Hello everybody! I managed to get some free time on my hands this week so I figured I'd get this chapter out to you a bit earlier than expected. Hope you guys like it, thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"Speech"
Thoughts
Chapter Fourteen: Argus
Yang put her hands on the bars of the gate to speak to the guards "Come on! You didn't even hear us out!"
"Our orders are clear: The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!" the first guard yelled.
"Please!" the second yelled.
"Have a good day!" the first finished.
"But-"
"A good day!" they both yelled silencing her.
"Hey, if you don't wanna believe that I'm friends with Ironwood-" Qrow started.
"General Ironwood!" they corrected.
"Yeah, General Ironwood, then fine. But look, we have Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely" Weiss looked down with reluctance upon hearing Qrow say that.
The two guards looked to each other before turning their attention back to the group "Approach!"
Weiss shared a look with Blake, who shrugged in return. Weiss approached to the gate and the two guards stepped up, bending down to inspect her. After a moment, both guards stood straight up.
"Very well!" they both yelled.
"You may speak with our commanding officer!" one of them yelled.
"We will fetch her at once!" the second added. The two guards turned around in sync, and chanted "Hup hup hup" and "Atlas Atlas Atlas" as they ran to get their superior.
"They were... kind of-" Blake started.
"Super weird? Uh, yeah" Ruby finished in agreement.
"Hmm..." Maria pondered aloud.
"What's wrong?" Oscar asked.
"Well, I... may know this commanding officer" she answered.
"That's good, isn't it? If she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us" Ruby said hopefully.
"I wouldn't exactly call us... "friends" Maria corrected.
"Acquaintances?" Weiss hoped.
"Not quite"
"Colleagues?" Blake tried.
"Warmer"
"Enemies?" Yang asked cringing.
"That's the one!"
"Wait, what?" Oscar asked confused.
"Oh, yes. I come through here about once every ten 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!"
"You've gotta be kidding me" Qrow sighed.
"Now, now, let's not give up hope yet" she paused "Maybe she's dead!"
Suddenly, the gates opened up quickly, and the two guards returned "Introducing!" the first yelled.
"Special operative!" the second added.
"Caroline Cordovin!" they finished in unison.
A short-statured elderly woman around Maria's age wearing the standard Atlesian officer uniform approached, glaring at Maria "Witch" she greeted.
"She-devil" Maria shot back.
"Hm. I've seen you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time"
"Oh, Cordo. You know they say time changes people, but I see you've still got that stick right up your-"
Ruby interrupted quickly "H-hello! Miss, uh, Cordovin. My name is Ruby Rose, and I was wondering if you would hear us out about-"
"I've already heard what your other little friends had to say, Miss Rose" she looked behind Ruby, noticing Jaune, Nora, and Ren standing a little ways away behind the group "What are you doing back here?! I thought I told you to leave!"
Nora tried to charge forward, only to be held back by Ren and Jaune "And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!"
Ren nervously smiled and waved "Nice to see you again as well!"
"You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this slowly, with smaller words: This base, that relay tower, the very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas! It is my duty to uphold them, as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task"
"Such wit!" the first guard yelled.
"Such tenacity!" the second added.
"Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far from the kingdom as possible" Maria chuckled.
Cordovin growled "You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!"
"Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with the Fall of Beacon. We were there" Ruby tried to assuage her concern.
"No one's happy about the Atlas borders or embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried. It's why we need to talk to-" Weiss tried.
"The General is no coward! Atlas is strong. If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!"
"Atlas will prevail!" both guards yelled.
Yang sighed unimpressed "Do you guys seriously have to do that?"
Cordovin sighed as well "If Miss 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 glanced at Blake specifically upon saying her last statement.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked in a hostile tone.
"It means we're done here" The gates to the base closed quickly, leaving the group outside once again.
"Is that what that means?" Slade asked from behind Cordovin and her guards standing with his arms crossed.
"Intruder!" both the guards yelled attacking him, by the time Cordovin turned around through the painful grunts of her men she found them both lying face down on top of one another with Slade's boot on top of them, lazily holding them down.
"Cordovin" Slade greeted.
"Stroud" she said back with mild annoyance "Don't tell me you're with this rabble?" she asked.
"Those 'Rabble' are my friends and we have a top secret mission we're on for Professor Ozpin to deliver precious cargo to General Ironwood himself to be secured in Atlas" Slade explained.
"Ozpin? The dead professor of Beacon?" Cordovin asked surprised "How long have you had this mission?"
"They've had it since Beacon fell, they were all present for it" Slade answered gesturing to the group "Well, Maria wasn't but we picked her up along the way. I ran into Ms. Xiao Long just outside Mistral before Haven Academy was attacked by the same people responsible for Beacon, though that's not the story we fed the public to reduce panic"
"So you've just recently become a part of this mission?" Cordovin asked curiously.
"I didn't receive orders directly from Ironwood himself if that's what you're asking, but yes I have only been part of this mission for a short time. Atlas is the only place safe enough for our cargo" Slade explained.
"What exactly is your cargo?"
"Classified, you know how it is" he shrugged.
"Well, unless I hear otherwise from General Ironwood I am not to allow anything through with the exception of Ms. Schnee if she were so inclined to go on her own. Unfortunately I cannot help you"
"You and I both know you wouldn't have this position if I didn't reveal your superiors corruption a few months ago, Cordovin. Do me a favor a cut a guy a break" Slade asked as nicely as he could, she pondered his request "Please" he added never breaking his smile.
"I'm sorry, Stroud. I know you've been falsely put on our watchlist because of your association with Adam Taurus and Roman Torchwick, but my hands are tied. I will send a message up the chain of command for General Ironwood, but it could take weeks before he receives it"
Slade stood up straight with a disappointed sigh "Thank you, Cordovin. You do what you have to do and I'll do what I have to do" Slade walked toward the gate passing through it.
"Don't you dare try anything, Stroud!" she yelled after him "You're already in hot enough water as it is with Atlas!" she yelled after him.
"Oh yeah? Well, your face looks... like a big dumb boot!" Nora shouted.
Jaune deadpanned "Way to show her, Nora"
"Didn't go well?" Yang asked Slade.
"She'll send a message to Ironwood and hope we get something back, she's just keeping up appearances right now" Slade smirked "Unfortunately it could take weeks before he receives that message and we don't have that kind of the time.
"What do you mean?"
"Salem said she had less than seventy-two hours to stop us from arriving in Atlas with the Relic when I spoke to her. That was while we were still on our way to Brunswick Farms" Slade explained.
"You spoke to Salem telepathically?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, she knows about Ozpin and she's not pleased" Slade answered "If I had actually been present she would've killed me" he chuckled nervously.
Ruby, Blake and Yang looked to Weiss "I don't..."
"Weiss. I told you we wouldn't leave your side for a second. We'll find a way to Atlas. Together" Ruby placed her hand on Weiss' shoulder. Weiss smiled and nodded back at her friend. Qrow started to walk away.
"So... where are we going now?" Ruby asks.
"Yeah, what's the plan?" Nora asked equally curious.
"The plan? The plan just got shut on our face three times over. I'm going for a drink" he answered bitterly.
Ruby rushed over to her uncle "Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try and come up with something-" Qrow walked away before she could finish "-together"
"What's his problem? It's not your fault we can't go on" Jaune asked confused.
"If he's gonna be a jerk then we'll just come up with something without him. I mean, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do" Nora said excitedly. Upon hearing this, Oscar looked down sadly. Weiss, Blake and Yang exchange troubled looks.
"What is it?" Ren asked noticing this.
"It's a long story, one we'll tell you back at the house" Slade answered leading them away from the base.
Jaune punched the wall of Saphron's home, leaving a very large crack in it "Jaune!" Ruby yelled.
"Everything we did was for nothing!" Jaune yelled angrily.
"That's not true" Blake argued.
"Really? Cuz it sure does sound like it" Nora replied angrily.
"I, um..." Ruby tried.
"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?" Ren asked. Everyone remained silent.
"Wow... Great plan everyone!" Jaune said sarcastically.
"Look, none of this is great, we know. But we're not the bad guys here" Oscar said trying to calm them down.
"Are we sure about that?" Jaune asked in a hostile tone.
"What?" Oscar asked confused.
"He's in your head, isn't he? Did you already know about this?" he angrily walked over to Oscar.
"He didn't know any of it!" Weiss defended.
Jaune grabbed Oscar and shoved him against the wall "How much longer can we even trust him?!"
"Jaune!" Yang yelled.
"How do we even know it's really him?! What if we have been talking to that liar this whole time?!"
"Jaune!" Ruby angrily glared at Jaune, who glared right back at her. He looked back over to Oscar, who was cowering in fear.
Slade grabbed Jaune and forced him to release Oscar "You really want to start having that conversation, Jaune?" Slade asked "I have Salem in my damned head, you want to start accusing me of being her?" he asked pushing him backward.
"I-"
"Do I sound like Salem to you?" he asked "Would you even notice?" he pushed Jaune again.
"Slade, stop it!" Yang yelled.
"You're not the only one that's lost people because of him!" Slade yelled stopping in front of Jaune "You don't see me laying into Oscar for it, do you?" Slade asked turning to leave out the back door.
Jaune, realizing what he had done, looked to Oscar with an apologetic look on his face. Jaune then headed upstairs, a door could be heard opening and slamming shut.
"Is he... gonna be okay?" Yang asked.
"I don't know!" Nora yelled getting up and leaving.
"I think it would be best if we had some time to ourselves" Ren followed after his team and headed upstairs as well.
Team RWBY and Oscar remained in the living room "Maybe we could all use some space" Blake suggested. Everyone remained silent, Oscar looked down sadly.
Ruby headed outside onto the backyard porch with her Scroll to her ear "Come on, please" Ruby took away the Scroll from her ear, looking at the screen with Qrow's portrait on it and text above it in red letters reading "No answer" she groans in frustration "Where are you?!" she threw her Scroll into the yard.
"You know, I came out here to avoid the yelling" Maria sighed.
Ruby noticed Maria sitting next to a small table with a plate of fruit on it "Sorry. The others went to get food for tonight"
"Why not go with them?" she asked curiously.
"I don't know" she sat down on the porch "I don't know anything... What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don't even have a plan? Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin hasn't come back and even if he did, I don't know if I could trust him. Slade's always pissed off and Salem is stuck in his head. There's always Jinn, but... we only have one more question we can ask her. I feel like I'm letting everyone down"
"You know, you don't give yourself enough credit"
"Oh" she chuckled "Thanks"
"That wasn't a compliment"
"Uh... what?"
"If I have to explain it to you, it will just defeat the purpose. But if you're tired of not knowing anything, how about we discuss those eyes of yours?"
"Oh!" Ruby stood up "Yes, ma'am, I would be honored!"
"Sit back down, for Pete's sake" Ruby quickly did so "Let's start with what you do know. Tell me"
"Uh... Silver-Eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors. Or something. And at the Fall of Beacon, I turned a giant Wyvern into stone"
Maria shook her head "Oh, boy"
"Look, if I already knew everything I wouldn't be asking for help!" she crossed her arms with a huff.
"Yelling" Ruby looked back up with a sorrowful expression on her face. "It's not your fault. I had my father to teach me, and even he didn't have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given what I've seen"
"Was he a Huntsman too?" Ruby asked curiously.
"It wasn't really an official title back in his day. I only knew him as an old soldier and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours, but I scored higher on the license exam than any other Huntsman or Huntress that day"
Ruby smiled "You must've been proud"
"Heh, he would've scolded me for showing off. He'd never been able to find much information about our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shone like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world onto darkness. He found so little, in fact, that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare? Unless something was actively seeking to destroy them"
"Salem"
"I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know, it wasn't enough. I owe my life to my training, and my Semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your most powerful tools"
"What is your Semblance?"
A lemon dropped from the tree, which Maria caught before it could hit the plate of fruit "Preflexes"! A silly name I came up with. Hard to explain, but I can sense everything better than most and react to attacks almost before they happen. Combine that with my training and secret ability to turn Grimm to stone, or blind them, or vaporize them" she cleared her throat "And that's how you become the Grimm Reaper!" she smiled proudly.
"So, how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?" Ruby asked excitedly.
Maria smacked Ruby on the head with her cane "First, you stop thinking like that! I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What did those moments have in common?"
Ruby rubbing her head "I... was scared, and stressed. Is it emotional? Like unlocking a Semblance?"
"It's emotional but more focused than that. Think, what is it you wanted?"
Ruby clenched her hands "I wanted to protect my friends"
"Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother"
"How do you know that?"
"I always knew how to use the light, but never why it only worked on the Grimm. Then, Jinn showed us her vision. Were you paying attention?"
Ruby closed her eyes and thought back to when the God of Light destroyed all the Grimm in the Land of Darkness. The God of Light transformed into his dragon form, revealing his own pair of Silver Eyes.
"The God of Light... His eyes!" she stood up "Okay, where do we start?"
"Well, not here. The light will only work in the presence of Grimm. Meaning the only practice you'll get will be a trial by fire. But, what you can do is focus on creating a state of mind that you can tap into when you need it. Don't think about your light as a means of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant"
"But, that can't be right"
"Hm?"
"You said the light only reacts to Grimm, but... I used it during our battle at Haven. It reacted to Cinder"
"Interesting... Perhaps there was something that you just weren't seeing?"
"Ruby!" Yang called rushing outside.
Ruby noticed Yang at the door. She walked back into the house to see Weiss and Blake present as well "Oh, hey guys"
Jaune also walked into the room with Ren and Nora "What's going on?"
"It's Oscar and Slade. They're missing" Blake told them sadly.
Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren became shocked to hear they went missing as Ruby and Jaune looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces.
Slade walked down the street of Argus clearing his head Probably went a bit far with Jaune back there but he couldn't really think it was okay to treat Oscar like that he sighed deeply. Slade was so deep in thought he never even noticed he had entered a park until he nearly walked right into a statue, he stopped backing away instinctively as he looked up at the statue "That's new" he tilted his head slightly wondering who the statue was for. Slade read the inscription aloud "In honor of Pyrrha Nikos, one of the many students who fought valiantly at the Fall of Beacon... Nikos..." he snapped his fingers in realization "This is her! the P in JNPR... Pyrrha Nikos" he sighed.
Standing silently as he stared up at the statue he frowned "I wish I could've known you" he turned away from the statue making his way back out of the park. Walking for a few minutes more he heard what sounded to be someone sobbing, he listened closely, following the sound into an alleyway. Looking down at the crying figure he sighed lightly before sitting down next to them "Oscar" he greeted.
Oscar's head shot up out of his lap in surprise at not noticing Slade approach him "S-Slade" he wiped his tears away "I didn't hear-"
"I know" Slade smiled lightly at him "Is what Jaune said bothering you?"
"No... well.. I don't know" he answered looking back at the ground.
"You can talk to me, Oscar. I understand what it's like"
"You do?" Oscar asked confused.
"You heard what I said to Jaune back at the house didn't you?" Slade chuckled "You may have Ozpin stuck in your head, and yeah he wasn't entirely honest with us when he could've been. But knowing everything that we do now, could you blame him for keeping it from us?" Slade asked.
"I..."
"At least the guy stuck in your head wants to help people. Salem wants the world to end" Slade sighed.
"End? I thought she wanted to rule it"
"When her and Ozpin were together, she most certainly would've only wanted to rule instead of destroy. Unfortunately after losing Ozpin, at least as far as she's concerned. Salem wants the same thing she wanted when she didn't have him and was immortal, she wanted to die"
"That's right, Jinn said she jumped into the Pools of Darkness to see if it would destroy her but only ended up corrupting her in the end"
"Yeah... now she wants to get the four Relics in one place so she can summon the Brother Gods"
"How does that destroy the world exactly?"
"You heard Cordovin earlier today, the whole world blames Atlas for what happened to Vale, they blame Ironwood for the Fall of Beacon instead of the ones actually responsible. Atlas is preparing for war and Salem is still gathering the relics. If they return to our world and humanity is still divided amongst themselves, they'll destroy Remnant. That's what Salem wants"
"But why would she want that? What does she get out of it?" Oscar asked not understanding.
"Death" Slade answered "Salem cannot die, but the Gods can take away her immortality just as easily as they forced it upon her"
"You really think they would do that?" Oscar asked.
"The God of Light doesn't want to, that's why he sent Ozpin back into the world so he could ensure it doesn't happen and stop Salem. But the God of Darkness, I can only imagine he enjoys destruction just as much as Salem does right now" Slade sighed "Unfortunately I don't think they would remove her immortality. If they discovered she was doing all these horrible things just because she wanted to die, willingly sacrificing the rest of the world for her selfishness. They might just let her stay immortal instead"
"So they wouldn't destroy us right?" Oscar asked.
"It's possible they would just laugh in Salem's face and do nothing or it's possible they would destroy humanity permanently and force Salem to be the sole living creature on Remnant for the rest of time as punishment. Either way, I really don't plan on finding out the hard way"
Oscar sat silently taking in the information Slade had just provided him with, Oscar looked over to Slade with a small amount of hope in his eyes "Can I ask you something?"
"Always"
"Was Qrow right? When he said I was just another one of Ozpin's lives and not my own person like Ruby said?"
"No" Slade answered with a genuine smile "You are Oscar Pine. I don't care what happens from here on in, we've all got your back just as much as you've got ours"
"Not all of us" Oscar sighed looking away.
"Jaune and Qrow were just upset, they feel as though what they've believed has been torn away from them, as if the sacrifices they've made and the people they've lost were for nothing" Slade explained "I felt the same way when I found out the truth from Salem" he sighed "I know now, that I was just wasting my time hunting down criminals for the past year when I could've been helping... If I had been at Beacon maybe Pyrrha would still be alive and none of this ever would've happened... but then again, we never would've met you if Ozpin didn't die during his battle with Cinder" he smiled over at Oscar gaining a small smile in return.
"Do you really think we have a chance at this? Do you think we'll ever defeat Salem for good?"
"If there's one thing I have learned in this world, it's that anything, no matter how strong can be stopped. Salem may not be able to die, but maybe she doesn't have to die. There are alternatives, and I know we'll figure something out. Jinn still can answer one question after all, and I know given the proper time and thought we can ask the one question we need the answer to right now"
"Maybe you're right" Oscar smiled standing up "No matter what happens from here on in, I'm ready for it. I'll fight to protect my friends with everything I have"
"I like the enthusiasm, but you're not going to get very far wearing that" Slade laughed gesturing at his farm clothes "Here" he tossed Oscar a small bag of Lien "There's a store not too far from here that'll have the type of gear you're looking for. Should be enough there to cover your expenses" Slade turned to leave the alleyway with Oscar quickly following behind him.
"T-thank you, Slade. I-I don't know what to say-"
"You've already said enough" Slade smirked back at him "C'mon, why don't we pick out something for you together"
"Slade?"
"Yeah?" he asked as they walked out of the alley.
"Thanks" he smiled.
Slade smiled back "Anytime, Oscar"
Ruby looked down with a look of disapproval on her face. She let out a disappointed sigh "I've never seen him this bad" Yang pointed out.
Ruby, along with the rest of Team RWBY and Maria, found Qrow passed out on the stairs leading up to Saphron's house "Come on, let's get him up"
The two sisters grabbed their uncle's arms and sat him up. Qrow groaned and rubbed his eyes "Why am I on the stairs?"
"Probably because no one's home, Uncle Qrow. We've been out looking for Oscar and Slade" Ruby answered annoyed.
"Oscar? Slade?" he asked confused.
The group heard footsteps, turning to see Jaune, Ren, Nora, as well as Saphron and Terra, who was holding Adrian in her arm, walking towards them. The two mothers looked at Qrow.
"I'm sure this looks great to the neighbors" Terra pointed out sarcastically. Saphron lightly elbowed her wife while Jaune and his teammates approached the group.
"No luck?" Ren asked.
Blake shook her head "No. You?"
"Don't worry, we aren't going to Atlas without them" Jaune assured.
"We?" Ruby asked surprised. The three Team JNPR members shared a smile.
Jaune turned to Saphron "Sorry we won't be staying"
Saphron smirked at her brother "No you're not"
"How about we get out of the cold?" Terra suggested.
The door to the house opened "Oh, I was wondering when you'd get back" everyone gasped at the sight of Oscar. Oscar stood at the doorway, now wearing a fancy green coat.
"OSCAR!" everyone yelled excitedly.
Nora screamed in joy as Oscar initially wore a confused look on his face, and then one of comical terror as the seven students all leapt forward and tackled him into a hug. Now inside the house, Ruby helped Oscar up as everyone shared a laugh.
"You had us worried sick!" Weiss chastised.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked concerned.
Nora grinned "What are you wearing?" she asked curiously.
Oscar smiled and rubbed the back of his head "Uh..."
The rest of the group stepped into the house "Is something cooking?" Terra asked.
"Oh, uh, yeah. We thought you guys would appreciate a hot meal after... spending all day looking for us, apparently" Oscar chuckled nervously.
"It's my fault we were all out there in the first place. Oscar, I am so sorry for earlier. I was way, way out of line, and what I said-" Jaune tried to apologize.
"No, it's okay. These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you were. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be... me. But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left" Oscar told them with determination.
Jaune smiled at him "Good. This team isn't the same without you, Oscar" Everyone shared a smile.
"Wait, you said 'we'" Yang said her eyes opening in surprise "Who's we?"
"Oh, well it's-" Suddenly, a smoke alarm blared.
Oscar gasped "The casserole!"
"OSCAR! YOU BETTER NOT BE BURNING ANYTHING DOWN THERE!" a voice boomed from upstairs as footsteps could be heard thumping their way down "I swear I leave for one minute and suddenly-!" Slade stopped short at the group in front of him "Oh, you're all back. Glad to see you all decided to-"
"Slade!" The group yelled tackling him to the ground similarly to Oscar just moments before.
"Woah!" Slade fell onto his back in surprise "What's going on? Why're you all hugging me?" he asked confused.
"The casserole" Oscar reminded once more concerned about the food burning.
Saphron giggled "We're on it, chef" Saphron and Terra stepped into the kitchen to take care of Oscar and Slade's cooking.
"We've been looking for you for hours!" Yang yelled punching him in the shoulder "You had us worried sick!"
"Oh, I just left for some fresh air" he laughed "You all thought I just disappeared?"
"Well Oscar vanished too" Blake offered.
"We were just off getting him some better equipment" Slade stood up helping the group to their feet as well "Can't expect the kid to fight bad guys dressed like a farm boy now can we?"
"Speaking of" Nora grinned looking over to Oscar.
"Uh, combat gear looks good" Ruby said looking to Oscar with a smile
Oscar returned the smile, then the group noticed Qrow walking up the stairs.
Ruby cleared her throat sternly "Where are you going now?"
"I don't want to get in the way of your celebration"
"You've been gone all day! Just sit with us"
Qrow sighed "Look, Ruby, I'm glad you kids worked out, uh, whatever all that was. But the fact is, we're not a single step closer to Atlas"
"Actually, I think I have an idea. But... it's sort of a 'no-going-back' kind of idea" Jaune chuckled nervously.
"Well, let's hear it" Ruby smiled.
"With Cordo on watch, only Atlas airships have the clearance to leave for Solitas. So... we... steal an Atlas airship" he nervously shrugged at his last statement. Everyone wore shocked looks on their faces. Adrian giggled in Maria's arms.
"That's not just breaking the law. That's... that's definitely worse" Weiss pointed out.
"It's actually just breaking the law, Weiss" Slade chuckled.
"How would we even get onto the airfield?" Yang asked exasperated.
"That part I haven't quite figured out yet. But I-"
"You don't have to figure it out, I've got the perfect idea-" Slade began.
"Okay, stop. Just... stop! Look, if this thing goes south, it's not something we can just fight our way out of. This is the Atlas Military we're talking about" he sighed heavily "For your sake, just drop this" Everyone looked down with discouraged looks on their faces, with the exclusion of Slade's glare up at Qrow. Ruby noticed this and turned back to Qrow with a determined look on her face.
"I want to hear him out" Ruby said sternly.
"Ruby-" Qrow tried.
"I want to hear him out! I know you're trying to protect us, that you're afraid we can't do it, but right now, I don't really care what you think!" Qrow gained a shocked expression "Just because you don't have an idea, doesn't mean we're out of options! Oz hasn't been here to tell us what to do, but we still managed to get this far anyway. We've been in bad situations before, and we didn't need an adult to come save us or tell us what to do. We just did it our way! And I say we do it our way" everyone smiled at her determination "And if you think you can keep up with us 'kids'... we'd be happy to have you" Qrow looked down sadly.
Maria laughed "Looks like you didn't give her enough credit either" Qrow didn't say anything, he looked back to Ruby while she looked back at him determined.
"Well... why don't we talk about the plan over dinner, Oscar and I slaved over it for hours" Slade chuckled "Thank you by the way, Saphron and Terra for the timely rescue"
"Anytime!" Saphron called with a laugh.
"Hopefully not too often" Terra called after her.
"That sounds like a lovely idea" Nora sighed as she sat down on the couch "I'm starving!"
"Alright then everyone grab a plate and chow down" Slade chuckled as the group scurried to the food quickly, Slade turned to look up at Qrow "There's plenty down here, bird boy. If you're up to helping us that is" he smirked.
Qrow smirked back at him with a shake of his head "You guys are one hell of a headache" he chuckled reluctantly joining the group.
Slade sat on the outside edge of the second story of Saphron and Terra's residence, he looked out at the moon above him with a deep sigh. Saphron made her way up onto the roof "It's much warmer inside you know" she sat down next to him "I brewed some tea to warm us up, there's a steaming cup waiting for your downstairs" she tried enticing him.
Slade chuckled lightly "Thanks, but I prefer it out here. I've never been much of a homebody"
"You're more of an adventurous type?" she asked curiously.
"You could say that, I try not to stay in one place for too long. Makes it harder for undesirables to find you"
"You're not a student like the rest of Jaune's friends are, and your not in training like Oscar... How long have you been a Huntsmen for?"
"I'm officially not a Huntsmen" Slade answered.
"Huh?" Saphron was confused.
"I attended Beacon Academy like Jaune and Ruby's teams, but unlike them I made it through the entire schooling system. Only had the final exam and the licensing test before I would've been an official Huntsmen"
"The Fall of Beacon get in the way of that?" she asked.
Slade shook his head "I was supposed to graduate a year before the others even started attending Beacon... but not everything works out the way it's supposed to" he sighed "I became a Bounty Hunter about the same time they started attending and only recently decided to take this job with them"
"You're getting paid for this mission with them?"
"No, though I would very much like to be" Slade laughed "No, I joined up with them because like everyone else here... I wanted to believe in something again... and let's just say I was given some pretty good incentive"
"Wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the beautiful blonde downstairs now would it?" Saphron asked with a knowing look. Slade's face blushed in embarrassment causing her to laugh "Don't worry, I wont say anything" she assured.
"How did you-"
"Please!" she laughed "You've been eyeing her the whole time you've been here, not too unlike how I was with Terra not all that long ago" she smiled fondly at the memories.
"I assure you, it's nothing like that"
"Really now?" she asked cocking her eyebrow knowingly.
"It's not like with you and Terra, we don't really compliment each other that well... she's fiery and enthusiastic and I'm... well... I'm the cold, boring one"
"You know you don't have to be perfectly alike right? Terra and I disagree on things all the time, we even argue from time to time. But I know in the end that she has my back and I have hers, and when it comes to our child, we're always on the same page. Isn't there something you and Yang have done together where you were just perfectly in sync?" she asked cocking her head to the side questioningly.
"Well..." Slade thought back to their barfight in Anima and how they worked together to stop Mercury "We seem to always know what the other is going to do when we fight together. Didn't matter who it was against or how many there were. Yang and I always knew exactly how to move around each other"
"See?" she elbowed him "You just need some common ground! Maybe next time you really want to talk with her, have a sparring match beforehand or talk during the sparring even. Just find something to talk about that isn't your mission and go from there"
Slade pondered her words, he smiled lightly as he looked up a Saphron "Thank you, Mrs. Arc-"
"Please, you make me sound like my Mother. Just Saphron or Saph is fine"
"Thank you, Saphron" he chuckled "Mind if I ask you why you came up here to speak to me? I'm sure there was plenty of other things you could be doing or people you could be talking with"
"Well, I've already talked with all of Jaune's friends and caught up with Jaune plenty over the last two days. You and I however haven't had a whole lot of chances to talk yet"
"You want to get to know me better?" Slade asked surprised.
"I like to know all of Jaune's friends" she smiled "Besides, you looked like you could use someone to open up to right now, and everyone else seemed not to notice"
"That's very kind of you, Mrs.- Saphron" he corrected.
"Of course, it's what I'm here for" she smiled brightly at him "There was something else I wanted to ask you" she through her hands up defensively "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to though!" she added cautiously.
"What is it?" Slade asked with a light laugh.
"Earlier, Mr. Branwen said you had lost a lot of people close to you and that's why you were so angry when you got here. What happened exactly?"
Slade's expression darkened as he looked down at the city below "That's... painful to talk about"
"I know... but you have to talk about it sometime, or you'll never move past it"
"I've moved past it" he replied "But there are some things that stick with you no matter how deep you bury it, no matter how far you distance yourself from it... some things stick with you forever"
"It doesn't have to be me you talk about it with, Slade. But you should talk to someone about it, anyone. Keeping something like that bottled up will only do more harm than good" she stood from her place next to him "Well, I better get back inside. Jaune's probably wondering where I'm at by now" she turned back toward him as she slipped back in through the window "My offer still stands on that tea, it won't stay hot forever"
Slade smirked back at her "You know what? On second thought, I think I will take you up on that"
"You won't regret it, Terra and I make the best tea in all of Argus" she laughed as he followed her inside, closing the window behind him.
"Well I figure I might as well enjoy tonight before we go steal an airship from Atlas Military" he chuckled "I imagine they're not going to take too kindly to that"
"People usually like holding onto their airships" she laughed.
"There is one thing I'd like to talk about, but I don't think I can face them quite yet" Slade sighed.
Saphron turned back to look at him with a comforting smile "Well I'm more than willing to listen if you'd like to get it off your chest, and I promise I won't judge or anything. I know what it's like to keep something buried for too long"
"Thank you, Saphron... I really appreciate that"
"Of course, why don't we talk out back. Everyone else is in the living room so there's no better time" she offered.
"That sounds... delightful" he smiled accepting the tea she handed him as they made it down the stairs to the rest of the group.
That's all for this time! Keep your eyes out for Chapter Fifteen, coming soon! Thank you guys for reading. I have some exciting chapters coming up soon.