Hey guys! I know it's been awhile since I have updated. I decided to take some time for myself and disconnect for awhile. Some personal things came up which is why I decided to take a break. I will still be writing and updating when I have the time now, but it's not going to be as consistent for awhile. Thank you guys for your patience, and understanding. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"Speech"
Thoughts
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Comatose
Ironwood burst through the door with Penny and Winter following shortly behind him. Oscar lay on his back on the exam table with Pietro and Jaune on either side of him. Ruby and Nora stood at the head with looks of concern while Ren, Weiss and Blake were sitting on the couch across from his desk. Slade was slumped against the wall with a concerned looking Qrow and Yang. Maria looked up from her seat at his desk "General" she nodded alerting the others to his presence.
"What happened?" he asked approaching the table beside Pietro.
"We're not sure, General" Pietro sighed "One minute everything is fine and the next Oscar was screaming"
"Tell me everything"
"I saw what happened, Sir" Penny stepped forward "I wanted to wait for everyone to be here"
"Well?" Winter quirked her eyebrow. Everyone's attention was on Penny now.
"I was watching the training session between Slade, Qrow and Oscar. I had been scanning for Semblance uses to see if Slade was forcing himself during the fight... afterwards it seemed like everything was fine so I was going to stop scanning. Then Oscar started screaming" Penny looked to Slade "When Slade made contact with Oscar, his Semblance activated and threw the both of them to opposite sides of the room" she explained.
"My Semblance..." Slade was shocked "But I didn't... I never..." his hands closed into fists.
"You're saying Slade used his Semblance to what? Attack Oscar?" Ironwood asked not convinced.
"No, Sir. I don't believe Slade intended to use his Semblance at all"
"Then why did I?" Slade stood angrily.
"Easy, kid" Qrow placed his hand onto his shoulder.
"It would seem your Semblance was activated on impulse" Penny answered.
"Impulse?" Yang asked confused.
"Yes, it appears that Oscar activated his Semblance first"
"What?!" everyone asked in shock.
"But Oscar doesn't have a Semblance, we haven't discovered it yet" Ruby tried to explain.
"Then he just unlocked it" Ironwood turned to look at the unconscious boy "But that doesn't explain why it activated Slade's, he's disciplined enough by now not to use it by accident"
"I don't know, General. You know as well as I do, my scans don't indicate what the Semblance is, I have only been able to isolate the identifying factors behind different types of Semblances" Penny replied.
"That doesn't explain why Oscar is unconscious" Jaune pointed out.
"Yeah, if it was just his Semblance and Slade's, shouldn't he be fine?" Blake asked.
"Jaune did say he didn't seem to have suffered any injuries" Ren agreed.
"I think I know why" Qrow sighed.
"What do you mean?" Winter asked concerned.
"Oscar's eyes... they looked just like when Oz used to take control just before he started screaming"
"Ozpin?" Ironwood's eyes widened in shock "Are you sure?"
"He's right" Slade agreed "It was only for the briefest moment, but I saw it too"
"Pietro" Ironwood called turning to him.
"Yes, General?"
"Do you think if we hook Oscar up to your machine we could wake him?"
"Well, it's possible. At the very least we can see what is going on in his mind. Maybe even catch a glimpse of what Ozpin is doing in there if he really took control we should be able to see into his conscious mind-"
"Do it"
"General, I must refuse" Pietro replied surprising him.
"Explain"
"Sir, we simply don't know enough about the connection between the two of them. Last time I couldn't safely disconnect him from the device when he started reacting negatively, his mind was rejecting my inputs"
"Then there's nothing we can do?" Ruby asked sadly.
"Now, I didn't say that" he looked to Penny with a smile "Penny here has the mind of a super computer, if we connect the machine to her and her to Oscar, she should be able to freely control the machine herself to stop it from harming Oscar whilst simultaneously filtering through his mind to find him and pull him back into consciousness"
"You think it'll work, Father?" Penny asked unconvinced.
"I don't have any other way, Penny. If we don't do this, our only option is to wait and hope he wakes up"
Penny looked unsure "I don't know, I am worried I might hurt him"
"Please, Penny. Just try, for me" Ruby pleaded.
Penny turned to Ruby with a look of defeat, she sighed "Alright, I will try my best"
"Then I will need to get you hooked up" Pietro smiled proudly "Shouldn't take but a moment" he started getting the equipment ready.
If I had better control over my Semblance, this never would've happened Slade growled, his hands closing into fists, he stormed out of the room.
"Slade, wait-" Yang called, stopping at Qrow's hand on her shoulder, holding her back.
"Let him go, Yang. He needs to be alone"
"But-"
"No, buts" Qrow gave her a stern look "I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid" he assured her with a comforting smile.
Yang opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. She sighed, relenting "Fine"
"Don't worry, Yang. He's going to be fine, I promise" he winked at her with a confident smirk on his face before leaving the room.
"I hope so" Yang turned back toward Oscar to find he was already hooked up to Penny, and she was hooked into the machine.
"Everything appears to be ready" Pietro looked to Penny "Are you sure you can do this?" he asked with a concerned expression.
"I know I can" Penny smiled "Throw the switch whenever you're ready"
"Alright" he looked reluctant, but nevertheless typed on his keyboard "Here we go... no turning back now" he pressed one final key and Penny's eyes rolled back into her head.
"That doesn't look good" Weiss pointed out worried.
"Penny? Can you hear me?" Pietro asked, they were met with complete silence.
"That's not encouraging" Ironwood grimaced.
"Penny is connected to an unconscious mind, which is likely why she cannot hear us. We're just going to have to trust she'll get the job done"
"If anyone can, Penny is the one to do it" Ruby was confident in her friend's ability.
"I hope you're right" Winter sighed.
Oscar opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the sunlight. Picking himself up off the ground, he looked around to find a large tree in the distance, grass surrounded him for miles and miles.
"Where am I?" he asked confused. Looking down at his hands, he found The Long Memory in his grip "What? When did I..." he let the sentence hang "Who am I kidding, there's no one around to hear me anyway. Not like I was expecting a response anyway" he sighed.
Looking back up at the tree he wondered how he had come to arrive at such a place, the last thing he remembered was training with Slade and Qrow, then nothing "I guess I should head to the tree then, likely to get a better view from up there"
"But you're already here" a voice spoke startling him, Oscar jumped away from the source of the voice, only to find he was against the tree trunk.
"What the? How did that?" Oscar sputtered in confusion.
"Oh, I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare you" Oscar turned to look at the figure to find Ozpin staring back at him.
"Ozpin? What's going on? How did I get here? Where is here?"
"Easy, Oscar" he tried soothing him "I assure you everything is alright, you're unconscious but not harmed"
"Unconscious?" Oscar stared up at him surprised "Why would I be unconscious? What happened?"
"You unlocked your Semblance" he smiled.
"My... Semblance?" Oscar asked, his eyes wide in shock.
"Why don't I start at the beginning, everything will make sense then, I promise"
"Alright, I am listening"
"Everyone I have ever reincarnated into has always unlocked a Semblance of their own, it comes with some... difficulty. Because our souls are essentially merged into one temporarily, your Semblance unlocking is at odds with my existence within you. That always sparks some kind of pain, but your Semblance is a bit different than the others I have dealt with"
"What do you mean? What is my Semblance?"
"Empathy. If I had to use a single word to describe it, that would be it"
"Empathy?" Oscar asked confused.
"You possess the capability to not only feel the emotions of others, but you can manipulate their emotions to feel what you're feeling instead"
"How... how do you know that?"
"Because you already did it" Ozpin chuckled "When you unlocked your Semblance, your body naturally rejected my presence as everyone before you has. That pain you were feeling frightened you, and when Slade made contact with you, your emotions transferred to him involuntarily. You made Slade feel fear and that sparked his Semblance, which is what ended up knocking you unconscious and throwing you and Slade both" he explained.
"Does... does that mean your back?" he asked.
"No, Oscar. I am still locked away in your mind like before. The only reason we are speaking now is because of where you are"
"Where is here exactly?"
"This place" Ozpin spread his arms out to each side "Doesn't officially have a name, no one seems to know exactly what it is" he chuckled "Suffice to say, this is where everyone goes when they dream"
"Dream? Then what, am I in dreamland?" Oscar asked sarcastically.
"Some have called it that" Ozpin answered honestly "Everything around you right now is a simple trick of the mind. You saw this tree in the distance and wanted to get closer, so you did, despite not moving yourself" he cocked his head questioningly "Strange, wouldn't you say?"
"It is, a bit odd" Oscar agreed "Does that mean you see different things than I see? Or is it the same because we share a mind"
"Our consciousness isn't shared whilst our body and soul are. I can see what you see as I am currently or I can allow myself to see what I wish instead same as you"
"Alright... then how do I leave?"
"That is entirely up to you, Oscar. I am stuck here so long as you are, and you so long as I" he sighed "I won't stop you from leaving, but I was hoping you and I would have more time to talk, I have important things to share with you"
"Why should I listen to anything you have to say? You only ever lied to us before"
"I withheld much more than I had let on, I know. But I don't intend to apologize for making that decision, I felt it was the right call at the time and I would do it again"
"You still haven't said why I should listen to you"
"Because Jinn already told you everything I was hiding from you" Ozpin smiled "I may have been afraid of what you would do at the time, but I must say, it was actually quite refreshing, finally not being the only one who knows the burden I bear. That you all have chosen to bear"
"Yet you'd never tell us yourself, you'd never trust us enough to tell us the whole truth"
"I have told people the truth in the past, Oscar. They betrayed me, and many more didn't even need the whole truth before doing the same. I knew none of you would ever take the truth about Salem well no matter how or when you'd learn of it" he sighed "I was hoping to spare you my burden, I wanted you all to focus on your accomplishments instead of the impossibility of our task"
"Salem really can't be killed then?"
"No, I tried so many times. I fought her on my own, the night our daughters were killed because of it... no matter how hard I hit her, she just got back up again. She tired out like anyone else, but she didn't have to care about lethal damage, she'd just heal immediately again" he explained.
"Well, I suppose it's just like Slade said then. She may be immortal, but that doesn't mean she's unbeatable"
"How do you intend to stop her?" Ozpin asked quirking his eyebrow "Do you mean to try and imprison her? Trap her below the sea? Bury here beneath the earth?"
"It couldn't hurt to try!" Oscar argued.
"I have tried!" Ozpin shouted back, he composed himself, clearing his throat "I have done everything that could reasonably be done to stop her. She can't be contained, she cannot be bound or chained by anything be it magic or metal"
"So what? You just gave up?" Oscar asked angrily.
"Never... I continued to fight her despite the futility of it all. Because I know if I don't, she'll just do as she wishes and cause the world to end all over again. Humanity has already suffered one apocalypse, I won't allow her to cause another"
"How do you intend to do that locked away in my head"
"You were all angry that I didn't trust you enough with the truth, that I didn't trust you with the relic... I am trusting you all now, to do the right thing. If and when you truly need me, you only need call upon me. I will be there, until then, I will leave you all to your own accord. I want you to show me that you really are the best humanity has to offer. Prove to me humanity is what I have always believed it to be" he smiled.
"You left... you left because you wanted us to do this ourselves?"
Ozpin nodded "I am sorry if it seems selfish, but I believe in all of you, but I couldn't think of a good way to show you that after you learned the truth. You all believed I was the bad guy, in some ways I suppose I was. But I need you all to know you can do this without me, but that you don't have to" he smiled "When I do finally return, it will not be as the leader you all thought I was, but as just another one of the group"
"The others are starting to come around, I think they realize they can't afford to turn away your help, even if they don't necessarily want it. Slade seems to have actually changed his worldview quite a lot since he learned the truth about Salem and you"
"Slade" Ozpin smiled "He's exceeded my expectations... the day he left Beacon I thought I had made a mistake I could never repair, but to learn he was there that night, when Cinder attacked with the Grimm. To learn he fought for the right thing just like any other Huntsman would, I knew he was the same boy who had attended my school not so long ago"
"Slade is really something else" Oscar matched his smile "No matter what, he always seems to be there to lend a hand, even when he is hurt. He's not at all what I expected when I met him"
"You met him at a low point in his life, he had just lost Roman, he might've even thought Neo was dead too. He was forcing himself to associate with Qrow and I even if he didn't know I was there, though I think he suspected"
"You know, Ruby believes we can beat Salem. Most might think she's naïve, but Slade agrees with her, and he doesn't seem the type to do anything without a plan"
"Slade is the only person in history to ever have a connection to Salem, the first person who could actually have a chance at finding a weakness"
Oscar remained silent for several minutes, thinking over what he's been told "Has anyone ever come here before? Not while dreaming, I mean physically?"
"There were some, people who worked for Salem in the past. I suspect it had something to do with the ability to teleport like how Tyrian displayed before. It's dangerous though, without proper defenses you can find yourself overwhelmed"
"Overwhelmed? What do you mean?"
"Everyone who has ever come here physically has perished, there are beings that live here. Monstrosities and abominations created by the God of Darkness"
"What kind of creatures? Are we in danger here?"
"No, no" Ozpin assured him "They can only manifest physically here, but your mind doesn't perceive them while dreaming due to not being physically present, you choose what kind of place you'd like to be yourself"
"So no one could survive here, like maybe if we trapped Salem here?"
"I don't know, I have never tried something like that before" he pondered aloud "I suppose it is possible, but it would be very difficult to achieve, we don't even know what Salem knows about this place" he paced back and forth in front of Oscar "As to your question about someone surviving here, they'd have to have a very strong will, or be strong enough to defeat the monsters coming for you. I cannot see any other way to survive such a place, there isn't an ample food source or anything here"
"You said people didn't have a name for this place, but what did people think it was in your time? Before you died I mean"
"Most people didn't know about this place. It is a plane of existence between this life and the next. It is where the relics were forged along with their keepers, like Jinn. This place is perfectly split down the middle, half belonging to the God of Light and half to the God of Darkness. You'll know which belongs to who right away. Any who did know about this place referred to it by one of two names. The Land of Dreams, or the Land of Nightmares. It's most common name throughout history has been the Nightmare Lands"
"I suppose I can guess where you go if you have a nightmare" Oscar shuddered.
"It looks mostly the same as the Land of Darkness, where Salem resides. The place Jinn showed you, when Salem corrupted herself"
"Just how powerful is Salem exactly? How do you know Jinn isn't wrong about her being immortal?"
"Jinn isn't wrong, nothing harms her. She feels pain just like everyone else, but it doesn't do anything to her. I removed her head from her shoulders, and her body continued to fight until she reconnected her head. Without the brain I thought she'd be harmless, but her body seems to remain connected despite being severed. As to how powerful she is... she's more powerful than the four Maidens, she proved that when she defeated them centuries ago. They survived the fight, but only just"
"But you tried imprisoning her right? You said you tried everything"
Ozpin pondered what to say for a moment, stopping his pacing in front of Oscar he turned toward him quirking his eyebrow curiously "Have you ever heard the legend of the Witch in Black?"
"I don't think so, what does it have to do with Salem?"
"Everything" Ozpin sighed "It's a common children's tale throughout the kingdom of Atlas. The tale tells of a Witch who grew an army of evil creatures out of nightmares and tried to take over Remnant. The Witch was stopped by a powerful wizard who locked her away deep beneath the earth, where no one would ever be able to find her again" he explained.
"The Witch in the tale, it's Salem isn't it?"
Ozpin nodded "The tale is told in Atlas to frighten children into being good and doing what they're told. The true tale is a bit different than that" he sighed crossing his arms over his chest "Salem was forming an army of Grimm to attack Atlas and take the Staff of Creation. The four Maidens and I fought to stop her, we managed to incapacitate her long enough for me to render her unconscious. Once that was done we bound her with everything we could think of, chains, ropes, we wrapped her in clothe from head to toe and took her into the mountains of Solitas. We dumped her into a prison I had made specifically for her and buried her beneath twenty thousand feet of stone and rock, leaving two thousand feet of open space. I placed the most powerful magical seals I could on the stones and doorways, she would never be able to leave that place and no one but me could ever enter" he explained.
"But she escaped anyway" Oscar sighed.
"Indeed" he shook his head "I was so sure she'd never escape, none of her servants remained alive at the time. The seals would've destroyed any Grimm who attempted to get near the mountain. I thought I was free to help unite mankind for the first time without Salem's interference. The world was at war you see, and continued to be at war for many decades more despite my best hopes. Finally I managed to unite the four kingdoms under a single banner during my next reincarnation. I wanted to establish a united government so the kingdoms weren't separated but all was for not" he sighed.
"What happened?"
"Someone killed me" he chuckled ruefully "I was stabbed from behind through the heart, nothing could've been done for me. The kingdoms honored the peace I had fought for but were all suspicious of each other, hence why the Vytal Festival began. My next reincarnation was the one Slade, Qrow and the others all knew, the one just before being paired with you"
"Who was it who killed you?" Oscar asked.
"An Assassin, he was well known for operating out of Vacuo and would take any job so long as he was getting paid upfront. For a long time I suspected Vacuo had tried to break out of the treaty considering how angry they were about the whole thing to begin with. But because they were going through with it despite my death, I never sought reprisal. The Assassin ended up dead within a week after the job, he was executed by Vacuo's authorities for high treason" he grimaced at the thought "Thinking back on it, I should've suspected more, but I was blinded by my arrogance. My belief that I had succeeded in my mission"
"How did you find out Salem had escaped?"
"Allow me to show you" The landscape changed to a mountain covered in snow. A second, considerably younger Ozpin could be seen climbing the steep steps of the mountain leading to a doorway, it looked to be completely blown open, like a massive explosion from the inside.
"What is this?" Oscar asked shocked to find himself standing on nothing but air.
"The past" Ozpin answered "My past to be specific"
"This is your memory?" Oscar asked amazed.
"Yes, it was not so long ago" he sighed.
Ozpin reached the door and climbed inside "No, no, no, no" he rushed deeper inside coming to a stop, he lit a torch to his left using his magic. Looking ahead, he found the stairs leading further inside the prison, sensing a presence behind him he whipped around to find four shadows looking back at him. He sighed in relief "It's just you"
"Why're we here, Professor Ozpin?" Summer asked stepping into the light.
"It is a rather strange place to call us to" Qrow agreed.
"Trust me. I would not have called you all here without good reason" Ozpin assured them.
"This is not a very nice place to meet" Tai crossed his arms in front of his chest "Too many webs if you asked me" he grimaced.
"No. It is not" Ozpin agreed, turning around leading them deeper into the prison.
"What is this writing? It's clearly old" Raven asked inspecting the symbols on the walls and doorways.
"Spells, Raven" he answered without stopping "My spells to be specific. Spells full of hatred and anger, I was a vengeful man when I buried her here"
"Her? Who's buried here? Where even is here?" Qrow asked confused.
"if this place had a name it's long since been lost to time, long before my time even. You would know her as a master of evil and darkness. Have you ever heard the tale of The Witch In Black?" Ozpin asked looking back to them as they entered the main chamber.
"Yes, of course. Some old witch threatened the world and tried to rule it like a tyrant. A powerful wizard stopped her, and buried her beneath Remnant. Some say it was her who shattered the moon" Raven rattled off.
"Well, they're partially correct" Ozpin looked down the shattered stone floor, leading into a bottomless pit "She was buried beneath this mountain, beneath the strongest stone in the world and the strongest spells I could muster. She rotted below thousands of miles of it" he explained.
"What? You mean the tale is real?" Tai asked shocked.
"I don't buy it" Raven scoffed.
"All tales and legends are real, some facts are simply forgotten overtime" Ozpin turned, leading them back outside.
"Why're you telling us all of this? Why now?" Qrow asked suspiciously as they neared the exit.
"You know I am apart of a secret organization with the other academy headmasters. We have defended the world from chaos for decades, centuries for myself"
"Wait a minute, you said you were the wizard from the tale, right?" Raven asked.
"That's right"
"But that's impossible, you'd have to be centuries old. It can't be true" Summer concluded.
"Thousands of years old" he corrected "And it is true, unfortunately" Ozpin leapt from the entrance down to the cliff-side below, using his cane to slide down the side of the mountain, followed by Team STRQ.
"But that doesn't make sense, how could you manage to survive for so long? No one can live to be that old" Tai asked not understanding.
"I haven't survived for that long necessarily, Tai. I have died, dozens of times. I simply reincarnate into another like-minded individual, the Gods cursed me because of my failure to stop Salem" he explained.
"Salem? Reincarnations?" What's going on?" Qrow asked angrily.
"We've been fighting a secret war for thousands of years, Qrow. The Huntsmen Academies were built to train the next generation of Remnant's defenders. Silver Eyes like Summer's are so rare nowadays because Salem has hunted down anyone born with them for centuries while I tried to stop her. There's so much more I could tell you, about the Relics and the Maidens, but not here. We need to get to Atlas and talk with Ironwood."
"The Tinman knows about this?" Qrow asked shocked.
"He is no newer to this than you, he's only been Headmaster for a few years now. The youngest in Atlas's history, but he's already proven himself worthy of the truth, the same as all of you"
"Professor, we just graduated last month, we don't even know what to do with ourselves right now let alone all of this" Summer replied.
"I know it's unexpected. I know you're all trying to figure out what comes next for you, but I can tell you, if you're willing. There is a fight more important than anything you'll find out there, as a Huntsman or otherwise"
"This Salem... just how powerful is she?" Tai asked.
"Very powerful" he sighed "You saw the prison as well, there wasn't any sign of a break in"
"You mean, she broke out of all that on her own?" Qrow asked shocked.
"Unfortunately, yes"
"How... how did you know she was free, Ozpin?" Raven asked suspiciously "How long have you known?"
"I had begun to suspect a few months ago, but I focused on keeping relations between Vale and Vacuo from falling apart yet again. But there were subtle signs, signs I couldn't deny any longer"
"What kind of signs?" Tai quirked his eyebrow.
"Grimm attacks have stopped, they have run back to the deepest parts of the wilds and have remained far from the public eye. Crime has stopped in all four kingdoms, not just slowed. It's come to a standstill, they know something is coming and they're either hiding from it, or they're apart of it" he explained.
"Why? Grimm don't do anything like that. No one can control them, much less scare them into hiding. No human in the world is powerful enough to do that" Summer pointed out.
"Who said anything about her being human?" Ozpin looked at her over his shoulder "Not anymore anyway" he turned back to the cliff "The Grimm only answer to one master. I was blind... blinded by my arrogance. By my confidence in my abilities... and in my blindness... she has returned. Salem is summoning her servants. She's preparing for war"
"I don't believe it, there's no way this "Salem" exists, she'd be over thousands of years old then. Does she reincarnate like you then?" Tai asked mockingly.
"She's very real, and she has her eyes fixed on the world of Remnant. She wants to destroy everything humanity has built" he looked to Tai "You may ignore her if you wish, but she won't ignore us. She will strike whether we're prepared or not. As to her immortality, I am not truly sure. I haven't found a way to defeat her yet, but I have more than enough plans to try. I just haven't had the chance to execute them yet" he explained, before walking past them.
"Where are you going, Professor?"
"I must call the headmasters, if she has escaped and is back to her full strength. Then the world is in grave danger" he answered.
"If what you say is true, we're all in grave danger" Summer agreed "She's only going to grow stronger, Ozpin. Let me help you"
"You believe this?" Tai asked surprised.
"It doesn't matter what I believe, Tai. I'm a Huntress. If there is any truth to this tale, I will find out soon enough. If not, then I will know Ozpin is just a crazy old man"
"I believe him" Raven said surprising the two of them "Ozpin doesn't seem like the type to make things up, especially something like this"
"I agree. I am willing to take the chance to find out I am wrong, anyway. It sure beats not knowing what to do with myself" Qrow chuckled.
Tai sighed in annoyance "Then I guess I am coming too. Someone needs to be there to pull your asses out of the fire"
"Then we are agreed" Ozpin smiled.
"Qrow and Raven, I wish to send you on ahead to Atlas. It will give James enough time to call the other headmasters before we arrive"
"Sounds good, but how do you plan on getting us there faster?" Qrow asked.
"I have a way, but it has to be your choice"
"What do you mean?" Raven asked suspiciously.
"I have what you might refer to as Magic. It's very different from your Semblances as it doesn't require an active Aura to use it. I have given a substantial amount of it to four women known only to us as the Maidens, each of them coinciding with one of the four seasons. I would be willing to grant you both a minuscule amount, it would allow you both to turn into birds"
"What?" Tai scoffed "Now I know you're crazy"
"Once I have given you this power, I cannot take it away from you unless you freely gave it back. This has to be your choice, but I assure you it will have no effect on you outside of this new ability"
"I'll do it" Qrow agreed without hesitation.
"You're sure about this, Qrow?" Raven asked hesitantly.
"Oz is here telling us we could be fighting for a higher purpose, Raven. Something more important than anything else in the world. I would be glad to accept"
Raven didn't look convinced but relented all the same "Fine, do it"
"Give me your hands" he extended his arms out toward them.
The surrounding area changed back to the grassy field from before, bringing Oscar and Ozpin out of the memory "Whoa" Oscar was disoriented from the transition.
"Now do you see? You saw the prison for yourself. There was every precaution taken and she still escaped"
"You were lying weren't you?"
"When I told them I had a plan to stop Salem?" Ozpin sighed "Yes, I didn't have a concrete plan to stop her. I knew if I told them that they would've left right then. I was also hoping to have a plan before the time came to face her, but it seems that wasn't to be"
"How do I know you're not hiding anything else from us?" Oscar asked.
"You already got your answer from Jinn. Everything I was hiding from you all, laid bare in front of you. All except one secret"
"What? Why didn't Jinn show us that secret?" Oscar asked confused.
"Because it isn't a secret I am hiding from you. It's a secret I am hiding from Salem and anyone who cannot be trusted with this kind of secret, like James"
"Ironwood? You're keeping a secret from Ironwood?"
"Yes. It's about Slade"
"What secret? Why would you be keeping it from Ironwood?"
"Slade isn't what he seems, he's different from everyone else. It's not his fault, not even he knows. But if Salem were to discover the truth about him, it could be disastrous. I kept the secret from James because of his growing paranoia. If he were to learn the truth about Slade, I don't think he would take it very well"
"What truth? What is it that is so important that he doesn't know?"
"Oscar?" Penny's voice echoed "Oscar? It's me, can you hear me?" she asked.
"Penny?" Oscar asked confused.
The world around him started to crumble around them "Oh no, I thought we'd have more time"
"More time? What is happening?"
"You're waking up!" Ozpin called as he was being pulled away from Oscar, the ground separating between the two "Oscar, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Don't tell Ironwood anything I just said about Slade, tell the others if you must but only the ones you trust! He cannot know!"
"What can't he know!?" he shouted back, his vision becoming blinded by a bright white light.
"Whatever you do, no matter what Salem does to make you look there. Don't-" that was the last thing Oscar heard from Ozpin.
Oscar's eyes snapped open simultaneously with Penny's, he shot up to a sitting position gasping for breath.
"Oscar!" Ruby and Nora shouted grabbing him into a crushing hug.
"Whew!" Penny whipped her head around "That was... not fun. Let's not do that again"
"Nora... Ruby... you're... crushing... me..."
"Oh!" Nora released him immediately, followed by Ruby.
"Sorry" Ruby rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"I am glad to see you're alright, Oscar" Ironwood smiled.
"Do you remember what happened?" Weiss stepped closer.
"Not exactly, no. Ozpin explained everything to me, though" he answered.
"Ozpin!?" the room shouted in shock.
"Does that mean he's back?" Yang asked.
"No, he said he's still locked away inside my head, but he did say he was doing it to allow for us to decide for ourselves what path to take. He's trying to show us he does have faith in humanity despite what his actions might've displayed"
"Well, lot of good that'll do us if we need help from him" Jaune growled.
"He said if we ever truly need his help, he'll be here" Oscar added.
"You said he explained everything to you. What does that mean?" Ren asked curiously.
"Well, he..." Oscar stopped looking around the room surprised "Where's Slade and Qrow?" he asked surprised.
"Slade blames himself for you being hurt, Qrow went to check on him. Make sure he doesn't do something "Stupid" as he put it" Blake explained.
"They should be here for this, especially Slade. My injury wasn't his fault"
"I'll get them" Yang volunteered and was out of the room before anyone could argue.
"I'm so glad you're alright, Oscar" Ruby smiled brightly.
Oscar smiled back "Thanks, Ruby"
Salem's eyes snap open, she is covered in a cold sweat, shaking, her heart pounding. She Looked around the room suspiciously, paranoid that the horrific nightmare she just woke from may have followed here there. Finally managing to relax her body, she got up from her bed. Feeling a distinct and unwelcome wetness on her cheeks, she wiped the involuntary tears from her eyes, drying them with her sleeve.
Stumbling slightly as she walked, she slumped her shoulder against the wall, looking into the small mirror in front of her. Salem is met by her own reflection, she growled at the sight before her. Forcing herself to stand upright, she tied her hair up in her usual manner, attaching the obsidian-colored ornaments to the offshoots of her hair from the main large bun.
Salem pushed open the door to her chambers, exiting out into the hall. Finding it empty, she sighed in relief, not wishing for any social interaction at the moment. She walked through the halls of Evernight Castle, she found herself entering the conference hall, it was empty as well. Salem made her way over to her usual seat at the head of the table, she rested her head against the crystals that served as the back of her chair. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't seem to take her mind off the dream she had woken from.
She let out a low growl "Damned dreams" she spat. There came a loud knock at the door, she sat up straight "Enter!" she called. The door swung open, loud footsteps accompanied the sound of metallic breathing.
"Boss" the metallic voice called, his helmet beneath his shoulder, revealing his face to her.
"You return empty handed"
"Stroud got in the way" he replied.
"I find that hard to believe, you see I was told he would be indisposed that night"
"Didn't seem indisposed to me" he chuckled "You gave me specific orders not to harm him, and to bring the girl in alive"
"Yet you failed"
"This time" he scoffed "I retreated, wouldn't have been able to take the girl without fighting Stroud, and we both know he's no push over"
"Are you telling me you can't do the job I hired you for?" she asked standing from her seat.
The man cleared his throat "No, Ma'am. I will get the job done. But if Stroud gets in the way again, I need the all clear to take him down. Otherwise I can't guarantee I will get her alive"
"I want Slade unharmed" she slammed her hands down onto the table "I want him turned"
"Turned?" he asked confused "I'm not sure I follow"
"I want him working for me!" she slowly made her way around the table toward him "I want him turned to my side"
"He can't be turned, I know his type" the man responded.
"I am unconvinced" she stopped in front of him, glaring up at him "I want him unharmed. You do not have permission to kill him"
"Then I can't get the job done, the parameters are unreasonable given the amount of protection she's got, and that was before they knew I was after her"
"Then you're of no use to me" she waved her hand dismissively.
"That is to say, I cannot get the job done by myself" he added.
Salem turned back to face him "You have an army of trained men, use them"
"You already used some of my men in Atlas, most of them are dead now. I have plenty more of course, but that just means you're going to have to up your price. Occupational hazard and all that. Need to be able to motivate the men to do the job, we're not a charity after all" he smirked.
"Listen to me very carefully" Salem got right in his face "So long as you get the job done, you will be paid whatever price you want. I can afford it"
"Excellent" he grinned "Then I will get right on it, so long as I have the all clear on Stroud-"
"You don't" she growled "I already told you, I want him alive. I want him turned to my side, that can't happen if he's dead"
"And I already told you, he isn't going to be turned. It's not in his nature"
Salem remained silent for a brief period, scanning over him for any signs of deceit "What makes you so certain?"
"The girl" he answered.
"Girl?" Salem asked surprised.
"Blonde, fiery temper. Easy on the eyes" he smirked "Packs a hell of a punch too"
"Yang Xiao Long, Raven's daughter" Salem rubbed her chin thoughtfully "You believe he's grown attached to her?"
"He jumped in front of a moving car to save her life, so yeah. I would say he's pretty attached"
"Hmmm..." Salem walked back to her seat "What about the others, he cares about them as well?"
"He seemed pretty adamant about me not taking Ruby" he answered "I am telling you, he's the classic white knight. Does whatever he can to help those in need, that sort of thing" he explained.
"He was a Bounty Hunter for over a year, he even worked for Roman Torchwick"
"Yeah, but that's the thing. My guys are very good when it comes to information" he chuckled "Slade Stroud, he's been more of a Huntsman than a Bounty Hunter. People assumed he was a mercenary, boy he proved so many of them wrong"
"I am aware" Salem sighed as she sat down.
"My suggestion? I'd say my men and I storm the academy in the cover of night and take down anyone who isn't Ruby Rose. We bag her, and exfil-"
"I'm not asking" her voice darkened "Slade cares about the girl? Show him the price of refusal. If he doesn't accept, then you come to me before doing anything more concerning him. If you don't, or he ends up dead by your hand" she grinned wickedly "I will show you the price of your failure"
"Is that a threat?"
She laughed darkly "What do you think?"
He grumbled "My men and I will get the job done, but I cannot promise Stroud will be completely unharmed... but he'll live"
"So long as he lives and isn't useless to me, you shall be rewarded as promised. Ruby Rose must be brought to me"
"I understand"
"Good" she grinned, reaching her hand into the air, darkness seemed to envelop her hand for a brief moment. A single folded sheet of paper phased into existence in her grasp "I have something else for you to do for me" she flicked her wrist toward him, launching the paper through the air. He caught the paper in his open hand, flipping it over, he read over the words listed on the paper.
"When?" he asked.
"As soon as possible, it's going to be necessary for my attack on Atlas. I want to ensure I am successful, Haven cannot be repeated and if Slade is involved and training these children, our current forces are going to be insufficient"
"You really think so?"
"I don't want to take the chance, how long do you think it will take?"
"A few weeks at the least, maybe a month or two. I assume you want them delivered-"
"You assume correctly. Make sure I get what I need, I will postpone our attack until then. Arthur and Tyrian can manage to keep themselves busy for now"
"What about Cinder? She's going to be trying to kill Ruby correct?"
"I already have someone keeping an eye on her, but I trust Slade to keep Ms. Rose alive for now"
"I'll gather my men and get right to work on this, I will be in touch" he turned and placed his helmet back on, leaving the room as he did. Salem remained silent, looking up at the ceiling above her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Soon, my love. Soon this will all be over"
Slade looked out at the city of Atlas, he stood on the academy terrace, a bench sat on either side by the railings and a small fountain in the center. Slade let out a deep sigh, leaning down on the railing.
It's rather peaceful up here, don't you think?
Salem asked appearing beside him.
"It was" Slade groaned "You just had to come and ruin it, though, didn't you?" he turned toward her.
Salem chuckled Happy to see me as always I see
"It's your sunny disposition" he smirked.
Funny she scoffed And here I thought we could be civil
"Clearly you haven't gotten the hint, so I will state it clearly for you. You're not welcome. Feel free to leave anytime, and don't come back"
You know as well as I do, that's easier said than done
"Yeah? Why is that exactly?" Slade turned, leaning his back on the railing "You never exactly explained our connection"
Your connection to me started the day your parents died-
"You mean when you killed them"
Details, who needs them? she shrugged nonchalantly Anyway, my connection began just after they died. You remember, I spoke with you. I didn't disappear as you had been led to believe, I merged the essence left behind from the ritual with your Aura, that's how our connection formed. At first I could only speak to you through your subconscious, nothing physical of course. That didn't occur until I had Cinder play around a bit she grinned.
"What do you mean? What did Cinder do?"
Well, to put it simply. I made a mnemonic impression on her and she in turn served as the medium to plant that impression upon you. Now that impression is physically a part of you, it will never leave until one of us dies and, well... she chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, you can't die. I know" Slade scoffed "Don't think that means I am ever going to stop fighting you"
Salem groaned Slade, you always make things so difficult, always being so damned noble. Whether or not you fight against me, I will win in the end, it is inevitable. Why struggle against fate when you could just accept the futility of it all and work for me. Together we could end war, intolerance, greed, all the things that ail mankind could be wiped away.
"Bullshit repeated doesn't make it anything more than bullshit, Salem. Recruiting me to your cause is always going to be a losing battle for you, you should've learned that by now, given how long you've been trying. Besides, I never really put a lot of stock in fate"
You would rather be just another pawn in Ozpin's game? We could end this cycle of pain and hatred forever!
"How? By wiping out humanity? Stripping us of our individuality so we can conform to your rule alone?"
Like I said. Details. Who needs them? she shrugged.
"None of those options seem particularly appealing to me"
Not like that pretty blonde? Slade's eyes narrowed That's right, Slade. I know you have a thing for her, more than just friendship am I right? she cocked her eyebrow suggestively.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to any of them, you'll never touch them"
Who's going to stop me? You? she smirked.
"You're damned right me. I'll protect them with everything I have"
Like how you protected your family? You team? she laughed Please, you couldn't even protect Torchwick. You're not going to do any better with them and you know it.
"It'd be easier if you weren't forcing control from me like Ozpin" Slade watched her expression carefully, the briefest moment of shock graced her features before she concealed it.
Well, if you don't like it. Stop me she chuckled.
"We're done here" Slade blocked the connection.
Slade turned to his right and found a crow watching him from the bench, he sighed deeply "Do you really have to watch me, Qrow? Am I not old enough to be on my own?"
The crow flapped it's wings, flying forward a few inches from the bench before transforming into Qrow "Well, the others were worried about you. Wanted to make sure you were alright"
"Oh, oh! I know the answer, no"
"Talking to yourself is a problem I know you don't have, Slade. What'd she have to say this time?" he leaned against the railing next to him.
"The usual" Slade chuckled "She's still unsuccessfully attempting to convincing me to join her side" he planted his forehead onto the railing with a low groan.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this, kid" Qrow wrapped his arm around Slade's shoulder.
Slade instinctively began to shift out of Qrow's grip but stopped himself "Yes, well... I did manage to figure out she wasn't controlling me before"
Qrow looked at him surprised "How?"
"I accused her of it and she seemed confused for a moment before playing along"
"Hmmm..." Qrow removed his hand from Slade's shoulder and rubbed his chin, pondering the statement "Then what did happen to you?"
"That's what I would like to know"
"We'll figure it out, kid" he assured him "I know we will"
"I hope so, but I won't hold my breath" he chuckled ruefully. They both remained silent for a time, Slade was the first to break the silence "Any change with Oscar?"
"Not that I know of, Pietro thinks he has a way to wake him, but hell if I know what he's talking about" he laughed.
Slade smiled "Yeah, you usually think with your blade instead of your brain"
"Hey" Qrow matched his smile.
"Of course, Oscar wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for me"
"Hey, this isn't your fault, Slade. Penny said-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Penny also said I used my Semblance and I didn't even try to. I don't see anyone else around here who knocked Oscar unconscious with their Semblance. Do you?" Slade asked annoyed.
"Stop" Qrow stood up straight, turning to him "That's enough"
"Stop what?" Slade asked doing the same "I am simply saying the truth"
"No you're not. You're blaming yourself, again"
"If I don't take the blame for my failures, who will?"
"Stop it, Slade. This isn't your fault"
"I am not arguing this-"
"Stop!" Qrow shouted, surprising Slade. Qrow sighed, taking a deep breath he started again "Look, kid. There's plenty wrong with this world and there's not a lot we can do about it. Bad things happen to good people the same way good things happen to bad people. It's just how the world is. I don't know everything, Slade. There's so much in this world I will never know, but if there is one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty, it's that this isn't your fault"
Slade shook his head "Alright, alright. I get it" he laughed "Thanks, Qrow" he smiled. Qrow narrowed his eyes at Slade "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"It's not your fault, Slade"
"I know, I just admitted that-"
"Malachite, Viridian and Sinn, Elise, Dusk, Hazel, Willow, Roman, and even what just happened with Oscar. None of it is your fault"
"I know, Qrow-"
"No you don't. Because if you did you wouldn't keep tearing yourself up about it" Qrow grit his teeth in anger.
Slade's eyes widened in shock "I... How did..."
"You think I can't see you doing it everyday? I can" a single tear fell from his eye "There's a lot of pain and ugliness in this world, kid. I have experienced enough of it to know what it looks like to hide it from everyone else. But there's nothing I have felt more painful than watching you tear yourself up inside everyday" another tear worked it's way out of his other eye.
Slade took a step back from him "Stop it, Qrow. That's enough"
Qrow took a step closer "No it isn't. It's never going to be enough until I get through to you" Slade took another step back while Qrow took another one forward "I didn't follow after you when you left because Ozpin ordered me to or because I believed you were too dangerous to be left alone, or even because I thought you needed to be saved from yourself" Slade's back made contact with the wall behind him.
"Stop-"
"I followed behind you for months on end because I cared about you, I still do! When you showed up in Mistral with Yang, I was so happy I would have another chance to talk to you, to see you again. Because you matter to me, kid. More than a friend, more than a student..." Qrow grabbed Slade into a tight hug "You're family, Slade. Whether you like it or not, that's how it is"
Slade weakly pushed against him, tears flowing from his eyes now as well as Qrow's "I, no, I can't..." he stopped fighting against him, giving into the hug, returning it as he sobbed into his shoulder.
"It's alright, I know. You don't have to say anything more" Qrow caressed the back of his head and his lower back soothingly.
"I'm sorry, Qrow... I never meant to hurt you" he sobbed "You're the only family I have left"
"No. Yang, Ruby, Jaune and Nora, Oscar. All of them care about you too. If you'll let them, they can be your family too"
"I don't know If I can, Qrow. If I let them in, they're going to get hurt"
"You're not the reason people get hurt, Slade. You already care about them, they're in this whether you let them in or not" Qrow sighed.
Slade laughed lightly "Guess I'm screwed either way"
Qrow chuckled "Aren't we all" he felt a pair of eyes on them, looking to his left he found Yang standing at the entryway to the terrace, wiping the tears from her eyes. She nodded to him, earning a nod back from him. She turned back, heading to Pietro's office.
"Come on, kid" Qrow broke the embrace "Let's head back"
"Yeah" Slade wiped the last of his tears away "I feel like such an idiot now" he laughed.
"All of us are idiots at some point in our lives. Just remember this feeling" Qrow smirked "Might keep you humble"
"Doubtful"
Slade and Qrow continued to laugh and joke with each other as they left the terrace, neither of them noticed the pair of eyes that had been watching them the whole time, the pair of eyes belonging to a raven perched atop the fountain. The raven took off, flying away from the academy.
Yang entered the room to find everyone looking back at her expectantly "Are they coming?" Ironwood asked.
"Yeah, they're coming" she nodded with a small smile.
"Good" Oscar stood from his place, checking the relic on his hip is still secured.
"Was everything alright with him?" Ruby asked concerned.
"No... but I think he's alright now" she answered honestly "Qrow-" she suddenly stopped as they heard two voices behind the door just before it opened.
"Are you trying to say I am fat?" Slade asked cocking his eyebrow.
"No more than you were saying I'm old" Qrow laughed.
"So yes then-" Slade suddenly stopped when he noticed Oscar "You're awake" he let out a relieved sigh.
"I am" Oscar smiled.
"Sorry for throwing you into a wall"
"You don't need to do that" Oscar laughed "It was my fault that you ended up doing that anyway"
"How so?" Slade quirked his eyebrow confused.
"My Semblance is "Empathy" or so Ozpin tells me"
"Oz spoke to you?" Qrow asked shocked "What did he say? Is he-"
"Relax" Oscar waved off the question "I'll explain everything, though... some of it is going to be a little weird"
"What else is new" Weiss scoffed.
Thank you guys for reading! Hope you guys liked it, I will be updating as soon as I can.