Chapter 20
POV: Omniscient
An older child, probably around 17 in a white shirt and khaki pants walked into a bar. Looking around, he seemed to be pointed on his way by an invisible hand, and he began walking towards a man sitting at the bar alone. This man had dusty gray hair and a tattered red cape. He had been drinking. A lot. The boy walked behind the man, who knew he was there without even looking.
Qrow: You're a bit too young to be drinking, aren't you?
The boy seemed suddenly distracted. He started muttering as if having a conversation with some else, who wasn't there.
Oscar: Yeah yeah, I'm getting there…
He refocused on Qrow.
Oscar: I was supposed to ask-
He just then noticed the giant sword, strapped to Qrow's back.
Oscar: I was supposed to ask… Can I have my cane back?
Qrow turned around and stood up. Oscar, who didn't know what to expect, took a cautionary step back. Qrow reached behind him and seemed to rummage around for something under his cape. Finally, he pulled out a small cylindrical object, with a knob on the end. He tossed it to Oscar, who, upon closer inspection, found that it also had a lever that ran parallel to the handle. He grabbed the handle, with his hand under the lever. With Ozpin's instruction, he pushed the lever from beneath and heard a clicking sound. Suddenly, out of the handle, pushed a massive black rod. The rod wasn't round like you might expect, but instead, it was square. He looked back up at Qrow.
Qrow: It's nice to have you back, Oz.
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Weiss woke with a start. She was a little confused until she got her bearings back. She had gotten on this cargo ship to hopefully meet Winter at Mistral. It had almost been a week since they had left, and she had been told they would arrive today. She walked out of the cargo bay, and into the bridge. It was a wider room than the cargo bay, which had been a small room filled with boxes, and most of the space had been taken up by the slanted door. The bridge was mostly empty, except for the pilot's chair and a control board.
Pilot: Mornin', kid.
Weiss: Good morning. How much further do you think?
Pilot: Oh, probably only a little bit more. Sorry it's taken so long, keeping us off the radar has been harder than I thought.
Weiss: It's fine. I just hope I haven't been a burden.
Pilot: Don't worry about that. You and your money are always welcome here, kid.
Weiss looked out the front window, which took up most of the front wall. The area outside wasn't purely clouds like it had been the previous few days. Instead, there were floating chunks of rock and crystal, making little floating islands. Of course, they weren't all little. Some of them were even big enough to have life.
Weiss: Where are we?
Pilot: Nowhere good. If bandits were to jump us, it's be-
Suddenly, the radio flared to life. The static interrupted some of the message, but the meaning was clear.
?: Ma ay! M y ay! We ne d help! Is t re anyo e out th re? We ha e lancers a ter us! They've latc ed! Th y've-
The pilot turned off the radio and changed the ship's course. Weiss noticed it wasn't in the direction of the distress signal.
Weiss: Are we going to help them?
Pilot: What? No!
Weiss: But, they could be hurt…
Pilot: Actually, they give us an opportunity. As long as they keep fighting, the lancers will chase them, meaning they won't be after us.
Weiss then realized that they were currently illegal smugglers. Any human contact could spell the end.
Pilot: Sorry, kid. My ship, my rules. I'm not putting my neck out for anyone who isn't paying.
And with that, the monotony of the long flight returned. She walked back to the cargo bay and sat down on a couple of crates that were stacked low enough to sit on. She noticed for the first time that they were all Schnee Dust Company owned crates. She thought about what to do. She had already tried to practice her summons, but any sort of unexpected movement from the ship seemed to mess up her concentration, and she was just as likely to launch herself out a window as she was to actually summon something. Soon enough, she got sick of the boredom. She stood up and walked around, and eventually gave in to practice. She unpacked her sword and began practicing with her glyphs. She started small, keeping one or two push glyphs active at once as a warm-up. Then, she slowly increased the amount and moved them around the small space she had to increase complexity. Next, she reached her record and pushed herself a little bit further. Then, her worst fears came true. Turbulence. The pilot heard a couple muffled thuds coming from the back, but ignored them. Back in the cargo bay, Weiss stood up, holding her head. She could almost hear fate laughing at her. She had hit the wall directly under the window, leaving a small dent in the aluminum.
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POV: Rocket
We were relaxing in the living room of the house, a room too heavily decorated for my tastes, when we heard a knock on the door. No one had visited since we had been there, and we weren't expecting anyone, except maybe Qrow. But Qrow wouldn't knock...
KNOCK KNOCK
The knocking resumed, interrupting my thoughts. I quickly resheath my sword, which I had been sharpening. Then, I got up and opened the door. Standing in the doorway was a boy around my age, with brown hair and khaki overalls.
?: Is there a... Ruby Rose, here?
That got everyone's attention. The reaction was a bit hostile from… well, everyone.
Nora: Why?
?: I-
?: ...iiiiIIIIIII found him!
Qrow drunkenly stumbled in, almost knocking the poor boy over.
?: I think her uncle might need a bit of help…
Qrow: After all this time, I finally found him!
He jumped onto the couch, almost breaking it. That was exactly when Ruby walked back in, from her bedroom.
Ruby: Can't a girl just read her comic books in peac- *Sigh* Qrow, did you get drunk again?
Qrow: Maybe…
Oscar seemed to look intently at Ruby for a second.
Oscar: You… you have silver eyes…
Ruby seemed confused. She remembered the phrase, but it seemed like she could remember who said it. I did. It was-
Ruby: Who… Who are you?
Qrow: Tell 'em- *burp* Tell 'em!
We all turned to the boy, who we could all tell seemed nervous.
Oscar: I think I know what he's talking about… You see, my name is Oscar Pines. But, you might all know me as Professor Ozpin.