AN: Sorry this took so long. I would have gotten it done sooner, but I couldn't work on it at all over the weekend because I was out of state for my cousin's wedding.

Also, to Gry25, I have plans for all the stuff you mentioned. Patience.

Anyway, onwards!

Chapter 126

"Oscar!" Jaune called out, his team walking along a sidewalk. Pyrrha was holding Achilles in her arms, and Jaune noticed that Ren wasn't really trying that hard to look.

"Oscar!" Nora called.

"This city's enormous," Ren said. "He could have gone anywhere."

"So do you just want us to give up?" Nora asked.

"I'm just saying to curb your expectations of how easy this will be," Ren said, trying to placate her.

"I never said I thought it would be easy," Nora said, crossing her arms angrily, "But I want to find him."

"Guys, please…" Pyrrha said, gently rocking Achilles.

"…Sorry," Nora said, the two of them looking down in shame.

"I just can't help but feel like this is all my fault," Jaune said. "I overreacted."

"Well, when we find him, you can apologize," Pyrrha said.

"I think you had a point," Ren said.

"What do you mean?" Nora asked.

"Jaune was right. We don't know if we can trust Oscar," Ren said. "Ozpin is in his head. For all we know, he's been influencing him his entire time."

"Ren, you can't be serious," Nora said. "Ozpin isn't controlling Oscar."

"How do we know that?" Ren asked. "Oscar may not even exist. Ozpin could have been in control this whole time and has been trying to manipulate us."

"How can you say that?!" Nora asked. "Oscar is our friend!"

"How can you not see it?" Ren asked. "He might not even be our friend, you're just letting your feelings blind you, like always."

"Ren," Jaune said sharply, catching the black-haired boy's attention. "That's enough."

Ren looked over at Achilles in Pyrrha's arms, as if he was afraid of scaring him like Jaune had done earlier.

"Well, Oscar needs someone to believe in him," Nora said. "If you aren't willing to, then I will." She turned around and stormed off.

"Ren?" Pyrrha asked.

"…I would like to be alone for a little bit…" Ren said, before he, too, departed.

Jaune sighed deeply. Pyrrha turned to look at him.

"What was that all about?" Pyrrha asked.

"I think Ren is mostly upset because Oscar is Nora's boyfriend," Jaune said.

"Wait, what?" Pyrrha asked. "She's not with Ren?"

"Yeah, I guess she wasn't kidding when she kept saying they weren't together-together," Jaune said with a small laugh. "I'm not entirely sure how Nora ended up with Oscar, but after Sephiroth killed that Grimm that destroyed Kuroyuri, Ren started becoming obsessed with training so he could fight Sephiroth, but Nora wanted him to take a rest. It was kinda like how Blake was, actually, back when our second semester started. Anyway, he started treating her like she was a nuisance, and I guess Oscar somehow did something to win her over, because next thing we knew, they were cuddling, and kissing, and she was calling him her boyfriend."

"Well, in that case, I guess it makes sense that she's so upset that Oscar's missing," Pyrrha said. "And why Ren is so hostile towards him. I never expected that I'd see Ren get jealous."

"Yeah, me neither," Jaune said, the two of them walking in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes, with Pyrrha gently rocking Achilles. Now that the boy wasn't bundled up in blankets, Jaune got a good look at the light blue onesie his son was wearing.

Specifically…

"Is that a Pumpkin Pete onesie?" Jaune asked, seeing the large cartoon bunny head emblazoned on the front.

"Yes, it is," Pyrrha said, smiling.

"But, I thought you didn't like Pumpkin Pete's," Jaune said.

"I don't, but it was just so cute," Pyrrha said, and Jaune couldn't disagree. "Plus, you like Pumpkin Pete…"

Jaune's eyes widened.

Had Pyrrha picked it… just so Achilles would have some connection to him before Pyrrha told him he existed?

Jaune realized that he and Pyrrha had walked into a park while they were talking, and Pyrrha looked towards a nearby bench.

"Do you mind if we take a break?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune nodded, and Pyrrha sat down, with Jaune taking a seat next to her. "Would you like to hold him?" she asked, holding out their son towards him.

"…Yes," Jaune said, and Pyrrha handed him over, making sure to instruct him on the best way to hold him comfortably. Achilles yawned a mighty yawn, and looked up at him with big blue eyes. He suddenly smiled, and let out a giggle while reaching his little hands up towards him.

"A!" he babbled, and Jaune hovered his index finger over Achilles's face. The baby eagerly snatched it, holding it close.

The next time Jaune blinked, he noticed the moisture.

"He…he's perfect…" Jaune said, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"He is," Pyrrha said, a big smile on her face.

"He has your hair," Jaune said with a slight giddy laugh.

"And your eyes," Pyrrha said. Jaune looked back down at Achilles.

"Hi," Jaune said nervously. "I'm your dad."

There was something about saying it out loud.

Jaune Arc, the bumbling, lovable idiot that faked his way into a school to train warriors, was a father.

And he thought he was in over his head before.

After several minutes of crying in sheer happiness that this little baby in his arms existed, Jaune finally looked back up at Pyrrha.

"You know, I really want to be mad at you," he said.

"I know," Pyrrha said, looking down in shame.

"You left, broke up with me with no reason, and left me wondering what was wrong with me for a year. You broke my heart, and I want to be furious. I should be furious."

"Should?" Pyrrha asked.

"But I'm not," Jaune said, looking back down at Achilles again. "I don't know, something about him, something about knowing he exists and holding him in my arms is stopping me. We created something so beautiful, so perfect, and I can't bring myself to stay mad at you."

"Jaune…" Pyrrha said, a radiant smile that he missed so much slowly creeping back onto her face.

"…And… even if it weren't for Achilles… I can't deny that I never stopped thinking about you since you left." He looked back up at her, determination in his eyes. "So I have to ask you. I need to make sure. Do you still love me?"

Pyrrha smiled a sad smile, but one that was full of hope. "Yes, I still love you."

Jaune leaned forward, and Pyrrha met him halfway, their lips touching.

Instantly, Jaune felt a familiar spark, one that he hadn't realized he had been missing until that moment.

They kissed for several seconds, before finally parting, the couple smiling while looking into each other's eyes.

"I missed that," Jaune said. "I missed you. To be honest, even though I was mad at you, I never stopped thinking about you."

"I missed you, too," Pyrrha said. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him. I was just… panicked, I guess."

Jaune took another look down at Achilles. "I think… I think I can forgive you."

Pyrrha smiled warmly at the two of them. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I think we're still going to move on to Atlas, bring the Relic to Ironwood to keep it safe," Jaune said. "Even after everything she's lost, I can tell from the look in Ruby's eyes that she doesn't intend to give up. She and her team are going to need us there, just to make sure they don't do anything reckless." Jaune and Pyrrha both laughed at Jaune's little joke. "Are you and Achilles going to come with us?"

Pyrrha looked down in thought for a second. "I don't think I can."

"Why not?" Jaune asked.

"I'm not going to be fighting. I promised myself when I found out I was pregnant that I would quit being a Huntress," Pyrrha said. "I can't do that to him."

"What does that mean?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha sighed. "My father was a Huntsman. When I first began my training, he was the one that encouraged me to use my talents to participate in tournaments. He was the one who got me this after my first win." She gestured to the bronze headpiece still on her head, even without her armor. Her face fell. "But a few months later, he died on a mission."

"Oh…" Jaune said sadly.

"After that, I promised myself that if I ever had children, I would quit being a Huntress, so my children would never have to live with the pain of losing me on a mission. I want to be here for Achilles for a long time. So no, I can't fight with you."

"…Is that why you didn't want me to have to give up on being a Huntsman?" Jaune asked.

"Yes," Pyrrha said. "I didn't want you to have to choose."

"Well, I choose to be a Huntsman," Jaune said.

"What?" Pyrrha asked, looking both surprised and angry at his statement.

"AND a father," Jaune said. "I'm going to keep up the fight with Salem, but I want to have you and our son with me."

"Jaune…" Pyrrha said, her expression softening again.

"You don't have to fight with us, but I want to have our son in my life, so would you still be willing to come with us to Atlas?"

"I…I don't know," Pyrrha said. "It's kind of a big change."

"Can you really live with yourself if you stopped now?" a new voice asked. Jaune and Pyrrha looked up and saw Cloud leaning up against a nearby tree.

"Cloud?" Pyrrha asked.

"How long have you been standing there?" Jaune demanded, upset at the potential eavesdropping.

"Relax, I haven't been here very long," Cloud said, before looking back over at Pyrrha. "After knowing everything you know now, do you really think you'll be able to stop?"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"If you're anything like your other friends, then I don't think you'll easily be able to step aside knowing the threat Salem poses to your world," Cloud said. "Do you really think you'd be able to sleep at night if you stopped now?"

"…" Pyrrha didn't say anything in response to Cloud's words.

"You don't have to answer that question if you don't want to," Cloud said, stepping off of the tree and turning to walk away. "But I just want you both to remember one thing: There's no stopping this train we're on. We're riding it to the end of the line."

Jaune looked back at the red-haired girl. "Pyrrha?"

"I…I don't know what to say…" she said.

"Well, we can think about it later," Jaune said, standing up. "Let's get back to looking for Oscar."

"Right."

"Wow," Oscar heard from behind him, turning around to see Nora approaching him. "You look really nice."

"Thanks," Oscar said. He had gotten himself a new outfit after he left the house, now wearing a long green coat, black pants, and red combat boots.

"You know everyone's out looking for you, right?" Nora asked, sitting down next to him. He had found a bench on the side of the road near a nice café, and he had texted Nora to meet him there so they could talk.

"They are?" he asked.

"Of course," Nora said. "With the way you just disappeared after what happened with Jaune, we thought you had run away."

"Oh," Oscar said, his head lowering in guilt. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be," Nora said. "Everything's been kind of intense lately. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thanks," Oscar said.

"So, your text said you wanted to talk to me about something?" Nora asked.

"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "For a while, I've felt like the only reason why I'm able to contribute to the group at all is because I have Ozpin in my head."

"Well, you're still training," Nora said, trying to cheer him up.

"That's not what I mean," Oscar said. "I mean, people keep treating me like I'm Ozpin, not Oscar. They don't ask me for my opinion, just his. I don't feel like I'm really a part of this group, I'm just here while everyone talks to Oz."

"I haven't done that," Nora said. "I value you, not Ozpin."

"I know you do, and I appreciate it," Oscar said. "But it feels like the others don't sometimes. And then there's Hazel. He didn't even care that I was there, too. Once he knew Ozpin was in my head, that's all I became to him. I just… feel like I'm not 'Oscar' anymore, and I haven't even finished merging with him yet."

"Oscar…" Nora said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Oscar sighed. "I know that I'll eventually merge with him, but I'm still here. I want to feel like a part of this group because of me, not Oz. I want to do what I can while I'm still me."

"That's great," Nora said, smiling brightly at him. "Whatever you need help with, you can count on me."

"Thanks," Osar said.

"Don't mention it," Nora said, hugging his arm tightly and snuggling into his shoulder. "What else are girlfriends for?"

"…Yeah…" Oscar said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked, leaning back.

"Um… I don't think we should stay together," Oscar said, refusing to make eye contact with her.

"…Are you breaking up with me?" Nora asked, sounding incredibly hurt by what he said.

"…Yes," Oscar said reluctantly.

"Why?" Nora asked.

"Because…Like I said, I don't know how long I have until Ozpin and I merge," Oscar said. "When that happens, I doubt whoever I'll become when that happens will still feel the same way about as I do now. Ozpin's never been comfortable with us because you were his student."

"What does that have to do with you breaking up with me?" Nora asked.

"Because you deserve someone who will stick around!" Oscar shouted suddenly. "I can't promise that I'll still feel the same way about you, and the last thing I want to do is break your heart."

"So breaking it now is okay?!" Nora asked.

"That's not…" Oscar tried to say, but couldn't find the words.

"Oscar, you said yourself that you want to be your own person, so why are you letting Ozpin dictate your life?" Nora asked. "Yes, you might not feel the same way about me when you merge, but that's no excuse to not let yourself be happy while you're still you. Do I really not make you happy?"

"You do!" Oscar said, finally making eye contact with her.

"Then you have no reason to break up with me," Nora said with a smug grin.

"W-well, what about our ages?" Oscar asked.

"What about them?"

"Well, aren't you 19 like the others?" Oscar asked. "I'm 15, and Ozpin's complained a lot about how 'inappropriate' that is."

"Except I'm not 19," Nora said.

"What?" Oscar asked.

"I lied on my application," Nora said. "I was only 15 when I started at Beacon, so I'm 17 right now. I just wanted to go at the same time as Ren. Now, any other stupid excuses to avoid dating me?"

"…No," Oscar said with an exasperated chuckle.

"Then you're stuck with me, farm boy," she said, cupping his cheek and turning his head towards her. She leaned forward, and left a long, lingering kiss to his lips.

"I guess I am," he said, smiling at her.

"So, let's head back," she said, standing up. "The others might have come back by now."

"Alright."

Ruby froze as she approached the stairs of Saphron and Terra's house, her eyes wide as saucers.

Lying unconscious on the front steps was her Uncle Qrow.

In her mind, his hair suddenly turned blond.

The sidewalk became the hallway of her childhood home.

She remembered Cinder trying to hurry her and her sister away as Mom and Uncle Qrow tried resuscitating her father all those years ago.

Her breathing increased rapidly.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called out in concern, running towards him, her sister right behind her. Ruby sat down next to him, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him awake.

To her relief, he groaned and opened his eyes.

"Why am I on the stairs?" he asked. Instead of answering, Ruby wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "What? What's your problem?"

"Don't you give us that," Yang snapped. "We just found you passed out drunk outside. Of course we were worried about you!"

"It-It reminded me of Dad," Ruby said, her voice shaky.

"Oh…" Uncle Qrow said. "Well, uh, why am I outside?"

"Everyone is out looking for Oscar," Riku said.

"Oscar?" Uncle Qrow asked. "Why?"

"There was an…incident between him and Jaune," Weiss said. "He left."

Ruby heard a lot of footsteps, and turned to see Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Cloud, Tifa, Saphron, and Terra walking towards them. Pyrrha and Terra were holding their children in their arms.

"I'm sure this looks great to the neighbors," Terra said sarcastically, earning her a light elbow to the stomach from her wife. Uncle Qrow's eyes widened when he saw Pyrrha, and hers did likewise. But his eyes narrowed when he spotted Achilles in her arms.

"Why is there another baby here?" he asked.

"This is Achilles," Pyrrha said, her voice lacking any amount of its usual warmth for the man. "He's my and Jaune's son."

"Well, didn't see that coming," Uncle Qrow said.

"Where's Nora?" Tifa asked.

"We don't know," Pyrrha said. "She got into an argument with Ren and left." Ren looked down shamefully.

"Did you find either of them?" Ren asked.

"No," Blake said. "You?"

"Don't worry," Jaune said. "We aren't going to Atlas without them."

"We?" Ruby asked, looking up at him hopefully. Jaune smiled back before turning to his sister.

"Sorry we won't be staying," he said.

"No you're not," Saphron said with a smirk.

"How about we get out of the cold?" Terra asked. Suddenly, the front door opened from the inside, and everyone looked up.

"Oh, I was wondering when you'd get back," Oscar said, standing in the doorway in a new set of combat gear.

"Oscar!" everyone shouted, pouring into the house to fuss over him.

"Hey, hey, hey, give him some space," Nora said, having apparently also having been back at the house with him, putting herself between him and the group.

"Wait, you've been here with him the whole time?" Weiss asked.

"Well, not the whole time, but we came back together," Nora said.

"And you didn't think to let us know he was okay?" Ren demanded. "Or that you found him?"

"Well, he's fine, so I didn't think it was necessary," Nora said. "Besides, you can't blame a girl for wanting some alone time with her boyfriend."

After hearing Nora call Oscar that, Ren clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "Forget it."

"It was still irresponsible to leave us worrying," Tifa said.

"…Sorry," Oscar and Nora said.

"Is something cooking?" Terra asked as she stepped into the house.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Oscar said. "We thought you guys would appreciate a hot meal after… spending all day looking for me, apparently."

"Who knew cooking could be so much fun?!" Nora asked excitedly.

"You let Nora cook?" Ren asked, looking scared.

"Yeah," Oscar said. "Why not? She's a lot more capable than I think you give her credit for."

"Yeah!" Nora said.

"Um, I suppose," Ren said awkwardly.

"Oscar," Jaune said, getting the boy's attention. "It's my fault we were all out there in the first place. I am so sorry for earlier. I was way, way out of line, and what I said—"

"No, it's okay," Oscar said. "These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you were. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be… me. But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left."

"Good," Jaune said with a smile. "This team isn't the same without you, Oscar." An alarm suddenly blared from the kitchen.

Oscar gasped. "The casserole!" He shouted in concern.

"We're on it, chef," Saphron said with a giggle as she and Terra ran into the kitchen, Terra handing Adrian to Miss Calavera.

"Uh, the combat gear looks good," Ruby said to Oscar.

"Thanks."

Ruby heard hard footsteps, and looked up to see her Uncle going upstairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tifa demanded.

"I don't answer to you," Uncle Qrow said as he continued walking upstairs.

"You disappeared hours ago. Ruby and Yang have been worried about you. You can't just stay still?"

"No, I can't," Uncle Qrow said. "Just leave me alone."

"You know, you can stand to not be a dick for five seconds," Cloud said.

"I don't remember asking you," Uncle Qrow said, staring down the blond mercenary.

"Knock it off," Miss Calavera said. "All this tension is making me uncomfortable. Either go outside and duke it out, or just drop it."

"And I don't want you doing this around Achilles, either," Pyrrha said.

"…Fine," Cloud said, letting Uncle Qrow go.

Ruby sighed in frustration.

"We really need to have a talk with him," Yang said, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Yeah, but will he let us?" Ruby asked.

"I know he needs time to grieve, but how does he expect to be helpful to us like that?" Tifa asked.

"Just leave him be," Cloud said. "We can pick up his slack. Speaking of, what's our plan besides going to Atlas?"

"…I think we should focus on gathering up the Relics," Riku said.

"Why?" Weiss asked. "Won't that let Salem escape Remnant?"

"Well, we still don't know how to stop her, but I need to get back to the Realm of Light," Riku explained. "Salem could destroy Remnant if she gets the Relics first, but Xehanort will destroy all of creation if we don't stop him. Especially since, knowing Sora, he probably did something stupid when he found out I was gone. I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow found his way to Remnant by now."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ruby asked. "He's strong, right?"

"Yeah, but it means that our side is even more short-staffed than we already were. We need to get back there as soon as possible to stop Xehanort. Even if that means freeing Salem. We'll just have to think of something to stop her afterwards."

"I don't know…" Blake said.

"Well, we don't have any other options," Ruby said. "And I know how dangerous Xehanort is. I think Riku's right. The best idea might be to collect the Relics for ourselves."

"But we'll have to convince General Ironwood to let us have the Lamp and Atlas's Relic," Ren said.

"We also have to actually get to Atlas," Jaune said. "The base wouldn't even hear us out."

"Then, we'll just have to try again tomorrow," Yang said.

An awful stench suddenly assaulted Ruby's nose, and Achilles started crying.

"Oops," Pyrrha said. "I think I need to change him. I'll be right back."

"Hey, uh," Jaune said. "C-Can you trach me how to do that?"

Pyrrha smiled at him.

"Of course."

AN: Yes, I decided to change Nora and Oscar's ages because some people have pointed out that him being 14 and her being 18-19 is a little problematic.

This chapter actually gave me a bit of trouble. I had to cut out several things just because I decided they'd be better off done later.

I want to remind everyone that this story has a Tv Tropes page!

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!