Chapter 13: Apathy
The blizzard became worse as they headed deeper into the farm. Despite the relatively good shape the place was in, it was clearly abandoned, and it gave Dbroha a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I don't get it." He heard Ruby say. "All the towns we passed through were damaged or unfinished, but this place looks fine."
They all huddled on the porch of the main house and Dbroha curled more against Blake's back, much to her worry. Weiss gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"Maybe everyone left in a hurry before things took a turn?"
Qrow tried to open the door, but found it locked. He looked back at the others.
"Stay on guard."
He kicked in the door, and everyone rushed in with their weapons drawn. Blake moved furthest away from the door to get Dbroha as far from the storm outside as possible. Everyone looked around wearily when Maria nonchalantly walked through.
"Close the door already! It's cold enough in here as is."
The others dropped their guard, and while Blake, Oscar, and Weiss barricaded the door to keep the wind from opening it again, Ruby and Yang rubbed Dbroha's arms to get him warm again, Ruby even wrapping him in her cloak at one point. It wasn't much, but it made him less sluggish, enough so that he could move around well enough.
"You okay now, little guy?" Yang asked.
He nodded with a weak smile. "I'm fine." His nose twitched. "Something smells bad."
"It's probably just the house." Ruby said.
"I saw a chimney from the outside." Blake said. "Dbroha, do you think you're strong enough to get a fire going?"
"I think so. If there's wood, my breath should be enough to light it."
"I'll look for some blankets." Weiss volunteered.
"Yang, go with her." Qrow said as everyone spread out to get supplies.
Oscar and Dbroha headed into the library and saw the chimney and some firewood nearby. The farm boy set it up, but before Dbroha could light it, they heard Weiss scream from upstairs. Everyone raced up and saw Yang and Weiss sitting as though they had fallen. Their eyes were wide with terror. Dbroha tried to run to them, but Qrow caught him, covering his eyes.
"Don't look, Dbroha."
He didn't need to, he could smell something rotten in there. And given how scared his sisters had sounded, he could guess what was beyond the door.
Didn't mean he wanted to see that.
Everyone went back to the library and Dbroha got the fire going. He then curled up against Weiss, who was still in shock, as Blake covered them both in a blanket. Weiss flinched, so Dbroha hugged her, which she immediately returned. Qrow then came back from scouting around, dusting off the snow with a somber look on his face.
"It's the same in every house."
Everyone's eyes widened.
"What?" Yang asked from her spot on the couch.
"Every bed, in every home. It's like the whole estate just went to sleep and never woke up." Qrow walked to the fire to warm up as Weiss perked up.
"Then we're not staying here." She turned to him. "Right?"
"We don't have a choice. Storm outside is only getting worse. We'll freeze to death before we can make it anywhere."
There was an unease among everyone. No one wanted to stay in the corpse house, but they knew Qrow was right, Dbroha especially. For once in his life, he hated that he was half reptile.
"Welp." Maria chirped as she walked towards the bookshelf. "Might as well get comfortable."
"Yeah, fat chance." Yang shot back.
Dbroha curled closer to Weiss and she brought him closer.
"Something's wrong with this place."
She kissed his head. "I know, sweetie, but we just need to wait out the storm."
"Okay then," Ruby interjected. "Let's do something. If this place wasn't abandoned, it might still have supplies we can use."
"Hey yeah. Maybe even a car." Oscar agreed.
"I'm gonna do another sweep of the grounds." Qrow announced as he left. "No one else goes anywhere alone."
"Yang and I can search the other buildings for vehicles." Offered Blake.
Yang rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever gets me out of this house."
Dbroha frowned as he saw Yang leave, followed by Blake and Ruby. Weiss then stood.
"Dbroha, stay here and keep warm."
"All right." He said.
He knew he wasn't going to win the fight and he didn't feel like leaving the fire. After the girls were gone, he curled up closer to the fire, completely unfazed by the occasional embers hitting him. Oscar watched him get settled as Maria picked up a book.
"I'll tell you what, you two keep that fire fed, and I'll find us a story to read before bed."
"Okay." Dbroha agreed as he turned to keep a closer eye on the fire. However, as he repositioned himself, he heard that groaning again, and this time he heard something else, like the scratching of nails. He perked up, glancing around, trying to find the source. Oscar noticed his panic.
"Something wrong, Dbroha?"
"Didn't you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"The groaning! And the nails."
Oscar looked confused. "Um, what groaning? I don't hear anything."
"Really? I heard it earlier too, when we were passing that well."
"Your ears are that sharp?" Maria asked.
Dbroha nodded. "Yeah, I have really good senses, even for a Faunus."
"The well likely runs beneath the farm. You're probably hearing animals running around down there."
"Oh." He relaxed. "You're probably right."
(Timeskip)
Everyone reconvened back in the library for the night, and Dbroha was now between Yang and Blake. He felt much better thanks to the fire, but he was starting to become sleepy.
"A diary?" He heard Oscar ask Maria.
The old woman nodded. "From the head of this estate, Bartleby. Apparently he and several other families founded this little settlement to try to live on their own. Sounds like it worked, at least for a spell.
"The Grimm?" Dbroha asked from his spot.
"Just one of many hardships. Slowed down their farming, made everything harder. It's quite a shame really. He seemed like quite the ambitious fellow. Always thinking of new schemes to over come the odds."
"Hey, guys?" Dbroha bent his head back to see Ruby come in. "Qrow says we should get some sleep. We're gonna head out early tomorrow."
"Thank goodness." Blake said what everyone was thinking.
The four got up from the floor and laid out some blankets. As Dbroha tucked in beside Weiss, he heard Maria huff.
"The last thing you'll see me doing is letting some kid tell me what to do. Go to bed."
Dbroha chuckled as Maria stomped across the room and settled into a chair bu the lamp to continue to read the diary.
Everyone drifted away, and the next morning, Dbroha leapt awake with a gasp as he heard a particularly loud groan. He was breathing heavily for a moment as he glanced around. He hadn't woken anyone up, but he did see Ruby fidgeting in her sleep. Carefully, he crept over to her and shook her shoulder.
"Ruby?" He whispered.
He shook a bit harder, but to no avail. However, when he heard a bottle hit the floor, she jumped awake like he had. Luckily, he moved away before her head could smack into his.
"Ruby?"
She turned to him, before smiling. "I-I'm okay. What are you doing up?"
He slumped. "I keep hearing the noises."
"Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon."
Dbroha glanced at the window. "Shouldn't Qrow have woken us up by now?"
Ruby eyes widened as she realized he was right. She marched up to the curtains and pulled them open.
"Close the window." Weiss moaned.
Ruby breathed deeply. "Come on, Dbroha."
The boy followed his sister to where Qrow had passed out. Dbroha nearly gagged at the smell of alcohol. Ruby picked up an empty bottle and approached the unconscious man.
"Uncle Qrow." She shook him. "Come on, get up!"
"Ugh, leave me alone." He mumbled.
"We overslept."
He pushed her away, and in frustration, she threw the bottle at a wall, shattering it and getting Qrow up.
"What!?" He glanced between Ruby and the bottles and realized he had been caught. "Oh, right. Sunrise."
Ruby hugged him. "You know, you can talk to me about stuff. Yang too."
"Let's just get out of here." He insisted.
As Qrow and Ruby passed him, Dbroha switched to his second vision. He could see that Qrow was upset, confused, and feeling many different emotions, he already could guess that.
What worried him was the weak response from their souls.
(Timeskip)
Everyone gathered outside to get ready to leave. Dbroha sandwiched himself between Oscar and Blake with a blanket over him as Weiss and Yang got Bumblebee ready.
"Can we just go back to bed?" Oscar moaned.
"If we're all so tired, maybe we should make breakfast?" Blake suggested.
"You wanna make it?"
"Not really."
Dbroha didn't say anything. He was unsettled by everything. Everyone was acting like he did when they got caught in the snow. But that was biological. This? This wasn't right. It didn't feel normal. Qrow and Ruby then pushed the cart into view.
"You got the bike ready?"
Yang nodded.
"All right." Qrow said, putting his foot on a tire. "Let's hook this thing up and-,"
At that moment, the tire popped, enraging Qrow.
"You people are just beacons for bad luck, aren't you." Maria chimed.
Dbroha flinched. "Really not a good choice of words, Maria."
Qrow stomped away and sat down as Yang propped herself against the well.
"I'm starting to think the universe doesn't want us to get to Atlas."
Ruby sighed. "It's just a flat tire. I'm sure there's a spare."
"It's not just that. It's everything. Storms, crashes, monsters...I'm so tired."
"Me too." Blake agreed. "It feels like we're always having to fight to get by."
"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "But that's what we signed up for."
"We signed up to try and save the world," Oscar corrected. "Not just delay the inevitable."
Weiss jumped in. "Last night I...I couldn't stop thinking, why are we even going to Atlas?"
Ruby and Dbroha were both shocked at the question. Of course they were going to Atlas. It was the only place to keep the Relic safe. They had to go...right? Dbroha started feel a fog drift over his mind. He was also tired.
"Weiss, we have to." Ruby insisted.
"She's right." Dbroha agreed.
"Why?" Yang asked. "Ozpin hid the Relics behind locked doors under enormous schools. But, how long would it take Salem to find one in the middle of nowhere?"
The dragon boy narrowed his eyes. "Considering the Relics attract the Grimm, probably not that long."
Yang shrugged. "They'd find it eventually, sure, but just bury it or throw it down the well, it would take years. It might not even happen in our lifetime, but we can be done with it now."
Ruby glanced down at the Relic, unsure, before walking towards the well.
"I am really tired."
As she held the Relic over the well, Dbroha growled, stopping her.
"So, your plan is to give up?"
Everyone glanced at him.
"Dbroha." Yang said. "This isn't our-,"
"So the fate of the world isn't our problem? So we just sit down, do nothing, and wait for Salem to come kill us? That's your plan?"
The girls didn't seem to have the energy to meet his challenged. Dbroha meanwhile felt the fog clear somewhat. Something was definitely wrong.
"What's the point?" Yang tried to ask the boy.
Dbroha shot her a dirty look. "Sorry, I didn't know I was talking to Raven."
Yang blinked, and for a second, there was a spark in her eyes. Wait, when did everyone's eyes become so dull? How long had they been like this? Ruby blinked, also seeming to snap out of whatever was wrong with them. However, glancing down the well, she yelped, dropping the Relic.
"No no no! I didn't mean to!"
Dbroha flew over to her and looked down the well.
"Ruby, it's okay." Weiss assured.
"No! There's something down there! I saw it! It was looking at me!"
"Hey, it's okay." Yang said, returning to her emotionless state. "You said you're tired. It's probably nothing. Now let's go."
"What's wrong with you!?" Ruby snapped. "We can't just leave! We have to go down there and get the lamp back. Oh what was I thinking!?"
"All we have to do is fix this trailer." Qrow said. "Hey farm boy, search the shed for a spare."
"I'm not leave without the lamp!" Ruby yelled.
There was moment of silence before Dbroha scooted in.
"I'll get it. I can probably fly in and out faster than Oscar could fix the wheel and attach the cart."
"Dbroha I don't want you down there alone." Ruby said.
"I'll go with him." Blake volunteered.
Weiss stepped forward. "We'll go down together.
Qrow huffed and marched towards the house. "Fine, get the stupid lamp. Oscar, fix the stupid tire."
"Where are you going?" Maria asked as he passed her.
He held out his flask. "Where do you think?"
She shook her head. "Stupid."
"Let's just get this done." Dbroha insisted. "I really don't like this place."
The group of five descended into the well, lighting the place with their scrolls. The lamp wasn't there.
"Maybe the current carried it away?" Yang suggested.
"I'll find it!" Dbroha said as he flew down the passage.
"Dbroha!" Ruby yelled after him. "What did I say about you being alone down here?"
He slowed down enough to keep in their sight. He then scanned the area, searching for the Relic. He then caught sight of the blue glow of the lamp.
"I found it!" He called as he landed and ran around the corner.
He saw the Relic laying there and scooped it up with relief. He then heard hissing and groaning. Looking up, Dbroha saw what could only be described as a nightmare. He had seen some terrifying Grimm before, but this was new. It was a horde of them, skeletal being with long claws. They turned to the small boy and growled, reaching out with their claws. Dbroha screamed loudly, and his fear seemed to finally snap his sisters out of their stupor.
"Dbroha!" Yang yelled.
Dbroha flew away from the Grimm and straight back to his sisters, not even bothering to stop as he reached them.
"Run for it!" He yelled as the Grimm came into view.
The girls were horrified by the creatures. Ruby took shots with Crescent Rose, but the Grimm didn't appear to be hurt, screech at them. As they screeched, everyone became dazed. Dbroha stumbled to the ground, his body now too heavy to fly.
"What is this?" Yang asked.
"My weapon feels heavy." Blake struggled to get out.
A voice called out. "Run!"
Dbroha looked up to see Maria at the end of the tunnel.
She motioned with her cane. "Now!"
Everyone followed after the elderly woman towards the light of the well, but the screeching kept adding to the weight they felt.
"This way!" Ruby called as they were forced to change their route. Dbroha held the lamp tightly as they kept turning every time they ran into the Grimm. Eventually, they were cornered and another scream brought them to their knees. Dbroha covered his ears, trying to block out the sound. Maria struggled past him, only to fall again. Dbroha propped her up.
"An exit!" She struggled. "An exit!"
Dbroha looked up to see cellar doors. With all his willpower, he forced himself to his feet and dragged himself towards it, feeling weighed down more with every step. He then heard a clank and turned to see Blake had collapsed as the Grimm approached.
"Blake, get up!" Ruby desperate said.
The cat Faunus could barely respond. Dbroha attempted to blast the Grimm with fire, but he could barely even manage smoke at this point. He felt so weak. Ruby extended to a hand to Blake as the Grimm reached out their claws.
"BLAKE!"
There was a dazzling blast of silver light as the Grimm evaporated almost instantly as everyone's strength seemed to return. Dbroha got to his feet as he and Weiss ran for the cellar door.
"What just happened?!" Maria yelled.
Weiss pushed at the doors. "Their locked!"
"Move!" Dbroha said as he prepared to punch it open.
However, the Grimm returned and screech, bringing everyone to the floor. Dbroha tried to force himself up again, but the weight was just too much. He was spent. He could vaguely hear Maria say something to Ruby, but he couldn't even make it out over the ringing in his ears. Just as he was about to pass out, there was another flash of light. Dbroha eyes shot open as he got to his feet, punching through the doors. Everyone raced up into the house and saw Qrow half conscious at the bar. Ruby raced to her uncle, shaking him.
"Uncle Qrow get up!"
"Hey get off me! What are you doing here?"
"We're leaving idiot!" Maria snapped back. "Come on"
Yang grabbed Blake and ran out with Maria as the other three hung back with Qrow. As Ruby tried to explain, Weiss and Dbroha grabbed several bottles of alcohol and threw them at the cellar doors. Qrow made a weak attempt at a protest but they ignored him. The two stood in the door way as the Grimm emerged, blasting the entrance with fire. Satisfied, they turned back to the other two.
"Now we can leave." Weiss said as she and Ruby dragged a struggling Qrow out.
"Stop it! What's wrong with you!?"
Completely done with his attitude, Dbroha flew up, grabbed Qrow by the hair, and forced him to look at the Grimm emerging from the cellar, now on fire. He immediately shut up and stopped struggling. Everyone piled into the cart and raced off as the estate burned. For a while, there was silence. No one really wanted to talk about what they had seen, until Maria began to explain what they had just faced.
"The Apathy. They're not strong, or ferocious, they drain your will to go on." Dbroha gulped at the description, huddling closer to Ruby who covered him in her cape. "Bartleby's estate was hemorrhaging money towards the end. He wanted to cut costs on Huntsmen protection, but in order to do that, he needed everyone calm, always."
Oscar opened the diary and read the entry about the Apathy. "Managed to get two away from their pack. Hike back was miserable, but got the bastards into the cellar. Wife thought I was out sealing the waterways. I'll do it tomorrow and tell her the truth once these things take the edge off everyone. I'm tired."
Maria nodded. "The next page proves that he did, but not before the rest of the pack followed their missing pair all the way home. My guess is they made their way beneath the estate through the water tunnels that Bartleby sealed up the next morning." She took the diary from Oscar. "Bartleby's plan worked. No one was angry, or sad, or scared. No one was anything, and then, no one was left."
She threw the diary away as everyone let the knowledge sink in.
"I'm...sorry for what I said." Weiss apologized. "About giving up."
Yang stopped the bike. "Me too." She looked over her shoulder. "You were right, Dbroha. We can't just sit around and wait for Salem to come kill us. We can't quit until the lamp is safe."
"It's not your fault." Blake tried to assure her.
Dbroha nodded, just grateful everyone's souls looked back to normal. "Yeah, it was just the Apathy talking, not you."
Maria looked somber. "I should've known. The signs were all there, but I had never seen an entire settlement withered away like that. I supposed my mind isn't what it used to be."
"You saved us down in the tunnels though." Dbroha argued. "Those things would've gotten if you hadn't been there."
"Miss Calavera?" Ruby asked. "How do you know so much about the Grimm? And in the tunnels you knew exactly what to say to make me...to make my eyes do that. How?"
Maria smiled. "Well, isn't it obvious, girl? I had silver eyes."
Chapter 24: Argus
Maria recounted her story as a huntress and the accident which had costed her her eyes. It didn't take a genius to realize that Salem was likely the one who sent the assassins after Maria, considering how powerful the silver eyes were against the Grim. Dbroha shivered at the thought, almost hearing Maria scream of agony as she described the crocodile Faunus slashing her eyes out, mocking her as a fighter till the end before Maria outsmarted and killed her.
"But I wasn't." The old woman admitted. "I went into hiding soon after."
They blinked at her before turning to Qrow, who seemed the most in shock.
"I don't believe it. You...you're the Grim Reaper. You were a legend. When you disappeared..."
"How exactly does a legend disappear?" Oscar asked.
"You never used your name, never showed your face. Lots of us thought you were just laying low. Eventually most of us came to accept you were probably dead. But the stories about you...I based my weapons off yours."
The dragon Faunus looked at Ruby. He knew Ruby had based her weapon off Qrow's and now they knew who Qrow based Harbinger off of...it seemed almost fitting Maria was a silver eyed warrior like Ruby.
"I wanted to be as good as the Grim Reaper." Qrow finished.
"Well I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way." Maria said solemnly.
"How can you say that?" Blake asked.
"Child, a huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end, but after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight, afraid someone would find me again and finished what the others had started. You shouldn't aspire to be someone like me, especially when some of you are clearly stronger already." She glanced between Yang and Dbroha before looking down. "It's comforting seeing that your generation lives up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape."
Dbroha curled up more into Ruby's cape. "It's hardly your fault."
"And maybe you can do something now." His sister added. "Teach me to use my powers the way you did."
Maria looked at her unsure, but before she could answer, Ruby's Scroll began to ring. She picked it up and smiled.
"It's Jaune!"
Yang brought them to a halt. "How?!"
Ruby answered the call. "Hello?"
"Ruby! Oh thank you! I've been checking my Scroll for your signal since we made it to the city!"
"The city? Wait."
Looking down, she saw the signal growing. Yang raced them up the hill and they all were able to see the walled costal city. The blonde smiled back at them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at Argus."
They took a moment to take in everything and Dbroha laid his head against his sister's shoulder. They only had been traveling for two days, but it felt like they had finally reached their destination after a long, tiring journey. Ruby placed her chin on his head. Though their thoughts were unspoken, she felt the exact same way. Upon arrival, Yang paid for a garage for Bumblebee as the rest were on the lookout for Jaune, Nora, and Ren. It didn't take long for Dbroha to hear Nora.
"Cute boy Oz!"
He flew up just as Nora crashed into the unsuspecting Oscar. Her male companions quickly greeted the rest of the group. While Dbroha introduced Ren and Nora to Maria, Ruby was off to the side, comforting Jaune. They all took a trolly deeper into the city, seeing a few sights along the way.
"It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be." Yang noted.
"It's actually one of the largest, non-capital cities in all of Remnant." Ren explained.
"No way!" Ruby said enthusiastically.
Dbroha tilted his head. "Wait, wouldn't it be hard to settle a city this big away from a Kingdom?"
"It was." Jaune answered. "Until Mantle showed up. Early settlement attempts by Mistral didn't go so well, but colonists from Mantle were able to brave the cold climate in return for goods Solitace couldn't provide."
"The two Kingdoms worked together to create a hybrid city." Ren continued. "While it falls under the jurisdiction of Mistral, Atlas keeps a military presence here to protect the city and keep the trade between the two cities steady."
"Well..." Nora dragged. "Until recently."
Dbroha lowered his head. "The embargo."
"Yup. Easy to say, things are tense."
The trolly came to a stop as the group dismounted.
Blake glanced at everyone. "We should probably look for a ship."
"So, where have you guys been staying?" Oscar asked.
Jaune chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck as the trolly left.
"Oh there you are!" A female voice greeted.
Dbroha glanced behind the older male to see a woman carrying a toddler waving at them. She looked very similar to Jaune, blonde hair and blue eyes and all. The toddler giggled as everyone realized who she was. Jaune sheepishly waved back at her.
"Hey Saph."
Ruby gasped in delight as Dbroha realized this was one of Jaune's sisters, Saphron Arc.
(Timeskip)
Saphron led them all back to her house, which Jaune and the others had crashed in. Yang and Weiss were on the floor, playing with Saphron's son, Adrian, while the others were on the couch talking.
"I can't believe I'm meeting your sister!" Ruby squealed. "I have so many questions."
"Oh I'll give you the rundown later." Nora assured her.
Jaune groaned. "Will you guys knock it off."
"What? I love telling stories about my baby brother!" Saphron teased, pinching his cheeks.
Jaune shooed her off. "I am not a baby! That is a baby!"
He pointed at Adrian, who immediately pouted, eliciting coos from Yang and Weiss. Dbroha tail twitched at the interaction. It was a new experience not being the youngest in the room, even when he returned to Treecaster. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. Unfortunately, his tail caught the eye of the toddler, who crawled over and grabbed it. Dbroha's immediately jumped onto the armrest and kept his tail out of the smaller boy's reach. Adrian only giggled and stood up, prompting Dbroha to fly away as the toddler chased after him.
"So Saphron." Blake interjected, ignoring Dbroha running from the toddler. "Are you the only Arc living here?"
"Yep! Moved the second I could. Jaune and I are the only two living away from home. I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis."
"I! Ugh..."
"Aw, you didn't deny it!"
Dbroha interrupted their sibling teasing by flying between them and then perching on a bookshelf, Adrian giggling as he followed.
"Dbroha! Don't perch there!" Weiss scolded. "You might break it."
"Tell him to stop chasing me then!" He yelled back, looking at Adrian.
"Fire breather, you're twice his size." Qrow pointed out.
"It's not like I can push him! He keeps chasing my tail! I hate strangers touching my tail!"
They all laughed at Dbroha's antics as the door opened. With Adrien distracted, the boy flew back to the couch to see a woman who looked similar to the toddler walk in with groceries.
"Everyone, this is my wife Terra Cotta."
Everyone greeted her.
"Well hello there. Wow, quite the party. You weren't kidding. Hun, can I get some help please?"
Saphron ran into the kitchen and eventually everyone began to prepare lunch, while Dbroha kept Adrian busy by running from him.
"And you're sure it's all right if we stay with you?" Ruby asked.
Saphron brushed her off. "Of course! We're always happy to house Huntsmen and Huntresses."
"You all do so much to keep people like us safe." Terra agreed, finally rescuing Dbroha by picking up Adrian. "It's the least we can do." She then turned to Qrow. "Especially for such an elite Huntsman like yourself. Although I will say I was a bit surprised to learn you had students helping you, much less a child. Is that even legal?"
Ruby elbowed Qrow to get him to answer. "Ugh, of course. Think of it as an extended training mission. Trust me, I was a professor, even went to the same academy as them. Let me tell ya, these kids are way better then we were. Well, not better than me specifically, but a lot of students. As for Dbroha...well the kid's always been a bit of a special case. He can handle himself though."
"Shut up there's food!" Ruby interrupted as Jaune, Nora, and Ren brought out sandwiches. Dbroha immediately began to devour them, but when Adrian began to giggle, he darted behind Yang to hide. She laughed.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong?"
"He's staring at me."
"Well you're cool to look at to him." Jaune assured.
"But does he have to follow me around? I feel like I could knock him into a wall if I move my tail too much!"
Blake laughed. "Aw Dbroha, it's all right. You just need to be careful."
He pouted. "I know, it's just weird having someone smaller than me in the room."
"Aw, is someone jealous?" Yang teased.
He stuck his tongue out at her. "Am not!"
She ruffled his hair as Terra got up and excused herself with a somber look.
"Is everything okay?" Blake asked.
"Oh, yeah, it will be." Saphron said unsure. "Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower. Unfortunately, the territory's radar tower is also housed there." She began baby talking to Adrian. "Guess what's been on the fritz lately and who's getting falsely blamed."
"Me." Terra whispered from the stairs, still on the phone.
Saphron chuckled before turning to Ruby. "So what's your plan for tomorrow?"
She quickly swallowed her food. "Well, we're trying to make our way to Atlas. We'll probably start with the military base."
Nora gave Ren a nervous look as Jaune looked a bit bashful.
"So we already tried that and...it didn't go...super great."
Dbroha tilted his head, able to tell how badly it went.
"Down in flames, huh?"
"Why do we have to keep talking about soul vision?"
"Come on, it couldn't be that bad." Yang said.
(Timeskip)
Yes it was. The gates were immediately closed on the group the second they got there and they spent a good chunk of time arguing with the guards.
"Come on! You didn't even hear us out!" Yang yelled.
"Our orders are clear. The Mistral/Atlas border is closed." The guard on the right shot back.
"Please!" Left said.
"Have a good day!" Right finished.
"But-,"
"Good day."
"I think these guys are robots. Like, normal robots." Dbroha whispered to Blake.
Qrow stepped up. "Look, if you don't want to believe I'm friends with Ironwood-,"
"GENERAL Ironwood!"
"Yeah, General Ironwood, then fine. We have Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely."
Dbroha saw Weiss's face fall and slipped his hand into her's. She smiled thankfully at him. The guards looked to each other for a moment.
"Approach."
Weiss moved forward hesitantly. The guards examined her for a bit before seeming satisfied.
"Very well."
"You may speak with our commanding officer." Left informed them.
"We will fetch her at once!"
The two "ran" off in the most ridiculous fashion possible, making everyone blink in disbelief.
"Are those two-," Ruby finished Blake's thought.
"Super weird? Yeah."
Dbroha crossed his arms. "I'm telling you, robots."
Maria hummed nervously, which Oscar took notice of.
"What's wrong?"
"Well I...may know this commanding officer."
"That's good isn't it?" Ruby asked. "Eh, if she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us."
"I wouldn't exactly call us..friends."
"Acquaintances?" Weiss questioned.
"Not quite."
"Colleagues?" Blake suggested.
"Warmer."
"Fellows?" Dbroha added.
"Still no."
"Enemies?" Yang finally answered.
"That's the one!"
"Wait what?" Oscar said.
"Oh yes. I come through her about once every 10 years to get my eyes checked up in Atlas. You bring outside cashews on one flight, and suddenly you're placed on the additional screening list for life!"
Qrow rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Now, now, let's not give up hope just yet...maybe she's dead."
Dbroha wings drooped at the morbid suggestion as the guards returned, opening the gate.
"Introducing!"
"Special Operative!"
"Caroline Cordovin!"
A small, barely taller than Maria, elderly woman that Dbroha could tell had plenty of energy for her age stepped forward. She immediately marched up to Maria. The two glared at each other.
"...Witch."
"She-devil."
"This will end well." The boy mumbled as Blake elbowed him lightly.
Cordovin looked over the group. "I see you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time."
Maria smiled. "Oh Cordo. You know, they say time changes people, but I see you've still got that stick right up-!"
Ruby lowered her hand as Yang shielded Dbroha's ears. "Woah! Ms Cordovin? My name is Ruby Rose, and I was wondering if you'd hear us out about-,"
"I've already heard what your other friends had to say, Ms Rose." She glanced at Team JNR who were standing a way's away this whole time. "What are you doing back here!? I thought I already told you to leave!"
"And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!" Nora shot back as the boys held her back.
Ren waved. "Nice to see you again as well!"
The officer looked back at Ruby. "You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this slowly, in smaller words. This base. That relay tower. The very safety of Argus are all glorious gifts of the Kingdom of Atlas! And it is my duty to uphold them as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task."
"Such wit!"
"Such tenacity!"
"Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far from the Kingdom as possible." Maria insulted slyly.
Cordo growled. "You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't have even been here if it were for our Atlesean ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throat!"
"Please." Ruby interceded. "We know your Kingdom had nothing to do with the Fall of Beacon. We were there!"
"Weiss jumped in. "No one is happy about the Atlas borders or the embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried. It's why we need to talk to him."
"The general is no coward."
"Are you half deaf?" Dbroha snapped. "She said worried, not coward! I'm 10 and I know the difference between those words!"
"Dbroha, shush." Blake implored.
"What? It's true."
"Atlas is strong!" Cordo continued. "If all the Kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!"
"Atlas will prevail!"
"Do you guys seriously have to do that?" Yang asked the two idiots.
Cordo then took a deep breath. "If Ms Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then of course the Atlas Military will escort her home. But the Kingdom will not be responsible for her friends of...questionable character."
She specifically looked at Blake and Dbroha at this. The cat Faunus's ears went back as Dbroha hissed.
"Wow, a racist and a crummy soul. You're a real piece of work, lady."
Weiss stepped in front of them, very angry. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means we're done here."
The gates were immediately shut as they walked off. Nora pointed angrily.
"Oh yeah? Well your face looks...like a big dumb boot!"
"Way to show her, Nora." Jaune said sarcastically.
"Can I set this place on fire?" Dbroha asked genuinely. "No one would have to know it was me."
"There will be no arson." Blake said firmly.
"I don't-," Ruby cut Weiss off.
"Weiss, I told you we wouldn't leave your side for a second. We'll find a way to Atlas. Together."
She nodded with a sad smile and Dbroha noticed Qrow walking off.
"Where are you going?"
"Yeah, what's the plan?" Nora added, not realizing Qrow was ditching them.
"The plan? The plan got shut in our face three times over. I'm going for a drink."
Ruby ran up to him.
"Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try to come up with something-,"
He ignored her and took off. Dbroha huffed.
"Seems the Apathy didn't teach him anything."
"What's his problem?" Jaune asked, making Dbroha realize something vital: Jaune, Ren, and Nora still didn't know about Ozpin yet. "It's not your fault we can't go on."
"If he's gonna be a jerk, we'll just come up with something without him!" Nora declared. "I mean, we have Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do!"
No one on the team could look the others in the eye and Ren noticed.
"What?"
(Timeskip)
After a long explanation back at Cotta-Arc house, Jaune punched a wall in frustration.
"Jaune!" Ruby scolded.
"Everything we did was for nothing!"
"That's not true!" Blake argued.
Nora had her face in her hands beside her. "Really? Cause it sure does sound like it."
"I, um-,"
"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?"
No one had an answer for Ren. While they had all regained their resolve to head to Atlas, that didn't mean they had a new plan. They could only take one step at a time. Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough for Jaune.
"Wow, great plan everyone."
"This seems familiar." Dbroha halfheartedly joked to himself as he leaned over the staircase.
Oscar tried to step up.
"Look, none of this is great, we know, but we're not the bad guys here."
"Are we sure about that?"
"What?"
Jaune turned on Oscar and began marching towards him. "He's in your head isn't he? Did you already know about this?"
"He didn't know any of it!"
Dbroha had seen Jaune's outburst coming and jumped down from the stairs. Before Jaune could reach Oscar, the Faunus put himself between the two, his wings up, keeping Jaune back. He glared up at the older boy with a determined look. Jaune glared back, but didn't move against the younger male.
"You need to calm down." Dbroha said firmly.
Jaune blinked and realized the position he was in, acting so hostile that Dbroha felt the need to interfere. He didn't say anything else and walked up the stairs. A loud door slam was heard a moment later.
"Is he going to be okay?" Yang asked Nora.
"I don't know!"
She also marched up the stairs, leaving Ren to pick up the pieces.
"I think it would be best if we had time to ourselves."
Dbroha agreed silently as Ren followed after his teammates. The room was silent for a moment as they watched.
"Maybe we could all use some space." Blake suggested.
Everyone seemed to agree and slowly dispersed. Dbroha watched everyone. After a while it was only him and Oscar left.
"Hey." He looked over to the farm boy. "Thanks for that, Dbroha."
The dragon smiled. "Don't mention it."
Oscar slumped onto the stair steps. "You and Ruby seem to be the only ones not mad at me."
Dbroha sat beside him. "Well, we get you're not responsible for any of this. The others are just...upset. They need someone to blame. They know deep down you're not the one they should be angry at. Besides, I kinda get where Oz is coming from...never truly being able to trust someone."
"You get keeping secrets that big?"
"My grandfather murdered my parents and attempted to murder me multiple times, and I was experimented on for four years. And I only recently turned 10. After that, I didn't think I'd ever be able to trust people again, so imagine Oz who has experienced stuff like that over and over again. That kind of betrayal...well, it does stuff to you."
Oscar blinked at him in surprise, not expecting such a nuanced answer from such a young boy. Once again he was reminded how experienced Dbroha was in the cruelty of the world. The dragon boy suddenly bounced up.
"You know, we need to get out for a bit. Why don't we go get some upgrades to our gear?"
"What?" Oscar asked, baffled.
Dbroha smiled. "You heard me. You can't travel in those clothes anymore, and I need some winter gear for Atlas so I don't freeze my tail off!"
"And you just want to leave now?"
"Why not? Everyone needs some time apart, we all agreed. We'll be back before they notice."
"And how are we gonna pay for this?"
Dbroha grinned evilly, holding up a credit card. "I snatched one of Qrow's cards. Figured it might come in handy. He did deck you in the face, so I'd say he owes you one." ((This is my preferred explanation))
Oscar was still for a second before snorting. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
(Timeskip)
Finding a shop wasn't all that difficult actually. The two boys took a trolly deeper into the city and found a pretty good place to rummage in. They split up and Dbroha wandered into the winter section, browsing until eventually finding somethings that caught his eye. The duo reconvened in the dressing room. Dbroha went first, carefully deciding between his selections before settling which one he liked best. He put it on and walked out to show Oscar, who seemed impressed.
