Chapter 33
The Bargaining Chips
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Flashback
"Scroll Communications / Tv"
Location / Date / Time Change
Haven
"Did he age backwards?"
"I think he's possessed."
"No, maybe he's reincarnated?"
"A personality disorder?"
"Oh! Isn't it weird?"
Oscar flinched at the questions before the seven Hunters in training stared at him. "Yeah... Yeah, it's weird." He mumbled.
"That's enough." Qrow said walking in. "We all need to take a second and remember that this very, VERY, overwhelming for everyone." The kids all backed away nervously chuckling.
The veteran walked over as his youngest niece smiled at the farm boy. "S-Sorry." He nervously mumbled. "It's just... I've never really met any Huntsmen and Huntresses before."
"Well... we've never met a person with two souls, so first times all around." Ruby said.
Both chuckled before Qrow cleared his throat. "Not to break up the 'getting-to-know-you' phase, but we need to have a talk. Mind showing us your parlor trick?"
Oscar groaned before turning to the kids. "Just so you know, I'll still be here." He lowered his head before his entire body glowed in a green aura. He opened his eyes, now a yellow hue, before turning to the students. "It's very good to see you all again, students."
The seven stared at each other in complete shock. "Hold on, what just happened?" Yang asked.
"Professor Ozpin?" Ren asked.
"That is correct." The boy nodded. "And although I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present within the mind. He's merely... handed over the controls, so to speak. I understand that this is all very confusing."
"I'd have gone with alarming, bizarre, strange, or just really, REALLY hard to believe!" Nora said, making Ozpin chuckled.
"It's good to see that you all still have your humor." He said. "I know you've all been through a great deal of hardships lately. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Ruby replied.
"But it IS my fault." The spirit of the headmaster replied. "I once told you and Natsu that I had made more mistakes than any man, woman or child on this planet, and that was no exaggeration. I'm cursed, so to speak. For thousands of years, I've walked over Remnant living, dying and being reincarnated in a like minded soul. Professor Ozpin was not my first for, and will not be the last. It's an... extremely strenuous process for everyone involved."
All the students glanced at each other in a nervous air before Vergil stepped forward. "Okay, then what are you?"
'Ozpin' stared at his hands before turning to his students. "I am the sum of the countless men who spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant." Qrow walked over and handed the spirit vessel a drink. "With every rebirth, my soul merges with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me. The gods placed this burden on me because I failed to stop Salem in the past. But we must stop her now."
"And how do we do that?" Ruby asked.
"We start by ensuring the Relic's safety." Ozpin replied.
"Can't you just talk to Lionheart and straighten things out?" Aerith asked.
"Normally, yes. But this isn't normal circumstances." Qrow replied.
"Didn't you just say that the headmasters all listened to you?" Yang asked.
"Correct. Four or more lieutenants I could trust, especially during times like this." Ozpin said, motioning to his/Oscar's body before standing up. "But Qrow has informed me of your meeting with Leonardo. He's not just behaving oddly, he's disobeying specific instructions I left for him.
"I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I can't rule out anything either. Only those in this room know I'm paired with Oscar, and I think its best to keep it that way."
"Keep the cards close to the chest as it were." Qrow added.
"Now, as for our next two steps." The boy with two souls said, turning to the students. "First, we gather the aid of more Huntsmen"
The seven teens turned to each other before Vergil spoke up. "Didn't the Mistral Council say-"
"They don't own every Huntsmen in the Kingdom." Qrow replied. "And I've been here more than enough times to know where to look for some who can help us."
"IF they can be trusted." Ozpin clarified.
"They can be trusted to put up a good fight." The veteran replied, putting his legs on the table. "I'll throw a list together tonight." The table broke in half from his Semblance, frustrating the man over his bad luck.
"Okay... so what's step two?" Yang asked as Ozcar walked over to his cane.
"Getting all of you into fighting shape." He said, pointing his cane at them.
Confused at the statement, they all looked at each other before Ruby looked at him. "Uh... we already know how to fight."
He pointed his cane in her face, scaring her. "You, Miss Rose, can only fight when you have Crescent Rose. Given your finesse with weaponry, you need to gain a secondary weapon if you find yourself disarmed once more. Think of it as a back up plan or insurance. He turned to Yang and did the same. "You, Miss Xiao Long, need to learn to control your temper. Your emotions must be in check if we are to best Salem."
He did the same with Aerith. "Mr. Gainsborough, I'm glad to have heard your healing capabilities take a lesser toll, but you still need to improve your staffsmanship. All of you still have a ways to go before you're ready to pose any sort of threat to Salem and her plans. And while Oscar can give me temporary control, we'll need to strengthen both his body and Aura. He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will speed up the process."
"And how do we do that if Qrow is looking for Huntsman?" Yang asked.
Ozcar jumped off the floor and landed on the chair, spinning his cane. "Well, I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy. We have one month before classes begin again at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, then it would be logical to assume that it would be before that. It's not much, but it's all we have. And don't expect me to take it easy on you."
His eyes glowed and Oscar was released from his control, causing the farm boy to fall backwards and knock the chair over. "You have too be kidding me."
Branwen Camp
Weiss groaned as she opened her eyes, finding her hands tied in rope. Sitting up, she noticed Ryuko next to her on the ground. "Ryuko, wake up." She nudged her friend before noticing her hands were tied as well.
"Well, well, looks like one of them woke up." The former heiress turned to see a brunette with blue eyes and a black tattoo on her arm walk out of a tent, the Scissor Blades on her back and Myrtenaster in her hand.
Ryuko groaned as she woke up, finding herself in the same situation. "What do you want?" She turned to see her friend looking at someone.
"Hey, put those down!" She growled at Vernal, eyeing her weapons.
"You two aren't in any position to make demands." The bandit replied, throwing swings with the rapier. "But if you must know, we plan to hold you here for all your family can give us."
"Ransom, is that it?" Weiss asked, earning a nod.
"Such a shame you two grew up in Atlas. You'd have done pretty good around here." Vernal confessed.
"Nothing would ever make us sink to your level." Ryuko replied, angering the bandit.
"Shut up, do as your told, and you two will be back eating your fancy meals in your big mansions in no time." The brunette growled back before walking away.
"You don't know who my sister is, do you?" Weiss asked, making the bandit stop. "Winter Schnee, Atlas special forces? When she finds out we didn't make it to Mistral, nothing on this planet will stop her from finding me or my friends."
Two bandits off to the side laughed a little before Vernal turned around laughing. "Oh, that's precious. You really think she's coming? How could she when isn't in Mistral anymore? General Ironwood called back all of his toy soldiers and tin cans before closing the borders. Meaning no one is coming for either of you."
The three bandits left laughing as the white-haired girl dropped to her knees. "Weiss, get it together." Ryuko said. "So your sister can't kick their asses and save us. That doesn't mean you get to act like a damsel in distress. So start working that Schnee brain and start thinking of a way to get us out of here."
Weiss quickly glanced to both sides before opening her hand. A summoning seal appeared before a tiny knight rose up, sword at the ready. Ryuko let some string grow out of her fingers before throwing them around a bar. The knight jumped out of Weiss' hand and the two began working on the bars to the cage.
The Next Day
Ruby winced as she swung her bokutÅ, only for Vergil to duck and swung his own wooden sword. He struck her leg before jumping back as Ruby tried an overhead swing. He then raced forward before spinning around and swinging, striking her knee ditch. Ruby winced before dropping to the ground, Vergil pointing his 'sword' at her neck. "10 seconds."
He pulled back and watched as Ruby stood back up. "Again." She demanded, holding her sword in the wrong position.
"Ruby, this isn't working." He replied, simply taking the training weapon from her. "You were not meant to wield a sword. We need to find you a different skill to learn."
"Like what?" She asked.
"Well, you have a polearm. Why not stick with that?" Vergil asked back before walking over to the other practice weapons. Picking up a long pole, he tossed it over to Ruby who nervously caught it. Wasting no time, he started swinging his practice sword. Ruby blocked the 'sword' and thrusted her weapon forward.
Vergil pushed it to the side and twirled his sword before charging forward. Ruby used the staff to leap over him and then thrust it backwards, striking him in the back of the head. She then whacked his leg and charged him as he rolled to the side. Before he could stand up Ruby triggered her semblance and landed on his chest, her staff pointed at his neck.
Both stared at each other before Vergil smirked. "90 seconds and victory." He chuckled before she got off of him.
"I don't know... I just feel like it needs something." She mumbled before glancing at the sword. "That's it... That's it!" She raced into the house, forgetting she was holding the pole.
"Ruby, don't forget about the-"
*CLUNK* *THUD*
"Doorframe." Vergil finished as Ruby nervously chuckled.
Vergil picked up his practice weapon and put it away before walking over to the others. Yang roared as she threw a punch. Oscar blocked it and smiled before ducking a kick. He threw an uppercut that missed while Yang blocked a series of punches. Aerith then came up and swung her staff, forcing Oscar to dodge two attacks. Off to the side, Jaune and Nora watched as Ren sat on the side meditating. "Man, Oscar really is picking up on this stuff fast." Jaune mumbled.
"Two against one will do that." Vergil said.
Oscar grunted before punching Yang. She dodged to the side, but a few strands of her hair were torn off. Everyone knew what this would mean as her eyes went red. "Sorry, so-" Was all he could let out before he got sent flat on his back, their friends wincing at sight.
"Looks like someone forgot about their aura." The blonde had a small smile at her revenge. "Now let's get back at it... Oscar?"
"You're not too injured are you?" Aerith started to reach for him.
"That won't be necessary Miss Gainsborough." Ozcar kicked off the ground and landed back on their feet. "Now then, Miss Xiao Long, care to take your playground frustrations out on an adult?" His stance was lax and open.
"Hell yeah I do." Yang slammed her fists then charged forward with red eyes.
"Yang, wait!" Aerith couldn't stop her partner as Ozcar used Yang's force against her, tripping her into the ground.
"A bull's strength is useless against the trained matador." The spirit vessel said. "Try again and focus on weaving past the enemy's guard instead of punching through. And Miss Gainsborough, this is training for you as well."
"R-right." The brunette stood by her friend as they attacked their reincarnated headmaster. Aerith swung her staff around but Ozcar spun and delivered a back elbow to her face. Dazed, he then wrapped her staff against her neck and started chocking her. Footsteps caught his attention and he let go, letting Yang punch Aerith in the back of the head. Realizing what she did, Yang growled before throwing another punch. Ozcar pushed the fist to the side and slammed his elbow into her face.
Dazed, Yang was unable to stop the boy from grabbing her arm and throwing her over his shoulder to the ground. "Instead of blindly swinging at your opponent, focus on a single point to attack." Ozcar said looking over her. "And as always, do take advantage of any openings."
"Got it..." Yang groaned out before Oscar collapsed, Ozpin no longer in control.
"Hey, are you okay?" Aerith asked, racing over to the panting farm boy.
"How... is this... so exhausting?" He panted out.
"Your body just isn't used to this kind of training." Ren said. "And generating a defensive Aura is difficult at first. But in time, it will become second nature to you. This will allow you to deflect attacks and heal minor wounds. After that, you can begin working on your Semblance, whatever that may be."
"A Semblance?" Oscar asked as Aerith helped him up. "You mean I might have one?"
"Why wouldn't you?" Nora asked, popping up. "You just have to find it and master. Ruby moves fast, Aerith heals wounds the Aura can't, electricity makes me stronger, Vergil's a walking armory, Ren can mask emotions, Yang gets stronger with every hit she takes, and Jaune can ummm uhhh..." She mumbled out glancing at the blonde boy.
"I can't do-"
"Jaune's just like you." Aerith said, interrupting her friend. "He's trying to find his Semblance and we know he will. And you will, too. All we can do is help each other get stronger."
"Some say that a warriors Semblance is a part of who they are." Ren said. "They say that your personality and traits define your Semblance, but there are others who say it's the other way around. And some don't see the connection at all. Everyone's Semblance comes out at different times."
"Look at Ren. His was unlocked from intense stress." Nora chimed in.
"Ours kicked in during training." Yang said as she walked over.
"Mine unlocked when I lost my sword and had to improvise." Vergil said. "What about you, Nora?"
"Struck by lightning, didn't die." The hyper girl answered like it was no big deal. "Now that was a crazy Thursday."
"I just don't understand what's wrong with me..." Jaune mumbled. "I train, I meditate, but... nothing."
Oscar seized up and his eyes glowed. "Worry not, Mr. Arc. Your journey is far from over. And the same might be said for you all. Unlocking your Semblance isn't the end, it can still grow and change with you. As you put in the work, strange things can happen."
"Then let's get back to it." Yang said.
Later at Night
The training went on all day until the night fell over the academy as everyone left. Oscar walked through the halls before reaching the room he and Vergil shared. He gripped the handle but his body wouldn't open the door. "Something wrong?" He turned around to see Aerith at her door.
"No, no. I was just going to sleep a little." He lied. Aerith started to walk away before Oscar turned to her. "Can... can we talk for a second? In private?"
"Sure." She turned around and let him into the room before closing the door. "What's wrong?"
"It's just... this whole thing is crazy." He said. "One week ago, I'm killing small Grimm invading our farm. And now I'm expected to help save the world from an ancient evil. How could anyone want to do this? Why would anyone want to do this?"
Aerith patted his back before pulling him in for a hug. "It's alright... There's nothing wrong with that feeling. I'd be more conserved if you weren't scared. Fear is just a natural reaction. But you can't let it control you." He made no effort to hug back as she let go "Well, we should get going. Don't want Nora to eat everything."
She stood up and walked to the door when Oscar spoke up. "How do you handle all of this?" He asked, catching her off guard. "I'm scared, more than I've ever been in my whole life or ever thought was possible." He pushed himself off the bed and walked over to her.
"Why do you even fight? The world is about to go to war and we're fighting an army of monsters. Why not just run away and forget all about it? Become a doctor or something?
Aerith hung her head and turned around. "You must have Ozpin memories, right?" She asked. "So he should know everything about my childhood, how my friends died protecting me while I just hid. After finding my semblance, a lot of people pressured me with the same thoughts you did. But I decided to fight because I never wanted to feel that weak again.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared." She said clenching her fists as a few tears formed. "Salem showed the world at Beacon that she doesn't care if you're with her or against her. She'll kill anyone and everyone, and we all lost so many friends that day. But I am a survivor, and I don't ever want to lose anyone I can save again."
She wiped a tear from her eye before turning back to Oscar. "Come on. We still need to pull Ruby out of her workshop." Aerith walked over to the door and opened it before glancing back. "Oscar... this isn't gonna be easy, but just the fact that we're staying says a lot about us. We win just by showing up." The brunette walked away, leaving Oscar alone.
Next Morning
Branwen Camp
"Come on, come on." Weiss hid her friends actions as she basically flossed the bars. She stumbled back into her friend as the last bar needed was sliced through. They quickly glanced around to make sure no one heard anything. As always, they were just drinking and dicking around. "
Weiss nodded and pulled the bars away, letting the two climb out of the cage. The girls snuck along the walls of the tents as bandits went about their day. Hiding next to one tent with weapons in front of it, they watched as Vernal walked out, loaded her weapon with Dust and marched towards the camp. They quickly entered the tent, looking for their weapons. "How could they not be here?" Weiss asked.
The cruder girl grabbed Weiss and dragged her under the loose tent wall as some bandit reeking of booze entered. They waited until he was close enough and grabbed him through the tent wall, Ryuko placing him in a choke hold. "Start talking. Where's our stuff?"
"Raven took them away..." The bandit gasped out. "Probably to sell for parts... you'll never see them again..." She smirked before passing out. Ryuko set him on the ground before turning to Weiss.
"Well, looks like we have to improvise." She said before sneaking into the weapons tent. Weiss studied the walls carefully looking for something similar to her rapier. Ryuko grabbed a pair of daggers off the wall before glancing behind to see her friend taking a simple sword off a table. "What do you say we burn this place down?" Ryuko asked, holding up a candle.
She put a string in the flame of the candle with it's end buried in the bullet making station. Surrounded by buckets filled with gunpowder and powdered dust. After dumping the unconscious criminal a safe distance from the time bomb, they weaved through the camp to find the emptiest place. When people started to get unnervingly close to them, an explosion ripped through the camp. Fire and Lightning carried by Wind shot everywhere and spread to the other tents. The soon to be mass hysteria granting them the ultimate cover as the bandits tried to save their home.
They then hugged the walls of the camp before finding section free from prying eyes. "Now let's get out of here." Her hair flared as string rolled off her before it turned it good length rope, already tied into a lasso. A quick spin and she tossed it up the wall, hooking one of the many spiked logs that walled the camp.
Ryuko pulled herself up onto the top of the wall, panting in effort. Seconds later she slid down only to see Weiss was land next to her. The scissor user looked behind to see a fading armored arm and sword through the wall. "You mean the whole time you could have just-"
"I didn't want to ruin your moment." Weiss said before the two jumped over the wall. Not wasting a second the two started running away from the camp, a lone bird flying above them.
Glancing down, the bird noticed the two girls running from the camp. The raven dived at the two before fading into the branches. Raven landed before the two and they came to a sudden stop, both worried and confused at her sudden arrival. "Please tell me you have plan 'C'." Weiss asked before readying for a fight.
"Relax, I have no intention of fighting you." Raven replied confusing the girls. "Honestly, I'm just surprised that you took so long to escape my cage."
"So what, that was some kind of test?" Ryuko asked before noticing their weapons on her.
"Partially." The bandit replied. "My men have every intention of selling you back to your families. I, on the other hand, have a better idea. One that is more beneficial to us."
"So what? You expect us to just believe you when you kidnapped us?" Weiss asked.
"You could have an open mind and listen to me..." Raven turned and swung her sword, creating a red and black portal. "Or, you could believe my brother, Qrow, and your friends." The two glanced at each other before running forward, weapons at the ready. Raven shook her head before sprinting at the two.
Instantly disarming them, Raven kicked their legs out from under them and threw them into the portal before they could hope to gain any sort of ground. Raven glanced back at her camp before entering the portal herself before it closed.
Haven City
Qrow stared out over the railing city in deep thought. "This doesn't make any sense..." He mumbled. "I get one or two but... How could so many Huntsmen and Huntresses die so quickly?" A sound caught his attention and he turned around to see the portal open. "Raven?" Footsteps caught his attention as his eyes went wide. "Oh..."
Weiss flew out of the void into a heap on the floor with Ryuko landing on top of her. Behind them, a bored looking Raven stepped out of the portal. "Hello brother, I have a proposition for you." She said, sheathing her blade.
Obvious change in canon in this chapter due to the whole 'Spring Maiden Kerfuffle', which is why the chapter took so long. Pretty much just merged some episodes together with some fanon stuff.
I like the idea of referring to the possessed Oscar as 'Ozcar', so I'm keeping it up. It also makes sense to me that only Oscar could hear Ozpin when he's not possessed. Now before I go, there's this stupid idea permeating in my head that I can't decide on. So I'll let you guys decide; the poll on my profile will explain everything.
Beta read by Natsu is Awesome.