Chapter Fifteen: Fight

The sun had already set by the time Qrow, Oscar, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Ren and Nora reached the school. Oscar lagged behind the group, fists clenched tightly. He glanced nervously at Ruby. She smiled gently. Looking up as they entered the building, he caught a last glimpse of the sky.

Lionheart stood waiting for them, up on a balcony. "Why hello," he said as they approached. "Thank you for coming." His voice held a nervous edge to it, like that of an inexperienced student making up a speech as they went along. "There seems to be more of you than last time."

They stood below him, looking up. Qrow stepped forward. "You know what they say, the more the merrier. So, what's going on with the council?"

Lionheart looked to the side, tucking his hands behind his back. "Why... did you bring your weapons?" He asked hesitantly.

"What?" Qrow shot him a concerned glance. "Leo, we're huntsmen. Are you okay?"

"Of course!" Lionheart mumbled. "Of course, sorry. Just haven't had my evening coffee." He laughed nervously.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oscar noticed a black raven perching on a nearby banister.

"Look, it's nice to see you," began Qrow, "but we've got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?"

Yang blinked. "Mom?"

Qrow shot at the bird, which took flight, cawing indignantly. It landed behind Lionheart, and transformed into a masked woman with long, black hair. A sword was strapped to her belt.

Qrow stared, holding his sword out in front of him.

"Raven..." Ruby narrowed her eyes.

"They really are magic..." Nora muttered in astonishment.

Raven removed her mask. "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting." She placed a hand on her hip.

"What are you doing here?" Snarled Qrow, still pointing his sword at her.

"I could ask you the same thing." Raven walked down the steps towards them. "You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister." She smirked.

"Leo..." Qrow turned his weapon on him. "What have you done?" He yelled.

"I-" Lionheart stepped back.

"Leo did what any sane person would in his position." Raven reached the bottom of the steps and stood in front of the balcony. "He looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice." She placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. "And it seems you all have too."

"I never thought it would be Leo..." Ozpin's sad voice cut through Oscar's thoughts. "Ironwood maybe, but Leo?" He sighed. "It never gets any easier."

Oscar frowned, feeling very much out of his depth.

"You have the Spring Maiden." Qrow's voice was icy.

"I do."

Qrow sheathed his sword. "Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!"

"All that time spent spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you're dealing with." Raven spat. "There is no beating Salem."

"You're wrong." Ruby stepped forward. "We've done things that most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other."

"She's trying to talk her out of it." Ozpin's shock filtered into Oscar's mind. "Oh, Ruby. Some people can't be reasoned with."

"Work with us." Ruby insisted. "At least I know we'll have a better chance of we try together." She extended a hand, palm open towards the sky. "Please."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "You sound just like your mother." She unsheathed her sword and slashed at the air next to her, creating a spinning red portal. A fireball shot out of it, catching Ruby in the chest and flinging her backwards. She cried out in pain.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled, running over to her.

A tall woman in a long, elegant red dress stepped out of the portal. "Hello boys and girls."

Three more figures followed her out of the portal; a young man in a grey jacket, a tattooed young woman with cropped hair and a green haired young woman with two pistols sticking out of the waistband of her trousers.

"Cinder." Ruby sat up, aided by Yang. Her voice, a low venomous growl that would have forced a Beowulf to turn tail and run, shocked Oscar to his core.

Oh gods, that's the Fall Maiden, he thought, a near-silent gasp escaping him in sudden realisation. He clenched his fists. She killed Pyrrha.

"C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?" The young man in the sliver jacket smirked.

Yang snarled.

"Everybody stay calm." Qrow hissed through gritted teeth, holding a hand out.

The door creaked open behind them. Oscar turned to see a tall man saunter in. "Oh no..." he whispered. It was the tall stranger from the train, Hazel.

Hazel turned, shoving the heavy wooden doors closed. "The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds." He looked at the small group of huntsmen, and his voice lowered to a snarl. "No one's getting in, and no one's getting out."

"Thank you, Hazel." Cinder smiled.

"This was all just a trap?" Weiss's hands curled into fists, her usually flawless façade abandoned.

"It appears so." Ren hissed, glaring at Cinder.

"Raven." Qrow turned back to her. "Tell me. How long have you been with them?"

"Aww, don't take it personally, little bird." Cinder stepped forward. "Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand..." She gestured triumphantly to Leonardo, who looked away. "Entrance into the Vytal Festival was a real treat, but Leonardo's been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, very long time. Isn't that right, professor?"

"Stop it..." Lionheart hissed through gritted teeth.

"It was you." Qrow's voice was barely audible. "You sit on the Mistral Council." He grew louder. "You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to her."

"I..." Lionheart began.

"I couldn't find any of them, because you let her kill them!" Qrow yelled.

"Aw now, don't beat yourself up about it Lionheart," Cinder said, smiling. "I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would have found them on their own eventually."

"What is wrong with you?" Jaune's raw, strained voice rang through the room. "How can you be so broken inside, to take so many lives, and then come here and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of!"

"Jaune..." Nora warned. Her eyes were fixed on Cinder, a brutal ferocity in her gaze that Oscar had never seen before.

"All with that damn smile on your face!" Jaune yelled, tears trickling from his eyes.

Ruby drew her scythe.

"Everybody, stay calm!" Qrow hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?" Jaune stepped forward, white knuckles gripping the handle of his sword.

"Kid!" Qrow warned.

Oscar took a deep breath, curling his hands into fists.

"Say something!" Jaune yelled.

"Who are you again?" Cinder taunted, smirking.

Jaune yelled and ran at her, sword in hand. Cinder summoned a fiery sword from thin air and blocked his attack.

"Jaune!" Ruby raced towards him, her scythe pointed at Cinder.

"You're not getting near her." The green haired girl swung a long chain at Ruby. It wrapped around her waist and pulled her down.

The room dissolved into chaos. Oscar saw the swordfight between Jaune and Cinder intensify, while the young man in the sliver jacket challenged Yang.

"Hey there blondie," he smirked. "I'm thinking you owe me an apology for my leg, don't you think?"

"Come and get your apology, Mercury." She ran at him.

"Vernal, take out the heiress." Raven ordered. "Don't bother wasting your power, she's not worth it." The short haired woman nodded.

Qrow swung his sword at Raven, who brought up her own to block him.

"Running away was one thing, but this..." His eyes narrowed. "You've crossed the line."

"Sorry, brother. Sometimes family disappoints you like that."

"We're not family anymore."

"Were we ever?" Raven hissed.

"I thought so, but I guess I was wrong." Qrow flipped backwards, and Raven leapt after him.

Weiss watched, her pale blue eyes narrowed.

"Let's see what the Schnee name really means." Vernal drew a pair of crescent shaped blades.

"I'm more than a name." Sword in hand, Weiss turned to face her.

"Prove it."

Weiss launched herself forwards with a yell.

"Oscar. The balcony."

Obligingly, Oscar looked. Lionheart was standing alone, looking on at the fight in apparent horror.

Behind Oscar, Ren and Nora faced off against Hazel. "I don't wish to fight either of you." Hazel said.

"Nor I you." Ren said, drawing his pistol.

"But we will if you're with her!" Nora spat.

Hazel cracked his knuckles. "Very well then."

Oscar silently made his way up the steps towards Lionheart. Lionheart turned to face him.

"Young man, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but for your sake, I suggest you leave." Lionheart adjusted his weapon, a kind of wrist-mounted shield. "Now."

Oscar narrowed his eyes. You're going to pay for your betrayal, he thought. Slowly, he stalked towards Lionheart.

"I'm warning you!" He pointed his shield at Oscar. With a metallic click, he loaded a dust projectile.

Oscar dropped into a fighting stance, one hand reaching behind his back for his cane.

"That's enough!" Lionheart pressed a button on his shield. A fiery rock shot towards Oscar, propelled from the weapon. Oscar crossed his arms in front of his face. The rock exploded into a cloud of dust, crumbling into sand on contact. Green energy flickered across his skin as he straightened up, eyes narrowed. Lionheart stepped back, his mouth falling open in shock. Taking the last few steps towards him, Oscar drew his cane. With a click, it lengthened out fully – a meter and a half of gleaming dark wood and signature silver.

"Ozpin?" Realisation dawned on Lionheart. His eyes widened.

"Not quite." Oscar smirked. He swung the cane at Lionheart, who brought his shield up to block it. Strike after strike rained down on the man. Wood hit metal. He tried to find his footing, but stumbled back. Oscar leapt up, slicing the cane through the air. It whistled past Lionheart's head and he threw himself backwards, out of reach.

"This can't be..." Denial and panic filled his voice. "I knew you would be back, but... You made it here! You found Qrow! How?"

"Leo. What happened to you?" Ozpin's voice was filled with sadness, a resigned pity that seemed to weigh tangibly on Oscar.

Oscar shook his head slightly, cane raised to strike again.

"Wait." Lionheart straightened up. "You can't have had this form for long. You're not really Ozpin right now." His brow furrowed. "Boy. Child."

Oscar shifted his feet, suddenly nervous.

"If I deliver you to Salem, she'll have to be pleased with me, and I can finally get out of all of this!" His gaze hardened. "I can finally be free!"

Fear crept into Oscar like ice cold water trickling down his spine. "What do I do?" He whispered to Ozpin.

"Fight." Came the matter-of-fact reply.