Chapter-37

Ozpin, Ruby

"They're too young, Oz…" Maria spoke, shaking her head as the servants and Team RWBY, leaving him and his circle members.

"I intended to let them know once they graduated." Ozpin spoke before looking down. "But you have heard from Sigurd how things are. The situation is dangerous, leagues above what was going on in the days leading up to the Great War. Ms. Rose will be hunted down soon, and it is for the best I start preparing them for what is to come."

"...I still don't like it."

"Thane was also 17 when he was inducted into the order."

"The situation is different! Thane was a young boy who'd just lost his family and was alone in a Remnant much harsher than what it is today. He accepted your offer because he had no home to go to nor any family who would take him in!" Maria snapped. "Ruby has a loving father to go back to on Patch. She shouldn't have had to come in so early!"

"But fate is not so kind, Maria. It forced Thane into our order at a young age and now the same has to be done with Ruby. We've told her and she's accepted. Now all we can do is begin Team RWBY's integration." Ozpin replied neutrally as Maria sighed in frustration.

"Damn it, Oz." She muttered under her breath. "I'll go talk to her about the whole silver eyes thing." She spoke walking off.

"She's mad." Qrow spoke.

"I don't blame her. You're not the only one who carries the guilt of Summer's disappearance. Maria is fiercely protective of Ruby, and our relationship is what kept her from putting up any more opposition." Ozpin replied.

Ironwood looked at Amber. "Have you looked for any candidates?"

Ozpin looked back at Ironwood. "I have. But that is not my priority. We need to make the Fall Maiden whole again."

Glynda's eyes widened. "Ozpin, you can't possibly be thinking…"

"Amber has to die." Ozpin stated.

Qrow stiffened. "What?"

"I'm sorry Qrow, but to settle this issue, we cannot keep Amber alive." Ozpin spoke.

"What the hell do you mean we can't keep her alive?!" Qrow snapped. "After all we went through to keep her safe, now we're going to just kill her?!"

"Qrow! Calm down!" Glynda chastised him.

"I agree with Qrow, Oz." Ironwood spoke. "We have spent immense amounts of money and resources to set her up in such a small time frame. We can't just waste all of that by suddenly deciding to kill her. There has to be another…"

"No. The other way is transferring what remains of her powers to another, which means her soul will be dragged along as well. If that happens, her soul will fight that of her successor's for dominance and our new maiden would be a mad schizophrenic who would be unable to do anything because of the two souls trying to tear their mind apart. It's better that we first set the maiden powers back to their state of normalcy and nudge them towards our candidate rather than pull stunts like putting Amber's soul in another's body."

Ironwood stared at Ozpin in silence. "Can't you take back her powers?"

"I can't."

"Why not? They're your powers." Qrow spoke.

Ozpin pursed his lips as a somber look crossed his face. "They are more than just fragments of my mana core. They have been reshaped into the manifestations of the seasons themselves, most likely from the influence of the Relics."

And the fact that they are not actually my powers. Ozpin thought as a distant memory of his time as the God-King of Dhghemon came back.

Ozpin's neck stiffened with rage at those memories.

"So, James. There is no other way but for Amber to die. However, now is not the correct time." Ozpin spoke.

Ozpin shook his head before looking back at his order members. "Let's give ourselves some time to digest this information. Then, we'll meet the servants."

"For our offensive?"

Ozpin nodded. "We still have a lot to learn from each other. But we are now in this together. We'll put down the Carrier once and for all, and then we'll plan our next move." Ozpin spoke before nodding to his circle members to leave.

Good choice. A voice spoke in his head as Ozpin winced.

"Odin." He spoke. He was still a little annoyed that Odin decided to make a contract with him and connect himself to Ozpin's consciousness.

No need to be so angry. I showed you what would happen if you do not take outside help, after all.

Ozpin sighed. "I am not used to getting so close to a stranger this quickly."

As a result of your countless betrayals. But rest assured, I have no ulterior motives.

"But you do have motives. You wouldn't be so eager to help out of goodwill."

Odin chuckled. You've caught on. But they are nothing you should be concerned about. In fact, nothing will change about your world should I achieve my goals. What will change however…is if your enemy does.

"No matter how much you reassure me, I will not fully offer my body to you. If I have no choice, then perhaps we can look at taking forward our relationship."

Trust me, Ozma, you can't avoid the battle that's coming. And you know how risky it is for one of your incarnations to be destroyed.

"You don't need to remind me." Ozpin grunted. "I know the time it takes for my soul to reincarnate is arbitrary and it is something which might waste a lot of time. But I have contingencies prepared in case the maiden powers fall into the hands of Salem."

"I have been dealing with them for a long, long time. I know the criteria Salem works on in choosing her servants." Ozpin spoke. "All of them are dangerous. But all of them have one massive flaw that comes in different shapes and forms.

Pride.

Ozpin nodded. Pride was perhaps the one common quality that could be found in Salem's acolytes. They were powerful, and that power made them overconfident. Once Ozpin learnt how to play upon that pride, it was easy to take them out.

Ozpin looked back at Amber one last time before walking off. He knew exactly what drove Cinder Fall's pride, and he had to get down to spinning his web.


"So…we're now a part of a super secret order that has to keep the world safe." Yang spoke as Team RWBY sat quietly in their dorm. "This year's been crazy. Fighting torchwick, the white fang, those weird monsters and then getting into a club led by the Headmaster!"

"I wouldn't really call ourselves 'getting into the club'." Blake spoke. "I'm pretty sure we're right now like the White Fang initiates. It'll take some time before we're really into the 'club'."

"Not to mention that the grimm have a queen…" Weiss spoke with a frown. "I've heard of the name 'Salem' before."

"Yeah, the 'girl in the tower'." Blake replied. "The fairytale that's been driving researchers crazy."

"Why's that?" Ruby asked.

"Most of the historians looking into this field are usually able to associate the fairytales with some form of truth." Weiss spoke. "Theorizing the inspiration for these tales. Beacon's ruins have been said to have dated back to the time of Dhghemon, the tale of the warrior in the woods matches with ancient accounts of people living in Anima about superhuman warriors who fought off the grimm, or that old manuscripts of the Regalius dynasty of Mount Glenn do mention a 'wizard'. But the 'girl in the tower', there's practically nothing in Remnant's history that could possibly match with the settings and events of this tale, except maybe the God-King's tower in the tale of the Shepherd."

"Ozpin did mention something about him being the 'last human of the age of mystery'." Blake pointed out. "Maybe something was there before Dhghemon."

"Well, we'll find more about it." Ruby spoke before they heard a knock on the door. Yang opened it to reveal Grandma Maria, who walked into the room with a pensive look.

"So, I guess you four are in this now." She spoke as Ruby looked at her. Her tone did not indicate that she was happy at all.

"I don't agree with Oz deciding to pull you all into this, but I can understand why he did so." Maria spoke sitting down.

"With all the non-grimm monsters coming from another world?" Weiss spoke.

"Yeah, if Salem's allied herself with these creatures, then Oz is definitely going to push for a strong defense. The monsters can be handled the servants…but Salem and the grimm…he wants something of our world." She spoke looking at Ruby.

"The Maidens?"

"No. I'm talking about the silver eyes." Maria spoke as Ruby finally leaned forward. "The silver eyes?" She spoke, her interest peaked. The first thing Ozpin said to her was that she had Silver eyes, and he'd used her Silver eyes to apparently argue against general Ironwood.

"What are they?"

Grandma Maria smiled. "Why, the greatest weapon humanity has against the grimm."

"Wait a minute…they say the warrior in the woods could kill grimm with a single look." Yang spoke. "Does that mean…?"

"Maria nodded. "Her name was Idunn, and she had silver eyes like me and Ruby. You see, Those born with silver eyes are essentially anti-grimm. They're not just strong warriors fighting against the grimm, but they are the conceptual opposites of grimm."

"Uh…" Ruby spoke dumbly.

"Oz can explain the whole 'conceptual' part better than me. But, you, Ruby Rose, are one of them."

Ruby stared at her grandmother. So she was apparently some sort of Anti-Grimm?

"Was mom…?"

"Everyone with silver eyes carried the power to destroy the grimm with those eyes."

"You have them too?"

"Had. Lost them a long time back. But yeah, my eyes were a part of my high kill count as well as Thane's."

A smile formed on Ruby's face. "Does that mean I get laser eyes?" She asked before yelping as Life's staff smacked her leg.

"There's a lot more to silver eyes than shooting laser beams." Maria spoke. "Which I'll be teaching you."

"To control her eyes?" Yang asked.

"Of course. The whole reason why Oz revealed this to you four is because fo Ruby's silver eyes. He clearly wants to get Ruby's training started early. So, I'll be your instructor in controlling your 'laser eyes'."

Ruby smiled. "Are there others out there?" She asked in excitement. It would be so cool to see what she's soon going to be able to do.

Ruby's smile fell when she noticed Maria's face shift into a sad frown. "Ruby…" She spoke. "There's no one else out there. I can't use my eyes anymore. You and I are pretty much the only silver-eyed warriors who are still living."

Ruby's eyes widened as a pit grew in her stomach.

"Huh?" She spoke as Blake looked at Maria. "Is this a rare trait?"

"It's not just rare. It's hereditary. All silver-eyed warriors are descendants of the 500 individuals who were the first silver-eyed warriors on Remnant. Over the years, we've been hunted down to extinction by Salem and her acolytes. There was a community of silver-eyed warriors living in the coldest parts of Solitas, a place called Sylfirheim, until they were all massacred in 3 BGW by an intelligent grimm known as the White Grimm. My dad and Ruby's great-grandfather were the only survivors of the massacre."

"You said Great-grandpa didn't talk much about the village he grew up in." Ruby spoke softly as Maria nodded.

"After the massacre, Salem set about wiping out what remained of the silver eyed warriors. I'm already old, and it probably won't be long before I kick the bucket. That means you'll soon be the last of your kind."

Ruby gulped.

The last of my kind? Ruby thought in fear. It hadn't even been more than 10 minutes that she found out she was some sort of magical warrior who could shoot laser beams from her eyes, and now Grandma was telling her she wasn't just one of many, but THE last Silver-eyed warrior?

Ruby suddenly felt something press down on her back.

"So, you're saying that Ruby's in danger." Yang spoke.

"No, I'm saying all of you are in danger. Salem wants all silver-eyed warriors gone for good. She'll go after every silver-eyed warrior as well as people that they are connected to. Salem hasn't found out about Ruby yet, but when she does, then she'll come after her as well as you three, all because you are friends with a silver-eyed warrior."

Ruby saw the others' eyes widen, and felt guilt wash over her.

So, Weiss, Blake and Yang are in danger because of me? Ruby thought.

"Don't even think that it's your fault, Ruby." Maria spoke, jolting Ruby. "I know you're thinking that you put your friends in danger because of your eyes, but it's not like you had any choice. You were born with this, and even if these three didn't become your teammates, whoever replaced them would have. Get those thoughts out of your mind right now." Maria spoke as Ruby shrunk in her cloak.

She thought about all those like her, who'd been killed by the grimm because of their eyes.

Thus I kindly scatter…

Ruby stiffened, as a horrifying thought occurred to her.

"Um, Grandma…" Ruby spoke. "Is mom's disappearance…?"

Maria looked away. "Yeah, it's safe to say Salem's goons caught up to her. She was hunted and killed just like the others." She spoke as Ruby nodded.

"I-I see." She spoke. Suddenly she did not feel so calm and confident about joining this. She looked at her friends and fear gripped her.

A-Am I going to end up like mom? Am I going to disappear too? She thought as she felt nauseous.

"I'll be back." She spoke, getting up and walking out.

"Ruby?" Yang spoke getting up before being stopped by Maria. "Grandma…!"

"Firecracker, let your sister gather herself. She may have been all confident in front of Oz, but she didn't know just how hard it would be on her. Now that she's realizing it's not going to be as easy as she thought, she needs some time to really digest Oz's revelations."

Yang, Weiss and Blake looked at the door in concern.


Ruby walked in courtyard where the stalls were, but she was not focussed on the stalls. Her old fears were rushing back to her, when she heard that mom was not coming back.

Ruby closed her eyes.

Right now, they won't get to me. Beacon's safe…

Right?

Professor Ozpin will keep her safe. She would have to worry about it when she ventured out.

But what if he can't? What if Salem sends someone to Beacon for me? A part of her spoke.

In the open grounds of the courtyard, Ruby felt like she was trapped in a prison.

If I end up like mom, Yang's not going to be able to take it. She thought. She knew how sensitive her sister was to her family suddenly leaving her behind after her mom abandoned her. She was both scared for herself and for her sister should something happen to her.

"Hi, Ruby!" Ruby heard someone and noticed Penny walking towards her.

"Hey, Penny…" Ruby spoke in a wary voice before frowning. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Ruby! But…" Penny frowned. "What about you? Your heart rate is higher than normal."

Ruby blinked. "My heart rate? Penny…how did you know my heart rate? Do you have a semblance like that?"

Penny hiccupped. "Nope! I don't!"

"So how did you…"

"Moving on!" Penny cut her off. "You seem worried."

"...Yes…"

"Are you nervous about the Vytal Festival?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Did you have a fight with your teammates?"

Already did. Ruby thought as she shook her head.

"Then…what is it?" Penny asked curiously.

"It's nothing, Penny…"

"It does not look like it."

Ruby grimaced. How was she going to explain this to Penny? 'Hi, Penny, I actually have laser eyes and I'm going to be hunted all the time for them.' She couldn't just say that.

"Penny…it's complicated. You won't understand."

Penny continued to look at her before nodding. "I see…I'll not pry, but…!" She spoke, suddenly brightening up. "Why don't we buy something for you?"

"Uh, Penny, It's okay…"

"A gift should cheer you up. Come on!" Penny spoke, dragging Ruby off with her.

"Penny, there's really no need…" Ruby tried to speak. "You probably have somewhere to be…"

Penny giggled. "It's fine! You look like you need some company, so I'll do so…as your friend!" She declared as Ruby stared at her.

It's like Tulip all over again. Ruby thought. She strangely felt warm hearing Penny's declaration.

It reminded her of the exciting conversations she would have with Tulip, something that stopped after Tulip died.

A small smiled tugged on Ruby's lips.

"...Alright, I guess I could use a little bit of company…"

"So, It's evening now. So we could also get a little snack!" Penny spoke before dragging Ruby to a familiar stall.

"Oh, you're back, Ruby." Oscar spoke as Penny and Ruby came up.

"Hello, what do you have on your menu!" Penny spoke as Oscar looked at her before at Ruby.

"Hi, Oscar. This is Penny." Ruby spoke weakly gesturing to Penny who smiled. "Oh, are you also a friend of Ruby's?"

Oscar shrugged. "Well, I guess so."

"Excellent! Then does that mean you and I are friends?" Penny asked getting up to Oscar's face, the poor boy stumbling back in fright.

"Penny…don't scare Oscar." Ruby spoke as Penny looked at her. "Am I? Oh, sorry." Penny spoke leaning back as she and Ruby sat down.

"But are we friends too?" She asked as Oscar looked at her.

"If you want to, then yeah…"

"Yay! Two friends already!" Penny spoke as Ruby and Oscar exchanged amused looks.

"Where's Aram?" Ruby asked as Oscar looked around. "He's not here right now. Said he needed to go get some things. So, I guess I'm here. Besides, you look really stressed." He spoke.

"I know!" Penny spoke. "Something's bothering Ruby, but she says I cannot understand the issue. So, why don't you ask?"

Oscar sent an inquisitive look at Ruby who shook her head.

It's too complicated for Oscar too. Neither Oscar nor Penny are going to be dragged into this anyway. Ruby thought.

"Well, Ruby doesn't look like she's in the mood to talk, Penny." Oscar spoke as Penny frowned in contemplation.

Oscar then suddenly turned to Ruby. "Maybe she's too shy to tell us because we haven't really talked a lot! Why don't we play a round of icebreaker!"

Ruby stared at Oscar. Are they…actually going to do this? She thought in surprise as Penny blinked.

"Do we have to?" Penny asked as Oscar looked at her. "Oh…is there a problem?" He asked timidly as Penny twiddled her fingers.

"Well, there is something I have. But I'm not sure if its alright for me to talk…" Penny began before looking at Ruby.

"But if it's to cheer up Ruby, then I'll go for it!"

Ruby stared at Penny in surprise. "Penny…we haven't known each other for that long. Are you sure I should hear this?"

"Why not? You're my friend, after all. It doesn't matter if I have known you for such a short period of time, if anyone is my friend, I can trust them with my secrets." Penny spoke with a smile.

I wish I had that level of confidence. Ruby thought in awe.

"Well, alright. I guess I'll go first." Oscar spoke. "Even if I don't look like it, I killed my first grimm a few months back."

Ruby tilted her head. "Okay…?" She asked.

"Ruby…maybe killing grimm seems easy for you because you have aura and a really scary weapon. Me? I just had a pitchfork and without aura. You should be knowing how tough a grimm's hide can be for non-hunstmen weapons."

"Oh…" Ruby spoke in realization. Uncle Qrow had hammered the lesson into her mind that not just any weapon could kill a grimm. A huntsman's weapon had to be made with specific materials to be tough enough to cut through a grimm's hide. Normal tools just bounce off of grimm.

"So, that's your big secret?" Ruby asked.

Oscar smiled sheepishly. "Well, I'm not super cool huntsmen like you two. I'm just a farmer boy from Mistral. It looked pretty big to me…"

Ruby smiled. "If you look at it that way, yeah."

"Alright, me." Penny spoke as Ruby frowned. Wouldn't Penny be…

"I'm not actually human." Penny spoke as Ruby and Oscar nodded before their eyes widened.

"Wait a minute…!" Ruby spoke. "You're not human?"

She just dropped that straight away?! Ruby thought in shock.

"No!" Penny replied as Oscar stared at her. "Uh, Penny, are you fine? You look pretty hu…" Oscar froze as Penny tapped her head, sending an unmistakable sound of metal ringing.

Ruby raised her hand as Penny nodded in approval, and ran it across Penny's arm.

It's not soft. Ruby thought in surprise. It definitely felt metal.

"So…you're a robot?" Ruby spoke.

"The world's first machine to have aura! Created by Pietro Polendina!" Penny spoke with a smile as Ruby and Oscar looked at each other.

"But…isn't that…" Ruby tried to speak. Shouldn't this be kept a secret too?

"General Ironwood said that I needed to socialize and make friends!" Penny explained before her smile turned a little nervous. "It is alright that I'm not a human, right?"

Some of Penny's confidence melted away a bit as Ruby looked at her.

Ruby blinked, shaking her head. "What? Of course it is! You said you aura?"

Penny nodded.

"Then that means you have a soul. And as my mom says, anything that has a soul can feel emotions. That makes you human in my eyes. You just have a metal body!" Ruby spoke.

"I mean, it's actually kind of cool. Do you have those sensors like they show in movies?" Oscar asked as Penny nodded.

"Wow…I don't think there's any problem with you being a robot, at least with me and Ruby."

Penny's nervousness disappeared. "Oh, thank you!" She spoke wrapping Ruby and Oscar in a hug as the two gasped from the strength in Penny's grip.

"Penny…" Ruby rasped out as Penny let go, giggling sheepishly.

"Now that we've shared something about ourselves, what about you, Ruby?" Oscar spoke as he and Penny leaned closer.

Ruby looked at Oscar's and Penny's expectant faces. It's nice that they trusted her with some things about their lives, but hers wasn't the same. Oscar's was normal, and Penny didn't believe hers was too important to be kept a secret, but Ruby's…

You will be the Last silver-eyed warrior.

This was bigger than anything. Headmaster Ozpin had instructed not to talk about it.

But it won't be fair to Penny or Oscar. Ruby thought. If they could talk about stuff that they considered important so easily, why couldn't she?

Maybe I could omit some details. Ruby thought making up her mind.

"Well…I just found out something big." Ruby spoke. "Ozpin gave me some work to do and my Grandma told me that's it a lot more difficult than it actually was. And…there's going to be a lot of pressure on me…" Ruby looked at them, asking silently if she could continue.

Penny and Oscar nodded.

"I'm really scared." Ruby spoke. "I'm scared that something might happen to me trying to live up to expectations."

"So, you're intimidated by the burden of whatever responsibility you're going to get?" Oscar asked.

Ruby nodded.

"Ah, then we are kindred spirits that way!" Penny spoke as Ruby looked up at her.

"Ruby…before Aram took me and my aunt to his town, our farm would get attacked a lot by the grimm. My aunt lost the ability to walk a couple of years back, and my parents were killed in a grimm attack. So that meant I had to work on the fields…" Oscar spoke.

"I was scared too, not just because there was a lot of work, but because grimm would pass by our farm and me and my aunt had to lock ourselves in the barn to hide from them. I could be working in the fields one day and get caught in the middle of an attack by grimm…and end up like mom and dad. But I couldn't just slack off. Eventually, I accepted my work and just went with it." Oscar spoke. "Eventually, I got used to it, until I got attacked by a grimm. I didn't run and fought it. I don't know how…but I somehow managed to kill it."

"More grimm arrived. But before they could attack, Aram came on the scene and shot them down with his bow. He took me and my aunt to his town. And ever since then…we've been living in a new farm protected by the town's defenses." Oscar spoke.

"Ruby, I was created to be Mantle's line of defense." Penny spoke up. "General Ironwood was concerned that he wouldn't be able to send enough Atlesian forces to help in operations because most of the army being devoted to Atlas and Mantle's defenses, so he wanted something to relieve the soldiers. And…I was chosen. It's going to be hard doing a job that's supposed to be done by the Atlesian army, but I am not afraid! Once I have understood more about the outside world, I'll be ready to defend Mantle!" Penny spoke with a salute.

"You heard her. Both of us are no strangers to working under pressure."

"But…" Ruby spoke. "...But you're saying that you just accepted it?"

"Yep. I guess acceptance is the best remedy to the solution of worrying about the pressure." Oscar spoke. "Whatever it is in your end, I'm sure you'll eventually be fine once you accept it too."

"O-Okay…" Ruby spoke. She again thought of her mother's disappearance.

Once she got deeper, there would be many coming after her for her eyes. She would be hunted down by people like that Knight…and she didn't even want to talk about what kinds of grimm were going to be coming after her…

I could easily lose my life, just like mom. Ruby thought. She couldn't help but feel a little afraid.

But looking at Penny and Oscar…maybe she all she had to do was accept.

Ruby smiled. "T-Thanks for the talk, guys…I'll think about it…" She spoke before getting off her stool.

"We could honestly set up a time for conversations like these." Oscar spoke with a smile. "Get to know each other."

"That sounds like a splendid idea!" Penny agreed as Ruby nodded. She couldn't deny the conversation had been a little refreshing, giving her some time to recollect her thoughts about what she heard from Grandma.

"Alright, we'll set a time. Bye, Penny. Bye, Oscar."

Penny and Oscar waved back before Ruby walked back to her dorms, her mind much calmer than before and perhaps willing to try out just accepting the pressure and moving on.


A/N: Yo, I'm back from my fever. Just as soon as I recovered, my school slapped in a round of examinations and I couldn't get a chapter out sooner. Anyways, This is the last chapter that focusses on RWBY. From this point forward, The focus will be on the servants for a major chunk of Volume-3, until we get to the Fall of Beacon.

First of all, yes. There has been no discussion for Pyrrha to become the fall maiden. This is a more competent Ozpin, so I honestly think he wouldn't try to go ahead with a stunt like transferring what remains of Amber's power to Pyrrha. Plus, it would add a bit to Ozpin's morally grey character and have him do something beyond just lying.

And poor Ruby's realizing that not only is she joining a fight against the Queen of the Grimm, but she's also got a larger target on her back than the others. It was a good opportunity to build Ruby's relationship with Penny and Oscar before we leave the RWBY side of things and come over to the servants.

Next is the last chapter of this arc, before we can move onto the servants and their journey towards stopping Prometheus.

Also, we've hit 200,000 words! It's going to be insane if this story manages to get to 1,000,000 words now!

Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!


Response to Reviews:

longbowchris50: Well, dumping the entirety of RWBY lore in a single chapter would be a bit much. Not to mention touching upon the monstrosity of Fate's lore.

Zoukuyuujinchou: Thank you.

Maglad: RWBY reacts to servants' lives will be done as the story goes on. But as for female servants...I don't know how, but whenever I want to introduce a new servant to fit the storyline, it always ends up being a damn male servant! I've given up for Vale and will make sure to introduce more good female servants in the next kingdom after Vale. The Atlas servants won't be explored much, they're just a teaser for when this story covers Atlas, so you might not see much of serenity development right now.

I do have a plan for the Cu and Scathach one, but it won't appear in Vale.

Also, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!