Chapter Thirty: The Long Memory
"I was the one who made the mistake," Oscar began his story.
The others were tired, but they'd all managed to shake the sleep from their eyes. Having all their eyes upon him, all their attention focused on him… it was something he might've coveted were he giving them reason to praise him. Now all it did was make him self-conscious as he tried to give each of them the correct amount of eye contact, maintaining it for a few seconds with each person before moving to the next. He was grateful for the excuse not to linger too long. They -Team RWBY, Jaune, Nora, and Ren- were all crammed into a single dorm and Oscar really noticed how small the space was now that he had to share it with so many other people.
"Nora told me why Neo came to Atlas; told me the same thing you told her about Neo and Roman Torchwick," Oscar continued. "I'd been trying to keep my voice down before -to not let Jinn hear me- but I was… I was curious, I was stupid and I just blurted it out…"
Oscar knew they'd have questions. He knew that all their eyes were on him, granting him the floor, giving him the chance to explain what had happened… to be picked apart afterwards with their followups.
All their eyes, save for Nora's. She alone didn't bother to look…she had to save her questions for later. For just the two of them.
Oscar pressed on. "She'd disguised herself as Nora. When she held up the lamp, I didn't think anything of it. Nora had never seen Jinn before, and I wondered if, maybe… if she'd allow herself to be summoned even if we didn't ask any questions…"
She had before. Ruby had been able to do just that, if only once.
Ozpin, however… he'd always asked a question of her. Eventually.
Maybe Jinn had already known Oscar would do the same. Maybe she had simply done what she had always been meant to do and had always known would occur.
"Nora came by right when I said her name," Oscar continued. "As far as I know, it was only the three of us who were affected when she froze time and emerged from the lamp. Nora wasn't happy to see someone pretending to be her, and she and Neo fought for a moment until Jinn actually appeared, and our focus -uh, my focus- shifted to not letting her ask a question and… well, after that Jinn showed us Torchwick and his alliance with Cinder and his death aboard the Atlesian ship-"
Ruby coughed. The first comment she'd offered on Oscar's explanation.
"Neo ran," Oscar concluded. "Nora tried to chase after her, but she was gone. She disguised herself as all of you -she's seen you in your new combat gear, at least- on her way out. Maybe… maybe to taunt us, maybe to disorient us further, I don't know." He finally stopped trying to maintain eye contact and put up his hands. "...I don't know."
He let silence hang in the air for a few long, painful moments. He waited for the others to begin their questioning.
He'd been convinced they were going to cast him out once before. Now… he wasn't certain that they would push for that, but this time he couldn't help but feel their scrutiny would be merited. He'd finally be guilty of a mistake wholly his own.
"She pretended to be Nora," Weiss recapped. "Had she done that before, do you think? Had she pretended to be Nora -or any of us- and snuck in before?"
Oscar knew the answer. But if he told Weiss how he knew that…
Oscar glanced again at Nora. She still wouldn't meet his eye.
"Maybe," Oscar replied. "She's come by to check up on me on occasion, and sometimes she wouldn't say anything… I didn't think anything of it. I just thought she was… it was the middle of the night: I didn't stop and think about why."
Oscar could feel Blake's amber gaze on his right. If anyone among them could tell he was lying… finally lying to them…
Nora's secret wasn't his to reveal. She hadn't ever wanted it to be a secret, but now that the opportunity was present for her to acknowledge their relationship… now she had nothing to say. And no one was questioning her about her role. No one had any reason to believe there was anything more to Nora visiting Oscar -even in the middle of the night- than her own affection and concern for him. He doubted any of them even realized Nora and Ren weren't the couple they so often seemed to be.
Their eyes flitted about, moving from Oscar back to Ruby. They'd all deferred to follow her lead, and she would have the final say on what to do with him.
Ruby was deep in thought. When Oscar summoned the strength to look her in the eye again, his mind raced. Did she suspect there was more he didn't tell her? Did she wonder why Neo had decided to visit him; possibly more than once? Was she weighing the pros and cons of keeping him around?
Oscar tried to stay calm and not leap to conclusions. He'd spent enough time thinking they'd only see the worst in him when Ruby had repeatedly demonstrated her willingness to see better…
"So, this means we can't ask Jinn anything, not for a hundred years," Ruby noted. "Were you -or Ozpin- planning on asking her anything?" She glanced around at the others. "Were any of us…?"
Ozpin certainly had wished to call upon Jinn again. But he was planning on asking a question he already knew the answer to. He would call her out seeking Jinn's company, not her knowledge.
The others no doubt were tempted to ask her a question: to have answers that had long eluded them. What could be done to defeat or neutralize Salem, how they could rebuild and restore their families after their strife and division, what they needed to do to unite humanity -and Faunus- and move past their petty grievances and divides… or even just to sate their own curiosity on something more mundane.
But Ozpin was the only one Oscar knew to have succumbed to that temptation. The others never used Jinn for their own questions… perhaps they hadn't ever expected Oscar to either. Maybe that was why Ruby gave him the lamp: not as meaningless busywork, but because she thought she could trust him not to give in to his own curious whims.
Oscar kept reminding himself it was a blunder. In case he needed to voice that again…
"Ozpin was upset about that," Oscar explained. "I don't think he planned on asking Jinn for anything… he was just disappointed we'd lost the option."
The others would be too. Disappointed in him…
He was surrounded by too many people cramped together into a small dorm room. Somehow, he still managed to feel cold creeping in… still remembered the way the winds lashed him at Brunswick over fresh bruises…
He tried not to stare at Nora. He tried not to call attention to her in front of the others. Oscar shifted his gaze back to Ruby, still waiting for her to render judgment. When he glanced at the others turning their eyes to her, he quickly realized he wasn't the only one.
And it was hard for her. How would she measure the loss of an asset they weren't using and hadn't planned to use…?
"We have to focus on Neo," Ruby finally decided. "If she's pretending to be us -if she managed to fool Atlas security- we have to be ready for her to try and steal the lamp again. I don't know how she figured out about it, but if she comes back looking for it maybe we can catch her in the act. Maybe we can find out how she got here and if she brought any of her old friends."
"Someone's got to be pulling her strings," Yang agreed. "Maybe Cinder survived the fight at Haven…?"
"Or maybe she found Salem -or one of her intermediaries- after Beacon fell," Weiss hypothesized.
Oscar quickly fell silent and let them speculate. Their attention was no longer on him and his error. They'd quickly moved on to bigger problems than the boy they'd entrusted the relic to.
They hadn't had time to grow attached to Jinn the way Ozpin had. The loss wasn't personal for them… and they were very eager to blame Neo, rather than Oscar. Yang in particular seemed… focused in her dislike.
Yang had opened up to him on that first night about the loss she'd suffered and the insecurities she'd felt. She had some because of this girl Neo as well? She hadn't specifically mentioned the name…
But then, that first night was one of the few where they ever actually talked to each other. Oscar couldn't recall ever learning much about Yang, even when he'd had the time to ask.
He put the thought from his mind. That was over and done with. Nora was where his attention should've gone.
And he did keep glancing her way, trying not to let his gaze linger too long. She was uncharacteristically quiet, letting her friends in Team RWBY have the floor instead. He wasn't quite so focused on her to miss Ruby catching his attention again, stopping to ask him: "What do we tell Ironwood?"
Ironwood believed that the relic's questions had been used up before they arrived. Ozpin's lie -Ruby's lie- had become true.
That was a secret Oscar might've been willing to keep. If only for Ruby's sake… he couldn't imagine it'd benefit them to admit to General Ironwood their deception when they had nothing consequential to tell him. Another half-truth, another lie of omission… it was becoming much too easy for him to plan them out.
"We should tell him about her and that she broke in," Oscar suggested. "So he knows that someone knows the relic is here and they're after it." He thought on it and quickly appended: "So he knows that we're not keeping anything else from him."
He didn't like the thought of pretending. But everyone else seemed so willing to keep doing so…
Nora had intended to reveal their relationship to the rest of their friends by now. She still hadn't even told Jaune, ostensibly teammate to both of them now…
This may not have been the time or the place, but Oscar continued to wonder just how many lies could be stacked upon each other before the center failed to hold. Not for the first time, he wondered what would happen if he just told all of them -RWBY, Nora, Ironwood- every secret he now kept.
He bit his tongue once again. He accepted the responsibility of telling Ironwood himself, knowing he'd once again have to omit large chunks of the story in explaining how Neo had been able to deceive him. He already felt a bitter taste in his mouth thinking General Ironwood would be more likely to believe him because he'd understand an untrained teenager making such a blunder.
Yet he coveted being that person a while longer. Because he liked the person he was going to be less and less.
Oscar stopped short of returning to his assigned dorm. He waited for her to return to hers', hoping she'd be willing to stay awake a while longer. But when Nora stepped out of the RWBY dorm, she didn't acknowledge his presence. She just moved in stoic silence after Jaune and Ren and went to her bunk.
None of her friends would wonder why. For all her boundless energy, even Nora Valkyrie needed to sleep. Oscar tried to catch her attention without making it too obvious he was trying to flag her down, lest Jaune take notice of any flailing or -worse- misinterpret and offer his own help. But it proved for naught as Nora vanished behind the stark gray door.
Once again, the chance to talk through their issues slipping through their fingers… and Oscar still too weak to try and force the issue. Because whenever he had to talk to Nora about… anything, she was the one to take the lead and steer their conversation.
Even now, after two… three… he wasn't sure how many relationships he'd had. Were any of them real when no one acknowledged they'd ever happened?
He understood why she'd be upset. He knew why she'd need space to process things for herself. But sometimes Oscar wondered if he was too eager to accept the excuse.
He'd already taken it with Blake and Yang. He'd already decided not to bother with salvaging any sort of romantic bond when he instead got to-
He suspected something was wrong with Nora and he said nothing, because the woman disguised as Nora slaked his lust and let him sleep through one more night…
"Oscar…?"
He knew the voice. Very much… not Nora.
Oscar broke from his malaise long enough to notice someone stepping past the JNPR dorm from the still-open door to the RWBY dorm. Weiss didn't seem quite so much taller than him without the added height of her heels, and the Atlas academy-issued pajamas were far from her most flattering outfit… but still, she made for a pleasant surprise.
"Oh, hey," Oscar half-heartedly waved to her. "Are you- did you have something more you wanted to ask? About Neo… or-or the lamp…?"
Weiss shook her head. "As long as I'm awake for a moment, I wanted to ask you how you were feeling. I'd only met Neo twice before, but the second time she nearly killed Yang. I thought you might appreciate someone saying that… well, that they're glad Neo didn't try her luck with you."
Oscar couldn't manage to contain his bitter laugh. If Weiss only knew…
But he quickly managed to compose himself. "It was never me she wanted."
He thought, anyway. But had it really taken her three nights to search his quarters? She hadn't decided to look in the desk drawer until after… all the other stuff they'd gotten up to in the meantime?
"No, of course not," Weiss nodded, before reaching out with her left hand to affectionately grip his shoulder, drawing all his attention to her once again. "I know you're beating yourself up; I know you're mad that she caught you off guard and didn't react well. I… I have some experience in that, and wanted to remind you that you weren't alone there."
Oscar glanced at the fingers on his right. Only a few hours earlier she'd reached out with this same hand… and her head had rested on this same shoulder. She wasn't so bothered by his actions to lose these small, meaningful affections…
Oscar almost smiled; he tried not to force the expression. He didn't want Weiss to think that he was putting on a show for her benefit when she really was making him feel better.
He didn't want to put on a show anyway. He just wanted the chance to be himself, as raw and vulnerable as he needed to be… with whomever he could. Yang and Blake had sent him away long ago, and Nora had gone to bed...
"Thank you, Weiss," Oscar nodded. "I'm just… I feel like I let everyone down and I don't want them to think they can't depend on me. I feel like Ruby was really trusting me to take care of things, and there's still so much mistrust between everyone and Ozpin and I don't ever want to get caught up in that again, you know?"
Weiss nodded. "No one doubts you, Oscar. We've all made mistakes, and we all know you've been working hard to get better."
Some days that was true. Others…
It was hard to be motivated to improve himself when he knew he'd eventually cease to be. But for little bits of positive reinforcement like this…
"Wow, I'm just…" Oscar fumbled, failing to find anything new to mention. So he just settled on: "Thanks, Weiss."
It wasn't the most eloquent he'd ever been. But Weiss seemed to be gracious enough not to point that out. She affectionately squeezed his shoulder before letting her hand slide away.
Oscar remembered he made the same gesture for Nora… and before her for Yang…
But Weiss seemed content to walk back to her dorm. She didn't seem to have any deeper meaning than just a sincere expression of-
Weiss paused and turned her gaze back to him. Oscar was about to open his mouth to ask if there was something else, but never quite managed to form the words before Weiss moved back over to him, closing the distance and wrapping her arms around his midsection, embracing him.
At first Oscar's hands hung limply at his sides. But after the initial shock, Oscar at least attempted to return the gesture, trying to find the right balance in his grip so it wouldn't be too firm or too loose…
Weiss appreciated it just the same, holding him tightly for several seconds before breaking off and heading back to her dorm. Oscar couldn't help but watch her head back in.
Not the first time he'd talked to Weiss and wondered if, maybe…
Oscar frantically shook his head. She was only being kind and supportive. And even if she wasn't he still needed to try and make amends with Nora. He had more than enough guilt eating away at him without adding Weiss Schnee to his seemingly ever-growing list of… missteps.
When Weiss stepped into the RWBY dorm, she heard Blake shift in the upper bunk, trying to flatten her ears against her head. Hopefully the noise of Weiss running back and forth hadn't kept her up.
Blake herself, meanwhile, stared at the wall, waiting for sleep to find her, hoping she wouldn't play around with every curious thought dancing in her head tonight...
Oscar had barely slept as it was. But James Ironwood didn't seem to have slept at all. He seemed almost eager to receive the call -possibly just to receive the distraction- early in the morning to pull him away from his duties. When Oscar requested they discuss something particularly sensitive, the general suggested they meet in the vault: killing two birds with one stone and giving Oscar his first visit to the underground sanctum.
Ironwood's enthusiasm dulled any of his torpor. He was still very slow and measured when he met up with Oscar, but seemed no worse for the wear after another sleepless night. He certainly seemed to handle the security break better than Oscar had. Though the elevator ride down did make Oscar feel a bit… claustrophobic as he reworked the events of the prior night into something more palatable for the general to consume.
"...she didn't know that the lamp was out of questions, and she didn't know the password," Oscar clarified. "She may still not know; she may not know what the word means. When she left she disguised herself not only as Nora, but as Ruby, Yang, and Blake too, all in the outfits they picked up here. She must've been observing for at least a few days."
Oscar neglected to mention how he might've drawn that conclusion… or the fact he knew it for sure. He trusted Ironwood would figure things out for himself.
"Sounds like the girl who disguised herself as one of my soldiers and infiltrated Blue Two," Ironwood mused. "So Salem's cabal followed Ruby and the others all the way from Beacon."
"We don't know that for sure," Oscar clarified. "We lost track of Cinder Fall at Haven, we know Adam Taurus is dead… we're pretty sure Roman Torchwick is dead." He thought on how much else he knew. "This girl -Neopolitan- and Tyrian Callows are the only ones we know to be here."
James reached up to scratch his bearded chin, deep in thought. "Do you think the girl helped Tyrian with his massacre at Robyn Hill's rally? That she was the one who doctored the footage?"
Oscar hadn't even considered it. From what little insight he'd gained, she didn't seem like she played the role of tech support -she was much more hands on- but Oscar tried not to speculate. He wanted to be as honest with James as he could. "I don't know. She wasn't very forthcoming."
"Your best guess?" Ironwood inquired.
"...no, probably not," Oscar finally decided upon. "Her Semblance already let her move around undetected, so why bother learning to hack?"
"Then there's probably a third," Ironwood nodded. "There were at least four of them working together at Beacon and we never found out who wrote the virus that took control of my knights. But this time they moved on the lamp before they were ready to go after the staff. Why…?"
Oscar wasn't sure the lamp had been Neo's goal. Or -at least- not her only goal. "Maybe they thought they could snatch it from me first, then had us looking in the wrong place while they moved down here… or on the Winter Maiden?"
"Possible," Ironwood agreed. "But they've lost the element of surprise. They'll have to strike soon now… and we know that these two operatives probably aren't the only ones. We may not know where to look now, but we know better."
Ironwood glanced at the lamp clipped to Oscar's belt. "They'll try for it again."
"Well, like you said…" Oscar mused, "No more element of surprise."
Ironwood seemed to approve of that. For having his academy infiltrated and having an ally undermined… he seemed to still be in good spirits. The elevator finished its descent, landing before an elevated stone platform, illuminated by torches of blue flame, resting on the rock face of the cavern.
Ironwood led him in, along the platform to an elaborate marble staircase, leading deeper into the cavern, to a shimmering golden door built into the rock. "This is it- it's right behind that door."
"The Staff of Creation," Oscar observed, listening closely to his own thoughts for any input from Ozpin… expecting some glimmer of information to poke through. Oz remained tightlipped, however, leaving Oscar to turn his attention back to Ironwood, giving him the floor once again.
"I hoped bringing you down here might jog some memories," Ironwood explained. "After all- it was your idea to use the staff to lift Atlas off the ground."
His idea. Hardly.
But then, James was more hoping for Ozpin to reemerge, to return, to take over from Oscar. He wanted his mentor, his friend back… and Oscar tried not to be too bothered by that. That seemed to be what everyone had been expecting at one time or another.
He didn't think that was what they were all still waiting for. At least, he hoped not.
"I thought gravity Dust kept Atlas afloat?" Oscar wondered.
"Eh, that's the public story," Ironwood dismissed. "But with the staff we have a constant, seemingly endless energy source. Oz once speculated it could take us as high as we wanted… to tell you the truth, that served as inspiration for the Amity project: get a communications tower up in the sky -higher than the Grimm can survive- so we never lose communication with each other again."
A noble goal. Though seemingly one straining James' already pressed resources when he had a supply of energy at the ready. "But you're not using the staff to raise Amity?"
"The staff can only be used for one purpose at a time," Ironwood explained. "We're going to have to do Amity the old fashioned way, Dust and all."
Oscar glanced around the vault, from the golden door to the stone carvings to the elevator at his back. "It feels strange knowing that part of me helped come up with this…"
Ironwood chuckled. "You'll get used to it, I'm sure. Eventually… you won't even know who's who anymore."
Oscar did his utmost to stay composed; to not be bothered by the implication… or the reminder. He quietly murmured: "Right…"
"We… didn't always see eye to eye," Ironwood admitted. "But I wish I could ask Ozpin what he thought about all of this."
Oscar listened to the back of his own head a while longer, just in case Oz deigned to offer his opinion. When Ozpin opted to remain silent, Oscar stepped closer to Ironwood to offer his thoughts instead. "Well, I can tell you what I think. The path you're heading down -where you're the only one with the answers- where you do the thing you think is right no matter the cost; it's not going to take you anywhere good."
It did little to affect Ironwood's resolve. "We have to stop Salem. Nothing matters more."
Oscar sighed. "Some things matter more, I think." He glanced over at the vault, the carefully placed lock between Salem's grip and the ability to craft anything at will. "Keeping our humanity: it's what makes us different from her."
At least, in Ironwood's case, Oscar was confident that no matter how many mechanical parts he added, he'd always be human. Oscar himself, however…
Ironwood certainly encouraged him to become more like Ozpin. When that day finally came, he'd forfeit his humanity. Inevitably.
"Sometimes I worry that's her greatest advantage," Ironwood confided. "Without humanity, does she still feel fear? Does she even hesitate? When Salem hit Beacon, even with all my ships, even with all my soldiers… I was no match for her. I've never felt so helpless."
Ironwood glanced back at Oscar, to the lamp clipped to his belt. "But perhaps… maybe this time things will be different."
"Of course they will," Oscar agreed. "There is something Salem fears, James: us working together. It's why she's still working from the shadows instead of revealing her hand."
James paused a moment to think. Where before, he may have been gripped by doubt -even paranoia- now his risk had yielded rewards. Now he was finding others he could place in his confidence, and push all his fears back from his mind.
Still, he needed a little more encouragement. Ironwood dropped to a knee to be eye level with Oscar and pointedly asked: "...do you believe in me?"
Oscar thought on it. For all the doubts the others had of him, Oscar had continued to believe Ironwood had -at the very least- meant well and that despite wielding considerable power and influence, he hadn't wavered. He'd only strained as any man would holding up the weight of the world.
Though he knew what Ruby, Nora and the others would say. And maybe from Oscar -or Ozpin- the words would be more palatable. "I do believe in you, but not only you. I think the best thing you could do is sit down and talk with the people you're most afraid to."
Ironwood chuckled. "Now you are starting to sound like him."
Amused, but reassured. Oscar felt like one of his conversations had finally gone well.
When the two ascended in the elevator, Oscar thought on what he'd heard hours before. How every small encouragement mattered, even when things seemed to be going well. "Ozpin told me -when I could still hear him- that he'd made many mistakes. He still did, even when he was headmaster at Beacon and coordinating all this. So… no matter how it might seem, you're not alone in figuring these things out. You're not the only one who has to carry all this."
"Hopefully soon, that'll be true," Ironwood agreed.
No, Oscar had to concede, not yet. None of them matched his authority or -by extension- his responsibilities. He'd still have trouble deferring to those he still saw as children.
Only once the merger was complete would Oscar truly be able to dissuade him, if he pushed too far…
Oscar took some small comfort in thinking there'd be some benefit for the others. He did still want James to succeed and he seemed increasingly willing to view perspectives other than his own… if they came from the right source.
He just had to cease to be and Ironwood would believe in him too… whatever person he ended up being when the merger was complete…
When they emerged from the elevator onto the main level, they found a stern looking Winter and a nervously fidgeting Penny waiting for them in the atrium. "Winter, what is it?" Ironwood inquired.
Winter immediately stood to attention upon being addressed. When Ironwood stepped towards her, she handed the general an envelope with a wax seal, emblazoned with her family's crest. Ironwood broke the seal and revealed the message… it must've been quite the change of pace to read a message written on paper.
"What's going on?" Oscar asked.
Ironwood grimaced. "It looks like you're getting your wish."
"My father's first act," Winter elaborated. "We've all been invited to dinner… where the General will be defending his seat on the council."
Weiss looked over the invitation, scoffing. "Only my father would turn a hostile takeover into a fluffy PR move…"
Oscar glanced around the dorm at the other members of Team RWBY. Yang and Blake were seated in Weiss's bunk while he and Ruby took the desk chairs. "On the news he said he wanted to break bread and hash things out," Ruby said, adding some context for Oscar. "Maybe… it won't be so bad? We do want the general to start opening up to these people, right?"
"Yeah, but on his terms," Oscar quickly clarified. "Ironwood's going to be locked in a room at his rival's dinner party. I know Jacques says he's happy to moderate, but all that really means is he'll be the one controlling the conversation."
Oscar knew it well. The memories became more frequent with each passing day… and the resentment stronger at that.
"Not hard to imagine how that's gonna play out," Blake dryly observed.
Weiss shook her head. "I still can't believe he won. Robyn was supposed to be the people's champion, wasn't she…? There's just too many coincidences."
Yang quickly picked up on Weiss's train of thought. "You think your dad might have something to do with Salem?"
Weiss thought on it before darkly replying: "I think my father would do whatever it takes to win."
Ruby quickly interceded. "And we should do the same."
Weiss glanced back at her. "Meaning…?"
"Well, no one knows your dad better than you," Ruby pointed out. "Out of everyone going tonight, I'd say you're the only one who could snoop around the house and not be questioned. If Jacques Schnee is up to something, I think we should know what it is."
Weiss thought on the suggestion for a moment, but quickly nodded, looking determined. Oscar, meanwhile, glanced over at Ruby, wondering once again just how much more she was aware of she hadn't let him in on…
Ozpin saw in her innocence and zeal. Maybe it was because Oscar was two years her junior, but he had come to view her as craftier than she let on. Her exuberance and her determination… they may have been genuine, but perhaps she was no longer innocent.
She experienced the fall of Beacon too. She lost something the same way Ironwood did - she and all her teammates and classmates had. How could she not grow after something like that?
Oscar tabled his thoughts on Ruby for now, turning his attention to Weiss. She was certainly willing to go along with Ruby's plan… but how much of her determination was genuine, and how much was put upon for the sake of her audience?
"You'll have your team with you, your friends, your sister," Oscar reminded her. "...and me, for whatever it's worth. Even if you're alone walking the halls, we'll be right there at your back."
He wanted to say a lot more than that. But Weiss hadn't been completely able to confide in her friends her doubts. They may have known they were present, but she'd never given them voice. Maybe his offer of reassurance -seemingly from nowhere- would help bolster her disguise.
"Of course," Weiss affirmed. "There was never any doubt."
Oscar noted Blake averting her gaze at his right. Yang, however, seemed encouraging of him, wearing a beaming smile.
He tried not to stare at it. He tried not to be reminded. When he shifted his gaze slightly away from the bunk and Weiss filled his field of vision, he felt much better.
Again he tried not to stare. He tried not to call anymore attention to her or himself. He hoped someone else would fill the air instead.
Fortunately, Ruby seemed inclined to do just that. "Okay. What can we do to keep any eyes off her while she's there…?"
Oscar would be eager to know the answer to that himself. For future reference.
With the invitation from the newly-elected council member extended not only to Ironwood but most of his staff, the general cancelled mission assignments for everyone but the Ace Operatives. Even they would have to attend the function, so they were relieved of the majority of their duties, just roaming the academy on a conditional standby. With no training session to attend to, Oscar whiled away the hours until dinner in his dorm, lying in his bunk and idly shaking the now dull lamp between his fingers.
You see now, how hard it can be to tell the truth.
Oscar wasn't in the mood. "Is this important?"
An unfortunate necessity. Something that I feel you'll need to hear.
"If you can be quick about it, sure," Oscar grumbled.
I appreciated what you told James before. But I wanted to remind you how fragile trust is… you may have been fortunate in the timing of your blunder, but you are not so practiced yet to remember every fine detail.
"Your point?" Oscar pressed him.
My point is, if he learns about Miss Rose deceiving him, he will turn to you. And you will have to make a choice.
"Why would he...?" Oscar wondered. "How would he even figure it out?"
It is not in her nature to lie. You may not have yet seen it, but it hurts her to deceive him. She wants to finally remove this barrier, but she cannot do this now. Not when James is still convinced that Salem's minions are around every corner.
"And you're telling me this… why?" Oscar asked. "So I can ask her not to?"
You've clearly come to understand there is a time and place for the truth. You have given James the comfort of believing he knows everything he needs to. You may not yet have the esteem he once had for me, but your ability to see the bigger picture -to not be distracted by emotion- is persuading him to accept help.
Oscar furrowed his brow. "Emotion… you mean like what Nora tried…?"
Silence for a moment.
I mean only that what you have is fragile. Miss Rose, Nora, Yang… they may allow sentiment to blind them. You cannot allow yourself to do the same.
Oscar paused to consider it.
Was it sentimental when Ozpin pretended Leonardo Lionheart died defending his school, rather than betraying his kingdom to Salem? Was it really so noble to try and come up with something he thought better than the truth?
Oscar had compromised because he'd thought that was what Ruby wanted. And because he could conceal his own blunder along the way.
Lies stacked upon lies… he was starting to forget what exactly the truth actually was.
He didn't want to forget anything. He'd cling to every recollection he had of his life, even when it meant dwelling on his mistakes, his flaws… his losses…
A cold poking at his chest…
"Eventually, he deserves to know." Oscar argued. "He deserves our honesty."
Eventually, Ozpin agreed. But -unfortunately- 'eventually' can be a very long time.
Oscar scoffed. "...was there anything else?"
Only that you should assume this Neopolitan will strike again, if you mean to carry the lamp around with you. You should go everywhere -even to dinner- armed.
Oscar glanced at his desk, and the cane lying upon it. How it took him precious seconds to retrieve and had Nora not been present -and had Neo not decided she liked him enough not to kill him right then and there…
Oscar reached down to retrieve it, glancing down at its handle. Ozpin had told Ruby that it wasn't the Relic of Choice -something both she and Oscar now knew to be true after bearing witness to Jinn's revelation- but there was something within it that Ozpin had kept hidden.
Ironwood told him about a nearly endless energy source inside a similarly ancient object…
"Did you ever name this thing?" Oscar inquired. "Just so I know."
Ozpin knew what Oscar thought. But instead of concealing it -as Oscar expected- Ozpin showed him a glimmer… a faint recollection.
Turning gears. Small though they were, constantly ticking away like a clock, gathering energy at less than a joule at a time… but still, collecting energy with every tick…
Magic was not infinite, despite what Ironwood may have been able to perceive. Ozpin had cut his own powers into seven pieces… four Maidens, and two eyes… distilled it only further with each new soul he merged with and each new perspective added to the whole.
He found a means to compensate, from one life to the next to the next, each man carrying on the same weapon and preparing… waiting for the moment, the eventuality they would finally need to do something different.
The Long Memory.
"Fitting," Oscar noted, attaching the cane to his hip alongside the lamp. "Any more words of wisdom…?"
Sentiment, Oscar, Ozpin reminded him. You must be strong enough to see past it now.
Oscar thought on Jinn, and Ozpin's palpable rage when the last question was squandered… how he lost his opportunity to ever… waste it himself. "So I won't end up like you, you mean?"
Unfortunately, Oscar… that is no longer possible.
Jacques Schnee sent cars for them. The trip to the mansion was only a few minutes on the ground, but even that led to a tediously long trip.
Oscar wanted to think the others sat in awkward quiet too. He wanted to think that the Ace Ops were grim military professionals seated in stoic silence, while Ironwood was too tired to address Penny or Winter in his car… but Team RWBY and Qrow were probably enjoying a lively conversation. Their counterparts in Team JNPR, however…
Jaune was constantly trying to make conversation, greeted only by short, neutral replies from the others. Oscar tried to be a bit more specific and carry on his end, but every time he spoke more than a few seconds his eyes would drift over to Nora, then from Nora to Ren… trying not to stare and finding himself staring at everyone in the car.
Nora still hadn't spoken to him or addressed him specifically. No doubt Jaune had asked her about the meeting with Neo, but none of Oscar's supposed teammates had shared the details with him… nor did he want to call any further attention to it.
Still avoiding the conversation, still eagerly accepting any excuse…
Oscar told himself that they simply needed to attend to another task first. He needed to support Ironwood in the face of Jacques Schnee's machinations, just as Nora had needed to focus her attention on Ren the other day…
Eventually they'd have time to talk about it. Oscar assured himself they would make time, because what they had was important.
Just like what he and Yang had was important.
And Yang and Blake too…
Eventually, Oscar promised again.
"Suppose we should smile for the cameras...?" Ironwood whimsically inquired.
"Sir, with all due respect… you'd have to pay me," Winter dryly replied.
The massive double doors of the Schnee manor opened before the assembled crowd: the Ace Ops, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Qrow Branwen, Penny Polendinda, Winter Schnee, and General Ironwood… far from the only guests, but perhaps the largest gathering of them.
A thin, white-haired young man bid them enter. "Good evening, everyone…"
Inside the luxurious manor, a server took note of each of them as they stepped inside.
Ruby Rose. Yang Xiao Long. The Valkyrie.
The boy.
She saw the lamp clipped to his belt. The lamp that had seemed to reveal the truth about her dearest friend's death… and seemed to exonerate Ruby Rose of her crime.
Neo fixed her gaze on Oscar Pine, watching his group disperse into the crowd of guests. She began walking about herself, taking the empty glasses and platters of the disaffected, unknowing pool on a large serving platter, waiting for the right moment to shed her disguise… the moment when Oscar was alone.
Not -as she originally planned- to ransom his life for Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. Not for revenge -the only thing she still lived for.
She had to know.
She had to know.