Chapter Forty-One: Gods and Monsters
The great beast's flesh seemed patched in places; cobbled together by strands of black skin. Oscar found the path to one such patch on the great whale's right side: an opening with five bony protrusions jutted out, large enough for his small ship to land and for them to disembark.
Salem had no reason to fear uninvited guests. She'd entertain anyone who dared to fly into a Grimm's maw to say hello.
Oscar set the ship down on the furthest bony platform. He turned his gaze back to Neo, still looking out the window and taking in the sheer expanse of it all… she'd never seen a Grimm of such intimidating scale, and probably never even considered parking a vehicle inside one.
"The next part of this is up to you," Oscar reminded her. "You'll need to make it look good."
Neo quickly turned her gaze back to him and nodded. She lifted the Relic of Knowledge from her lap and rose from her seat. While Oscar turned off the ship's systems, she jabbed him with her parasol, hurrying him along. Oscar winced and rubbed his arm. "You got into character a little too quickly."
Neo smirked. No doubt being able to enjoy herself would be preferable to being terrified of the monstrous creature all around them…
Oscar stood up from his chair and put out his wrists. Neo went to the cargo hold and found his bindings, putting him in stasis cuffs. It'd have to look authentic to convince Salem he'd actually been captured… and he was a bit too heavy for Neo to carry, so he'd have to present some reason why he let the short girl lead him along.
He glanced down at the cane still clipped to his belt. If he could still reach that… if the need ever became so dire as to finally pull the trigger and stop the clock…
Neo hit the side panel door, opening the ship. She gave Oscar a rapid -but fairly gentle- prod to his back, pushing him out onto the hard white surface. Glancing around, there didn't seem to be anyone watching their arrival in the cavernous expanse -this makeshift series of landing pads- but no doubt many smaller Grimm inhabited this living vessel. Salem's eyes were all around them… she may not have cared, but she hadn't failed to notice.
Neo held up the lamp in her left hand, hoisting it high over her head, making sure Salem's eyes would find it. That -at least- would catch her interest.
Oscar slowly stepped forward, taking in the rest of the Grimm's innards… the pitch black ceiling, the red flesh forming a path slanting upward, deeper into the beast… the way more bones poked up through the ground like a long row of spikes.
He heard something faintly in the distance… a gurgling sound echoing through the empty cavern. Then a booming footstep, steadily growing louder… a long shadow marching over the red pathway.
Oscar saw him drawing closer, the booming footstep growing louder. A towering brute of a man slowly descended the long red path… his hair was shorter than the last time Oscar saw him, and he looked far younger without so much gray. But he also looked far more intimidating now that he was clad in a simple chest protector rather than a bulky coat, revealing the many scars his Dust infusion left in his massive arms.
"Hazel," Oscar murmured, giving Neo some insight into their… host.
Hazel grunted at the sight. "Ozpin's new vessel."
Neo abruptly kicked the back of Oscar's leg, dropping him to one knee. She followed up by striking him with her parasol, driving him face first into the white ground.
Oscar coughed against the bone. She was really making it convincing…
Hazel seemed to approve of Neo's display. He reached down to hoist Oscar up, easily lifting him by the collar of his combat gear and bringing him to eye level, Oscar's feet dangling several feet from the ground… so far Neo could practically stand underneath him.
"And why have you brought us these gifts?" Hazel inquired, turning his gaze down -very far down- to Neo.
"Because she didn't listen to me," Oscar protested, trying his best to cover for her without being too blatant. "She thinks Salem will help her kill someone, but I told her Salem will just kill all of us if we don't-" He was abruptly cut off as Hazel's grip tightened around his neck… and it soon became very difficult to breathe.
"I didn't ask you," Hazel gruffly informed him. "The last thing I need are any more of your lies…"
Oscar wiggled in his grip, still trying to play his part, painful as it was with Hazel's fist around his windpipe. "She'll… kill us all…"
Neo betrayed no concern for him. She kept her attention on Hazel, her eyes focused on this potential enemy. She couldn't speak to him, but she could convey a message.
Neo closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them again, they were ablaze with fiery orange Aura.
Hazel took in the sight a moment before offering a faint nod. "Come with me. She'll want to thank you personally."
He turned his massive back to her, still holding Oscar aloft as he began the march back. Hazel relaxed his grip ever so slightly, allowing Oscar to breathe again… and try to maintain the charade. "Neo, don't do it! Take the relic and get back in the ship! You don't know what she's capable of!"
Neo could not make the noise to scoff. But she turned up her nose -even if Hazel couldn't see her do so- and skipped over to walk at Hazel's side, keeping a brisk pace to match his massive strides and to avoid paying any heed to her captive.
Hazel tightened his grip again. "Salem will want to see you alive… but don't make this difficult for me. Don't give me an excuse, boy."
Oscar continued to wiggle his body, straining against Hazel's grip. He did his best to look desperate, terrified, and pained.
So far, so good.
Yang heard the clattering, opening up one weary eye. Ruby had gotten better at sneaking around with age, but she'd made so many trips back and forth to the dorm room with breakfast trays she'd eventually tripped up and caught Yang's attention. She rolled over in her bunk to check her Scroll for the time… the sun should've been up, but it was still dark outside their dorm window…
She slid out of bed and stretched, the ground cold against her bare feet. She remembered most of the pajama ensemble, but it seemed she missed the socks in her haste to get Blake and herself into something more inconspicuous…
Yang turned her gaze up to Blake's bunk, climbing up the ladder just far enough to reach her lover's shoulder, giving her a caress, slowly returning Blake to life… the first morning after the two had a chance to share without some caveat. Weiss was sleeping nearby and Ruby was in and out, but for a brief moment it could just be the two of them.
Blake clasped her hand over Yang's and smiled. Blake yawned, her ears poking out as she drew a long breath.
Ruby stepped back into the dorm, another tray of bread and pastries in hand. "Oh, hey, guys. You sleep okay?"
Yang knew she'd eventually have to explain the details of it all to her sister, though she was in no hurry… and Ruby probably wasn't chomping at the bit to know everything either. But at least she already knew her sister would be fond of her girlfriend.
Blake shifted her weight and rolled along the bunk. Yang climbed down, clearing a path for Blake to descend. "I slept great, Rubes. Though if I'd known there'd be breakfast in bed I'd have waited a bit longer."
Ruby chuckled. "I was actually hoping you'd all be up -and Jaune, Ren and Nora too- so we could eat. You never know when we're gonna get word that the Grimm are here and we need to move right away." She headed to Weiss's bunk, prodding the sleeping Schnee. "Maybe if someone wasn't such a sleepyhead…"
Blake finished descending from her bunk and examined the spread. A meal sounded good after all the exertion from the previous day.
Though she did wonder about Ruby's breakfast plan. There were a few names conspicuously absent from her list. "What about Penny? Or your uncle? Are they joining us?"
"Uncle Qrow's off doing important commanding stuff," Ruby dismissively replied, still prodding the very gradually stirring Weiss. "And Penny has to go through a recharge cycle at her dad's lab. Sooo… maybe we can convince Winter to join us from the vault?"
"What about Oscar?" Yang inquired.
"Your mom, too," Blake suggested, before hastily adding: "Uh, i-if you're up for it, I mean."
"Oscar… he has to babysit Neo," Ruby concluded, watching Weiss finally return to consciousness, and looking particularly grumpy about it.
"Well, we can ask them both," Yang suggested. "Think they're up?"
"I don't know how Oscar could sleep with Neo hanging around his dorm," Blake mused. "But let's check in on him-"
"Oh, no, I can do that!" Ruby insisted. "You guys just get started, alright? I'll wake everybody else…" She darted out of the room, disappearing in a flurry of rose petals. Blake's ears twitched as she heard the tapping on the various dorm room doors, Ruby checking to see who was up and who was hungry.
She returned moments later, as Weiss finally climbed out of bed and huddled around their desks with Yang and Blake, finding some particularly flaky pastry -and some much-needed coffee- to improve her mood. "Let's see who comes around to join us!"
Yang shrugged and started scouring the trays for protein. Blake pulled up a chair and sat beside her partner, edging closer to the warmest of their team… and covering Yang's feet with her own, warming with the soles of her socks.
A loud, rumbling yawn interrupted their gathering as Nora ambled over from her dorm, still looking dazed and sleepy but drawn to the meal just the same. "Boys are gonna sleep in: I'll save them a plate's worth." It was about as much as could be promised after the onslaught of Nora's savage hunger.
"No Oscar, then?" Weiss inquired in between her various caffeine injections.
"I guess he's still asleep," Ruby shrugged. No one pressed her on it, each of them taking time to savor the good food and good company…
Blake's ears twitched. "Someone's up in his dorm. Maybe you woke them up?"
"Nah, that's probably Jaune or Ren," Ruby argued. "No way I knocked loud enough to-"
Ruby was interrupted by a door violently thrown open, then the clattering of a heeled boot. Raven -clad only in her black garb and sans her usual armor- stormed down the hall and poked her unkempt head into the dorm. "Why did you wake me? Are the Grimm here? Is it time?!"
Ruby just stared gawkingly. Yang was only slightly faster on the uptake. "Mom… why were you in Oscar's dorm?"
"Better question," Raven quickly countered. "Where has the boy gone to?"
One by one, Yang, Weiss, Nora and Blake turned their gaze to Ruby. The silver-eyed girl coughed. "Uh… he wasn't in there? How very odd…"
"Neo," Nora quickly snarled.
"What'd she do?" Yang demanded. "What is she up to this time…?"
"Guys, guys," Ruby frantically waved her hands. "Maybe they just got up and went somewhere…? Maybe Ironwood needed her for Maiden things…?"
"And didn't need the Spring Maiden?" Yang asked, gesturing at Raven.
"Let's try not to spread that around," Raven requested.
"Ruby, you've been running back and forth getting this food, right?" Weiss asked. "You didn't see either of them leave?"
A long, and very telling pause. Ruby averted her partner's eyes and chuckled. "You know, it must've been when I dropped the stuff in the hall. I needed to get help from-"
She glanced around the room. She couldn't claim she asked any of those present, and Nora would know if Jaune or Ren left during the night, making the list of possibilities very short…
Yang, however, had caught on ahead of the others. She knew the tells, she knew what to look for. She knew that Ruby may have been sincere… but she wasn't anywhere near as naive or innocent as many of her peers assumed. Every girl had her secrets: Ruby just hadn't had enough time to craft the story needed to conceal them.
"Ruby," Yang patiently began, pointedly lowering her tone. "What happened?"
Ruby knew she was trapped. "So… uh… about those Grimm, guys…"
Oscar's vision was constantly obscured by Hazel's fist, but the ceiling was pitch black and the ground was a deep, bloody red. The only pops of color he spotted were the occasional glimpses of Neo's long, flowing mane. Hazel's steady march also made it hard for Oscar to listen for environmental detail, as every footstep rumbled in his ears.
When Hazel finally came to a stop, Oscar's eyes were covered by one of his massive fingers. But he could faintly hear a significant change: both Neo and Hazel had stopped breathing. They each stood still.
Oscar relaxed his grip. Oscar fell nearly three feet to the ground, landing in a heap. He'd landed on another hard surface: more white bone jutting up from the fleshy ground. Bone carved into a circular platform, surrounding another circle…
He slowly looked up from the ground, to see a patch of dark red ichor trailing over the beige-colored carving. From that ichor he saw several struts supporting a broad seat, a black cloaked arm lazily leaning out over a carved armrest.
Not her most elegant throne: more function than form. But it got the message across.
Hazel dropped to kneel, still towering several feet over Oscar -still taller than Neo as she stood up straight- but sufficiently prostrate before his ruler. "My Queen."
Oscar saw her in Ozpin's memories again and again; he'd seen her in intimate detail. He still remembered how her heart felt in the palm of his hand.
When she stood up, all warmth left the room. When she turned her gaze towards her guests, even the mighty Hazel Rainart held his head low.
Salem walked slowly around her carved throne, gently clasping her hands over her front. She looked much the same as he recalled, though he'd never seen her wear armor, even these thin bands. She didn't need the help to look intimidating, but it could only be for show…
"My long lost Ozma," Salem greeted. She appraised Oscar, looking him up and down. "So small, this new form of yours; I'm surprised Hazel didn't break you."
Oscar pressed his palms against the beige floor, pushing himself back up. He knew why he'd come, and simply kowtowing to Salem wouldn't buy his friends time. He'd need to be defiant and offer her somewhere else to turn her wrath.
Hazel glared at him but did not rise. Neo raised an eyebrow but betrayed no concern: she maintained her character.
"...how many years since we saw each other like this, face to face?" Salem mused. "And nothing to say?"
Oscar thought on how to reply. It still wasn't quite in his nature to be direct and authoritative, but it wouldn't do for him to murmur. He cleared his throat and dryly replied: "I'm sorry the reunion isn't living up to your expectations."
Salem was standing a good few feet away. But in an instant she closed the distance and clasped both her hands over Oscar's cheeks, her nails drawing under his nose. "You can pretend, boy, but you're not fully him… not yet at least."
She relaxed her grip and stepped back, taking a moment to collect herself. Her anger had spiked, and she hadn't meant for it to… certainly not with an audience of two unfamiliar faces to scrutinize her. She had to maintain her veneer, especially in the presence of her subordinates.
"Hazel," Salem greeted, turning her gaze down. "Do tell me how you acquired these gifts…"
Hazel stood up, gesturing to the girl at his left. "This one brought you your prizes, my queen."
"This one," Salem repeated, fixing her gaze on the much shorter girl. "Does she have a name…?"
Neo held up the lamp. Salem quizzically inclined her head, but accepted Neo's offer, hoisting the ancient relic in her hand. "A woman of few words. I like it."
"According to the boy, she shares a few common enemies with us," Hazel explained. "Though there is something else you should know…"
"Oh?" Salem idly wondered, looking at her reflection on the surface of the lamp.
Before Hazel had a chance to speak, however, two new sets of footsteps echoed in the organic room. Two others entered the queen's chamber: a tall boy clad in gray and black, and a dark skinned girl with green hair. The latter exclaimed: "Neo?!"
"...you know this one, child?" Salem mused, still looking at the lamp.
Neo briefly glanced Oscar's way. The look of disdain on her features…
Emerald and Mercury: Cinder's disciples. Oscar hadn't seen them since Haven… but they'd known Neo even longer, having briefly utilized her as their 'teammate' during the qualifying rounds of the Vytal Festival. She helped them sack Beacon, and they threw her a bone in giving her the opportunity to free Roman Torchwick…
"What are you doing here?" Emerald asked. "How did you get here? Did-" She quickly managed to deduce at least some of the story. "Cinder. Cinder found you, didn't she? She brought you to Atlas?"
"Did she now?" Salem inquired, finally turning her gaze to Neo. She didn't miss the way Neo's eyes drifted away from the boy Ozma now inhabited.
Neo whimsically shrugged. Emerald was partially correct… Cinder brought her along to Atlas, perhaps, but had never intended to find what she'd discarded. If only Emerald realized the same.
"Where is she?" Emerald asked, unable to contain her excitement. "Is she here? Did she come with you?"
"She did not," Salem flatly replied. "It seems she failed in her mission…"
"...what?" Emerald barely managed. Mercury had caught on faster: he may not have been as clever as his partner, but he wasn't blinded by affection the way Emerald was.
"Poor young Cinder," Salem mused. "Forever young."
Emerald's eyes widened. "What?! How? How?!"
Neo provided the answer. When she turned her gaze to her former ally, Neo's eyes lit up with fire. Salem did not miss that detail either.
Emerald continued to stare, her gaze narrowing, her hands reaching to the weapons clasped to her hips. Mercury reached his arm around her waist, taking hold of Emerald and pulling her back before she had the chance to move. "No!" she protested. "Let go of me! Mercury, we can't-"
"Quiet," Salem decreed. "Spare me your petty rivalries. Cinder was given ample chance to prove her worth… see you do not repeat her mistakes." Salem gestured with her free hand to Neo. "Be grateful the Fall Maiden remains with us. Be grateful I am willing to be patient."
Salem had cowed Emerald back into line before. She ceased thrashing in Mercury's grip, though her glare for Neo was steady. Her red eyes lit up with tears, though she reached up with her sleeve to stifle her sobs. She could ill afford to irritate Salem any further.
"If we do have a common foe -Neo- then you are welcome to join us," Salem noted. "Hazel, find a place for her to stay. I'll seek her out later… to discuss her future. For the moment, however…"
She turned her gaze back to Oscar. "...there's another name I still need to learn."
"How could you let him do that, Ruby?" Nora growled. "You know what will happen to him out there. You know that Salem won't let him come back."
"It was what he wanted!" Ruby insisted. "He wanted to buy us time to finish the evacuation!"
"And how do we know Salem will bother to hear him out?" Blake asked. "What if she just decides to take the lamp and be done with it?"
"And what if Neo decides she'd rather try her luck with Salem instead of us?" Yang added.
"I… I don't know about that one, to be honest," Ruby conceded. "I know that she's only stuck around because of him. There wasn't really a good answer for what to do with her."
"We could've locked her up," Weiss dryly suggested.
"That does seem to be a popular choice for dealing with unstable elements," Raven observed. "And Atlesians."
Weiss glared at her. "As I recall, you didn't mind putting people in cages."
Raven shrugged. "If the boy gets into trouble I can pull him out. My Semblance-"
She paused when Yang's gaze turned Raven's way. Yang knew the details, but had she told all her little friends?
"-my Semblance can open a portal in his vicinity," Raven quickly explained. "If Salem decides to keep him alive, we have a way to get him back once her Grimm start their attack."
"If," Nora growled.
Yang turned her attention away from Raven back to her sister. "And what, General Ironwood just signed off on this?"
"It was either that or maybe he goes back to his original plan and ditches Mantle to fend for itself," Ruby argued. "Or… I don't know, there's something going on down on the ground with Robyn and her team and there are still a bunch of people unaccounted for… he just thought this was the best way he could help us; that if it was even the smallest chance..." She left the thought for the others to finish. Weiss finally turned her attention from Raven to focus on Ruby's stammering counterpoint.
"Robyn hasn't evacuated?" Blake asked. "Even after what Tyrian did to her?"
"We need to have a word with her," Yang grumbled. "Now. Breakfast can wait."
Yang briefly turned her attention to Raven before going to the closet to pull out her combat gear. Raven took the hint and slipped back to Oscar's dorm to readorn herself with her own armor.
Nora pointed right at Ruby. "We're not done talking about this. But Oscar's gonna hear from me first: once we know he's okay, then I'll yell at both of you." She grabbed a bagel and hastily gobbled it up before heading back to her dorm to wake Jaune and Ren.
Ruby sighed and glanced at the others. Blake had gone to join Yang in getting changed, while Weiss-
She didn't get a chance to finish her thought as Weiss ushered her outside, into the hall. Away from any sensitive Faunus ears that might overhear them.
"What is it?" Ruby inquired.
"Yesterday -last night- when I told you my plan," Weiss reminded her. "I don't suppose it ever occurred to you to let me know this was happening?"
"I- it happened pretty fast, Weiss," Ruby replied. "I didn't think that'd… that would be a problem. You were trying not to be distracted, right?"
"And how well we succeeded at that," Weiss grumbled. "Now all of us will be distracted instead of just me."
"What do y-"
"The smallest chance," Weiss repeated. "I've heard you say that before."
She'd had her suspicions. She'd had her concerns. But she'd also trusted Ruby implicitly.
"So?" Ruby wondered.
Ruby could lie. Yet it still surprised them, every single time.
Weiss kicked herself for not seeing it sooner. Ruby may well have never acted on her thoughts and encouraged Weiss along…
Yang had carried on an entire relationship with Oscar in secret… but she'd started dating Blake long before she revealed that truth to them. Blake must've known, and Weiss had begun to wonder just how much Blake had known.
That Nora was protective of Oscar was no surprise: she'd been the first among them to take him in. Were she not attached to Ren's hip, Weiss may well have wondered about her too. Raven and Neo had some measure of loyalty and affection to him now too. Why?
But Ruby Rose… the one Weiss confided her thoughts in…
Ruby didn't deny it. She only turned her head away.
Weiss stepped back into the dorm to get changed into combat gear. She had many more thoughts, but they'd have to wait: they'd need to show unity and strength now, or others might be affected by its absence, and the negative emotions would be running rampant enough with the Grimm already set to descend upon the kingdom. Their infighting would only entice and embolden the Grimm further.
Ruby waited in the hall, staring at the platters now discarded on the desks or trampled on the floor. She'd been hoping to share in a nice meal with her friends…
It was what he wanted. Surely they realized that.
All she heard was the rustling and latching as they prepped for battle. All thoughts of unity and camaraderie only focused on the Grimm, and not on each other.
Telling them why she did it wouldn't make things any better. It'd only divide them further.
Ruby checked her Scroll, waiting for a summon to the fight, waiting for a cue from General Ironwood that the time had come.
Nothing. It seemed Oscar had achieved his goal and managed to grant them their reprieve.
It didn't feel like one. Ruby couldn't even summon the energy to tell them Oscar had been right.
Oscar did not presume that he was alone. Salem may have sent her minions -old and new- away, but she was surrounded on all sides by the terrifying mass of her living ship. Any number of Grimm could easily have been hiding within that ichor.
Salem walked back to her throne, lazily slouching in her seat and staring at the dull surface of the lamp. Never the plated gold, always the empty glass…
Avoiding looking upon her own reflection?
She had no compunction keeping her back to him. She knew there was nowhere he could run to now.
Before Oscar had a chance to mull the option, however, he felt his feet lift the ground again, something pulling on the collar of his coat and hoisting him -painfully- up. Oscar frantically looked back, searching for Hazel making an unexpected return, and instead found-
A mass of black flesh. White teeth clamped over the fabric of his coat. No visible eyes; just a white skull with the red markings… Salem's signature: a Grimm of her own creation. He'd never even heard the beast's footsteps…
Oscar felt himself dangling as the creature walked over to stand before Salem's throne. Bipedal, but it didn't carry him in its arms? And since when did Grimm bite down on a human's neck without the intent to kill?
Because this one was made for a purpose. Because this one had her favor…
The Grimm brought him before its master, finally hunching down to rest on its arms as well. Oscar's feet still dangled several inches from the ground, even when this beast was hunched over.
Salem finally looked up from the lamp, turning her gaze to him. "The Beacon relic," she began. "My forces have been unable to locate the relic beneath the school. If I know my Ozma, he's used some means of deception to hide its location differently than the others…"
Salem stood up from her throne, setting the lamp aside. She walked over to the creature holding Oscar up, scratching the beast's shoulder.
Such affection. This Grimm wasn't so disposable as all the others…
But given how callous Salem had been about the loss of her human subordinate, maybe that was to be expected. Maybe she preferred soulless monsters that existed only to carry out her will.
Salem smiled at Oscar, though it was hard to tell if the smile was meant for him or his captor. "I need to know where it is."
The Relic of Choice: Ozpin's most closely-guarded secret. Oscar still didn't know. It was something to cling to - a reminder that the merger had yet to complete.
He did not expect to be able to fool Salem. His ignorance would be a greater weapon than his deception, at least for the moment.
"I… that's not something I know about," Oscar admitted.
Salem paused a moment before drawing her hand away from her beast and walking away. She drew her hand to her chin, deep in thought… before turning around and addressing him again. "Of course. He would keep that one guarded as long as possible."
Oscar drew a deep breath. The longer her attention remained on him, the better. The longer he kept her engaged in conversation, the more time James and Ruby had to see to Mantle and finally move the people far from Salem's reach.
"How about something easier then?" Salem suggested. "The password for the lamp."
She didn't-
Of course she didn't know. If she had, she'd have tried it already. She'd have known that the lamp was just a powerless trinket and would remain so for a century.
He thought on what to tell her. If she continued to waste time trying to get the information from him, she may have waited to act on making her move until she thought she could gain counsel from Jinn. But if at any time he chose to lie to her and she knew he had lied…
Salem had easily believed him when he said there was something he didn't know. Because she was expecting Ozpin to be the one dictating the terms of this negotiation, and she was expecting him to lie.
Honesty had always been what Oscar defaulted to. Even when it was… problematic.
"The lamp is all out of questions," Oscar informed her.
Salem's smile returned. She drew her free hand away from her chin and waved it slowly in the air. He saw something… black forming in the air, just manifesting directly over her hand. A sphere, an orb of power… suddenly alight with so many colors…
Oscar saw them lance out with a wave of her hand. He felt searing pain as the release of energy dug into his chest. His cry was long and loud.
Salem added a second hand. More and more of her magic surged from her orb, scorching Oscar's front. For more than ten seconds she held him in place, watching him writhe, listening to him scream…
He could not fall: Salem's Grimm held him aloft. He could not draw upon his own magic to defend himself: he'd be that much closer to completing the merger. He could not reach for the Long Memory and unleash its stored kinetic energy: the pain was too great for him to grip his hand.
Salem did finally sheathe her magic, however, leaving Oscar dangling in the Grimm's mouth. He peered down at the front of his shirt, where a hole had been left… he could smell the burnt hair, see the blackened scars over his skin.
"The lies come out of you so easily," Salem observed. She approached him again, gently trailing her palm -still warm from her burst of energy- across his cheek and smiling fondly. "Like-minded souls indeed."
Salem turned away from him and collected the lamp from her throne. "One of you is going to tell me what you know: I don't much care if it is you or Ozma. Either way, I will finally have the relic."
Oscar needed time to remember how to talk. He had to try and find his composure; steady his breathing. It was hard to be confident when a Grimm held him in its jaws and an immortal witch could incinerate him with a thought.
It might've served him to be defiant then. But Salem was expecting that: for centuries she'd known nothing but war and enmity from Ozma and his reincarnations. She'd only seen defiance.
"I'd ask a question for you, if I still could," Oscar told her. "I'd ask her if you'll ever get to see them again."
Salem was given pause, looking back to him. "...what did you say?"
"The questions are gone," Oscar told her again. "Otherwise I would've asked her how you could finally find what you're missing."
Salem's facade shattered immediately. The mere possibility of a reminder… the mere suggestion of him knowing why she carried out her mission…
"Quiet," Salem snapped. "Mock me at your peril."
"...who's mocking you?" Oscar asked.
Salem drew her hands up again, summoning another sphere… but quickly calmed herself, the magic fading before she'd completed her spell. Instead she turned her attention back to the lamp, lifting it up and looking behind her throne. "I'm afraid we'll have to resume later. Someone else had a few things he wanted to ask you… and I already know what he's been missing."
He heard the booming footsteps again. He emerged from behind Salem's throne, dwarfing even his queen.
"Leave him alive," Salem commanded.
Hazel nodded, marching past her. Unlike Salem, Oscar didn't expect he'd be much for small talk before he got to the point.
"Hazel…" Oscar weakly began. "Wait, wait-"
Hazel's fist struck hard enough to knock him right from the Grimm's jaw. He landed hard on the beige floor, coughing… hearing blood splatter on the ground and dribble down his chin.
"That was for Haven academy," Hazel informed him, before kicking the boy in the stomach with his massive boot, sending Oscar skidding along the floor.
Oscar weakly looked up at Hazel and the Grimm -a towering, faceless hound- looking down on him. Salem, meanwhile, was on her way out of the throne room, still looking down at the lamp.
Hazel cracked his knuckles, drawing closer. "Everything else… will be for my sister."
Raven knew that she'd be pressed into service. She doubted the others would take the time to enjoy the indulgence, but she opted to shower. It was a rare opportunity to enjoy the creature comfort… and she didn't want any scents of the prior night to linger. It would be awkward enough trying to fight alongside Yang without the particular revelation they'd once shared the bed of the same man.
Her hair always took a long time to dry. She didn't wait for the process to complete, already changing into her gear: clasping pauldrons and gauntlets into place, strapping her scabbard to her waist and orienting all the Dust blades for Omen… she'd been sloppy to leave herself unguarded in enemy territory. Just because the Atlesians needed her for the moment didn't mean they'd forget her numerous thefts of their property and various other issues they'd had over the years… bandits never made for the most welcome of guests.
A steady knock at her -Oscar's- door caught Raven's attention. She quickly pat dried her mane -as much as she could- before heading over to see her visitor. Save a few dark patches of moisture on her shoulders and her perpetually stubborn cowlick, she seemed to have hidden things well enough…
When Raven opened the door, Yang practically stormed in. She had as much sense of personal space as her mother… as either of them, really.
Yang's eyes fixated on Raven's scabbard before turning swiftly back to her eyes. "I know you're expecting to fight, but actually… I want you to stay here. Blake and I are going to get Robyn and whoever else is still down there and your Semblance will make for a faster trip than taking shuttles back and forth."
Raven had to concede it was clever… though she couldn't say she was bothered by the fate of the people below: they weren't the ones she'd promised she'd keep safe. "And I don't suppose I can persuade you to remain here instead of risking your neck for a few holdouts?"
Yang narrowed her gaze. "No, you can't. You've got your Semblance and right now that's an asset. Oscar made the plan: I don't like it, but it is what it is. So this is what we're both going to do."
"When I could simply retrieve him instead?" Raven asked. "That seems like it'd save us all a lot of trouble."
Yang had no immediate retort. Her silence, however, made Raven far more uncomfortable. Yang's eyes had yet to bleed with anger, but her cold stare betrayed her emotion just the same.
She'd faced down hordes of Grimm. She'd once clashed with Salem directly. Facing down gods and monsters… it all seemed preferable to the glare she was now trapped within.
Yang had trapped her before: forced her to feel shame like only Summer Rose could before her… another reminder of how much her child took after a very different mother.
"I don't suppose you feel like telling me about that?" Yang finally asked her.
The answer must've been obvious to her. But no, Raven reminded herself, Yang had not merely been a proxy. Oscar Pine -no matter how Raven had tried to convince herself of the contrary- was not the same man as his predecessor.
"My Kindred Link was connected to Ozpin," Raven explained. "For the moment, at least, he and Oscar are not one and the same. For the moment, I can still detect and reach to his soul."
"You… and Ozpin?" Yang inquired.
"A long story," Raven mused. "But you don't have the time."
Yang sighed. "Yeah… yeah, I know. Just… I just feel like there's a lot of this I didn't know, and it's been hitting me hard lately. I told everyone -all my friends- no more secrets and all we did was tell each other more of them."
"Oh? You didn't take my advice about your little girlfriend?" Raven wondered.
"Actually… I did," Yang affirmed. "That's the thing I'm trying to wrap my head around: that you were the one who told me the truth."
"I told you once that 'truth' is hard to come by," Raven reminded her. "No one ever wants to give it all out at once."
She shook her head. There wasn't time for the much-needed talk, though she was beginning to hope there eventually could be. "You have to focus now. Get this done. Get to the ground, get your friend out, get back here. Salem will toy with him for a while, but even she gets impatient."
"I know the feeling," Yang grumbled. "Right… okay. You'll stay here? You'll wait for me?"
"You're the reason I'm here," Raven reminded her.
"...right," Yang nodded. "Just… I'm not used to that yet."
"No," Raven acknowledged. "But I will stay, if that's what you need me to do." She drew up her left hand, leveling her index finger. "But if you get into trouble down there…"
Yang had already received more than one. Raven had already broken her own rule.
There was no reason to pretend. No reason to be any stronger than she had to be.
"...just… let me know," Raven finally decided. "I'll open the portal, one way or another."
"Yeah," Yang nodded. "Yeah, okay."
When she headed for the door, she cast one lingering glance back at her mother. When she stepped out into the hall, Raven still saw Yang's neck crane ever so slightly back to the door.
So much still to be fixed. But Yang believing her on the second try was still a significant improvement.
Raven drew Omen from its sheath and searched herself for a whetstone. So long as she had to wait…
She made no assumptions about the rest of her… allies. Even Yang's little girlfriend seemed perfectly willing to fight with Raven if she should offer up a reason.
Then again, Neopolitan hadn't slit her throat while she slept. When she lowered her guard and barged into her daughter's room, none of them turned their weapons her way.
Perhaps… loathe as she was to admit it, perhaps Oscar Pine had been right that it was possible for someone to change their mind.
Neo didn't care for the accommodations. She was surrounded by terrifying black ichor and standing on a firm ground of Grimm bone, with naught but a similarly hard slab to rest upon. Not that she expected to be getting much sleep here… if the mood should strike Salem, this little living space could probably just swallow her up or expel her out to tumble through the sky. Neo wondered how Emerald and Mercury got any rest in a place like this.
Perhaps they simply had no choice. They knew they had to keep Salem's favor and so did as they were bid. Though Emerald… Neo was very surprised that Mercury was the levelheaded one. She'd thought Emerald the smarter of the two, but it seemed her devotion to Cinder…
Neo understood that feeling. She only wondered what Cinder had done to inspire such loyalty… Neo only remembered her insufferable arrogance and her shortsighted anger. Still, if Emerald were as devoted to Cinder as Neo had been to Roman…
Neo reminded herself she had bigger concerns. Salem had ordered Emerald to cease and she'd been cowed into submission. There was no doubt in her mind that the master of the house was the only one she had to fear.
A gentle knock drew her attention. Neo rapidly turned around… she hadn't even realized these makeshift rooms even had doors. Hazel had merely left her inside and told her to wait… the wall had simply materialized at her back.
The ichor receded, and Salem stepped inside. Neo took note of the lamp in Salem's right hand before immediately returning her gaze to the queen's eyes.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Salem greeted. "I had to… indulge myself at the sight of my old friend again. Do these accommodations suit you?"
Neo almost immediately shook her head. It may have been wiser to pretend, to bow and scrape before this woman, but Neo very much doubted Salem actually cared how her subordinates presented themselves. If Cinder was any measure, Salem would only be interested in seeing her objectives completed…
"No, I suppose not," Salem conceded. "After my Grimm finish ransacking the city I will see to something more leisurely for you. Would the kingdom of Atlas suit you as a domain?"
Neo raised an eyebrow. That was quite a thing to offer…
"You have brought me two very precious gifts," Salem explained. "More than dear Cinder could ever accomplish… and I do reward those who pledge themselves to me. I welcome partners in my great undertaking… when they're loyal."
Neo had been waiting for a test of some kind. Cinder had given her time to practice the art of lying without ever saying a word… but her master would be far harder to fool.
Salem held up the lamp. "The boy claims that this lamp's questions are gone. I know my Ozma is a liar… but are you?"
She had never once spoken a lie. To one who'd always had the ability to speak… would Salem know the difference? Neo shook her head.
"Good," Salem nodded. "Then tell me, Neo… give me the answer and I will offer you not only a kingdom to rule, but a corner of this entire world; as much as my new Fall Maiden can hold."
Salem hoisted the relic, bringing it eye level to Neo, letting her see her reflection in the surface of the gold plate. "Do you know the password to this relic?"
She heard Oscar speak the name. She watched the genie manifest and overlay the past upon the present.
Neo looked up to find Salem's eyes past the relic… and smiled.