A/N: T-4. We're finally here! Writing in the canon is, in this case, quite a bit easier than writing headcanon- this entire sequence is one I've been waiting to write for the past year, ever since finally buckling down and watching V6. I know a lot of you have been waiting for it, too.
This isn't gonna be fun to read, though. Sorry about this.
What We Call Home
The next morning felt oddly serene, as if the past few days hadn't even happened. Nora woke up, stumbled downstairs after getting dressed, and was greeted by Jaune and Ren eating cheerfully with Saphron and Adrian as Terra slipped out of the front door on her way to work. "Morning," Nora yawned, waving goodbye to Terra on her way out.
"Morning," the others called, moving over to give her a space on the couch. Ren stood to grab her some coffee and breakfast, flashing her a weary, small smile.
Nora could only grin back, taking in a long, deep breath. It was strange how free she felt.
They were free. We did it.
It simultaneously didn't feel real, and still rang through her mind like the truest thought imaginable.
On her right, Jaune pulled out his Scroll, repeating his usual routine of checking on Team RWBY's Scroll signals. He pouted and sighed when all of their names turned up disconnected. Saphron glanced over at the screen and gave Jaune a one-armed hug. "Your friends are still out of range?" she asked quietly.
Jaune nodded, his misery and fatigue showing in every movement. "I just hope they're okay," he whispered.
Nora grinned, reaching over and patting his knee knowingly. "They'll! Be! Fine!" she said, enunciating each word with a pat. "You've just gotta believe in them! Think of all the crazy things those girls have gotten into with or without us." She snorted. "Then again, they're probably worried about us."
"Which is fair," Ren murmured. "Look at what we've gotten into."
"And we made it out okay anyways!" Nora grinned, flashing him a wide smile.
It took a moment for her words to sink in, but eventually, Jaune relaxed. He smiled ruefully and murmured, "I suppose you're right."
"Or at least I'm not wrong!" she said, chipper.
Saphron laughed at the exchange and stood, scooping up Adrian. "Well, I'll be taking Adrian to daycare soon," she said. "What are your plans today?"
Ren took a seat once more, handing Nora a cup of milk coffee and a plate of food. "We were advised to go around town," he said lightly. "We may as well. Do you have any errands for us?"
Saphron shook her head. "No, today you're all off the hook," she teased warmly.
The trio said their goodbyes to Saphron and Adrian, wandering the streets with little goal in mind. Now that they had successfully found every single airship in Argus, and had just-as-successfully been shot down from using them all, the group felt listless. Without chores or errands to drive them, it only made their aimlessness worse.
That was why spotting Oliver was such a relief. Nearing noon in the marketplace, Nora caught sight of a little newsboy hat perched over dark hair and a white smile. "Oliver!" she cried, dragging Ren and Jaune with her to say hello. "What're you doing here?"
Oliver brightened up when he heard her voice, jogging over to meet her. A yawning Carob followed a step behind, the pale blond's entire body exuding annoyance. Oliver said, "We're getting some food and medicine." He leaned close to the trio, adding, "He's a little hungover, and Caelus ate the rest of the cake and has a stomach ache."
Nora rolled his eyes. "Wow, what a surprise," she said, deadpan. Still, her false irritation fell away nearly instantly. "Where's everyone else?"
"Tone it down, kid," Carob groaned, massaging his temples. She raised a brow at him and crossed her arms in response. He sighed, saying, "Well, we're heading out soon. There's a lot of loose ends to tie up."
"Everyone involved in the trafficking," Ren said lowly.
Carob nodded, looking absolutely miserable. "Yeah. We'll let you know when we're leaving for sure, but the base is all packed up."
Nora's smile faltered. She knew it was coming- over half a decade of travelling with the Embers had taught her their patterns to a T- but the thought that she wouldn't be able to see them anymore, after months and months of worrying about them, broke her heart.
Carob sensed her sadness, offering her a wry smile. "Don't look so glum. You've got your own mission, right?"
They nodded.
"Raise your head. Be proud of that mission. That's what your team needs." Then, he winked at Ren. "And you- keep in mind what Kal and Caelus said yesterday."
His words only clicked a second later. "Oh yeah!" she huffed, staring at Ren. "What was that about, anyways?" Ren had never explained why the two men had dragged him off after they blew out the candles, nor why he had looked so soulless afterwards.
Ren turned completely red, suddenly very fixated on the menu of a nearby street stall. Jaune leaned over and whispered, "Weren't they like… giving him a talk since you two are," and he flushed, "um… together now?"
"Oop!" Her hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide. Did they really give him a talking-to for that? The twinkle in Carob's eye confirmed it, and Nora couldn't help but throw her head back and laugh. Her heart glowed. I guess I really am like their kid.
For a moment, she thought back, all the way to Patch, to Taiyang and how protective he had been of Ruby and Yang. The idea that she had people looking out for her the same way… it was like a dream.
"Take care of each other, okay?" And with that, Carob sent them a wave and walked away, Oliver waving goodbye as he trailed happily after the elder man.
Jaune sighed, pausing to look at the menu Ren was so focused upon. His eyes quickly fell onto the small monitor fixated at the top of the screen- it was a local news station running an article about the Argus Limited. "I still can't believe we did all that," he groaned, tapping on the screen of his Scroll. "We literally just went and-"
And then, he froze, eyes locked on the screen, breath caught in his throat. Nora frowned, glancing up at him. "Jaune, what-"
The most brilliant smile she had ever seen on his face appeared, his eyes filling with unshed tears as he gasped, "Oh my god, guys. There's a signal."
Nora and Ren exchanged shocked looks, pulling out their own Scrolls in turn. Jaune was right. Everyone in Team RWBY, along with Oscar and Qrow… their Scroll signals were growing steadily stronger.
"They made it," Nora breathed.
Jaune immediately held his Scroll up to his ear, biting his knuckle anxiously. Nora held her breath while she waited for a response, bouncing on her toes nervously. It finally clicked, and a familiar voice murmured, "Uh, hello?"
Tears of relief slipped from Jaune's eyes unabashedly. "Ruby! Oh, thank you! I've been checking my Scroll for your signal since we made it to the city!"
"The city? Wait…" Ruby paused, and Jaune's eyes filled with panic for a moment as all they heard was silence on the other end. Thankfully, Ruby breathed at last, "Hey. We see it. We'll be there soon at the front gate."
"We'll be there soon, so hang tight," Jaune replied, hanging up his Scroll.
Nora practically leapt forward, dragging Ren with her. "C'mon, guys!" she squealed. "We've got to meet them, right?"
But Jaune was standing perfectly still, head hung low. Nora frowned, walking over and leaning around to look at him. The blond was hunched over, hand fisted around the necklace- around Pyrrha's ring- while he sobbed silently, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he held in wails.
She smiled, reaching up and wrapping Jaune in a warm hug. "C'mon, Jaune," she soothed, wiping away his tears after a moment, "you can't be sad when they come in! We've gotta greet them with a smile, right?"
After a moment, Jaune sniffled loudly and shuddered, wiping an angry red nose on his sleeve. Immediately, Ren clicked his tongue and handed Jaune a napkin taken from a nearby eatery. "Blow," he ordered. Obediently, Jaune obeyed, then gave them a watery smile.
Nora beamed up at them both. "Let's go meet our friends," she whispered. Then, she broke off into a dead sprint. They were on the other side of town to the front gate, after all. "I'll race you!"
Their groans of lackluster annoyance echoed in the air, but Nora didn't mind, bolting down idyllic streets with all of her strength with their footsteps trailing after her.
When she finally managed to get to the front gates of Argus, it barely took a few seconds to spot the faces she'd been looking for. "Cute! Boy! Oz!" she squealed, pointing at the young man looking worse for wear. Oscar blinked, turning around in confusion, but he had no time to brace himself for Nora's tackle as she launched herself at the young man. "Oh, come here!"
Jaune and Ren's footsteps echoed after her, and soon, the sounds of greetings filled the air. Nora grinned and brushed off Oscar's dazed shoulders while Ren and Jaune hugged all of their old friends. She couldn't stop smiling, sitting upright on the cobblestone and revelling in the sight of all of their companions.
It hadn't even been two weeks apart. And yet, it felt like it had been a lifetime.
Suddenly, Nora's eyes honed in on an unexpected figure standing with them all. A tiny old woman with strange, mechanical goggles peered back at her, tapping onto her goggles with a frustrated, gloved hand. Her shawl and robe was intricately embroidered at the hems, and a thick necklace hung around her neck. In her hands was a strange cane, an ominous blue skull acting as the handle. Nora frowned; she didn't recognize her at all. "Wait, who's the old lady?"
Yang grinned, helping her up to her feet. "That's Maria," she explained. "She was a passenger on the Argus Limited with us, but she kinda didn't make it to the front of the train in time."
Maria harrumphed. "That was my choice! Don't treat me like some old lady. I knew you kids needed some help, that's all."
Nora paused, looking her up and down. Maria didn't seem particularly deadly. "Um… were you helpful?"
"I saved their lives!"
"She wasn't," Yang said to Nora, ignoring the scowl on Maria's face.
Nora shrugged, saying, "Ah! You're gonna love this place!" As she spoke, however, she froze, her eyes landing on Qrow.
The man hadn't said a word the entire time they had all been greeting one another. Instead, he stood to the side, arms crossed and eyes downcast. There was an air of something Nora couldn't place hanging over his head; was it dejection? Heartbreak? Disappointment?
No, she realized uncomfortably, it's shame.
But for what? What had happened during their trip to Argus? Nora quickly sought out the faces of everyone else on the team, but for the most part, her friends were smiling and lively, just as always. So why was Qrow so empty?
It made her feel more than a little uncomfortable. Qrow Branwen always carried himself with at least a little bit of confidence. To see him look so despondent rang warning bells in her mind.
Still, there was little else she could do other than wait for a more appropriate time to ask. She had a lot of questions for Qrow, after all. But that could all come later; she wanted to relish in the time spent united with everyone again.
Giving the group a grand tour of Argus was a joy in itself. As usual, Ren had all the practical information, with Jaune showing off his occasional nerdy side to fill in the gaps of whatever Ren had said. Nora tuned in only halfway; Ren and Jaune had already given her the rundown of how the Atlesian Military had supported the city of Argus in return for securing trade routes for Solitas, before Atlas' sudden embargo and border closures.
Instead of adding to that information, Nora proudly announced on their tram ride exactly which restaurants were the yummiest and the cheapest as they trundled along, drawing amused stares from everyone. Thankfully Ruby was always eager to learn where the best eats were, the younger girl excitedly making plans for where they would go first.
The moment they stepped off the ship, however, that joy faded a little as Blake murmured, "We should probably start looking for a ship."
Nora glanced guiltily over to Ren. How in the world could they tell them about their search?
Suddenly, Saphron's voice cut through her thoughts. "There you are!" she called. Nora looked up, seeing the blonde woman standing across the street from the trolley stop with Adrian in her arms.
After a brief pause where Ruby lost her mind because, "Oh my gosh I'm finally meeting one of your sisters oh my gosh it's so nice to meet you-" Jaune introduced his older sister to everyone and explained that they had been staying with her family for the past week.
"You're all welcome in my home," Saphron laughed, pulling out her Scroll as they walked towards the Cotta-Arc home. "I'll just let my wife know to pick up extra food for dinner."
They managed to settle everyone down in Saphron's living room with ease. Yang and Weiss were immediately taken with Adrian, playing with the little boy on the carpet while everyone else found a seat on the couches. Maria seemed more than a little confused about the strange turn of events that had led them to a quaint little home. Nora understood her silence. Qrow's quietude, still as strong as back at the front gates, was worrying.
Ruby gasped, "I can't believe I'm meeting your sister! I have so many questions."
Nora snorted, "Oh, I can give you the rundown later!"
"Will you guys knock it off?" Jaune cried, huffing embarrassedly.
Saphron winked at him, squeezing his cheek lovingly. "What? I love telling stories about my baby brother."
Jaune groaned, flailing to push away his sister. "I am not a baby! That is a baby," he said, pointing at Adrian. Rather than gaining any sympathy, however, Weiss and Yang just began to coo over the toddler, ignoring Jaune's attempts to win over the crowd.
And just like that, the conversation carried onwards. Nora watched everyone talk from the sidelines, happy to just lean into Ren's shoulder and enjoy their time together. "I missed them," she whispered.
Ren smiled, nodding imperceptibly. She knew he was grateful to have everyone back, too.
Soon, Terra walked through the front door, arms laden with groceries. Everyone greeted her with a smile when she walked in, replying, "Why, hello there! Wow, quite a party; you weren't kidding. Hun, can I get some help please?"
Saphron quickly ran over to help her wife, but Nora stood up a moment later. "C'mon," she said to Jaune and Ren, "let's go help out. Terra's been at work all day."
The boys nodded, so the trio waved to the rest of their friends and made their way to the kitchen, quickly relieving Terra and Saphron of cooking detail. The ingredients Terra had brought were for sandwiches, so it wasn't as if it were a meal that was very difficult; they simply worked together to assemble as many sandwiches as the ingredients could afford, because now that the initial glow and relief of reuniting with everyone had begun to wear off, they could all see that their friends looked exhausted. "They've lost weight," Nora whispered.
"Yeah," Jaune replied, biting a wobbling lip suddenly. Nora quickly elbowed him, and he sucked in a long, deep breath. "I know. I just- I want to ask what happened."
"You feel it too, huh?" Ren murmured, bringing over more washed lettuce to add to the sandwiches. "Something happened when they were out there."
"They're skinnier and they're sadder and they randomly have an old lady," Nora said, leaning against the countertop. "Just what in the world did they go through?"
But there was no point speculating fruitlessly. Soon the food was ready, so Nora, Ren and Jaune piled halved sandwiches onto trays and carried them out to the waiting crowd. Qrow was rambling on, just as lifeless as could be; thankfully, Ruby quickly ended his tirade by grabbing a sandwich from Nora's tray and stuffing it into his hands. "Shut up, there's food!"
Nora grinned and plopped her tray onto the coffee table, taking a seat and munching on a sandwich happily. As everyone began to dig into the food, humming in contentment with the first proper meal they'd apparently had in days, Terra suddenly stood, sighing. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." Answering her buzzing Scroll, she strode out of the room.
Blake frowned, worried. "Is everything okay?"
Saphron smiled kindly. "Oh, yeah, it will be. Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower. Unfortunately, the military's radar system is also housed there." Adrian was squirming on her lap, so she leaned over to look the toddler in the eye and coo, "Guess what's been on the fritz lately and who's getting falsely blamed."
Terra stuck her head back into the living room. "Me," she deadpanned bitterly before returning to her call.
Chuckling wearily, Saphron asked, "So, what's your plan for tomorrow?"
Through a mouthful of food, Ruby replied, "Well, we're trying to make our way to Atlas. We'll probably start with the military base."
Nora bit her lip, looking back at Ren. He looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. Jaune nervously laughed, "So, we kind of already tried that, and... it didn't go... super great."
Yang rolled her eyes. "Come on, it couldn't be that bad..."
"It was pretty bad," Nora murmured.
Saphron sighed, standing up and stretching. Adrian stretched his little arms too, imitating her and drawing Yang and Weiss' doting attention once more. "Look," she scolded them all lightly, "that's for tomorrow, got it? For tonight, you're going to all wash up and go to bed. You'll have to share beds, but as long as that's alright, we're good to go. And then, tomorrow you can talk about your mission."
"If you need any clothes," Terra added, walking back into the room, "let us know- we have lots of extra stuff lying around."
"Thank you so much," Ruby beamed. "We really appreciate it."
Splitting the rooms was fairly straightforward; Team RWBY and Team JNPR with Oscar each took one room, while Qrow took the last one by himself. The stairs were a bit harder on Maria's knees, especially after the long journey, so they set up a futon in the back room for the woman. It took quite a while for the crew to rotate out of the two bathrooms, however; the rest of the evening was spent desperately trying to kick start the boiler after it died following Maria's hour-long sweltering soak.
Eventually, however, everyone was washed up and ready to go to bed. Yang let it slip that they've been sleeping in the frozen woods for over a week, so of course Saphron insisted on getting them cocoa and washing all of their clothes while they sipped it and cuddled under thick blankets in the living room. When everyone was finally tuckered out, and after a round of goodnights and sleep-tights and don't-let-Ruby-go-through-Saphron's-photo-albums-of-Jaune's, they all went to bed, crashing harder than they could've ever expected.
Nora didn't sleep, however. Her thoughts were too tangled up in the mystery of what had happened to her friends after the train was separated. Something bad happened. Something's wrong.
She was a little scared to know what exactly it was.
The next day saw them all marching over to the Atlesian base bright and early. The tall metal gates, opened just before their arrival in order to let in a patrol car, slammed shut unceremoniously the moment they approached. Nora, Ren and Jaune hung back, hiding their faces and trying to look as detached from the others as possible. "Maybe she'll agree to help them if she doesn't know they're with us?" Jaune offered.
Ren's deadpan stare cut down that hope easily.
And, just as they feared, it barely took any time for Team RWBY to get utterly riled up arguing with the tall, uniformed officers guarding the gate. Nora strained to hear their conversation, but they were standing just a touch too far to make out exactly what was going on.
"Ooh," Nora murmured, pointing discretely at the gate. "Weiss might be our ticket in there!" The pale girl was approaching the gate, and after a moment, the two officers nodded and jogged in unison away.
That hope was dashed in minutes when Caroline Cordovin appeared yet again. Strangely enough, she walked straight up to the tiny Maria of all people, immediately seeming to pick a fight with her. Then, when Ruby tried to calm her down, Cordovin simply leaned around her, spotting Nora, Jaune and Ren in the background.
Jaune gulped. "Oh no."
Nora braced herself. For such a tiny lady, her voice is so loud!
She was right to have done so as the commander's grating voice echoed down the walkway, screeching, "What are you doing back here?! I thought I told you to leave!"
Nora sneered, immediately trying to run forward. Ren and Jaune held her back much to her chagrin. "And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!"
Ren nervously waved. "Nice to see you again as well!"
Jaune didn't even bother.
The conversation barely lasted a few more minutes before the tiny woman took a step back and the gates were slammed shut once more. Everyone looked so dejected that Nora could only imagine the conversation that had taken place; even the thought of it made her blood boil. What was her issue? Couldn't she see that they were on a mission? "Oh yeah?" she screamed at the guard tower atop the gate. "Well, your face looks... like a big dumb boot!"
"Way to show her, Nora," Jaune said flatly.
There was no longer any point to hanging back, since Cordovin was already gone. The trio jogged up, rejoining their friends in front of the gate.
"Weiss," Ruby was in the middle of saying, "I told you we wouldn't leave your side for a second. We'll find a way to Atlas. Together." She placed a reassuring hand on Weiss' shoulder.
After a moment, Weiss smiled and nodded, expression softening. Nora almost cooed at the exchange. Something really did melt her heart in Atlas, Nora wanted to giggle.
To everyone's surprise, Qrow was the first to turn and walk away, hands tucked in his pockets and shoulders hunched. Ruby called, "So… where are we going now?"
"Yeah," Nora said, "what's the plan?"
Nora took a step back as Qrow paused, his voice seething as he spat, "The plan? The plan just got shut on our face three times over. I'm going for a drink." And just like that, he carried on down the long road, leaving them behind.
Ruby immediately jogged after him. "Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try and come up with something-"
But Qrow kept walking away.
"-together." Ruby stopped short, gaze following Qrow sadly.
Jaune asked, "What's his problem? It's not your fault we can't go on."
Nora waved her hand dismissively, feeling that familiar seed of annoyance and dislike taking root stronger than ever in her gut. "If he's gonna be a jerk then we'll just come up with something without him," she announced. Gesturing to Oscar, she offered, "I mean, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do."
And yet, no one seemed assuaged by this comment. Instead, Oscar merely looked down wearily.
Ren straightened up, worried. "What is it?"
Yang ran her fingers through her hair, letting out a long, broken sigh. "We should… go back to the house."
"This isn't something we should discuss outside," Blake added.
"I hope you're ready for a long story." Weiss' smile was bitter.
Nora felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Oh no.
They had been right. Something had happened, and they were finally going to talk about it.
A part of Nora wanted to run away. This felt just like it had when Qrow had told them the truth behind the Maidens. Please don't let it be something as big as the Maidens. It couldn't be though, right?
The trip back home was done in near-silence, the only words exchanged between any of them nothing more than niceties for holding open doors or giving up seats on the trolley. Other than that, the air remained frigid and detached, and the girls of Team RWBY and Oscar didn't bother adding any joy to the mix.
Nora leaned over to Maria as they approached the house. "Do you know what's happening?"
"Unfortunately, yes," she replied. "I really wish I hadn't been there, though."
Those foreboding words made Nora feel sick.
By the time they were settled into their seats, an icy chill had settled over the group. No one seemed inclined to talk; everyone just sat down wherever they could, waiting for someone to break the silence.
Unfortunately, the first one to do so was Saphron, the woman walking into the front door with a smile on her face that immediately crumpled into nothing when she felt the tension in the air. "Hey, everyone," she murmured, shifting a bag of groceries in her arms. "What's going on?"
"Saphron," Ruby sighed, standing up to face her, "I'm really sorry to ask you this in your own home, but…"
"You need to leave," Weiss supplied. "We need to discuss something that no one can know about."
"Not even you." Yang's smile was strained, twitching. "Sorry. Is there anywhere you can hide out for a bit?"
Saphron blinked at them blankly, finally looking at Jaune. He shrugged in response. "I trust their judgement, Saph," he said at last. "If it's about what I think it's about, you can't be here."
Saphron let out a long, shuddering breath. With a tense smile, she joked weakly, "Wow. You really are a Huntsman, huh baby bro?"
No one laughed.
"Okay." Quickly, Saphron put the groceries away then ran upstairs, coming down a few minutes later with a backpack. "I'll go get some work done in a café. I'll tell Terra to meet me there, too. Text us when you're done, okay?"
"Sorry, Saphron," Nora murmured.
She shook her head, uncomfortable understanding weighing down her gaze. "I get it. Take care, and let me know if you need anything." And with that, Saphron left, leaving behind an even tenser silence than the one before it.
To everyone's surprise, it was Maria who finally spoke up. "That's it, kids," she cried, waving her cane at them all. "Sit down. Let the ol' Grimm Reaper tell you everything that happened."
Nora was about to protest when Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang and Oscar all obeyed without a word, an unmistakeable relief playing across each of their faces. She asked, "Wait, why don't we just ask Oz what happened-"
"Let Maria say it," Yang said coldly, looking down at the floor.
Nora shivered. Ren took a seat by her side, with Jaune on the other. She silently reached out, grabbing both their hands, bracing herself. "Okay."
Maria smiled, but there was no joy in her face. "Well. Your friends here had a little misunderstanding about something, it turns out. That shiny lamp you have there?" She pointed to the Relic which still hung off Ruby's hip, as secure as ever.
Nora frowned. Wasn't… wasn't Oscar holding the Relic on the train? Why did Ruby have it now?
"You were all told," Maria continued, "that it didn't have any questions left, apparently. That was a lie. There were two. And the spirit of the lamp, Jinn, was happy to answer anything we asked."
Jaune cried, "But why would Oz lie-"
"And so, Ruby there asked a question: 'What is Ozpin hiding from us?' And Jinn gave us the answer." Maria scowled, sinking back into the chair. "I still don't understand how Ozpin and Oscar differ, but-"
"How do you not understand? They're totally different!" Nora cried. "Even their voices-"
"She didn't really get to hear their voices," Blake said grimly before turning back to Maria.
The elderly woman cleared her throat. "Do you want the story or no?"
Nora quieted down, squeezing Ren and Jaune's hand nervously. Both of their palms were clammy with sweat- hers was probably no different. I don't like this one bit.
"I can't remember the entire story, so I'll give you a summary," Maria began. "Long ago, when magic and peace reigned, a woman named Salem lived locked up in a tower. One day, a young warrior named Ozma came to save her. And when he did, and Salem and Ozma escaped the terrible tower that had confined her, they knew they would stay together, because they had fallen in love."
Nora frowned. Salem… as in that Salem? She shuddered instinctively as she remembered the hallucination Emerald had conjured up in Haven for them to see. How in the world could anyone fall in love with that?
"Back then, she was beautiful and sweet, and Ozma was noble and brave. However, their life together was cut short when Ozma died of illness," Maria said wearily, as if answering Nora's silent question. "Salem decided to beg the gods of light and darkness to save Ozma and to give her back her fleeting happiness. She started with the God of Light, he who presided over creation. She begged the elder brother over and over again, but he refused to grant her wish of bringing back Ozma, not wanting to upset the balance of life and death.
"So, Salem decided to venture to the domain of the God of Darkness; the younger brother, god of destruction and death. She begged him to bring back Ozma just as she had to his elder brother, but she made sure to make no mention of going to the God of Light first. Cunning girl." Maria clicked her tongue in irritation. "But that cunning was victorious. The God of Darkness was profoundly moved by her prayers and so-called devotion to him, gladly bringing Ozma back to Salem. And for a brief moment, Salem was happy.
"However, the God of Light appeared, and after arguing back and forth, he explained to his younger brother what had taken place, and how Salem had tricked him. Angered and disappointed by her deeds, the gods killed Ozma again, and then turned Salem immortal as a curse for her selfishness. If she wanted to die to be with her beloved, she would have to learn the meaning of life and death."
Leaning over to Ren, she whispered, "She doesn't mean like, that Salem, right?"
The troubled furrow of Ren's brow did nothing to ease her concerns.
Maria shrugged, rambling on, "But Salem's immortality did nothing but fuel her rage and heartache. She could not die, no matter what. So, she decided to turn the people against the gods- after all, she had been successful for even just a moment in turning the brothers against each other. Humans could hate, too. So she went all across the world, showcasing her immortality and promising to anyone that would listen that they, too, could be immortal. All they had to do was destroy the brothers."
Jaune gasped by her side despite himself, and Nora couldn't help but chuckle. He always grew too invested in tales like this- and unlike when Qrow told them about the Maidens, this story still felt… detached. The ties between this random fairy tale and their own mission felt unclear.
"However, when her amassed armies finally came to strike against the gods in their own domain, they were crushed instantly. With a snap of his finger, the God of Darkness killed off every single person on the planet- except for Salem. She was immortal. And she was alone."
Her words hung heavily in the air. Nora took the chance to look up at the others; to her surprise, all of Team RWBY's faces were twisted into mixed expressions of discomfort, regret, fear. Oscar, who stood in the corner by the front door, seemed a hairsbreadth away from bolting as Maria continued to speak. "The Gods destroyed the moon, leaving behind the fragments we see now in the sky. They named this world a 'remnant'. It was no longer whole.
"But Salem remained, slowly losing her mind until she found the pools of darkness in the Dark Lord's domain. She decided that if the God of Light's powers granted her infinite life, then the God of Darkness' powers would grant her eternal death. She tried drowning herself, thinking she would die. She was wrong.
"Instead of death, Salem gained a powerful hatred. All she wanted was to destroy everything. She had tainted what had made humanity so pure in the gods' eyes. So, they chose an adversary for her- Ozma."
"Wasn't he dead-" Nora tried to whisper, but Jaune and Ren shushed her in unison, so she bit back her questions, leaned her head on Ren's shoulder, and continued to listen.
"To Ozma, they entrusted the task of reuniting humanity. Just like the world, they allowed humans to be reborn, but this time as a remnant of what humanity used to be." Maria shook her head in disappointment. "Humans had lost their magic. Rather than giving each human their four gifts- creation, destruction, choice and knowledge- the gods decided to manifest them into the Relics. If brought together, these Relics would summon the gods who would then judge humanity's worth. If these half-humans managed to learn to coexist by the time the four Relics were brought together, then humanity would be made whole again and the brothers would return to our world."
After a moment, Jaune asked, "And if they weren't able to coexist?"
"Then they would be wiped away."
Nora rolled her eyes, getting antsy. "But what does this have to do with Ozma-"
"Ozma was given the task of watching over the Relics," Maria boomed suddenly. "When he was told that Salem was still alive, he accepted the task and was reincarnated. Once living again, he found that humanity was indeed a shell- and now, the Faunus lived, too. It was a completely different world. He found that no one could do magic, but eventually he found someone who could. Following rumours of a witch, he eventually found his way back to Salem. The two recognized one another immediately, and they fell back in love- but this time, it was twisted."
That knot in her gut began to grow and swell. I'm going to be sick, she thought faintly.
"Salem didn't know of Ozma's task from the God of Light. Still, she managed to trick him into helping her subjugate what little of humanity remained. The two built a kingdom and became rulers, and eventually had four daughters; and these children could do magic, unlike anyone else in the world. These four little girls were blessed."
Ruby turned away from Maria, wincing pre-emptively. Weiss covered her mouth, and both Yang and Blake cast their gazes downward, as if shutting out what she was going to say.
"Why?" Nora breathed, sitting up straighter. Everyone's reactions unnerved her. "What happened? Wouldn't those girls be the first Maidens? What's the issue-"
Maria's mouth curved into a deep, weary frown. "When Ozma cracked and told Salem about his plans, and she denounced them, the two ended up in a fearsome battle. Salem watched Ozma try and steal away her daughers. And then, Ozma and their daughters died in the ensuing battle. Their blood was on her hands."
Ruby let out a tiny whimper at the mere thought of it.
"Ozma kept being reincarnated. At first, he tried to avoid his duty- but his lives kept repeating, and Salem kept bringing evil into the world. Eventually he gave in. The man had had enough. He tried to fight back, deciding to figure out how to use his magic and the power of the Relics to find a way to stop Salem, because if he could kill her, he could start on his task of uniting humanity at last. So he found the Relic of Knowledge and asked her a bunch of questions."
"What did he ask her?" Ren asked carefully, fingers clenched tight around Nora's.
"We… only heard the answer to one of them." Blake's voice was tiny, as if scared to be heard.
Jaune nodded encouragingly, glancing between everyone else. "What was the question?"
Maria replied, "He asked Jinn, "How do I destroy Salem?""
Nora perked up, the burden lightening off her shoulders in an instant. "What? That's fantastic! What's the answer, what do we have to-"
"You can't." Oscar whispered.
Jaune's smile, which had been growing more and more hopeful with every breath, fell away. "What?"
Ruby cleared her throat, then clarified, "You can't destroy her. She's immortal. Jinn's answer was, 'you can't'."
And with that, Maria stood and began shuffling to the backyard patio. "I'm going to rest. Call me when dinner's ready."
Nora slumped over in her seat, feeling everything drain away. "We… can't?" she breathed. Distantly, she felt Jaune's hand slip out of hers, Ren leaving her side a moment later. Don't go, she wanted to scream, but she couldn't get her voice to leave her throat, head spinning.
Ren asked quietly, walking to the other side of the room, clearly needing to move, to pace, to distract himself. "Is that why Qrow isn't here?"
Jaune asked, "Has he just… given up?"
We can't win. But- but we made it so far, we're all here- we worked so hard-
She distantly felt someone take a seat next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted black hair. It wasn't Ren, though, feline Faunus ears flicking in worry.
Nora flinched when Blake put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were so very golden. Nora didn't want to see them right then.
She wanted to cry.
Suddenly, a cry of pain, accompanied by the cracking of plaster, echoed through the house. "Jaune!" Ruby yelled.
"Everything we did was for nothing!" Jaune spat.
Nora gasped silently, burying her face in her hands. It was one thing for her to think it- but to hear Jaune say it, too-
"That's not true," Blake said sternly.
"Really?" Nora cried angrily. "'Cause it sure does sound like it."
Blake tried to stutter a response, but Ren cut her off. He had moved across the room, leaning against the stairwell, absolutely despondent. "If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?"
No one replied.
Jaune rolled his eyes, sarcastically muttering, "Wow... Great plan everyone!"
Oscar had been clutching his arm anxiously throughout the entire story, looking halfway to tears. Nervously, he stepped forward. "Look, none of this is great, we know. But we're not the bad guys here."
"Are we sure about that?" Jaune whispered.
Nora felt her heart shatter. It really was the Maidens conversation in Anima all over again. Please, Jaune, don't, she begged. Please don't fight.
She understood his anger, but she didn't have the energy to face his rage and keep herself calm and understand what was happening. It was just too much.
And… Oscar wasn't at fault, right?
Oscar's eyes grew impossibly wide as he tried to parse what Jaune meant. "What?"
Glancing over his shoulder, Jaune said, "He's in your head, isn't he?" He began to stalk over, fury rolling off of him in waves. "Did you already know about this?"
Weiss stepped between Jaune and Oscar, crying, "He didn't know any of it!"
Jaune breezed past her, grabbing Oscar and shoving him forcefully against the wall by the staircase. Nora stood, watching the scene unfold in growing horror as Jaune cried, "How much longer can we even trust him?!"
"Jaune!" Yang yelled, disgusted.
The blond was far too lost in his panic to react. "How do we even know it's really him?! What if we have been talking to that liar this whole time?!" With each word he said, he shook Oscar's collar angrily.
The sight of Oscar's brown eyes filled with terrified, broken tears made Nora sob.
"Jaune!" Ruby screamed, grabbing everyone's attention.
For one achingly-long moment, Jaune and Ruby maintained eye contact. Then, Jaune looked back down at a cowering Oscar, released him, and stomped upstairs. One of the bedroom doors opened then slammed shut, the group downstairs wincing at the sound.
Yang sighed, looking over to Nora. "Is he... gonna be okay?"
Nora yelled, "I don't know!"
I can't stay here.
She exhaled heavily, then stood, striding across the room and stomping upstairs in Jaune's wake. As she ascended, she heard Ren mutter tightly, "I think it would be best if we had some time to ourselves."
The moment Nora entered JNPR's room, Jaune was upon her. "Do you believe this?" he screamed, rage oozing out of every pore. "If that's the truth, then-"
"Then what have we been fighting for?!" she supplied, glaring at the door as Ren stepped in after her, closing the door behind him.
Jaune fell onto his bed, gripping onto his hair like a lifeline. "What is even the point of any of this?"
Nora picked up her pillow, angrily slamming her fist into it again and again to vent her anger. It didn't work, only serving to rile her up further. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted them," she whispered. "We should've left the moment we figured out he was a Branwen."
"Nora," Ren muttered, pacing up and down the length of the room, "he clearly didn't know. Ozpin must've lied to him, too."
"That doesn't make it okay!" she protested, slamming her pillow against her bed. "This is so stupid! If we can't win, then what was the use in any of it?"
"We put all our faith into this," Jaune yelled, stomping a foot down, "and yet, this is all we get?"
"No one could have known," Ren sighed, barely keeping it together. "There's- there's just no way- everyone looked just as upset-"
She was crying. Scalding tears rolled down her cheeks, fat, wet droplets forming rivers that dripped down to her chin, snot running into her mouth, breath hiccupping and gasping as the truth behind it all finally began to sink in. Through her blurry vision, Jaune's face had morphed into the exact same look of horror, the boy meeting her gaze through his own indescribable grief as he fell to his knees onto the floor, hyperventilating.
Nora felt Ren's arms scoop her up, trembling under the exertion. His tears splashed against her shoulder as he dragged her over to the floor next to Jaune, the three of them curling up in the cramped space between the two side-by-side beds.
Through choked sobs that sounded more like guttural screams, Nora gasped, "If we can't beat Salem ever… what did Pyrrha die for? What was the point of involving her in any of this?"
Ren's arms were tight around her torso as he shuddered and shook, silently weeping in despair. Jaune gave up all pretense of anger, his betrayal just leaving him a weeping mess; Nora shudderingly gathered him into her arms, pulling his head onto her lap. His tears and snot immediately wet her legs, but she didn't care- she simply let her cheek rest against the side of the nearest bed, muffling her near-hysterical weeping with the comforter.
Salem couldn't be killed. And if she couldn't be killed- if Salem was eternal, inevitable- then anything they did was nothing but a token act of resistance. She would survive long after they had died.
And yet, they were expected to dedicate what little time they had left on this earth, this remnant, to trying to stop her?
Ozpin let Pyrrha die, Nora realized in horror. Oz knew that she couldn't win. And now, everyone else gets to be together with their teammates and if they want to give up, they can, but we- and she let out another scream, crushed under the sheer injustice of it all- we just get to suffer knowing that Pyrrha died thinking she had a chance? And we don't get to kill or hunt down Cinder because of bullshit, and now Pyrrha's just- we're just-
She was so sick of feeling like this. Every single time she felt like she had come to terms with Pyrrha's death, something threw a wrench into her emotions and showed her that no, there was no closure to be found.
She was supposed to be a hero. Her death should have been in her old age, with Jaune and Nora and Ren by her side. It shouldn't have been like this.
There reached a point where everything felt numb. Everything just felt… neutral. Blank. Emotionless. The only thing she could feel was fatigue. Nora wanted everything in that moment to end. Just… let it end.
Maybe then she'd see Pyrrha again.
It was a few hours later, when the three of them had long stopped crying in favour of hiccupping and shuddering every once in a while, sitting slumped on the floor and leaning on one another in exhaustion, that Saphron finally dared to walk in. And when she did, the horror and heartbreak that immediately filled her features almost made Nora feel something. Almost.
She only vaguely heard what Saphron was saying. "Should you call someone?!" the woman asked, panicked.
Call. Call Howl, she thought distantly. Tell him everything. Why keep it a secret? It doesn't matter anymore.
She was numb to it all. It didn't matter.
Her sister was dead because of a war rigged against them from the start. Nothing was ever going to change that.