Chapter Forty-Four: The Girl Who Fell Through the World
"She told me to step aside, but I didn't," Oscar recounted. "I knew she would've killed Winter -or the woman who had the power before her- so I did what I could to delay her."
He knew it wasn't what Emerald wanted to hear. He knew she was tempted to cut into him with her sickle the more he told her. But so far, she'd managed to hold back all that raged below the surface. Much as it had been with Neo, Emerald was looking for someone to be honest with her when she'd been surrounded by people she didn't trust. And just like Neo, Emerald was driven by loss, and that loss had been reforged into purpose. His life wouldn't be forfeit until she'd heard the entire story.
Hopefully.
"I didn't make much difference," Oscar admitted. "One blast of her magic and my Aura was gone and I was lying on the floor, waiting for her followup. But Raven interfered then, buying me time-"
"Raven Branwen is here too?" Emerald interjected, skepticism rearing its head. She could easily believe that Oscar was thrashed by Cinder's power, but his choice of savior was unlikely…
"She came to help her daughter, and after that-" Oscar weighed his options on how to proceed. Emerald had insisted he tell her everything… but everything about the fate that befell Cinder. He very much doubted Emerald wanted to hear that Raven's Semblance was bound to him… or how that came to be. How easily he rationalized half-truths now.
Still, Oscar pressed on. "-after that, she came up to the medical wing and clashed with Cinder. I went to the door to the Maiden's room, trying to warn Winter about what was happening; or-or maybe to enlist her help, but I never got that far. The door opened and Neo stepped out."
"She came out of the Winter Maiden's room?" Emerald wondered. "Without taking the Maiden's power first?"
Oscar had wondered what went on. No doubt Neo had been tempted; weighed her options. But her goal had only ever been to avenge Torchwick's death, and deception was a greater -and more familiar- weapon for her to utilize instead of an ancient magic she hadn't fully understood. Catching Cinder by surprise had always been Neo's plan.
"She wanted revenge, not power," Oscar explained. "I don't know what went on in there… only that when Neo came out, Winter still had the power Fria had given to her."
He didn't know if Salem was aware of these Maidens' identities or not; but if Emerald had only come fishing for information, she would've been focused on those facts, not trying to poke holes in his story. If she meant to barter these revelations to Salem, why wouldn't she have started there?
"While Cinder was distracted with Raven, Neo knocked me aside," Oscar continued. "Cinder still thought Neo was her ally… or at least, that they had a common enemy at the time. Neo played along until she could move into position -using her Semblance- and when she saw her opportunity…"
He let Emerald complete the picture herself. Neo left the already defeated boy to move to Cinder's back, and while Cinder's eye was fixated on Raven, she couldn't spare a glance behind her. She never saw it coming.
Emerald considered what Oscar told her. When she focused her attention on him again, she asked: "Why didn't Neo kill you?"
It was a fair question. Oscar had served his purpose in her plan, and after Neo had killed Cinder, he could only be a loose end. There was quite a gap to fill between Neo completing her mission and bringing in Oscar and the lamp to buy Salem's favor.
"I don't know what Cinder told her," Oscar answered. "But she knew about the lamp. She knew I had it, and she came back for it."
Before she killed Cinder, but how would Emerald know it?
"And Raven? And Winter?" Emerald inquired. "Why didn't they kill her after she killed Cinder? Why didn't they just take the power back?"
Another fair point. And on this one, the truth…
"I told them not to," Oscar replied. "I told them Cinder was her enemy, and tried to persuade her -persuade all of them- to not fight and turn their efforts on Salem. And… Raven and Winter had someone to be loyal to, and Neo…"
He'd put his faith in her, despite her… intransigence. He still didn't know if she agreed with him at all or simply enjoyed playing along with him.
But if Emerald believed that Neo had any loyalty to him, she would barter that information to Salem. Undermining Neo in Salem's eyes would aid in Emerald's revenge… but she wouldn't risk it unless she knew for sure.
"...she'd never changed," Oscar admitted. "I wanted to think better of her, if only so she wouldn't keep trying to kill my friends, or-or believe that she could put her powers to better use." He thought on it, playing a more familiar part Emerald might've recognized. "A mistake I've made more than once."
Emerald had taken great pains to infiltrate Beacon under Professor Ozpin's watchful eye. No doubt Cinder taught her about subterfuge… about exploiting weaknesses and naivete. The boy sharing Ozpin's soul may well have been naive enough to repeat his predecessor's mistake.
"...why?" Emerald growled. "Why did you get in Cinder's way?"
"You knew what she came there to do," Oscar argued. "You knew from the very beginning what she was."
"Don't talk about her," Emerald warned him. "Don't you dare-"
"She came to kill someone, Emerald," Oscar interjected. "She came to kill an innocent person because fate cursed them with my magic, so she could steal a relic and give it to Salem, and spread more chaos and misery-"
"I said don't talk about her!" Emerald snapped. "Answer the question! Why did you get in her way? Why did you try to stop her when you knew you couldn't?!"
Oscar already knew the answer to that one. Still he feigned a pause; to give her question thought.
"...because I couldn't help the others below fighting the Grimm, and I was tired of doing nothing," Oscar replied. "I was tired of knowing I could've done more and still standing aside."
At Haven, Emerald methodically followed Cinder's orders. When separated from her, Emerald vocally expressed her continued faith and certainty Cinder would succeed and win the day. When Cinder failed, Emerald broke down and her fears erupted in a giant illusion of Salem, one of few responsible for greater misdeeds than Cinder herself.
Emerald knew Cinder was flawed. She looked the other way because-
Oscar drew away from his harsh reprimand of her. She'd hadn't only fallen silent because she was afraid…
Emerald's red eyes had a shimmering glint about them. Tears alongside anger; pain to match her fury.
"...did you tell her how you felt?" Oscar asked.
Emerald turned her head from him. She didn't even bother to engage an illusion; she lowered her weapon and stormed out of his room without another word.
Well done, Oscar, Ozpin praised.
He didn't care for the wizard's approval. "She's another one we could be helping, you know."
Had we the time, perhaps, Ozpin allowed.
Oscar glanced about the bloody walls of his cell. "...you got somewhere else to be?"
No, but she will, Ozpin explained. And I suspect it won't be where Salem expects her to be.
Pietro set to work almost as soon as he stepped inside, finding a secure terminal and reviewing what remained of Watts' code. Penny had military duties to see to, but had requested a reprieve long enough to see Ruby back to the dorm. Ironwood granted her a full hour, barring an emergency.
Penny had come out from the riots, the Grimm attack, and the evacuation largely unscathed. Unlike… seemingly everyone else Ruby had interacted with that day, Penny was in an optimistic mood. Even the dawning threat of the largest Grimm anyone had ever seen didn't seem to bother her any more than usual.
That in and of itself was actually difficult for Ruby to face. Penny's unrelenting optimism could always be a little exhausting -endearing though it was- but today wasn't the day for her to face it. Because Penny's sincere affection reminded Ruby just how many of her friends were… elsewhere.
Penny occasionally needed time to read a room. But with only Ruby to talk to and too much of her voice filling the conversation without Ruby's interjection, she caught on much more quickly. "Are you sure you're alright, Ruby? You seem… quieter than usual."
Penny was a hard one to lie to. She'd take Ruby's answer at face value, even if she heard something outlandish…
"I'm just tired," Ruby tried to assure her. "I woke up early -way earlier than I planned- and got caught up with the whole thing with Oscar and the ship and… and all that."
"Yes," Penny nodded. "Well, you're on standby right now, aren't you? You could rest and recharge."
"While everybody else is out there doing something?" Ruby asked her. "While my team -my friends, my sister- are out helping with the evacuation or the SDC or-or whatever else?"
"Well, if you want to help… why aren't you?" Penny bluntly inquired.
"I… right now's not the best time for me to be tagging along with them, I guess," Ruby tried to gently imply… she really should've known Penny would miss the subtle point she'd tried to make.
"Why not?" Penny asked. "Wouldn't your friends and your sister want your help right now when Mantle is still under siege?"
"It's… that's not why-" Ruby searched for an explanation that wasn't the most obvious she could think of. She didn't want Penny to be involved -or even aware of- the drama lurking between Ruby and her friends. Penny would try to fix it immediately, and it was a bit too early for the direct approach. She took a deep breath and composed her answer. "They're doing their thing and they don't need me there for it right now."
"Okay, so they don't need you," Penny observed. "But did they want you to come along? Did you ask?"
"...it's complicated," Ruby decided.
"Why?" Penny innocently wondered.
Penny had been blissfully unaware of all that had been going on with Team RWBY and a certain male friend of theirs'... but then, so had Ruby herself for a considerably long time. She hadn't even known about her only sister's boyfriend or her breakup.
And right then, she only had one person to talk to about any of it…
"Penny, you know how Oscar went out to try and stall Salem?" Ruby asked. "I saw him off before he went, and Yang and the others got kinda upset that I let him go and do that."
"Because they were worried?" Penny suggested. "Because they wanted to see him off too?"
"No," Ruby bitterly acknowledged. "There's… uh, there's a lot more to it than that…"
Whitley's ship finally arrived at the landing pad. He seemed a bit worse for the wear -he wasn't accustomed to being ferried through the sky- but Weiss helped him regain his bearings before leading him into the academy.
He had to coordinate the SDC's resources with General Ironwood, sending unmanned ships down to Mantle to try and increase the number of vessels and evacuation sites for whoever was left on the ground. He wasn't at all used to the responsibility of the task, and so long as she was still on downtime, Weiss could advise him; help him navigate the treacherous waters of business and government united in common purpose.
And -of course- give her someone to talk to while she waited for Yang and Blake -and Jaune, Ren, and Nora- to return from the ground. How ironic she should find herself turning to Whitley when two days beforehand, she'd thought him beyond any hope of change.
But lately, they'd been able to forestall the inevitable. Grimm still waited just past their doorstep and Salem herself led them into battle, but so far they'd managed to hold together, managed to find common cause…
But then again, her own team had started to splinter. Ironwood had come very close to choosing to retreat -saving his kingdom, but condemning another beneath it. Their alliance was still in disarray, and rogue elements like the woman who kidnapped Weiss and held her prisoner now fighting on the same side with her… it all took some getting used to.
And the one person who'd managed to hold them all together and united…
Weiss tried to put the thought from her mind. Oscar's example would have to serve in his absence: it had been on his advice she'd tried to reconnect with her brother at all, and had her family at the moment in her life she hadn't expected to need them.
And Whitley needed his family too… the name and the money were little comfort when the weight of the world actually reached his shoulder. He didn't say it out loud -he didn't say much at all- but he was grateful for her counsel. He may have coveted the title of heir to the family name, but he was not so arrogant as to think himself the equal of it. Jacques hadn't ever doted on him enough to poison him so completely.
Weiss sat beside him as General Ironwood coordinated the Dust transports, hastily reconfigured for civilians to be ferried up to Atlas. She didn't offer much more than her presence, but that seemed enough to put him at ease in the unfamiliar place of trying to help with his wealth and resources… possibly for the first time since their grandfather's reign.
The Schnee family once again determined to defend their kingdom and use their wealth and power to shield the innocent. Weiss might've once wished to have been in Whitley's seat, but he actually seemed quite suited to managing and repurposing resources. When Salem inevitably struck, Whitley would still be in Ironwood's office, working behind the scenes while Weiss was called to the fight.
Making the time they had all the more precious… her first new cherished memory with time spent beside her brother.
Emerald had marched in stoic silence into the transport, leaving Mercury to collect the ignition from Neo. Neo was surprised Emerald hadn't glared at her on the way out the door... maybe she had but simply concealed it behind another illusion. She wouldn't want to catch Salem's attention at the wrong time…
Still, as Neo watched Mercury start the engines and saw the ship take off through one of the tears in the Grimm whale's flesh, she couldn't help but think her exit strategy went with them.
She could survive a trip to the ground: she'd done it before. Oscar, on the other hand…
Salem stepped towards her, indifferent to the departing ship; she was still much too attached to staring at the lamp. Neo did her best to remain stoic and patient - the same facade she'd put up around Cinder.
"I'm sure you're wondering if they've stranded you here," Salem noted. "But you needn't concern yourself. I told you I would have a task for you, and I've found it."
Salem turned and headed back into the beast's innards, walking along the curious slope of red ground. Neo followed after, eyes ever on the witch's back.
"Hazel hasn't made much progress in trying to get the answers I want from the boy," Salem explained. "I suspect a… gentler touch may be necessary."
Neo wasn't capable of repartee. She only waited for Salem to get to her point.
"You can feign the appearance of his lovers," Salem observed. "I don't suppose you can feign… damage or harm to them as well?"
Salem turned her gaze away from the lamp back to Neo. She was expecting Neo to answer quickly, even lacking a voice.
Neo hadn't seen Nora Valkyrie or the Faunus girl ever come to harm, but she had worn her share of scrapes and bruises… and inflicted a few on the Xiao Long. Neo took the latter's appearance first, initially pristine, and immediately after with fresh bruises on her cheeks and arms… albeit suspiciously like the indentation of a heel in Neo's size.
"Good, good," Salem approved. "That will do to taunt him, I think."
Neo raised an eyebrow. She wanted to taunt Oscar? Hadn't she terrified him enough by promising to hurt his collection of girlfriends already?
Salem returned her attention to the lamp. "This is only one step in my plans for Atlas, and we have waited long enough. If my Hound can bring back a prize to force his hand, all the better. If not… you will retrieve the answer from him."
There was the catch, at last. Now that Neo had proven her competence, Salem expected only more results.
"Employ whatever weapon you like," Salem instructed. "But this boy clearly has some affection for you… so do not be so quick to harm him. You already know his other weaknesses too well…"
Salem recognizing she and Oscar had some lingering tie… Neo would have to try and pretend otherwise without overplaying it. She merely resumed her usual appearance, wearing a bored frown. She resented the task, she disagreed… but that was all the objection she'd muster.
"When my Hound returns I will see him," Salem explained. "For now, remind him he has a friend here… or thinks he does."
Neo feigned a sigh but gave an affirmative nod. A reluctant willingness to humor her… queen.
"Good," Salem nodded. "Go, then. Bring me the answer and I will see even greater riches brought to my Fall Maiden's feet."
More empty promises, just like Cinder. Only with much less need to keep her allies happy when she had no one in the world to fear.
Neo had to dispel the notion that Oscar had any lingering affection for her, or Salem would continue trying to exploit it… or -worse- wait and see if Neo broke character. She needed to turn Salem's attention elsewhere.
Salem asked for a gentle hand, but that wouldn't do. Not when she really cared about the person set to receive it.
He wouldn't have thought Oscar's dorm would be where she'd hole up; but then, he hadn't expected her to stick around at all either. He supposed she had to sleep somewhere.
Qrow knocked on the door. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted her to answer.
But eventually, she did. Their eyes met, and Raven stepped aside, waving him in.
Qrow reminded himself she'd spent several weeks at Tai's place in Patch. If Tai had been willing to put up with her after everything she put him through…
Qrow walked over to Oscar's desk and leaned against it, crossing his arms. Raven raised her eyebrow and waited for him to speak.
But not too long. She could never stand to be patient. "...what?" Raven finally asked.
"Jimmy wanted me to talk to you," Qrow explained. "Get a read if we could count on your help."
Raven scoffed. "How like you to sign up with another Headmaster to give you your marching orders…"
"It's not like that and you know it," Qrow argued. "The kids know more about Oz than we ever did and they're still with him. Ruby and Yang are with him, and that's all the reason I need."
"Likewise," Raven assured him. "Well… for one of those two, at least."
"Really?" Qrow inquired. "I remember you already saved Yang once. When did you decide to start breaking your rules?"
"Around the same time you did, I imagine," Raven countered, glancing down to his belt. "You hardly seem the same without your flask, you know: now you'll have to get by on your personality… gods help us."
Qrow didn't share her good humor. "Look, you want to catch up, fine, we can talk about it after Salem does her thing… or after we're dead, whichever works for you. Right now, I just need you to be straight with me. Can you do that?"
Raven met his gaze again. "Sure, Qrow."
"I don't need to know why you're here; what your reasons are, whatever justification you came up with," Qrow assured her. "I just want to know that when things hit the fan… you gonna stay and fight or cut and run? Cause one of those things is more like the young you, and the other is more like the current you."
"I promised Tai I would help his daughters," Raven replied.
"Wouldn't be the first time you broke a promise you made to him," Qrow unsubtly reminded her.
Raven knew what he thought happened. She still let him believe the comfortable lie and let him cast her as the villain. He didn't want to know the truth of what happened between Summer, Tai, and herself. If she tried to tell him now it'd only make him mistrust her all the more.
"Would you believe it if I promised you instead?" Raven coyly suggested. "Or have you already made up your mind?"
Qrow was silent for only a moment. "Rae… you're still here, and that does mean something. But what do you expect me to think, after Haven… after everything?"
"I expect you to think I have my own priorities and that -for now- they're aligned with yours," Raven coolly replied. "I think this is a fool's errand, and that fighting Salem always ends the same way. But Yang and Ruby are determined to fight, and I'm determined to see that they live."
"...why?" Qrow reasonably wondered.
It wasn't enough that Yang was her daughter. It wasn't enough Raven promised someone she used to love that she'd lend her hand. There had to be an ulterior motive.
Raven had another reason, but Qrow was even less likely to believe it than what she'd offered him so far. "I've told you my reasons. What you see is what you get, little brother."
He wasn't so blinded as to forget how Raven saw the world. She didn't need to lie: the number of people she feared -and the number she cared for- could be counted on one hand. And most of them ended up in the same place.
Qrow weighed his options on how to proceed. He clearly had more he wanted to ask…
"You doing alright, without that lifeline?" Raven inquired, gesturing to his hip, sans flask. "Last time I saw you, you were passed out drunk in the street. I missed something for you to have quit cold turkey."
"You missed a lot, Raven," Qrow bluntly replied.
Raven nodded. "No changing that now."
Silence between them again. Qrow looked down at his belt, then past it to the pocket of his slacks, pulling out a vibrating Scroll. Qrow lifted up from leaning on Oscar's desk and stepped back into the hall to answer it. "James?"
"Oscar's ship is back on our radar," Ironwood informed him. "He's… the ship is returning from Salem's pet."
Raven narrowed her gaze. Qrow stared out into the hall. "What're you thinking...?"
"That she's finally making a move," Ironwood replied. "Come back to Ops. I'm recalling Clover from coordinating the evacuation and will issue the order for the team leaders when the time comes."
"Got it," Qrow agreed, ending the call. He glanced back at Raven, seated in one of the cots, leaning ever so slightly towards him. She had -of course- heard the entire thing.
Qrow sighed. "I told James I'd have an answer for him. One more time, Raven: why did you come back?"
Yang and Ruby weren't the only reasons, but they were the ones that mattered to him. Raven whimsically shrugged. "You still don't believe me?"
"I wish it were that easy," Qrow admitted. "But it never is."
"No," Raven conceded. "I guess you'll have to decide for yourself. Same as Yang did."
Qrow sighed. "...you are a pain in the ass, you know that?"
"You might've mentioned it before," Raven coyly suggested.
"Fine," Qrow grumbled. "Just… don't make me regret this, or I swear-"
"Talk about it after we're dead," Raven reminded him. "You've got somewhere to be, don't you?"
"Yeah… and I'm gonna see if I can talk to Yang before I do," Qrow asserted. "Where is she, anyway…?"
Yang's left arm remained pinned beneath the Hound's claw. She kept repeatedly striking with her right against its forearm, but the firepower of her prosthetic was much less than Ember Celica: her rounds barely seemed to annoy the beast. Blake's rain of bullets from Gambol Shroud seemed to at least annoy the creature, as it raised one arm to cover itself… and wait. When Blake ran through her clip and had to reload, the beast lowered its guard and struck Yang's prone form repeatedly while she was on the ground, ripping through her Aura one large chunk after another.
Blake changed tactics, moving closer and firing off the ribbon from Gambol Shroud near Yang's free hand. Yang latched on and Blake pulled as she could, trying to move her partner out of the beast's grip.
The Hound grunted and pulled back its claw, flinging Yang and Blake through the air and slamming them both into the asphalt. Before either could rise, the Hound rushed over and batted Blake away from her weapon, before returning its attention to Yang and pinning her left hand to the ground once again, this time using its foot and several hundred pounds to keep her down.
Yang tried repeatedly kicking the creature's leg with her boot, before turning her prosthetic and firing up at its face. No visible eyes meant no immediately clear, glowing weak spot… she only tried to disorient it, to buy Blake more time to rejoin the fight. The Hound had both hands free and reached down to slash at her with slow, heavy attacks, ripping away her Aura at a steady pace. Slow, methodical… targeted.
Blake rushed over to collect her weapon and started firing at the beast's back. The Grimm endured each painful shot, continuing to focus on Yang, her Aura repeatedly flickering as the level lowered after each hit…
Running out of options, Blake fired the ribbon of Gambol Shroud again, driving her blade into the tall Grimm's shoulder and pulling back, trying to divert the arc of its swing; to slow it down just enough. Yang's Aura was low, but as long as she had some of it left…
Yang caught on. Her left arm remained pinned, but she still had three other limbs to use… she engaged her Semblance, her Aura burning on her frame, converting all the energy this monster Grimm had unloaded on her to turn right back in its face… or leg, as the case may have been. Yang struck it repeatedly, over and over, while Blake continued to keep one arm pulled back and stagger the creature's offense.
The Hound grunted and paused its attack… straining, visibly shaking… as a third and fourth leg erupted from its sides, slamming into the ground to give itself footing, spilling over some extra black ichor onto the ground. The beast let Yang continuously pummel its leg, because it soon had another to take its place and keep her pinned.
She was burning through her Aura too quickly… even if she chopped the beast's limb right off, she'd have to repeat the process all over again without the help of her Semblance…
The Hound tired of Blake's interference, finally flinging forward with its arm and drawing Blake towards it, driven to the ground again a few feet from Yang. The Hound reached with its newly created leg to pin her too, but Blake quickly left a shadow clone to take the hit while she rolled out of the creature's range.
"Get backup!" Yang instructed.
Blake glanced frantically around. If any of the Happy Huntresses remained they could certainly lend an extra gun, maybe enough to-
The transport was already in the air, Robyn and her team evacuating just as they'd insisted…
Blake turned to her Scroll. Ruby and Weiss would be out of range, but Jaune and his team had been heading for the surface to speed up the evacuation. If she could find one of their Scrolls in range...
Yang pulled up her prosthetic to block as many hits as she could from the Hound's strikes. Her Semblance would tank even more of the damage, but she'd have only a few seconds left before the fire was extinguished.
Blake fired with one hand, sending out a desperate cry for aid with the other…
Nora didn't feel that directing the occasional straggler to the transport ships had played to her strengths. Jaune was the expert at organizing lines, and Ren was a much calmer, more approachable voice. Nora could certainly point and wave people in and offer encouragement, but she did wonder if her new array of scars turned away any potential evacuees… or, perhaps after seeing her they realized what the Grimm would do to them if they remained.
Their ship had barely a dozen people after an hour: a stark contrast to the last time she'd been down to Mantle, with just as many refugees huddled together, hiding under Ren's Semblance. But the Grimm had been quiet all throughout the morning. The emergency lights were still on, but the sirens weren't blaring, so at least she wasn't uncomfortable with the long stretches…
But waiting was its own form of suffering. She could still see the massive Grimm out on the edge of the city, knowing Oscar had flown right to that monstrosity…
Nora had tried putting it from her mind and contributed as she could; at least honoring his wish. But this was the second time she'd had to learn about a friend -a teammate- running off on their own towards something they couldn't defeat.
She remembered how it ended the last time; how she was the strong, supportive one. She had to be, to help Jaune work through the loss, all the while only able to mourn Pyrrha herself without anyone's shoulder to cry on. Now, Oscar…
Nora advocated for the people of Mantle more than any of her friends. Yet at the snail's pace they trickled in, it almost seemed as though they were wasting their time trying to help refugees who didn't wish to be displaced. Leaving her standing around: hurrying up only to wait.
A ping hit her Scroll. She saw Jaune and Ren reach to their pockets, receiving the same urgent distress.
Nora reached to her back, to Magnhild. Finally.
She heard them call after her. But they were where they needed to be and where they'd be the most help. She had always been better suited to the fight than the lines behind it. She could move faster than either of them too, and would close the distance to Blake and Yang much more quickly.
When she reached the streets outside the campaign headquarters, she laid eyes on something truly terrifying… a Grimm with a mismatched number of limbs, no visible eyes, and having nearly killed Yang and Blake entirely on its own. Nora hefted Magnhild, preparing to start with melee while her friends were in close proximity.
The Grimm had recently given her a line of terrifying scars. It was only fitting she should return the favor.
Oscar appraised his arm: Hazel had held back ever so slightly… the welts on his wrist had already begun to fade. No doubt Hazel had reserved his wrath, waiting for Ozpin to emerge to bear the brunt of it. So long as Hazel knew Oscar and Ozpin remained separate entities, he'd patiently wait until his real target emerged.
Oscar's Aura had finally had time enough to recover. He was still lined with a number of unpleasant cuts and blemishes, but the pain had dulled to a gentle numbness. Now he had only to wait… to worry about how Salem had sent her dog to hurt people who'd been close to him. The physical pain couldn't hope to compare to the slashing cold of his guilt.
A familiar sensation, actually. "She brushed off her bumps and bruises, for nothing hurt worse than the loneliness in her chest."
I recognize that, Ozpin observed. The Girl Who Fell Through the World.
Oscar chuckled. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you're familiar with fairy tales."
I've lived through my share of them, Ozpin confirmed. How are you holding up?
"Trying to think about anything else, I guess," Oscar rolled onto his back. "Trying… not to be here, not to think about what might be coming my way."
Are you really? Ozpin asked. Are you sure that the fairy tale is so far removed from where you are?
A girl who fell from the surface of Remnant to discover a new world beneath it… only to find herself changed; lonely and unwelcome when she found her way back.
Like Neo, who lost her entire world, wandered alone in a private, quiet despair… only to find that when she finally achieved her revenge, she felt no fuller for the effort?
Like Raven, who ran from a gilded cage only to suffer her own loneliness and guilt, with the cost of her betrayal no more confidants to turn to?
Like Nora, who lost one home after another, and who could not risk change for fear of losing the person who'd followed her throughout?
...like Salem, who lost her children, her lover, and her very humanity in one failed attempt to cling to things when they slipped from her grasp?
"Ozpin…" Oscar breathed. These were not his insights; not only his own memories of them.
It's nearer now, that your Aura is whole again. Possibly only a few more hours.
"Well, then, maybe you're right," Oscar mused. "When the girl returned home, she wasn't the same person anymore."
No one is, after they've left. Most people simply don't realize the ways in which they've changed.
"Did you, though?" Oscar wondered. "Were you really so different from the man you'd been before when you remembered all the lives you've experienced? You've spent so long telling me how often things… repeated for you."
Oscar could recall it now too. Jinn, Glynda, Raven…
I do still remember a time when Ozpin and Ozma were not one and the same. I do remember the life before… faintly, perhaps. I was eager to discard it and move on; eager in the same way you found yourself when you felt you'd been accepted by Yang, Nora, Ruby and the others.
"...you call them all by their names now," Oscar observed.
Not all of them, Ozpin clarified.
Oscar rolled onto his side, only to wince as he felt a particularly painful bruise try to bear the weight of his frame on an uncomfortable, bone-like hard surface. He gently hoisted himself up to a seated position, staring at the wall rather than the ceiling.
"Now that Salem knows this, how can we keep doing it?" Oscar asked. "When we know she'll hurt the people we love…"
She will always hurt the people we love. Do you intend to spend the rest of eternity alone?
Oscar sighed. "This has gone on for too long. And… if we keep making the same mistakes over and over again…"
Yes?
"Maybe we can't change," Oscar suggested. "Maybe she's the one we have to persuade."
That… may be difficult, Oscar.
"I guess that means it's worth a try, then," Oscar argued.
Soft footsteps caught his ear. Oscar grimaced… Hazel finally remembered him, it seemed.
But when the walls receded, he saw no trace of the towering brute. He only saw a flash of pink, teal, and orange as Nora fell inside, landing in a heap on the ground beside him. She had her share of bruises now too: new blemishes to go with the scars she received the day before.
Oscar rushed immediately to her side, trailing himself along the floor. He heard the wall close up at her back, giving him no view of her assailant or her captor: he didn't even hear their footsteps trail away.
"Nora!" Oscar immediately moved to push on her shoulder, to roll her onto her back and get a better look at her wounds. When he did, Nora reached up her hand, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him closer, obscuring her face with his own.
She blinked. 'Nora' showed him the true color of her eyes before reverting back to a familiar blue.
Oscar caught on. He continued to feign concern, trying to move frantically about, just in case Salem had eyes on them even at that moment…
Neo played along. She pulled him even closer, as though she were grateful to see him again, willing to receive his embrace, despite all the pain she was in…
Oscar abruptly saw her clearly -no longer wearing the visage of Nora Valkyrie- lying on the ground beneath him. He didn't know if she'd dropped her illusion or cast a different one: she only directed his attention to her Scroll and an unsent text message on the screen, pushing it up so close it brushed against his nose.
Salem demanded the password. She'd sent Emerald and Mercury to Atlas in their ship, leaving them stranded. Time was running out.
Oscar nodded. Neo pushed him back up, and when he blinked he saw a seemingly wounded Nora Valkyrie beneath him.
He continued to play along, to fawn over her injuries. He racked his brain thinking on what to do. If Neo left this room without giving Salem the answer she sought…
Still, he could appreciate her company for a short while. It was certainly preferable to what Hazel had in mind for him.
"Do you really think Emerald will undermine Salem/" Oscar asked under his breath. "Or do you think she's the one who put Neo in this position in the first place?"
I think we may be better served trying your approach. Our attempt to divide and conquer may not have panned out as hoped.
It was still early. But if Emerald had dutifully carried out Salem's orders despite all he told her…
Oscar turned his gaze back to Neo, quietly asking: "Do you have a way out?"
Neo raised an eyebrow: surely he knew her better than that by now. So Oscar tried a better question. "Will you take it?"
Neo quickly caught on to what he was asking. She very faintly shook her head.
"If this doesn't work, all I'll do is make Salem mad," Oscar advised her. "She doesn't care about the lives of her followers, and she'll need to turn her wrath somewhere."
Neo again shook her head. He'd only even been able to come to this living ship because Neo had rode along with him; she wouldn't leave him in the belly of the beast now that she'd seen its horrors for herself. Even knowing what that meant.
"She doesn't need a Fall Maiden anymore," Oscar warned her. "If she thinks you betrayed her -or she thinks it'll hurt me- she won't care what it takes."
Neo again shook her head. There was no point trying to put fear in her: she'd already spent enough time alone, having given herself up for dead. She'd found something to dull the loneliness, and would keep it whatever it cost her to.
She brushed off her bumps and bruises, for nothing hurt worse than the loneliness in her chest.
Just like nothing hurt Oscar quite as much as a familiar, encroaching cold when he thought of losing them, of being alone without them…
Oscar reached down to place his palm on her cheek. Neo kept her disguise, but for a fleeting blink showed him her own eyes.
Oscar stood up from her and headed to the wall, pounding his gloved hand on the red matter. "Salem…"
"...I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything."
"What's the reason for the delay, Clover?" Ironwood inquired.
"One of the kids answered a distress signal," Clover reported. "I want her and her teammates on a ship back up before I pull all our boots from the ground."
"We no longer have that luxury," Ironwood curtly informed him. "Load up whatever civilians you have and get your ship back to the academy. We'll send another transport down to retrieve our Huntsmen via one of the SDC unmanned vessels."
Weiss looked up from her brother's side. Qrow grimaced and gently shook his head.
"...yes, sir," Clover reluctantly agreed. Before ending his call to ops, Qrow and Ironwood faintly heard him issuing orders to his team: "Load it up; we're pulling out."
Ironwood sighed. "Whatever she's doing, it's working. She's trying to divert our resources."
"You sure that's the play?" Qrow asked. "You think this is all coordinated?"
"The Grimm pulled out when their master arrived," Ironwood reminded him. "If they're attacking now while our Huntsmen are on the ground, it's because that's where Salem wants them to be. It's her moving her pieces onto the board at last."
"Why not target the Ace Ops, then?" Qrow wondered.
"Based on where the distress call came from, she may have been going after Robyn instead," Ironwood suggested. "She sent her assassin after her once already, and I can't think of a better way for her to convince the remaining citizens of Mantle that we can't protect them."
"Are you sure?" Qrow pressed.
"What I'm sure of is that Watts laid a lot of groundwork to see she could get in, and we're still not fully back on our feet," Ironwood reminded him. "And a Grimm attack happens right when she sends Oscar's ship to us? I don't think it's a coincidence."
Qrow had to concede the point. Though he did take a moment to peruse Ironwood's holographic display at his desk, for the sake of his own curiosity. "Who'd we send to get Robyn out?"
"Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna," Ironwood answered matter-of-factly.
Qrow didn't even need to turn around. He could feel Weiss's eyes digging into his back. "Right. Well… no safer hands."
"Agreed," Ironwood affirmed, returning to one of the flurry of other reports he was receiving. Qrow turned to Weiss and gently nodded, slinking out from the room.
It was a long trip back to the dorm. But he had an idea who might be able to help.
He only hoped he was right about her.
Nora dug her hammer into the tall Grimm's midsection, finally managing to pull it off from the pinned Yang, forcing it back a few feet. Yang quickly ambled to her feet, her Aura visibly flickering as the fiery remainder of her Semblance melted away.
"What's the deal with this thing?" Nora asked.
"It's smart," Yang grimaced. "And it's tough."
"I'm running out of ammo and all I've done is annoy it," Blake added.
Nora transformed Magnhild, turning from melee to ranged and leveling her grenade launcher. "Lucky for us I brought a spare."
The Hound sniffed the air. It turned its eyeless face to focus on Nora.
Another with a familiar scent. They just kept finding their way right to him.
It focused on the weapon in her hand. Much heavier than the others; likely stronger. The girl wielding it was the freshest fighter too, with her Aura completely intact.
The Hound concentrated, its extra legs retracting back into its body. Muscles moved into its original four limbs, reconstructing what its last two opponents had tried to break down. The Hound lowered itself closer to the ground, a quadruped once more with much stronger legs to enhance its speed.
The Hound took off. Nora's grenade whizzed right past its head.
Yang tried to cover her, firing concussion rounds from Ember Celica. The Hound lowered its head, shifting muscles up to its shoulders and back to receive the damage instead; to let the burst fire roll right off rather than stagger its motion.
Nora transformed her hammer but had no time to swing it. The Grimm opened its maw and bit down on the staff of Magnhild, pushing Nora down and nearly barreling her over with its frame. Nora soon found herself pushing back from the ground, trying to get her hammer back and avoid the beast's fangs all at once.
Blake and Yang fired at it while it was at close range. The Hound lifted its forelegs and reached towards each of them, its arms extending to nearly double their original length, lancing out like cables and clasping its clawed fingers over each of their faces, hoisting them up into the air and driving them into the asphalt with a devastating crack.
Yang's Aura broke and shattered off her frame. Blake's visibly flickered, but held- for the moment.
The beast returned its attention to the new prey before its maw. One more yet unbroken…
Salem took her time in answering Oscar's plea. She sat at her throne a while longer, even as her Seer replayed his message several times. When she finally decided to see him, she took the lamp along and took her time walking to his cell.
The wall receded and the queen stepped inside. She saw Neo on the ground, still in disguise, breathing hard at first… then feigning defiance, putting on a brave face; an empty bravado before certain doom. Neo took to the part well.
"So soon?" Salem mused. "I thought it'd take two… three, four of them before you broke. Or have you finally realized that I do not make idle threats?"
"I finally realized that you won't believe me unless you have the chance to try it for yourself," Oscar replied. "Maybe, if you know I'm not lying…"
"Maybe," Salem considered. "But then, perhaps I should have assurances of my own."
Salem stepped over to Neo on the floor, still playing the part, wearing a glare. Salem appreciated her acting… though she wondered how long Neo would maintain character when faced with what Salem had in mind for her.
"I brought them here alive so you could see how far I was willing to go," Salem explained. "And so that I might have some additional… leverage."
Salem opened her left hand. Dark energy radiated there, right over Neo's head.
"What are y-" Oscar began, but Salem shook her head. She had not given him leave to speak.
"You're going to give me the answer," Salem explained. "And if your password fails… perhaps the next hostage will convince you of my intent."
"Next hostage…?" Oscar asked.
The black sphere in Salem's hand grew larger, energy cackling about. "Perhaps one you loved more than her?"
Neo's fake bravado melted away. She quickly realized what Salem had in mind for her.
Salem mused she'd actually been quite fond of Neo during their brief time together. But if she would not serve further purpose…
Salem pressed the sphere beside Neo's cheek. "Tell me the password. Grant me my wish."
Oscar met Neo's gaze. Neo made sure Salem wasn't looking at her before subtly shaking her head.
She had decided for herself. All Oscar had to do was be strong enough to let her.
"...all the questions were used up," Oscar muttered.
Salem sighed. "Pity."
She opened her hand. Oscar watched as Neo was obscured by the black ball… by dark bolts arcing from Salem's fingers to encircle the girl.
He never heard her cry out. But he did see her illusion break in the darkness as Salem encircled her in the magic.
"Jinn!" Oscar shouted, desperate. "Her name is Jinn!"
He couldn't see Neo past the black sphere any longer. He only saw Salem's red eyes.
"Her name is Jinn!" Oscar pleaded, listening for anything at all amidst the darkness.
He heard nothing. He only saw Salem's eyes.