Chapter Thirty-Three: Bits and Pieces
Clover glanced past Harriet at the helm through the windshield to Mantle, Grimm descending from the west over the city's walls. He grimaced before glancing back to the others -crowded in the cargo bay- to give them one last gentle reminder. "Alright, everyone - I need to stress to our new Huntsmen and Huntresses: we are prioritizing citizen safety over killing Grimm. Got it?"
Team RWBY seemed to share his sentiment, immediately offering him some form of affirmative nod. Clover returned his attention to the front of the ship, soon joined by Qrow in the cockpit to discuss their deployment.
Weiss turned her attention to the ship's panel door, impatiently waiting for it to open so she could start the mission. Staring at the stark gray metal did little to alleviate uncomfortable thoughts, however… more uncomfortable than rushing into a dangerous situation in a city with no heating grid besieged by a snowstorm and about to be overrun by Grimm. There were things in the world that bothered her more than that.
Her father… she had the proof of his duplicity and she'd missed her chance to reveal him. If she'd arrived before General Ironwood's authority had been revoked, if she'd gone straight to the council meeting… perhaps she'd have arrested Jacques Schnee for his treason rather than helplessly watched him avoid consequences once again. She'd seen that far too often in her life.
She didn't regret sending a text message to her brother. She didn't mind devoting the time to keeping him in the loop. She reminded herself that empathy for her family -even family who may not have returned it- was no waste of time.
But stopping to talk about childish gossip…
Another reminder that no matter how quickly she'd advanced, no matter how much progress she'd made in her career -years before she was supposed to be a formal, graduated Huntress- she could still be distracted by something as inconsequential as her friends' dating history. All because it might have overlapped with her own interests.
And at that very moment she might've exposed corruption and possibly even spared the kingdom Arthur Watts doing further damage with his cyberattack. She took her attention off the mission -off her mission- because she just had to know about Yang and Oscar.
Oscar was the youngest out of all of them and he'd realized the need to go to Ironwood straight away. He'd been the one most opposed to keeping the general in the dark in the first place; only going along to respect the will of the majority. When Oscar spoke to her about his meetings with General Ironwood -and about her father, incidentally- she sensed his guilt at having to omit so many details. She knew how he resented the general waiting for someone else to spring from Oscar's head and provide counsel when Oscar wanted to be the person Ironwood turned to instead.
His counsel had been of great help to her. It was part of the reason she'd so come around to him. Part of the reason she was now wondering-
Weiss finally turned her gaze from the panel door back to Yang, loading ammunition into Ember Celica. Blake was to her immediate right, gently tapping her fingers over her crossed arms.
Blake and Yang were together now, even if they had yet to officially acknowledge it. Ruby didn't actually seem to know what was going on there… though Weiss had a more experienced eye, at least most of the time. Did that mean they started dating -or whatever they called it- after Yang and Oscar already called things off?
How long had that been? Yang said she and Oscar called it quits after Jinn, the lamp… the uncomfortable truth about Professor Ozpin. Weiss hadn't given her old headmaster much thought since they changed continents. She'd barely considered Oscar's thoughts on the matter either, always just assuming that Ozpin was… if not gone, then muted, or absent for long enough for her and Oscar to bond. It wasn't so hard for her to think of him as a separate person when she knew how much he wanted to be. She had a bit of experience in trying to extricate herself from everyone else's expectations and strike out on her own.
Weiss turned her gaze from Yang back to the panel door. She'd been distracted before -by Yang and Oscar specifically- and that had cost her so much. She couldn't afford to let herself be so any further; not when lives were hanging in the balance now.
She didn't want to set her feelings aside. She didn't want to shelve the conversation when her friends were aware of what she felt and had insights to offer… but it had to wait. Her having a crush on a boy that her teammate used to date was much less important than protecting citizens from the Grimm.
She did wonder how many times she had to put it off. Yang mentioned constantly putting things off and never getting around to telling her friends -or even her sister- about her boyfriend. How long would Weiss have to wait now?
Ruby nudged her shoulder. "You okay?"
"M'fine," Weiss murmured, still staring at the door.
She had to be fine. She had to hold together and focus on the task now. Failing to do so had cost her -cost her kingdom- far too much already.
Oscar had intended to tell him the truth from the start. But in choosing to follow Ruby's lead, Oscar bit his tongue. Now faced with the recommendation -from Ruby, no less- to finally enlighten Ironwood, Oscar found himself uncertain how best to proceed.
Ironwood had limited time to hear him out: his kingdom's communications network was under Watts' control and he and the other councilors had been locked out. And yet Oscar still stalled and deliberated how much to tell him…
Certainly not the entire truth. But he deserved to know everything.
But if Oscar told him everything, Ironwood would realize just how many times he'd been lied to, and how Qrow, Oscar, and two teams of students had all been complicit in the deception. He'd feel even more surrounded, even more paranoid… and justifiably so.
Neo had unintentionally given him the means; to transform a lie into the truth. But there was more he needed to know about Salem, about Ozpin, about the conflict.
Oscar started there, unclipping the lamp from his belt. He thought on how to phrase it.
He could acknowledge that someone had lied to Ironwood. Only someone. Someone he already suspected of lying to him.
"Ozpin lied to us all," Oscar explained. "There was… I'm not sure when or how often, but he would summon Jinn for her counsel. He used the questions up when there was something he needed to know… I don't think he ever intended to share it with anyone, ever. Everyone would believe the immortal wizard and no one would expect to live long enough to see her questions replenished."
Oscar recalled it better now; not quite as floaty and smoky as she appeared in his dreams. The memory was more vivid… Ozpin may have only called her once in that man's body, but the wizard summoned her in every lifetime he could. Counsel… in a manner of speaking.
"Since I knew about the merger I started seeing his memories whenever he… rested, whenever he was asleep," Oscar explained. "And I learned a lot about him and Salem, and how she came to be."
That was true, at least. When Ozpin wasn't dreaming of Salem, he was dreaming of the women he took in her place and used as a reminder of the life he'd lost. How he drowned his memory, his guilt, his pain… how Oscar could easily have fallen into the same trap.
"I'm still piecing some of it together, but I learned a lot about her, about what happened to the world before this one… all the things he kept secret even from you, even from Qrow," Oscar elaborated. "It… it was a lot to process. But the stuff that's relevant right now is Salem, and why Ozpin never tried to make any real organized opposition to her… because it wouldn't matter.
"Because she can't be destroyed," Oscar revealed. "He asked Jinn that too, in a previous life… and it… it was a lot for him to take in."
It was a lot for Ironwood too. For a professional soldier who'd spent most of his life learning efficient ways to fight… not being able to kill his enemy would throw him completely off his game. Much as it had Raven, when she learned that…
Oscar subtly shook his head. Oz whispering in his ear again.
Ironwood quickly composed himself. "Why? Why would Oz keep this from us; from the people who trusted him?"
"He was worried you'd lose hope," Oscar suggested.
Ironwood was contemplative again. Oscar quickly pressed on. "I wish I had told you all this sooner. I wish I'd been able to piece it all together before we were under siege like this. But I figured you should know before you make any… sacrifices."
For several seconds they sat in silence. Ironwood was continuously receiving notifications to his Scroll as one branch of military or government became aware of the system infiltration or the Grimm arriving within the kingdom's borders.
"Sir?" Oscar gently prodded. "What are you gonna do?"
Ironwood quickly emerged from his torpor. Still exhausted, but unwilling to be further beaten down. "All we can do for the moment is what we can to save Mantle. That's what's in front of us."
Oscar tried not to be too relieved that he'd dodged a bullet. Or -more accurately- deflected blame to the man who couldn't defend himself.
Ironwood would believe that Ruby and her friends were kept in the dark too. He'd understand that Oscar was struggling to tell him any of this when he still needed to sort through Ozpin's many, many memories.
"He'd be proud of you," Oscar praised him. "You're bringing the hope that Atlas was meant to inspire."
He thought on some way to wax poetic, but thought better of it. Ironwood was already pressed for time and working with less access and authority than ever before. Oscar could spare him a pontification.
"I have to coordinate with the council -all of the council," Ironwood bitterly mused, "About this. If Jacques is Watts' creature I'll have to be selective about what I tell them. But he may be able to link us to Watts, if only… tangentially."
"Of course, General," Oscar nodded.
Ironwood had to be selective with the truth too… because he had an actual, demonstrable traitor in his midst. And he had to put up with it… it must've worn on him.
"Oscar," Ironwood called. "No more surprises, alright? I'm not sure I could take it."
Oscar couldn't help but smile. "You and me both."
He exited from the dining room, leaving Ironwood once again to council business. Leaving for a transport supposedly en route to take him back to Atlas Academy, to keep the powerless relic safely sequestered…
You really have grown, Oscar.
Oscar's smile immediately vanished as he curtly greeted: "Ozpin."
You spared the children the blame. Now all of James' ire will fall on you.
"On you, you mean?" Oscar inquired.
On you. You're the one holding the reins of the world now. And now James knows you know more of my secrets, he will wonder just how much you haven't told him.
"I'm sure," Oscar conceded. "But that can wait."
That's what I thought too. If you're willing to listen to my advice, Oscar, remember how many former friends have turned on me already. Do not assume James will not do the same, if things further crumble around him.
Oscar felt some genuine surprise. "...I didn't realize you thought so little of him."
I think of fondly of him as I do anyone in the world, Oscar. I just know that he isn't accustomed to having to change his course. He may react… poorly. He may lash out, just as Raven did, just as Leonardo did.
"He isn't them," Oscar bluntly replied.
No, Ozpin agreed. But does that make it more or less likely that he'll break instead of bend? Surely you haven't forgotten there are still some rather important things he hasn't told you.
Oscar wasn't sure how to answer. He wanted to believe the best.
He wanted to believe a lot of things.
Nora swung her hammer into the face of a Sabyr climbing through the hole in the wall, driving the beast back outside and into a horde of its brethren. But the moment she saw it disappear in the crowd, another leapt over the rubble to strike her while her arm was still stuck in the arc of her swing. Nora drew up her arm to brace herself from the impact of its pounce, only for Ren to intercede, slashing the beast's side with his dagger and pushing it off course, driving it into the pavement beside his partner. Nora capitalized quickly, crushing the Sabyr's skull with another swing of her hammer.
She glanced behind her, to Jaune organizing the citizens in escorting them to evacuation sites. The children were particularly receptive to his instructions, showing the others how to move in single file and keep track of each other… all those days as a crossing guard provided an unexpected boon.
But the Grimm kept coming. Nora had no time to spare anything more than a glance before turning her eye back to the hole in the wall as two more Sabyrs tried to force their way in.
Red lights continued to pop up at her back, bathing the streets in their glow. More Grimm getting into the city… if not through this breach then underground in the sewers, triggering one warning system after another. A new proximity alarm blared every few seconds as threats continued to mount behind their position.
Nora hated the sound. She'd hated it from the first time she heard it.
From the moment she lost her mother's hand when she reached up to cover her ears, and watched her mother just keep running, unable to hear her daughter calling to her back…
Having to keep hearing the sirens blare even as her home was swept aside by the neverending darkness of the Grimm.
Just as Beacon did.
Just as Mantle was…
Nora fell back from the wall, Ren moving quickly to her side, attacking at range with Storm Flower as the Sabyrs kept trying to claw their way inside.
The civilians at their backs were running out of places to retreat to as transports filled up. They'd have to wait for more ships to descend and carry them to a safe zone, but even that fallback position could easily be overrun if the Grimm continued to press their attack…
"Take us to Atlas!" one of the citizens called to her back. "We won't survive down here!"
"Why isn't Ironwood doing anything?" demanded another voice in the crowd.
"Take us to Atlas!"
Nora glanced at Ren, holding the line. She allowed herself a moment to turn around and address the crowd, if only briefly. "Please, everyone: we're doing our best. We'll get you to safety; just give us a little more time!"
She turned her attention back to the Grimm, moving in to strike any Sabyrs that pushed through Ren's line of fire. Jaune took over at Nora's back, continuing to keep the crowd organized. They managed to silence their protests for the moment, but their despair, their fear, their anger… it was all growing, all calling to the Grimm, summoning them to the feast.
Nora glanced skyward at Atlas. More ships were descending, but the fleet was stationary, never once unleashing their batteries on the swarm besieging Mantle. Transports could evacuate some of the populace, but their small force couldn't hope to protect every sector.
Ren was already running out of ammunition. He'd switched back to melee, slashing the Grimm with his father's dagger instead. And every time a Sabyr forced its way past its ilk and scratched him, his limited pool of Aura took another hit.
Nora tightened her grip on Magnhild once again. There was no way she was letting anything happen to Ren.
She dove into the throng of Grimm, swinging wildly. She struck three or four of the feral beasts at once, clearing a path - and giving the Sabyrs a new target.
More of them coming through the wall. Nora swung again, pushing them back, trying once again to bottleneck them…
"Nora!" Ren called after her.
Something struck her back. Sabyrs were flanking her, surrounding her position.
"Nora!" Ren called again.
It was okay that she was the one in the fray. It was okay that she was the one whose life was in danger… that was where she was supposed to be: protecting the people she loved.
"Nora!" Ren cried out.
She fell to one knee. She kept swinging while her arms were strong enough to lift her hammer.
One of the Sabyrs pounced over its brethren, knocking Nora down under the force of its frame. She moved Magnhild into place over the beast's mouth, keeping its massive fangs from reaching her.
More Sabyrs scratched at her when she hit the ground. She felt a familiar crackle as her Aura started to give out…
She looked past the Sabyr's head. Atlas seemed so quiet above them… untouched by the chaos below…
She saw shards of pink as her Aura broke. The Sabyr bore down on her with its fangs...
"I still can't believe those idiots beat us here," Cinder grumbled. "Vacuo was supposed to be the next target… the timeline has changed."
Cinder's allies hadn't kept her in the loop. Neo took some small satisfaction in that, seeing her so powerless.
Cinder turned her good eye to her cohort. "You said the farm boy has the lamp? Find him - take it."
She might've accomplished that mission already… but that would've robbed her of her leverage. Cinder needed that lamp to buy back her master's favor, and time was working against her now that Salem had sent other lieutenants to do her dirty work instead.
Neo initiated her Semblance, concealing herself in the appearance of Ruby Rose, donning her new Atlesian combat gear. She gestured with only her left arm, trying to catch Cinder's attention and not reveal that only one hand remained unarmed.
Giving Cinder a chance to buy back her life…
"No!" Cinder angrily retorted. "We get what I need first. Then we get what we want! Now, go!"
Neo fought the urge to cross her arms. She couldn't risk revealing the change in her posture. When she shed the illusion of Ruby Rose, she remained standing with her left arm uselessly extended, but she made no effort to conceal her disdain. Cinder would expect to see some sign of defiance, so Neo could relish that, at least…
Cinder flashed that arrogant smirk. Neo tightened her grip on her parasol… though Cinder would never see her fingers move. Cinder would only see Neo grit her teeth, forced once again into compliance.
"Ironwood's been hiding the Winter Maiden for years," Cinder continued. "Tonight, I'm going to find her."
Another Maiden… another with those powers Cinder possessed.
If Neo were to obtain that power instead…
She looked at Cinder's left shoulder, the one corner where her Aura would not raise to protect her. The Grimm arm seemed to be eating away more and more flesh, and the further the infection spread the more of Cinder would be unprotected…
Neo would only have one opportunity to skewer her, and she needed to time things perfectly. But if she had these same incredible powers to fall back upon, she could utilize more than just the element of surprise…
"The general's as predictable as his androids," Cinder continued. "Threaten what he has, and he'll flock to protect it."
Neo thought on this. Cinder would be exploiting the chaos to chase after something General Ironwood would continue to devote resources to guarding…
Neo knew where the lamp was, and that it was now useless. If she could somehow persuade Oscar to help her, she could give Cinder a meaningless trinket and steal the power out from under her nose.
Neo loosened her grip on her parasol and steadied herself. She had her reason to wait, if only a short while longer. Cinder had squandered her very last chance to appease Neo and sustain their alliance: she had decided her course now.
There was more than one way to wield the element of surprise...
Watts poured over his Scroll, intercepting one communication from the Atlas military after another, constantly redirecting emergency signals and keeping the knights from activating. Delaying reinforcements again and again, and continuing to sow discord as resources sat unused, people on the ground becoming increasingly convinced Atlas had abandoned them to their fate.
But he did allow transports to continue deploying. After all: he'd need one to go out and find Ironwood's precious tower…
"How much longer do we have to sit this out?" Tyrian grumbled at his back.
"Long enough to ensure our hand remains undetected," Watts curtly replied. "James may be smart enough to realize what we're after, but so long as his attention is on the civilian evacuation, he won't be able to give chase."
"This really feels like a waste of my talents…" Tyrian opined, whimsically resting his hands behind his head.
He was very capable at fieldwork, but Watts found Tyrian less than adept at strategy…
A new alert on his Scroll. A transport carrying a VIP from the Council meeting: Robyn Hill, on her way back to Mantle.
Her death would eliminate any possibility of the populace trusting James again. It'd leave them even weaker when Salem arrived with her armada.
But then, Watts had a plan of his own. This would merely be a… contingency. And it would appease Tyrian, and put James' attention once again on Mantle, right when Watts needed him to be looking at the city, and not out in the tundra.
"You want to put your talents to use, Tyrian?" Watts asked him. "Good, because there's someone in need of seeing them firsthand…"
He displayed the Scroll to his devious cohort. Tyrian perked up right away upon reading it. "Oh, I like this. Her little friend got a scratch at the rally, and I really should help them to match."
"Employ whatever method you like," Watts allowed. "Just make sure she's dealt with and Mantle has no more leaders to turn to. I'll secure the tower and present it as a gift to our master."
"Do make sure to inform the Queen you weren't the only one earning her favor," Tyrian gently reminded him.
"Of course," Watts agreed. "But you needn't be so worried: neither of us will get the credit for this one." He turned his eye skyward, to a descending transport. "That honor I have reserved for James."
Weiss drew another glyph on the ground to accelerate Ruby's pace, pushing her partner along when she moved skyward and cut her way through a low-flying Teryx, clipping the Grimm's wings with her scythe. Penny moved immediately after her, spinning her array of blades to pursue other Grimm dotting the sky, giving Ruby time to safely descend back to the ground before anymore of the Grimm's ilk could pursue her. Weiss softened her landing with another spin of her Semblance, carefully staggering her descent, dilating time just enough to prevent Ruby's Aura from taking another ding upon hitting the ground.
Ruby glanced to her back as Clover and Harriet continued to direct civilians into an underground shelter. The line was moving too slowly, people standing single-file, shivering in the cold and glancing frantically around at every dark corner, expecting more Grimm to pop out and attack them while they remained there, plainly out in the open…
Weiss looked skyward for the transports sent to evac the overflow of civilians to the safe zone. Atlas had finally dispatched them, but a few of them didn't seem to be landing in populated areas… and at least one had taken off almost immediately after landing, breaking off course and heading away from either Mantle or the city floating above it…
"What's going on?" Weiss called to Clover. "Why aren't those ships in formation?"
"Comms are still intermittent," Clover called back to her. "Most of those ships are automated: they could be getting scrambled coordinates."
Weiss continued to follow the ship with her gaze. If its coordinates were off, why had it taken the time to land before it broke off course…?
She tried not to dwell on it, turning her attention back to Ruby and forming up on her partner's back, slashing at a Centinal approaching their flank. She'd just lectured herself on the importance of not being distracted…
But then, distraction had been the point the last time Salem's minions infiltrated and undermined. At Haven, they'd used the White Fang's bombs as cover for stealing the relic, just like Cinder used a combined attack from the White Fang and the Grimm and another hack -possibly also from this Arthur Watts- to turn everyone's eyes away from her real prize in the vault beneath Beacon…
Atlas Academy would be the obvious place to target. Neopolitan already knew the location of the lamp…
Her hand almost went for her Scroll to call and warn him. But Weiss quickly needed her hand to draw another Glyph and push herself out of the path of a Sabyr, letting the toothy beast sail past her. She slashed its unguarded neck, quickly subduing the creature before once again appraising the battlefield, once again turning her gaze after a single transport still moving past the kingdom walls out into empty tundra.
Why?
Weiss thought on what Winter showed her. The Winter Maiden -Fria- still secured within Ironwood's complex. Their enemies would still need her powers to retrieve the Staff, if that was their objective…
They'd need to complete two tasks to get one relic and -though they may not have realized it- retrieving the other wouldn't benefit them in the short term, with all of Jinn's questions extinguished. Even if they did go after Oscar, they wouldn't gain any tactical advantage…
Weiss impaled another Centinal with Myrtenaster, watching the spindly Grimm vanish after her strike. She looked skyward again and saw the transports adjusting their engines, moving into position to land -some in the evacuation sites, some not- before again turning her gaze towards one solitary ship heading towards the wastes, out into freezing winds and a horde of Grimm…
...and towards an incomplete communications tower.
"Clover!" Weiss called again. "We need to pull that ship back now!"
Clover couldn't take his eye off the crowd, still directing traffic. "Why?"
"Because it's not here for evac," Weiss explained. "It's going to Amity!"
Clover finally turned his attention to her, following Weiss's point and eventually spotting the off-course ship. He pulled out his Scroll and started a call to Ironwood, only for the call to almost immediately drop. Clover growled under his breath, watching the ship again, trying the call again…
He finally met Weiss's gaze and asked her: "Are you sure?"
He couldn't spare the resources. He couldn't confirm with his superiors. Weiss only had her own conjecture to go off.
"No," Weiss admitted. "If I'm wrong…"
"What if you're right?" Ruby countered.
Clover switched from his Scroll to a tactical display, looking over the reports coming in from the different sectors of Mantle. "We're losing ground everywhere. If you're right and Dr. Watts -or whoever else he's working with- is going after the tower, there'll be no way for us to call for help. No reinforcements coming."
"Can't we get one of the ships to shoot it down?" Harriet suggested.
"The Council's access has been revoked," Clover reminded her. "And General Ironwood was stripped of operational authority right before it was. They timed it perfectly to leave us with a bunch of big guns we can't fire."
Penny descended, retracting her array of blades into her backpack. "I suppose we'll have to rely on smaller guns, then. Or -more accurately- a sniper." She gestured to Ruby.
"...you and Harriet are the only ones who can move fast enough to catch up to its position," Clover conceded. "Fine. Confirm it's en route to Amity and -if it is- take it down. Schnee, cover her. Penny, you stay here and hold the Grimm."
"Are you sure about this?" Harriet asked him, still directing traffic.
"I'm sure the General would've ordered the same if I could reach him," Clover concluded. "Go, Huntresses: time is the one thing we don't have right now."
Ruby nodded and collapsed Crescent Rose, storing it on the small of her back before breaking into a run. Weiss drew her Glyphs along the ground and followed after her partner, trying not to be too far back in following her.
Penny turned her attention back to the Grimm. Very few small ones were left on the ground to trouble her, though the skies were still dark with how many Teryxes and Griffons swarmed over rooftops and circled over the streets…
And she quickly saw why so few smaller Grimm waited on the ground. Or rather, heard why as the beast's massive tusks crashed through the border wall… an Alpha Megoliath, a great black beast with massive white bones lining its body, gleaming tusks cutting right through the dust as easily as they cleaved stone.
Penny activated her thrusters and levitated up, drawing out each of her blades and preparing herself for the beast to approach.
"Protector of Mantle," she reminded herself, watching the ground shatter under each of the massive Grimm's footsteps, bearing ever closer to the civilians, with only a girl and a few swords in its way…
Oscar checked his Scroll again, going over news broadcasts and constantly, obsessively checking for any new texts from his friends. He didn't want to try and contact them -he wouldn't allow himself to be responsible for distracting them while they were fighting the Grimm- but the urge to call them was overwhelming.
Nora, Ruby, Weiss… Blake, Yang…
Oscar, Ozpin gently interjected.
"Not now," Oscar hissed.
Will there be a better time than now? Ozpin wondered. A better time than when your assigned task is not to enter the fray?
Oscar was forced to concede the point. While he wasn't by any means looking forward to another extended conversation with Ozpin, he could acknowledge it'd be something to take his mind off of his friends' struggle on the ground. "What is it?"
I wanted to remind you of a crucial detail that we still lack, Ozpin explained. We know James has the Winter Maiden, but not where she is. If this attack has been coordinated by Salem's cabal, it's logical to assume she has the same goal she did for Beacon.
"Now wasn't the time to ask James about that," Oscar rebuffed.
I agree, Ozpin unexpectedly replied. Letting him safeguard this secret is very important. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't also strive to find out for ourselves… should something slip past his oversight.
Oscar scoffed. "You still don't trust anyone to handle things themselves, do you?"
Do you? Ozpin inquired. You could have told James everything that happened -everything Miss Rose wanted you to reveal- and you would have been blameless. Instead you took all the responsibility for yourself. You chose to keep him in the dark.
"That's not what-"
I know why you did, Ozpin interjected. I know better than most you can't give anyone the whole of the truth all at once. And so do you.
Oscar balled up his fist. "We really doing this now…?"
You remember, of course, what happened when Jinn told them everything? When she showed them what I kept hidden away?
Oscar felt the cold encroaching again. He remembered the feeling of Ozpin assuming control over his body and rushing towards Ruby, trying to prevent her from completing her question…
Remembered Yang turning on him, accosting him…
James is doing what he believes is best. But he has already seen too many deviations to know for certain. He is much closer to the edge than you may have realized. If you had told him everything then…
Oscar felt a very different sort of dread. Not cold… tightness. Like a grip around himself.
"Did you… were you whispering in my ear again?" Oscar growled.
You used the magic again, Ozpin reminded him. Our souls are drawing closer. It's becoming harder for you to distinguish my thoughts from your own… because they are less and less my or your thoughts. They are our thoughts, and we are much closer to completing the merger than I expected us to be.
Oscar tried to think of why that wouldn't be the case… why he and Ozpin had more time apart…
At Haven, he used the power recklessly, sometimes simply to amuse himself. After Ozpin fell quiet and he wandered to Brunswick Farms the magic twisted and contorted, and his emotions leaked out… at times he couldn't control, even when they arrived in Atlas. Then he used it in that new form with Nora, then today with Neo…
He didn't feel like he'd lost himself. He didn't feel like he was slipping away… more like he was being held, even embraced from all sides. A comfortable tightness, but not a grasp he could escape from either.
"You knew," Oscar breathed.
The truth is only ever revealed in bits and pieces, Oscar.
"How long?" Oscar demanded.
Oscar...
"How long?!" Oscar asked again.
A few days. A week. It depends how much more you tap into it, the more you draw upon this power… how much my soul bleeds into yours.
Oscar felt himself breathing heavily. The tight grip didn't feel quite so comfortable now.
Returning to the matter of the Maiden...
"Not now," Oscar snapped.
Now, Ozpin pressed. Salem's agents may already be here.
Oscar paced back and forth in his room. He stared at the floor at first, then the dull surface of the lamp, then to his bathroom as he pressed for a mirror.
A week. One week left as the person he was now…
Ozpin told him he was holding the reins of the world. Another lie? Or -worse- flattery?
Oscar's fist wasn't merely balled; now it was shaking. Looking at his reflection, seeing only himself, he looked for any sign, any little smirk, any glint in his eye… anything that would reveal Ozpin's presence and give him the excuse to shatter the glass.
Nothing. Ozpin knew better than to needle him with the mood he was in. The man who whispered in his ear would wait -indulge him this tantrum- before guilting him into doing his appointed duty once again. Then…
One morning, he'd wake up and he wouldn't feel so tightly constricted. One day he'd wake up and feel completely at ease.
It terrified him to know how close that day was.
A rhythmic tapping at his door caught his attention. Oscar took one last glance at the mirror before heading back to his dorm room door, unlocking it… finding a familiar girl in pink waiting in the hall.
"Nora!" Oscar realized. He immediately reached out. "What happened? Are you hurt? Did the others-"
Nora put up her right hand, reaching out to press against his chest, stifling his embrace and keeping him at arm's length. Oscar stopped in his tracks, looking down at her hand then back up to her face, only to see Nora blink, and her blue eyes turn to shades of pink and brown.
"Neo," he realized.
She shed the disguise, drawing her hand away from his chest and holding up her left and her right, showing him her palms, demonstrating she was unarmed… meaningless as that may have been for a woman who crafted such convincing illusions.
Oscar tried not to appear wary. He felt he had at least a modicum of trust with her, and didn't want to provoke her into thinking it was misplaced. He tried to sound even, if perhaps direct… "Why are you here?"
Neo reached to her slacks and produced her Scroll once again, typing a simple message: I need your help.
In Sector 17 of Mantle, Robyn Hill's ship finally landed. She was briefly escorted by a pair of Ironwood's robots, but after she finished disembarking the two knights returned to the ship and took off once again. Another disorganized mess ensured by Watts' machinations…
Still, one of Mantle's leaders was out in the open. Not yet besieged by Grimm, en route to her friends and political allies… but vulnerable. Certainly more than she realized.
Tyrian finally emerged into the street, standing before her, blocking her path. "Robyn Hill… for such a little bird you have quite the impact around here."
Hill was instantly defensive, arming herself with a wrist-mounted crossbow and leveling her weapon. "You. You murdered my friends at the rally."
Tyrian paid her interjection no thought. "Bringing hope and a smile everywhere you go! I find it… upsetting."
Tyrian prepared his blades. Robyn loaded her first bolt.
He did love it when they resisted.
Ruby tried to find the ship in the scope of her rifle, grimacing as sleet continued to coat the lens. "I can't get the shot. Even if I could hit him from here the dropoff means I might miss the engine."
Weiss nodded. "But you're certain of his heading?"
"Either that ship's going to Amity or there's something else out there that's worth the trouble of securing," Ruby replied.
Weiss nodded. "Going on foot means crossing a long distance in the snow. If we used my Glyphs to accelerate you… we'd still use up a lot of Aura chasing him down."
"Weiss," Ruby began, "Are you sure this is Watts? What if it's… what if General Ironwood just sent soldiers to secure the site instead? What if it's just… what if we make things worse by going? What happens to Mantle then?"
Weiss knew it was a fair question. She only had a curiosity, an intuition… and a need to catch the hacker who'd installed her father into power and undermined General Ironwood. There was a much more important task at her back, and Mantle was already being overrun.
"You're my leader," Weiss decided. "You make the call."
Foisting responsibility on Ruby's shoulders again… Weiss tried to rationalize it. She hadn't had the best judgment lately. She needed someone -even someone younger, someone she criticized for her own maturity- to weigh in, even if it meant having to set her intuition aside and defer.
"Do you think we'll need the tower to call for help?" Ruby asked her.
Weiss looked back at Atlas, and the still stationary fleet… still idle even as Mantle burned below them.
"Yes," Weiss affirmed. "Sooner than we think."
"Then we have to be sure," Ruby decided. "We go." She collapsed Crescent Rose and stored it under her cloak, moving to a starting position in the snow and rock. "Make us a path."
Weiss drew her glyphs once more, painting a line as far as she could see into the stark tundra… a path that may well have led nowhere at all, if she was wrong.
In a single transport ship, Watts opened his bag, releasing the Seer within. The Grimm stretched out its tendrils, finding a comfortable spot to levitate behind him in the cargo bay, sending a message to their master.
Watts didn't want to wait too long. Though Salem gave her Grimm specific instructions not to harm her subordinates, he couldn't help but be wary of the creature sharing an enclosed space with him… he recalled all too well how quickly these Grimm could strike, as he saw firsthand when Leonardo Lionheart overstepped himself and Salem employed her Seer -and its tendrils- to remind him who was master.
Salem's face did eventually project on the smooth surface of the Seer's head. Watts was quick in his summation. "I'm en route to one of General Ironwood's secret facilities, my Queen. Something… very interesting indeed/"
"Go on, Arthur," Salem indulged.
"It seems James has been working on a communications tower, one near completion," Watts explained. "A little… alteration and I can have it operational. In case you'd like to send a message to the people in Atlas and Mantle."
"A message?" Salem repeated.
"Any message you like," Watts promised. "Or, if you'd rather someone else speak-"
He produced his Scroll, projecting images of Ironwood's various prerecorded messages. ".. cannot express our appreciation enough. Many describe these as uncertain times, and while that may be the case for the rest of the world, I can tell you what is certain: the kingdom of Atlas will remain strong, and it will remain safe. That is my promise."
Watts waved his index finger over the screen, activating one of the ten rings adorning his hands, subtly reworking, reprogramming the recording…
"The rest of the world cannot promise it will remain safe," the image of Ironwood now reported. "The kingdom of Atlas is uncertain…" He added a bit of static to muddle the message, obscuring Ironwood, creating the impression of a communication cutoff.
Watts closed the display on his Scroll and turned his eye back to his queen. "-they'll never see your lips move."