Chapter 7: Bird's Eye - Part 3

"Nobody really knows what happened to Oz that night," Qrow continued. "There were obvious signs of struggle. The floor was cracked or broken in several places. Most notably, the marble appeared to have been heated to its melting point, before cooling again. In another place, the floor was smashed in a near perfect semi-sphere."

"It's almost funny. No matter how many fights you see, no matter how many battlefields you visit… every single one tells a story. But not this one. This one... would never give up its secrets. After all, the fight wasn't over yet. Sure. Maybe Ozpin lost to that woman. Maybe all of his carefully laid plans were for not. Maybe he realized the sheer scale of what we were up against. But maybe… just maybe, all of this was calculated. Every word he said, every step he took, timed down to the millisecond. That's who Ozpin was. I don't think the guy ever made a choice in his life without knowing the exact outcome of it... his role in it. He was never surprised by anything, never left speechless, never backed into a corner he didn't have a way out of."

"You think he's alive somewhere?", she inquired, unable, or maybe unwilling to follow Qrow's train of thought.

Qrow didn't hesitate, "It's tough to say. There's no logical reason that he should be. But I don't think a single ounce of my body believes he's gone. Could be denial, but I don't think so. Something about all of this just doesn't add up. The answers are out there. And I'm gonna find them."

"Why, though? Why not just let it go? Blaze your own path, forge your own destiny?"

Scowling, he insisted, "I'm not like you. I believe in the things I learned from Oz. I said I didn't care about most other people's worlds… and I meant that. But there are people worth living for. Worth fighting for. Worth… dying for. I almost bit the dust in an elevator shaft. But a girl who I pushed aside by her face when I first met her, saved me. That's the kind of qualities that every human, never mind huntsman, should exude. I think deep down, you believe that."

"Is that how this is going to go, Qrow? I come for the stories and the good company, but I could do without the brainwash." she said, clearly irritated. "If you're done telling your stories, I'll pay for the drinks and be on my way."

"That's it... just leave. Like you did before. Like you always do."

She rolled her eyes and turned away from Qrow, laid an ample amount of lien on the counter for all of the drinks and tips, and turned to leave.

Qrow watched her as she walked toward the door. "You know, she's going to come find you one day. And I'm not going to hold her back. I think she deserves to know why she didn't get to grow up knowing her mom."

Raven stopped in her tracks… briefly, before turning back to her brother. She walked back to the counter clearly irritated, but calmly sat back down. She didn't get to speak before Qrow continued, "I gave her your message... She wasn't happy that I knew about you and never told her. She had a rough few days there towards the end at Beacon… but she's going to come back stronger than ever. It'll just take time."

"Oz believed in these kids, and he was right to. They're our future. Yeah, they have some growing up to do. That's gonna happen fast... I think the end of the world has that effect on people. For now... I'm going to finish my story, and you're going to listen. Even if you don't think you believe in the good in people, I think you do, and that's why you need to hear this."

It felt like I was paralyzed. Weiss turned back to me. She looked like she wanted me to tell her that none of this was real. I kept trying to think of ways to make all of it into a comprehensible story for someone who had no idea about any kind of maidens or secret societies or soul-transfer machines. The words just weren't there. I knew that Amber's assailant was the same girl from the first attack. The glass arrow was all the evidence I needed to figure that out. I was deep in thought, trying to piece together a convincing cover-up for all of this, when Weiss just collapsed to her knees, a completely defeated look in her eyes. "It wasn't supposed to be like this… I shouldn't be down here. I'm supposed to be helping my friends…"

I did my best to be the 'comforting father-figure', until I realized that she didn't have one of those. So I went with 'reassuring Uncle Qrow'. I took a knee next to her and gave her my best pep talk. "Listen, Weiss, your friends are safe. On my way here I saw the last of the students piling into the transport ship at the docks. There's a safe zone in Vale. Glynda's there, Ironwood's there. It's gonna be fine." She looked up at me like I was crazy. Should've gone with 'comforting father figure'.

"You… don't know what's going on here… do you…?" she asked with a whimper. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Here I was trying to formulate the world's most elaborate lie about Ozpin and the Fall Maiden, and Weiss tells me that I'm out of the loop.

So I played along as best I could, "Judging by the tone of your voice, I feel like I might have missed something, yeah."

She explained about her team's reunion at the docks. Yang lost everything from the elbow down, trying to save Blake. Blake was stabbed through the abdomen by some kind of crazy ex-boyfriend. Ruby was fine, physically, but she was an emotional wreck. I don't know how she can suppress it like that. It makes me wonder what else she's keeping bottled up… Weiss went on to explain the stand that she and members of several other teams made against those Paladins, and the toll it took on everyone.

Two of the kids from JNPR were too beaten to stand up, but they insisted that their other two teammates were still out there. Of course, Ruby doesn't know how to not be the hero, so she went out to search for them. Weiss wouldn't let her go alone. Their search took them to the tower where that dragon was circling. One of the missing members, Jaune, eventually contacted Weiss. He was hysterical, and with a blatant disregard for his own well being, insisted that Weiss save Pyrrha. Ms. Nikos, Ozpin's candidate for the guardian project, was up on top of the tower. Fighting… the Fall Maiden. The two girls agreed to try to push through the Grimm and save her.

I started to piece things together. I was familiar with Jaune after watching plenty of team Juniper's fights as part of Ozpin's selection process for his guardian. He's not much in a fight. But somehow, he knew about the girl with the maiden's powers. He must have been in the vault at some point to understand the magnitude of what was happening. Pyrrha Nikos was the best fighter to attend the academy… maybe ever. But without help, it's a pretty safe bet she never had a chance.

The thing that didn't make sense to me was the dragon. As far as I knew, It was still on top of the tower, so what did that mean? Weiss told me that she had seen it fly straight into the top of the tower. She and Ruby had to dodge huge chunks of steel and concrete, while fighting off seemingly endless hordes of Grimm. They decided that in order to get to Pyrrha in time, they needed a new plan. So after a few minutes of this exercise in futility, Weiss used her glyphs to make a path up the side of the tower for Ruby, who used her semblance to ascend it as quickly as possible. That was the last time Weiss had seen Ruby.

She was chased into the lobby of the tower by the overwhelming concentration of Grimm. Before she was able to slam the door behind her, Weiss saw the same flash of light that I saw earlier. She told me it had a more serious and lasting effect on the Grimm than it did on my transport ship crew. The monsters just kind of stopped. To her, they seemed dazed or disoriented.

She explained how the power was off in the lobby of the tower even when she entered. That meant that the only way up to the roof was by going back outside, which she wasn't about to do. I don't blame her, considering the wall of Grimm outside the doors. Weiss wanted to try to climb the elevator shaft to help Ruby and Pyrrha, but it turns out she's a better huntress than I am. Huntsman. Uhh, whatever. She saw the griffons above her, and assumed that they were drawn to whatever negative energy was being given off at the top of the tower. Smart girl.

That got me to thinking, which got me to worrying. What was happening up there that caused creatures of Grimm to be drawn so close in such heavy concentrations? I was scared, sis. Like, actually scared. Not of whatever was up there, but I knew where Ruby had been going the last time Weiss saw her. I think she could tell that I was alarmed at the thought… and I think she felt the same way.

She started to explain that she came down to the vault because it was the only other way for her to go, and how when she got down here, all she found was Ozpin's cane, and a dead girl. I was pretty much caught up on that part, so I interjected, "Weiss, I need my weapon."

"What are you going to do?" she asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

I told her anyway, "I need to know what happened at the top of that tower. I need to know where Ruby is, and what happened to cause that flash." I have more respect for that girl than I do for most of my colleagues. Despite everything she'd been through that night, she didn't waste a second getting back to her feet, and loading a fire dust cartridge into her rapier. At her age, I was more concerned with picking up… never mind. She's got the heart of a warrior. While the ice melted, I was left with the realization that I was still holding Ozpin's cane. I mean, I knew it was his weapon, but I had no idea how to use it. I figured I'd improvise.

The griffons started to crawl through as soon as the ice was melted enough for them to fit. It's like I said, young Grimm are really dumb. The space they were trying to squeeze through was barely big enough for one. We basically double-teamed them, one at a time until they stopped coming. Weiss did a lot of the work, but I did the best I could with my 'get off my lawn' impression, defeating the forces of evil with a cane. Turns out, that thing is really solid. When we were sure they were done coming in, I shattered what was left of the ice… switching to my best 'six iron' impression. If Oz was watching from somewhere, he probably wasn't amused.

I started to try to scale the wall up to where I could faintly make out the outline of my sword. That was about the same time I heard Weiss start to laugh behind me. That's it, we're going back to Wice. And she's being promoted to Ice Queen, because she's really, really good at brushing off emotional adversity. "Do you do everything the hard way?" she asked. "You do realize that I can use my glyphs to make this a lot easier on the both of us, right?"

She wasn't wrong. It was much easier to gain the proper leverage when I could effectively stand on a vertical wall. Full disclosure, I did manage to hit my elbow against the opposite wall when my weapon finally came loose, couldn't feel my pinky finger for an hour.

"You poor baby," Raven interjected.

I stopped briefly at the lobby level, and found the remains of the three soldiers I had come in with. This time, I looked up, and noticed the large atrium above me. The griffon was probably hiding up there all along. We walked right past it. I made mistakes and it cost good men their lives. I guess you're never too old to learn. Not that I'm old, because I'm not. No one's saying that.

Weapon in hand, I had Weiss create us a path to the top of the elevator shaft. It was dark, but more noticeably, it got… somehow more quiet, the closer we got. I could see light coming in from a hole in the bottom of the elevator car. It wasn't a big hole, but I took a chance, and leapt through it, ready for anything.

My heart was racing. I could hear it beating, and that was it. There was no other sound. It was like being underwater. The elevator doors were partially closed, and I couldn't see much through the opening. Weiss climbed through the hole behind me. Together, we pried the doors open… and felt the color drain from my face. I saw Ruby laying there, face down in a pile of rubble. Before I could even think, Weiss, who evidently hadn't stopped to take stock of the situation, ran out into the room, then froze in apparent fear. I took a more cautious approach after my incident in the lobby. I looked up, and saw what I can only describe as fear incarnate.

The dragon was still perched above us. But it didn't move. It didn't make a sound. It sat there like a statue. A trophy. A reminder that humanity was no match for the power of the darkness that conspired against it.

I don't know what fatherly instinct came over me after that. I assessed the threat posed by the dragon, and didn't care what the result was. I ran into the room past Weiss, straight for Ruby. I slid to my knees as I got close, and rolled her over into my arms. She seemed almost comatose at first. "It's alright. I gotcha kiddo. I gotcha," I assured her. She didn't respond at all, but I could tell from her breathing that she was stable. The blood was returning to my head, which meant that my brain must have also returned to its normal operation. Ruby was alive.

When I turned to Weiss, I noticed that she hadn't moved an inch from where she stood before. The only difference was that her hand was now cupped over her mouth, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. I tried to call out to her, but she just, wasn't there. Still holding Ruby in my arms, I tried to follow her gaze across the room. I stopped when I saw it. A bronze colored headpiece… a tiara, resting on the ground.

I didn't move, remaining fixated on the headpiece for some time, before Weiss walked back into focus. I didn't noticed her pick it up, but she now carried a bronze shield along with her rapier. She slowly knelt down across the room from me, and inspected the tiara, still afraid to touch it. The two of us collected our thoughts for a few moments before she turned back to me, tears still welling in her eyes. "I… don't know how to tell him," she cried aloud. "I told him I'd save her…"

There wasn't much I could say to her that would console her. So I tried the truth. "Weiss... Listen... There's a specific reason this all happened. Ozpin, your headmaster, believed that a day would come when all of us would have to choose a side. To fight, or succumb to the enemies of Remnant. Pyrrha knew, and was willing to accept these risks, to accept her destiny, for better or for worse. I think she may have forged the path that saves us all. Especially Jaune. It's going to be brutally difficult for him to accept this, but Pyrrha wanted him to live on. To carry on the memory of a better time. It's up to people like you, like me, like Jaune and Ruby and Yang to follow the path that Pyrrha laid. It won't be easy, and it won't be without danger. But it's the way I'm going to honor her… by fighting until there's no fight left in me… by never resting in the search to find answers to the questions that the world is afraid to ask. Pyrrha didn't die for nothing, Weiss. She died for what she believed in, for the people she loved and wanted to protect. Whether she knew it or not, she WAS destiny."

For a moment, there was a somber silence in the air. Weiss broke the eye contact that we had shared for the duration of my speech, and returned her contemplative gaze to the tiara in front of her. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she finally summoned the courage to pick it up. She inspected it for a moment before delicately attaching it to her belt. I finally stood up, still holding Ruby, and slowly walked over to Weiss. She grasped Ruby's hand, and looked back up to me. "Thank You, Qrow."

It was only after that I could start to piece together what really happened that night on the tower, from an old legend Oz told me. I saw the signs. The silver eyes, the selflessness, the unchecked anguish built up inside of her... Just like her mom. That's why we have to fight to protect these kids. They're going to save the world some day. It doesn't matter how bad things get, as long as they can give us hope, I know... and Oz knew... that they could turn the tide... bring us back from the brink of defeat. They can be our guardians.

They had been at the Foam Anchor for most of the night. Almost all of the patrons were cleared out. Qrow thought about how these conversations were so unique. Two opposites sharing every bit of wisdom and folly in complete confidentiality. At least, that was the arrangement. They both knew that the other would let something slip here or there, but neither would be compromised by it. Although they weren't regular meetings by any stretch, the tradition was maintained at the request of either party. For the most part, it was just to clear their minds of whatever was ailing them. A meeting for two siblings to open up to each other…

Two siblings, living impossibly different lives, but yet sharing in the experiences of the other. Testing one another, keeping themselves sharp. Becoming stronger and smarter along the way. A brother that believed each and every one of us lives and dies for a predetermined reason. A sister, determined to defy her own existence. Each knowing that the other would never falter in their resolve.

They parted ways like they always did, walking to the door together, then splitting in opposite directions with nothing more than a nod and a smile. Qrow always held out hope that one day his sister would come to accept her destiny, whatever that was. In the meanwhile, all he could do was focus on the things that mattered most to him.

As he walked past the final window before the end of the building, he peered back inside at the seats they'd shared moments before, and the last patron sitting in a booth in the corner, only her umbrella to keep her company. Qrow wondered, again, if there would ever be a time when they could stop meeting like this.