RWBY: Team CRML

Chapter 54

Team CRML

In the back of the police airship, Liam glared at his father as everyone, except Ruby, stared at Liam. "What's up with you?" Jaune asked him.

Liam continued to glare at Qrow as Qrow, himself, looked to the floor of the ship. "Why are you mad at Qrow?" Yang asked.

"You wanna tell 'em?" Liam asked. Qrow remained silent.

"Qrow?" Yang said softly.

Liam looked to his cousin. "You know I never knew my mom. And Qrow always told me he wasn't sure who she was. That I 'just showed up on the doorstep one day with a note saying I was yours'. But that wasn't even close to the truth."

"What is the truth then?" Yang asked.

"He's my half brother..." Ruby said softly.

"What?" Yang asked with a soft chuckle. "That-"

"Summer is my mom." Liam said. "But I didn't learn that from Qrow. Raven told me. She even gave me Summer's cloak."

Qrow looked his son in the eyes. "It was Summer's wish that the truth be hidden from you."

"You think I give a fuck whose wish it was?!" Liam shouted as he stood up. "There is no excuse to hide something like that! NONE!"

"Settle down back there!" one of the guards up front said.

"Shut up!" Liam growled at them before looking back to his father. "I always thought my mom was some chick you met a bar somewhere. Someone that didn't want a kid. But she was always in my life! Always there, knowing she could be the one thing in my life that every kid should have! Why was I the one that didn't get to have a mom?! Why did she care for Yang like she was her own when Raven walked out?! Why did she care for Ruby?! WHY?!" tears welled up in Liam's eyes but he fought them back. "Why was I the one Summer gave up?!"

"She was trying to protect you." Qrow replied.

"Protect me? From what? Salem?" Liam growled.

"Salem didn't know about me." Qrow said. "So Summer thought it best if she left you with me because she would eventually show up on Salem's radar. With you living with me, Salem never would've known about you."

"Then why raise Ruby? Why not do the same with her?" Liam asked. "Leave her with Tai and disappear if she was so worried about it?!"

"She... She couldn't give up a second child." Qrow replied. "Can you really blame her?"

"YES!" Liam shouted. "If she cared that much, she would've done what Raven did!"

"And what was that?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow, curiously.

"She didn't tell me at the time, but once she got the Spring Maiden power, she cut all ties to everyone she cared about to make sure they didn't get hurt because of her." Liam said. "She didn't walk out on you, Qrow, Tai or me! She was protecting us."

"What do you want me to say?!" Qrow shouted. "I did my best!"

"The hell you did!" Liam yelled. His voice echoed in the airship as he stomped his foot for emphasis. "I disappear for over a year. A fucking YEAR! And you didn't even attempt to look for me!"

"Where was I supposed to start?!"

"Raven!" Liam shouted. "You could've started with Raven! Or did you forget about her semblance?"

"I-"

"All it would've taken was a single call. A visit. Anything!" Liam continued. "But you didn't! Even when you two met to talk, all you asked about was the Spring Maiden! You call that 'doing your best'?"

Qrow remained silent.

"I thought so." Liam said. "You aren't my father. You might have raised me, but you are the furthest thing from my dad."

Qrow hung his head at this.

"I want nothing to do with you." Liam added. "The only reason I don't leave once these cuffs are off is because I still have family here. My team, Yang, Ruby and Weiss." everyone else stared at Liam in shock at his outburst.

Gently rubbing his shoulder, Weiss tried to calm him down but she didn't know what to say. "Soooo... Where did all of that come from?" Nora asked.

Liam just glared at her and she immediately got the hint. "Right, right." she sunk down in her seat. "Sorry."

"You guys sure got a lot of problems, huh?" Liam looked at the new voice to see someone other than his family and friends sitting in the airship.

"Shut up." was all he said.

The airship fell silent for the rest of the trip up to Atlas. Finally coming to a stop, the doors opened and the group left the ship except for the random. "Atlas Academy?" Weiss said. Two guards escorted the group.

As they walked, Weiss gently grabbed Liam's arm. "You okay?" she asked softly.

"No." Liam replied, coldly. "No, I'm not."

"I sense something else happened." Weiss said. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Maybe later."

"Just let me know, okay?" Weiss said.

"Of course." Liam looked to her and gave a warm smile. She was calming him down already, even if she didn't know it.

Walking into the academy, the guards led the group to an elevator. Entering it, they began going up. The elevator beeps as it arrived at its destination. The guards escort the group out into a hallway and down a flight of stairs. They arrive in a room just as Ironwood walks through, speaking to someone else.

"I swear if I have to sit through one more council meeting like that…"

He turned toward a small flight of stairs on his way to his office, accompanied by Winter and Penny. Penny noticed the group and stopped with a gasp. "Yay, you're here!"

Her celebratory greeting caught Ironwood and Winter's attention, causing them to stop and look. Weiss stepped out from behind Ruby and approached them.

"Winter."

Winter gasped lightly in surprise, and the sisters' reunion is quickly interrupted by Nora leaning in and holding up her bound wrists, grinning and waving her fingers. "Anyone wanna give us a hand with these?"

Winter takes a moment to collect herself, returning to her usual stern demeanor and addressing the guards. "You have ten seconds to take those off before I start hurting you."

"Huh?"

Finally understanding the situation, the guards frantically begin removing the bolases from everyone's arms, while Ironwood watched with a smile. The bolases fall to the floor, giving off a purple glow and retracting the ropes before emitting a beep noise.

"Please, come in." Ironwood said. The group followed Ironwood, Winter and Penny into Ironwood's office. "It is so good to see all of you."

"Our reception didn't really convey that." Yang said as she massaged her wrists.

"I sincerely regret how you were treated by my team." Ironwood said. Qrow rolled his eyes with a small huff. Ironwood walked behind his desk to sit down, and Penny and Winter take positions standing at either side of the desk. "When a rogue airship entered our airspace, it raised some… red flags. We assumed the ship was stolen."

"Stolen?" Ruby laughed awkwardly, before taking an apologetic tone. "Okay, yeah, it was stolen."

Ironwood's eyes widen in surprise. He then smiles, and his shoulders move a tiny bit with a silent chuckle. Winter, meanwhile, finds no humor in the situation and begins scolding Weiss. "You stole an Atlas airship?" Weiss watched with a frown as Winter approached her. "What were you thinking!? You might've been shot down! How unbelievably irresponsib-"

Weiss surprised and interrupted Winter by hugging her. "I'm sorry I worried you. But we did what we had to do."

"I…" Winter sighs and hugged her back, calming down.

"I suppose I understand."

She then turned her head to glare at Qrow. "But I cannot believe that you allowed this to happen, Qrow."

Qrow suddenly stood up straight as though he was lost in his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah, right... We have important information for you that's... confidential."

Winter returned to her position beside Ironwood's desk.

"Oh, is it about the Relics?" Penny asked.

"Or perhaps the Winter Maiden?" Winter suggested.

"You told them?" Qrow asked, surprised.

"Hm." Ironwood stands from his desk and retrieves the Relic of Knowledge from a drawer, making it grow to its normal size as he holds it up. "Did you really think you were the only one who got to work on a new plan after Beacon? With Ozpin gone, I needed my own team of people I could trust. So yes, I told them. The Ace-Ops too. Which is why I'm so glad you're here… with this." he gestured to the Relic. "Until now, I believed it was impossible to truly turn the tide against Salem. Oz has pushed her back, has kept victory out of her claws, but she will keep returning stronger and stronger… unless we destroy her."

He placed the Relic atop his desk, while Ruby looked deep in thought. "But… what about the Atlas Relic?" Nicci asked.

"You mean the Staff of Creation?"

"It's safe inside the Vault!" Penny told them.

"And the Winter Maiden?" Marek asked, stepping forward.

"She is secure and in stable condition." Winter answered.

"Stable condition? What does that-"

"She's, uh, not exactly a spring chicken." Qrow cut Chrome off.

"I know how this all looks. Recalling my military? The embargo? I probably don't seem the most trustworthy right now." Ironwood said.

"Then why continue it?"

"The people of Mantle are hurting!" Nora said.

"I needed to ensure Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas. And I wanted my military here, protecting my people." Ironwood replied.

"But it's not protecting them! It's making everyone hate you." Yang pointed out.

"It's a price I'm willing to pay." Ironwood reached over to a glowing panel of buttons on his desk and taps a button that resembles a table emitting light from its surface. "Just as you all have been entrusted with the knowledge of Salem's existence, I need you all to trust me. I have a plan."

Shutters come down outside the windows, darkening the room. A circle in the center of the floor bearing Atlas' emblem begins to rise up, prompting Ruby and Oscar to step off of it. As Ironwood talks and makes his way over to it, the circle continues to rise and transforms into a table.

"Ozpin believed the best way to fight Salem was to do so in secret. Whether that was the right choice or not isn't for me to say. But we find ourselves in a position of needing, well, a new approach." Ironwood said.

"And what do you suggest?" Qrow asked.

Ironwood pulled out a tiny remote and presses a button, activating a hologram display of Amity Colosseum, which hovers above the table.

"That's… Amity Colosseum."

"Where the Vytal Festival is held?" Oscar asked.

"Indeed. When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I knew our current system was outdated. Amity was built to bring the nations together, and it will serve that purpose once again." Ironwood informed them.

He presses the button again, and the hologram of Amity gains an antenna atop it. Everyone stared at the hologram before looking to each other.

"Isn't it great? We're not going to just replace Beacon Tower. Building a new tower on top of Amity Colosseum will re-establish global communications!" Penny said.

"By launching the tower high into the atmosphere, our scientists believe we can create a sort of… satellite out of reach of the Grimm and capable of maintaining global communications even if we were to lose another tower." Winter added.

"That is great."

"James... you don't need the entire military for this." Qrow told him.

"I will for the next part, where I finally tell the people about Salem."

"Huh, so that's why you withdrew your troops, to handle the panic that would break out in Atlas." Qrow said.

"Yes, panic is inevitable, and panic brings Grimm. But I believe we are ready. Once Atlas has come to grips with the fight ahead, I'll use Amity Tower to spread the message to all of Remnant." Ironwood said.

"But everything will fall apart. Grimm will be everywhere!"

"You're right, but Atlas is willing and prepared to assist." Winter told Weiss.

"Trying to hide the truth from the world will eventually kill us all." Ironwood pressed a button on his remote, and the hologram disappears, the table transformed and recedes into the floor and the shutters pull away from the windows.

"Oz spent his whole life, many lives, keeping this secret." Qrow said.

"I know. But since Beacon, things have changed." Ironwood headed back to his desk. "Without him here to guide us, all I can do is use my best judgment."

Behind him, Oscar shifts uncomfortably. As if sensing something, Ironwood stopped and looked back.

"What is it?"

"Actually, Oz isn't completely gone." Oscar said.

"Uh, Oscar here is… is the next Ozpin." Qrow said.

"Oz?" Smiling, Ironwood quickly and eagerly approaches Oscar, who looks nervous. "I'm so glad you're here. I didn't think you-"

Oscar put his hands up and interrupts Ironwood, as the latter crouches to Oscar's level. "Not quite. He's kind of, um, gone... at the moment."

Ironwood's smile fades, and he lowers his head. "That's not normal. How did he-"

"We don't know." Ironwood, Qrow and Oscar look at Ruby. "We were in a train crash, and ever since, well… suddenly, Oz wasn't there anymore." she lied.

"That's the worst news yet." Ironwood got to his feet. "Did you learn anything from him about the Relics before…?"

"He told us the lamp can answer three questions. But all the questions were used up already." Ruby said.

Liam shook his head as Blake and Yang shared looks. "Right, right." Ironwood walked back behind his desk and stared out the window. "Ozpin told us that too, once upon a time. At least we have you, Oscar. You're safe here in Atlas. Maybe together we can figure out how to bring Ozpin back."

"Thank you, sir."

Ironwood picked up the Relic of Knowledge, and walked over to Ruby, offering it to her.

"You're giving it back to me?"

"After what happened with the Ace-Ops, I don't want you to think I'm keeping anything from you, especially something as important as this. For the time being, I think it's safest with the people who brought it here." Ironwood said.

"Um, thank you."

She shrunk the Relic and hooked it onto her belt, exchanging a look with Oscar. "We must work together if we're to fight Salem and win. Now, if you're all on board…"

Ruby thinks it over for a few seconds, then looks at Ironwood. "Tell us how we can help."

Upon exiting Ironwood's office, the group encounters the Ace-Ops once more. "So, that was the second time I got banned. Then there was the third time when-"

"Alright, cut the chatter." the leader said. Once the group approached them, the leader spoke. "I'd like to sincerely apologize for the miscommunication down in Mantle. We didn't intend to-"

Suddenly, one of the others pushed her way passed and begins frantically shaking Ruby's hand.

"I feel so bad, honestly! If we had known who you were, we'd be laughing over a hot meal right now and-"

"I understand. You were just following orders." Ruby said.

"You could have asked us some questions first." Liam growled as he crossed his arms.

"Questions are for the weak. But we're all on the same team now. Not that I'm happy about it." the Faunus said. He crossed his arms and soon realized that his tail is wagging. He reaches back and grabs it.

"We just wanted to say we're sorry. And that we're looking forward to working with you on our next mission. You might be students, but you've been fighting just as hard as we have, if not harder." the leader said.

"Exactly why I'm looking forward to seeing what you kids can do."

"Not everything's a competition, Hare."

Penny entered the room and slides in front of Ruby, throwing her hands up in excitement. "C'mon! Let me show you around campus."

She enthusiastically marched away, with Ruby and everyone following her. She leads Team RWBY, Team JNR, Team CRML and Oscar through various hallways, while the group becomes more and more tired as the tour goes on.

"So that way's the cafeteria, and that way is the training rooms. Oh, and over there are the classrooms!"

Ruby stretched, yawning loudly. The group comes to a stop, with everyone looking exhausted. Nora leans against Ren, asleep on her feet.

"This all looks great, Penny. But where are we staying?" Ruby asked.

"Remember, you're in Atlas now. As the most well-funded school on Remnant, every teen at Atlas Academy gets their own room! And if that wasn't enough-"

"So we're staying in the dorms?" Ren asked.

"It'll be just like Beacon again!" Penny said, cheerfully.

Minutes later

Inside one of the rooms, Liam climbed into the top bunk on the left side of the room. Nicci took the other top bunk, while Chrome and Marek took the last two beds.

They all closed their eyes and fell asleep.

End of chapter 54