Chapter Thirteen: It's All True?

"I'm back!" Qrow yelled from the door. Sitting upstairs, Oscar heard him call and headed down. From the kitchen, he heard muffled bickering between Ruby and Ren.

"Hey, uh, Ruby?" Qrow called, sounding vaguely concerned.

"I'm coming!" She called back.

Footsteps, then the noise of breaking china came from the living room. Oscar quickened his pace down the stairs.

"Yang, I'm so sorry!"

He heard Ruby's stuttering, panicked voice and froze, his mind racing.

"I should've stayed, I should've talked to you more! I just wasn't sure if you wanted me around, and-" Ruby fell silent.

Oscar rushed down the last few steps and rounded the corner to see a tall blonde huntress hugging a frozen, teary eyed Ruby.

"I love you." She said, holding Ruby tighter.

"I love you too." Ruby buried her face in the huntress' jacket, crying quietly.

"That's Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's sister." Ozpin offered.

Oscar let out a tiny sigh of relief. Jaune, Ren and Nora entered from the kitchen, all three smiling gently. Qrow's expression softened. Suddenly, Oscar noticed a teenage girl in a bloody, mud stained dress that looked as if it could have once been white or sliver. She was standing by the door, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Weiss." Ruby said, turning to face the girl with a smile. She and Yang opened their arms and the girl rushed over and wrapped them both in a hug.

"That's Weiss Schnee, one of Ruby's best friends. Team RWBY is only missing one member now." Ozpin's quiet voice pulled Oscar out of the moment.

"Hey, Oscar," Qrow said quietly, walking over to him, "we should leave them to reconnect for a bit. We can do introductions and explanations later."

"Explanations, right..." Oscar said quietly. "Another chat with Ozpin?"

"Weiss and Yang will need to be brought up to speed. What does Oz think?"

"If Yang has been talking to her mother, then this is going to be an exponentially more difficult conversation."

"Ozpin's worried that Yang's been talking to her mom?" Oscar said, tilting his head.

"Right, Raven." Qrow looked down, brow furrowed.

"I'm confused."

"Raven is my sister, and Yang's mother. She's... difficult."

"Raven Branwen is the leader of a notorious bandit tribe. " Ozpin said. "I thought bringing her into my inner circle alongside Qrow was a good idea, but the knowledge broke her. She hates me, and believes our cause to be a lost one."

"Okay..." Oscar folded his arms. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"You should get used to giving me control. It may be useful the next time we're in a fight."

"Just don't make me do another back flip." Oscar muttered.

Qrow laughed quietly. "Oz talking to you in there?"

Oscar sighed quietly. "Yeah." He realised that the others had all gone into the dining room. Loud laughter echoed from the door.

"Come on." Qrow smiled, placing a hand on Oscar's shoulder. "I'll make you some hot cocoa."

"Thanks." Oscar followed him into the kitchen.


"How can six kids possibly make so much noise eating dinner?" Qrow asked, standing in the doorway to the dining room with one hand on his hip. Oscar stood next to him, looking at the floor. All eyes in the room turned to Oscar, and he smiled nervously.

"I think we all need to have a talk." Qrow stepped forward.

"Yeah, we do." Yang stood up, looking Qrow straight in the eyes.


Late in the evening, Ozpin finally finished telling his story to Weiss and Yang. They were silent. Oscar could hear the clock on the other side of the living room tick quietly.

"So, the Maidens. Magic. Salem. It's all true?" Weiss's eyes narrowed.

"Uh huh." Qrow said, his arms folded across his chest.

"Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin asked, sitting with his hands resting on his cane, "is this more or less what your mother told you?"

Weiss looked over at Yang, who was slumped on the sofa with her arms crossed, glaring at the floor. "For the most part." Weiss answered on Yang's behalf.

"You forgot something." Yang said, looking up at Ozpin. "You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother."

Ruby gasped quietly.

"What is she talking about?" Jaune asked quietly, apprehensive.

"Oh, great." Qrow rolled his eyes.

"That's not a secret I thought she would give up so easily." Ozpin's brow furrowed. "Your mother must trust you a great deal."

Yang remained unimpressed, narrowing her eyes at him.

Ozpin sighed. "My ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn't without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens, I too possess a certain... magical power." He stood, and began to pace. "Using this power, I was able to gift the Branwen twins the ability to see more, to move freely and be unburdened by their natural bodies. I, well... gave them the ability to turn into birds." He chuckled quietly. "Rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isn't it?"

"Wait, what?" Oscar thought, uncomfortably aware of how he was speaking but his mouth didn't move. "You can do that?"

"Uncle?" Asked Ruby, eyes wide.

"You turned them... into birds." Ren tilted his head, mouth falling open slightly.

Nora narrowed her eyes. "Alright, now you're just messing with us."

"What else is new?" Jaune folded his arms and glared.

"He's telling the truth." Weiss said, her hands curled in her lap. "We saw it. Yang's mom changed, right in front of us."

"Why would you do something like that?" Yang stood up, glaring at Ozpin. "What is wrong with you?"

"Yang, that's enough." Qrow narrowed his eyes. "We made a choice. We wanted this." Yang sat back down slowly, eyes widening a little.

"May I?" Ozpin glanced at Qrow, who nodded. "Granting this power to them was no trivial task, and I can assure you it was not done frivolously. I required assistance in gathering information on Salem's plans, as well as searching for Maidens when their hosts became unclear."

"Okay, so, have you done this with others?" Ruby asked. "Like General Ironwood, or Professor Goodwitch?"

"As helpful as that might be, unfortunately it is not that simple." Ozpin looked down at the floor. "My power is finite, and if I'm being honest, dwindling. The amount I gifted to Qrow and Raven was, all things considered, rather miniscule. You see, centuries ago, I sacrificed a great deal of magic to four young women, who I hoped would use my gift for good. They were the first Maidens." He turned to Yang, a sincere, apologetic look on his face. "Miss Xiao Long, it was never my intention to lie to you. To any of you. There are just some matters that I prefer to... 'play close to the chest', I believe that's how you phrased it?" He glanced at Qrow.

"Huh, yeah." Qrow smirked.

"Everyone has a choice." Ozpin turned to face the group. "The Branwens chose to accept their powers, and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties, in favour of her own self-interest. Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave, now is the time." Ozpin turned away. "There is no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat."

Silence echoed through the room.

"Very well then."

Yang stood.

"Yang?" Ruby asked.

"If Ruby sticks around, then I will too." Yang glanced at her. "If there's one thing I know about her, it's that she somehow always knows the right thing to do." She smiled. Then, her voice took on a harder edge. "But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies." She turned to Ozpin. "No more half-truths."

Ozpin glanced at Qrow, who shrugged slightly. "Understood." Ozpin said.

Yang sat back down, crossing her arms.

"So..." Jaune said hesitantly, "what now? I mean, what can we do?"

"Hmm," Ozpin considered, "that is a difficult question. One that I believe is best answered tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Asked Jaune.

"The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with hardships and peril, however it has been far too long since you have all been together. Please, take tonight. Enjoy this moment." He placed a hand on Yang's shoulder, smiling. She smiled back.

Ozpin's eyes flashed yellow, and suddenly Oscar was back in control. "Ah!" He flinched back, pulling his hand off of Yang's shoulder. Yang and Weiss chuckled.

Oscar heard Ozpin laughing in his head. He narrowed his eyes in frustration.

"Oh!" Exclaimed Nora in a moment of sudden understanding. "Raven? Qrow? They're birds!" She looked around excitedly. "Cracked it." She said, leaning back on the sofa with her arms behind her head. Ren shook his head slightly.