Chapter Twenty-One
"Ozpin was with you this entire time!?" Glynda shouted, finger stabbed into Qrow's chest. They were in Theodore's office, and everyone else had left to give them the room. Qrow was starting to regret that, given how royally pissed off Glynda was.
"Well, since we were in Mistral, yeah," Qrow said, shifting uncomfortably.
"And you or him didn't think to let me know that he was back!?"
"You know that the CCT towers are spotty, and Oz didn't want Salem to know that he had reincarnated already"-
"Godsdammit, Qrow! Do you know how many friends and colleagues I watched die when that damnable witch attacked Vale? We needed him, and he didn't think to come to us?"
"It wasn't that simple! And I don't know why I'm getting yelled at, I'm not Oz," Qrow said, keeping a wary eye on the stabbing finger.
"No, but you were supposed to be guiding him! Helping him while he adjusted to his new body! And what did you do instead? You tramped halfway across Remnant and brought him to Atlas. To James, instead of me. And then, you let Ruby broadcast to the entire world that I knew about Salem!" The finger kept up its insistent jabbing.
"Glynda, look, I'm sorry about what happened in Vale, truly, but yelling at me isn't going to change what happened."
Glynda huffed, spots of color high on her cheek, her scar flaring red, and then she slapped Qrow full across the face. He made the conscious decision to leave his aura down, sensing that projecting it would just enrage her further.
"Ow. Ok, I can see how I deserved that. And Glynda, I am sorry. Some of the people who died were my friends too. And as to the message"-
"Stop, Qrow. Just stop. I had thousands of people bombarding me with questions, wanting to know what was going on. Then Salem shows up with a few thousand grimm, and the people looked to me as the savior of the city. And I failed, Qrow. I couldn't stop her, and the city died."
Qrow remained silent now, shame burning through him, his cheek stinging from the slap.
"I had the world on my shoulders, Qrow. And it came crashing down. And Ozpin doesn't even have the decency to be here now." Her shoulders started to heave, but she wouldn't break down. Not here, anyway. Qrow knew that her pride wouldn't allow it.
"Glynda, I watched Atlas burn. I fought against a sandstorm and grimm to get the survivors to Vacuo City. And I did it thinking Ruby, Yang, and the others were dead. I'm not trying to take away from your pain. I just want you to know that I understand how you feel."
She sucked in a deep breath and rubbed her cheek with the back of her mutilated hand. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "You still have that flask on you?"
"Yeah, but I'm strictly non-alcoholic now."
Glynda stared at him for a moment, then broke out laughing. She sounded slightly hysterical. "So now you're sober? Gods Qrow, I swear I'll never figure you out."
"I think Theo keeps bourbon in his desk, if you really wanted a drink."
Glynda considered this for a moment, and then shook her head and sighed. "I really better not."
Qrow shrugged. "Suit yourself. And Oz should be back with the others in a few days. They're working on something that should help him out. You know how James had those aura transfer machines made? Well, we have the scientist responsible for building them. They're gonna try to put Oz into a machine, like Penny."
"Put Ozpin into a machine body." Glynda said, blank expression on her face.
"Yeah, the kid he's merging with had the idea. Thought it was worth a shot."
"What do we do if it fails?"
"The same thing we have been. Ozpin is no better off than us at this point. We know as much as him."
"We're in trouble, aren't we?"
"Things look bad, but I really think we have a chance. I know you're mad at Ruby and Oz, for dumping all that responsibility on you, but just have a chat with them when they get back. Ruby's one of kind. If anyone can pull this off, it's her and her friends."
"I hope you're right, Qrow."
"Me too."
After his painful meeting with Glynda, Qrow was ambling through the streets on his way to the new SDC/White Fang headquarters. Hands stuffed into his pockets in a pose that was familiar and comfortable to him, he found, to his surprise, that he was whistling. Despite the meeting, despite the ever present, ominous, stifling atmosphere, and despite the fact that the world could soon be ending, he was happy. He paused, hands still in his pockets, and looked skyward. The stars were clouded by light pollution, the city smelled like masses of unwashed bodies and heaps of garbage, and it was noisy and crowded. The feeling, however, persisted. He laughed, head still thrown back, and continued on his way.
He eventually reached the SDC/WF building, still whistling, and paused outside the doors. Through the glass he could see Willow and Kali sitting at the reception desk, cups of tea in front of them, chatting and very obviously getting no work done. He grinned and went inside.
"I see you two are hard at work," Qrow said as he entered. The way Willow's eyes lit up when she saw him made his heart skip.
"The administrative duties are grueling," Willow agreed with a wink. "Kali was just dropping by with some much-needed refreshment."
"And now I think it's time for me to go," Kali said as she rose from the desk with a knowing look at her friend. "It was wonderful seeing you, Willow."
"You don't have to leave on my account, Kali," Qrow said as he dropped into a chair and set his feet on the desk. He removed them immediately as Willow swatted at him with a sheaf of papers.
"I'd best get back to Ghira, anyway," Kali said. "He pines when I'm away too long. Have a good night, you two." She bustled away, still with that knowing grin on her face.
Qrow and Willow bid her goodnight in return, and Qrow leaned back in his chair. He very nearly put his feet up again, but caught himself and they stayed firmly planted on the ground. He leaned back forward to see Willow studying his face.
"What happened to your cheek?" she asked, concern writ on her features.
"Glynda. She really wanted to slap Oz, from what I gathered, but made do with me instead. I can't blame her; she's been through hell. And we've all had our moments we wanted to hit Oz too, at some point or another," Qrow said as she gingerly touched the welt.
"Those poor people from Vale. We've started processing applications for more housing. It's almost funny to think about. If we win this Vacuo may very well become the world capitol. People from three nations congregated together, and the longer we stay the more roots we put down." She pulled her hand back and took a drink of her tea.
"Huh," Qrow said as he started to lean back again. "Never thought about it that way. Vale gets along well with Vacuo, but I can't see Atlas wanting to stick it out longer than necessary."
"A lot of wealthy Atlesians would agree with you. The Marigolds have been hounding Whitley extensively about wanting to use our resources to rebuild Atlas. Never mind the war, or that we'd have to find a new site to build, or any of that." Willow sighed and rubbed her temples.
"I know the name Marigold. One of Robyn's people is a Marigold."
"Yes, I know. May." Willow shifted, looking slightly uncomfortable, Qrow noticed.
"You don't have a problem with May, do you?"
"What? Oh no. May's fine. I rather like her, actually. She's a much better person than her father."
"Ok, then what's up? You got a weird look on your face when I brought her up."
"Not her, Robyn."
"Really? Now that you mention it, she was pretty irritable the other day. I thought she was mad at me," Qrow said as he rocked his chair back.
"Well, she might be. I made a fool of myself in front of her, a few years ago. She may be angry by association."
"What do you mean? She's mad because I'm with you?"
"It's possible." Willow was now flushed red, and Qrow could only laugh.
"She's jealous? No way. I never got the vibe she was into me."
"I think it may be more that you've chosen to be with me, as a person, and less that you're, ah, taken."
"Ok, now you gotta tell me the story," Qrow said, leaning forward again, chair creaking.
Willow, thoroughly flustered at this point, threw up her hands. "Fine! But please don't think less of me for it."
"Hey, I'm the one swinging way out of my league here. It'd have to be pretty bad for me to think less of you."
She shot him a look at his remark about her being out of his league, but didn't address it. Instead, she started to fiddle with one of her rings, and then spoke. "A few years ago, when Robyn and her Happy Huntresses were just starting to make a name for themselves as the heroines of Mantle, Robyn came to the estate." Willow stopped fidgeting with the ring and started to fidget with the papers in front of her instead.
"She wanted to speak with Jacques. He wasn't in, but she spotted me in the garden. I was, um, already fairly drunk. It was early. She dodged Klein and made her way to me." Willow took a deep breath, then continued.
"She wanted funding. She had an outline and everything. Something about how investing in Mantle's infrastructure and defenses would benefit everyone. I really wasn't paying much attention. Instead, I laughed, and shot her down." The papers continued to shuffle, riffling across the desktop.
'" Jacques is king here, you silly girl,' I told her.
'What he says is law. No one can stop him. No one can make him do anything.'
'He'll only ever agree to something if it benefits him. And Mantle is beneath him. He sees you as resources, as potential zeroes added to the end of his bank account.'" she paused.
"And then I threw up on her boots."
She stopped there, hands endlessly rearranging the papers in front of her. Qrow took those hands in his, and smiled gently as her blue eyes met his own pale red ones. "Willow Schnee, do you know how many different people I've thrown up on over the years?"
Despite herself, she laughed. "You're terrible, Qrow."
"Look, that all happened a long time ago. And you were in a bad place. I've been there, believe me. If Robyn can't understand that, it's her loss. You're great, Willow. You're sober, which is damn impressive, you're back as an active participant in your kids' lives, and you're trying to fix everything Jacques messed up."
She looked at him, eyes glowing, face still flushed, and smiled. "You're too good to me."
"Hell. I've spent most of my life as a screw-up. It wasn't until recently I started to believe I was doing any good at all. My nieces, and now you, have shown me I'm worth something, at least."
"I think you're selling yourself short. You're rough around the edges, but you have a heart of gold."
It was Qrow's turn to blush. He realized he was still holding her hands. I'm like a schoolboy with a crush, he thought, equal parts elated and horrified. I'm a world-class Huntsman, a killer, and she's got me feeling like a teenager again. "You're sweet, you know that?"
"Thank you." Willow paused; eyes lit up with mischief. "You know, I've got my own apartment now, me and Whitley have both moved out of the Sahra's. He has his own place, separate from me."
Qrow raised an eyebrow, face still red. He had bedded dozens of people over the years, so why the hell was his heart beating so fast now? "Oh really? Maybe you should give me a tour."
"Maybe I will. Just need to lock up here first."
Together, the two of them left the building, an air of electricity between them, and made their way hand in hand to one of the new apartment complexes that had recently been built by the SDC. Qrow felt like he was walking on air. Everything was bright and vibrant, and he felt lighter than he had in, well, years. The city had even lost its less pleasant aspects in the face of his elation. He held the door for Willow when they got to her building, and then followed her inside. Neither of them noticed the figure that had been shadowing them, cloaked in darkness. This figure paused after the two entered the building, and then melted back into the night.
Qrow awoke to sunlight and the faint noise of a busy city. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched vigorously. This was normally the part where he would quietly get dressed and make his departure, disappearing into the morning before his partner could wake and make awkward conversation. He felt no such desire this particular morning, however, and grinned as he turned to his companion.
Willow was still asleep, back to him, pale shoulder and white hair exposed and bathed in the morning light. Gods she was beautiful. He left her to her rest, pulled on his trousers, and went to see what he could find for food. The apartment had been sparsely furnished, and Willow hadn't added much to it. Very plain and utilitarian compared to her mansion in Atlas. He found a crusty loaf of brown bread on the counter, and some unknown desert fruit in a bowl. He tore off a piece of bread and grabbed one of the fruits. With his breakfast in hand, he went to the window and looked out into the city, taking in the view while he ate.
Willow's apartment was at the top of a three-story building, and the view wasn't too spectacular. There was an alley below him, and to its credit there weren't any bodies or piles of garbage littering it. Still, Willow wasn't in the best part of town. He frowned. Something he'd need to talk to Whitley about. Or Winter. That was going to be a fun conversation. He finished eating while he imagined how it might go.
"Hey, I was at your mom's apartment, noticed that maybe she needs some more security."
"What on earth were you doing at Mother's apartment!?"
"Well, uh, you see, she invited me over, and I thought maybe I should check it out, you know, make sure it was safe after that attack, and"-
Willow suddenly yawned, loudly, and he broke out of this hypothetical conversation. He turned to her, smiling, and she smiled back.
"Good morning handsome. Sleep well?" she asked, unbound hair framing her face, eyes bright and loving.
"Like a dream. Best night I've had in a while." He moved to the edge of the bed and sat down, placing one of his hands on hers.
She sat up next to him and leaned onto his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. "You know, I don't have anywhere to be for a while…" she purred into his ear.
"Say no more," Qrow said, grinning.
The two of them started where they had left off the night before, slow, sure, and passionate, and then Qrow's scroll rang, shattering the moment. He broke off with an agitated huff. "Dammit Theo." He snagged the device off the bedside table and answered it.
"Yeah."
"Good, you're awake."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm up."
"Meet me at the training arena, as soon as you can, please. Bring Willow with you." And with that, Theodore hung up.
Qrow looked at Willow. "Wonder what that's about."
Willow, who had been close enough to hear the conversation, placed an arm around his shoulders and pecked his cheek. "Let's find out."
Qrow and Willow entered the arena half an hour later to the sounds of a fight already underway. Theo and Port, both shirtless, were participating in a bare-knuckles brawl on the sand as Glynda and Dr. Oobleck looked on from the side. Glynda glanced at Qrow, arms crossed, and sighed.
"You took too long, so those testosterone-ridden idiots started a fight to pass the time."
"I wasn't supposed to be on duty this morning, so I was, understandably, not entirely ready for work when Theo called me."
"Hmm. Fine. We're still waiting for a few more, anyway."
Qrow looked at her, incredulous. "Then why are you giving me crap, when we're not the latest?"
"Others being deficient isn't a reason to aspire to less."
"What?" Qrow asked, brain still trying to kick into gear. It was too early for him to try to wrangle what this meant, but he was pretty sure he had just been insulted. Willow frowned at Glynda, remembering the handprint that had been on Qrow's cheek the night before.
"She means that just because others operate at a standard lower than yours doesn't mean you should lower your standards to match. Always do your best and bring those others up with you!" Oobleck explained, taking a sip from his steaming thermos. Even with some time spent back in civilization, Oobleck's hair and clothes were as unkempt as ever, although they were at least clean now. He had gotten a new tie somewhere, and it was already loose, his shirt unbuttoned at the top.
"Ok, and again, I was supposed to have the morning off. I think we got here in a reasonable amount of time."
Down on the sand, Peter Port yielded to Theodore, laughing. "The match is yours, young man! Well fought!"
Theodore, grinning, was nevertheless breathing hard. Despite Port being his senior by over a decade, the older man had given him a run for his money. "You're still as powerful as ever, Peter. That jaunt through the wilderness did you some good."
"Haha! I certainly trimmed down some of the excess from my easy living in the Academy life, that's for sure," Port said, patting his stomach.
"And yet you still somehow manage to resemble a barrel," Raven called from behind Qrow and the others.
"Ladies! Welcome. I'm afraid you just missed the show!" Peter called up to them.
Glynda made a huffing noise heavy with exasperation and turned to the newcomers. "Glad you could finally join us. We've been subjected to this adolescent showboating for long enough," she said as she gestured towards the two men on the arena floor.
"Glynda's still in a sour mood," Peter called back. "Don't mind her."
Qrow could hear Glynda's teeth grinding, but she refrained from further comments. Raven was accompanied by Winter and Whitley, and they filed in to stand next to him and the others. He nodded to them, and didn't miss the sharp, inquisitive look that Winter was giving him and Willow. Willow just smiled at her daughter sweetly and took Qrow's hand in hers.
"Good! We're just waiting on the Belladonas," Theodore said as he climbed into the stands, toweling the sweat from his face.
"What's with the venue, Theo? Couldn't this have happened in your office?" Qrow asked.
"It could have, but I've been itching for some exercise. My fight the with beringel hybrid was harder on me than it should have been. I need to stay on top of my form."
Whitley had brought a tablet with him and had pulled it out almost immediately, tapping away at the screen. "Do we know how long they'll be? I've got a lot of work to do."
"I think I'm about to give you a lot more, young man," Theodore said.
Whitley looked up at this, frowning. "I don't think I like the sound of that."
"What is this about, Theodore?" Raven asked. "And why the mix of Huntsmen and civilians?"
"Not Huntsmen and civilians, people with influence from their native kingdoms," Theodore said.
Raven raised an eyebrow at this. Her influence in Mistral was very much of the negative variety, as the feared 'Bandit Queen' of the south. As they considered the implications of Theodore's statement, Kali and Ghira Belladona entered the arena. Kali saw Willow hand-in-hand with Qrow and gave her a smile and a wink. This wasn't missed by Winter, who was still watching Qrow like a hawk.
Ghira asked the same question Raven had as he and his wife lined up with the others. "Why are we here, Theodore?"
"Winter, would you mind doing the honors?" Theodore said.
Winter cleared her throat and walked in front of the assembled people. "Amity will be moving into a higher atmospheric position at 1200 hours. The Amity CCT will go live at that point, allowing global communications until 1800 hours. The first hour, we are restricting access to the public, as to not overwhelm the tower with transmissions."
At this point, Theodore spoke up. "That means certain individuals, all of you included, have an hour to reach out to anyone you have a mind to."
Qrow narrowed his eyes. "But, you're telling us this because you have people you want us to talk to."
Theodore just laughed. "Not specifically no, but I do have a request to make. You are all well respected, or feared," he nodded to Raven, "in your kingdoms. We need help here in Vacuo. Whether it be food, supplies, or trained fighters, I'm asking you to reach out to anyone you know that might be able to aid us."
"Winter, how long have you known about this?" Whitley asked, crossing his arms.
"A few days. It was confidential, before you ask your next question. The announcement will go out to the public when your hour is up, and at that point the connection may drop if it gets overwhelmed. We're working on that though, so hopefully it won't crash on us this time."
Whitley pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I had known, I could have planned accordingly. I have contacts all over that I need to talk to, and having a connection I know won't drop would be splendid."
"You know now," Winter said, not without amusement and a small amount of pity.
"Thank you for this," Ghira said. "This is a wonderful gift, to be able to communicate in real time with our kinsman. Waiting on airships for news is serviceable, but the expectation of bad news does weigh on a person."
"I just wish we could do it more," Theodore said. "It takes a lot of dust to get Amity high enough for this sort of thing, and dust is scarce right now. That's all I had, you're free to go."
"Could that not have been a scroll conversation?" Glynda asked, arms crossed, her fingers drumming away on her sleeves.
Theodore shrugged. "It could have been, I suppose. What about you Glynda? Are you up for a sparring match?"
"This is not the time for that!" Glynda exclaimed.
"On the contrary! You obviously need to vent, and the arena floor is the perfect place to do so! Besides, I've been wanting to test myself against your semblance for ages, but you always turn me down."
"You have been rather snippy lately," Dr. Ooblek said, sipping his coffee. "And you are quite annoyed with Theodore. He's giving you the opportunity to soundly thrash him with no repercussions. I'd take the offer, if I were you."
Glynda turned her burning gaze to Ooblek, but said nothing. Instead, she dropped to the arena floor, pulling out her weapon as she did so.
Theodore smiled and rolled his neck out, throwing a couple shadow punches. "Excellent!"
"Not sure I want to stick around for this," Qrow said to Willow. "Glynda's liable to turn the arena into a sandstorm."
"I'll go with you," Raven said. "Besides, I think the two of us should try talking to Tai. See if we can't get him here to Vacuo."
They trio started to leave the arena, as Glynda and Theodore began their fight. Qrow had been right, sand was already starting to swirl about as Glynda used her semblance to throw things at Theodore. He could hear him laughing as they exited. "You think that's a good idea, losing our ability to quickly get to Patch if we need to?" Qrow asked as they walked.
"No, but having him split from the rest of us is making me nervous. I know he can handle himself, but if Salem goes after him, I'd rather he be with people I trust."
"Starting to go soft on us, Sis?" Qrow asked with a smirk. Raven glared at him.
"He's one of the inner circle. He knows more than the average person about Salem, it's only a matter of time before he's targeted."
Qrow thought about this, and his semblance gave him that tingly-numb feeling as he did so, like his entire body had hit its funny bone on something. He shivered. "Why don't I go to him in person, instead?"
Raven noticed the shiver, and her only response was to nod. "When?"
"As soon as I can. Let me get Willow back to her place first, at least."
"What's going on, Qrow? You just had a look on your face like something bad happened," Willow said.
"It's probably nothing, but Misfortune is giving me bad vibes."
She squeezed his hand. "Well, don't let me stop you from acting on that. It certainly helped you save my life."
"I'm not convinced that's how it works, but who knows," Qrow said as he fingered the clover talisman on his chest.
Winter exited the arena at that moment with Whitley and the Belladona's in tow. "Glynda is really hammering Theodore. I hope he knows what he's doing because she's sure not holding back."
"Ah, Theo's a tough guy. I think he knew that Glynda needed to blow off some steam, and the lunatic likes fighting for his life. He'll be fine," Qrow said.
"Huntsmen," Whitley muttered. "Mother, Winter, I'm off. The Headmaster has certainly given me a lot to do."
"I'll come with you to help, just tell me what needs done," Willow told him.
"We'll come too, if you're headed to HQ," Kali said. "We need to brief our people on the CCT situation, and I'm looking forward to news from home."
"Sounds settled, then," Qrow said. He turned to Winter. "You got a handle on this?" he asked.
"I can watch after them, if that's what you're asking," Winter said.
"Good. On the whole protecting Willow note, I'm not a huge fan of her apartment's location," Qrow said to Winter, biting the bullet and broaching the subject of his relationship with her mother.
"What's wrong with the apartment?" Willow asked, looking between Qrow and Willow.
"You really think I don't have people in place? Qrow, you disappoint me," Winter said with frost in her voice.
"So…"
"Yes, I'm aware that she isn't in the best part of town, but it's being taken care of."
"Ok. Uh. Great."
Winter pulled him to the side and whispered directly into his ear. "I know that things are progressing between the two of you. If you break her heart, I swear by the Brothers that I'll make your life a living hell."
Qrow pulled himself away. "Those days are behind me, Winter. She's happy. Dammit, I'm happy, because of her."
"Winter, I know that things have been difficult, and a lot of that is my fault," Willow said. "Qrow is good to me. Good for me."
Winter sighed as the others looked on, their expressions ranging from boredom to embarrassment to amusement. "I won't stand between you. I just want you to be happy, Mom."
"Thank you for that, Winter," Willow said. She looked at Qrow and took his hands. "Be careful in Patch. Come back to me in one piece." Her eyes were liquid and vulnerable, pleading to him. The words had been said lightly, but her expression betrayed the depth of feeling behind them. Qrow's heart fractured as he looked into those eyes, and he felt love pour into him, warm and fortifying. He came to the sudden realization that he would walk through fire for this woman.
"I plan to," he said, with emotion. Then, after a brief but intense internal debate, he gave her a quick kiss. "I'll be back before you know it."
"Alright, lovebird. You ready to go?" Raven asked. She had a wide grin on her face. Anytime Qrow had the opportunity to be embarrassed, she was happy.
"I suppose," Qrow said, still looking into Willow's eyes.
Raven unsheathed Omen and slashed open the air, forming a link to Patch. Qrow tipped a salute to the others, smiled at Willow as he squeezed her hands reassuringly, and then disappeared into the rift. The numb, tingly feeling of his semblance had never quite left him, and his heart beat in a rapid flutter of anticipation of what he would find on the other side. It's nothing, Qrow. Tai's fine. Raven got under your skin, planted the idea that things were bad, but they aren't. Misfortune is wrong. It's been wrong before. Everything is ok. He stepped out of the portal into smoke, and fire, and death. Harbinger flashed as he pulled it from its scabbard, his eyes scanning frantically for threats. Or not. Hell.
There was a flurry of activity in front of him as Tai, with his back to Qrow, fought off an unseen assailant. Before Qrow could move to his aid, a cackling laugh drew his attention away. The tip of a blood-soaked stinger protruded from the smoke, followed by the mad visage of Tyrian, weapons raised.
"Hello again, Qrow," Tyrian said as he licked the edge of one of his blades and giggled wildly. "So very good to see you again."
Author's Note
Another cliffhanger ending, sorry, (not sorry), but sorry.
I meant to write another chapter from the perspective of team SSSNN, but after starting it, my heart wanted this chapter instead, so it's the one I wrote. We'll get back to Sun and the Summer Maiden soon, and Ruby along with them. I struggled with the ending for this chapter quite a bit, I rewrote it something like six times, ranging from a rather benign segue into a conversation with Tai at Patch, to the ending that got published. I hope you enjoyed it.
As always, thank you all again for your continued support! Special shout out to my newer reviewers, spencermalley935, K2-Reaper and Gyltig! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
-Flair