Chapter 62

Ruby's mind spun as Jinn's vision faded, bringing them all back to the snowy world they knew.

"What the hell was that?"

"I… I don't understand…"

"She's immortal? Did you have some plan to deal with that!?" Yang roared.

"No…" Ozpin trailed off.

"All my life…" Qrow's voice cut through the whirlwind of chaos that was everyone's emotions, drawing their attention to the older Huntsman. "All my life I've looked for a place to belong. You gave me that. You gave me purpose, a family, a life that wasn't just killing. A life that was worth something! But all of it… all of it was worthless! I was just another pawn! Another tool! For you to use and discard! Despite all I've done for you, you couldn't trust me with the truth!"

Qrow roared and charged the young boy, fist raised. Adam stepped between them and took the blow for Oscar. Everyone looked on in shock.

"Happy now?" Adam asked.

"The hell are you doing? You aren't responsible for this!" Qrow yelled.

"And neither is Oscar, who you are so ready to beat." Adam rebutted.

"He knew! He must have! And he kept it from us!"

"Really now? Because to me, it seemed like we only discovered the truth because of Oscar. And you were going to thank him by beating him. Truly the epitome of Huntsmen!" Adam chastised, his voice twisting into a deep snarl. He then shook his head and let out a loud sigh. "We should get moving."

Qrow growled but stepped away. Adam seemed to bite his lower lip before he marched into the ruins of the train to search for supplies. Yang and Weiss, after a brief glance between them, followed him. Ruby instead grabbed Ozpin's dropped cane and returned it to Oscar.

"He's not responding. It's like… he's just gone." The farm boy said as he took the cane in hand.

"Oh." Ruby replied. What else could she say? Her mind was scattered as she tried to make sense of what Jinn had shown them.

"Hey, Ruby?" Oscar asked, his voice low and full of worry. "I'm just going to be another one of his many lives, aren't I? Just another Ozpin..."

"Of course not. You're you, Oscar." Ruby smiled, though she was sure it didn't reach her eyes. It was nothing more than a platitude. How could she guarantee such a thing? "Or well…" I should be honest. "I don't know for sure. But I'll help find a way to keep you, you."

"Right. Thanks, Ruby." Oscar smiled. It was a sad thing, filled with despair that he tried and failed to hide. "I'll go get ready…"

I failed. I couldn't take control of the situation after Jinn left. I should have been able to. I'm the leader. Ruby cursed to herself as Oscar left.

A few minutes later and they were ready to leave. Yang was pulling her bike along with the old lady, who had seen the vision with them, sat upon it. Adam took to the front and led them down a trail they'd found. They weren't a coherent group as they marched, however. They were split, separated into their own little worlds as they considered what they'd seen.

Ruby eventually decided to bite the bullet and moved up to talk with Adam. "Um. Thanks. For taking charge. I should have but…"

"It's fine." Adam replied with a sigh. "You should have, but you don't have as much experience."

"Maybe Ozpin should have made you leader…" Ruby let a thought slip out her mouth. She considered trying to take it back, but how could she?

Adam shook his head, however. "No. You're better than me. Or… you have more innate talent for leading. I was forced to learn and I made a harsh style of leadership. I galvanized people through their fear and hatred. I turned them into zealots willing to give their lives for the cause." He looked sad as he spoke. "You're better. You can galvanize people through their hope. Their love. That's what I think at least."

"You really think I'm better?"

"You will be. With some experience under your belt, you'll easily surpass me." Adam sent her a smile.

"Thanks." Ruby let silence reign for a moment before she switched topics. "So uh… how did you manage to take charge? I'm surprised you weren't stunned like the rest of us."

"Situations change quickly. I used to be pretty good at changing with them. When my mind was focused on Blake and redemption though… well I let my skills grow weak. With my mind clear and focused on the future you could say I'm getting back to my old ability level. However, there is something else…" He trailed off for a moment.

"Oh? What's that?"

"I have to keep control of myself. My emotions. If I don't I could… lose myself. Fall back into being that beast. That gave me an advantage I suppose. I pulled myself together quickly."

"So you are angry? At Ozpin?"

"Yes. He may have never outright stated we could win, but he hinted at it. He's fighting a battle that cannot be won. As long as he does that anyone who doesn't know the truth will think we have a chance to succeed. He's convinced the world to keep fighting against a monster that can't be defeated."

"Yeah… Do you think there is a way to win?"

Adam was quiet for a moment. "Maybe. In that vision that… God of Light said that if humanity is united when the Relics are brought together they'll return to being our Gods. They'll deal with Salem I guess. But that's too tall an order."

"What do you mean?" Ruby cocked her head to the side, curious.

"What did that God mean by unite? Or humanity? Does he count the Faunus? If he doesn't… then theoretically…" Adam stopped and glanced back at the others. His hands tightened into fists and he forced his gaze forward. "Theoretically speaking humanity could be united by hatred for the Faunus. If that counts then our easiest method of getting rid of Salem is to make my own race a scapegoat."

"No! I won't allow that!" Ruby grabbed his arm and squeezed. He looked down into her eyes. He must have seen something because he seemed to relax a little.

"Thank you, Ruby. It's just a theory. I can't help but think about the worst-case scenario here. But either way, the Faunus weren't a part of the Gods original plan for this world. Who knows what they think of us. Hopefully, I'm just overthinking this."

"Hopefully." Ruby agreed. "Besides, if they come back and decide the Faunus shouldn't be here, I'll fight them."

"You'll fight the Gods themselves huh?"

"Yep! I wouldn't let them just get rid of you guys. I won't let them get rid of you, or Sun or Velvet. Or Blake."

Adam stopped walking. "You'd… protect Blake?"

"Of course. She's still a person and doesn't deserve to just be killed by a stupid god. Besides, you care about her. That's enough for me." Ruby grinned at him.

"Ha! Thank you." Adam chuckled and started walking again. His mood seemed to have gotten a little better too.

I should try to cheer everybody up. But how?

Brunswick Farms. A small farmstead out in the forests of Mantle. Some ways south-ish of Argus. Snow-covered and deserted.

Also filled with dead bodies.

Adam sighed as he investigated the upper floor bedroom and the dead pair in their bed. The others were all too squeamish, too old or too drunk to actually investigate. Adam was the only one with experience near dead bodies, from all the losses he took in the White Fang, so he took over.

No sign of a struggle. Died in their sleep? But both of them at the same time? No wounds or anything. Hm. If anything I'd guess they died from starvation? Or dehydration? But the house was stocked with plenty of canned food and a working tap as well as a nearby well so that didn't make any sense. They didn't look like they were injured so they should have been able to get food and water aplenty. So why didn't they?

Something here feels… wrong. Just wrong. Adam sighed and closed the door. They didn't have the energy to worry about burying them. Not when they still needed to find a faster way back. I just feel so tired.

He reported his findings to Oscar, who was organising the living room as a space for them to sleep that night. Afterwards, he left the building and made his way towards a barn. Yang had gone to look for vehicles and he decided to help her, rather than Ruby and Weiss' quest for supplies.

The barn was filled with all manner of tools and supplies for said tools. Almost all were suited towards farmwork or fixing those farming tools. Yang was near the end, checking out what looked like a trailer.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey…" She called back. She sounded just as tired as he felt.

"So? Find anything good?"

"This trailer is usable. We could hook it up to Bumblebee and be off tomorrow."

"That's good. We can be off first thing then."

"Yeah…" She sounded dismissive.

"You got a problem?" Adam asked.

"A problem huh? You mean aside from what we just learned?" Yang glared at him as she stood up and made her way to a nearby window.

"Hm. It is quite a lot." Adam replied, joining her to stare out into the forest of wood and snow.

"After everything, he still didn't trust us. I just… why? Why couldn't he trust us?"

"He's lived for who knows how long. Plenty of time to get burned."

"And you accept that? He gets burned so therefore we can't be trusted? Qrow spent his life fighting for him and didn't know. Mom died fighting for that bastard and I doubt he told her! It doesn't matter how loyal we are, he would never tell us everything!"

"So? What should his criteria be? Because Lionheart seemed loyal. Probably seemed more loyal than we did." Adam tried to be diplomatic as he spoke.

Yang growled. "Why aren't you angrier!? Didn't you just see how much he's lied to us!?"

Adam shuffled awkwardly for a moment. "I did. However… to me, the important part wasn't how much he lied, but the content. The Faunus just appeared, Gods are real, Humanity lived twice, Salem is immortal. It hurts that he lied to us, but I haven't spent as long around him. You all spent weeks with him in that house and he lied every second of it. To me, he's more a stranger not telling me everything, but to all of you?"

"He's our teacher. Our ally. Someone we can rely on. Someone who gave Qrow everything." Yang replied.

Adam nodded. "Exactly. He's more to all of you. It still hurts of course. I'm sure he had some words prepared just in case. Probably would have tried to convince us that it was okay because it was only a lie by omission, rather than a direct lie. But that wouldn't have flown with us."

"Yeah, you're telling me." Yang scoffed. "Still. I thought you'd be angrier. I thought being angry was your thing."

"I'm pretty sure it's yours, Yang. You are the one whose Semblance is connected to her emotional state. At least more so than normal. Besides I'm sure you heard me with Ruby earlier. I have to control my rage."

Already he could feel it. That familiar beast, just beneath the surface. That hulking monstrosity of rage and hate and spite. Just waiting for a chance to overwhelm him. One misstep and he could become that monster again. All of his work would be for nought.

"You have a point." Yang huffed. "Fuck. I guess I should do the same huh? I shouldn't let anger dictate my actions."

"Exactly." Adam smiled. "Also just this once I won't tell Ruby that you swore."

"Good. Otherwise, I'd have had to beat your ass." Yang let a cocky smile onto her face.

Adam returned it. "Ha. You'd need a lot of luck to pull that off. Now come on, we should get back to the others and tell them the good news. We can leave tomorrow. Once we're all safe in Argus we can scream all we want about how unfair it is that Oz lied."

"I'll keep you to that promise you know."

Adam laughed. "I can't wait."

A/N: And so the direct aftermath and the arrival at Brunswick occurs. Of course, the main part is the reactions. Obviously, they aren't happy. It's a big lie and it hurts to basically be told by a trusted authority figure that you aren't worthy of trust. But Adam, knowing that he needs to keep control of himself, is able to be a voice of reason. He understands both sides. Or tries to at least. It annoys Yang at first, but after a talk, he gets her to calm down a bit too. I suppose that is the difference between Adam and Blake. He's so worried about becoming a monster again that he has to be rational about it. Blake meanwhile was in the same situation as everyone else.

Anywho I hope you all enjoyed! I'll see you next time!