, and Qrow could see his eyes fill with confusion again.

"Magic…" he mumbled.

"What about magic? You said Salem is the reason magic left."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't remember much. I won't be of much help," he said. The same thing he had told Qrow a couple hours before. Qrow sighed.

"Well, thank you anyways Oz."

"I'm sorry," Ozpin apologized.

Qrow shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for." Especially when I'm the idiot who lost your cane. He stood up, gesturing to Beth that he wanted to talk to her. She nodded, smiling once at Ozpin, before joining Qrow in the corner of the room.

"This isn't going to work," he said in a low tone. "Without his cane, we can't give him his memories back. And he barely remembers his first life because it was so long ago."

"You're right," Beth agreed. "I doubt there's any easy way to restore his memories of his other reincarnations without the cane. And what few memories he has of magic, Maidens, and Salem seems muffled or blurry to him. We can't assume everything he told us is even true. He might not remember what happened correctly." Qrow growled, angry at his own stupid mistake.

"It's my fault," he groaned. "I lost his cane, after all this work to try and bring it to him."

"It's not your fault, Qrow. Salem stole it," Beth reminded him.

"Yeah, and so far, we have no way to find out where Salem is hiding, so we have no way to find his cane, and no way to restore his memories," Qrow said sourly. "So where do we go from here?" Beth pursed her lips, eyes hardening.

"We'll figure something out Qrow, but you cannot give up," Beth said in a chastising tone. Qrow blinked, a little surprised to hear the Maiden rebuke him, but she continued on. "You must have entertained the idea that things might not go your way in all of this. This is more than a mission. Remnant is at stake! And you have many people willing to help you. Everyone who worked with you and Ozpin, for example. Glynda and Ironwood and the others are still working in the other kingdoms." Qrow rubbed the back of his neck, guilt creeping in. As far as he knew, Glynda had been working nonstop for weeks, trying to help the citizens of Vale find safe homes and trying to keep the Grimm at bay in the main city. Without the CCT towers working across the kingdoms, Qrow had no idea what Vale was like now. The pessimist in him silently whispered that the Grimm had probably overrun the city, that Vale had been abandoned, that it had ended up just like Mountain Glenn.

Ironwood was safe in Atlas, of that Qrow was sure. Qrow admitted, he disagreed with some … all right, most of what Ironwood did and believed in. But he trusted him to try and continue Ozpin's mission. With the tension from other kingdoms though, Jimmy had his own things to worry about. Qrow couldn't solely rely on Jimmy. Deep down, despite his flaws, the General was a good person. But he would always do his best to take care of Atlas first and foremost.

And then there was another person.

I'll try to do what I can, Qrow. From Atlas. If there's anything I can discover, or anything I can do to persuade the General or the Council, I will do my best to see it done.

Winter's last promise rang in his head. Maybe she would be able to do something in Atlas. As much as Qrow felt uncomfortable admitting it to himself, he trusted her too. A month of travel with her had forced them to work together, but after the initial days of awkwardness and their mutual … well, it wasn't hate, but Qrow knew he had not been Winter's favorite person by a long shot, and he had once felt the same towards her. But she had really wanted to help. And she had.

And things had changed.

"Qrow?" He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his name. Beth was staring at him expectantly. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I am," he sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Beth said quickly. "You're under a lot of pressure, but you can't let it consume you Qrow." She gave him a knowing look, and for a brief moment, Qrow wondered if she knew more about his past than she left on. The flask in his pocket felt heavier. But the moment passed as Beth turned her head, glancing toward the students, who had moved a little closer to Ozpin. Jaune and Ren seemed to be doing their best to calmly talk with the older man, with Ruby butting in to pepper him with questions. There appeared to be a group effort to prevent Nora from freaking out.

"You have them too," Beth added.

"The kids?" Qrow laughed. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"And there's Ruby," Beth continued, lowering her voice.

"What about Ruby?" Qrow asked, his voice coming out sharper than he meant it to.

"Well, she's your niece, and she seems to be going through a lot at the moment," Beth pointed out. "I know I don't know the whole story of what happened at Beacon, but it sounds like a lot for a teenage girl to handle. She'd probably appreciate some help." Qrow frowned. He agreed, of course, but he'd already tried to talk to her about what had happened. But there was something else he had to talk to her about if he wanted to make sure she could survive this secret war against Salem.

"Go ahead, Qrow," Beth whispered, patting him on the shoulder before leaving to join the others. She sat down on the other side of Ozpin, giving him a sweet smile and asking him a question Qrow couldn't quite make out. Ruby sat to her left, still firing off questions for Oz.

"Ruby," he called. Ruby turned to him, cocking her head to the side. He waved her over, and she got up without a moment's hesitation.

"Yes, Uncle Qrow?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he said.

"Oh?" Ruby asked, her eyes now wary. He wondered if she was thinking of their last conversation. Was she still self-conscious about sharing how this journey and the fall of Beacon had affected her? Qrow frowned. He'd have to work on that later.

"I know you're probably confused still about what happened at Beacon. With, you know." He pointed at his eyes. Immediately, Ruby's face lit up, understanding his meaning.

"Yes," she said. Her voice sounded like it was bordering on excitement. Qrow smiled softly at her reaction. A little fighter, as she'd always been. But he wished she hadn't been born with silver eyes. They were an equal blessing and a curse. If he could help her learn how to control them, then he'd be giving her a better fighting chance against Salem and any Grimm that came her way. And at the same time, Salem would hunt her down for them. But if he didn't help her, she wouldn't know anything about the silver eyes. She would be hunted for a power that she could barely use.

"I'm going to help you try to learn how to use the powers that come with your silver eyes," he said, keeping his voice lowered.

"Really?!"

"Yes, really. I can't promise I'll be able to help you master them. It'd be much easier if we knew someone who had silver eyes to teach you," Qrow grumbled.

"Can we start now?" Ruby's eyes were wide as saucers, and she stuck her lip out in a pout. Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"You really think the puppy eyes will work, kiddo?" he asked, trying to hold back a grin.

"Well, there's no time to practice like the present," Ruby said. She let out a long, exaggerated sign. "And if there's so many bad guys out there, then the faster I learn how to use my powers, the better." She sighed again. Qrow rolled his eyes and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Come on, pipsqueak," he said, already heading out the door.

XXX

"The garden looks so much better!" Qrow looked around at Ruby's exclamation, and found he agreed. Gone were the withered leaves, the growing weeds, and the vines that choked the life out of the flowers. Now the garden was flourishing. It looked completely different from the dying state they had found it in.

"Yeah, it does," he said. He shoved his hands in his pockets and admired the garden for another moment, then spun around to face Ruby. "Ok, kid. No slacking! And try to pay attention, because before we even try to get your powers working, there's a lot of information you need to know."

The afternoon passed quickly, the uneasy conversation with Oz temporarily forgotten as Qrow and Ruby discussed the silver eyes and her powers. Qrow couldn't claim himself as an expert on the subject; his information came from what Ozpin told him and what he remembered from Ruby's mom, Summer. But hopefully it would be enough, at least for now.

The next day they did the same thing. Qrow took Ruby outside for training, just outside of the now beautiful garden. Only this time, they tried to get the silver powers to work, something that Qrow knew was necessary, but was still nervous about. Would it attract unwanted attention their way?

"When you used your powers at Beacon, they came from intense emotion," Qrow said, watching the brief flicker of pain in Ruby's eyes before it disappeared. "It may not seem like it now, but that's not always the case. After a long time of practicing, you will be able to use those powers when you feel you need to. The powers will always be tied to your emotions in some sense, so that's why you were able to use them that night. It will be easier to use them if you connect to them with positive emotions though."

"It's not working," Ruby complained. They'd been outside for an hour or so now. Qrow had tried to get Ruby to relax, to meditate. Ruby, however, had been antsy the whole time, and hadn't even summoned a sliver of power.

"It's probably going to take some time, kiddo. It's just like learning how to use a weapon. It's not a skill you can learn overnight." Qrow leaned back against a tree, gazing off at the garden. "Your powers are also meant to combat Grimm. So without any Grimm even nearby, you might not be able to activate them." He glanced over at Ruby, who now had a thoughtful look on her face, as if she were considering an idea. "No."

"What?" Ruby asked.

"I know what you're thinking. And the answer is no."

"I didn't even say anything yet," Ruby protested.

"You want to go find some Grimm to fight," Qrow said, narrowing his eyes at his niece. "And it's too dangerous, especially since you can't depend on your powers yet."

"I'm a Huntress. I can handle it," Ruby said. Her voice had changed from her usual high-pitched, inquisitive tone to a solemn, borderline annoyed tone. It was her stubborn voice, the one that she had always adopted as a kid when she wanted something. And while Qrow was sure he and Tai had doted on Ruby often, Qrow would never agree to any of her plans that he thought would put her in danger.

"You're a Huntress-in-training. You didn't even finish your full four years at Beacon," Qrow shot back. "Do you remember what I told you at the Vytal Festival?" Ruby stiffened.

"Yes," she mumbled.

"Then you should know that-,"

"But you said I'll learn more by actually going out and doing something!" Ruby burst out. "So if I want to become a better Huntress, I need to go out into the real world and put what I learn at Beacon to use." Her hands clenched into fists, and she stared Qrow down with a defiant look. Qrow frowned, crossing his arms. He didn't back down from his niece's glare.

"Ruby, you're a good fighter with that scythe. But you've still got a lot to learn. And-," Qrow added quickly as he saw Ruby open her mouth to interject. "You shouldn't go looking for trouble. Unless you wanna get yourself killed." Ruby glared at him for another few moments, then her shoulders slumped.

"Then what am I supposed to do, Uncle Qrow? I want to learn how to use my powers to help protect my friends, but-," she hugged her arms to herself, suddenly appearing much smaller. "I don't know how." Qrow stared sadly at his niece. You shouldn't be feeling this sad. You shouldn't have to deal with so much shit already. You're still just a kid. He pushed himself off the tree and walked over to Ruby, who hadn't moved her gaze from the ground. He placed a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking it.

"Kiddo?" He murmured. Nothing. No reaction. "Ruby? Come on, please listen, kiddo. I just don't want you to get hurt for no reason. We're out in the middle of nowhere, and if something happened to you with your Aura depleted …" He didn't finish his sentence. He couldn't. Thinking about losing either of his nieces would send him spiralling again.

"Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, finally looking up at him. "I know." Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He froze for a split second, and then immediately hugged his niece back. "But I still want to train against actual Grimm. It might be the only way to test my powers. I just don't know if I'll be able to use them unless I'm facing Grimm. You said they only worked against Grimm, right?"

"I've seen them used against the Grimm before." Qrow pulled back to look Ruby in the eyes. "The powers don't seem to affect other people, but beyond that, I don't know the extent of what the powers can do."

"So, I go out and train against Grimm, and you come with me as backup!" Ruby said with a sudden grin. Qrow frowned, rubbing his forehead. There had to be some flaw in this plan. Of course, it was too dangerous. They were in the middle of nowhere, deep in the forests of Mistral. There wasn't even a small settlement closer than a half a day away. If something seriously bad happened to either of them, they'd be screwed. But … she should train. As much as he wanted to protect her, Qrow knew he had to step back. Even if something could go wrong.

"Alright, fine. I will take you training," Qrow sighed, letting out some of his frustration in a long breath. Ruby beamed up at him, but Qrow held up a hand. "I have a few conditions though. One, if something bad happens or your Aura depletes, we leave."

"Ok!" Ruby answered.

"Two, we tell the others so they know where we'll be, and maybe we can convince Beth to come along. For extra backup."

"Ok!"

"And finally, you have to listen to what I say!" Qrow grinned.

"What?! Uncle Qrow!" Ruby whined, though the mischievous sparkle in her eyes let him know that she understood he was joking. Well, partially joking.

"You heard me, kid." He chuckled, striding back to the hut. "Come on, better go talk to the others about training you, and seeing how long we're going to stay in these backwater woods."

"Ok. But just so you know-," Ruby caught up to him, shooting him another wide smile. "I bet I'll take out more Grimm than you, even without the silver-eye powers!"

"Yeah, right," he scoffed.

"Wanna bet, old man?!"

"What did I tell you about calling me old!"

XXX

Thanks for checking out my new chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!

NinaVale: Thank you as always! I'm glad to hear you like my portrayal of Winter. I try my best to keep her true to what little the show and manga have given us. And I'm glad you liked the last chapter! The hardest part was keeping a chapter completely centered around one meeting still interesting, while also not sounding like nothing more than an exposition dump. Hopefully it still reads as interesting. And I was happy to introduce Weiss! I knew it would happen in this story, because it's still a RWBY fic, despite focusing on Qrow and Winter (so maybe we'll see the other girls eventually ;) ) but Weiss is also one of the most important people to Winter, so her role in this story is important, even if she hasn't appeared until recently. As for what will happen next ... well, you may find out in the next couple of chapters!

AReader: Wow, I'm blown away by your comment! Thank you for reviewing this story, and I'm so happy you like it! Sorry it's incomplete! There's still quite a bit to go in this story, but I hope you enjoy the new chapter, and any future chapters! To hear you say you could dive right in to the story is incredibly flattering, and I greatly appreciate it! I'm just happy that you enjoy the story! It's been a long two years, and I don't know when I'll finish this story, but I'm happy to continue it and unveil more of Qrow and Winter's odd relationship ;) And as for Weiss appearing in the story, I won't say too much other than that she is important, both to Winter and to some of the other characters, and her appearance in this story will have a significant affect on the characters.

Amelia: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

conkerkos: I'm so glad! It makes me so happy to see people comment and say they like the story, so thank you so much!