Oscar Pine had spent the first fourteen years of life on that farm; every day, he'd wake up and tend to the animals, plough the fields until his arms were sore. Milk the cows and lug buckets of milk across the fields. When that was done, he'd feed the flock of chickens and clean and feed the horses in the large barn. Usually, around noon he'd check for any gaps in the fence to ensure no animals escaped, or more importantly, that no Grimm could get in.
His aunt would work equally as hard as he did; around 4 or 5, they'd sit for dinner. Harlequin Pine was a strong woman and an even better cook. The meat was always piping hot and fresh, the vegetables equally so, most of the time it was boiled into an eye-watering stew, the amora of which Oscar missed dearly.
In the evening, he'd usually he'd take his dirtied, crumpled rags and wash them while changing into more comfortable attire for the night. From his bedroom window, the view of the vast sky, dotted with stars and the broken moon, was clear from light pollution. He'd watch the sky or read himself a book to sleep, perfectly content with the life he had.
He never once asked his aunt to go to school; because she home-schooled him on the basics when he was younger. But after that, he was needed on the farm, and their trade made them a decent living. The nearby town was only half an hour walk away, and Oscar had no trouble socialising with anyone there. He didn't have any friends, but people knew him and liked him, and he was happy with that. Despite his simple life as a farmhand, it was hard and gruelling work, but it kept him fulfilled and occupied.
To put it simply, Oscar knew there was a wider world out there, but he had no interest in seeing it.
That was until the fateful day when a centuries-old wizard found his new host.
Oscar's world was the farm; the border was the nearby town; he never went further. But boarding that train for the first time into Mistral itself was a terrifying step he had to take.
Now he was here, in this floating, gleaming silver city, bursting with technological advancements that made his head spin. Oscar Pine was in a different world compared to the humble farm he'd left just less than a year ago.
Even the training room, with its sapphire neon grid lighting, and its walls of stylised black, were a sight to behold.
"Hello, Oscar," Ironwood greeted, tearing his eyes from the architecture. Oscar saw the imposing figure of the Atlesian Headmaster contrasted sharply with the darkness of the room. His spotless white jacket was undercut with bands of red and blue, looking at the general. Oscar wondered if he needed to upgrade his attire once again. Green had always been his favourite colour, but maybe he needed something more eye-popping. Everyone else had changed their outfits; perhaps it was time for him to do the same.
"Sir," Oscar muttered nervously, taking a few steps forward.
"Please just call me James; there's no need for formality," the general muttered. His colder demeanour melting as he smiled at the boy, "Now are you ready for your training?"
"Erm... yeah, I think..."
He didn't finish his sentence; Ironwood was rushing towards him, faster than any man his size should have been able to move. Before Oscar could even blink, the general had used the brunt of his shoulder to whack Oscar in the chest. The sheer force of the blow sent the boy soaring into the air; a few heart-stopping seconds later, he hit the ground with a thump that sent spasms of pain shooting up his body.
"Arrgghhh!" Oscar yelped out in pain, but there was no time to relax because a moment later, the floor itself flung him back into the air. The farmhand watched in horrified slow motion as a block suddenly emerged from the nearby wall, ready to strike him.
"Oz..."
No one replied; the block hit him head first, and it was lights out for the former farmhand.
"Oscar! Oscar!"
He groaned, his hazel eyes locking with the concerned darker orbs of Ironwood. He became aware that he was spreadeagled on the ground. His head was throbbing in pain, his whole body felt sore and achy; with a pained grunt, he sat up.
"Take it easy," Ironwood muttered, crouching by the battered teenager. "Your aura was severely depleted back there; luckily, there was no physical damage to your body."
"Sure as hell feels like there is," Oscar groaned, "What the hell was that all about!?" he spat angrily.
Ironwood's face fell.
"You mean you didn't hear him!? Didn't he help you? I thought that..." he sighed there and shook his head, "I'm so sorry, I was too extreme. I thought if I caught you off guard..."
"...Oz would step in," Oscar finished for him; Ironwood nodded to confirm this.
"I'm sorry," Ironwood muttered again. Taking a closer look at the general, Oscar could truly see he was somewhat pathetic and clearly desperate for the aged wizard's return. Maybe he meant well, but Ruby was right to not tell him the truth; how could they trust him yet? Oscar barely knew or had heard anything about the man, other than the fact he was a tyrannical dictator to the people of mantle.
"We'll make it easier from now on," Ironwood mumbled, getting to his feet, "You've used Ozpin's staff before, haven't you?"
"Yeah," Oscar said, remembering his fight with Leo at Haven.
"Then let's try this again; you use the staff to block my blows," he said clearly, as the general raised his fists, as Oscar held the cane up to his face.
"You're... not using any weapon?" Oscar asked, "Just your hands?"
"They're all I need," Ironwood informed him, "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
Oscar inhaled deeply; he didn't want to be here, being used as some experimental guinea pig. Where he was going to be beaten into some transcendence state so Ozpin would magically re-appear. It reminded him vividly of how Qrow had punched him, not Ozpin, but him and when Jaune had pushed him against the wall...
He felt like a punching bag, nothing more.
Well, he'd be damned if he was going to let this unstable brute land a few more punches on him. He felt his grip tighten on the staff.
"Bring it on," Oscar said confidently; he'd be the one to block Ironwood's punches.
Not Ozpin.
Oscar moved fast, having trained with this staff constantly, and when Ozpin guided him, the weapon felt more and more natural in his hands. Ironwood punches seemed fast and vicious at first, but Oscar found he could easily block every strike that came his way. Soon he viewed the general's attacks as sluggish, without his total weight put behind them, easily predictable and obvious to evade.
The farmboy began to sweat, beginning to enjoy the sensation of power from this.
Suddenly, Ironwood moved one of his legs, reacting in the nick of time. Oscar narrowly avoided the headmaster's wide-leg that would have knocked him clean off his feet. On instinct, Oscar blocked his head with the staff, just as Ironwood aimed an unexpected punch at it. Stopping his balled hand, Oscar grinned to himself but had no time to gloat because the next attack was coming.
Swiping the cane, he pushed Ironwood back and ducked to avoid both a kick and punch that the general aimed at him. Jumping and then rolling to prevent another attack. Oscar steadied his feet, and without thinking, jabbed his cane upwards. Which caught Ironwood's chin, sending the commander a few steps backwards.
Oscar panted on the spot, feeling proud of himself, as Ironwood's look of momentary surprise was replaced by one of... pride? The pair grinned at each other without uttering a word; this was no longer Oscar simply defending himself. He was on the offensive, as was Ironwood.
This was a duel.
Now he knew the commander wasn't holding back anymore.
The aches and pains in his body were virtually nonexistent in the heat of the moment; Ironwood's blows were far more powerful. His strength was unrivalled. Oscar soon discovered that power wasn't his most significant asset, but his small size certainly was.
He ducked, weaved, jumped and side-stepped the majority of Ironwood's attacks, using the brief openings to jab the tail of the staff at the large man. He learned that Ironwood's right side was heavier than his left; was it some sort of prosthetic he had? Oscar shook the thought out of his head; no one could have half of their body be robotic...at least he didn't think so. Who really knew what was possible with Atlesian technology?
But knowing this fact, he knew that Ironwood's left side was his weaker half, so he aimed there whenever he could. But Oscar was impressed mainly by his own speed and flexibility; at one point, he ducked under the general's open legs. Then, used his free hand to tug at the heel end of the general's jacket, throwing the large man off balance. Before he could gain it again, Oscar used the opportunity to whack Ironwood across the shoulder blades as he grunted in pain and stumbled a few steps forward.
"Gotcha!" Oscar thought proudly to himself.
The duel continued for what felt like hours but was probably minutes. Oscar was wholly lost in the endless jabbing, attacks, and dodging; he went to jump at one point. But suddenly found his momentum stopped; he looked down to see that Ironwood had grasped the end of his jacket this time and used his strength to slam Oscar to the ground. Before he could get up, Ironwood's large boot was on his chest; the general scooped down and tugged the relic from the farmboy's waist.
"Two can play at that game," Ironwood mused, "However, you fought well, Oscar."
"You too," Oscar replied, grinning from ear to ear, before he realised that his nose was bleeding and that Ironwood's face was littered with bruises.
"Wait, I did that?" he murmured in surprise.
Ironwood blinked, seemingly only noticing now the physical damage he'd inflicted on Oscar.
"Our aura's must-have broken," he muttered in shock, "I didn't even realise, Oscar, I'm so sorry. I was just trying to grab the relic to test you. I didn't realise, I did so much damage."
"Me neither," Oscar replied, "But... you were a good opponent. I didn't realise you were that strong!"
Ironwood appeared visibly less stressed now he could see that Oscar wasn't angry, hurt or complaining about his current state.
"And you were damn difficult to catch," Ironwood replied, wiping his gleaming forehead before he chuckled. "However, I enjoyed that fight, but I have to ask, did Ozpin help there?"
Oscar shook his head, forgetting about the wizard altogether until now.
"No. Nothing," he mumbled.
"So that was all you?" Ironwood asked in awe.
"I... I guess it was," Oscar muttered, impressed at himself. Was he really capable of that? Or was Ozpin subconsciously helping him?
But before Oscar could ponder on that question, a cough from some point across the room caught his attention.
"General, are you finished in here?" a strict looking woman asked; she was holding up a scroll and... recording them? Oscar flushed. His self-consciousness skyrocketed when he realised that a group of Atlas students was positioned behind the woman.
"Of course, I'm sorry I got carried away," Ironwood replied; he helped Oscar to his feet, "We'll be leaving now. Sorry for holding up your lesson Mabel."
"Oh, it's no worry," The teacher, Mabel, replied, "Besides, I've gained some great training footage from this."
"Glad to hear it," Ironwood said as he led Oscar towards the door; as they went, Oscar heard the excited whispers of the training huntsman behind him.
"Did you SEE that?"
"Who is that kid?"
"That was awesome!"
He couldn't help it, but he left that room with an inflated ego and smug smile on his face.
After a quick shower back at his assigned quarters and a patching up by one of the Atlesian doctors. Despite still feeling the ache and pain in his joints from the battle, Oscar was more than happy to grab a meal with Ironwood at the canteen. As the general had stated after their duel, he wanted to meet there.
"General, haven't seen you for a while!" the lady serving them exclaimed.
The bearded man smiled sheepishly.
"Well, I need to eat something every now and then," he muttered.
"What are you having then!?" she asked.
"Erm... whatever's good!" Ironwood said before he turned to Oscar, "What would you like?"
"Erm... whatever you're having!" Oscar replied; all this steaming food looked and smelled delicious; it reminded him of the stew back home.
As they took their seats on one of the long tables, Oscar soon discovered the food didn't just look or smell delicious but that it tasted that way as well. He stuffed the steaming clumps into his mouth, barely coming up for air, as Ironwood grinned at him.
"Slow down; you'll give yourself indigestion," he said.
"Sorry, sir!" Oscar gasped after taking an enormous swallow. "I just... haven't had food this good in... in well... forever!" he exclaimed, helping himself.
"I'm glad to hear it," Ironwood mused, "Are you liking Atlas so far?"
"It's amazing, truly," Oscar said honestly, his eyes scanning the large canteen area. Robotic janitors kept the place spotless, the ceiling stretched up in arches further than Oscar's eye could see. On some nearby tables, clumps of huntsmen and students were talking amongst themselves or inspecting their weapons.
"We don't like to boast, but we're truly the best at what we do," Ironwood muttered, following Oscar's gaze. "These are some of the Kingdom's finest huntsmen, but we'll need all the support we can get, which is why I'm glad you're all here."
"Well, Ruby did say how can we help, and I'm glad we are," Oscar said.
"And I'm grateful," Ironwood replied, taking a tentative bite of his food, "Speaking of Ruby, I want your confirmation on something. We received reports from Argus that Ruby froze that Leviathan Grimm with her silver eyes, is that correct?"
"Yes," Oscar confirmed.
"That's great," Ironwood said, "It was a precious skill of her's we can use if she'd be okay with that."
"Why are you asking me this? Don't you want to ask her?" Oscar inquired.
"I will, but you're her friend, aren't you? Would she object to this?"
Oscar thought for a moment.
"No, she'd want to help; she always does," Oscar concluded, as Ironwood smiled. Oscar couldn't help but compare him to an over-excited schoolboy of sorts; it was both sad and yet happy to see.
"Now, about our duel earlier," Ironwood began, "I truly think you have the makings of being a great huntsman on your own. We could hone your skills until Ozpin returns, so you're capable of defending yourself and the lamp and speaking of the lamp."
He looked down at the relic, which once again lay safely with Oscar.
"I noticed there's a tracking device on it."
"Yeah, I bumped into that woman... err... Winter, your soldier," Oscar recalled, "and she told me you'd be able to track it in case it got stolen. I thought it was a pretty good idea...". He paused there, seeing the troubled look on Ironwood's face, "...but you don't think so?" he asked.
"I think it's thoughtful of her," Ironwood muttered, "But I have my concerns about it. Keep it on for now, but I'll need to discuss this with her later."
"She's not in trouble, is she? Because I agreed to it as well!"
"No one's in trouble," Ironwood said firmly, "I just have some doubts. That's all."
"Oh, okay," Oscar mumbled before he plucked up the courage to ask the question.
"Sir, me and Winter discussed something else as well." he muttered, "She said I could solve it if I spoke to you about it."
"What is it?" Ironwood asked.
"Well... I had to leave home when I learned about Ozpin and everything. And... well... I haven't spoken to my aunt in nearly a year. I'd was just wondering if you could contact her and reassure her that I'm okay here."
"Your aunt doesn't know where you are?" Ironwood inquired, his voice sharp.
"No, not really." Oscar admitted, "I left her a note, but it didn't explain much."
"What about your school or your parents? Do they know where you are?"
"Well, it's just my aunt and me, and I was home-schooled."
"Home-schooled?" Ironwood muttered, the topic seemed alien to him, "Then what were you planning to do with your life? What about your friends? Did you have any? You weren't working illegally, were you!?"
"No...no... I was a farmhand at my family's farm." Oscar explained, "I planned to take over the farm once my aunt passed."
"That's it?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Oscar inquired, feeling defensive now.
"No. I'm sorry," Ironwood apologised again, "I just couldn't imagine a life so simple, especially for one as talented as you".
The compliment made Oscar flush with pride.
"Thank you, sir... but I just want my Aunt to know I'm okay," he said, "I can give you the location of the farm, I know you're busy, and you probably won't have time for it. But if you ever get the chance..."
"I'll get to it immediately." Ironwood said, cutting over him, "You deserve that much after everything you've been through." The headmaster said sternly.
"Thank you s... James," Oscar said.
Ironwood beamed at him, his face positively glowing.
"It's no trouble Oscar," he said.
Oscar still didn't know if he could trust the man one-hundred per cent, but Winter's quote was ringing in his mind.
"... I haven't seen the Commander this happy in months..."
He gulped, feeling guilt grow in the pit of his stomach.
"...If only we had one more question from the lamp..."
How much longer did they have to lie for?
A/N: Okay so this was a full Oscar-Ironwood chapter. I know the focus of this fic is meant to be on Winter. But they'll be a lot of differing POV's as we'll get into Weiss and Team RWBY next chapter. This will give an insight to why Ruby and the other distrust Ironwood, and as we saw this chapter Oscar also distrusts him at first, but will grow on the general, I didn't want it to happen straight away though, as it would feel unearned.
Anyway I was glad for all the responses from the past chapter! Onto answering your reviews!
merendinoemiliano- Thanks for your kind words, Fria will be getting more time to shine and have more stories to tell. About your explantion of power scaling, I can get behind it.
griffithdidnothingwrong- A fellow berserk fan I see, glad to have you on board! Hope this fic doesn't dissapoint you!
Pirate King Ray- Sorry, I respectfully disagree. I don't see how Ironwood literally went from giving up his arm to stop Watts, to wanting to nuke Mantle in the space of days. It reminded with of Dany in GOT Season 8 how she went from compassionate and understanding to genocide in the space of an episode or 2 because... reasons? You can make the argument, that yes, Ironwood is paranoid and stressed and those traits will be present in this fic, but I truly think he was done dirty in Volume 8, the change was too fast and unrealistic for me.
sUbSoNiCSoundwave- Thanks again for reviewing and yeah that annoyed me as well. If you're gonna have Ironwood go crazy at least have someone point out how Ruby's lie, or Yang and Blake betraying his trust and plans to Robyn contributed to his downfall? Yet they are never called out on it.
Vostok2142- Hope you continue to like where this fic goes, and I hope I can fill that void for you after V8.
Axdevilman- Yep, completely agree with you on the Winter-Ironwood fight. It was like they were reading out a bullet-point list to each other rather than an actual, emotional fight. Also hope this chapter invested you slightly in Oscar, because despite liking him in the show, I can understand why people think he's a blank slate, espeically because they missed the perfect chance to develop him in Volume 6 after he ran away (gdi rooster teeth!). Also I'm suprised to see quite a few people liked the Fria part, I just wanted to give her a little more to do, seeing as she was The Winter Maiden and would have some stories to tell and advice to give. Finally I hope I can give you satsifactory answers to those many questions :)
and finally Engineer1869- Glad you're enjoying it so far. One of the most fun parts to write in the first chapter was Winter telling off Weiss and the group for their idotic plan. Rewatching Volume 7, it felt like I was (in a way) self-inserting someone who wouldn't let all this BS go unchecked and bow to Team RWBY's unquestionable genuis. Maybe I feel a little bad for taking scenes from the show and twisting them to make Ironwood more sympthatic and to make RWBY and co seem more villianous and demanding. But reading between the lines, they really did come across as arrogant, but I know not everyone will agree.
Also wanted to make Winter pro-active in this fic, if she wants to protect Ironwood she has to take steps and if that includes guilt-tripping Oscar, or putting a tracker on the relic, then she'll do what she has to. Also liked the observation you made on Fria, she's been in the loop for a while and has done her duty all her life. So I imagine she'll give her life when the time comes. Anyway before I go on forever thanks for your review!
Once again, feel free to leave any more reviews, or questions you may have on this fic, thanks again for reading!