Chapter Five: Disbelief

Vale General Hospital…

Ozpin and Glynda approached the door to Oscar's room, the tip of Long Memory and Glynda's heeled boots clicking against the white tile floor as they moved down the hallway. Just ahead of them, they saw Doctor Ashburn waiting, tablet in one hand and stylus in the other as she worked.

"Doctor Ashburn, thank you for calling," Ozpin said as he came up alongside the doctor. "How is Oscar?"

"He's still healing, but he's awake and far more lucid than he was the last time," the doctor replied bluntly. "I was able to get his full name from him, since I know you wanted to contact his family." She consulted her tablet. "Oscar Pine, age fifteen. He still seems confused about some things – the most important being how he got to Vale, since he seems to believe he was in Atlas last – but he asked me to contact you."

"Is his aura showing any signs of recovering?"

"It's finally beginning to restore itself. The aura suppressant stopped the constant draining we were seeing, but I'd like to wait another twelve hours before allowing him to attempt to heal himself. He's admitted to having some training in aura healing, but we need to make sure that he doesn't over-exert his reserves again, since that will do him more harm in the long run. Once we have an idea of how practiced he is at aura healing, we can re-evaluate his prognosis and how long he may have to remain here before he can be released."

"That's good to hear. Thank you, Doctor Ashburn. We'll speak to him now," he said with a courteous smile.

"Professor Ozpin…"

He turned back to face the doctor again, who was regarding him sternly. You can see him, however," her tone was firm and serious, "undue stress is not good for him, so if he starts showing any signs of physical or emotional distress, I'm going to have you removed until he recovers more."

"Understood," he said with a nod before moving back towards the door, Glynda two steps behind him. He paused as he reached the doorway, looking into the room to get a sense of how Oscar was feeling before intruding as he raised his free hand and rapped his knuckles lightly against the frame.

The head of the bed had been raised, leaving Oscar in a half-reclined position that was likely less of a strain on his breathing and caused less pain to his injured chest. The oxygen line had been removed, but it had been replaced with a mask which hung around his neck that he could use as he needed, with a small button near the place where his nose would fit that he could press to begin the oxygen flow. The boy's eyes were closed, but there was a deep wrinkle in his forehead that was either a reflection of the pain he was feeling or an indication that he was deep in thought.

Or both, Ozpin thought somewhat cynically, remembering the number of times that such an occurrence had happened to him. The two possibilities were not mutually exclusive after all.

At the sound of his knock, Oscar's right eye snapped open, alarm filling it for a moment. He jerked nearly upright in surprise before he hissed as his sudden motion pulled against still tender wounds. His black eye had darkened further, and the swelling actually seemed to be worse than it had been earlier that morning when Ozpin had last seen the boy. Oscar closed his eyes again, bringing the oxygen mask up, breathing through the pain, before he regained control of himself and leaned back wearily. He took two additional deep, slow breaths through the mask, before opening his eyes as much as he could and turning his head to look towards the door, the mask falling back down to hang from his neck.

"Good afternoon, Oscar," Ozpin said. "May we come in?"

The boy stared at him for a long moment, hazel eyes as wide as the swelling and bruises on his face would permit. His lips moved soundlessly for a moment before he swallowed visibly and nodded. "S-sure," he near-whispered.

Ozpin stepped into the room and moved back over to the chair where he'd spent the previous night watching over Oscar. He took a seat and moved Long Memory off to the side, leaning the cane against the armrest near his right hand while Glynda stood just behind his left shoulder, tablet at the ready. He noticed Oscar's eyes rest on the cane, following the motion like a moth drawn to flame, clear recognition and… longing?... visible.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, keeping his voice even and friendly as he crossed one leg over the other, wanting to distract the boy's attention away from his cane. There would be time later to find out why he was so interested in it, after all.

"Um… yeah, a bit," Oscar said quietly, although his voice was still a little rough, and he rubbed his hands together nervously in his lap and picked at his nails. "I'm a little confused as to what is going on," he admitted, before he coughed a bit and winced at the pull on his chest. "T-the last thing I remember was being in Atlas."

"Interesting." Ozpin said. "I'm not sure how much you remember from earlier this morning, but we –" he indicated himself and Glynda with a wave of his hand, "– were hoping to speak to you about what happened to cause your injuries."

"I –" the boy hesitated, clearly trying to decide what to say. "A-are you doctors?"

"No, not at all. You may not remember, but I'm Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and this is Professor Glynda Goodwitch, head Combat Instructor and Deputy Headmistress."

"B-but…" The hazel eyes flicked between Ozpin and Glynda before he glanced at Long Memory again. "H-how…? Y-you have Long Memory, so you have to…" His right hand started to inch its way back up towards his hair. "It d-doesn't make sense!"

"Oscar, please stay calm," Ozpin said. "We want to find out what happened so that we can make sure this never happens again."

The boy froze and lowered his hand back into his lap. He took several deep breaths before he looked up and Ozpin saw tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. "O-Oz? I-is it really you? H-how is t-this happening?"

Ozpin didn't understand why the boy was getting so emotional. "Oscar, I'm not sure what you're talking about. What has happened?"

"Y-you…" he couldn't finish and fat tears began rolling down his cheeks. "I-" His mouth opened and closed several times, but his voice seemed to have been choked off by the tears and he couldn't say more.

Ozpin pulled out his handkerchief from his jacket pocket and offered it to the boy. "Here. Take a moment and breathe. Doctor Ashburn will ask us to leave if we cause you any undue distress."

Oscar took the square of green silk and raised it to his face, sobbing into the cloth a few times before he managed to get a shuddering, wet-sounding breath out. He took a few more heaving breaths, before carefully wiping at his eyes and lowering the handkerchief to look at Ozpin again. "S-sorry," he murmured.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Oscar," Ozpin said, firmly but softly. "You've clearly been through an ordeal and you have every right to come to terms with it in whatever way you need to." He gave the boy a little more time to compose himself, before he leaned forward slightly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but it seems as if it's my presence that is upsetting you. However, Doctor Ashburn called and said you wanted to speak with me. I would like to help if I can."

"I – it's just… I don't understand," Oscar said, sounding confused and miserable, his voice still a bit watery. "I don't understand how I – how I can be here, with you, and…" he cut himself off and glanced away.

Ozpin frowned, still not understanding what it was that was making Oscar so upset. They seemed to simply be going in conversational circles. "Oscar…"

"Why don't we start with something easier?" Glynda interjected. "Dr. Ashburn told us that you told her your name was Oscar Pine, correct?" When the boy nodded, she smiled. "Where are you from, Oscar?"

"M-Mistral," he sniffed. "I- I live on a f-farm, outside the city."

"Not by yourself, surely?"

He shook his head. "No, but… I d-don't want to put anyone in any d-danger. I l-lived there after my p-parents died in a Grimm attack." He bit his lower lip. "Or at least I did until a little over a year ago."

"And then you went off to combat school?" Ozpin asked. "You want to be a Huntsman?"

"N-no. I wanted to be more than a farm hand, but… I n-never d-dreamed about being a Huntsman," Oscar stammered. "I – it was… y-you."

Ozpin frowned. "Me?"

"Y-you started t-talking to me. Inside m-my head."

Of all the things that Ozpin had expected to hear, that was probably the least likely of them all. "I- I'm sorry?" he asked, unable to keep the slightly disbelieving, incredulous tone out of his voice. A quick glance at Glynda showed that she was just as surprised as he was.

"I – you introduced yourself to me, told me I was next," Oscar said, glancing nervously between the two of them. "Y-you said we were bound together, that I – I was the n-next in-incarnation."

That couldn't be true. "That… that wouldn't be possible," Ozpin said. He'd never known who his next incarnation was going to be ahead of time, not even touching on the fact that he was clearly still alive so there was no way he could have been bonded with this child for over a year. The process didn't work that way. Granted, he'd sometimes questioned what other qualifications determined who his incarnations were, other than simply being "like-minded", but that seemed to be the only thing that all of his partners had in common with each other over the millennia.

"I – it is!" Oscar said, eyes locked on Ozpin as he pushed himself upright a little more with a wince of pain. "Y-you convinced me to go to H-Haven, to find Qrow. I also met some of your s-students, they were trying to find t-the people who attacked B-Beacon!"

Ozpin shook his head slowly. Clearly, the injuries that the child had sustained were causing him confusion. "Beacon hasn't been attacked – none of the Academies have ever been attacked, Oscar," he said gently. You're confused, and…"

"NO!" Oscar yelled, before his voice broke and he began coughing harshly. His face screwed up in pain and he doubled over, his right hand coming up to brace himself as he desperately tried to inhale between coughs.

Glynda moved away and sat on the edge of the bed, resting one hand on his back. "Breathe, Oscar," she said. "Don't get yourself worked up." She took the oxygen mask and held it to his face until he brought his hand up to take it from her. "Slow breaths. We'll figure this out, but we can only do so if you can remain calm."

They sat quietly, allowing the boy time to compose himself. He kept the oxygen mask pressed against his face until his breathing eased and he was able to uncurl and lean back against the head of the bed again. His eyes drifted closed again as he gathered his strength, the mask falling back down to hang around his neck. Finally, he opened his eyes again as much as he could and looked over at Ozpin as Glynda moved to stand behind the Headmaster again.

"I'm not confused about that," he hissed firmly. "Beacon was attacked. The CCTS tower fell and cut off global communications. You started talking in my head. You convinced me to go to Haven…"

"Oscar," Ozpin said, equally firmly. "I believe that you believe what you're saying. But what you're saying is impossible. Even setting aside the fact that Beacon hasn't been attacked and the CCTS tower is one of the most secure buildings in the Kingdom, my reincarnations don't work that way. I've never met my next incarnation while I'm still alive in my present incarnation." As concerned as he was that Oscar knew he was cursed to reincarnate, if he had been attacked by Salem as Ozpin believed, it wasn't improbable that the boy would have learned that fact, so he saw no reason to deny it.

"But…" Oscar's expression was a combination of anger, confusion, and… betrayal? Why would he feel betrayed? "That… n-no, t-that's not right," he muttered. "I… but t-the f-fight at Haven… and Atlas… Ironwood…"

"Oscar, it's okay to be confused," Ozpin said. "From what you're saying, it sounds like you may have overheard some of Salem's plans." That made more sense, and it was one of the theories he'd considered to explain why she had taken an interest in Oscar.

"No… it happened," the boy insisted, one hand creeping back up towards his hair. Glynda moved again to intercept him, catching his hand, and pushing it back down to his lap.

"Oscar, you don't want to hurt yourself," she said gently. "Like Professor Ozpin said, it's okay if you're confused. You've been through a lot. The memories should sort themselves out in time. You were severely wounded when you arrived, and not entirely coherent. It's not surprising that things may be hazy."

"But they're not," Oscar said, his voice sounding thick due to the emotions he was trying to repress. "I was there at Haven, and Atlas. I saw her attack Atlas with an army of Grimm…"

It didn't matter if the boy's memories were mixed up or not. Under torture and with all the magic Salem possessed, Oscar could very well have been tricked by an illusion or hallucinated what he thought he remembered in a delirium caused by his wounds. But whatever the cause of his visions, he was speaking of terrifying possibilities – an attack on Beacon's CCTS tower? A battle at Haven? An army of Grimm invading Atlas? None of those were plans that Ozpin wanted to see her implement in any way. He'd known the Academies were both a good thing and a bad thing – they would shelter the Relics and provide training grounds for the future defenders of humanity, but at the same time they would be tempting targets for Salem to focus her forces on.

He could begin making counterplans at least. Oscar hadn't mentioned Vacuo, but that didn't mean that Salem wouldn't eventually target Shade Academy as well. But they had warning now – Ozpin could pull his group in, let them know about possible imminent attacks that might becoming, and they could begin to prepare for whatever Salem was planning. Even though she had to know that Oscar had escaped, she couldn't know if he had made it to Ozpin, or if he had even intended to go to Beacon to warn them. If they were careful about their preparations, she wouldn't even know that the Academies were ready for her and it would be that much easier to thwart her when the attacks came.

"Thank you, Oscar," Ozpin said. "Thank you for bringing this warning. We can make plans now, and you can take time to recover before we get you back home to your farm." He stood from his chair, collecting Long Memory, and rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You've done a good thing – an important thing – for all of Remnant. I know what it has cost you, but I can't thank you enough." He lifted his hand. "Get some rest. Glynda and I will be back later to get some more details from you about these upcoming attacks, but…"

Oscar shook his head. "NO!" he said again. "No, Oz! You promised! You promised me that you would never leave me again!"

The boy's vehemence surprised him again. The hazel eyes were filled with emotions that Ozpin couldn't fully read as Oscar glared at him. They stared at each other – hazel versus brown – for several quiet minutes before tears welled up in the boy's eyes and he blinked out of reflex. His voice broke a little when he spoke. "You promised me you wouldn't lie to me again, since I'm next… but was that just another lie? Am I really just another body – another life – to you? To use and discard when it's convenient? Are you just a parasite?"

Ozpin flinched.

That accusation hurt. He had never liked the fact that his reincarnations meant that others would be drawn into his endless war against Salem and his impossible mission from the God of Light. They were like-minded souls, yes… but what right did he have to interrupt their lives? The guilt he felt about that was intense and ever-present, although he tried not to dwell on it very much. Salem wouldn't allow him to be at less than his best, or she would take advantage of any opening he gave her.

His reaction, involuntary as it was, broke the staring contest between him and Oscar and the boy's face just crumpled before he sagged back against the bed and turned his head away. "Whatever," he muttered. "I see how it is."

Ozpin started to open his mouth to respond, but the closed-off expression on Oscar's face made him pause. He wasn't sure if Oscar would even welcome a response from him at the moment, despite the boy's words – and how was he supposed to respond to that accusation anyway? It was, after all, at least partially true, depending on the point of view that was considered.

Glynda put a gentle hand on his shoulder and when he glanced at her, she shook her head slightly and indicated the door with a quick glance. Ozpin hesitated, but then nodded and turned away from Oscar, moving towards the door. He would let Glynda speak to Oscar alone – clearly the boy had negative feelings towards Ozpin for some reason, but if that were the case, why request to speak to him?

Long Memory clicked against the tile floor as he moved out into the hallway to wait for Glynda, thoughts racing as he considered everything that Oscar had said – and everything he hadn't.

"Am I really just another body – another life – to you? To use and discard when it's convenient? Are you just a parasite?"

He swallowed hard as Oscar's accusation echoed in his head, feeling nausea rising inside him. After so many millennia – so many lives – walking Remnant, he wasn't any closer to fulfilling his mission from the God of Light, after all. It seemed to be an impossible mission, no matter how he looked at the problem. As long as humanity had free will and the power to choose, there was nothing that could stop them from fighting amongst themselves, after all. There would always be those who chose to take instead of give, those who chose to look down on anyone they deemed different or inferior to themselves, those who cared only for themselves rather than their fellows.

Really, maybe a parasite was truly all that he would ever be – stealing the lives of others to wage an endless war with Salem, locked in a bloody stalemate with her for eternity. It may be true that he had seen and experienced so many wonderful, beautiful things because of his partners, but how many incidental lives had been lost because of his reincarnations? What about the friends, wives, and children of his partners who had died from being caught in the crossfire of his war with Salem? What could they have done if they had lived to old age, instead of their lives being tragically cut short?

Dark thoughts which he usually suppressed rose up inside him, and he couldn't shake them. He was several millennia old… but with only a few angry words, a child had reminded him of what he really was.

It was a grim reminder that he desperately wanted to forget.

Glynda had never seen Ozpin so shaken, and she'd seen him stand toe to toe with fearsome Grimm and self-centered, greedy politicians alike and keep that enviable calm demeanor firmly in place. He may not have spoken much about his incarnations, but the few hints he had dropped over the years had allowed her to deduce that not all of his lives had been spent in positions of power and authority. He had no doubt seen the lowest lows that humanity could sink to, as well as the highest highs it could rise to.

She encouraged him to let her handle this with a glance at the door. After all, she was his right hand and he trusted her to handle things that he couldn't due to circumstances or things that he preferred not to because it was something that she could do better than he could. He hesitated, but finally nodded and gave her a small, grateful smile – really barely more than the corners of his lips turning up – before he left the room with Long Memory.

Once he had closed the door behind himself, she returned her attention to Oscar, who had turned his head away from the door and had tears falling silently down his freckled, bruised cheeks. The sight was enough to soften her attitude towards him – after all, she was the professor at Beacon with the reputation for being the least tolerant of the students' shenanigans. That didn't make her unsympathetic or heartless to their emotional state, even if the role of comforter and advisor was the one usually fulfilled by Ozpin or one of the other teachers.

Many of the students at Beacon came because they wanted to become strong enough to protect the ones they loved from the Grimm, but just as many were either survivors of Grimm attacks, or had lost family members and loved ones to the Grimm. As a result, some degree of trauma wasn't uncommon amongst the student body, especially the youngest students, so all of the teachers had some training in dealing with traumatized children.

The way Oscar had lashed out at Ozpin however…

The boy had struck a nerve in the headmaster, that much was clear, but it was hard not to also sympathize with him – he was confused and injured, had likely been tortured for reasons they still didn't understand, and had brought dire warnings of imminent attacks with him. The 'how' and the 'why' of his appearance wouldn't matter to him right now – he felt like Ozpin had wronged him in some way and he'd gone on the attack when he'd felt like he was being dismissed.

She didn't understand how Oscar felt he could claim that he was Ozpin's next incarnation, however. Ozpin's inner circle knew he came back, of course – that was one of the first secrets he told them when he first brought someone new into the group – along with Salem's identity as the Master of the Grimm. Ozpin had only explained it as a curse that had been bestowed upon him for failing to stop her millennia ago. The exact details of how his curse of reincarnation worked was something he kept to himself.

As much as her loyalty lay with Ozpin however, it was hard not to feel pity for the boy at the same time. Yes, he might be lying about all of this – it was something she needed to remember and something that she knew both she and Ozpin would be keeping in mind until they could verify the truth of anything the boy said. But that didn't mean that she couldn't offer him some comfort as well.

"Oscar," she said softly, moving back to the side of the bed and reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"Leave me alone," he ordered, pulling away sharply before hissing in pain.

"Oscar, we just want to help," Glynda tried again. "Getting angry won't help matters…"

"You don't know!" Oscar snapped. "He's ruined my life! He started talking in my head! He practically dragged me away from the farm to go to Haven! He took over my body without my consent!" His voice was getting louder with each word, and his eyes were wild with anger, his breathing rate speeding up. "He pulled me into something that I didn't want to have any part of, and then he abandoned me for months! And once he finally came back, he got me tortured for the information he had, and then he abandoned me again!"

Are you just a parasite?

Oscar's accusation circled through his head over and over. Ozpin gripped Long Memory, drawing comfort from the familiar weight and feel of the metal pommel in his hand, the engravings on the handle under his fingers. The cane was one of the few things that he had managed to hold on to throughout his reincarnations – changed and molded from Ozma's original staff in his first life to become more streamlined, more discreet.

But at the same time, it was a constant reminder of all the lives he had lived – lives he had stolen. There was really no better way to put it. If it weren't for Ozma's mission from the God of Light and his associated curse – his mission now – how many lives would have been saved?

How many more lives may have been lost? the distant part of him that was Ozora, his predecessor, whispered. Ever since the merge had been completed between him and his predecessor, he rarely heard the echo of his predecessor's voice so clearly. It wasn't necessary since he had all of the memories of all of the previous incarnations and could access them at will.

He heaved a heavy sigh, leaning more of his weight on his cane. The burden of reincarnation was one that he had to bear himself. His inner circle would never understand the weight that it placed on him, no matter how he tried to explain it, so he kept his explanations as simple as he could whenever the topic came up amongst his allies. After all, how did one describe the sensation of dying over and over again, only to "wake up" fully conscious and aware, with the memories of his final moments in the forefront of his mind? How did one describe trying to adapt to a new life, new skills, and integrating the memories that his partners already had? How did one describe trying to let go of his previous relationships so as to not sour the relationships his new partners already had, if any, or any relationships they wanted to form?

The guilt about all of those lives that he'd intruded upon would always be there, but he tried not to dwell on it.

But imminent attacks on Beacon, Atlas, and Haven? That was concerning and he would need to rally his inner circle together to make plans. That meant getting in touch with Qrow as soon as possible… arranging a large group call with Leonardo, James, and Theodore… they would need to check for any weaknesses in the school's defenses, check to see if there were any patterns emerging within the cities that might indicate weapons or ammunition being stockpiled…

He had expected that the Academies would become a target for Salem eventually, of course, so contingency plans for defending the schools had been put in place but had never needed to be implemented. Even though they were fortresses to protect the Relics primarily, and schools to train new Huntsmen and Huntresses second, they were also something that he had built – and Salem always tried to destroy everything that he had built.

He could hear Oscar's voice raised through the closed door, but he couldn't make out any specific words. Whatever Glynda was saying to him wasn't helping to calm the boy down, apparently. It might just be best to leave the boy alone and let him recover a little more before trying to get more specific details from him. Perhaps he could send Glynda alone next time since it seemed as if it were his presence that was agitating the teen. But he would need to talk to the boy eventually about the things he had said about Ozpin's reincarnations.

Then a horrible thought stopped him cold. Could Salem have somehow figured out a way – perhaps with magic? – to determine who his most likely future incarnations were? If so, maybe that was why she had taken Oscar – to get the boy out of the way before Ozpin could merge with him. If indeed, she was planning to attack the schools, he would likely be a target as well, and if he died and she was already holding his next incarnation prisoner, he would effectively be stymied for at least one incarnation, since he didn't get to choose who he bonded with. Were there others that she was holding prisoner, then? Was that what the half-delirious words "Don't let her hurt us again" had been about?

It wouldn't be the first time he'd been taken prisoner by her – although it had been many incarnations since the last time it had happened, as he was far more cautious about putting himself in a situation where she could get her hands on him. The last time… well, it hadn't been pleasant or a brief incarceration.

The only flaw with that idea was the fact that he had never merged with a child before – his previous partners had all been adults – so why would that suddenly change after millennia? Could Salem simply be trying to cover all potential angles?

The door opened suddenly and Glynda stepped out, before pulling it closed with a sigh. "Well… that didn't go well."

"No, it did not," Ozpin agreed wearily, turning down the hallway and putting his thoughts about reincarnation aside – with difficulty – to focus on the more important issue as he began moving towards the elevator. "We need to assemble the full group to discuss what we're going to do. If there's an imminent attack…"

Glynda's scroll was already out, and she was already typing quickly. "Of course. I'll notify the others… do you want them to meet at Beacon, or…?"

Ozpin considered. "I think for the time being a group call will suffice. If we can at least make an initial plan to begin shoring up any potential weakness in the schools' defenses, I can make trips out to the other Academies once Oscar can give us any more details he may know."

Glynda nodded and they left the hospital together, heading for the air ferry that would take them across the bay below the city to Beacon.

Elsewhere…

Ozpin

I need you back in Vale as soon as possible.

Qrow frowned at the message. Ozpin didn't typically send him messages when he was out on assignment. The old wizard didn't want to risk compromising him by distracting him, after all. He reached for his flask and took a long swig before tucking it away and moving to respond.

Qrow

Has something happened?

Ozpin

Too much to explain over a scroll message, even an encrypted one.

The response was immediate, and interesting. Qrow often sent encrypted messages back to Ozpin letting him know the status of a mission or when he'd completed an assignment – that was usually the only time that the Headmaster would respond to him, and it was usually with another new task.

Qrow

I just finished up the last job you sent me on. I can be back at Beacon in a few days.

Ozpin

Good. Sooner rather than later if you would.

Qrow

On my way.

He shoved his scroll back into his pocket when Ozpin didn't respond. Another swig from his flask before it was also put back inside his pocket and he made sure Harbinger was securely fastened to its harness at his back. He had a long trip back to Beacon, and the sooner he got started, the better. He could fly in his alternate form to the closest town and pick up a ride from an airship there to Vale.

What could have been happening while he was away? This was the second communication Ozpin had had with him in two days. Late yesterday, he'd received a cryptic message asking for a report on any unusual activity he may have seen concerning the movements of Salem or her forces. But everything had been quiet – Grimm activity seemed… normal.

Well, as normal as Grimm activity could get.

The Vytal Festival last month always brought their own set of concerns as far as security went. Large portions of the population would arrive for the Tournament, which made the host Kingdom a tempting target for Salem to dispatch her forces against, but Mistral's security had been strong and discreet, and the festival had gone off without a hitch.

Surely it was still just a bit too early for Ozpin to be worried about the next Festival? After all, it wasn't for another two years. It would take a great deal of planning yes, but most of that would be done via scroll messaging, at least until the last few months before the Tournament, which was when most of the visitors arrived, even if the celebrations went on for months before that.

He wouldn't know until he got to Vale and could talk to Ozpin and Glynda… and to do that, he needed to get started. He rolled his shoulders, before mentally reaching for the magic inside him and allowing it to wash over him before he rose into the sky on ebony wings. With any luck – and the cooperation of his Semblance, of course – he could reach a village by dusk, find a room for the night, and then set off via airship by morning.

If Oz wanted him back in Vale, well, he was the boss for a reason, and Qrow would obey the summons.

Oscar… I am so, so sorry…

"Stop," Oscar moaned. Every part of his body hurt. His muscles felt strained and stretched far beyond the point where he would have expected them to tear, his joints ached every time he moved even a little bit… even his hair hurt. He had thought the previous month of training he'd been doing with Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren had done some good, but apparently, he still wasn't as fit as he'd thought he'd been after the fight the previous night.

But…

"I said stop," Oscar snapped, before coughing a bit as the force he'd put behind the final word caused his chest to tighten painfully. The last thing he remembered was managing to gasp out Ozpin's message about taking the Lamp to Atlas before the world had gone dark. He'd woken up in his bed at the house that morning, Qrow and Ruby both sitting near the bed watching over him, and Ozpin's guilt-laden presence at the forefront of his thoughts.

They were taking good care of him it seemed. Ruby had mentioned that a medic had looked him over the night before once the authorities were on the scene and diagnosed general exhaustion, strained and inflamed muscles and joints, and over-straining his aura. Nothing serious, but he was likely to be stuck in bed for at least a few days while his body recovered. Someone was checking on him every hour or so, but his head hurt too much for conversation, any amount of light only made his head hurt more, and the thought of eating anything made him nauseous. There was a pitcher and glass of water on the table next to his bed, but he didn't even have the energy to reach for it, and it was showing in his voice whenever one of Ozpin's guilt-ridden apologies came out.

"Oscar?" A soft voice. Ruby. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really," he rasped, wincing as another stab of pain went through his temples. A scent reached his nose, but instead of making him nauseous, it actually seemed to help. "What's that?" he asked, managing to open his eyes enough to see her carrying a… sock? A sock that seemed to be stuffed with something.

"Oh, I brought this for your headache," Ruby said, coming over to the bed and resting the sock against his forehead and over his eyes. "Blake suggested it when we explained what was going on with you and Ozpin. It's only plain dried rice and lavender, heated up. She said it would help with your headache, and it might help with your sore muscles too, if you want to try it around your neck or one of your other joints."

It… was helping. The lavender gave off a pleasant scent, one that he remembered from his childhood with his parents, and the rice seemed to be retaining the heat, letting it off slowly, without burning his skin. "Thanks," he whispered, not having the energy to speak any louder.

"What's wrong with your voice?" Ruby asked, keeping her voice quiet.

"Thirsty," he admitted. "Too achy to try to reach my water, though."

"You could have called for someone," she chided him, pouring some into the cup. "Can you hold it, or do you want help?"

His cheeks flushed, and he managed – with an effort and no little pain – to push himself a little more upright in the bed so that he could take the glass from her, the sock-compress falling off his head to land in his lap. She darted out the door in a shower of rose petals but was back before he really registered that she was gone. She was carrying a few more pillows, and as he sipped at the water, she propped them behind him. "There. Now you can be more comfortable."

"Thanks," he said shyly, handing the glass back to her.

"Just call if you need anything," Ruby insisted. "We're all listening for you, so it's not an inconvenience. We care about you, Oscar, and we'll help however we can."

Salty tears trickled down his cheeks as the memory rose up in his mind. It was too vivid to be something that he'd made up! But none of this made any sense! He was somehow in Vale, but he'd last been in Atlas – or more accurately, he'd been on Salem's giant whale Grimm – Ozpin was alive and seemed to have no knowledge of Oscar, the Fall of Beacon, or anything that had happened since he'd taken up residence in Oscar's head…

What was going on? Why wasn't Oz talking to him? He still felt an aching desire to hold Long Memory in his hand, and bits and pieces of memories that weren't his were drifting through his mind at the slightest provocation. He felt…empty. It was like something had been carved out of him, leaving a burning, hollow ache deep inside himself.

He clearly remembered the long, long hours of being beaten by Hazel, the other long hours lying on the floor of his cell, trying to breathe through an aching chest, Oz all but begging him to allow him to take over so that he could spare Oscar the pain, and his own stubborn refusals. He remembered fighting Grimm down in Mantle, and on the top of the Argus Limited, the intense sparring sessions with Ja – General Ironwood to try 'to bring Ozpin back'.

So how had he gotten to Vale?

His head ached the more he thought about it, and that wasn't even taking into account the rest of the general aches and pains he was feeling. Hazel had worked him over thoroughly – he actually hurt worse than he had after Haven, and he'd thought that was the most pain he would ever find himself in.

But at the same time he couldn't help but think about it – trying to figure out what was going on. He remembered giving control to Oz, the old wizard trying to sway Hazel away from Salem…

Then there had been an exchange between Oz and Salem… and…

A tearing sensation, like he was being ripped in half, almost lost under the rest of the pain he'd been in at the moment.

I'm so sorry, Oscar. Goodbye…

And then the next thing he knew, he was waking up in a Vale hospital, facing a silver-haired man who had Long Memory and claimed to be Ozpin. He'd claimed that Beacon hadn't been attacked, there was no battle at Haven… no war on Atlas…

But the only way that could possibly happen was…

Had he…

Could he have… somehow travelled back to the past?

Beacon Tower… Ozpin's Office…

"What's going on Oz?" James' voice was demanding as the video call connected and Glynda entered the office, taking a place just behind Ozpin's right shoulder where she was visible, but otherwise remaining silent.

"A great deal that we will need to discuss, James," Ozpin said, steepling his fingers. "But I would rather go over it just once with all of you, so I'm going to wait until Leonardo and Theodore are connected as well."

"This has to do with that boy, doesn't it?" James asked as Leonardo's image flickered into view on Ozpin's screen, followed almost immediately by Theodore's image.

"Boy? What boy?" Theodore's rumbling voice was inquisitive.

"We've received warning of possible attacks by Salem," Ozpin explained, not bothering with pleasantries. He didn't often call a full group meeting like this after all – there usually wasn't a need. "Leonardo and James already know about this, but late yesterday afternoon, a boy appeared in my office after classes, savagely beaten and badly injured as a result."

"This is why Glynda was making inquiries about any of my students that might be missing?" Theodore asked.

"Yes," Ozpin said. "He said some things that have given me cause for concern – his strange appearance in my office not withstanding – and when Glynda and I went back to the hospital to question him at more length, he indicated that Salem may be planning to attack Beacon, Haven, and Atlas."

Leonardo's face tightened, as did James'. Theodore merely looked thoughtful. "But he didn't mention Shade?"

"He did not, but that doesn't mean that she won't," Ozpin replied. "The boy just may not have heard anything about it. He's still recovering, so we weren't able to speak to him for more than a few minutes, but my current working theory is that he overheard some of Salem's followers discussing her plans, so they abducted him and tortured him to try to find out what he'd overheard, but he was able to use his Semblance to escape. Leo has also raised the possibility that Salem may have located Spring, and if so, Haven may be the first target."

"Fria is still secure," James said confidently. "She may not have many more years left in her, but she's safe and comfortable."

"The Summer Maiden is also accounted for," Theodore said slowly. "I spoke with her just yesterday, in fact."

"Amber is also safe," Ozpin said. "She's out with another group of Huntsmen in the south of Sanus, but I've sent a message asking her to head back to Beacon once she finishes her current assignment."

"W-what are her plans?" Leonardo asked, his voice taking on a hint of nervousness.

"I don't know for sure," Ozpin admitted. "The boy – Oscar – couldn't tell me much, although whether that was due to his injuries or the fact that he's not sure he can trust me is uncertain now. He seems confused, but the things he said are enough to make me wary and I'd like us to slowly and quietly," he added pointedly, "begin strengthening security around the schools until I can get more details out of him. If Salem is planning to attack one or all of the Academies, I don't want her to know that we're on to her. She may already know, since she has to know by now that Oscar escaped, although I don't think she can know that he made it to Beacon already."

"Where's Qrow? Has he seen anything?" James asked.

"He just finished an assignment and is on his way back to Vale as well," Ozpin said. "I haven't briefed him yet because he's not in a secure location, but I intend to as soon as he arrives. I expect him within the next few days."

"What are you going to do about the boy?" Theodore asked.

"For now, we're going to allow him to recover," Glynda spoke for the first time. "He was reluctant to share much about himself, and both Ozpin and I believe that is because he's trying to protect his loved ones. He doesn't seem to fully trust that he's escaped and believes much of this to be another of Salem's tricks."

"That seems suspicious," James replied immediately. "If he's not willing to share any details with you, how are you going to be able to verify that anything he has to say is true?"

"I'd like to think that we can tell the difference between a traumatized child and a master manipulator, James," Glynda shot back, but Ozpin raised his hand and she fell silent.

"I understand your concerns, James," Ozpin said after a moment. "Please know that I intend to get more information out of him once he's had a few days to recover and I intend to verify everything that he has said to the best of our ability. As soon as Qrow returns and has been briefed, I'm going to ask him to go out again and see what he can find out, both about the boy and Salem's movements. By then, Oscar will have had a few days to recover and realize that this is not one of Salem's deceptions, and hopefully he'll be more open with us."

He rested one hand against the white dome of Long Memory's pommel where it was leaning against his desk. "The Academies all have secondary defense measures built in and planned for. I would like each of you to familiarize yourself and your staff with those measures as quietly as possible, so that if we do have to implement them there won't be any confusion or wasted energy. If anyone detects any holes in the defenses that we may have overlooked when we were planning the schools' constructions, please bring them to my attention and we will work on getting the holes plugged before it's too late."

This was an order, and the other three Headmasters recognized it as such. Each of them nodded curtly, accepting the order they had been given. He knew he didn't need to look to Glynda for an acknowledgement – she knew as much about the situation as he did, and he knew he could trust her to begin pulling the other professors aside and introducing the defensive tasks they would have to take on if the schools were to come under attack in such a way as to not cause any panic or cause anyone to ask questions. Once all of the professors were comfortable, they would phase the instructions in to the students.

"If anything happens to cause you the slightest bit of concern regarding the Maidens or the Relics, I want to know about it immediately," he added the next part of his orders. "The Maidens are our last line of defense, and they must be kept safe."

"What about Spring?" Leonardo asked.

Ozpin sighed. "She is a weak link, I must admit. If you're right and Salem has managed to locate her, Haven would be most at risk. With the Lamp in her possession, she could also find out where the other Maidens are, how to access the other Relics… and the attacks wouldn't have to come immediately. The Lamp is all out of questions for the time being," he lied smoothly, "but eventually the questions will be available to her again and the potential for chaos that it would cause could be devastating to us."

"Should I send some Huntsmen out to try to find Spring?" Leonardo asked.

"No," Ozpin said firmly. "I've got agents all across Remnant who are searching for her, including Qrow. They know what they're looking for, even though they don't know her importance, and so far, they've found nothing. Right now, we can only pray to the Brothers that she is safe, wherever she is."

"Oz, we can't afford to remain passive with a looming threat…"

"I'm not remaining passive, James," Oz said firmly. "There is a difference between passivity and subtlety, and between passivity and caution. If Oscar's information is correct and can be verified, we do not want to tip our hand, or she will simply change the plans and strike in a way that we aren't prepared for."

"But how do you know that he's not a plant? What if her plan is to put us all on the alert, and then do nothing? Then we relax our guard when nothing happens, and then when an attack does happen, we aren't prepared?" James pressed.

"James, that is something I've considered, and will continue to consider until we can determine the truth one way or another," Ozpin assured him. "I fully intend to speak to Oscar again and get more details, but it was far more important to give all of you the same heads up that he gave us."

"We've been given our orders for the time being," Theodore said mildly. "Perhaps, James, we should leave it at that for the time being. Glynda will work on Beacon's defenses while we work on the defenses for our schools – let us leave the information gathering to Ozpin and Qrow. After all, Ozpin can question the boy at more length, and Qrow can attempt to verify what he says. That is Qrow's primary job for this group, if you recall."

"I agree," Leonardo added. "We shouldn't risk dismissing the aid of a potential ally or any information they may have just out of paranoia."

James looked offended at the insinuation, and Ozpin was quick to intervene before an argument broke out. "That's enough. Salem's goal is always to divide us – we can't allow her to sow dissension in our ranks. I'll continue to update you with what Qrow and I are able to find out, and I expect regular updates from all of you regarding the progress you're making."

More nods from the other three Headmasters. Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "For now, we'll leave it at that."

Each Headmaster nodded before their image disappeared from his screen – first Theodore, then James, and finally Leonardo, whose face was tight with tension at the thought that Haven might be the first target. Only once they had all gone, did he reach forward and close down his terminal.

"Are you alright?" Glynda asked.

"I expected her to make a move sooner or later," Ozpin replied. "I'm a little surprised it's taken her almost eighty years to do so… but if Oscar is right, this is a larger move than even I could have anticipated from her. She doesn't work in the open like this."

"That's what James doesn't understand," Glynda agreed. "He's used to thinking in terms of overwhelming force, large-scale battles, and absolute victory."

"It may eventually come to that," Ozpin said. "But I don't want to think about the possibility of another Great War against her. It will not end well for Remnant if it comes to that." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Did Oscar say anything of importance after I left the room?"

Glynda… didn't answer, and that was enough to make him open his eyes and turn his chair to face her directly. She seemed… hesitant, for the first time in all the years that he'd known her.

Finally, after he'd watched her for several seconds, waiting for her answer, she sighed. "There's… a lot of anger in that boy, Oz. All directed at you."

"What is it? What did he say?"

"He… feels like you abandoned him. After pulling him into this conflict somehow. He seems to blame you for ruining his life…"

"I don't see how that could be," Ozpin said after processing that. "I never saw him before he appeared here. I suppose it could be one of Salem's tricks, but…"

"I don't think it is," Glynda replied solemnly. "There's too much anger there for it to all be the result of psychological manipulation and lies, even if that is what she is best at."

"Then I need to speak to him again. Alone," Ozpin said. "We need to get to the bottom of this, one way or another."