14: Losss
The small, poorly-lit hangar where they disembarked was cool, dark, and devoid of any personnel. It hardly meant it was devoid of motion, however, as a cadre of oddly-shaped robots - definitely not the sleek humanoid designs favored by Atlas - came to tend to their parked ship.
Ruby took the lead of their small group, feeling uncomfortable at the lack of a human greeting. She'd understood when Ironwood had told her Ozpin's base was top secret, but she hadn't expected it to be so empty. Not even Ozpin himself was making an appearance.
"Well that's… different," Jaune noted as a headless four-legged robot pranced its way up towards them and mimicked sniffing his legs.
It moved on to her, and Ruby awkwardly tried to pat its back. "Hello, puppy… kitten… thing," she said. "I have a dog too, you know!" The plastic felt cool and slick to her fingertips, and the creature ignored her touch and brusquely moved on to Ren.
"Get it off me." Ren's feet phased out when the bot attempted to inspect him.
Static crackled from the open box where on any normal animal a head would have been, and Ozpin's voice came out, clear as if he'd been standing there himself. "Mr. Lie. If you would please deactivate your Semblance and allow my helper to scan you, it would expedite this process."
Looking unhappy, Ren solidified his feet. "Fine, but I still don't like it."
"Why? It's so cute!" Nora said when the thing completed checking Ren and moved onto her to perform the same perfunctory test.
Roman, who was trailing at the back of the group, made a noise of disgust. "You wouldn't think that if it was on guard duty. That's an Atlesian multipurpose watchdroid. Pretty old, too." Ruby watched him step back as the bot continued towards him; part of his conditions for accompanying them to Ozpin's base was the return of his weaponry, bowler hat included. "Still a pain in the ass, though," he muttered, holding Ruby Tuesday at the ready.
The creature spent longer on him than it had on the others, before pacing backwards and sinking into a crouch. Ruby noticed how the whirlwind of robotic activity around their airship slowed down. In the ensuing silence, the clicks of a few panels opening along the sides of the scout were unnaturally loud. It didn't take a genius to see that the tiny bot was well-armed and just as ready to open fire as Roman was. The intercom crackled again.
"Interesting." Ozpin's voice floated through the air. "Tell me, do the others know of your condition?"
Roman sneered. "You think you're in any place to be asking me the questions after that entrance, old man?"
She shared a worried glance with Jaune and then rushed to put herself between Roman and Ozpin's scout.
"It's okay, Jaune and I know everything about his… uhh… problem."
"What problem?" Ren asked, his eyes narrowing.
"That would be my unsportsmanlike attitude," Roman replied. His tone was frigid, though, and Ruby felt her hackles rising as he breathed down her neck, his displeasure at discovering she'd shared his secret evident.
"Ruby, while I know you are the trusting sort, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to send Mr. Torchwick back-"
"No can do," Jaune said, surprising Ruby as he jogged past her and threw his arm around Roman's shoulders, lowering the taller man's head. "Roman's our buddy, so if you want to see us, you'll be seeing all of us."
"He's not our buddy," Nora countered. But she still planted herself firmly by Ruby's side, hands planted on her hips to create a physical barrier between Roman and Ozpin's bot. "That's why we won't be leaving him alone by himself anywhere, right guys? Where Torchwick goes, we go!"
Ren didn't bother to join them, instead standing ominously behind the waiting bot, Stormflower hanging loosely in his hands. "I like robots even less than Torchwick," he stated monotonously.
Ruby didn't bother to stop the grin that stretched her cheeks wide. "You know how important teamwork is, Professor! Why stop us now when we're doing so well?"
"Yes, I can see your team isn't open to negotiations," Ozpin stated dryly. "Very well… follow my guide, if you will. But know, Mr. Torchwick, that you will be under close surveillance for the duration of your time here. I would recommend you refrain from your usual antics for your own safety."
Roman shrugged Jaune's arm off with a look of irritation. "It's not my safety you should be worrying about," he muttered under his breath, straightening his jacket.
Ruby whirled around to look at him. "Could you be good?" she whispered. "Please?" She couldn't help but wince at the note of pleading in her voice - and there was that 'enlightened self-interest' again. She could practically hear Roman sniggering at her once-lofty ideals. But fine, so maybe she was a little scared. Ozpin really was her only slim chance at reversing the damage she'd done to her body. It wasn't just Roman's future riding on his ability to reform his ways.
She looked away, ashamed of herself. But I have no right to ask him to do anything for me anymore.
"I'm trying," Roman stated, his voice brimming suppressed anger. "But don't forget your mentor nearly killed you, too. Practice a little self-preservation sometimes."
Her brow quirked as she tried to understand how his reasoning could be so similar, yet so different from her own. Self-preservation? Were they even looking at her situation the same way? When she looked up, his smile was more menacing than reassuring. "I'll only promise to be as good as Pinhead lets me."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he kinda has a point," Jaune said.
Nora threw up her hands. "This is too weird," she huffed. "Stop confusing me! I'm gonna follow the cute robot dog, and the first person who asks me to pick a side is getting a serving of Magnhild." She paused, then grabbed Ruby, her green eyes burning. "No, scratch that. I pick your side, Ruby. You point, I'll smash." Her eyes travelled towards Roman and her grin turned just as menacing as his. "At anybody."
"I like her," Roman said as she flounced off after the bot, which was trotting towards the hangar's doorway. "Strong, stupid, and loyal. You picked a good minion."
"Tell me when I can shoot him," Ren said with a look of disgust, sheathing his weapons.
"And the smartass," Roman added. "Good of you to remember my bullets this time." He saluted with Ruby Tuesday.
"Ren!" Nora called from the door. "Are you coming or what?"
"Oh, better run, Beauty." Torchwick smirked. "Looks like your beast is calling you."
Ren twitched. For initially being one of the more tolerant members of Team RNJR concerning Roman, he seemed to have the worst relationship with him in the present.
Ruby could see the trouble brewing behind Ren's usually placid eyes and elbowed Roman. "Stop it," she hissed. "He helped us, remember?"
"And I have regrets," Ren added, his voice still in that same dangerously smooth monotone. "Would Ozpin even have fired on us without this joker tagging along?"
"Ren," Jaune warned. "Don't push it. He's a friend of Ruby's now. That means he's a…" He stopped, looking as though he'd swallowed something foul. "...friend of Team RNJR."
"What a ringing endorsement, Wonder Boy," came Roman's cutting reply. "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, eh?"
Jaune's face twisted up. "I will never understand how you managed this," he said to Ruby, before grabbing Ren by the arm and turning him around. "Think of him like a rabid dog," she heard Jaune say under his breath. "And let Ruby handle him. She's the only Torchwick whisperer around here."
Ruby dropped her head with a sigh. "Did you have to do that?"
Roman crossed his arms, defiant. "Yeah, I did." He glared down his nose at her. "You told Jaune?"
She lifted her head. "You're calling him Jaune?"
"He's not half-bad," Roman admitted. "Neither is Ren. He's a smartass, but a clever one. Looks like you paired yourself up with a tanker, a handler, and a brawler. It's a good team." He looked over towards the door, where the rest of Team RNJR was waiting for them, and reached out to push her in their direction. "Walk and talk."
"Wait, so if you don't completely hate him, why do you heckle him so much?"
"It's fun." Roman shrugged. "You kids get riled up so easily, I can't help it. Your girl Nora there has the right idea: keep it simple. The more complicated you make things, the harder it'll be to move past them when they go to shit. And trust me, if you're all aiming to be Huntsmen, things will go to shit."
"You still think this is a war we can't win?" Ruby asked with a sinking feeling.
"You saw Salem," he replied. "Even with half her body missing, she nearly got us."
"Maybe that's why Ozpin's looking for the other Maidens," she replied. She trailed off as they passed through the hanger doorway and into the well-lit hall, her mouth dropping open.
Next to her, Roman stretched and smiled. "Now this, I might be able to work with," he said, hooking his rifle over his shoulders and strolling over the glossy hardwood floor to join the rest of her gaping team.
"Can you believe this place?" Nora said, her eyes as large as saucers.
"Are we… really underground?" Ruby replied as the door to the dim hanger sealed shut, leaving them in what looked like a luxurious, well-lit hallway in a five-star hotel. The lighting was tasteful and modern, the sparse furniture stylish and functional, and there even were several view screens set into the walls at regular intervals, displaying images that mimicked above-ground windows. The bot that had guided them in was waiting patiently at the end of the hall, next to a large elevator.
"I didn't know Ozpin was this rich," Jaune stuttered as he made his way down the hall.
"Neither did I," Roman replied, sounding irate.
His obvious annoyance put a smile on Ruby's face. "So… you think maybe you were working for the wrong people after all?"
"Can it, Red," he muttered, though he seemed to be in a better mood than before, not even picking a fight with the other members of her team in the close quarters of the elevator they crowded into.
The doors closed behind them, and the elevator began to descend.
And descend.
And descend.
Ruby looked around the cabin. "Umm… exactly how far down are we going?"
"Far enough to protect the delicate nature of the equipment I have here from an above-ground assault," Ozpin's voice replied from the robot riding alongside them. "But fear not, we will reach our destination shortly."
The elevator came to a stop with a bright ding, and the doors slid open.
The silence was deafening as the robot trotted out of the elevator and into the large, similarly-decorated reception room waiting for them.
"You and your friends are welcome to enter my humble abode," Ozpin said - although this time, his voice wasn't coming from the robot.
"P-professor Ozpin?" Ruby stuttered, stepping out slowly.
Ozpin's mild smile, cool brown eyes, and mop of silver hair were as familiar as ever. His face, however, looked as though he'd aged significantly over the past three years. If she hadn't seen him before, she'd have assumed he was in his early 50's. That wasn't the biggest shock, though.
"Professor…" Jaune said, also sounding shocked as he stared Ozpin down. "What happened to your… your…"
"...everything," Nora finished for him.
"Ah, this," Ozpin said with a weary sigh, raising a prosthetic arm in greeting with some difficulty. Both of his human arms had been severed at the biceps, from the looks of it, and replaced with Atlesian cybernetics. Normally those sorts of body modifications wouldn't have been visible had he simply worn clothing over them, as General Ironwood did. Ozpin was prevented from hiding his loss, however, because of the explosion of wires and cables emerging from his chest and back, connecting his body to the large chair he was ensconced in. "I'm afraid I was involved in something of an unfortunate accident during the Battle of Beacon."
"Cinder got you," Roman said, stepping out behind them. "You sorry bastard. That isn't living."
Ozpin's mechanical chair whirred, approaching them slowly. "Despite what you may think of it, Mr. Torchwick, my life is still my own."
"Not if that chair of yours fails," he replied, and Ruby finally noticed how uncomfortably complex Ozpin's… well, she couldn't really call it a wheelchair, when it was larger than the rest of his body, self-propelled, and apparently doing everything from keeping his heart beating to pumping air in and out of his lungs.
"Are you… okay?" she asked, then immediately wished she could take it back.
Ozpin turned his chair slowly - it looked like he couldn't move his heavily scarred neck at all - to face her. "We've all suffered our losses in this Grimm war." His lips twitched. "I can't say I appreciate your new appearance very much either."
"Well, that's kind of why we're here," Jaune said. "We wanted to ask if you could fix Ruby, but…" He trailed off, staring at the mechanical mess that was Ozpin's chest with a sort of horrified fascination.
Ozpin's laugh was wry. "Would you believe me if I said that I'm faring much better than I was three years ago?" He looked at Ruby pointedly. "In fact, my slowly improving health is the reason for your visit here today, Ruby."
Ruby's shock at seeing Ozpin faded as his words registered, sparking hope in her chest. "You… you can fix my aura?"
"That remains to be seen," Ozpin told her. "However, there are many things the..." His eyes darted towards Roman. "Three of us must speak of in private. As you know, all things come with their price."
Jaune's face stiffened. "If you think I'm leaving you alone with Ruby for one second in this freaky secret underground lair, you're-!"
"And this is exactly why our discussion must be private," Ozpin cut in. "Your experience is coloring your judgement, Mr. Arc. I'm afraid you and the rest of your teammates will be of little assistance to Ruby in our upcoming negotiations."
"... Negotiations?" Ruby repeated, feeling her euphoria fade. "We have to negotiate?"
"And there it is," Roman sighed, sauntering before Ruby while tapping his rifle on one shoulder. "The catch. You know, if it wasn't for Salem, I never would've guessed you were using your own students for this chess game the two of you are playing."
"Roman," Ruby warned, trying to stop him, but he wouldn't budge. A surge of panic rose in her chest. "Why are you doing this? He can help me!"
Roman ignored her, facing Jaune instead. "Pull back the rest of your team. I have this."
"You don't know what he's capable of, though!" Jaune sputtered. "What he convinced Pyrrha to do-"
Roman's loud laughter filled the air. "What's he's capable of?" He stopped laughing long enough to wipe his eyes. Then he stared Jaune down, still grinning. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"
Ruby bit her lip, watching the silent sparks flying between Roman and Jaune. Finally Jaune turned away, a look of frustration on his face.
"No," Ren said in disbelief. "Jaune, you can't really be thinking of trusting Torchwick-"
"He'll protect her," Jaune replied. "Don't ask me why, but I know that crazy bastard will." He shot a glance at Roman. "I can tell."
"And we can break him if he won't," Ren added.
"Oh really? Care to put your money where that mouth of yours is?" Roman sneered.
"Guys, wait- urk!" Her concentration was broken when Nora grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, rattling her teeth and snapping her attention front and center.
"Ruby. I have no idea what the boys are talking about, and I don't care." Nora leveled a finger at Ozpin. "I know he can probably help you though, right?" Then she swept her finger towards Roman. "And I know he wants to help you." Her finger finally descended towards Ruby's chest and tapped her breastbone a few times. "But most of all, I know you can take care of yourself, so I'll get out of your way. But I'll be right here if you need me for anything. And," she added, a smile lighting her face. "I think your white hair looks cool."
Ruby bit back a laugh, surprised and gratified by Nora's blunt assessment of the situation. She gave the other girl a squeeze. "You know… sometimes you're the best, Nora."
"Sometimes?" Nora pouted, returning the hug with bone-crushing pressure. "More like always, right?" Releasing Ruby, she turned away and stomped towards Ren. "Hey, stop getting so mad. Torchwick's a buttdork, where's the news? He's not the one stopping Ruby from getting her treatment right now."
"Butt-" Roman began, looking offended. "What, are you in elementary school?"
Nora huffed at him. "Look after Ruby or I'll kick your butt. Dork." She slammed her fist into her palm for emphasis, to which Roman rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure?" Ren asked Nora, still wary of Roman.
"Well, yeah. I mean, look at all the swag in this place. I bet Ozpin's kitchen is better stocked than First Class on a transport ship!"
Ren blinked. Then he sighed. "We're not getting drunk down here."
"Says you!" Nora answered, dragging him towards their guide scout. "Hey, dogbot! Take us to Ozpin's bar!"
"She means the kitchens," Ren said.
Jaune only laughed and rubbed his head. "So, uh, yeah." The smile he directed towards her softened. "Everything Nora said. Maybe we should get her to make the public speeches more often."
"Sure, let the world at large know just how mentally impaired your entire group is," Roman quipped.
Jaune ignored him. "I know how important this is to you, Ruby. And I really hope Ozpin can help. But don't forget that some prices are too high." He looked at Roman. "At least I know you won't."
Roman's mocking scowl faded, and after a short moment, he tipped his bowler grudgingly at Jaune. "Get outta here, kid."
"Curiouser and curiouser," Ozpin said, tapping in a few commands into a touchpad on his chair. The scout robot straightened and trotted across the room, waiting at the entrance to another long corridor. "Well. Go along. My assistant will direct you towards the kitchens." He paused. "Try not to completely exhaust my supply of sherry, Ms. Valkyrie. It's meant for cooking."
Ruby watched her friends follow the robot around the corner, and then squared her shoulders and took a deep breath before facing Ozpin. "So… talking?"
"Not here," Ozpin said simply, turning his chair and leading them down a different, wider corridor. "As you might imagine, I built this safe house as something of a last resort. I didn't think I would be quite this severely injured."
"You underestimated us." Roman smirked. "Your loss."
"And you overestimated yourself. Or am I to take it that the Grimm taint in your blood is of your own volition, Mr. Torchwick?"
Ruby bit her lip. "About that… since you were able to pick it up, can you see how much… I mean how far… umm…" She trailed off, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Roman, whose expression had gone blank. "Sorry," she mumbled. "It's just that… when I used my eyes on him, I was hoping-"
"Ah." Ozpin's stern expression cleared. "Is that what happened?"
The way he said it caught Ruby's attention. As though he wasn't surprised that she had shot silver laser beams out from her eyes.
"I'm afraid that's a request only Mr. Torchwick has the right to make," Ozpin continued after a moment. "And you are not necessarily one who should be privy to the answer."
Ruby lowered her head, chastised.
"Why do you always do that?" Roman asked her, sounding annoyed. "Stop navel-gazing. We're here for you. Who gives a fuck about the Grimm in me?"
She winced. "I do."
"Trust me, guys like Ozpin only give out a certain number of freebies before they start charging you. You're throwing them away on useless shit."
Ozpin stopped his chair to watch their exchange.
Ruby's cheeks heated up with anger. "No, why do you always do that?" She glared at Roman with as much fury as she could muster. "Stop calling yourself useless shit."
A muscle in Roman's jaw jumped. "Fine," he said curtly. He looked at Ozpin. "Answer her question."
"Are you sure?" Ozpin said mildly.
"I won't ask twice."
"Mmm." Tapping his chair back into motion, Ozpin led them into a smaller room, canvassed with wires across the floor and the ceiling. "I would say the taint is so firmly embedded into Mr. Torchwick as to be inseparable from his very soul. The fact that you are still able to manifest your aura is proof that Ruby somehow managed to seal this infection and prevent it from spreading further than it already has. Your Semblance, however, will never again evolve, and you may have noticed other… effects due to the taint."
"You mean the voices in my head? Yeah, those were kind of hard to ignore."
"They may return one day. I'm not certain of the efficacy of Ruby's seal on your mind. Your aura pool has already been significantly reduced, and I'm sure you've noticed the drop in your speed and stamina-"
"Wait, what?" Ruby said, her eyes going wide. "What drop?"
"I thought I was just getting old," Roman replied, ignoring her. "Out of practice."
"Huntsmen don't grow old, Mr. Torchwick. The light of their souls burn ever more brightly until something extinguishes it. So long as a Huntsman retains a strong aura, his or her physical abilities and Semblance should only continue to improve with time." Ozpin paused, then glanced down at his chest. "Given that there are no… extenuating circumstances concerning the body hosting that aura."
Ruby hit Roman's arm with her fist. "What drop?!"
He glared at her in annoyance. "Forget about it. You're a battle machine compared to the rest of us anyway."
Ozpin cleared his throat. "It may well be that Ruby's actions have managed to halt your mental degradation and the progression of your loss of physical skills. I will be blunt, however - I'm quite certain your body has already suffered from the strain of the taint. You may not be as long-lived as you expected."
Roman stared at Ozpin wordlessly, before breaking down into loud laughter that only stopped when she punched him in the arm again, this time with more force.
"Stop it!"
"You have to admit, it was funny," Roman said with a wheeze.
"Only to you," she seethed. "Umm… Professor. Will he ever be in danger… I mean… is it going to come back?"
"Mr. Torchwick's situation is unique," Ozpin replied. "It's unheard of for a Silver-Eyed Warrior to interact with a Grimm in any capacity other than that of open warfare in all of Remnant's history. I'm afraid the two of you are in a rather unique situation. I wouldn't be surprised if he were to suffer from a relapse at some point in time, though. And I've no idea if you would be able to prevent that from occurring with the power you harbor in your eyes."
"Stop right there," Torchwick cut in. "You're calling her a Silver-Eyed Warrior like you know something about it."
"Salem said that too," Ruby added. "She called me a pawn. Your pawn."
Ozpin wheeled his chair before a large computer and started it up. Multiple screens with charts and trackers that Ruby couldn't even begin to understand lit the room with a cold green glow. "Silver-Eyed Warriors are not my pawns," he said absently as he rapidly tapped commands into the arm of his chair. "They are merely the antithesis to the Grimm."
"I think we all kind of got that when I started destroying every Grimm within my line of sight every time I freak out."
Ozpin's fingers slowed down, and he adjusted his chair with some difficulty to regard her. "No, I don't believe you understand just yet, Ruby. Silver-Eyed Warriors are the exact opposite of the Grimm, in every respect."
Ruby wrinkled her brow, trying to understand what Ozpin was telling her and drawing a blank. Eventually he sighed and returned to his massive computer.
"They are ruled by a passion for order and law, justice and equality. They advocate for the might of the many working together as one, rather than the dominance of one over all."
"Uh-huh," she said, still not following where he was going by stating the obvious. "That pretty much describes me, I guess."
Ozpin didn't look away from the screens. "Mr. Torchwick? Could you excuse us for a brief moment?"
What? Ruby turned to look at Roman and caught the ugly look crossing his face. "Don't," he said lowly to Ozpin. "Don't do this to her."
Ozpin seemed to ignore whatever Roman was asking for as he continued speaking. "Ah, perhaps I revealed too much of my hand. I do apologize, Ruby. However, just as the status of Mr. Torchwick's Grimm existence was not available for public debate, the same would apply to yourself unless you choose to waive that right."
Ruby looked at Roman helplessly. "He's just trying to confuse me, right? What's he even saying?" She looked between him and Ozpin. "Don't leave me alone with him!" she said to Roman under her breath.
Roman looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. "I'm not going anywhere."
"If that's your decision," Ozpin said, finally satisfied with whatever he saw on the screens. He turned to face her. "Ruby Rose. You are a descendent of a Silver-Eyed Warrior, the nemesis of a Grimm. While I've never studied your bloodwork properly, I'm quite certain from the traits you've displayed thus far that you share much in common with your mother's genome."
Huh? "... G-ge...nome?" she stuttered.
Ozpin opened his mouth, but Roman's retort fired across the room. "Shut up! You don't get to tell her, you bastard. Not like that." He turned towards her, still wearing that same ugly expression. "Ruby." Roman sounded bitter. "You're not… quite... human… either."
She blinked. Did they all hit their heads? "Oh come on, what are you talking about? My dad was human, and my mom-"
"Was a Silver-Eyed Warrior," Ozpin cut in. "It may be that your mixed heritage is the reason you are currently having such difficulties accessing and controlling your powers at will. Silver-Eyed Warriors are, unlike the Grimm, not generally a people ruled by emotion-"
"Wrong." Roman kept his gaze locked on her. "She wouldn't be Ruby if she didn't think with that bleeding heart of hers all the time."
"Yes, it's quite the anomaly."
Their entire conversation made Ruby feel very small and cold. "I'm not… really human?" Her hands reflexively rose to touch the corner of her eyes. "This isn't some special superpower my mom passed down to me?"
"Your mother passed down much more to you than simply her genetic makeup." Ozpin's tone became more conciliatory. "Being of mixed descent has not diluted your race's aptitude for fighting Grimm or willingness to use those powers for the good of the wor-"
She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists, feeling her heart pounding in her ears. Her eyes were hurting too; and she wondered if there was a danger of lighting up the room if she opened them too soon.
"How much of it was real?" she said lowly, keeping her eyes shut. I don't want to see how Ozpin's looking at me. Or Roman. "How much of me was ever my own choice? You're saying my dream to be a Huntress was just the result of genes I inherited from my mom?" The anger beating against her breastbone and heating her throat forced her to open her eyes and stare down Ozpin. "Is that all I really am?"
"Of course not." Ozpin tilted his head. "We are the sum of all of our parts, Ruby. As you may have suspected, a pure Silver-Eyed Warrior would not have an aura. As with Mr. Torchwick, you seem to be a rather unique existence."
Mom… you weren't human? Ruby tried to center her whirling thoughts, focusing on the first things that came to mind. "...does my dad know? Does Yang?"
"As far as I'm aware, your sister and Taiyang know nothing of this." Ozpin paused. "Your uncle, however…"
Ruby dropped her head, unable to hide her miserable smile. "Is that why Uncle Qrow trained me but not Yang? Did you ask him to do that, too?" She didn't need to look up to see Ozpin's answer; his silence was enough. "How could you not tell me?" she asked more softly.
"We thought of it as a kindness. You weren't ready for that information, Ruby. It wasn't even certain that the powers of the Silver-Eyed Warriors had passed onto you until the Battle of Beacon. You were an unknown variable in my equation."
"I see," she mumbled, feeling equal measures of loss and anger. "So I'm not a pawn... just a variable." She waited, but Ozpin didn't try to defend himself from her bitter accusation, leaving her feeling even more confused. She wasn't sure if she was angry at him for not softening the blow, or thankful for his honesty.
Although she didn't feel very thankful. I could have lived without knowing any of this. Taking a deep breath, she tried to compress her emotions and pack them away for inspection later, preferably when she was alone. It was harder than usual this time, though; her attempts to seal away her feelings were being hindered by the niggling doubt that even this was a part of her heritage, rather than her own personality.
"Just who am I?" As she stared furiously at the ground searching for the answer, the toes of Roman's wingtips appeared in her line of vision.
"You're always asking the wrong questions."
She blinked and looked up. Roman towered over her, grinning. "What are you so happy about? Are you gloating because my life just got turned upside-down?"
"Maybe a little." He shrugged. "I know how it feels to be used by your own people. Frankly, I'm probably one of the worst offenders, because I learn from experience. But trying to find answers to the meaning of your life instead of just living it is something only fools waste their time with. What you should be asking right now is 'How can I turn this situation to my advantage?'"
Ruby grit her teeth. "Ozpin's been using me all this time, like I'm some kind of wildcard in whatever game he's playing! My mother wasn't human! I'm not human! How can you laugh-" She managed to bite her tongue before any more spilled out; of all the people in the world, maybe Roman really was the only person who had the right to ridicule her. "How do you just ignore all that and move on?"
His grin dropped and he sighed. "See, this is why I told you to keep things simple. I don't know shit about these Silver-Eyed freaks of nature. Do they all shoot Grimm lasers out of their eyes? Are there any left besides you? Does it even matter?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "You've always had a superpower, kid, even before you knew any of this chaff. You bring out the best in other people when you invest in them. Even worthless scumbags like me." He gave her a squeeze. "That's just who you are. None of the other stuff matters." Carefully, he turned her to face Ozpin and released her shoulder. "Now remember why you're here."
"Interesting." Ozpin was regarding them like some kind of clinical voyeur. "I apologize for not seeing it before," he said. "You trust each other with your lives. I hadn't realized you two were together-"
"What? I don't like him like that!"
"For fuck's sake, she's not my girlfriend!"
Their answers chimed in unison, and Ruby couldn't stop herself from giggling over Roman's exasperated groan. She nodded at Ozpin. "But you're right. I do trust him."
"Are you so sure you should?" Ozpin replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I trusted you," she said. "At least Roman's never tried to sell himself as anything other than what he is. Which is a jerk, but he's a trustworthy jerk. He has more integrity than you do."
"Are you taking tips on how to compliment people from Jaune?" Roman groused. "Not a smart life decision."
Ruby ignored Roman's complaints. "Professor. What is all this, anyway?" She gestured at the equipment Ozpin had been fiddling with. "Is it something that's going to help cure me?"
"Well," Ozpin said. "Although I've heard the details from General Ironwood personally, perhaps you can tell me a little more about what happened during your journey to Exsul first."
"We fought our way through some Grimm, I nearly lost my mind, we ran into a living incarnation of hell and lived to tell about it," Roman summarized curtly. "Why don't you tell us what you're planning on doing about Salem?"
"And why are you so sure that I have a plan to do something?" Ozpin retorted with a hint of sharpness. "While that may have held true in the past, as you can see, I'm currently… incapacitated."
"But you were looking for the four Maidens before Cinder injured you," Ruby interjected. "You must have had some kind of plan? Wasn't that the real reason you wanted to see me here?"
"Very insightful of you, Ruby. It's true that the powers of the Maidens can only bind themselves to a maiden's soul. But therein lies the problem. Those powers were meant to aid humanity. It was never my intention to allow the Silver-Eyed Warriors to have access to the Maidens' powers. I'm not certain of the effects it would have on an individual as unique as yourself, to say nothing about the balance of power in this world."
"Please," Roman replied. "Somehow Cinder managed to become the Fall Maiden, and I'm betting she had a bad case of the Grimms by then already. You idiots barely managed to keep that power out of Salem's hands. What's so bad about letting Ruby have it?"
Ignoring Roman's cynicism, Ruby focused on the implication of Ozpin's words. "Wait, are you saying that I'm not the only Silver-Eyed Warrior in Remnant? There are more of us?"
"Only a few," Ozpin admitted. "While the purpose of their existence may be to combat the Grimm, their own goals don't always align with that of humanity at large. As I said, Ruby, you are unique in more ways than just your mixed lineage." He paused. "I'm assuming Salem mentioned the origin of the Grimm to you. The Silver-Eyed Warriors came into existence in much the same manner, at the same time."
"Then are you as old as she said you were?" Ruby asked. He certainly looked older now, but he still couldn't have been topping his mid-50s at the most.
Ozpin's laughter was harsh and broken, punctuated by wheezes as the tubes and wires on his chest trembled. "Yes and no. I am very old, by human standards. Older than Salem herself, though not by many years." He coughed again, then cleared his throat. "I was the first human in Remnant to use Dust to develop a Semblance, among my other… abilities. And while it is true that I did once work very closely with the Silver-Eyed Warriors to combat the Grimm, over time our interests diverged. They've long since withdrawn from human society and I'm afraid that I have very little contact with them these days."
"I see," Ruby said, trying and failing to mask the disappointment in her voice.
"Your mother, Summer, was a rare exception, and she was something of an outlier to her clan. She fell in love with Taiyang, after all, and most Warriors choose not to interbreed."
Hope kindled in her chest. Finally… after all these years of silence! "Can you tell me more about my mother?" she asked eagerly.
"Stop letting him get you distracted." Roman's brusque voice rudely interrupted her. "All this yapping is pointless if Ozpin can't deliver the goods." He yanked Ruby back behind him, and it was only then that she'd realized she'd been stepping forward. "How are you going to heal Ruby?" he asked Ozpin. "And what's in it for you?"
"Ruby's health and well-being are of vital importance to me."
"Sure they are. She's the Fall Maiden now, right?" He turned towards her. "Always remember, people won't help you in this world for free. Well, unless they're you."
Ruby gripped her hands into tight fists. She wanted to believe Ozpin was helping her because he was a good person. But even if he wasn't… "I need to know about my mother," she said quietly. "No one's ever told me anything about who she really was before now. To think, I was actually grateful to Salem at one point."
"Tch," Roman replied, narrowing his eyes. "If that's the hill you wanna die on, be my guest. Personally, I think those Fall Maiden powers are worth a little more than your family history. What happens if Ozpin's magic cure works out for you? Read between the lines, Ruby. He wants you to be his new arms and legs. And your precious teammates? You can probably forget about them."
Nora… Ren… Jaune. I wanted to do this to rejoin my team and be a Huntress again. She swallowed. "Is he right?" she asked Ozpin.
"Mr. Torchwick is very astute," Ozpin said mildly. "If my proposed cure is successful, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave your life as a student of Haven behind. But as you already know, it's far too late to turn back now."
Ruby took a deep breath. "I don't think I have much of a choice," she said bitterly. "If I can't use my aura, I can't do anything. At least this way I'll still have the chance to fight Salem, even if it means leaving my friends behind." Again, she thought, the pain stabbing close to her heart.
Roman leaned down and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure you want this?" he asked her. "It's not too late to leave it all behind. You don't have to spend the rest of your life fighting. Don't you think you've given the world enough?"
A tiny smile twitched at her lips. "Thanks for trying, Roman. But you can't change me, either."
"You really are a little fool," he said affectionately, straightening. "Well… I hope you'll at least squeeze that old man for all he's worth."
Ruby nodded, feeling somewhat better. "So, how exactly are we going to do this?" she asked Ozpin.
"Well, for starters, I should tell you a bit more about my Semblance. It's the primary reason I've managed to survive for all these years. You see, I am not an immortal, per se." Ozpin looked down at his chest with a jaded grin. "Even with the aura I've developed over hundreds of years, under the proper conditions I can still be killed just as any other human being."
"How'd you survive?" Roman asked him bluntly.
"Carefully, Mr. Torchwick. Very carefully." He blinked, and his eyes lit with the cool green glow of his Semblance. "My power is very similar to yours, Ruby. I am also capable of the manipulation of time. Unlike your ability, however, mine allows me to slow the processes of my body down, rather than speed them up. I can, as you might say, trap myself in time and prevent the onset of aging."
"Wow! B-but…"
Ozpin raised an eyebrow, waiting.
"...you're so… old…" she mumbled.
"You're one to talk, grandma!" Roman laughed.
Ruby ignored him. "If you can control it, why'd you choose to stop where you did?"
"Oh dear. I'm afraid you're misunderstanding something, Ruby," Ozpin chuckled. "My current appearance was not a choice! Though I can temporarily arrest the flow of time, I can't completely stop it. You might think of me as something of a clock's spring. My Semblance allows me to wind time. So long as I keep ahold of that spring, the clock will be held in limbo, unable to count the passage of time. But I also can release that spring at any time and allow time to continue to flow. Of course, much like a dammed river, when my accrued time is released, it returns to the present me quite rapidly."
She scrunched her brows together. "So you lost control of your Semblance when Cinder attacked you and got old?"
"I did not lose control. I released control. It was a choice I made in order to ensure my survival. Aging rapidly was merely an unfortunate side effect of that decision."
"So let me get this straight," Roman said. "You two have pretty much the same problem. How the hell are you going to fix Ruby with a Semblance like that?"
Ozpin wheeled over to the two chambers standing prominently in the room: a very large, sealed box and a much-smaller humanoid capsule.
"I believe Mr. Arc informed you of the experiments we performed on Ms. Nikos?"
Ruby took a closer look at the capsule with a feeling of trepidation. "Was Jaune right? Are you going to try to strip me of my Maiden powers?"
"Hardly," Ozpin replied. "While I appreciate Ms. Valkyrie's enthusiasm, I'm not confident that she's a fitting candidate to handle the immense responsibility involved in inheriting a Maiden's powers. No, we are going to attempt to synergize our auras using this device. With any luck, while we are sharing a single aura, I may be able to manipulate yours to 'wind your spring', so to speak. Whether or not this will reverse your aging process or merely halt it, I cannot say. But if you want to be able to access your aura again safely, I believe the attempt will be worth it regardless of the outcome."
That's it? That's his plan? Sync our auras and hope for the best? Ruby let out a disappointed sigh. But I'd been hoping I could go back to my real age! "Are there any risks?"
"Well. From my observations, the process will be exceedingly painful to both of us. And I cannot deny that there may be some danger to both our safety. Mr. Torchwick will be able to do little to stop the process once it's begun, so we will both have to see this through to the end."
"What happens to Ruby after this?" Roman asked. "Joining auras with you doesn't sound very healthy."
"Frankly, I've no idea. I've programmed the machine to shut down after certain parameters have been reached. Even should complete aura transference occur, however, there's a good chance Ruby would survive the process since Silver-Eyed Warriors are, in essence, soulless. Although for Ms. Valkyrie's sake, I would prefer to avoid that scenario."
"Alri- wait, WHAT?" Ruby nearly screamed. "You didn't say anything about me dying!"
Roman wore a knowing expression. "All those fancy words, when all he really meant was that he's going to suck out your soul, returns not guaranteed." He was already lifting Ruby Tuesday to his shoulder, but she panicked and struck his arm down.
"Is this really the only way I can use my aura again?" she asked Ozpin.
"It's the only method I've been able to come up with," he replied. "And let me remind you, the danger to myself is also not insignificant. Think of this as my apology for not being more honest with you from the start, Ruby."
"Some apology," Roman muttered.
"I know it's a risk. But so is being a Huntsman, right? If I wasn't willing to take a few risks to become one, I wouldn't be cut out for the job." She couldn't quite wear her usual brave smile, though; her heart was beating too rapidly. I wish Team RNJR was here. Or at least Yang. Her grip on Roman's arm tightened. "... Can you stay here until it's over?" she murmured.
Roman's hand covered hers. "There you go asking the wrong questions again. Yes, Ruby. If you die, I'll make sure Ozpin does too."
She let go of his arm quickly. "Uh, that's not exactly what I meant-"
"Too bad. It's what you're getting." He gave Ozpin a razor-sharp smile of warning as he released her and shifted Ruby Tuesday into its flare gun mode. "I bet that aura of yours can block my bullets. I wonder if it can block another explosion, though? I'm pretty sure that nice chair of yours couldn't."
Ozpin said nothing for a moment, before nodding. "Then shall we proceed?"
Notes
Ozpin's greeter robot is based off of Boston Dynamics' "SpotMini."
Ozpin's Semblance is Time Manipulation, which is pretty much as he explained it to Ruby in this chapter. It's not his only power, though… but that's a tale for a different story. :)