Legal Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Red vs. Blue, or any of the shows' characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Chapter Twelve:
"How long have you known?" Ironwood's voice was dangerously quiet in his Grand Palace office as he spoke, his back to both men as he stared out the window.
Clover Ebi and Qrow both stared at one another, unsure of how to answer the General King's question. Following the reveal at the party, Ironwood had bade them to follow him back here while the rest of the event and partygoers remained on lockdown for the moment. Finally, Clover let out a tentative, "Sir?" in way of a weak response.
Ironwood sighed and promptly spun around to glare at both of them, "How long have you known that the boy was Ozpin's Inheritor?" He demanded, eyes glaring at Qrow specifically.
Clover opened his mouth to reluctantly tell the older man the truth, but the black-haired man standing next to him held up his hand and cut him off before he could do so, "Since before we arrived in Atlas." He replied, red eyes narrowing in challenge towards Ironwood's direction. Clover's teal eyes widened, but Qrow resolutely refused to meet his gaze. Was he trying to cover for him, have Clover avoid the repercussions of intentionally withholding information from his superior? The thought made his stomach queasy.
"And you didn't think it was worth mentioning why?" Ironwood asked, the General King's tone cold and commanding.
Qrow glanced over at Clover and something in his red-eyed gaze caused Clover's heart to restrict painfully, "I've seen what happens to Inheritors here. I wasn't going to let it happen to a kid, Jimmy." The spy finally answered, his gaze going back to Ironwood.
Ironwood's hands slammed down into his desk with such force that the piece of furniture actually buckled, "Damn it, Qrow. This isn't some game!" He shouted in anger, and Clover was shocked at the sudden outburst.
"You don't think I know that, James?" The elder Huntsman was quick to respond, "Oscar's only fourteen!"
Ironwood picked himself up, "Be that as it may, Inheritors have an important duty." His blue eyes fell on Clover then, softening, "You were leaving Clover to shoulder that burden alone."
Red eyes looked stricken in guilt, and Clover couldn't stop himself from taking a step forward then. It was his turn to look after Qrow and especially Oscar now. That was what partners did, after all. "Sir, with all due respect, I'm more than capable of taking on the requests Atlas requires of me without assistance." He finally said as firmly as he could muster given Ironwood's ire.
"They drain you, Clover, and there might come a time when more magic than what you can provide is needed." Ironwood reasoned, tone surprisingly tired and soft.
"He isn't exactly wrong, soldier boy." Qrow muttered under his breath, causing Clover to glare over at him. Did Qrow not realize he was trying to help? If he'd just keep quiet, he might have a chance at persuading Ironwood.
"By not revealing the other Inheritor's identity, Huntsman Branwen has put all of Remnant at great risk." The General King carried on imperiously, as if trying to get Clover to see his perspective.
"Then I'm just as at fault too, sir." The younger soldier was quick to speak up then, ignoring Qrow's shocked expression as he stared straight at his leader's stunned face, "I've known about Oscar for months, James."
Ironwood sighed, his shoulders slumping over almost in defeat, "You too, Captain Ebi?" He asked, clearly exasperated with the two men in his office.
"I couldn't in good conscience force a child to do such strenuous things." Clover said in way of explanation, praying that the man before him understood. Ironwood was a man of reason, after all. He always did what he thought was right. It was one of the reasons Clover respected him so much.
"Cloves..." Qrow started, clearly believing that Clover was digging himself in deeper.
Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose before he raised his hand up for silence from both of them, "I can understand how you both feel. Believe me." He said evenly, "But this changes nothing, and having kept this secret for so long only makes things worse."
"What do you mean?" Qrow asked, his tone taking on a wary note.
A sigh escaped Ironwood's mouth, "Oscar Pine's role as an Inheritor has been exposed now," the General King ordered, "And it will be expected that he help aid Atlas in protecting Remnant."
"You mean by helping Charon." Qrow muttered dangerously, his red eyes narrowing to daggers.
"I can only do so much to shield him and Clover from Hargrove's influence here, Qrow." The bearded man stated wearily, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
"Bullshit, James! It benefits Atlas too."
"Qrow!" Clover hissed out in warning, shocked that someone would talk to the Atlas leader that way.
Ironwood didn't seem upset, however, as he clasped his hands behind his back, "I won't deny it," he finally said at length, "But it is for the protection of everyone."
"Yeah," Qrow said, rolling his eyes, "Keep telling yourself that."
Ironwood's eyes narrowed once more, "You've left me little option. This is the only way to keep them safe." He stated in an eerily calm voice, as if he just came to some sudden realization.
"Sir?" Clover asked, the sinking feeling in Ace Op's gut intensifying at the General King's words and demeanor.
"From here on out, Inheritors Oscar Pine and Clover Ebi will be under the protective custody of Atlas."
"Protective custody, my ass!" Qrow Branwen muttered as the door to the dining room closed noisily behind him, "That's just a fancier way to say jail sentence."
There was a shocked silence from within the room, where Qrow's nieces and their friends had gathered during the lockdown along with Sarge and Robyn. Blake raised a black eyebrow at the older man's outburst, "I take it the meeting with King Ironwood did not go well?" She tentatively asked, although her drooping cat ears indicated she already knew the answer.
Clover smiled slightly at her, "That might be something of an understatement." He replied from behind Qrow, resting his back against the door to the ballroom.
"And you!" Qrow exclaimed, whirling around to point an indignant finger right in Clover's chest, practically snarling, "What the hell, boy scout?"
The other man's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?" Clover questioned, looking genuinely confused by Qrow's outburst just then.
"Telling him you knew about Oscar already." Qrow managed to get out despite the frustration building up in his chest, "I had it handled, Cloves."
"I didn't see the point in you shouldering all of the blame yourself." Clover was quick to defend his actions, reaching up to grab Qrow's still outstretched hand with his own gently, "We're partners, aren't we?"
"Oh, don't start that again!" Qrow huffed and looked away then. Unfortunately for him, his red eyes landed on the others in the space, who were all currently trying to process what they'd just overheard. Damn it. This isn't how he wanted their stay in Atlas to turn out.
"Protective custody?" Yang repeated from her spot next to Blake, violet eyes narrowing in thought, "What exactly does that mean?"
"It means that Clover and Oscar will be confined to Atlas for the time being, right?" Simmons asked nervously from sitting at Kai and Grif's table, wringing his hands together in a nervous tell.
"So that Atlas and Charon can use their Inheritor abilities whenever they see fit." Robyn muttered under her breath, rolling her violet eyes as she added sarcastically, "For the good of the people, mind you."
Sarge harrumphed from his place next to the leader of Mantle, crossing his arms over his chest, "Which seems to mean just Atlas and those no-good Charon fellas will get the benefit, I bet."
Ruby gasped, her and Donut both protectively putting their hands on Oscar's small shoulders just then. The boy had been standing quietly off to the side, clearly a nervous wreck. Qrow didn't know how to sugarcoat the situation, so he just decided it would be best to be honest.
"Sadly, that seems to be true." Ilia murmured, "We've all seen firsthand how Mantle is always treated second."
"Not to mention areas even further out." Weiss was quick to add in, nodding in agreement with Ilia's statement.
"But if it helps in some way, then maybe—" Oscar began tentatively, trying to put on a brave face as his adoptive father shook his head.
"I don't think it will, Oscar." Qrow cut him off gently, "Not with the way they're stockpiling weapons and magic tech here." Red eyes fell to Clover then before the other man could try and protest, "They'll bleed you both dry before this is done."
"So you're saying we should just leave Remnant defenseless?" Clover asked quietly, his teal eyes questioning the older Huntsman.
Qrow shook his head, but it was Ruby who beat him to the punch, "No, but there has got to be a different way to help everyone than just what's been going on here." She told Clover emphatically, "We can't just keep relying on constantly creating Golems and hoping the barrier holds!"
"Atlas has been getting a tad too big for its britches, son." Sarge supplied gruffly, a reassuring hand resting on the Ace Op's shoulder.
Clover frowned as he ran a hand over his face, "I can't exactly argue with you there," he finally murmured, looking towards Oscar carefully, "And Oscar using his Inheritor abilities in prolonged bursts is still a long ways off, no matter what Hargrove or James want."
"..." Oscar didn't reply, but he looked at the ground as if in shame as Ruby gently squeezed his shoulder and smiled encouragingly at him.
"So what do we do then?" Grif asked with an exasperated sigh, his brown eyes already revealing that he knew the answer well enough and was just dreading it being said out loud.
Sarge guffawed loudly before Qrow or Clover could respond, "Why, that's easy, dirtbag!" He told the chubby Faunus, "We plan a jailbreak, of course!"
The trip through the windows of the dining room proved to be relatively quick save for some struggling with Grif, though Kaikaina and Simmons were able to pull him through eventually (despite his complaints about "not being built for this type of shit!"). Soon the rather large group found themselves out in the frigid night air of Solitas. They maneuvered carefully under lamps and around the myriad of guards posted throughout the Grand Palace, Clover leading the way since he was most familiar with the area due to having lived there for years.
He was just thankful that his father had yet to send in any Golem reinforcements despite his earlier statements saying he would when the lockdown began, and briefly Clover wondered if Ironwood wasn't the reason they hadn't been sent in yet. A tiny, sharp pang of guilt raced through him at the thought, but he quickly pushed it down to focus on the task at hand. Right now, they had a job to do.
"Turn here." Robyn cut into his thoughts rather abruptly, pointing to a side-street just a bit further ahead on the left. He nodded, knowing not to question her just then, though he couldn't help but pause in shock when they rounded the corner and found transports waiting for them.
"Captain Ebi!" Carolina's voice cut through the night as the redhead in cyan saluted, moving away from the back of one of the vehicles after helping Caboose load it with supplies of some kind. The blue-wearing canine Faunus jumped down next to her on the ground. Washington, Doc, Neopolitan, and Pyrrha were there as well, along with a rather serious-looking Winter who took a moment to assess them all with her hands clasped neatly behind her back.
"Good." Winter stated bluntly, "You're all here. We don't have much time."
Clover gaped at what he saw, turning back to stare in shock at a smirking Robyn, "You'd already had this planned, didn't you?" He accused his childhood friend.
The blonde merely shrugged at his question, violet eyes shining in the night as she moved to step over to Winter, giving the oldest Schnee sibling's hand a squeeze, "We were already going to be bringing back some much-needed supplies to Mantle." Robyn said in way of explanation, "Figured picking up a few more things of cargo wouldn't hurt."
Qrow regarded Winter incredulously, "And you were in on this, Ice Queen?" He asked, sounding almost impressed with Winter's rule breaking.
The white-haired woman scoffed, "Don't act so surprised, Qrow." She said, as if she was always a clear candidate for treason.
"This little lady's been helping us get supplies for Mantle for a while now!" Sarge said with a hearty laugh, slapping Winter comradely on the back. Robyn had to tighten her grip on the white-haired woman's hand to prevent her from falling over with the motion.
"Winter, I..." Clover began, unsure of what to say as he trailed off.
His work comrade rolled her blue eyes, "You can save it for later, Clover. Right now we need to get moving." She said, back to being all strict authority.
The brunette nodded, knowing she was correct, "Right." He said, looking over the transports one more time.
Qrow turned to their collected group of young Huntsmen and Huntresses, "All right. Pile in." He ordered, not giving much room for argument.
As they began doing just that, Kimball paused when she noticed that Carolina and the others who technically worked for Charon weren't boarding the carriages, "You're not coming with us?" The dark-skinned young woman questioned, moving to place her foot back on the ground at the realization.
Carolina frowned and shook her head, grasping Kimball's shoulders lightly, "Someone has to stay and keep an eye on things." She said, nodding assuredly. Clover paused from helping load Oscar into the back of one of the transports at Carolina's words, frowning slightly.
"But—!" Kimball began, only to be cut off by Tucker who twirled around to face Washington just then, "You're fucking kidding me!" the dark-skinned young man stated, practically snarling.
Washington had his hand on Tucker's back, shaking his head, "Afraid not, Tucker." He said, not giving much room for an argument.
"But why?" The young man in teal questioned in obvious frustration, eyes narrowed as if he could glare sense into the blond Faunus.
"It's like Carolina said," Washington tried explaining gently to the young tribesman, "Besides, this is our home."
"That's right! It's where I met Church!" Caboose intoned seriously from nearby, his feet clearly planted to the spot.
"You too, huh?" Tucker asked, looking over at Caboose in an almost resigned manner.
"We can be super-secret ninja spies for you guys!" Caboose exclaimed, the tall young man clearly beaming at the thought.
Tucker let out a watery laugh as Qrow started pulling him and Kimball towards the waiting transport, "I'll hold you to it, Caboose." He said, "Don't get fucking caught, Wash!" He yelled to the blond Charon agent, Washington waving as if in agreement.
Kimball glanced over her shoulder at Carolina, "Be careful?" She asked, clearly resigned to their separation.
The other young woman smirked, "Always." Carolina replied, her green eyes alight with confidence.
Donut stared incredulously at Doc and Neo then, "So I guess that means you guys aren't coming along either?" He asked, looking positively pained for the normally exuberant pink-wearing young man.
"Sorry, Donut," Doc stated regretfully as Neo shook her dual-toned head in response, "But they're right in that someone needs to stay."
"I'll miss you!" Donut wailed as he threw himself at both of them in a tight hug. Doc blushed at the gesture while Neo rolled her eyes, but they both returned the embrace rather awkwardly before the silent girl shoved Donut along his way towards the waiting carriage.
Nora stared at Pyrrha imploringly, "You're not staying too, are you?" She asked as Ren was already grasping her shoulders and gently pulling the girl away from her friend.
Pyrrha's smile was sad, but she nodded her head regardless, "I have to. It will look too suspicious otherwise." She explained resignedly.
"But—!" Both Nora and Simmons protested at the same time, Grif grabbing onto Simmons' shoulders and dragging the redhead towards the waiting transport, "Damn it, Grif!" He called out at that, but was staunchly ignored by the forward-facing Faunus.
Pyrrha turned to the surprisingly stoic-looking Jaune then who had been watching the display, her smile apologetic, "Take care of them for me, okay?" She asked.
He nodded, "Always." Jaune replied, and then Pyrrha was closing the gap between them, brushing her lips over Jaune's as the blonde's eyes widened. She smiled once more as she pulled away, shoving him gently towards the carriage as Sarge promptly gripped his shoulders and turned the young man around to face the waiting vehicle.
Weiss had reached out and grasped Winter's free hand during this exchange, "Come with us." She begged of her older sister.
Winter frowned, staring down at her hands clasped in both Weiss' and Robyn's still, "I..." The oldest Schnee sibling trailed off, unsure how to respond.
Robyn rolled her eyes, "Yeah, not giving you a choice. You're in too deep now, Winter." She informed the white-haired woman matter-of-factly, Weiss shooting the older woman a grateful look as they pulled Winter along with them.
That just left...
"Let's go, lucky charm." Qrow turned to where Clover had been watching the whole display, clasping his hand on the Ace Op's shoulder.
The brown-haired younger man sighed, placing his own hand atop Qrow's and relishing in the slight warmth he found there, "I can't." Clover said, willing his voice and face to be as emotionless as possible.
Qrow rolled his red eyes, "Haha, very funny, Cloves." He replied, and Clover felt the older man's hand grip his shoulder a little tighter.
Clover's smile was sincere, but also sad at the same time, "Someone has to stay behind." He echoed Carolina's earlier statement, willing Qrow to understand what he was saying.
"Clover..."
Clover gave the Huntsman's hand a reassuring squeeze, "At least one Inheritor should remain here to keep the barrier up, if nothing else. We can't just abandon Remnant entirely." He explained as matter-of-factly as he could.
"No one's fucking saying that!" Qrow exclaimed, the black-haired man's voice becoming desperate in pitch.
Clover's watery smile only grew, and he wished he could have as much courage as Pyrrha had shown moments before, "Look after Oscar and everyone, all right?" He asked Qrow, willing the older man to understand why he had to stay behind in Atlas.
Red eyes widened at Clover's question, but before he could even form the words to protest further Sarge hit him over the back of the head with the butt of his shotgun. Qrow fell to the snowy ground like a ton of bricks. "Fella's not going to be happy when he wakes up." The older man in red mumbled as Clover helped him move the unconscious man towards the waiting transport.
Clover tenderly ran a hand across Qrow's brow then, "I know." He replied, finally looking back towards Atlas behind him as the transport door closed.
Author's Notes: Sorry for the cliffhanger, though that might become a more common occurrence with this story as the plot picks up. XD Thank you, as always, for reading! :)