AN: So hopefully, Raven's backstory and reasons for hating Ozpin make sense now. I admit I'm a little iffy on the implied drugging, but I felt like some more concrete evidence was needed, but feel free to tell me if you feel like the matchmaking and lying about Raven's whereabouts was enough to convince you.

Also, just to address Ozpin's adaptational villainy, there are several reasons for it. First, as I've already covered, it makes Raven's actions and motivations make more sense. Second, one of the most significant issues with Volume 5 was the fact that it felt like the story became more about Ozpin vs. Salem rather than RWBYJNR vs. Salem, and I don't feel like waiting until Volume 6 for that to get fixed. The time for questioning Ozpin and making decisions without him is now. He's still the lesser of two evils, but I think the characters should be asking whether or not they need to side with either evil. Third, Ozpin is a very contradictory character in canon. To the point where there are at least two RWBY Chibi sketches (one of which Miles directed!) making fun of how inept and manipulative he is. And yet they seem to want him to (unironically) be Dumbledore. It doesn't work.

Basically, (to use an analogy that only people familiar with pro-wrestling will understand) I'm doing with Ozpin what the WWF did with Vince McMahon after the "Montreal Screwjob." I'm embracing his faults to tell a better story.

"It's worki-ow!" Ruby's cheer turned to a yelp as her momentum carried her past Jaune and slammed into a tree, throwing up dust and rose petals. Jaune laughed while he stopped the timer on his scroll and strolled over to help her up.

"Looks like your speed goes up proportional to how much extra aura I give you." Jaune brushed some leaves and petals from her hair while he breathed more aura into her. "Wanna try for distance now? You need to be able to grab the relic and get it back to Raven's camp before your aura runs out. Preferably without hitting any trees."

Ruby nodded excitedly. "Sure! I can keep going if you can!"

"I'll start you at 10% so I can recharge, and you can work on control."

Ruby sped off, and Jaune leaned against a tree, letting his aura replenish.

"Hey." Jaune looked up to see Yang approaching him warily. "Who am I talking to?"

Jaune blinked in surprise. "It's me, Yang. I only let Ozpin out for a couple of hours a day so he can train."

Yang nodded but continued to move with an air of caution. "Where's Ruby?

"She's going for distance. We're making sure she can make it between camps without her aura dying out. Or running into a tree."

Yang nodded as she sat across from him. "You've been getting really close to her."

Jaune chuckled softly, "I told you, Yang, we've been friends for a while. I care for her."

"What about Pyrrha?" Yang's tone had turned accusatory.

"Excuse me?"

"Just seems like you got over her pretty quickly."

Jaune stood up, furiously, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"What about Ren and Nora? Would you sacrifice them over Ruby?"

Jaune felt himself paling, "How do you…"

"Raven."

Yang's eyes widened, "It's true. You were going to leave them to die."

Jaune shook his head desperately. "You don't understand, it was-"

"Ozpin?" Yang's eyes began to turn.

"What's going on?" Weiss and Blake emerged from the woods drawn to the noise.

Yang shot a finger at Jaune. "Ozpin's already taken control of Jaune."

"That's not true!"

"You've already forgotten Pyrrha and tried to sacrifice Ren and Nora!"

"What?!" Blake looked at Jaune, having a difficult time believing the accusation.

"It's not what you think." Jaune looked to the three girls fearfully, "I…"

"Raven told me you were willing to leave them!"

"I panicked! I didn't know what else to do!"

"And Pyrrha's been dead less than a year, but you're already moving on to Ruby."

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

Blake put a consoling hand on Yang's shoulder. "Yang, people move on at their own pace."

Yang turned on her with a glare. "Like you? Moving in and out of people's lives without any warning whatsoever?"

Blake flinched at the venom in Yang's voice, "I…"

"Makes sense you'd side with him, you're the same, latching onto people and using them until they stop being useful. Then you abandon them."

Jaune pulled Yang away. "Blake's not like that, and neither am I!"

"Maybe you aren't, but Ozpin is!"

"Where is all this coming from, Yang?"

"He used my parents!"

"Oh no…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ask him! Ask him about how Ruby was conceived! Ask him about how he separated my parents so he could play matchmaker for Summer and my dad!"

Blake shook her head, "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Yang's eyes never left Jaune's. "Or is it true, Oz?"

Jaune froze as memories flowed into him. Ozpin's memories.

"Is it true, Oz? What Raven said?"

Ozpin regarded Summer with a blank expression.

"Am I just a baby factory? Did you ruin Raven and Tai's marriage just to bring another Silver Eyed Warrior into the world?"

Ozpin sighed, "The world needs Silver Eyed Warriors to keep it safe from Salem's forces."

Jaune's blank expression turned to one of horror. He looked to Yang and Blake, who both backed away in equal horror.

"It's true." Yang regarded him with growing disgust.

Jaune felt himself growing sick, "I…"

Blake shook her head. "I don't know what Ozpin did, but it's not Jaune's fault."

Yang's eyes flared red, and her hair glowed furiously. "Would you just shut up? Just run away like you always do!"

She rounded on Jaune, "And you stay away from Ruby! I won't let you use her like Summer!"

"I would never…"

"Forget Pyrrha? Sacrifice Ren and Nora?"

Jaune clammed up. 'Was it true?'

"Maybe you don't realize it, maybe Ozpin's using you like he uses everyone else."

"Yang…" Weiss tried to grab Yang as she noticed a new arrival to the conversation.

"He has no problem ruining people's lives if it means he gets his way. "He tore my parents apart just to make sure Ruby was born!"

"YANG, STOP IT!" Yang turned as Weiss shouted but noticed she wasn't looking at her. She followed her gaze to see Ruby looking between Jaune and Yang with a look of horror.

Jaune felt himself reaching out to Ruby. His instincts told him to comfort her and tell her it was okay.

'Or was that what Ozpin wanted him to do?'

Jaune felt himself growing sick again. He stumbled away, unnoticed by Yang.

"Ruby I…" Ruby turned and began to run, her aura exhausted. Yang caught up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Ruby, listen to me, Jaune's using yo-"

"SMACK!"

She was silenced when Ruby turned and fiercely struck her face.

"You have no idea what Jaune's been going through! Tyrian would've killed all four of us if Qrow hadn't shown up, and Jaune felt terrible afterward! He trains to a video of Pyrrha every night! So don't talk about things you know nothing about because you haven't been around!"

She ran into the woods while Yang looked on in shock.

Yang turned back to find only Weiss left, shaking her head in disgust. "That went well."

She followed Ruby, leaving Yang alone in the clearing.

Ruby ran into the woods with tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't notice the shorter but sturdier body in her path until they both yelped though only Ruby sprawled to the ground.

"Ruby?" Nora looked down on her friend with sisterly concern. "What's wrong?"

Ruby sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "What isn't wrong? Psychos are hunting me, I'm in a fight I can't win, I can't figure out these stupid eyes, Yang's mad at Blake, everybody's mad a Jaune, who's barely holding on, Ozpin's still keeping things from everyone, and it turns out I wasn't even supposed to be born!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Nora embraced the younger girl who began to sob, "What did I miss?!"

Blake slumped under a tree and began to sob.

"Blake?" Ren approached her gently. "You okay?"

Blake looked up and shook her head. Ren took a seat across from her and waited patiently.

Jaune fumbled with his scroll, desperately pulling up Pyrrha's video, trying hard to ignore the voice in his head.

"Jaune, you need to calm down!"

"Shut up." Jaune groaned, as the video began, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

He turned as he heard a growling coming from behind him. Some beowolves had come attracted to his confusion and despair.

"Good."

'Alright, Jaune, Just like we practiced.'

"I did what I thought I had to do."

'Shield up.'

"Would you rather she wasn't brought into this world? You'd be dead if I hadn't."

'Keep your grip tight.'

"You just wanted another tool. That's all any of us are to you."

'Don't forget to keep your front foot forward.'

"I did what was necessary to ensure humanity's survival."

'Ready? Go.'

Jaune unleashed his fury on the Beowolves, rending them asunder. He didn't stop, even when Pyrrha said to break.

'I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune.'

Jaune howled in despair at those words.

"What do you want from me, Jaune? What am I supposed to say?"

"I don't want you to say anything!" Jaune shouted as he finished the last of the beowolves, "I don't want anything from you except for you to leave! I want my thoughts and feelings to be my own! I want you out of my head!"

He sank to his knees and wept. At the same time, Yang slumped behind a tree, her head buried in her hands.

"What have I done?"

She jumped as footsteps walked past her. Ruby had found someone to vent to, so Weiss had gone looking for Jaune instead.

She barely glanced at Yang as she walked up to Jaune and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, shocking him briefly.

"Talk to me. Tell me your side."

Nora sat next to Ruby with a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Ozpin's a real piece of work, huh?

Ruby sniffled and thought for a moment. "You know I was kind of a freak at Signal. I worked harder than everyone else, constructed a crazy weapon, and went hunting during the weekends. And I was scoffed at for putting actual effort into learning combat at, you know, a combat school."

Nora chuckled and nodded for her to go on.

"I was so excited to go to Beacon early because I thought I could finally be a normal girl with normal knees."

Nora raised her brows, "Not sure there's any such thing as a normal huntress or huntsman."

"Well, I figured I'd be normal by comparison. I thought everyone would put in as much effort as me and be as dedicated as me. And I was right! I met people like Penny, who were just as weird as me, and people like Weiss, who were just as determined as me. I even had another barely ready leader to make me feel like I wasn't the only one in over their head. I felt normal."

Tears began to fall from her eyes again. "And then Pyrrha died, and I used my eyes for the first time. And all of a sudden there are witches and their psycho-minions out to get me, Ozpin's ready to let people die to protect me, and now I find out that a marriage was torn apart just to bring me into the world."

Nora pulled her closer as she continued to cry. "You know all I ever wanted was to have a nice peaceful life with Ren. We went to Beacon because we'd become pretty good fighters while surviving in Anima. Still, I always figured we'd just take some easy jobs together, tough it out until we got enough of a pension to support a family, then settle down in one of the kingdoms, get married, have a bunch of kids, and grow old together. I just wanted to be normal."

"But then our teammate was murdered. And our leader decided to follow our friend on a mission to stop the people who killed her. And we knew we had to go with them."

She squeezed Ruby tighter. "None of that is your fault, Ruby. We made our choices. Nobody blames you for any of this."

Ruby smiled at Nora, then frowned slightly as another thought came to her. "It's not Jaune's fault, either."

"I screwed up, Ren." Blake looked at the ground in shame while Ren nodded patiently. "I abandoned the people who loved me and ran away from my problems like a coward like I always do. I promised Weiss that if my past ever came up again, I'd bring it to my friends. And I broke that promise. Yang believed that I wasn't a coward that I wouldn't run. And I let her down."

Ren nodded. "Adam was hunting you."

"I wasn't scared of Adam; I was scared of Yang. I was scared that she'd blame me for what happened to her. I couldn't face her. So I came up with an excuse of needing to deal with the White Fang so I wouldn't have to face the people who got hurt because of me. And I broke my promise."

She looked down again, "And I don't blame Yang for hating me for it."

Ren put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You can't change the past. What's important is that you're here now, trying to make it right. It may take time, but if it's that important to you, and you keep working at it, I think Yang will forgive you eventually."

Blake looked him in the eyes, "How do you know that? You still haven't forgiven Jaune."

Ren looked to her in surprise.

"I've noticed the tension between you. Yang said something about him leaving you to die?"

Ren leaned back and pondered that for a moment. "That Tyrian guy you met. We had a run-in with him on the road. He tried to capture Ruby. He was too much for us. Ozpin convinced Jaune to turn control over to him so he could take Ruby and run, leaving Nora and me to die."

Blake's eyes widened. "It was a no-win situation. If Qrow hadn't shown up, Tyrian would've killed us either way. Honestly, Jaune probably made the right call. And despite that, I know he feels terrible about it."

"Since the day I met Nora, my purpose in life has been surviving and keeping her alive. Jaune knows this; he promised me that he would keep Nora and me alive. But I always knew that circumstances wouldn't always give him control over whether or not he could keep that promise. I know what happened with Tyrian wasn't his fault. But it's made me realize that Nora and I are expendable in this mission. And I don't know if I can be on a mission where the one I love is expendable."

Blake raised her brow, "Are you leaving?"

Ren shrugged, "I don't know. We'll help you deal with Raven and the White Fang, but Mistral may be our last stop."

Weiss listened patiently to Jaune's recounting of Tyrian's attack "That doesn't sound like it was about some creepy man planting creepy feelings in your head, it was you panicking and doing what you felt was best."

She straightened as he smiled gratefully at that. "Now, about your feelings for Pyrrha and Ruby."

Jaune sighed dejectedly, "That's confusing enough without Ozpin in my head."

"You're right, so forget about Ozpin for now. You clearly haven't forgotten Pyrrha if you watch that video of her every night, so he's not forcing you to forget her. So what were your feelings for her?"

"I don't know. I don't know what's the grief talking, what's the guilt talking, or the actual feelings talking. I figured out how Pyrrha felt about me during the dance and promised we'd go on a date after the tournament, but now I think that may have been a mistake, and I wonder if I should've just thrown caution to the wind and gone for it, but I wasn't sure how I felt about her."

Weiss nodded for him to continue.

"And then there's the fact that before she died, she kissed me, and I returned it. Was that love, or was that hormones and not wanting to die a never-been-kissed virgin? It's all such a huge mess."

Weiss thought for a moment. "Well, Jaune, I have three things to say to that. One, we're still young, and still trying to figure out this weird thing called love. And so was Pyrrha. Maybe if you'd gone out with her and she lived, you two would've lived a nice long life together. Or maybe you would've realized it was just an immature teenage crush and had a messy breakup. We can never know."

Jaune nodded at that.

"Second of all, if you learned anything from me, it should be that just because someone has feelings for you, doesn't mean you're obligated to return those feelings."

Jaune chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment while Weiss smirked slightly and gave a slight shrug. "Although I probably could've been more open-minded and given you at least one date."

Jaune simply shrugged as Weiss's eyes softened, and she looked him in the eyes again. "And third, brutal as it may be under the circumstances, whatever your feelings for Pyrrha were, no sane person would blame you for moving on. Not even Pyrrha herself."

Jaune sobered at that and looked down.

"I've seen the way you look at Ruby. You've been her friend longer than me. You've been there for her when Yang and I weren't. You've always cared for her, even before Ozpin got in your head."

She put a reassuring hand on his knee. "Whatever your feelings for Pyrrha and Ruby are, you are still you. And Ruby knows that better than anyone."

Jaune paused at that last part. "What if she doesn't?"

Weiss smirked and pulled him to his feet. "There's only one way to find out, and you're going to have to talk to her sooner or later. You don't have to tell her how you feel, but you do need to clear the air and make sure she knows that you're not going to go crazy."

She started to lead him off and chuckled slightly. "Although if you did start dating, that would be great for me because then I can have my place as her BFF back!"

Jaune's laugh was interrupted by the gentle voice in his head.

"She's right, Jaune."

Jaune paused to listen.

"I am not above playing matchmaker when it means keeping powerful lines strong, and I have occasionally found myself in the bodies of men who had families. I tried to help them balance their family lives with my mission, to varying degrees of success. But I have only ever loved one person, and she is now beyond my reach."

Jaune scoffed, but Ozpin interrupted him before he could argue, "My point is, I am many things, but a pedophile is not one of them. I have not planted any thoughts or feelings in your head. Your feelings for Ruby are perfectly natural, and they are yours."

Jaune sighed. "Thanks for telling me that, I guess."

"And for what it's worth, I did try to encourage Qrow into Summer Rose's bed, but he was a stubborn skirt chaser."

"Shut up and quit while you're ahead."

As the two departed, Yang rose guiltily from behind her tree and sighed.

"Okay, Yang, how are you gonna make this right?"

Cinder smirked as she listened in on Ruby's talk with Nora.

One of the side-effects of the Grimm inside of her was that she could sense negative emotions and was compelled to destroy the sources of them. So when the boredom of waiting for the enemy to come to them was interrupted by the powerful negativity emanating from the enemy camp, she'd excused herself, claiming to be doing some simple scouting. She was pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of the negativity was emanating off Ruby, and to learn that she wasn't the only one who despised the child.

It took all of Cinder's willpower to pull herself away and had back to her camp. She wanted so desperately to attack and destroy the girl, but she knew that Watts and Hazel would see through any excuse she used.

But if she could get the girl and Raven together, away from prying eyes…

And if Raven's sword was found in the girl's body…

Watt's might still be suspicious or upset if she failed to protect Salem's prize, but Salem couldn't blame her for something seemingly outside her control. Cinder's smile turned ever more gleeful as she strolled away with a newfound spring in her step.

Nora helped Ruby to her feet and gave her a reassuring hug. "Whatever Ren and I decide to do, you and Jaune will always be our friends. We're not mad at him; we just need to think about what we want out of life and whether or not you guys need us around."

Ruby nodded in understanding as they began heading back to the camp. "It would be boring without you guys around."

Nora gave her a playful nudge. "It probably won't be for a while. Definitely not until your old team get themselves back into shape and catch up to us."

"Hey! We're working on it!" The two looked up to see Weiss approaching with a look of mock offense on her face while Jaune approached cautiously from behind.

Ruby and Jaune regarded each other awkwardly for a moment. Then Ruby ran up and wrapped him in a tight hug as if afraid he would leave if she let go.

"Ruby, I…"

"We'll fix this. We'll get Ozpin out of you or figure out a way to keep him from taking over. I won't lose you."

Weiss smiled warmly as Jaune returned the embrace.

"Told you."