V3E3: Impaired Judgement
The festive fair gave way to the main road to Beacon as Anon's multi-coloured goon squad marched, Blake having gone ahead on Weiss's ask. Green grass became clean stone, the massive passageway flanked by arches and columns of stone. Atop the columns were the most famous and greatest Huntsmen and Huntswomen the prestigious academy ever produced. Hope recognized a few of them, those he did were mostly from history class. One of which he stopped to stare at.
A hooded woman bearing a large axe on her hip.
He bowed his head in respect once he recognized who the statue was meant to represent. He felt his helper pick up the pace suddenly, causing him to glare at her in annoyance.
"You don't need to rush, you know." He scolded. "Blake did say that she didn't look to be in a hurry."
Weiss scoffed as she pushed his wheelchair forward, her quickened step undeterred by his reprimand.
"It's easy for you to say! My sister is within reach, like hell I'm gonna wait to see her after so long!"
Hope couldn't help but understand his diminutive, snow-coloured friend's feelings. If his sister was even in the same city as him, he would absolutely go see her as soon as possible. He turned back forward, sighing through his nose.
I miss you... I miss you every day.
Ruby casually walked backwards in front of the pair, her hands behind her head.
"Soooo. What kind of person is your sister?" She questioned, genuinely curious about her partner's family. "You kind of never really talked about her other than in passing comment."
"Oh, There is so much to say!" Weiss squealed uncharacteristically, sounding like an excited child. "She's strong-willed, disciplined, honourable, she's kind and wonderful! She's the best fencer in our family's history and even one of the best users of our family semblance! She's able to summon multiple Arma Gigas and- and dozens of Beowolves all at one! She's just-"
Weiss was cut off mid-sentence by Yang groaning behind her.
"Is she your sister or some celebrity crush of yours?"
"Let me answer your question with another question," Weiss said. "How much does your sister mean to you?"
"The world," Yang answered without delay or hesitation.
"Well, the same applies to me," Weiss explained, crossing her arms. "My sister means a lot to me and I love her above all others."
"Would it kill you to just... Take it down a notch?"
"No, but that won't stop me."
The crowd began tightening as its density increased around a single point. Hope had an idea of what the singularity point was. After all, Atlan specialists aren't an everyday thing. Blake waved from the crowd, guiding them towards her.
"Not too hard finding her?" Yang asked her partner.
"Even without my help, I doubt that you would have had much difficulty finding her," Blake noted.
Once regrouped, the five of them made their way toward the front of the crowd. People made way as a pair walked down the path to Beacon. One of them was a man wearing Atlas' renowned assisted body armour system, a marvel in combat protective gear. From head to toe, his armour covered his body in a white bullet-resistant carapace. The partially covered joints seemed like the only weakness of the armour. His helmeted head was covered entirely, save for a removable mouthguard. The endoskeleton covered by a thick bodysuit not only allowed the soldiers of Atlas to fight in deplorable arctic conditions for days on end but also allows soldiers to easily bear and wield much heavier, and much more powerful, weapon systems like Grenade Machine Guns, Heavy Rocket Launchers and Chain Guns. In his case, since he's on V.I.P guarding duty, a magnum calibre carbine was all he needed. If Anon didn't know any better, he might have confused him for one of the Imperium's finest.
Except, you know, without it being hopelessly grimdark.
"Please make way!" The man shouted calmly. "Nothing to see here."
Behind him marched a dignified woman wearing an all-white form-fitting, noble-looking suit. If Hope had any way to describe her outfit it would be "Prince-like" despite her... Obvious femininity. Her shining white hair was held up in a bun, save for one rogue curly lock on the left of her face and straight bangs hanging on the right of her forehead. Icy blue eyes looked forward as she strode forward with a measured cadence. Hope caught a glimpse of her expression. She looked...
Content.
He even managed to hear her through the crowd's murmur, humming pleasantly some sort of marching song. Weiss broke rank and walked toward her sister. The armoured man saw the approaching girl and moved to intercept her, his lowered rifle in hand.
"Miss, we are on official business, please do not-"
"Winter!" Weiss exclaimed.
Winter stopped walking before turning on her heels. Her content expression turned joyfully warm once she saw her sister's face.
"Weiss!" She called back.
She looked at her accompanying guard, motioning him to stand down. The man's shoulders lifted before dropping slightly, nodding his head as putting his rifle away. Weiss ran to her sister, stopping herself just short of jumping into Winter's arms.
"Winter! It's been so long!"
Winter smiled warmly as she stroked her sister's cheek.
"Too long." Her smile disappeared, turning into a soft frown. "I'm sorry we couldn't see each other during your break."
Weiss held the hand on her cheek, cuddling with it.
"Better late than never!"
The wintery specialist's frown completely disappeared, snorting quietly as her sister acted like a lonely puppy who was finally getting some affection. Winter's guard saw his boss completely ignoring the fact that their big boss was waiting for them. Knowing better than to upset Winter by breaking them up, he took a step back and let them have at it. Besides, it's kinda cute.
"I'm glad to see you've been taking care of yourself."
"Of course," Weiss added pridefully. "After all, what kind of teammate would I be if I was a slob turning our shared living space into a stye."
The latter portion of her speech was made looking pointedly at Yang, who playfully flipped her the bird.
"Bite me, sweety."
Weiss sneered disgustedly at the nickname.
"Ugh, Never call me that ever again, Xiao-Long."
Yang held her hands up in surrender, grinning in her usual teasing way.
"Yeah, yeah, the only one allowed to call you that is Anon."
One of Blake's ears flicked reflexively at the assertion. Weiss's cheeks flared up, disturbing her even pallor with bright pink.
"W-What kind of mentally deficient delusions have you conjured up now?!"
"I mean, he did call you that before and you didn't object."
"T-that doesn't mean-"
"Oh! And you spend a night in his room doing god knows what."
Weiss blinked as the memory of their little heart-to-heart back when she returned from the semester break replayed. From when he would hold her hand, when they hugged, to him lending her his shoulder to him kissing her goodnight. Her entire face turned red as she bit down on her lips to avoid any unnecessary noises from escaping.
"We..." The heiress squeaked quietly. "We didn't do much..."
Yang smiled and nodded.
"Sure you didn't."
Hope cleared his throat loudly to grab his friends' attention.
"As much as I am for bringing out our resident tsundere's dere side, this is me we are talking about in front of her older sister." Hope reminded. "And I'd rather not be in anymore of a worse shape than I already am."
Weiss cleared her throat in turn, though much more violently.
"Y-yes, let's not dilly dally on this foolishness any longer!"
"Weiss, Your poshness is bleeding through." Hope teased.
"Do not start too!"
Winter had kept quiet, just looking at her sister interacting with her teammate. It was definitely interesting to see her usually uptight and serious sister being so casual and friendly with someone other than her. Speaking of which.
"I have to say," Winter interrupted. "You teammates sure have... Met... My expectations."
Blake crossed her arms, unconsciously glaring at the specialist.
"Which are?"
Winter crossed her arms in turn.
"As according to Weiss' letters, Plebian." She paused, looking at the two sisters in particular. "... But dependable."
Ruby grinned ear to ear, knowing that despite their differences, Weiss thought well of her. Yang just snorted in amusement.
"That's one hell of a backhanded compliment."
"I wouldn't know." Winter dismissed. "It's just what I gathered from her letters."
She glanced again at Blake, the attention making the ex-Fang tense up.
"She also told me that although she had doubts initially," She uncrossed her arms, her hard glance softening. "They were cleared up quite well."
Blake looked down before nodding slowly, uncrossing her arms.
"I see."
Winter's scrutinous gaze then shifted once more, this time downwards and at eye level with Hope.
"She also wrote of a certain foul-mouthed man who's been giving her advice..."
Hope raised his hand.
"I believe that that would be fucking I, Your Majesty."
Her cheeks puffed up slightly, holding back a laugh.
"Majesty?" She half-laughed.
"I mean if Weiss is a snow princess, wouldn't that make you, by extension, the queen?"
The frosty soldier smiled cockily.
"Are you calling me an ice queen?"
Hope smiled back.
"From what I've seen,"
Hope held out his hand, which Winter took. Unbeknownst to her and everyone else, Hope didn't shake it. Rather, he kissed the back of her hand, holding his own free appendage over his heart.
"You are anything but cold, your highness."
Winter's cheeks puffed up again before finally spluttering with a burst of ugly, ungraceful laughter.
"I can see why Weiss is so fond of you now!"
Weiss choked on her own spit.
"Wh-What?!"
"Oh? Is she?" Hope asked. "I wonder what she wrote about me."
"I-I didn't write a single such thing!"
Winter held a finger to her cheek pensively.
"I do believe that he was the one who, quote, 'always knew what I was thinking and helped me through so much.' and 'someone who despite his outer appearance and initially deplorable attitude, was actually a very kind, caring and loving friend.'"
Weiss' face began turning a bright cherry red as her sister revealed her true sentiment directly to the subject of her admiration. It really didn't help that the rest of her team were sniggering in the corner.
And it really, really didn't help that Hope looked so happy, shining with joy even.
Hope hummed pleasantly.
"Oh, I feel like all my pain is flying away!" He beamed. "It's like I'm five years younger!"
Winter leaned her face on her cheek, smiling nostalgically.
"Oh, how I know how you feel." Winter agreed. "Every time she calls out for me so happily, I feel like a teenager again."
"Please..." Weiss begged. "Please stop..."
The guard looked around the dispersing crowd, which has lost interest in what looked like a typical family reunion. Amid the wave of black silhouette, one stood apart. One wearing a tattered red cape.
"Say," Hope completely disregarded Weiss' pleas. "How about we continue talking around a spot of coffee?"
Winter nodded politely.
"That sounds most wondrous. How about we link back up once I'm done with what I came to do?"
The man in the red cape stumbled forward, a bottle of hard liquor in hand. The guard sneered disdainfully behind his helmet and shook his head.
"Damnit, I hate dealing with drunkards!" He complained at mid-volume.
The guard approached the clearly inebriated man.
"Clear the area, sir. You're not supposed to be here."
The drunk completely ignored the guard, moving past him and towards Winter. The Guard, already annoyed, lost his patience.
"Has the swill turned you deaf?!" The Guard grabbed the drunk man's shoulder. "I said clear it, you-"
The drunk man grabbed the hand that touched him and twisted it suddenly, earning a yelp. The capped drunkard jumped up and over the guard, holding and twisting his arm painfully behind his back. The guard screamed out in pain as he felt his shoulder buckling beneath the strain.
The group heard the scream of pain and whipped around to see Winter's guard being shoved to his knees. The drunk man shook his head in disgust.
"All bark, no bite. As per usual." He spat. "You Atleasians really don't learn do you."
Hope sighed.
"Great... Qrow's here..." he despaired. "Oh boy."
Ruby stared at the unfolding scene, frozen in place by her dear uncle's actions. Normally, she'd jump for joy at the sight of her mentor but... Why was he doing this? He's hurting that guy and he didn't do anything to warrant this!
Winter unsheathed her sword, pointing it at the man.
"Let go of him, you fool!" She demanded.
Qrow held up one finger, gallingly telling her to wait.
"I'm just here, having fun drinking and then you invaders coming in and acting like you own the place!"
Winter began grounding her teeth in frustration.
"Invaders..." She muttered. "We're here to help!"
Qrow didn't react as he put more pressure on the guard's shoulder, probably not having heard her. The guard whimpered pathetically as he felt his muscles threatening to tear.
"You lot are just a bunch of toy soldiers for the dipshit oligarch in Atlas that bankroll the next generation into becoming their private army to keep Mantle in its place!"
"Shut...Up!" Winter's grip tightened around her sword.
Before she can dash, Hope gripped her arm. She turned to face him, her eyes screaming for him to let go.
"Don't," Hope ordered. "You know he acknowledged your presence. He's trying to make you attack him so he can retaliate."
Winter paused. That made enough sense to be understandable.
"I can't just leave him to do as he wishes with my brother-in-arms!"
"He can't do shit if you don't play his game. He's manipulating you into starting the fight. Because if he's the one who starts, he'll get a never-ending shitstorm from everyone and look like an unhinged dickhead."
Winter's grasp on her sword loosened as she took a deep breath. He's right. She shouldn't let herself play into his hand. She sheathed her sword and walked forward, stopping midway between Qrow and her Guard.
"That's enough."
Qrow finally looked at Winter, looking amused.
"Really? Just that? No spiel about Atlas's superiority or anything? No defence of your beloved home?"
"Let. Go. Of. Him."
"Or. What?"
Qrow put even more pressure on the guard's arm, a wet snap silently following. The guard whimpered, to Winter's fury. She clenched her teeth again, falling for Qrow's taunting. Hope sighed again, knowing where this is leading.
"You stepped in it now, you cunt." He grumbled as he rolled towards them.
Weiss and Yang saw where he was rolling and immediately tried to intervene.
"Wait, Hope!" Weiss whispered screaming.
"That's a really bad idea, dude!" Yang discouraged.
"I know." Hope acknowledged. "But I'd rather avoid having our courtyard turned to rubble."
"Wait, really?!"
Blake looked at Yang like she was an idiot.
"Do you really think he would be so adamant if he wasn't?"
"... Right..."
Ruby looked on as her best friend rolled towards Qrow and felt a wave of dread hit her. They wouldn't fight, would they?
Hope rolled between the two, facing the drunk swordmaster. The man leered at the seer, dismissing him entirely.
"Do you mind?" Qrow questioned angrily. "We're in the middle of something."
"Considering you're acting this way in front of your nieces, yeah, I do fucking mind."
Qrow's eyes widened as he looked past Hope. There they were, Yang and Ruby. Spectating from the crowd and looking directly at him...
Utterly terrified.
"Crap." He muttered.
Winter smirked, seeing Qrow finally realize how badly he messed up. A glint caught her in the corner of her eyes and as she looked down, she saw Hope slowly unsheathing a blade between his fingers. Was he going to...?
Qrow looked down for a split second, long enough for Hope to take him off guard. Glimmering steel flew through the air, back edge first, as Hope threw his Shatterslash as the swordmaster. Qrow's reaction time was, as expected, quick enough that even if he was blackout drunk, he could parry it. In a split second, Qrow let go of the guard, grabbed his sword and swung upwards to bat the projectile in the air. Winter, understanding what Hope had done that for, summoned a glyph beneath her to fling herself at lightning speeds toward her guard. Once in hand, she immediately backed away to safety.
"Are you alright?!" She demanded to know.
The Guard whimpered again, his bad arm quaking with pain while stuck in an awkward position.
"I-I think it's broken, ma'am!"
Winter winced as she powerlessly stood watch over her guard. She looked over at Hope as he caught his falling blade with practiced ease.
"Thank you." She said, bowing her head respectfully.
Hope shot her a thumbs up, still staring off with Qrow.
"Not a bad move, kid." Qrow complimented venomously. "Real cute."
"I prefer adorable."
"Are you trying to get punched?"
"Are you?"
Qrow let out a chuckle as he whipped out a hip flask from his breast pocket.
"You clearly don't know who you're fuckin' with, are you?" He said before taking a swig.
"No, I'm fully aware of who you are and what you can do."
"Then you know how much trouble you are in, aren't you?"
"Yup," Hope smirked. "Zilch."
The caped drunkard frowned angrily.
"You threw your weapon at me."
Hope shrugged in response.
"I threw it back first."
"Remind me what fucking difference this makes?" Qrow asked exasperatedly.
"Where I'm from, edge first is an honest assault with intent to kill."
"And the back edge?"
"A warning."
The corvid scoffed.
"Warning... What I was doing was a warning!"
Hope rolled his eyes, matching Qrow in his exasperation.
"Right, because almost breaking some dude's arm is totally a fucking warning."
"Keep your nose where it belongs, kid!" Qrow warned. "If you get too close, you'll get more than just some burnt nose hair."
Qrow took a long swig from his flask before pointing at Hope.
"I mean it, kid, you don't want to get involved."
Hope's gaze darkened, heavy with the weight of half a year living in Remnant.
"I know far too well what lurks in the darkness, more than you can fathom."
Qrow was about to take another swig but that last part caught his interest. The old crow then bellowed with laughter.
"Y-you!? HAHAHA! You think you know more than me about what hides in the shadows? You?"
His mocking laughter continued until he realized that Hope hadn't let go of his stare. He was deathly serious. Qrow breathed out before taking one more swig.
"Ok, Hotshot, riddle me this: What can some wheelchair-bound dickhead like you could do?"
"More than you think."
"Oh?"
Qrow walked forward, his blade shooting out of its hilt. Just then, Hope gripped the side handles of his wheelchair before hauling himself to his feet with pained groans. He rolled his shoulder, holding his dagger in a reverse grip. He let the drunk approach, standing straight like a wall. Now face to face, the two warriors squared up to one another. Qrow looked him dead in the eyes, an eager grin across his face.
"It's been a while since I've seen that kind of look in someone's eyes."
"Do tell."
The corvid's grin turned dark.
"Every last one of them belonged to dead men walking."
Hope initially didn't react until his own sinister smile appeared.
"Not the first, won't be the last."
His smile turned into a defiant sneer.
"Do your worst, Qrow Branwen."
Both men lifted their weapon arm aloft until a single, deafening command was ordered.
"STOP!"
The familiar sounds of heels rapidly smacking against the paved path reached their ears. Hope already knew who it was, recognizing the cadence and weight of his favourite teacher. Glynda got between the two men, shoving Qrow away with enough force to send the drunkard flat on his ass. With the intensity of a sun burning in summer, Glynda glared at Hope with anger and worry.
"Sit." She commanded.
Hope looked on ambivalently into her fiery glare before shrugging compliantly, sheeting his blade and then sitting down on his wheelchair. On that latter endeavour, Glynda dropped the glare and aided him down on his mobile throne.
"Idiot." She insulted worriedly. "Peach told you not to do things like standing up without support."
Qrow, still on the ground, smirked condescendingly at Hope's docility.
"What's wrong?" He taunted. "Don't want to fight now that the old maid's her-"
A hazy purple outline enveloped him before forcing him to the ground with such strength that all of the air in his lungs was violently expelled. The insane telekinetic force flattened him so hard into the pavement that it began to crack. Hope could only hear Qrow's predicament as his entire field of view was obscured by Glynda's wrathful visage, her hair floating into the hair as purple particles flew about chaotically. This expression became somewhat of an object of fascination for Hope. Was she furious because of his conduct? Was it because Qrow had chosen to fight him in his current state?
Or maybe it was the old maid comment. The truth, we may never know...
One of her locks fell in front of her face, one which Hope moved aside.
"I think he learned his lesson," Hope commented.
"You think?" Glynda growled.
"Probably not, but we still need him alive for later."
She scoffed.
"Fine."
The force that recessed Qrow into the pavement was lifted, at last, allowing him to greedily gulp down air like booze. He shakily flopped unto his front then into a kneeling position, looking straight up at a still furious Glynda.
"Pull a stunt like that in my fucking courtyard again and I'll make sure to collapse your ribcage, you drunk bastard!"
Qrow coughed hard, his lungs still recovering.
"D-dully noted, ma'am."
Her scornful glare hardened before turning away with a harumph.
Hope rolled to Qrow's victim, still whimpering quietly with his awkwardly angled arm. He looked over at Winter.
"Could you help me with this for a sec?"
Behind them, three pairs of steps, one calm and the other two hurried, were heard. Ozpin, Ironwood and Penny had finally arrived on the scene.
"Now, now, everyone." The old wizard addressed the crowd. "Although the sanctioned fights are over for today, I hardly believe this fight to be worth the watch."
"What fight?" Hope commented loudly. "A fucking disgrace, this is. Your dog mauled the damned neighbour."
Once in view of the guard's condition, Ironwood's raging expression matched Glynda's in intensity. Penny, however, immediately went into support mode, almost flying over to the injured guard. Her eyes glew a bright green for a moment as her inner ocular lenses focused like camera shutters.
"His shoulder is dislocated and he has a muscle tear!" She announced.
Hope nodded.
"The angle's ugly, resetting it might be an issue."
The guard groaned in pain.
"I don't give a monkey's uncle about that! Just reset it, for Light's sake!"
Hope nodded.
"Winter, hold him down." He ordered. "Penny, reset his arm, please."
"Roger that!" The two young women affirmed.
With Penny's help, resetting the man's arm had become a sinch. Two moves and a pained roar later and the man's arm was now back in its socket, if still thoroughly indisposed.
"Thank you, Ma'am." The guard said, his head bowed down as he nursed his injured arm. "And you too, miss Penny."
"Naturally." Winter acknowledged as she helped him up.
Penny did a smiling salute.
"Happy to be of help!"
A soft hand parsed through Penny's hair in a gentle back-and-forth motion. Penny stopped all movement as her sensors wondered what kind of reaction she should have. she searched as to the cause of her momentary lapse in control, only to see Hope gently caressing her head.
"Good work." he praised.
Penny's smile grew twice as wide as her sensors finally decided on what she should be feeling.
Joy. This sensation is wonderful and brings her immense joy.
Sadly, all good things must end and so does the petting. Even still, she understood that despite her sadness at him departing his hand from her head, both of them had other things to do.
For example, being angry at Qrow, in Hope's case.
"Normally, I'd recommend euthanasia," Hope spat at Ozpin. "But if you can manage to put a muzzle on, it'll be a good start."
"I second this," Winter added.
The bird flipped them the bird with a snarling smile. A gesture which both Hope and, shockingly enough, Winter, returned. This childish display of resentment made the oldest soul sigh.
"Hope does have a good point, Qrow," Ozpin admitted. "But we will discuss this at a later date. For the time being, we have other matters at hand."
The man in question shot a lazy thumbs up as he gulped down the rest of his flask's content. Ironwood growled at his continued display of carefree debauchery.
"You three," Ironwood called, pointing at Penny, Winter and her guard. "We're leaving."
The trio saluted before following suit behind their general. Glynda took place behind Hope, ready to push him to Ozpin's office.
"What were you thinking..." Glynda muttered, loud enough so that Hope could hear.
"Put simply, I stopped them from fighting and stalled long enough for you to come in."
Glynda paused.
"I'm almost afraid to ask what was going to happen."
"A fight between the two that would have torn up the courtyard something fierce."
Glynda blinked multiple times, looking around and just imagining the amount of ruin these two fools could have wreaked. She let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"I would kiss you if we weren't in public."
"So you would if you weren't?"
Glynda jumped out of her skin as she felt the unfortunately familiar stench of Qrow's breath on her neck. She reflexively went to backhand hand him away from her but he simply leaned away from the strike.
"Don't sneak up on me, you nut!"
"Did the Glynda Goodwitch finally enter the spring of her life in her t-"
"Finish that sentence and I'll give you what for!"
Hope looked beyond unimpressed with Qrow's childishness. As well as Glynda for falling for it.
"At least she has someone to look forward to." Hope commented blankly. "Maidenless fuck."
A flurry of expressions ranging from jealousy to shock to disbelief to innocent confusion and lastly, to embarrassment came from the female contingent of Hope's friend group. The old man chuckled heartily as he played with his collar flaps.
"Maidenless? Hotshot, you're looking at Remnant's most eligible bachelor!" He declared proudly, popping his collar outward.
Unlike previously, a more uniform set of expressions came from those same women. Disgust and mockery, though the latter was mostly from Qrow's nieces. Hope blinked as Qrow twinkled with vanity, thinking himself the king of chads. Normally, this might be the moment where a cold breeze would come to suggest he douses that delusion but this time, Hope was just sick and tired of Qrow's antics.
"So eligible, your step-brother took the only woman who looked your way away from you."
Ruby and Yang cringed at Hope's line, at his words so filled with callous revulsion. This wasn't normal, not for the Hope they were used to. The only time they could think where his current attitude matched, was just before they left for the field trip. Glynda, however, knew a lot about how Hope viewed things ever since they went out drinking. What she didn't understand was why he was so vitriolic toward Qrow in particular. The old huntsman scoffed but despite his seeming ambivalence, his tone was anything but.
"You think you can hurt me with stupid shit like this, hotshot?" Qrow asked frigidly. "Try again."
"Okay." Hope paused. "Who's Ruby's dad?"
Qrow immediately changed tune, looking away and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Hope frowned at that reaction. Furthermore, he saw Qrow take a deep breath and saw an odd look in his eyes.
Regret.
...? What? What's that reaction for? I'm... I think I'm missing something.
Qrow shook his head before swigging his flask once more, only to realize that he emptied it previously. He angrily threw his flask on the floor like a grounded child before muttering something quietly, probably some sort of curse.
"Godsdamnit, I'm not drunk enough for this," Qrow complained, having ever so slightly sobered up enough for Hope's verbal assault to affect him.
Hope ground his teeth bitterly, to the girl's deepening worry. What is wrong with Hope? Why is he so angry?
"Drink then drink more, then drink some more and drink some more." Hope raged. "Is that your answer to everything? To drink yourself into a liver failure?"
"Yes," Qrow answered immediately, pathetic in its certainty.
"You think that just because you're unlucky that this allows you to act like a complete fucking degenerate?!" Hope ranted. "In public, in front of your family, in perpe-fucking-tuity?!"
"Why do you care?" Qrow asked impatiently. "None of this matters anyways and as long as I get to drink, life is juuuuuust bearable enough for me to do my job. Besides, no one that matters has ever complained."
Hope stared wide-eyed at Qrow, unable to believe that someone as pathetically anti-thetical to his own philosophy could so brazenly and openly exist. There before him stood a complete failure of a person, stumbling drunkenly through life, starting fights for no good reasons with neither care for the consequences nor the example he's setting for his nieces.
One of which he mentored, and who openly admires him.
Hope's disgust turned into poisonous loathing. He turned around and rolled away, completely done with this fucking worthless character.
"Oh, leaving so soon?" Qrow taunted.
Hope stopped rolling, his razor-thin line of consciousness eroding away with every single word out of Qrow's mouth.
"Good, I was done with you anyways!" Qrow continued. "Next time, come back with harder-hitting lines, you fucking pansy!"
And thus, the line snapped.
"Jesus Fucking Christ, I'm glad Summer's dead." Hope spat.
Stunned silence on both sides of the aisle. A silence that Hope filled once more with bile.
"To think you stooped down so damned low, she must be so fucking glad she dodged that bullet."
Weiss and Blake, who are not privy to the Rose/Xiao-Long family history, could only cringe in mild discomfort. The sisters were both shocked and horrified that he dropped the equivalent of an emotional nuke on their uncle. The adults, however, reacted much, much more viscerally. For one, A terrified Glynda had immediately surrounded Qrow with a purple forcefield just to hold him back from murdering Hope. As for Qrow...
Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?
"I'LL TEAR YOU FUCKING TO SHRED, YOU FUCKING CUNT!" Qrow bellowed furiously as he tried fruitlessly to free himself. "YOU DON'T KNOW A FUCKING THING ABOUT SUMMER!"
Hope turned around to fix Qrow in the eyes one last time, his hateful snarl on full display.
"She'd be ashamed of what you've become."
Hope turned around just as Qrow screamed out again, trying to free himself. If the sounds of cracking were anything to be believed, he was winning.
"Wait, Uncle Qrow, Stop!" He heard Ruby shout.
"Ruby, get off me!" Qrow demanded as he continued to struggle.
"Uncle, enough!" Yang pleaded, seemingly joining with Ruby in hindering their uncle.
Hope rolled away, unbothered by Qrow's struggle.
"Godsdamnit!" Qrow cussed distantly. "Get back here, you coward!"
Hope opened and closed his hand rapidly, mocking Qrow.
"Keep barking, old dog. It won't bring back your lost years."
"Anon!" Ruby screamed. "Stop antagonizing him!"
"Well then, do me a favour and put the fucker back in whatever homeless shelter you dragged him out of so I don't have to deal with him anymore."
"ANON!"
Hope scoffed again, ignoring Ruby's scolding, before finally leaving the courtyard.
Not a minute outside of Beacon's tower and he was bombarded with DMs from the expected suspects. Ruby kept spamming him with call requests which he completely ignored. She must have understood that that wouldn't work so instead, she sent a simple and concise message.
CoolestCutie: 'We need to talk.'
'Now.'
Hope groaned In annoyance as he set his scroll on silent. If there was one person he would not want to piss off, it was Ruby. He knew what to expect from the other three members of team RWBY when their tempers got the best of them but not their leader. For all he knew, she could be some sort of demon when she was angry. But one thing was for sure, an angry Ruby would be far less likely to accept whatever bullshit he'd try to pull.
Urgh, another problem for later. Me and my big fucking mouth...
Hope sighed.
No... Qrow deserved it. Fucking quitter.
Once inside the building, he was face to face with yet another person he didn't want to talk to.
"Ah, mister Hope." The old wizard noted. "I was just waiting for you."
Hope groaned again.
"Of fucking course you have." He muttered angrily. "Are you going to talk my ears off too?"
"To a degree, yes," Ozpin admitted. "But only for a short while."
"Whatever." Hope dismissed.
The two men entered the elevator, the oldest one pressing for the top floor. At first, the two stewed in the silence with Hope staring at nothing in particular.
"I have to admit," Oz broke the silence. "You have said one too many harsh things."
"And? He assaulted one of his own allies for no good reason and almost started an international incident. He doesn't deserve a word of kindness from me."
"Was it necessary to bring Summer into this?"
"Nothing I could say could reach him since, in his own words, I do not matter. So I'll hurt him using those who do."
"You seem to have quite an awful impression of Qrow."
"Qrow's an unrepenting retard." Hope harshly scorned. "If he's too drunk to understand that sometimes you have to work with people you hate, then I won't hold my tongue a second longer. Especially with our fucking conundrum."
"Harsh words often lead into a window of the speaker's unconscious."
"I just hate weak-willed people. It's as simple as that, so stop trying to psychoanalyze me."
"I find Qrow to be hardly weak of spirit."
"He has a best friend and two girls who look up to him and love him like family, one of them literally being family. His sister still cares for him despite the act she puts up. He still has a place to return to if all else fails and you pay him a damned good wage if he can afford to go on daily bar crawls." Hope enumerated. "He has it better than I ever had and yet he's the human fucking wreck. He's nowhere near the bottom of the barrel yet he acts like his entire life has ended and he's just dulling the pain by drinking. He has no willpower."
Ozpin hummed pensively. Hope wasn't exactly wrong, in that Qrow didn't have as objectionable a life as he could have. But perhaps Hope based his judgement of others on his own past experiences was quite unreasonable.
"Do you know what the bottom looks like, Mister Hope?" Ozpin asked.
The elevator stopped moving, its metal doors parting, leading to the familiar clockwork office. Hope glanced knowingly at the old wizard.
"We both know what the bottom looks like, Ozma."
Hope rolled into the headmaster's office just as it was called back down, the ever-present ticking of the clock tower animating an otherwise silent room. Inside were two of the four Atlans that were present in the courtyard. The general and his protegé stood facing one another, chatting quietly about what happened. Ironwood was the first to turn and greet the new arrivals.
"Ozpin," He greeted before turning to Hope, his expression saddened. "Hope..."
"Ironwood." Hope nodded in greeting.
"I knew you had been injured during the breach but... To see you like this..."
"I'll live," Hope rolled his eyes, exasperated by everyone worrying about his condition. "Stop worrying and focus."
"My men helped seal the breach and protect the people of Vale," Ironwood noted, though devoid of the expected pride. "But it seemed that despite our best effort, we couldn't come to your aid soon enough."
"Saving everyone is a fool's errand, James." Hope explained, almost like a teacher. "Your best is just what I want and even if you couldn't save me from the consequence of my actions, then so be it."
Hope rolled close, holding a firm hand over the Atlan giant's heart.
"You and your men saved so many more people than any of us could have on our own. And that's what matters."
The general's frown turned neutral but his eyes betrayed how glad he was at Hope's confirmation. He did the best he could, and that was good enough.
"Even still, from what I have heard, your wounds mean that you won't be able to fight if your predictions come to pass."
"Mama didn't raise no bitch." Hope smiled defiantly. "Even if I have to become a brain in a jar, I'll keep fighting."
Ironwood smiled in turn.
"Spoken like a true huntsman."
"If I have one thing going for me, it's that I ain't no quitter."
The doors of the elevator reopened, letting out the last two members of the Wizard's circle. Qrow fixed Hope as soon as he saw him, his face contorting back into a pissed sneer. Even before he could act, Glynda whipped out her crop, her intent as obvious as Qrow's aggression. Still, just the sight of it made Qrow refrain from doing anything irrational.
"Why is this prick here?!" He demanded to know.
Ironwood and Winter glared at him.
"For the same reason we all are," Winter explained dryly.
"Really now?! First, I ever heard of it!"
Hope glanced over at Ozpin, both annoyed and confused.
"Didn't you tell him about me?"
"I do believe I have, actually," Ozpin answered as he sat down on his office's throne.
Qrow's rage turned to confusion as he stared dumbfoundedly at his boss.
"I'm supposed to know who this dickhead is?"
"He is the seer I told you about."
Qrow looked back at Hope before rolling his eyes.
"Great, so we have some fake fortune teller in our group."
Hope snorted, annoying the already peeved bird.
"Blame Oz, I never wanted to be part of this over-long divorce settlement in the first place."
The man in question smiled.
"And yet you chose to stay."
"Of course I have, the people I love are gonna get involved, whether I want to or not. Might as well be proactive and spare them as much grief as I can."
Glynda, Winter and Ironwood all nodded approvingly at Hope's noble intentions. Qrow, not so much.
"People you love?" He mocked. "I assume it's a one-sided affair."
Hope completely ignored him, to his annoyance. Winter couldn't help but smirk at seeing Qrow get pissed off, an act that Ironwood quietly chastised with a disapproving glance.
"In any case," Oz interrupted, now looking at his corvid agent. "I doubt that you are here just because you wanted to pick a fight with Miss Schnee."
"One of the reasons, yeah." He said, shooting a mean smile.
Winter growled quietly, fingering the pommel of her sword. Glynda shook her head, honestly sick and tired of their continued fighting.
"Can you two just quit it already?" She asked, her own blood pressure rising.
The sight of the sadly familiar shade of purple that surrounds Glynda when she's pissed immediately placated the worst of Qrow's antagonistic desires. Hope knew that smiling would only put more fuel in the fire and therefore piss off Glynda, so he refrained from further antagonisms. Oz cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention back to the subject at hand.
"We will discuss Qrow's behaviour at a later date," Oz commanded before looking into his agent's eyes. "What happened? Why are you here?"
"To see my nieces, for one." He said matter of factly as he picked his ear with his pinky. "Other than that, I've got intel."
"Are you going to disregard how you've gone completely dark with no warning whatsoever?" Ironwood chastised. "It's been weeks since we've last made contact."
Qrow took out his flask and shook it tentatively, only for it to still be empty. Disappointed, he just groaned.
"How many times do I have to tell you? My work requires that I disappear and lose contact so that I don't get caught!" Qrow explained exasperatedly like it was the hundredth time he told his tale. "If I were to get caught talking to people like you or Oz, or even just people directly linked, my many covers would be blown!"
He put his flask back in his pockets.
"'Sides, I'm not one of your toy soldiers, Jimmy."
Winter's eyelid spasmed in annoyance.
"It's general."
"Whatever." Qrow dismissed. "They sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."
Glynda leaned against Ozpin's desk, fiddling nervously with her crop while occasionally glancing at Hope.
"We're painfully aware of that fact."
"Oh, OH! You know!" Qrow exclaimed dramatically. "Well, thank Light I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!"
Ironwood moved to face Qrow, a hint of sincerity on his stony face.
"And for that we are grateful, but we-"
"Oh! You're grateful?!" Qrow interrupted. "How about you thank me by learning how a damned Scroll works!"
The old crow took out his scroll, pointing at a salacious text message he had sent... or that was sent to him.
"You see this?! That's a *Send* button! Learn to use it!"
Winter pipped up, her patience for Qrow's disrespect eroding by the microsecond.
"Last I checked, you stopped reporting entirely. They had reason to believe you had been compromised."
"And last I checked, you don't need to be here!" Qrow complained, "Seriously, who invited her?"
Ironwood crossed his arms.
"I have."
"Have you?" Qrow mocked.
The general sneered contemplatively.
"My mistakes here have cost me my droid forces and I now have to resort to risking my soldiers' lives." He glanced at Hope. "I've learned my lesson and brought only my best and most trusted soldiers. Winter is one such elite."
Winter humbly bowed her head gracefully.
"I am most grateful for your praise."
Qrow scoffed.
"Great, one more friend in to add to our little circle. I'm guessing he told you nothing good?"
"He told me of what is truly happening beneath the surface." She shuddered. "To think the Grimms have an intelligent ruler that has lived for eons... It borders on a horrific fairy tale."
Hope snorted to himself, knowing that one such fairy tale was literally right here in the same room as them. The irony was not lost on old Ozpin, who just shook his head.
"Anything else, Qrow?"
The old crow straightened out of his lazy hunch, sobering up ever so slightly.
"Yeah, remember Amber?"
The oldest soul frowned sadly, almost guiltily.
"Of course I do..."
"Well, the infiltrator's the one responsible," Qrow revealed. "And she's not alone, she has a whole team backing her."
The room became silent at the revelation, only to be broken by a shrug from Glynda.
"We already knew that."
Qrow blinked multiple times in incredulity.
"Excuse my old Valish but pardon the fuck?"
"Qrow, Hope told us as much weeks ago."
The drunkard turned to look at the crippled man. This same man that dared to bring up Summer, that dared stand between him and Atlas.
The same man who now smiled in the most infuriatingly mysterious way.
"You did?" Qrow questioned.
"Aye," Hope answered.
"How? Where did you get your info? Who's your source?"
Hope's mysterious smile disappeared, replaced by a grave expression that only Glynda has ever seen, way back when the first years were yet to be initiated.
"That is for me to know, and for you to never learn." His grave stare sent shivers down Glynda's spine. "Lest you fall to despair at the truth."
Qrow paused, blinking slowly, deliberately.
"That makes no fucking sense, dude."
"Look mate, don't question it. I just know."
The old swordsman crossed his arms, looking annoyed.
"It's my job to know things, Hotshot. Why else would I be here?"
Hope looked Qrow in the eyes.
"Because despite all your faults, you're probably the best-damned swordsman in the world."
Qrow blinked multiple times.
"Well, that was unexpected."
"I always give credit where it's due, birdbrain."
The nickname made Qrow think twice. The only people who ever called him that were his old team, her sister particularly. He probably knew from Ozpin of his ability and the nickname wasn't especially difficult to think up but it was still strange to hear it from someone else other than his sister's mouth.
"Matter of fact," Hope continued. "I'd even go as far as to say that you'd be, without contest, the best warrior in all of Remnant. Provided you ever quit drinking."
"Not happening." Qrow and Winter deadpanned in unison.
Hope smiled mysteriously.
"Yet."
Everyone in the room bar Hope leaned forward doubtfully without saying anything. Qrow sighed as he walked to the window, looking out and overseeing almost half of the campus. In the near distance, the Vytal Festival was visible. Hope saw a bunch of men in cargo shorts and polos walking around with beer bottles. Just looking at them, you could tell they weren't normal civilians. They looked too similar, all with the same style, all nursing the same type of beer and all with the same hairstyle. It was so obvious that they didn't fit and yet they pretended that they did. Qrow groaned as a pair of them laughed together.
"Seriously, whose idea was it to give these Atlesian morons plain clothes? It's so obvious!"
Hope sighed.
"My idea." He admitted, somewhat shamefully. "Execution though, I'm glad to say that isn't my fault."
Ironwood hid his face behind his metal palm, hiding his disappointment and embarrassment.
"They aren't trained in subterfuge..."
"We can tell." The non-Atlans all commented in unison.
"Seriously, they glow like Chornobyl, for fuck's sake," Hope added.
"What's Chernobyl?" Qrow questioned.
"The biggest nuclear reactor meltdown in the history of the world."
"Never heard of it."
"Of course, you didn't. It happened during the time of the Soviet Union."
"And that is?"
"The most horrific social experiment in world history right next to Germany's National Socialist Worker's Party's regime during the thirties and forties."
"What in the fuck are you on about?"
"World history, Qrow."
Qrow's mouth opened and closed continually before just closing, dropping the subject entirely.
"Whatever, man. I'm not drunk enough for this shit."
"You said that earlier."
"That's because I'm never drunk enough to deal with Atlas' nonsense!"
Winter took offence in her General's stead.
"In what tongue do I have to tell you this?! We are here to help!"
"You think this is the type of help we need?!" Qrow admonished. "You're painting a target on all of us! It screams 'trouble's abound!' What don't you get when we ask for discreet!"
"Discreet wasn't working." Ironwood countered. "I'm here, and my army is here, because this is what is necessary for what is to come."
"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here!" Qrow spat "He made you one of us and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!"
"And I am grateful for that."
"Really now? Funny way to show it!"
"The enemy is amongst us!" Ironwood reiterated. "You said so yourself! They launched a brazen attack on us, killing many and injuring many more! Hope was one such victim, and he was the one who dove head first to the people's aid!"
Hope nodded approvingly at Ironwood's argument and totally not at the free ego boost. Totally.
"Waiting around has done nothing but give our enemy the opportunity they needed to sow fear and descent among the populace! The Fang and Torchwick have run roughshod over the city while others have infiltrated this very academy, which is meant to be our haven!"
The general stood over Qrow, dwarfing the drunk with his sheer size and imposing expression.
"I am done waiting for my demise. For the demise of innocent people. For those I am responsible for. Even if only slightly, I want the people to feel safe knowing that Atlas I here to keep them safe."
"Do you honestly think they feel safe?" Qrow retorted. "There are foreign soldiers in every street, in every establishment, all while a massive supercarrier with enough guns to flatten half the city hovers overhead."
Qrow thrust his finger into Ironwood's chest with every word.
"People are afraid. Something's up and it's not good. Why else would there be so many armed men around hiding in plain sight?"
The old wizard nodded grimly, his face hidden behind crossed hands.
"Qrow is right. Just as a Guardian represents protection and safety, an Army symbolizes conflict and bloodshed. There is certainly an air of unease amongst the populace, the Breach having birthed it and the coming of Atlas reinforcing it."
Ironwood glared at the two men who rebuked him.
"What do you suggest we do then?"
Ozpin closed his eyes before looking at his scroll, its visual content hidden from all.
"That we find our guardian," Ozpin said, his answer echoed by another.
Ozpin raised his brow as he looked up. Hope looked particularly annoyed.
"God, you're so fucking predictable." He said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "When will you learn?"
"Oh dear..." Ozpin sighed, knowing that Hope was going to rant.
"Putting all your eggs in one basket will only lead to all your eggs scrambling the moment you stumble."
"And what if I don't stumble?" Ozpin dared to retort.
Hope glared at the oldest soul.
"You always stumble. If you didn't, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with!"
"We all make mistakes."
"Correct. However, there are certain things that we can't afford to fuck up." His glare turned venomous. "I needn't remind you of the last time you chose a guardian."
Ozpin looked away, specifically, away from Qrow.
"No, you don't."
"Then how about you try something else that might work for a change."
Ozpin looked Hope dead in the eyes, almost defying him to surprise him.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Tell the world the truth."
Ozpin closed his eyes, a deep sigh leaving his lungs.
"No."
"Why not?!" Hope yelled in disbelief. "The enemy is at our door! They fucking killed a dozen people, maybe even more!"
Hope threw his hands in the air exasperatedly.
"This is a declaration of war! One that you are answering with complete ambivalence!"
He pointed accusingly at the old wizard who met his rage with a bored-lidded stare.
"Stop trying to make yourself a saviour! It. hasn't. worked! You have trained entire generations of people to be your soldiers in this war. Use them as such!"
"Why would I waste their lives on a futile war?" Ozpin answered chillingly. "They are much better served to fight a manageable conflict like this one than throwing them away on one big push that will fail."
Ozpin's glasses slid down, revealing his eyes. Hope's rage turned to shock and disbelief as he saw the truth. Ozpin's eyes were the same as his, back when he lost everything.
Hopeless nihilism, nothing matters and the best we can do is perpetuate a broken world rather than waste time saving it. Nothing had changed from the first time he saw his eyes and everything he did to try to wake him up to the truth of Vale's demise had done nothing to shake him out of his haze.
"You..." Hope muttered. "You've given up... You've lost hope..."
Glynda and Ironwood both frowned worriedly at the seer's quiet comment. Whereas Qrow didn't seem to have paid attention at all to the two men's quarrel. Winter was just confused, not in the know about Anon and Oz's repeated quarrels. Ozpin adjusted his glasses, seemingly having heard Hope.
"I did not think so," Ozpin concluded as he tapped on his keyboard. "Anything else?"
Hope's eyes became veiled in shadows, his resentment now fully bloomed into pure revulsion.
"No." He replied coldly. "We're done."
Hope has had a pretty shitty day and Oz's continued uselessness was just the olive on top of the shit sandwich. Before he left, he gave Winter a kind look.
"Your sister missed you during the semester break, you know."
Weiss's older sister rubbed her arm guiltily.
"I was on a subjugation mission at the time."
"I wasn't chastising you, Winter." He reassured. "I just hope that you'll make up for that time with her during your stay."
The specialist smiled at the idea.
"That I shall."
Hope bowed his head respectfully at her before rolling away. Glynda's voice made him slow down.
"Anon, what did you mean when you said..."
The seer stopped once in the elevator, a grave look on his face.
"It's over, Glynda. There's no point to it anymore, so I won't waste my breath on a waste of space."
His response only furthered her worries as dire questions popped into her mind. The elevator doors closed before she could ask for more answers. Her mind burned with unease before the mess of jumbled questions became a single, unified desire.
The desire to know how she could help.
She marched to the stairs, locks of her hair floating as her semblance manifested unconsciously.
"Glynda..." She heard the old wizard complain. "Let him go. We have other things to worry about."
She glared at the old soul. Of course, there are some things more important than terrorists plotting an atrocity on the innocent people of Vale.
Never in her life had she questioned her mentor and superior. He was wise and world-weary from his many eons on this planet. He taught her everything she knew about the ages-long war between him and the Grimm Queen. Probably in the hopes that she'll inherit his position in the event that his current form perishes. She always had thought that he simply knew better and followed him without questions.
But ever since Hope appeared, she couldn't help but ask questions and slowly but surely, she started seeing the cracks in the Infinity Man's designs.
She completely ignored his command, resuming her march to the stairs. Her Aura glowed a bright purple as she jumped the railing and levitated down to the ground floor. The sound of her heels loudly smacking against the marble floor as she landed.
Ozpin dragged out a sigh, taking off his glasses to rub his tired eyes.
"Damnation..." He muttered. "Everything is going sideways..."
"Welcome to my world." Qrow cynically quipped. "Seriously though, this Hope guy's kind of a dick."
"Hardly," Ironwood said. "So far, he hasn't led us astray."
"You're just saying that because he keeps agreeing with you!"
"One of my men died and many more were injured because I did not heed his warnings! He warned me of the virus that could have turned my droids against the people of Vale! He warned us of the Fang's plan to open a breach into Vale and because of him, we avoided the worst possible scenario!" Ironwood enumerated. "I will not make the same mistake I first did in not listening to him."
"Even a mildly attentive idiot would have seen the virus coming if you were dumb enough to let yourself be infiltrated!"
A vein began bulging on both of the foreheads of the Atlans in the room.
"How could we have seen it coming if it weren't for Hope?!"
"Let's see..." Qrow posed in mock pensiveness. "Everyone is busy with a dance getting drunk on spiked punch and the only ones present to defend the CCT is a bunch of Altlesian jarheads. Yeah, I totally don't think I could have seen that one coming!"
The bickering continued and eventually grew worse as Winter backed up her general in any way she could. Ozpin hid his face behind joined hands as another drawn-out sigh left his lungs.
"This... This is not going to end well..."
V3E3: END!
NEXT ON PLAYLIST: V3E4 - PLAY?
