"So… that's about it," Kali finished as she leaned back and swept a hand outward over the countless papers scattered upon the tables that had been pushed together. "From my end, anyway. By summer, Kuo Kuana should be fully up and running as a city impressive enough to support the other capitals in the fight against Salem."
"…six months," Daisuke pointed out. The man was leaning back in one of the wooden chairs with its front legs off the ground and gigantic his tail acting as a third, stabilizing support. His boots were up on the edge of the table, and his hands were folded behind his head. "That's a long time… but it also isn't."
"Well… we've got numbers, now," Blake offered. "Honestly, if your people hadn't jumped in, we'd be looking at a year or more as a 'potential' target. We definitely don't have a year. I'm not convinced we have six months, either."
"Which is why I think we should shoot for a longer timeline and send the faunus capable of fighting out to reinforce the Academies," Amaya added as she strolled over, cleaning a glass with a rag in hand. "And this is my bar, so I win by default. Yes, it takes longer, but we're also doing something on a global scale at the same time. They might need us sooner than later."
"…this is 'your bar' because you waltzed in and found the key to the liquor cabinet after the White Fang left the island," Blake deadpanned. "But… you're not wrong. It would definitely get our people more support if we showed up in droves as reinforcements."
"Reinforcements against… what, exactly?" Daisuke asked as he turned to look at the girl, his expression hidden as always by his mask. "The people who even know Salem exists are a select few. We can't head for the front without raising a lot of uncomfortable questions."
"…we can if we send people to Solitas," Kali corrected. "Sun's crew is supposed to be working with General Ironwood right now, and there are two relics in play in Atlas. Maybe we should send reinforcements there. I was planning to send at least a few, anyway."
"…you were?" Blake questioned as she leaned a little closer over the table. "And when were you going to tell me that?"
"When I sent you to Sun, in two months," Kali answered coldly. "I wasn't planning on telling you that just yet, but I'm also not going to hear any arguments. I know you want to help here, but… Kuo Kuana isn't a priority, when it comes to the world stage. Not yet, anyway, and not when we now know that Salem is building an army with intent to make a move."
"Then why did you agree to the plan to separate in the first place?" Blake asked, her ears flattening.
"Because I can't just drop everything and head back to the front lines without getting back up to speed, and because you need closure," Kali stated defiantly.
"Closure?" Blake questioned, her voice rising.
"Now isn't the time," Kali growled as she placed her hands back down onto the papers. "Right now, what matters is the plan, and sticking to it. We need to rebuild. We need to train. We need to reach out to other governments and establish a supply line, both for ourselves, and to provide relief once Salem does attack. Those are our priorities."
"Leave coordinating supply lines to me," Daisuke offered as he leaned his chair back to the floor and cracked his neck. "The Fang have established routes on all continents for running caravans. They're still guarded, and still free of grimm, so far as I know. Cin wanted those left open, even after we migrated here. Some of our people still man the roads."
"And when it comes to training," Amaya interjected as she slammed the glass down onto the table, "I'll whip the kids into shape."
"You're like… what, five, six years older than me?" Blake asked. "At most?"
"It doesn't matter," Kali replied. "Amaya, if you would work with Qrow to get us all to where we need to be in terms of combat, that would be incredibly helpful. And Daisuke- if you could contribute, as you see fit…?"
"You ask, I deliver," the man replied with a shrug. "I'm not the best at 'training' people, but I can hold my own. Take a few hits, and maybe even land some."
"Then let's not waste any time," Blake insisted as she stood from the table and took up her weapon. "If I'm shipping out sooner than later, then I want to get my edge back. I've been slipping."
Daisuke raised a brow and watched the younger faunus head out the door. He offered Kali a confused look before shaking his head and standing, his hands in his pockets.
"…aren't she and Sun 'a thing'? Shouldn't she be happy that she's getting sent out to him?"
"She is. Or… she will be," Kali corrected with a sigh. "I don't think that's the issue, here. It's complicated."
"Well, let's see if beating my ass helps her feel better," Daisuke offered as he grabbed his bulky shotgun from its place leaning against the table and slung it up and over his shoulder. "She looks like she's in the mood to break things. I'm happy to be 'things' if it helps."
Amaya stared with narrowed eyes as Daisuke made his way out of the bar. The faunus woman took a long, frustrated inhale before turning to Kali, her face scrunched in annoyance.
"…why are all the good ones taken?"
"I don't know," Kali answered. "But I think I'm starting to see why he and Cinnamon ended up together."
"…do what we need to in order to keep Remnant safe. That's what our family's always been good at, after all."
Ruby did a quick visual sweep of the room as the voice from the scroll laying atop the coffee table stopped speaking. Ren and Nora shared the couch opposite her own, the former looking wide-eyed and uneasy as the latter sat with her arms crossed, glaring daggers at Oscar. The younger boy was sat upon Ruby's couch and had squirmed himself closer and closer to the opposite end until he was nearly atop the armrest, his own face lacking color as he stared at the device upon the table.
"So," Sage began as he put a heavy hand down upon Oscar's shoulder from over the back of the couch, causing the boy to jump in fright. "No plan, huh? You let us come all the way out here to potentially bring everyone back together, and if we succeeded… we'd still be making shit up as we go?"
"S-sage," Oscar stammered as he closed his eyes. "I didn't know. Just because he's in my mind, it doesn't mean I can see inside of his. He knows all of my thoughts, but the connection doesn't go both ways!"
"Well that's convenient," Nora spat as she crossed one leg over the other. "And I'm gonna go ahead and assume that you can't drag him to the forefront, either?"
"No!" Oscar admitted as Sage's grip upon his shoulder tightened. "If I could, I would force him out here to face you! I want answers, too!"
"We're wasting time," Ruby seethed as she kept her eyes locked to the scroll and away from Oscar. "Ozpin's not talking to us, and Dad might still be at Beacon, and Neopolitan could get to him first. We don't know when that was recorded."
"So, what, you just want to leave and pretend that everything's fine, after this?" Nora spat as she tried to catch Ruby's eyes to no success. "You're comfortable traveling with him when we know he's hiding things? You think he won't just run in the middle of the night, or screw us over again?"
"We can rotate watch," Sage said with a shrug as he finally removed his hand from Oscar's shoulder. "And if he runs, we stop him."
"…stop me?" Oscar asked, his tone full of fear. "You're not going to… hurt me, are you…?"
"Of course we're not, Oscar," Ruby consoled as she finally gave the boy a venomous look.
"Actually," Nora said coldly as she uncrossed her arms and legs and leaned forward upon the couch. "That's not a bad idea."
"Nora…?" Oscar asked with wide eyes.
"Hold him, Sage," Nora ordered.
The larger teen immediately clamped down upon Oscar's shoulders as Nora grabbed Magnhild from its spot leaning against the couch. Ruby and Ren immediately moved from their seats, one standing in front of Oscar and the other grabbing Nora's arm in a firm grip.
"Nora, no," Ren warned, his voice deadly serious. "That is not an option. We can't j-"
Nora wrenched free of Ren's grasp and put a foot upon the coffee table before letting out a battle cry and hoisting her hammer up and over her head. Ruby responded by whirling Crescent Rose into its scythe form and bracing for impact, the blade just barely getting up in time to catch the descending hammer. A mere inch from the curved steel, Magnhild stopped its deadly swing with perfect control, and Nora leaned to the side to glare at Oscar.
"…really? I could've smashed her skull in and you wouldn't come out and yell 'stop' all dramatically?"
Ruby hesitated for a moment, her shoulders tense and teeth clenched as she realized what Nora was doing.
"…you could have warned me…"
"And it wouldn't have worked," Nora replied as she stepped off the table and flopped back into her seat.
"We have scrolls! Text me before pretending to murder a child, next time!" Ruby said with exasperation as she threw her arms out to the sides.
"…even so… she's right…" Oscar said slowly as he took a deep breath. "I didn't even feel him stir. It's like he's not even here."
"He probably knew you weren't serious," Sage offered as he let the boy go once again. "I mean, I did, and I'm not the brightest."
"Then we're on our own," Ruby said as she stood up from the couch once again. "And if we're on our own… I'm going to Beacon now. Join me, or don't. If there's some way we can get Raven to take us to Kuo Kuana before it's too l-"
"If you go to Beacon, you will be without my assistance from this point forward."
All eyes fell upon Oscar as the boy sat up a bit straighter, his expression turning cold.
"…what the hell are you hiding from us?" Nora asked, folding her arms once again.
"Taiyang and Raven may have their opinions, and perhaps it is true that I do not have an exact course of action in mind regarding Salem," Oscar explained in a cool, calculating tone. "That being said- Beacon is not where we are needed. It would be wise t-"
"How do you know!?" Ruby interrupted, her voice at a yell. "How do you know we're not needed at Beacon, without even checking and with no CCT? Why don't you want us to go there? Are you afraid that the professors still defending the Academy are going to tell us even more about you?"
Suddenly, Oscar's expression soured, and he stood from the couch.
"…Beacon Academy is the most vulnerable school, and the most likely target for Salem herself the moment she finds out we have a 'relic' with us. If she attacks, I cannot hold her off, and none of you stand a chance, either," the boy explained. "We are needed in Atlas. We should begin our return trip immediately."
"So what are you trying to say?" Nora snapped. "This whole thing was banking on Raven, and your grand plan when it fell through was just to turn around and trek across the whole country again? It could take weeks to get to Solitas, and if Sun made it into Atlas, the border's going to be locked down even tighter! And you're telling us that Beacon isn't worth our time while we're here? We could make an actual difference here while we figure out what to do, instead of j-"
"Beacon is lost!" Oscar insisted, his voice rising to a commanding bark. "Had we found Raven, we could have lured her to Patch and been gone in an instant, yes, but where do you think Salem would have targeted next? By going there, seeing what the Academy has likely become, and deciding to entrench yourselves, you're handing her one of our greatest weapons in Ruby's silver eyes, and my current existence! I need more time to acclimate to this body and formulate a plan! That will not be possible if we remain at Beacon and are forced into mounting a defense! We need to stay mobile!"
"…you had no plan, in Mistral," Ren said quietly. "You tried to shove us away. You wanted to let Team JNR and Team SINS just drop out of the fight entirely and get Ruby to Atlas with the relic."
Oscar remained quiet, though he seemed to regain his composure as Ren continued.
"That isn't a plan- that's a desperate move, putting weapons in place for a final defense. You don't think we can win against Salem, do you? I don't mean 'we' as in the people in this room- I mean at all. You were so quick to adopt Sun's plan because for once, you wouldn't be blamed for an inevitable failure against her. You could set that burden squarely upon his shoulders when it all fell through," Ren explained, never breaking eye contact with the boy. "We know you've done this before. We know you've lost before. Have you… ever won?"
The room descended into tense silence until Oscar suddenly lurched forward, gripping his forehead with a pained hiss.
"Ugh… every single time…"
"…you're not serious," Sage stated, dumbfounded. "He just left? We're fighting an unwinnable battle and he doesn't even have the balls to say it to our faces?"
Ruby merely stared at the boy as he doubled over and tried to catch his breath. A nervous chill ran down her neck, creeping along to her spine and arms. After only a few seconds, she turned on her heel and began a quick retreat to the staircase.
Author's Note:
If anyone here is reading Arboretum alongside this, note that Volume 2 has been delayed until October 23rd. See profile for details.
-RD