Greetings everyone!
Welcome back to the 15th chapter of "The Knight The Wizard".
Alright, so speaking honestly, I was writing this chapter when I just suddenly felt like it was chore to continue doing so. So, after taking a break from writing I was glad that when I got back on the creative juices just kept on a-flowin'.
And yes, I am aware of the whole Ozpin, Jaune, and Maria is definitely stretching the imagination but I say it's worth it for this story. And yes, I know that the "IT Guy" wasn't a silver-eyed warrior but I do know that the two kids he had were silver-eyed warriors. Now, the odds of the daughter being Maria are, well, astronomical at best, but I couldn't help but imagine how the story would play out if this was the actual case. And note that Maria never actually said whether or not her father was a silver-eyed warrior like herself just that he was the one to teach her about them. This could mean that while he, himself, wasn't a silver-eyed warrior that he could've gained the knowledge about them through ancient text or even first-hand knowledge from someone who knew about the silver-eyed warriors, say like from an ancient reincarnating wizard?
I'm also aware that I didn't put in Qrow and Yang's reaction to Jaune professing his love to Ruby right in front of them but as I stated before I was prepped for time but I'll make sure to address it in this chapter as well.
Remember that these chapters WILL NOT be a set schedule, though I will TRY to upload every OTHER Sunday, at least for the time being until I can get more comfortable into balancing work, a social life, and everything else in general. Though this does mean that I should be able to upload multiple chapters at once but only time will be able to tell.
I will also instead be releasing one chapter for each story I'm currently working on so that I don't burn myself out on one story and lose any passion for writing. This will be the order of updating so you can all check out the stories whenever you want in order to be caught up on what's happening in the other stories.
1. The Knight & The Wizard.
2. Operation: Jaune's Dastardly Revenge.
3. The Master Huntsman.
4. Don't Mess With An Arc.
5. The Arcful Dodger.
Make sure to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review.
Till next time!
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Chapter Fifteen
It's official... I hate my life... I was quite literally BEGGING for Salem to just barge in through the door and bisect me with a sword. Seriously, how long does it take for your so-called friends to stop laughing at all of your embarrassing baby pictures?!
Hell, even Ruby, my own girlfriend, was laughing at my baby pictures!
Huh, girlfriend...
I'll be honest, I still felt a little bit awkward knowing that I, Jaune Arc, now had a girlfriend.
HA! Take that every girl who rejected me! Ruby is 100 times better than all of you combined!
But still, despite the embarrassment I was receiving from my friends as they all continued to look at my baby pictures, I couldn't help but find this brief moment of peace, well, peaceful. To finally have a moment of peace despite everything that had happened to us was a welcome change even if we knew it wouldn't last forever, no matter how much we desperately wanted it to be. Still, at the very least we deserved a breather before we made the harrowing journey to Atlas.
It wasn't until I felt Ruby poking my chin that I reluctantly removed my arm from my shielding my eyes. Her beautiful silver eyes shining like beacons in the dark while her childish smile warmed my heart to a near melting point. In my eyes, Ruby was brave, caring, childish, a weapons otaku, a dork and everything else in between. And I couldn't stop loving her even if I wanted to.
"I can't believe I'm meeting your sister, Jaune!" Ruby happily exclaimed before turning to face my older sister, Saphron. "I have SO many questions!"
"Oh, I can give you the rundown later!" interrupted Nora, flashing me one of her trademarked "I'm going to make you die from embarrassment" looks, causing me in turn to grab one of the couch pillows and cover my face with it.
I wonder if I could suffocate myself to death before I died from any more embarrassment?
Finally, after having enough of my friends embarrassing me, I removed the pillow from my face and rose back into a sitting position on the couch. Thus allowing me to see most of my friends were still busy looking through one of my old baby picture books. "Will you guys knock it off already?" I asked annoyingly before hearing Saphron try to suppress her giggles.
"Hey this is what you get for not calling me to tell me you were safe. You did the crime so you have to do the time." said Saphron, smiling as she reached over to pinch my cheek. "Besides, I LOVE telling stories about my BABY brother."
Hearing my own older sister refer to me as her BABY brother was more annoying than any number of embarrassment baby pictures, though not by much, as I groaned at her title for me. "I am NOT a baby! THAT is a baby!" I exclaimed, pointing my index finger at my nephew, Adrian, who huffed at me in response and thus causing both Yang and Weiss to go all goo-goo eyed at my nephew.
"So Saphron, you're the only Arc living here?" asked Blake, as she continued looking at the many family pictures on the wall. Thought the one that seemed the grab her attention was clearly the one where I was wearing pigtails and holding a sign the said "HELP" while my other sisters did their own things.
I swear that was one of the WORST family picture days we ever had.
"Yep!" Saphron happily exclaimed. "Moved the second I could. Jaune and I are the only two living away from home. I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis." she said in a teasing voice, causing me to groan in annoyance.
"Can someone please just shoot me already?" I begged as Saphron continued to tease me to no end.
"Aw, you didn't deny it!" she said in a teasing tone.
Suddenly, the sound of Saphron's front door squeaking open caused us all to turn our attention onto the entrance where a dark-haired woman with glasses and carrying some bags of groceries was now standing as she looked at the sheer number of people that were sitting in her living room.
"Everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta." said Saphron, introducing her wife, who smiled in response.
"Hello!" greeted Ruby, waving her hand sporadically with a smile plastered onto her face.
"Hey there!" said Nora, doing the same as Ruby.
"Nice to meet you." said Blake, putting the family picture back onto the shelf where it belonged.
Finally it was my turn to greet myself as I pushed myself off of the couch and walked my way towards Terra with a smile on my face. Upon seeing me, Terra placed the groceries onto the floor and pulled me into a tight embrace. "It's good to see you again, Terra." I said, smiling as we hugged each other as tight as we could.
"It's good to see you again too, Jaune." Terra agreed as she pulled away but not before looking at me with a worried expression on her face. "We've been worried sick about you ever since we saw the broadcast from Beacon... I don't know what we'd do if something were to happen to you."
"I know... I'm sorry... I should've called sooner but everything's just been so..."
"Hectic?" she asked, causing me to chuckle in response.
"Heh, something like that." I said, scratching the back of my head.
"Well at least you're okay now. That's all that matters in my book." said Terra, pulling me into one last hug before reaching down to pick up the groceries. "Hun, can I get some help in the kitchen please?" she asked aloud as Saphron pushed herself off of the couch and made her way to the kitchen.
And as I turned back to face my friends as they continued to chat and have what little fun they could have I couldn't help but feel a sens of dread hanging above us. I knew that this moment wouldn't last forever just like I, myself, wouldn't last forever. But I also knew that deep down that all I cared about was making sure that they all made it Atlas as safely as possible. Even if it meant that I wasn't there with them. Still, at the very least I could enjoy this brief moment of peace by spending it with my friends and family.
And so, we spent the remainder of the time just enjoy one another's company. Watching TV, telling stories (though they were mainly Yang trying to interrogate Saphron about anything I did as a kid), and anything else that could keep us from undergoing our next journey through Grimm-infested terrain. We were even able to enjoy the tasty sandwiches we made as we all sat in the living room with my sister and her family.
"And you're sure it's alright if we stay with you?" asked Ruby, still holding onto her sandwich.
"Of course, we're happy to house Huntsmen and Huntresses." said Saphron, putting Ruby's fears to bed as Terra readily agreed at her wife.
"You all risk so much to keep people like us safe. It's the least we can do." she said before turning to look at Qrow. "Especially for such an elite Huntsman like yourself. Although, I will say I was surprised to learn you had students helping you. Is that even... legal?" she asked, causing someone of us to widen our eyes and look at Qrow, praying that he had a believable excuse for Terra.
"Uh, of course. Think of it as an extended training mission. Trust me, I was a professor. Even went to the same academy as them. Let me tell ya, these kids are way better than we were at their age." said Qrow, not exactly explaining himself but also not granting Terra a valid reason to call on his bullshit. As far as the people outside of Vale knew the survivors were either sent to other kingdoms for temporary housing or were enlisted as temporary assistants for the Huntsmen and Huntresses of the world.
After the ordeal was covered the sound of Terra' scroll buzzing turned everyone's attention onto her as she reluctantly picked up the scroll and answered it's call, walking out of the room to begin what must've been a heard to make conversation.
"Is everything okay?" asked Ruby, clearly worried about whatever was happening with Terra and whoever was on the other end of the conversation.
"Oh, yeah, it will be." said Saphron, though sounding like she didn't quite believe her own words herself. "Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower. Unfortunately, the military's radar system is also housed there." she said before turning to face Adrian, who was sitting on her lap. "Guess what's been on the fritz lately and who's getting falsely blamed."
It was in the moment that Terra, who was still being chewed out by some Atlas big wig, popped her head in for a moment. "Me." she whispered as she pointed at herself in a sarcastic fashion before removing herself from the room to continue getting reprimanded for a mistake she didn't make.
"So, which one of you is currently dating my baby brother?" asked Saphron, smirking as both Ruby and I instantly froze up at her words. An action she was quick to pick up on as she turned to face the two of us with a stern expression. "So, you really believe you're worthy enough for my little brother?" she asked.
"I... Uh... Well..." stuttered Ruby, caught off guard by Saphron's words.
"Do you really believe that you can be there for him when he's at his worst? That you can praise him when he's at his best? That you can push him to do things he's never thought of before? Because if not then you don't deserve him." said Saphron, finally pushing me over the edge as I pushed myself up to my feet until I felt Ruby's hand on my own, stopping me as both Saphron and myself turned to look at her.
"No... I don't think I'm worthy enough to be with Jaune..." she said, causing both of us to widen our eyes at her words. "But I'd be willing to fight an entire army of Grimm alone if it meant being worthy to stand by his side. To see him smile. To see him laugh. To see him become the knight in shinning armor that I always heard about in the stories Yang used to read to me. So... No, I don't think I'm worthy enough for Jaune but I'm willing to do everything in my power to become worthy of him." said Ruby, turning to look at me with a smile.
Gods, was it even possible to fall more in love with this girl?
Without even a shred of doubt, I reached out for her hand, sandwiching it between my own as I gazed into her bottomless pools of silver. "Ruby, you don't have to do anything to make yourself worthy to me. You're already worth more than the purest Dust in all of Remnant. And I would do anything if it meant staying by your side." I said with a smile as her cheeks began to redden from embarrassment before I turned my attention onto Saphron. "And Saph, I know you care about me and just want what's best for me but I can tell you with absolute certainty that Ruby is the one I love wholeheartedly and if you can't accept that then you have no business in my life."
Silence filled the room as my words began to sunk in. Here I was basically flat out telling my older sister that if she didn't accept my relationship with Ruby that I would have no problem cutting her out of my life. Of course I didn't mean it. I love my older sister, despite the embarrassment she tended to bring to my life. But I loved Ruby more than life itself. She was my everything. My hope for a better future. My beacon in the dark. My hero. And ever since Pyrrha's death she'd been there by my side as a shoulder to lean on. Now it was my turn to be her's. And nothing would stand in my way. Not Salem. Not the Gods. Not Ozpin. Not even my family.
Suddenly, Saphron brought her hand to her mouth as she tried to stifle the giggles that were erupting from her mouth. But it seemed to no avail as she began to laugh allowed, causing both myself and Ruby to look at one another in confusion. After she was finally done laughing she wiped a singular tear from her left eye before she faced the two of us with a heartwarming smile. "I'm sorry about that. It's just... I never thought I hear my own baby brother say something so cheesy. Oh, the romance novels mom used to read to you before bedtime must've really had an impact on you. My baby brother must love you more than life itself if he's willing to go that far, Ruby." she said with a teasing smile, causing both Ruby and myself to blush. "Hmm, very well then. If being with Ruby is the only way I can see my baby brother again with a smile on his face then I all I have to say is... Welcome to the family, Ruby." she said as she pulled my girlfriend, who was still stunned, into a warm embrace.
But then I felt two lone hands on my shoulders as a chill fell over me. Slowly, I turned my head to see the demonic smiles of both Qrow and Yang. "Now don't think for a second that Ruby's the only one that has to deal with overprotective family, Spellsword. You still have to go through us before you can even think about dating Shortstack." said Qrow, smirking at me as I took in a gulp of oxygen.
"That's right, Vomit Boy." agreed Yang, also smirking as she seemed to enjoy me squirming in her eyes. "And trust me, if you think we're the ones you should be worried about then just wait till you meet our dad. He's the very definition of a Papa Bear."
And even though Ruby tried desperately to reprimand her family member, claiming that they were just messing with me as they laughed at the foreboding expression on my face I couldn't help but imagine all of the deaths Ruby's father would put me under for even looking at Ruby in way other than as a close friend. But then I felt Ruby's hand on my own, causing me to turn and look at her as she smiled at me. I knew what that smile meant as she continued to stare at one another while the rest of our friends and family laughed and joked at our future misery. Yeah, if I had Ruby by my side then maybe... Just maybe... I could have the future I always dreamed about.
"Well, not that we've gotten THAT out of the way. Tell me, what's your plan for tomorrow?" asked Saphron, causing Ruby, who was busy trying to stuff her face with more sandwiches, to stop and stare at her.
Never change Ruby. Never change.
"Well, We're trying to make our way to Atlas. We'l probably start with the military base in the morning." said Ruby when Nora started coughing and looking away from us with a nervous expression while Ren was busy giving himself a tired facepalm.
"Ren. Nora. What happened while we were gone?" I asked then almost sounding like a father who knew his children had done something stupid.
"Heh, well... So, we went to the place... And well... It's uh... It didn't go... Well?" she asked while trying to avoid my heated glare when Yang decided to speak up.
"Come on, it couldn't have been that bad..." she said with an unconvinced smile.
But sadly it was THAT bad as the very second we arrived at the front gates of the Atlas Military base they had begun to close abruptly, locking us out of the only way we had on getting Atlas and protecting the Relic of Knowledge from Salem's wrath. After all we'd been through to get this far to ask for help we quite literally had the door slammed in our face. Another obstacle on our path to protect this world from the likes of Salem. The two guards stationed behind the automatic gates that closed us off from essentially saving these Atlas Asshats from certain doom walked towards us in an almost robotic fashion before they arrived before us.
"The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!" announced one of the guards.
"No one is allowed entrance without proper clearance!" announced the other one.
"If you have no business here then leave the premises at once!" announced the first guard before the two of them bounded together.
"And please, have a good day!" they both announced with a robotic tone as the rest of us looked at one another.
You know... Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if Salem destroyed the world especially if it meant getting rid of assholes like these two... Just a random thought.
But Yang was not one the take things sitting down as she gripped the gate's bars with her hands as she glared at the two robotic guards, who stared back at her with indifference. "Come on! You didn't even hear us out!" she shouted at them but their expressions remained unperturbed by Yang's heated red-eyed glare.
"Our orders are clear: The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!" announced the left guard.
"Please!" shouted the right guard.
"Have a good day!" shouted the left guard, again.
"But-" said Yang, trying to make them see reason only to be interrupted by the two of them speaking in unison again.
"A good day!" they both shouted when Qrow decided to add his two cents into the mix.
"Hey, you don't wanna believe that I'm friends with Ironnwood-" he began only to be interrupted by the two guards much like Yang was.
"General Ironwood!" they shouted, causing Qrow to sigh in annoyance. Hell, I was will bet all of my Lien on that he was dangerously close to just whipping out his weapon and bisecting these two mindless drones. But with a patience I'd never thought I'd witness, he held his tongue.
"Yeah, General Ironwood, then fine. But look, we have Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely." said Qrow, causing Weiss to look down with reluctance upon hearing Qrow's words.
The two guards were clearing caught off guard by the revelation as they both turned to other in confusion before looking back at us. "Approach!" they once again shouted in unison, causing Weiss to turn her attention onto Blake, who could only shrug in response, before walking up to the gates. The two guards then bent down to inspect Weiss's identity before standing straight back up. "Very well!" they shouted again in unison.
"You may speak with our commanding officer!" shouted the right guard.
"We will fetch her at once!" shouted the left guard.
Then the two mindless drones disguised as Atlas Military guards turned around in sync and began to march their way towards the entrance to their base where their commanding officer was most likely held. All the while chanting something about "hup" and "Atlas".
And judging by the weird-ed out expressions on my friends' faces I could tell that I wasn't the only one who found those two drones to be more disturbing than even the Apathy. At least with them you knew they would kill you. With those two guys I wasn't sure if even had emotions to begin with. Maybe when they were born their first words were "All hail Atlas"?
"They were... Kind of..." began Blake as she tried to think of a better word to use for the two guards that were still marching their way towards the entrance.
Robotic?
Mindless drones?
Borderline murderous psychopaths?
"Super weird? Uh, yeah." answered Ruby, finishing Blake's unfinished statement.
I mean I would called them any other number of things but sure, let's go with "Super weird".
Suddenly, Maria, who was standing next to me began to hum as she was evidently thinking about something. And by her troubled expression I could tell that whatever was bothering her was clearly something we all needed to hear about.
"What's wrong?" I asked her, causing her to momentarily be brought back to reality as she turned to face me.
"Well, I... MAY know this commanding officer..." she said, though the way she said DID NOT fill me with confidence.
But Ruby, the ever hopefully and optimistic leader of our band of misfits, smiled at hearing Maria's words. "That's good, isn't it? If she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us."
"I wouldn't exactly call us... "friends"." said Maria, stomping out Ruby's optimistic hope that this would be just another bump in the road rather than another wall.
"Acquaintances?" asked Weiss, throwing her own suggestion of Maria's relationship with the mysterious commanding officer.
"Not quite." replied Maria, shutting down Weiss's suggestion like she had with Ruby.
"Colleagues?" asked Blake.
"Warmer." answered Maria before Yang was the one to get the answer right.
"Enemies?" she asked as Maria smiled at Yang's answer.
"That's the one!" she announced with a smile as the rest of us began to curse our seemingly endless string of bad luck.
No offense to Qrow.
Meanwhile, I was busy giving myself a facepalm at hearing Maria's words. "Oh you've got to be kidding me." I said with tired annoyance.
"Oh, yes. I come through here about once every ten years to get my eyes checked up in Atlas. But you bring outside cashews on ONE flight, and suddenly you're placed on the additional screening list for life!" shouted Maria as Qrow did exactly what I was doing as he, too, sighed with tired annoyance as he muttered the same sentence as I had. "Now, now, let's not give up hope yet." she said with a smile as a beat passed by. "Maybe she's dead!" she said with not-so-well-hidden excitement. But then suddenly the gates the military base re-opened as the two guards returned, marching directly up to us in exaggerated fashion as a short-statured elderly woman wearing an Atlesian officer's uniform marched up behind them.
"Introducing!" announced the left guard as the elderly commanding officer made her way towards us.
"Special operative!" announced the right guard just as the elderly commanding officer stepped before us in all of her short-statured glory.
"Caroline Cordovin!" the two guards announced in unison as both Maria and Ms. Cordovin glared at one another.
"Witch." muttered Ms. Cordovin as she glared at Maria, who glared back with her cybernetic glasses.
"She-devil." Maria replied as Ms. Cordovin look over the rest of us with disdain.
"Hm. I've seen you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle aboard MY airship this time." said Cordovin, snarling with aggression at the rest of us while Maria smiled all the more so.
"Oh, Cordo. You know they say time changes people, but I see you've still got that stick right up your-" she began to say cause the rest of us to panic before Ruby, thankfully, stopped her by stepping in front of the elder Grimm Reaper.
"Seriously, Maria, we're already having to deal with an overload of shit to deal with so is now really the time to be antagonizing the one person we desperately need to be on our side? Because if so then we REALLY need to have another father-daughter talk... Gah, stop thinking about it like that, Jaune! Ok, yes, technically we are related through whatever spiritual mumbo jumbo the God of Light placed upon Ozpin but that doesn't mean that I need to start acting like a parent to a grown woman... No matter how desperately she needs a good lecturing." I thought to myself as I felt the familiar tidal wave of memories of time spent teaching Maria about the ways of the world.
It's hard to imagine how a once sweet and innocent girl who dreamed of becoming a hero could so easily become an elderly woman with a pension for pissing off the wrong people at the wrong time.
It wasn't until I noticed the elderly commander notice something behind that I was pulled out the pool of forgotten memories and turned my head to notice that both Ren and Nora were standing a ways behind us. Though it seemed as though Ren was using most, if not all of his strength, to hold Nora back.
Oh gods, Nora what the hell did you do while I was gone?
"What are you doing back here?! I thought I told you to leave!" shouted Ms. Cordovin as Nora tried vehemently to charge towards the elderly Atlas commander only for Ren, who was thankfully the most collected of the two, to hold her back.
"And I told YOU we wouldn't rest until you let us through!" Nora shouted back as Ren smiled nervously and waved back at the furious Atlas commander.
"Nice to see you again as well!" he shouted with a nervous smile.
OK, note to self; ask Ren what the hell happened while I was gone.
"You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So, allow me to say this slowly, with MUCH smaller words: This base, that relay tower, the very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas!" she spoke with national pride though in all brutal honesty, it sounded more like egotistical pride. "And it is my duty to uphold them, as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a daunting task."
Oh, and here I always thought that you had to be a glorified asshole with racist tendencies to be a member of the Atlas hierarchy? Hmm, guess there's not much difference when you compare the two.
But, unfortunately, Maria once again had to be the one to play the devil's advocate as she delivered the egotistical Atlas commander a taunting smirk. "Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far from the kingdom as humanly possible." she said causing Ms. Cordovin to growl incessantly in response.
"You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!" she shouted as the rising anger within myself finally boiled over.
"What Atlas did in the past was use unity and peace to help the colonists of Mistral because they knew that it's only through peace and understanding that Argus could become the place it has. But that doesn't give people like you that right to treat anyone any way you'd like! Being a soldier is about protecting the people regardless of their differences towards yourself because it's the right thing to do! And it's people like you that are making those that worked so hard to roll over in their graves!" I shouted at her as I felt the familiar rise of power swell up inside me only to feel several hands clasp onto my body, breaking me out of my rage-filled moment and notice that everyone, including Qrow was holding me back as my body seemed to glow a mixture of green and white.
After calming down and seeing the shocked expression on the Atlas commander's face, Ruby and the others relinquished their hold on me as Ruby turned to face Ms. Cordovin. "Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with the Fall of Beacon. We were there." she said as Weiss stepped forward to stand side-by-side with her partner.
"No one's happy about the Atlas borders or embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried. It's why we need to talk to-" But Weiss's words were soon cut off by the elderly Atlas commander, who regained her furiously inflated national pride.
"The General is no coward!" She denied with a furious shout. "Atlas is strong. If all the knigdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas WILL prevail!" she shouted as the two guards behind her shouted her final words in agreement.
"Are you seriously saying that you'd willing become everyone's enemy over something as stupid as pride?" I asked as Ms. Cordovin turned towards me with a strange glint in her eyes.
"If need be then yes." she said before releasing a sigh as she tried to calm herself down. "But if Ms. Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then, of course, the Atlas military will gladly escort her home. But the kingdom will not be held responsible for "friends" of... questionable character." she said as she eyed Blake's feline ears with disdain, causing Weiss to step in front of her with a hostile expression.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with a hostile tone as Ms. Cordovin returned her hostility with a taunting smirk.
"It means we're done here." she said as she and the two guards made their way back inside as the gates behind them closed, leaving us once again up shit's creek without a fucking boat as Qrow so eloquently put it.
But Nora was not someone who wanted someone else to have the last laugh as she raced up to the gates, gripping the bars with her hands as she squeezed her face between the bars and shouted at the retreating forms of Ms. Cordovin and her two guards. "Oh yeah? Well, your face looks... like a big dumb boot!" she shouted, causing me to raise my pal towards my face in response to her insult.
"Way to show her, Nora." I replied as I then noticed Qrow walking away from us and be extension the Atlas military base.
"So... Where are we going now?" asked Ruby, causing Qrow to stop dead in his tracks.
"Yeah, what's the plan?" asked Nora, this time causing Qrow to turn back over his shoulder and look at us with a bitter expression on his face.
""The plan?"" he asked mockingly. "The plan just got shut on our face three times over. I'm going for a drink" he said, turning back as Ruby ran off to her uncle's side.
"Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try and come up with something... together" she said only for her words to fall flat on their faces as Qrow ignored her words and continued onwards towards whatever bar was nearby and leaving the rest of us to watch him leave
I mean, it's not like I didn't understand where he was coming from but the fact of the matter was that we didn't have time to wallow in our own self-pity. No matter how much we really wanted to.
"If he's gonna be a jerk then we'l just have to come up with something without him. I mean, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do." said Nora, finally addressing the Goliath in the room as everyone, save for Ren and Nora, turned towards me with pity in their eyes, causing my only two teammates to turn and look at me in confusion.
"What is it?" asked Ren, having noticed the troubled expressions on everyone's faces as he turned towards me.
And so with a sigh I turned towards them with a saddened expression. I knew that these next words would be the hardest I'd ever say to them but I also knew that they needed to be the ones to hear them from me. I couldn't, wouldn't, allow myself to become like Ozpin and keep any secrets from my friends. No matter how painful they may be.
"I need to tell you guys something..." I said before retreating back to my sister's home in silence with others in tow behind me.
It was time for another awkward conversation only this time it was a conversation that I knew would make or break the bond between the last remaining members of Team JNPR.