LVI - Frost Wilt

~~~(LVI)~~~

Ruby rubbed her thumb over the wooden disk in her hand. Last night had been interesting to say the least, she'd finally turned seventeen, and Qrow and Yang had taken the group to a local huntsman bar. The place apparently was a spot for the armed men and women to unwind without risk of dealing with civilians.

It was a cool place, the bartender knew what he was doing. Though seeing Oxon criticize the guy's "flair" had been strange, Qrow just landed at the argument the two had after. That made her and the others remember what they discovered right before their first battle with an Atlesian mech. His original job has been at a club working for an information broker.

Even though it was a celebration of their victory as well as her birthday, the guy refused to drink. Something about how it doesn't do him any favors. He'd been embarrassed by something, but she wasn't able to get it out of him. Weiss seemed amused by his refusal as well, something Ruby vowed to ask about later.

Qrow had ordered her something, and she thought it would be something good. The guy knew his liquor after all. But no, it had been awful, it burned her throat and made her hack and cough for a minute and a half. Yang and the other traitors laughed at her reaction. She swore she would have her vengeance eventually.

Suddenly, Oxon was behind the counter mixing a few items together, much to the annoyance of the bar employee. He then slid her a pink drink with a strawberry sitting on the rim of the glass. "A strawberry sunrise, ask your sister about why I know how to make it by heart." Said sister refused to answer her, Oxon hadn't and filled her in on the whole fight at the club debacle. Apparently he hadn't witnessed it but saw the aftermath. Her sister wasn't able to avoid the various levels of disappointment, except for Nora who cheered her "victory".

The drink had been tasty, and she very much appreciated the fact he put her favorite food in the rim. She wasn't sure if it or when he learned she loved the fruit, but she wasn't going to question it. The drink also had very little alcohol, letting her enjoy a few over the course of the night without ending up like her uncle.

To everyone but Weiss' surprise - which was something Ruby noticed - Blake teased the durable teen about skipping out on the fun. Oxon both paled and blushed at the challenge given to him, something that caused her sister and her partner to laugh. She'd been suspicious about just what the four were talking about, but decided not to intrude on the moment. Yang wasn't being aggressive towards him for once.

In the end he never had a sip, even when Nora chased him with a bottle of Gin. The guy seemed to be running from the liquor like his life depended on it. Maybe he was a lightweight like her uncle suggested. Besides a few other silly shenanigans, the night was mostly normal, her friends had gotten a few gifts for her. Nothing like would normally be given, they had a long journey with limited baggage room.

Yang got her a cool new ammo pouch, Blake gave her a book about a fantasy warrior who had special gifts, and Weiss gave her some specialty dust bullets. Team JNR pitched in to get her new attachment for her scroll that made gaming easier. She planned to use it to finally beat her uncle.

Speaking of the adult, he'd given her a box of brand new maintenance tools for Crescent Rose. The weapon definitely needed some care after the last few months. Oscar gave her a mixed box of fruit, something fitting from the former farmer. He'd been embarrassed by the simple gift, but she'd enjoyed the fresh and sweet fruit over the course of the night. Oxon even got her something. He'd waited until the others were distracted with whatever they were doing or drinking when he approached her.

Like so many other times before, he'd presented her with a wood carving. Instead of an animal, he'd created a rose out of a beautiful red and black material about the size of a drink coaster. The detail in the petals were beautiful, each similar but slightly different. Like they would be in nature. She had thanked him enthusiastically for such a gift, something he was known to do.

Coming back to the present, Ruby flipped the disk over to see the work done on the back. In a blue resin, the image of a wheel had been put into the flat back. She knew its significance due to what he'd said to Weiss the night of her seventeen birthday. Seeing the emblem also in her hands made her happy. She knew she made the right decision to drag him along with them, he was still a good person, even with the mistakes he made.

Placing it in her skirt pocket, she got back to the task at hand. Acquiring snacks for the trip. There were a lot of options to choose from. Though a few caught her eye.

"They'll definitely like these!"

~~~(LVI)~~~

Oxon stood with his back against the railing as he, Ilia, And Blake talked with each other. Ilia had been designated as Ghiras ambassador of the newly reformed White Fang and the Mistralian council. She had been shocked at the offer and had hesitantly accepted. Oxon thought she had a good head on her shoulders, mostly, so it would be a good test for the former radical.

"I still don't feel like I deserve the freedom you and your family granted me."

"I can understand the feeling." The two ex-criminals shared a nod. Much to the amusement of Blake. "It seems almost surreal, yeah?"

Ilia nodded sagely as Blake chuckled. "Well, you two will just have to get over it. Saving Haven had a huge impact on how Faunus are seen in Mistral. Oxon helped us with the fence sitting faunus once they saw a human standing with us. Now it's up to you all to take the progress and keep running with it. I have faith you can do it."

"Right. The White Fang may have been a failure, but with your father starting up a new movement, I've got more faith than ever before." The smaller girl ran up to Blake and gave her a big hug, her voice beginning to choke up with emotion. "Thank you, Blake, for everything. I wish you didn't have to go."

After a moment, the hug ended and the two looked at each other in a mix of pride and sadness. "I know, but my team needs me. We're going to track down the people responsible for the attack on Haven and the fall of Beacon."

"Always trying to save the world."

"You've known her longer than I, you tell me." The chameleon laughed as Blake pouted at the joke. Hey, he wasn't the one going to rallies when his age was in the singles digits.

"Hey, I know your parents already saw you off, but where's-?"

There was suddenly a voice from behind the group. "Sun? Oh, he's right here!"

Sun Wukong walked up from the other end of the train station bridge, his partner behind him. Blake walks past Oxon a bit to stand near him.

"What? You didn't think I was gonna miss your big send-off, did you?"

Neptune Vasilias suddenly popped his head around Sun's shoulder. "He definitely overslept and absolutely almost missed this." Oxon snorted at the scandalized expression on the monkey faunus. Sun growled lightly at Neptune before shushing him. Blake laughed at the show as Neptune shoved Sun forward.

"Hey, Blake. Now would you hurry up? Need I remind you we have our own trip to plan?" The blue boy noticed the final member of the "Fang Gang" as Sun put it. "Oh, I didn't know Ilia was gonna be here. I'll, uh, I'll give you two a moment. Hey, almost didn't see you there, 'cause, you know, the camouflage?

Blake helplessly reaches her hand out to stop Neptune but for Oxon lowering it. The man had been an annoying flirt throughout Beacon, time for him to get embarrassed by it. Sun just shook his head.

"Wrong tree…"

"He'll figure it out."

"Send me a photo of his face when he does?" Sun grinned as he silently accepted. Blake only let out an amused groan and eye roll.

She did turn to speak to the blonde after a second of watching Ilia trying hard not to run away in embarrassment. "So, you're really going to Vacuo?"

"That's right! Seeing you reunited with the rest of Team RWBY really made me realize something - I'm like the worst team leader ever. Me and the boys were cool with a little hiatus, but we gotta make up for lost time. Shade Academy's not dealing with any problems like Haven right now. Plus, that means I can show the guys around my old stomping grounds!" Right, the guy mentioned something about a cousin and some sort of martial arts gym.

"Still can't believe you actually enjoy the blistering heat… Pure madness."

"Shut it, ice freak. You're the last person I want to hear that from since you're obsessed with the cold." Oxon was completely rational, you could add however many layers as you wanted to be comfy, you can't do that with the heat without becoming a exhibitionist. Huh? Maybe Sun was one already? The outfit fit.

Ignoring their temperature based squabble, Blake turned her attention to the blonde. "I have to admit, I think I was kind of getting used to having you around."

Sun struck an impressive pose as he took in the praise. "I go where I'm needed!" Suddenly it was gone, and he gave Blake a reassuring look. "And... you don't need me anymore."

At this, Blake frowned in slight sadness. "Well, when you say it like that, it sounds sad."

Sun put a friendly hand on her shoulder, making Oxon feel like a real third wheel now. It was worse than when she and Ilia talked by far. "Look... despite the drama and the fighting and the numerous attempts on my life, I had a lot of fun! But you're with who you're supposed to be now."

This… was probably something he shouldn't be spying on. Using the fact they were preoccupied with each other, Oxon walked towards the main platform and sent a wave towards Ilia, who was still trying to explain her sexuality to Neptune. The dense guy hadn't caught on yet.

A fair bit away, he saw the rest of the team getting ready for the ride. Well, he didn't see Ruby it Qrow, but one was shopping and the other was sending a letter. He contemplated joining the others, but thought wouldn't be the best idea to intrude.

Instead, he leaned against the railing at the base of the stairs and waited for Blake. Though not soon after, he noticed just how alone he was when she wasn't around. Ever since he arrived in the Belladonna household, her or her mom had made a habit of including him in their daily activities, Sun too to a lesser extent. Now though? Now Sun was off to the desert kingdom while she had her team again and didn't really need him.

Staring up at the ceiling, he put on a conflicted smile as he thought about his role here. Team RWBY was back in form and seemed intent on spending as much time together as possible. JNPR - or was it JNR now? - had each other. Even Qrow seemed to be like a guardian for the boy.

A mirthless chuckle slipped out of his mouth. "I don't really have anything, do I? I guess I deserve that… Don't I?"

He stayed like that for a few minutes until Blake walked down the steps and told him it was about time to head out. With a sigh, he let her lead the way to the group.

~~~(LVI)~~~

Once on board, Oxon decided to get a bit of fresh air and walked out to the rearmost car. There, he sat down with his back against the outside wall and stared at the retreating shape of Mistral. He was still trying to process his life with all that's happened in the last few months.

Continuing his thoughts from the station, he felt like some character in a story his father would read to him. Not the hero, that seemed like Ruby due to her being the de facto leader of their group. He felt like one of the side characters that either helped the hero find victory, or die saving them. He really hoped it was the first instead of the second one.

He wasn't willing to die anymore, and while before the fall of Beacon he was also out for his own self preservation, now he was doing it for a better cause. From a shadowy plot to a glorious mission, Oxon had more confidence in himself. He had a skillset that was almost irreplaceable

Sure Jaune had his shield and healing/ amping semblance, but as Ruby put it last night, Oxon was the group tank. As he dished out damage, he could then take that much more himself at minimal risk. It also helped that his heavy armor let him take more hits with a lower aura cost. He knew he could use his shield to protect the others and he welcomed the chance they had given him.

He hoped he would see Sun again, the guy was a decent person through and through. Oxon didn't say, but a big reason he didn't try to follow the faunus was because he refused to go to Vacuo. Heat, sand, desert, heat, far distance, likely hostile academy, and heat were big issues. Oxon could only imagine the kingdom as some sort of dry hell hole.

His solitude was interrupted when the door squeakily opened. He jumped a bit at the sound, not at all liking it. Though what came through said door caused him to panic.

The girl standing awkwardly in the doorway made him get up. "Sorry for disappearing, I just needed a bit of space, I'm not trying anything bad or anything. Or do you want the space to yourself? I can leave, yeah, I'll go." He attempted to leave the platform but for her petite form to block his path.

"It's fine, I was hoping to catch you alone. There are some things I need to say." That could mean a vast many things, though he wasn't expecting a happy speech. He nodded at her and went to lean against the railing, letting the wind blow his hair backwards. He'd been trying to avoi- give the girl space since he'd seen her. And he thought she was going to do the same, though it seemed like she decided to confront him finally.

"Of course, it's probably been a long time coming." His form was slumped and defeated, whatever goodwill he'd built back then had to be gone and burnt.

"Why did you never tell us about Cinder and her plans? You said you didn't know the end goal, but you still helped her. We knew about a turncoat ever since the night of the mech fight." She paused in thought for a moment before looking at him from head to toe. "You were with Torchwick. You were the one that prevented him from being blasted by Yang."

"For the first part, it was fear, plain and simple. She held the threat of death over me the whole time. I thought she was planning on just stealing something, I ignored the worst signs in an attempt to hide from reality." It wasn't a hard dot to connect, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah, the information given by the twins was correct, if I thought I had an out, I would have taken it. And for the second part, yes, I was in the bullhead and saw the whole fight. Though I was content to watch from above until Neo shoved me out of it. Blocking that shot from Xiao Long was more self preservation than loyalty."

""If I thought I had an out"?" She seemed to vibrate slightly as she repeated his words, her head was tilted down slightly and Oxon couldn't see her face from his angle. He didn't know what he did wrong, but he crouched down slightly and reached a hand out to her.

"Ummm, did I say something stupi-" Her head shot up suddenly, angry and tears forming in her eyes. He recoiled back slightly at the sudden shift. She stalked up to him and he backed up until he was once again against the railing. His hands were up in surrender. "Weiss?"

"Did you not even for one moment think we would have been there for you?! After the night against Torchwick, you had us promise to keep you and the others in the loop, maybe that was to keep us off your trail, but I refuse to believe that's all it was. You very clearly cared for m- us!" There was nowhere for him to get a word in, the petite girl was releasing months of pent up frustrations. He wasn't foolish enough to interrupt. "You helped Yang convince Blake to take better care of herself! You took the time to help Jaune improve in combat! You took the time to give people personalized gifts! You saved a multitude of school children! Not to mention almost dying to protect me as well!"

"I-"

"So what could have possibly made you think you could not come to us? I would have helped you. Ruby, Yang, Blake, and every one of our other friends would have done whatever we needed to to stop her."

He has thought of that once, but he knew it would only end in fire. "Cinder was too strong, I didn't want anyone to get hurt-"

"We got hurt anyways! Or have you forgotten those that fell that night and the days after from their wounds!?" He didn't, it had only been a day or two of questions before he was sent away. The ones he'd focused on were the ones he had named for. He felt like a massive piece of shit for not even thinking about the countless others that had paid the price for his actions.

There was a moment where the girl collected herself. A few tears had traveled down her face while she had screamed, he wanted to reach out and dry them, but knew it was impossible. "I know you hate what happened just as much as us. I know that you were in a situation that you thought seemed hopeless. But still, you should have tried." Oxon looked away in shame and rubbed the back of his head. She was on the money there.

"You're right… I was a coward and failed to even try and find a way out. For that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you as well." Their eyes locked as he let his words spill out. He'd rehearsed this moment countless times in his head, but now all he could do was say what was in his heart. "I told you I was afraid to get close, but I failed. As I came to know everyone, I began to imagine a life where there was no lie. That's the worst mistake I made, enjoying myself."

"And what about us?" Her voice was so small that he hardly heard it over the howling wind. But he did and had to tell her the truth.

"I loved every minute of the time we spent together. I lied about so much, but I never lied to you about how I felt. You're such a wonderful person, the complete opposite of somebody like me. I had never been happier than when I was with you." Even back home he was mostly alone. Sure, he had a few friends and got along with his family most of the time, but he was surrounded by trees more than he was humans most of the warm months. His main companion was Babe and maybe a few other woodcutter's.

"Is that true?" He let the thoughts of his past disappear into his mind as he looked at her eyes. There was a sort of desperate searching look in them. Like she wanted to believe his words but still prepared herself for more hurt. It was a look he hated. Especially since it was his fault.

"Yes. You have been the best thing that has happened to me in countless years. I'd been in a dark place for a long while and had been pretending to keep it all together, but you helped me find myself again." She seemed to slump a bit at his words, whether it was relief or something worse, he didn't know. But she wasn't crying anymore, that was something he was happy about.

Small victories…

The silence the two had was very different from the kind he normally enjoyed. This wasn't comfortable by any means, it was a very awkward one. The two had shared all the emotions they'd kept hidden for far too long. Oxon would easily admit that it felt like a weight was lifted off of him.

"There's something I need to tell you. Something about your brother. When you decided to join us instead of searching for him, there was crucial information I had neglected to tell you."

"What do you mean? Weren't you unconscious during his fight?" He'd been told that his brother attacked Cinder after Weiss was wounded, and that he'd been winning until Emerald interfered. Good ol Taxus, a great warrior to be proud to be related to.

"Yes, but that's not when I first met him. He visited me while I was captured by Raven. He saw the gift you gave me and put things together from that. He told me a lot of things, a lot of it was him trying to find out where you were. He seemed disappointed when I said you lost your map and compass."

Oxon could only groan in embarrassment at that. His early days in the wilderness had not been great, especially since he prided himself on his self sustainability and outdoorsy lifestyle. He was content with the thought his family never saw that.

"He told me that he and the other survivors, very few sadly, found a new home in Mistral." They what!? "He told me the name, but I apologize I can't remember it. It's somewhere west in the swampland I believe."

"You… You know where I can find him!?" This… This was something he hoped to discover, that she knew where he was…

The pale girl flinched slightly at his sudden shift in tone.

"Y-yes, I tried to think of a time to say something, but by the time I found the will to, we'd already started to leave for Atlas… Please forgive me for not telling you earl-" Oxon hadn't paid attention to most of what she said as he had been running a great amount of thoughts and plans in his head at a furious pace. He suddenly put a hand on each shoulder and gave her a massive grin.

"That's wonderful news!" Was it possible? Could he really find the people he'd loved and missed? She seemed shocked by his excitement and the sudden contact. Probably because she didn't want him to touch her, he let her go quickly and coughed into his hand awkwardly. "Sorry, it's just that you've given me wonderful news. Once this is done, I can find them. Western Mistral huh? Hopefully it won't take forever now that there's a general area."

Wonderful, I don't know how she does it, but Weiss somehow manages to exceed all rational thought. She is truly a blessing! Maybe a reunion isn't a pipe dream anymore!

There was a sudden 'whooshing' of air and loud thuds on the train, shaking the platform they stood on. Oxon caught Weiss to prevent the possibility of her falling over the edge. Ah, I shouldn't be so touchy! He released her as soon as she was stable.

From their spot, the pair watched as a group of Grimm flew past them and landed on the roof. Weiss brought out her weapon and glanced at him, he nodded back wordlessly and strapped his helmet into place. Being in the spot they were they had a maintenance ladder near them. Good fortune.

He and Weiss climbed up onto the moving train and he immediately deployed his boot spikes. He made to steady Weiss, except she seemed more than capable of standing upright, looking down he saw a faint glow on the soles of her shoes.

Glyphs, clever.

He bent down low and reached into his boot, pulling out the five inch knife hidden there. Weiss seemed surprised at the sudden weapon, probably at how he once again deceived them. He would apologize later, but right now they had more important things to worry about. In the distance he saw the main group on the roof fighting a large swarm of Grimm. Weiss sped off with her semblance and Oxon made to follow, except for a large beast slamming down between them.

"Oxon!"

"Go! You help out the others, I can deal with kitty here!" The creature was a manticore if he remembered correctly. Strong, agile, and a very real danger. Twirling the blade in his hand, Oxon began putting a plan together for the creature. "If you want to help me, maybe get me my ax!"

From his impeded view, he saw the girl was not happy with his plan, but she must have realized he needed much more than a knife for this. "You better not die!" With a flurry of glyphs, the girl dashed off to her team. Nora had bulls breath while Ren had Fratris. Yang and Blake had New Leaf and Patris respectively. Bulls Breath would be ideal, but he'd take the hatchet if Nora was unavailable.

Deciding the staredown was getting too long, the large beast charged him. Meeting it head on was a risk, but dodging here was even moreso. One wrong move and he was off the train and down the cliff. Without any other viable option, he decided to meet the charge head on.

He grabbed one horn with his right hand and the lower jaw with the left. With a pull and a twist, he snapped both the neck and jaw of the creature. The move cost a little bit of aura, but he'd gotten a good bit stronger since Beacon. He didn't wait for it to fully dissolve before pushing onwards. More beasts stood in his way, the most notable was a creature at least twice the size of the manticores. Qrow seemed busy dealing with it.

The sound of displaced air clued him in to an approaching enemy. He dashed backwards, letting the creature crash into the car a few feet in front of him. Without wasting any time, Oxon leapt onto its back and bagan violently stabbing the creature in its neck and eyes. It thrashed wildly, but he grew up riding an overly large bull as well as long roll competitions. This was easy. After the twenty seventh stab in the back of its head, it finally collapsed.

Out of its smoke, a form burst through and Oxon readied himself for the foe. He checked his swing once he saw who exactly it was.

"Blake!?" His raven haired step-sister came through the dissipating Grimm with familiar gear in each hand. The girl was put in charge of holding onto one of his revolvers, so it made sense for her to have it, though the sight of New Leaf was a welcome surprise. Since it wasn't needed at the moment, he stowed his knife back into his boot.

"Weiss told us you'd been cut off. I came as soon as I could." Not without snagging his shotgun ax from her partner it seemed. He took the weapons and after loading fresh rounds, stowed Patris on his right hip. He was mildly frustrated to not have his main weapon, but the girl probably wasn't able to get to her quickly. "You had a knife?"

"You never frisked me." She raised an eyebrow at that but didn't seem upset.

"It hardly matters. Right now our focus is on the Grimm, the Sphinx is between us and the others, it's also in control of the Manticores." That's just peachy. The girl turned back to her team, he followed her gaze to the blonde brawler.

Like Weiss before her, Oxon knew she had to support her partner. With a light nudge and a gesture with his head, he let her know he knew she was worried about Yang. "Go on now, I know you want to make up for leaving. I'll hold the rear." A manticore tried to interrupt the moment but a bullet to the eye and a hatchet to the throat killed it in moments. The spontaneous teamwork would be all for now as the girl gave him one last time before dashing off.

Once she was gone, he let himself sigh and slump a bit. A partner, that would be a nice thing to have. I wish I'd have asked Ilia to join us, I'm sure we'd have figured something out. His thoughts would have to wait as a few Grimm began circling him in the sky. Again, bulls breath would be welcome here.

An emptying of Patris' cylinder clipped a wing off a smaller manticore, causing it to crash into the trees, but he didn't have the time to reload it before the other pounced at him. He tanked a heavy blow from the creature with Virginiana, and almost got thrown from the train as the shield's large surface area caught the high wind, after quickly shifting it into its stowed form, he regained his balance. Oxon slashed at the creature but its thick skull plate only chipped slightly. He blocked a heavy headbutt and was shoved a few feet back. Oxon took aim with New Leaf when the beast opened up its wings and flew off the train while keeping a healthy distance. A few others joined it, the group just hovering and watching. His confusion was fixed when a voice called out over the area.

"Tunnel!" Oxon whipped his head to the front in time to confirm. Down the way he saw the approaching mountain side get rapidly closer. Cursing to himself he looked to see everyone else diving for cover. He unloaded one last pair of slugs at the nearest retreating Grimm before taking a running slide at the nearest gap.

Falling down he almost fell right onto the tracks, and would have been crushed by the train if not for New Leaf digging into the steel of the car. Horrifyingly, he actually felt his foot bounce on a cross tie. Acting quickly, he threw his legs up and onto the platform railing, once slightly more secure, he scrambled the rest of the way up on the platform with heavy breaths. That had been far too close for him.

Not a few seconds later, the sun disappeared as they entered the tunnel. No Grimm could get them now, unless they chased them into the tunnel. He had a thought to check on the area, but remembered it was primarily storage with no humans around. With the area secure as he could make it, he walked through the train cars to try and see if the others made it.

~~~(LVI)~~~

Back together inside the train, the group stood around as the remaining huntsman cradled his shattered arm. He didn't see the other one in the other cars and could only guess at what happened, Mistral really was bleeding huntsmen…

Qrow seemed pissed at the younger colleague. "Get off me!" The young adult seemed equally as pissed.

"Look, if you bozos had been doing your job instead of shaking down passengers, maybe we wouldn't be in this-"

Ruby stepped up to her uncle, gently pushing him aside. Seeing as "bad cop" didn't work, it seemed like Ruby unconsciously made to try the "good cop" angle. If not, they'd probably just detain the guy and silver the issue themselves. She said something in a to the man as Jaune also approached.

"Trust us, we know what we're doing." Jaune activated his semblance to heal the dipshit's arm. Dudley - or was he Dee? - looked at the students before sighing in defeat.

"Fine."

Ruby nodded as the guy moved to whatever control panel commanded the turrets.

Nora stepped forward, excitedly gesturing to her totally-not-a-boyfriend. "Ren, could you use your Semblance to mask everyone on this train? With the guns off and emotions hidden, they might lose track of us!"

The quiet teen seemed contemplative. "Hm, I never attempted to affect this many people."

"Do you have a limit? I know semblances have limits, Emerald could only manage two people max before getting migraines." The Mistralian looked at him for a moment before answering.

"If I concentrate heavily, then I can pacify myself and four others maximum. It also drains me much faster." Yeah, there's a lot more than four people on the train. They would likely be pretty panicked due to the attack a few minutes ago. Though it seemed like Ruby had an idea.

"Well, you've never had Jaune's help before." Said blonde stepped forward with a grin at Ruby's words.

"He could amplify your Aura!" He heard about the newly unlocked semblance, and exactly how it unlocked. He'd have treated Arc like a king if the blonde wasn't so hostile to his presence. It was also another reason to wish Cinder was still kicking, prison was too good for the bitch, he wanted her dead now more than ever.

Qrow stared at the two, nodding his head. "Yeah, that's an alright plan."

"Don't look so worried, Ren. You can totally do this!" Per usual, the energetic girl was unable to do anything but hype the group up.

Oscar's voice suddenly became strange and Oxon wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light or if his eyes glowed briefly. "I'm afraid there's one complication... The Grimm are also attracted to this." The group turned their attention to the glowy lamp Yang retrieved from Haven's cellar.

"What's that?"

Qrow brushed off the incompetent huntsman and turned his attention back to the kid. "None of your business. Oz, are you serious?"

Oz? Wait, that's not important right now!

"You're telling me some antique lamp attracts Grimm!?"

"Why wouldn't you tell us that?!"

"I-"

"It doesn't matter right now." Yang crossed her arms and her sister's words while Oxon gave the kid and lamp a suspicious look. "Every second we're on board this train, we're putting everyone else in danger. Get the passengers to the front cars, you'll still mask the emotions and kill the turrets... we just can't come with you. If we cut the back cars with us and the Relic on them, we can deal with the Grimm. You just make sure the rest of the train makes it safely to Argus."

Upon hearing this, Jaune finishes up healing Dudley's arm and walks over to Ruby with a conflicted expression. The two had a chat but Oxon wasn't paying attention, his mind was racing at the implications of the issue with the lamp thing.

They wanted to basically sacrifice themselves for the train? He could see them doing that. Easily. The plan made a lot of sense since the relic, as it was called, was a major problem. Logically, he knew it was the right play. Emotionally, he didn't like the idea of the six of them taking the attention and finishing the trip on foot.

"Are you sure we should split up? Can't Ren's semblance work on the relic?" There had to be a way to avoid this course of action. His main concern was that the strange object was capable of attracting Grimm! That seemed almost impossible since they were known to follow negative emotions. "I mean, I don't know how a damn lamp has negative emotions strong enough to draw this big a swarm, but won't that work?"

Out of all of them, Oscar was the one who spoke up. He seemed more than knowledgeable about it for a former farmer. Suspiciously so, but it must have been a secret that he wasn't privy to.

"Unfortunately no, Lie Ren may have a very powerful gift, but the lamp would not be affected." The kid looked suddenly older, like he'd stress aged decades. "If it could, that would have been a grand plan. The current course of action is the one that will save the most lives, Team RWBY along with Qrow and I shall stay behind while you and team JNPR continue with the civilians."

"Are you sure? Only Ren and Jaune are really needed here. Can't the rest of us join you? There is strength in numbers and Jaune and I are the only ones that have defensive specialization. I think it's a bad idea to-" He was interrupted by Weiss clearing her throat. Oxon turned his head to lock eyes with the now ex-heiress.

"We'll be fine." Weiss seemed to have recovered slightly from their conversation, perhaps the fight on top of the train helped. The girl had a confident look in her eyes and a gentle smile on her lips. He knew she was tough. He knew the others were too. "I think you can do the most good here with the civilians."

"But still…" He'd been given back New Leaf and Patris, so he could still fight with them. Looking between the groups, he sighed and leaned against the wall, letting them finalize their plans.

Once finished, Ruby and Jaune embraced briefly, promising to see each other again. Oxon surprised Blake by pulling her into a tight hug, she was the reason he'd been able to start his journey of redemption, and he worried for her and the plan. Once done, she told him she'd be careful and would look out for the others. He just nodded silently.

After saying their goodbyes, Ren and the others went to the next car to help corral and calm the other passengers. Most of the "staying behind" team moved to the rear carriages, except for Weiss who was still standing by the wall. She seemed awkward about what she wanted to say, if she even did. Oxon decided to beat her to it.

"I don't like this plan, not one bit."

"I told you, we'll be fi-"

He moved to stand in front of her, and in his frustrated state, slammed his fist against the wall. "It's reckless! I could be useful! Even if you take back my weapons, Virginiana is more than enough to cover two people or tank a heavy hit. Not using me and my skills feels like a bad play. I don't want to see you get hu- you all get hurt. I almost lost-" He took a deep breath and shook his head to try and dispel that line of thought.

"None of us are invincible, both of us know that." There was a dull, phantom ache in his right shoulder. The memory of that day, like his scar, never faded.

Stern dark green stared down at the wide pale blue orbs for a moment. Their conversation on the back of the train has been awkward and heated, but that didn't stop him from being worried. The possibility of her getting hurt or worse out there made his blood run cold. He'd almost lost her at Haven and not even known it, it couldn't happen again.

"O-Oxon…"

"Please… Be safe… I know just how strong you are, better than me for sure, but just watch yourself, ok?"

There was silence for a moment while the two held eye contact. If Oxon were paying more attention, he would have realized just how close he was to the girl. He was practically blocking any way to leave with his body while his hand was resting on the wall near her head.

Eventually she found her voice, confidence taking over her face. "I promise. I promise you I'll make it to Argus in a few days. I don't exactly intend to camp out in the woods with Yang and her uncle after all, I can only imagine the snoring."

The image gave him a chuckle which helped dispel a bit of the tension between them. Oxon moved away from the wall, giving her the option to leave. "I can only pray for your sanity if that happens. I sleep like a log no matter what, I had to in order to survive the stone shattering noises my father made." There was more he wanted to say, more things to get his overwhelming worry across, but he knew it would be useless. The girl was a stubborn one… He didn't hate that though.

"I know you don't want us to risk ourselves like this, but it's really the only way. The lamp's downside is a rather hearty one." She began walking to the door but paused for a moment. Oxon was about to ask why the problem was when she turned around, walked back towards him, and grabbed a hold of the upper edge of his leather chest piece.

"Wei-"

He didn't get much further as she pulled him down by his armor. He didn't even have the mind to resist her and had even more strength leave him when he felt a damp sensation on his cheek. The downward pull suddenly reversed and his torso was pushed back and let him see the blushing form of Weiss shaking slightly before him.

"That's for coming back."

With those last words, the girl spun on her heel, head held high as she made to join her team. Oxon just stood there, a hand on his cheek as he stared at the door she left through. A whirlwind of emotions wreaked havoc on his brain, causing him to take a while to reboot.

That… huh… sure..?

Only a minute after she left, Oxon shook his head and decided to see the group off. A larger part of his mind knew that he just wanted to watch the pale girl as long as he could. If anything went wrong, he'd abandon the plan and the civilians here. It's not like he was a vital member of the plan anyways. He doubted Jaune would miss him dearly.

Pushing to the back of the train, Oxon bumped into a tall person on the way. There was a flash of red hair among a pure black outfit, but he didn't have the time to care. A quick apology was the only interaction that occurred as he walked past.

Stepping into the open air, he saw Blake as she cut the line, she looked up in surprise at his presence. Thoughts and calculations went through his mind as he contemplated the ideas in his head. Eventually the momentum of the rear train cars began to slow, the difference in propulsion begging to create a fair distance between the two halves.

With a furious and frustrated growl, Oxon made his choice.

~~~(LVI)~~~

Was reading over a few of the older chapters to try and make sure continuity is a thing. I gotta say, Glucose was a very fun chapter to write. Lots of great interactions there. That was a very easy chapter to write, the jokes and dialogue flowed easily.

Drop a review if you feel inclined, it's always fun hearing back from folks, even if I need to use Google translate to understand it. (My Spanish is baaad)

This chapter definitely went longer than I intended, but it couldn't be helped. I doubt y'all will complain. Right? Lol