Chapter Thirty-Five: Explanations
"So, what you're saying is that you did exactly what Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, and just about everyone else said not to do and told other people about the maidens?" Qrow said after finding out the full extent of team RNJR's knowledge about the situation.
"Yeah, but they have a right to-" Phoenix tried to justify his actions but was cut off.
"Whatever." Qrow casually took a sip of his flask.
"You… you're not mad?"
"Nope."
Jaune glared at Qrow. "So you're one of the people who thought that forcing Pyrrha to become a maiden was a good idea."
"Yeah, but we had a good reason. As I'm guessing Phoenix told you, the last fall maiden had been attacked, and Cinder somehow managed to steal some of her power. We figured that if we didn't do something, then the rest would go to her as well."
"So you forced it on Pyrrha," Jaune accused.
"We didn't force anything on her. She heard what was going on and made her choice."
"Because she thought that there were no other options. We basically told her that a dangerous sociopath would gain god-like powers if she didn't do it," Phoenix pointed out. "What was she supposed to do?"
"I'll admit that our presentation was…" He struggled to find the right word. "…flawed, but we were desperate. What's done is done. There's no point to bitching about it now."
Jaune stood up and stormed off. When he left Ruby started to ask her own questions. "That guy, Tyrian, why was he after us?"
Qrow sighed and took another sip from his flask. "What the two of you did at a Beacon certainly put targets on your backs. Phoenix has been a thorn in the enemies' side for a few years now, and he's a much easier target out here than he would be at Beacon. And as for you," he looked at Ruby, "I told you that silver eyes were a rare trait, and the fact that you could use them upset those same people. Not many people know about the silver eyes, but those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's why I've kept an eye on you. I wanted to make sure you were safe. All of you."
"But why not just travel with us?" Phoenix asked. "It would be a lot easier than all of this cloak and dagger nonsense. It's almost like you were… You son of a bitch! You were using us as bait!"
"I wouldn't put it quite like that. It's complicated."
"Complicated? Complicated?!" He yelled. "What could possibly be so bloody complicated that you can't tell us why all this is happening?!"
"Calm down kid. You're makin' me nervous." He took a few deep breaths. "Good. Look, if it'll shut you up, I'll tell you. Go get your friend." Phoenix went to retrieve Jaune, muttering various different curses as he left.
"So… yeah. There's that," Qrow said after he finished telling them what their enemies were supposedly after.
"Her? You mean Salem?" Ruby asked in regard to the "her" that he'd said wanted this power.
"That's right. Not much is known about her, and frankly that's not what matters. What matters is that if she gets the relics, then it's not going to end well." The five of them took about five minutes and fourteen seconds to process the new information.
Jaune eventually decided to speak up. "Alright. So let's say we believe all of this. That there's some crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just Phoenix's mom trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them? Or Minstral?"
"And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get there? They could be next?" Nora chimed in.
"Haven's headmaster saw what happened to Beacon. He's not stupid. Besides, it'll take time to plan another attack. And as for your question…" he looked at Jaune, "…we keep it secret for the same reason we keep the maidens secret. I assume the kid told you that much. There'd be chaos. We'd have another Great War on our hands, and this time you'd have to fight." Jaune grudgingly accepted this answer. "Look, I had the same questions when I heard about all this. Ol' Ozpin always put his foot down. 'We can't cause a panic.' Can't tell you how many times I've heard that. Salem is smart. She works from the shadows using other people as her pawns, so when it comes time to point fingers, we can only point at each other. She's trying to divide us, and she's doing a damn good job."
"So what should we do?" Ruby asked.
Qrow chuckled. "I honestly have no idea. Oz has put a lot of trust in the other headmasters. They play a big role in stopping Salem. Atlas is gonna be on high alert, and Vacuo is, well, Vacuo. Honor amongst thieves and all that other nonsense. Throw in the fact that Cinder's crew said they're from Haven, and it becomes pretty clear where their next target is."
"Almost too obvious," Phoenix couldn't help but think. "If this 'Salem' is as smart as Qrow says, then she's probably not going to unwittingly make her next move so incredibly obvious. The only logical explanation is that this is a trap." He decided to keep his theory to himself for the time being and keep focus on the topic at hand.
"So," Qrow continued, "We're going to pay a visit to the headmaster. Been a while since we heard from him, even before the attack. Suppose that doesn't matter though. Not like he's going to make a deal with the enemy or something. Alright," he grunted as he got up from the log, "time for you kids to get some rest."
"Uncle Qrow," Ruby caught his attention before he could leave.
"Yeah?"
"This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds pretty crazy. But I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you have trusted us too and traveled with us instead of all this secrecy and… and-"
"Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I… it's a long story, okay."
"Because we certainly haven't heard any of those," Phoenix pointed out sarcastically. Qrow sighed and sat back down. He began to explain to them how his semblance was to cause bad luck to those near him. His desire to keep them away from his fight with Tyrian became clear. It also explained why Phoenix always acted as just a lookout while Qrow did the field work during most of the missions they went on together. On the few missions where they did work together he always got hit with a vehicle at some point, no matter how ridiculously improbable it was. He'd once been hit with an ice cream truck in the middle of a desert. He had no idea how it happened, but it did.
"Well, you are just a real bundle of help aren't you," Jaune said when Qrow finished. Ruby glared at him in response.
"Yeah," Qrow took another sip from his flask as he got up again and began to walk off, "I guess I am."
"Where are you going?" Ren asked before he could leave.
"Goin' for a walk," he answered simply.
"Is there anything else you want to tell us," Ruby inquired.
He took a moment to consider his answer. "Not tonight."
Most of team RNJR managed to eventually fall asleep after Qrow had finished his massive exposition dump. The only two that remained awake were Ruby and Phoenix. Ruby was still trying to process all the new information, and Phoenix was analyzing the stinger that she'd cut from Tyrian.
Ruby decided to break the silence. "I've been meaning to ask why you took that Tyrian guy's stinger."
"It wasn't just for show," he replied simply. He got a confused look. "What I mean is that his Faunus trait isn't just a scorpion tail. It's also what's inside of a scorpion tail.
It took a moment for the realization to dawn on Ruby. "Venom." He nodded. She started to panic. "We've got to help him!"
"I know, Ruby. That's why I took the stinger. If we know what's in the venom, then we can make an antidote. I'll figure something out. I promise." The brief moment of panic ended.
After another moment of silence she spoke up again. "I'm sorry." She received a confused look. "It's my fault you're here. I never should have dragged any of you with me."
"Ruby," he put his hand on her shoulder. "You didn't drag me here, I wanted to come. I'm sure that the others feel the same."
"But you didn't know about Tyrian, or Salem, or-" she tried to counter.
"That doesn't matter," he cut her off. "We're losers." It was her turn to give him a confused look. "I mean that we've lost a lot. You more than anyone. You lost Pyrrha, Penny, your team, and, in a way, your sister. But you're still here. Even after everything you've lost and everything and everything you can still lose you kept going. You felt like you could make a difference and help others. That gave us the courage to keep going too." She smiled at him. "Besides, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you do this alone?"
The five of them were awoken in the early morning by the sound of loud coughing. It's source was Qrow. They all rushed over to him. Upon closer examination a mixture of blood and a purple fluid was seeping through his bandages. When he pulled back the hand that he had been using to cover his mouth a similar substance covering his hand.
"Well, shit."
Sorry that took so long, but I didn't have many ideas for this chapter (you can't prove that Injustice 2 of all of DBZ being on discount on Xbox One had anything to do with my taking a long time). Going to physical therapy being thrown into the mix of things I've got to do slowed me down even more. On a related note, whoever ordered the family sized sausage, meatball, garlic, red pepper, and pineapple pizza (order 66 fittingly) can go to hell. They know what they did.
I didn't include Phoenix telling Jaune, Ren, and Nora about the maidens in the story because it went pretty similar to how it did in the show. Phoenix seems to have Wash-like levels of luck when it comes to cars if he's around Qrow. Thanks for reading!
