The Chapter Thirty-Nine: A New/Old Friend
The room erupted into chaos as everyone started suggesting their own ideas about how something like this was possible.
"Did he age backwards?" Nora wondred.
"He's possessed," Jaune said.
"Or maybe reincarnated," Ren offered.
"Ohh, isn't it weird," Ruby added.
"It's very weird," Oscar agreed.
Phoenix was still suspicious. "If you're Ozpin, then tell me something only he and I would know."
"Uhh… you have a book filled with potential weapon names," he answered unsurely.
"Oh my Gods it's him."
"Now that the kid has proven himself why don't we all take a step back. I'm sure this is overwhelming for everyone," Qrow said as he walked back into the room, handing Oscar a cup. Oscar looked at them all with similar curiosity to what they had shown when talking to him. Ruby chuckled when she saw this.
"Uh, sorry," he quickly apologised. "It's just that I've never really met huntsmen nd huntresses before."
"Well, we've never met a person with two souls so first times all around," Ruby tried to comfort him.
Qrow cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. " Not to break up the whole 'getting to know you' game, but we need to have a talk. Mind showing us your little parlor trick kid?"
"Yeah, okay," Oscar agreed with a reluctant sigh. "Just so you know, I'll still be here." He took a deep breath before his body was enveloped in a flash of light. When he next spoke, it was with a different voice.
"It is so very good to see you again students," Ozpin greeted.
"Wait, what just happened?" Jaune asked.
"Oz, is that really you?" a stunned Phoenix asked.
"Yes, though Oscar is still present mentally. He's merely handed over the controls so to speak." Ozpin then proceeded to explain how he had been cursed by the Gods to be reincarnated over and over, memories still intact, until Salem was defeated. "One of the first things we will need to do to bring about Salem's downfall is ensure the safety of the Relic of Knowledge." There was a moment of silence as they all considered this. Said silence was suddenly broken by Nora, who cheered, "This is perfect! We were stuck at a dead end, but now we can take little cute boy Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!"
"Please don't call me that," Ozpin pleaded.
"We're not sure that's the best idea," Qrow said.
"Seeing as Lionheart is a traitor, I have to agree." Team RNJR gave Phoenix shocked looks when he said this.
"And what makes you think that?" Ozpin asked calmly.
"I recorded the entire meeting when had with Lionheart and reviewed the footage. There were several things in there it point to him betraying us. First of all, and most obviously, he had the relic completely unguarded. Secondly, He was nervous during the entire conversation. He showed numerous signs of lying including increases in perspiration and heart rate, the latter of which I noticed when I activated tactical mode. Furthermore, it looked as though he typed something in while you had the map that showed where the Spring Maiden likely was up. I would be willing to believe that this was a coincidence if he didn't appear to be trying to hide that he was doing so from us. He then went out of his way to convince us that we had to wait to go to retrieve her There's also the fact that four students with fake transcripts somehow managed to conveniently end up on the same team as one another, something only the headmaster of a school could guarantee. The final and most convincing piece evidence against Lionheart is what the listing device that I planted in his office picked up: Nothing."
"How does that prove anything?" Jaune asked.
"It's not just that it picked up nothing. It's why it picked up nothing; it was jammed. The jamming started as soon as we left the office and stopped a minute later. He was likely having a conversation informing someone, likely an agent of Salem, of what happened at the meeting. The device, however, hasn't been tampered with in any way. It seems as though whoever he was likely having a conversation with has a system set up so that any listening device in the area is jammed whenever they are communicating.
There are also marks by one of the bookshelves that suggest that its moved frequently, almost as though it's some sort of door. It doesn't prove he's a traitor, but it's still something we might want to check out."
"I'd hoped that my suspicions were false, but it appears as though that isn't the case," Ozpin said sadly. "Why would Leo do something like this?" he asked noone in particular.
"So what do we do now?" Ren asked.
"For now we'll play along. Traitor or not, Leo was right when he said we wouldn't be able to retrieve without help, and now it's clear that we won't be getting any help from him. We're going to need to find it elsewhere."
"But the Mynstral Council-" Ren tried to say before being cut off by Qrow.
"Doesn't own every huntsman in the kingdom, and I've been here enough times to know where to find some more.
"Are they trustworthy?," Ozpin asked.
"You can trust them to put up a fight. I'll throw together a list tonight," Qrow said as he put his feet up on the table which proceeded to break.
"Good luck with that," said Nora.
"After that, we can move onto step two," Ozpin stated.
"What's step two?"
"Getting you four into fighting shape," he said as he quickly turned around and drew his cane.
RNJR and Phoenix gave each other confused looks. "But we already know how to fight," Ruby said what they were all thinking.
Ozpin swiftly pointed his cane at her. "You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand to hand combat."
"Well, uh," she tried to come up with an excuse. "Yeah," she finally admitted.
"Mr. Arc," he pointed at Jaune, "I'm glad to hear you've improved but sorry to say you've yet to unlock you're semblance." Jaune looked down dejectedly. "Phoenix, you still let your emotions get the better of you when fighting." Phoenix didn't respond, knowing it was true. All of you still have a long way to go before you pose any real threat against Salem and her forces, and though Oscar can give me temporary control he'll need to strengthen his body and his aura. He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will expedite the process."
"But if Qrow is out looking for huntsmen, then who's going to teach us?" Ruby asked.
Ozpin backflipped onto a chair and started quickly twirling the cane in his hand. "Well, I believe I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy," he said as they all gave him shocked looks. "We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem is attacking, it would make sense that she would do it prior to students' return. It's not much time, but it's better than nothing." With that, he allowed Oscar to take control again, resulting in him losing his balance and falling backwards off of the chair.
"You've gotta be kidding me," he grumbled.
"I can't help but think that we're forgetting someone who may be able to help us…" Phoenix said to himself before it suddenly hit him. "Oh my Gods, Grant!"
"The detective obsessed with catching you? What does he have to do with this?" Ozpin asked, taking over again.
"He may or may not have followed us here, leading to me knocking him out and stuffing him into a crate," Phoenix admitted. Ozpin groaned.
Grant lunged at Phoenix the second the crate was opened but quickly stopped when he saw the large number of weapons pointed at him. "You're all absolutely insane to believe the nonsense these people have been saying!" he accused.
"What are you talking about?" Jaune asked.
"No one in their right mind would believe this nonsense about reincarnation and fairy tales."
"How did you even hear any of that?"
"Damn it, his semblance," Phoenix answered Jaune's second question before Grant could. "He must've used it to listen in. Well, at least we don't have to explain as much."
"If he was listening in, then wouldn't he have heard Professor Ozpin talking?" Ren inquired.
"All that proves is that that brat has a semblance that somehow lets him change his voice. If you think that I'm going to believe any explanation you give without undeniable evidence, then you're even crazier than I thought, Fall."
"Oh, I have evidence," Phoenix said with a grin.
"What?" both Grant and RNJR were surprised.
"The video of our conversation with Lionheart. If he won't listen to someone who just sounds like a headmaster, he'll to listen to someone who's definitely a headmaster." With that, Phoenix played the video of the conversation with Lionheart.
Grant sat there, stunned. "Guys, I think we broke him," Nora said after a moment of him not saying or doing anything. However, as soon as she said this he snapped out of it, standing up and storming out of the room.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Phoenix asked as he stepped in front of the door and blocking him.
"To go arrest that sorry excuse for a headmaster," he answered.
"Did you hear every part of the conversation we had except for the part where we tried to go after him now, or are you just too stupid to care?"
"Move," Grant ordered, ignoring the question as he drew his pistol and aimed it at Phoenix.
"I assure you Detective, Leo will face justice for his treachery," Ozpin tried to calm down. "However, you of all people should know that we need solid proof in order to ensure that he does."
"It's bad enough that I have to let this criminal scum," he gestured to Phoenix, "walk free. Now I have to sit back and let someone get away with aligning himself with the Grimm."
"And I'm not asking you to," Ozpin said. "I am, however asking you to stop pointing your gun at Mr. Fall before his friends decide to take action." Grant glanced behind him to see that Team RNJR has their weapons aimed at him, not particularly happy that their friend had a gun aimed at him and was being referred to as "criminal scum". This proved enough to get the detective to reluctantly lower his gun.
"So then what do you propose I do?"
"That will be discussed tomorrow. For now, I believe it would be best if you took some time to rest and process everything that you've learned. Qrow, would you please find a place for the detective to stay?"
"Fine, whatever," Qrow grumbled as he left. Grant gave Phoenix, a final glare before following.
"Now, with that out of the way, I believe I shall take my leave," Ozpin stated, returning control of the body to Oscar. There was a moment of awkward silence before Ruby asked the question that was on almost everyone's mind.
"How do you put up with that guy?!"
"Grant? The guy may be a bit…" Phoenix paused, looking for the right word, "extreme, but he's someone we'll want working with us."
"Qrow did say that that we need to gather huntsman allies," Ren pointed out.
"Fine," Ruby grumbled, "but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I mean, what if he gets upset and attacks you?" She looked over to Phoenix, concerned.
"I wouldn't worry too much about that. He'll probably be busy with what I've got planned for him," he said with a chuckle.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, someone has to babysit Jenkins."
I would like to start out by apologizing for how long this wait was as well as how short this chapter is. I'm pretty sure that I've finished this chapter (I originally posted it incomplete so that I'd have at least posted something before the end of the year). I still get hardly any time to use my laptop and when I do it's for homework. I've also had to deal with all the stress that comes with applying to colleges and for scholarships. I'll try to put out another chapter soon, but you all know how well that usually goes for me. Anyway, thanks for reading!
