LXIII - Water Bar
~~~(LXIII)~~~
"So, let me get this straight…" Oxon was massaging his left temple in a way to ward off a headache. He didn't dare aggravate his right side and open the fragile scab there. "Adam messing up our shutdown of the radar allowed the Atlesians to see Weiss stealing the ship, which pissed off the base commander, causing her to attack you all with a giant mech."
"Yup…"
"And now, seemingly just to spite us, a skyscraper sized Grimm is slowly wading towards the city, which is apparently a common enough occurrence to warrant the giant piloted robot. And said mech is now failing to even move due to the damage you all did to it, including disabling its main weapon system."
From their vantage point, they could see the struggling mech in the distance. Its size was absurd in a way he thought was exclusive to shows and movies. Atlas sure was something else it seemed. Turning his eyes, he saw the dark shape travel under the surface like a big fish.
"The Grimm has a high chance of destroying Argus… and we just ruined the only thing capable of stopping it…" The words from Weiss made him growl and slam a fist into the metal side of the craft. Things had been going so well! They'd saved Haven, Revived the superior White Fang, Cinder and Adam were dead, and they managed to successfully steal an airship. Yet now they had to deal with gods damn Grimmzilla.
Oscar spoke up as he walked back from the cockpit. "We may have also used up our limited cache of rockets while fighting Cordovin… So our craft is only good for watching…" That was an issue, though not one high on the list. Oxon shook his head in frustration as he moved further from the front.
The group was in the air with the bay door open, letting them look on in horror as the creature paid little attention to the Atlesian forces as it swam beneath the waves. If only they'd not run into Adam…
"I'm so sorry…" Oxon and the others knew what she meant, but they weren't about to let her punish herself again. Especially for something so far out of her control.
"Don't be. This isn't on you." The faunus girl looked up at her partner with sad eyes.
"But-"
"No buts, Blake, nobody thinks you messed up." Oxon came to back up Yang and prevent the girl from blaming herself. "You didn't call the man here, it was unfortunate but not something we could plan for."
"Yang and Ox are right, Blake. You're safe, that's all that matters."
Blake smiled at her leader and the short girl embraced Blake in a hug. Ruby looked at Yang and the two shared a smile. It seemed like they had worked hard to help the cat-eared girl.
"I suppose I have to be the bad guy and say it, getting the lamp to Atlas is still our top priority, and right now we have the perfect opportunity to head straight for it." Oxon could only stare in disbelief at her plan. She actually seemed willing to let the city fall! "We may not get another chance like this."
"No way!"
"We can't leave, not like this."
"It's like you said, a Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end."
"No, I refuse to abandon the people here, especially if we had a hand in dooming them." He'd done that once, and he refused to do so again.
Maria looked from him and the others and to Ruby, who just shrugged and smiled. Maria smiled back and continued to fly. Whatever silent agreement was made, Oxon knew he could trust Ruby. She wouldn't smile at abandoning anybody.
The girl turned to look at the trio of JNPR. "We need to head for the Leviathan. Jaune, can you and Ren be ready to mask our ship?"
The two looked at each other with a smile and nod. "I think we can manage."
"Got a few ideas?"
"I've got one." The confident look on her face encouraged the rest of them.
Qrow snapped his fingers to get everyone to look outside. "Eyes up, everybody. It's back."
Glancing down, Oxon watched as the Leviathan swam for a bit before resurfacing above the water. Once back in the air, the titanic beast let loose a terrifying roar. If the city wasn't panicking before, they sure must have now.
"Argus Base, this is Manta 3-4! Leviathan has hit the shallows and resurfaced! We need those shields up now, over!"
From the water, the ship saw tale spires erected around the coastline of the city. As the Leviathan approached Argus, a dust powered hard-light barrier was erected, halting its progress. Oxon let out a sigh of relief. The city has secondary defenses, large ones at that.
"Target stopped! Engaging, over!"
A swarm of Manta aircraft begin firing shots at the Leviathan. The creature looks mildly annoyed by their small and medium arms fire. The rocket's had to have hurt it, but not enough to get it to turn its focus. Out of nowhere, the Leviathan opened its large maw and unleashed an energy beam attack at the shield of light. The barrier held, at least until it shifts the beam over to one of the poles powering the protective barrier, destroying it. The Leviathan roared in a sort of victory.
"That… that's bad…" His words were ignored as the others stared at the beast that was now unimpeded. Oscar was just as shocked.
"It tore straight through...!"
The Atlas air forces began to swarm the creature for a brief moment before their com center gave new orders. "All squadrons, fall back to evacuation procedures. Disengage Leviathan! I repeat, disengage! Over!" Slowly, the airborne units began to cease the engagement.
"No, wait!" Ruby yelled in panic as she ran up to the radio.
"Ruby!?"
Ignoring her uncle, the girl gripped the radio and spoke to the Atlesians. "We can stop it!"
"The heck we can!?"
"Who is this? Identify yourself!"
Ruby spoke to the man on the other end. "I'm a Huntress. My team and I are heading to the Leviathan and can weaken it for you to attack!" The group balked at her confident statement.
"We can?"
Ruby, thankful at Jaune's belief in her, smiled. "I can."
Maria seemed surprised for a moment before giving the girl a flabbergasted look. "Ruby, when I said "trial by fire"-"
Ruby wasn't about to back down. "I did it at Beacon and at the farm." Wait, was she talking about that weird light she used in the cellar? That… That might work here. Sure this guy was much bigger, but it was the same basic principle. Right?
Weiss approached the girl to stand at her side. "You really think you can do it now?"
Ruby just stared at the creature, determination in her eyes. "I don't have a choice."
"Manta 5-1, your ship is currently flagged as hostile. You will receive no support, over." She picked up the radio with a frown.
"Fine, we'll do it alone if we have to!" Turning back to the others, she began to explain. "We can hit it while it's stopped at the next barrier. Ren, you're up!
Ren and Jaune proceed to combine their semblances, making the airship turn gray as it weaved between the air battles between Grimm and Atlas forces. Oxon had to admit, the power was a convenience to have. As they got closer, the Leviathan made its way to the next barrier and the group looked on in a surprisingly calm manner as it charged its energy beam again.
"We're too late! Pull up!" Maria listened to the older man and pulled back on the stick. In just the nick of time, the Manta aircraft pulled up and out of the way as the Leviathan fired its destructive breath, destroying the next barrier and striking one of the buildings in Argus.
As if by fate, Jaune and Ren collapsed due to their auras being drained the next moment.
"Damn it!"
"That's all I've got!"
"It's on the move again! We need to stop it!"
"What do we do?"
Good question, Yang.
Ruby, after a moment of thought, turned to Weiss. "I've got an idea! Weiss, how many avian Grimm can you summon?"
The girl paused for a moment before thinking about her summons. After a small amount of time, she spoke up. "I have countless juvenile Nevermore and a few adults, a few Manticores, Gryphons, the Queen Lancer as well as smaller ones, and the Sphinx."
"Okay, we can use the Queen Lancer, it should be small enough to fly near the Leviathan unnoticed. If I use it as a platform, you should be able to let me get close enough to the Grimm while the Manta distracts it. From there, I'll use my eyes to petrify it, we can leave after it's dealt with." Oscar looked a bit nervous at this plan, along with everybody else.
"Are you sure about this?"
"By "distract"… you mean..?"
To answer Weiss' question, she gestured to Yang, Nora, and Oxon. "The people with long range munitions will fire at it while you get me behind it. Once its focus is on you, keep it occupied and facing away from me." She moved from the front of the craft to its open side entrance. "The moment I can, I'll destroy the Grimm with my eyes, saving the city."
"That's one heck of a plan, Red, but it's all we got I guess…" Oxon picked his rifle off the ring he'd left it hanging and made sure he had a full tube. One in the chamber and a full feed, he was gold. "Be safe, don't die."
She gave him a grin and the rest got prepared. Weiss focused on her summoning glyph for her spectral ally while Ren, Jaune, Oscar, Blake, and Qrow stood on standby since their weapons were for close to medium range. Maria was giving the reaper one last bit of advice before they began.
From chopping wood to fighting the mother of all Grimm. What a shift… What's next? Weiss takes over Atlas? I mean, I'd help her too…
The bay door closed after Ruby rode off on the ghostly Grimm bee and the craft makes sharp aerial maneuvers to get in front of the creature. Once the turbulent ride was done, a separate side door opened, letting the three teens see their foe.
Nora, ever the girl to make a statement, yelled at the beast. "Eyes on us, ugly!"
At her words, he and Yang fired their various weapons at the Leviathan. Nora's larger munitions exploded in pink clouds on the shoulder and neck of the beast. Yang and he used their smaller arms to hit at the weaker parts: eyes, mouth, nose, anywhere without armor. He hoped the attacks had an effect.
Blake spoke from behind them as they worked. "Is it working?"
Maria's voice came out next from the cockpit. "Unfortunately, yes! Hang on!" Indeed, the beast began to look at them, being the only craft still hitting it. It's red eyes were fearsome. He then heard the retreating sounds of footsteps as Blake ran over to Weiss. Said girl had been maintaining control of the Lancer that kept Ruby in the air. Concentration was key for the girl. Soon after the old ladies' words, the airship begins its erratic flight once more to keep its attention away from Ruby.
They could hear her on their scroll based coms. "Okay, okay, you can do this... You have to do this!"
You can. You can save us all, Ruby.
As they flew around while firing at the beast, they thought they were winning. "This is one hell of a Grimm, eh?" Nora gave a snort.
"I bet Port would give up his mustache to be here!" Yang and Oxon thought back to the rotund professor. They simultaneously came to the exact same disturbing image of a clean shaven Peter Port. It wasn't great.
No thanks…
Yang laughed away her shiver as she spoke over the sounds of gunfire. "At least it can't create others like that dragon! That was an annoying surprise."
"And Ruby froze it, right?" The two nodded. "Great, let's hope it works here too."
Though, to their surprise, the titanic beast turned to ignore them and turned around slowly. Towards Ruby…
"Weiss! Get her out of there!" If the girl didn't do her thing soon, she'd be eaten by the monster. Oxon and Nora fired their weapons at the beast, striking it in the neck and head, but it did not pay them any heed.
Shit shit shit! Come on kid! Do your glowy eye thing already!
Yang frantically spoke into her scroll and to Ruby's earpiece. "Ruby? Ruby, hurry, something is wrong!" The girl tried valiantly to reach her sister, yet the group could only watch in horror as the beast paused in its march to the coast and started looking at the unreachable leader.
"Why'd it turn away?!"
Oxon did not know, but a look around the craft made him figure it out. "She has the lamp!" Realization dawned on the others. "Even if we're annoying the thing, it'll still be attracted to the relic! Damnit! Why didn't we think to leave it with us!?"
They didn't have time to ponder the mistake. The creature, now fully staring at the small girl, looked ready to attack her. Yang, ignoring the clearly faulty communication device, leaned out of the craft to get her sister's attention.
"Ruby!"
They needn't have worried. The second Yang yelled out, a great ray of light burst from the girl and over the creature. Oxon and the others had to turn away from the sun-like light. When the light subsided, the group blinked the spots away and saw that the Leviathan had been turned to stone.
"Holy cow…" Oxon and the others had stunned smiles on their faces as they took in the scene. Sure, he knew she'd done that in Beacon, but he never saw the full effects of it besides the Apathy. This time, he and the others had front row seats to the spectacle that is her gift.
That joy did not last.
The Leviathan's head started to crack slightly, and then burst free. Once in possession is slight movement, it tried to aim it's breath attack at Ruby. From the cockpit, Calavera yelled back towards them. "Shoot the damn thing! Everything we have!" The group needed no further instruction from the older woman and unloaded their stock of munitions. The others that had less suitable weapons fired as well, all to help Ruby, Jaune even borrowed Oxon's twin revolvers in hopes of felling the beast. Oxon's main goal was taking out its eyes, so that it might have a harder time hurting his friend.
Why didn't her thing work!? How did it survive!?
Suddenly the radio blared with an older woman's voice. "I'll take it from here!"
From further down the coast, the colossal mech came running through the deep water. Oxon noticed the arm it had struggled to lift had been removed. Whether she was able to do that, or if the woman ripped it off, he didn't know. But he knew it had come just in time.
"After all, I was sworn to protect the people!"
The heavy mech's left hand then transformed into a giant drill. A menacingly large one at that.
"So she can help after all…" Oxon held back the urge to swat the older lady in their group. Gift horses and all that.
The robot pierced the Leviathan's body with the spinning drill, and after a moment, destroyed the great beast. It was over. Oxon let out a great sigh of relief as he dropped the end of Bulls Breath to rest on the floor as a massive plume of smoke filled the air near its corpse. The others began cheering their victory and Oxon let a weak, tired one out as well.
Today has been hell…
The piloted super robot then walked over to Ruby, still floating on the Lancer Queen. Its cockpit opened up, and while Oxon couldn't see or hear the words spoken, but he could tell it had to be a not hostile conversation. After a very short conversation, the mech closes its casing and then turns around and runs off to join her men in taking down the remaining Grimm. There won't be another fight for their ship again.
~~~(LXIII)~~~
Later that night, Oscar looked out the window as the ship continued to fly above the dark ocean. The hectic day has slowed down rapidly after leaving Anima. Stepping back into the main cabin, he saw the rest of the group sitting on the chairs or laying down on the floor.
Oxon was leaning against the wall as he caught up on some rest, the former woodsman had a slight frown as he slept. Oscar looked at him while deep in thought about their recent addition. The tall teen had taken the biggest of hits earlier during the fight with Adam Taurus, his armor had a gash through the scales on his lower back as well as a few missing here and there on his limbs. That hadn't been all, Oscar had seen the cuts on his body and face, he and the others worried they might scar. The tank of a teen had hardly seemed to care and Oscar was impressed that he had still been able to stand in order to fight the Leviathan.
Oscar didn't know if he could do that himself. Fighting Lionheart and Hazel had been an exhausting experience, and his aura hadn't even been broken then. From what Ozpin told him, that happening was like a strong punch to the gut. From the recount of the fight, it was clear the larger teen tended to take blows head on instead of dodging. And he has a tendency to place himself defensively in front of others. That's what Blake had said at least.
The guy has been an enigma ever since their first meeting. The group had been ready to resume the just ended fight at Haven when he took off his helmet and revealed himself. Jaune and Yang especially. He had asked Ozpin about him, but the man had sadly been of little help, though he did not see Adhmad as a threat at least. To his regret, he had followed the lead of the others and had been wary for a bit, especially due to the scant information he'd been given.
He had been told a few tidbits here and there by team RNJR, but only passing remarks. Meeting up with Yang and Weiss had revealed no better information. Weiss refused to speak to him about Ox, while Yang cursed his name whenever he'd asked. Though after meeting him? Oscar could safely say he didn't understand the negative treatment Oxon had received when he joined them.
Sure, he did not know the guy when they all went to Beacon, and did not experience his betrayal. But the big guy had only treated everyone with respect and kept his distance to respect their wishes. He'd treated Oscar oddly at first, which was understandable since he didn't know the whole Oz situation then. And even when he did learn about it, Oxon didn't shun him like the others. He'd made an effort to try and cheer him up after everything happened with Jinn, even giving him advice on what to do with his life.
And that awful booze…
Blake obviously trusted him from their adventure in the faunus kingdom, that and their odd sort of relationship. Blake still seemed embarrassed whenever Yang and Nora teased her about being a "big sis" now. The two rambunctious girls had a bet going on how long it would take one of them to call the other "sister" or "brother". They were both big introverts, so chances were low that it would ever happen. That was his wager.
Ruby trusts Oxon too. Though that may be a bit of her natural naivety on her part, not like that was bad, and it had worked out in the end. She was one of the first of their group to try and cheer him up, not that she'd been very successful. That had been done by Weiss. How though? Neither would say.
Oscar's eyes slid to the side slightly to glance at said girl. Ever since they'd picked him up from the Adam fight and following the issue of the Leviathan, she has been by his side and going over his wounds. Even with him sound asleep, she looked over the dressings she had applied. She paid particular attention to the long cuts on the right half of his face. They looked bad, especially to one leading diagonally up from above his ear to the center of his forehead. According to him, Adam cut clean through a portion of his helmet and into his auraless skin beneath. It was only due to said steel helmet absorbing most of the blow that he didn't lose his head.
Oscar assumed that the white haired girl was worried about the cuts becoming scars. Ruby told him she still had a few lingering insecurities about her own, but had become better over time. Blake was worried for his health, but not him scarring. She seemed confident that it wouldn't bother him if it did and how it wasn't the first he'd gotten one acting in that way. He wanted to ask about it, but held back.
Oxon would tell him for sure.
Yang slid next to Blake and the two began to chat. It seemed that whatever funk had existed between them prior to Argus was now gone. Oscar was happy about that.
"How's our fuel so far? We've been going for a good bit now." Oscar turned his head from the resting teens to glance to the cockpit.
"We should have just enough fuel to make it.
"Thanks, Miss Calavera."
"Hey, Ruby." Qrow moved from the console and towards his niece. "You did great out there today, kid. Just don't go giving me heart attacks like that again."
Qrows hand went to his hip and he grabbed his flask. Oscar had a flash of disappointment when he saw the man about to take a drink from his flask, but smiled when the man decided not to. Progress was progress. Ruby, happy at the change, hugged her uncle.
"I love you, too."
Qrow smiled at his niece as she walked away to join her friends. "You weren't half bad yourself today, Qrow."
Qrow smiled at his niece before letting out a sigh and acknowledging the older woman. "I feel like they did all the heavy lifting."
"But you were there to help when they asked for it, and you were there to catch them when they fell. Literally, if I recall."
"Thanks. You know, it was pretty incredible getting to see the Grimm Reaper in action."
"Ha, you should have seen me when I was your age!"
Deciding to leave the adults to their conversation, Oscar moved from his seat to be with the others in the back of the aircraft. Once there, he saw Weiss sitting next to and leaning lightly against the unconscious Oxon. The guy passed out minutes after leaving Argus, not that he could blame the guy. She blushed thoroughly and bolted upright when Yang snapped a photo.
"Xiao Long! Delete that right now!"
The blonde responded by tucking the scroll down her front, keeping it safe. "No can do Weiss-Cream, if I ever need anything from Ox, I'll be using that as payment." There was a brief pause before her eyes lit up. "Speaking of blackma- I mean fun friendship photos, I have a juicy video of Oxy performing a little song. Play your cards right, and I'll share it with you."
Weiss opened her mouth for a moment before closing it in thought. Oscar was also curious and inched in a bit. After a few seconds, she raised an eyebrow at her blonde teammate. "What kind of song?"
"I don't really know." The girl shrugged lightly. "Some strange song about a guy and cows. It was interesting I guess, but not my kinda thing. He didn't finish it before the whole, thing, happened."
Blake cringed slightly at that. The events had been rough and there had not been a lot of time to come to terms with it. She and Yang had been talking throughout the flight north. Oscar was more than glad he had not been there. He would have just been a detriment at his current level.
"I'm sorry you went through that nightmare. But, I'm glad Yang and Oxon got to you in time."
Blake and Yang smiled before the blonde took the cat faunus' hand in hers. "We were there for each other. I doubt Ox would have stayed put knowing you might have been in trouble. I didn't have to say anything to get him on Bumblebee."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Nora looked at them at Ruby, followed by the rest of the conscious people. The girl began to nervously blush at the sudden attention.
"Hey, stop it!"
Ren backed his partner up in praising the girl. "You petrified a Leviathan... after diving down the barrel of a cannon!"
Ruby laughed in a slightly embarrassed tone. "Don't act like you all haven't done crazy stuff before! I mean, Oscar made a successful crash landing! He's a fourteen year old farm hand!"
Jaune and the others then turned to him, and realized that Ruby threw him under the bus that was the group's attention. The villain… "That was seriously impressive."
"We'd have been stranded without you."
Oscar gulped lightly as he pondered his response. What he said next, about how he did that, might get some mixed reactions. "I… thanks, but... I've been meaning to tell you guys... I didn't land the ship on my own." He saw them become confused by that as he recalled the situation.
~~~(LXIII)~~~
The Manta was going down. The hot it took from the Atlas mech had it headed back towards the cliff. Oscar had no idea if hitting the sea or trees was a better option. Neither seemed likely to end well.
"We're gonna crash! We're gonna crash!"
Out of nowhere, the voice of Ozpin spoke out. "Stay calm, it's going to be okay." The man pushed memories forward of his experience flying in previous lives. That skill engrained itself in his mind and allowed him to mannouvor the Manta down safely.
~~~(LXIII)~~~
"Ozpin took control!?"
Oscar shook his head. It wasn't like that
"No, he guided me... And then? Then he was gone again…"
"Does that mean he's been watching us this whole time?"
"I don't know, but... it at least means he was looking out for us."
Everyone looked like they were thinking on that new information before Qrow spoke up from the front. "Hey, if you've never seen Atlas in person before, you don't wanna miss this."
The group walked forward, cramming themselves into the cockpit to look outside. Weiss lagged behind and knelt by Oxon to gently wake him. Oscar would have too, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"Is it weird that I'm sorta nervous?"
"No, I'll believe we've made it to Atlas when I see it."
Weiss spoke from behind the crowd, followed by a groggy Oxon. "Well... Believe it." As the airship emerged out from the clouds, the people unused to the sight dropped their jaws at the floating city of Atlas coming into view.
"Wow!"
"You know, you make the trip up to Atlas over and over, but you never get used to that view." Her prosthetic eyes then started to act up again, making Oscar and the others incredibly nervous "Oh, come on!"
Weiss abruptly leaned forward and had a nervous look on her face. Ruby noticed this quickly. "Weiss, what is it?" The girl just continued to look up.
"I think Snowy is looking at the massive fleet hanging above the kingdom." Oxon leaned forward more, his chest resting on Weiss' back and Oscars head.
I wish I was that tall…
Pushing past the brief envy, he and everyone else followed the gazes of the two northern born teens. The sight above is just as surprising; above the city of Atlas, many Atlas airships are arranged in a clear formation, and all facing outward.
"The Atlas air fleet... I knew all of our ships were called back, but…"
"They're set up like they're expecting an attack…" Oscar didn't have a mind for strategy, especially for such large armed forces, but the formation clearly looked menacing as it faced the southern kingdoms.
Suddenly, the radio turns on, making the group jump slightly at the sudden incoming transmission.
"Manta 5-1, welcome home…"
~~~(LXIII)~~~
Our boy Ox is now in the land of his forefathers. How will his expectations from their stories line up with the new, modern kingdom?
I went fishing for trout and caught a nice foot and a half guy in the lake. That was the only one I got, the others broke my line twice and I lost about $8 worth of flies…. Ugh… Worth it? Gonna fish in a wolf and bear heavy area Friday. Here's hoping I don't die for a trout!
I'd like to thank the folks that posted a few comments on the fic. My idea for the OC Oxon was DEFINITELY not some overpowered self insert harem lord. Flaws and complications make the world of literature go round. If he was a perfect character that never made mistakes, nobody would be able to relate to him and feel frustration at his failures and become happy at his path to redemption. Could I have made his life easier in earlier chapters? Sure, but that character development wouldn't have been there for the cast for everyone to read and love.
See you all in the next chapter!