Hunting or Bust: The Journey Continues

Dust 20: Panic and Truth on The Argus Limited

I wanted 3 chapters out today, but I was a little late with it so expect a belated Christmas Day gift on Saturday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"So how long do you think it'll take to get to Argus?"

"We're covering quite a bit of distance, so it isn't a quick trip."

"The people at Skyggen said we wouldn't arrive until nighttime."

"And that's forever~!" Yang griped as she fell limply into her bed with a groan, "I'm gonna die of boredom if I have to just stare at this wall."

"Oh, then let's do something about that!" Ruby exclaimed, rushing in a swath of petals and startling Weiss with her sudden movement before the red blur ended up by their bags. She hummed and eagerly rummaged through everything before pulling out a portable device, "Let's have a tournament to pass the time! Who can win the most fights before we reach Argus?!"

"Yes! Yes! Absolutely!" The grin on Yang's face stretched ear to ear as she jumped down from her bed and started bouncing around eagerly with her sister, "It's been so long since we played! Let's do it!"

"HAHA! I WILL REIGN SUPREME!"

Weiss and Blake watched their partners as their exuberance escalated to higher and higher levels. They shared a look, exasperation overwhelming Weiss as Blake couldn't help the small giggle that came out watching her team act like this again.

"Weiss!" Ruby slid by her partner's bed, excitedly drumming her fingers with silver eyes of expectation, "You wanna play? You wanna fight with us? C'mon! Play the game-"

"Stop." She raised her hand and stopped Ruby's tirade, "I'm not sure how to even play this game."

"That doesn't matter!"

"Which means I wouldn't be able to fight back and lose against you two over and over again in a series of humiliating defeats."

Ruby looked aside nervously, "I-I hadn't even considered that."

Weiss looked unamused, "I'm sure. I remember the board game, just so you know." As Ruby deflated, the Schnee girl let out a hefty sigh, "I'll watch the first few rounds and see how it goes, okay? Until then…I'll cheer for you - stop." She immediately raised her hand before Ruby could erupt with joy, "Don't make me regret it."

"Best partner ever!"

Blake giggled watching her teammates back and forth like that. And as a shadow settled over her the ears on her head twitched and she looked up. When she saw Yang leaning on the bed over her with a smile and waving her Scroll, she nodded to the side and her invitation was clear, "Um…" Blake closed her book, her eyes lowered before she realized what she was doing, and forced herself to look up at Yang, "I don't know if I remember how to play that well from Beacon."

"You're pretty smart. You'll pick it back up fast - like riding a bike." The blonde smiled, "C'mon, it'll be fun to play as a team again."

It didn't take much more than that to convince Blake to put her book aside and join her friends. As they placed the projector down and created a screen to play off of, the four girls got comfortable and ready to begin. But a quick knock at the door stopped them.

Ruby stepped up and pulled the door open. She was surprised to find Team NKTS, JNPR, and Oscar waiting outside their door, "Oh, hey guys. What's up?"

Naruto stepped up, "Hey Ruby," He spoke with dire seriousness, "We have something to discuss."

"W-What is it?"

"You're about to start a tournament and you aren't inviting us?" He smugly grinned, eyebrow quirking up arrogantly as he scoffed, "Scared you couldn't handle fighting some real players?"

She blinked a few times as she registered what they said. And after she did Ruby couldn't help but smile condescendingly, "Oh, that's cute, you think you're good. Of course, you guys can come play with us! We'll be happy to whoop all your butts and humble you in the process. It's what friends do!"

"Ha, I'll never be humbled!"

"I don't even know the meaning of the word!"

"Neither do we!"

"Alright! Less talking, more fighting!" Kiba pushed his way past the two arguing leaders and walked in, "I got first game!"

"We call second!" Nora piped up, "Jaune, Ren, and I are gonna send you guys back to school with this one!"

"And suddenly I miss the quiet," Weiss mumbled from her place on her bed as the room became a cacophony of name-calling and trash-talk. In the middle of it all, she felt someone stop by her side and look up to see Sasuke watching everyone settle on an order, "Are you not going to play?"

"I'm too good so I think I'll have to retire." He said as he raised his arm…and showed the knot his shirt was tied in at the end of his wrist. As Weiss kicked herself for asking such a stupid question he smiled softly, "I'll just referee the matches if you help me."

"Y-Yes," She stiffly nodded while her cheeks turned a light pink, "That sounds fine to me."

"Hey, that's my character! You can't pick it before me! That's not fair!"

"Haha, loser!"

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"Here you go, sir. One house special."

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about." Admiring the colorful drink and the tantalizing bubbles rising to the surface, Qrow picked up his glass and gave it a sip. As the drink ran down his gullet he gave a satisfied sigh, "Damn. We are going to make this the standard while on this train. Be back soon."

He left his payment and started making his way back to his cabin. He passed some of the other passengers, a very short-wizened woman with a cane, and the two failure Huntsmen he had teased. He raised his drink and gave them a cheeky wink, reveling in the way they ground their teeth and stomped away like petulant children.

Some small part of him realized that was pretty childish of him to goad them like that, but Ruby and Yang hadn't developed those traits by themselves, did they?

As Qrow made his way back through the cabins, he spotted Oscar standing just outside of the door of Team RWBY's cabin, "Hey Pipsqueak, you better not be sneaking around my nieces' room or we're gonna have a talk."

"Huh?" Oscar looked up, coming out of his thoughts to finally register what Qrow had said, "What?! N-No, that's not what's going on! I-I didn't-"

"He's teasing you."

"Oh," Oscar noticed the Hunteman's smirk and frowned, "You jerk. Anyway, they're having a gaming competition in there and I didn't want to crowd them."

"A tournament? Hoho, sounds like my kinda party. I'll swoop in, kicking everyone's asses, prove I'm the guy on top." He said shamelessly before he spared the short freckled boy a look. Taking a sip of his drink he nodded down, "Why aren't you inside playing with them?"

"Oh, I just needed some air. I-It's crowded in there and Nora is in full cuddle mode, so if I didn't escape I wouldn't have survived. But I'm sure you could fit your way in if you tried."

The Huntsman looked at him quizzically before shrugging and stepping into the room, opening the door long enough for Yang's triumphant roar followed by Naruto and Nora's anguished screams to slip out before cutting off.

"You should be in there enjoying the company of your friends. What's wrong?"

With a small grumble, Oscar frowned, "You tell me. I can't shake this feeling in the pit of my gut. I'm uneasy. I can't sit down and relax." He felt the rumble of the train running on a bend in the train tracks and felt a new wave of restlessness running up his body, "Something's wrong…and you know what it is." Oscar's narrowed his eyes, "These are echoes of your feelings."

"I…yes, you're right. You're feeling pieces of my anxiety."

"Why are you anxious?"

"The truth is that I fear for the state we're leaving Mistral in while we're absent. Leonardo…his actions have irrevocably damaged this Kingdom…and I trusted him to watch over and protect it. I know it now rests in the hands of capable and trustworthy allies…but still, I am concerned."

…

"You're lying." With a look of panic, Oscar muttered under his voice, waiting for some rebuttal or response from the spirit sharing his body. But with the pause in response Oscar felt a new wave of unease fill his chest.

An anxiety that only worsened when the train lurched and shook more intensely than before. So suddenly Oscar had to put a hand to the wall to steady himself. He tried to keep his balance-

"HAAAAAOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!"

The deep, booming bellow of a monster outside the walls and windows of the train reverberated through Oscar's bones. As he heard the countless civilians on the train suddenly scream and panic to rush back into their cabins, the door to Team RWBY's room slid open.

Ruby, Naruto, Jaune, and Qrow immediately stepped out. And as the train finally started to steady, they looked over at Oscar.

He nodded, "Everyone heard that."

((((((((Hunting))))))))

Only taking a few moments to grab their weapons out of their rooms, the group of Hunters quickly made their way to the closest corridor connection they could find. They pushed through the wave of passengers rushing past them to reach a different car or hide inside their rooms as the roars of beasts grew more intense from the outside.

Once Ruby finally reached the connecting door and could see flashes of the mountain and cliff on either side she started making her way to the ladder. It was impossible not to notice the flashes of black and white that rushed by the train followed by the soul-chilling roars that accompanied the shaking and crashes. The hooded Huntress steeled herself as she started climbing the ladder and making her way up to the top of the car.

Once she had reached the top, the first thing she noticed after how high up they were and how fast the wind was whipping against her body…was how many Grimm had appeared. Dee and Dudley were taking a stand against the monsters - although not very effectively since they kept swinging and shooting at the Manticores swirling over the train.

How were there so many of them? Grimm sometimes attacked transport vessels when they were drawn in by negative emotion, but who was feeling so down that they could draw in this much?

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Yang's grinning face as she, the rest of her team, Qrow, and Naruto were already standing by her side. They drew their weapons as her sister smirked, "Not the first time we've stopped a crisis atop a train, is it?"

Ruby chuckled, pulling Crescent Rose out and taking her stand, "Nope!"

"It is for us!"

They looked back to see the rest of NKTS, all of JNPR, and Oscar either struggling to make their way up or finding their balance atop the rushing train and sharp wind.

The others blinked in concern. Naruto pulled out his blade, "Um…" He shrugged, "Give it some time and you'll get used to it?"

"YOU SUCK!"

The ones used to combat like this immediately made their move rushing forward as some of the Manticores landed atop the train and started scratching at the walls. Weiss weaved her Glyphs and sent Blake and Yang flying forward as they tackled and stabbed the closest Manticore. As it toppled over they pulled back and jumped over it to go for the next one. Qrow took aim with his gun and started firing at some of the flying monsters as Ruby and Naruto rushed in.

"H-Hey!" Dee stopped fighting for a moment to look back at the others joining their fight, "What the hell are you doing up here?!"

"Helping you save the train!"

"We don't need amateurs getting in our way! Go back down into the cabin so we can-"

A Manticore swooped in and snatched the distracted Huntsman off his feet, lifting him high off the train and over the cliff before letting him go, "AAAHHHH-"

"DEE-"

A glowing orange hand reached out and caught the man mid-fall. Before they could make the next turn it retracted back towards the train at high speeds, dropping the terrified Huntsman down at his partner's feet as they both looked up at Naruto.

His Free Reign closed back around his hand, "Ready to let us help?"

"Y-Yeah, all yours."

"Let's go, guys!"

Sasuke, Kiba, and Tenten found their footing and stepped up to join the fight. Sasuke and Tenten drew out their weapons to fight close as Kiba pulled out his tonfa and started laying a surprising fire.

"O-Okay," Jaune exhaled as he got his balance and drew Crocea Mors. He looked back, seeing Ren and Nora already steady and drawn in their weapons. With a nod, he slammed his sword into his shield to create a ruckus, "Get their attention away from the passengers!"

"You got it!" Nora saluted with a grin, spinning her hammer in her hand until it became a grenade launcher. And then smirking wildly as she started launching pink explosions against all the Grimm flying around them.

Ren stepped forward as a Manticore spotted him, roaring and charging across the roof to devour him. He fired at its head, forcing it to try and protect its face from the assault. Ren took that moment of pause to act, sprinting in and sliding on his knees to slash the Grimm's ankles and joints before he came out the other side. The Manticore cried out as it toppled over-

"WRAH!" Jaune swung his great sword up and through the Grimm's head completely. The monster toppled over dead and started to dissolve as he smiled at his friend, "Thanks for stopping it in its tracks."

"If I stop them, you cut them down. Seems like a perfect combo for us."

"What about Nora?"

"HYAH!" Said short bruiser letting out a vicious yell as she swung her hammer up into a Manticore's chest and sent it flying up to collide with another one flying around the train. As they careened to death down to the forest below, she proudly laid her hammer on her shoulder and whistled, "I got two with that one!"

Ren and Jaune stared in silence before they nodded, "She's fine."

"Oscar, if you want, I can-"

"It's okay," The former farmhand assured his partner as he stood up on the roof and drew his cane, "I can do this!"

One of the Manticores landed behind the rest of his friends and looked like it was about to strike their blind spot. Oscar grit his teeth, rushing forward after finding his balance, and strikes the cane into the back of the Manticore's legs. It toppled over and gave Oscar the chance to strike the rest of its body with fierce, speedy blows while making his way up to its head.

The beast roared and snapped, trying to catch him in its maw as he got close. But Oscar jumped over the snapping teeth, bringing his cane down and stabbing it into the monster's eye. The giant Grimm roared in anguish, immediately jumping back to its feet and stumbling over the roof in a panic after losing its eye. One of its paws slipped off the train and the rest of the hulking beast followed with it, slamming somewhere between the train tracks and the cliffside until it was crushed to death.

"H-Ha - Ahahaha!" Oscar's trepidation tentatively turned to excitement and pride as he realized he had slain the beast all by himself. The training he had done with all his friends. The utilization of Ozpin's experience and techniques. And all the battles he had faced so far. Their culmination showed in this moment against a mighty foe, and it made Oscar exclaim with joy, "I did it!"

Some of the others looked back and saw their youngest friend celebrating after his victory. Qrow scoffed, "One Grimm and you think he saved the world."

"Woohoo!" Naruto shared in his friend's elation, dodging a Manticore's swipe and pumping his arms up, "Way to go Oscar!" He drew his kodachi, dug it into the neck of the Manticore, and killed it with a swipe, "Did you see that?!"

"I saw it." Blake mused with a slight chuckle after laying down some suppressing fire for her teammates, "I guess you guys have been teaching that little guy everything you can, huh?"

"Damn right! Go Oscar! Put another one down while you can-"

The train shook as the sounds of its heavy armor plating being deployed cut them off. Followed quickly by the automatic defense system springing to life as the turrets rotated and took aim at the flying monsters. The Hunters atop the train nearly went deaf as the rapid fire of the machine guns drowned out everything else and riddled the Grimm with holes.

Dee and Dudley celebrated their belated victory with a high five as the others took a moment to take a breath. If the automated defense had been activated, and it was handling the Grimm this quickly, then they could take the backseat and focus on defense instead. Go down into the cabin and try to ease the worried passengers-

"GAOW!"

Two fireballs rushed down and destroyed the turrets keeping the Manticores at bay. The explosions and smoke that followed rushed over everyone with the wind and forced them to cover their faces. The smoke flowed away and everyone looked up at the source of the fireballs.

A Sphinx was floating high over the train and looking down over all of them. The giant, fierce Grimm flew high over the rest of the Manticores and out of range for most of their gunfire. It looked down at them before it opened its mouth and spat a giant fireball down on them. One heading right for-

"Oscar!" Naruto realized the fireball's trajectory and rushed down the train, Blake quickly following him once she noted the panic in his voice. As the fireball drew closer and closer to the distracted farmhand fending off Grimm around him, Naruto pushed his legs harder with each step forward.

The heat from the fireball grew stronger the closer it got, finally getting Oscar's attention as he looked back and paled. The fireball reached him-

"NOOO!" Naruto grabbed the young man with his Aura, pulling him aside before he could get hit with the flaming ball. But as it erupted and the train buckled under the explosion, Naruto and Oscar lost their balance and toppled off the train, "OH SHIT!"

"Here!" Blake tossed Gambol Shroud down and snagged Naruto's wrist before he and Oscar could plummet into the forest. Blake tried to hold on as tightly as she could but felt her feet slip as the train bucked and shambled under her. She tried to pull them up before she felt another set of hands pull on the ribbon beside hers. Yang had rushed over to help with Jaune and Nora joining as well.

Naruto hung perilously over the great forest while pulling Oscar back in with his Free Reign. The freckled boy tried to keep his cool as much as possible but once Naruto pulled him in close enough, he scrambled to hold onto the blond Faunus for any security. The swarms of Manticore around the train tried to swoop in and attack them but were held back by the gunfire of their friends overhead. All they had to do was wait for the others to pull-

"TUNNEL!"

Someone above called out the warning as the train was quickly pulling up towards the pass through the mountainside. Dee and Dudley quickly jumped back down onto the train and the Grimm scattered before they could end up splattering along the tunnel. Blake, Yang, Jaune, and Nora started pulling on the ribbon, "Get them up!"

"We won't make it in time!"

"Then what do we – RUBY!"

Before they could reach the tunnel, Ruby rushed to the edge of the roof and dove off the train. She dropped through the air before suddenly rushing towards Naruto and Oscar in a cluster of petals. The two boys reached out and were snagged by the red cluster, yanking them out of Blake's safety line and carrying them along the length of the train.

With their friends' safety secured, the rest of the former students ran towards the spaces between the train cars. Yang waited as Blake yanked her weapon back into her hand and then dropped down with Weiss and Qrow. NKTS and JNPR quickly retreated and dropped down as well.

The cluster of rose petals slowed down partially but carried on, rushing by the tracks as the caboose of the train approached the tunnel. Before the train could disappear inside, the cluster swerved in and landed on the caboose with a trail of red, orange, and green petals in its wake.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"WAH!" Naruto exclaimed as he slammed into the floor of the caboose with two bodies on him. He gasped and shuddered, the strange feeling of traveling in Ruby's Semblance settling and passing through him in just a few seconds. With a groan he looked down, "You two okay?"

"Yeah," Ruby gasped, rolling off his chest and onto the floor as she caught her breath, "Just - just never carried that many people that far before."

"Life?" Oscar muttered in a daze, "I think my life flashed before my eyes. I-I'm gonna need a sec."

Naruto bopped his shoulder and pulled Ruby up to her feet, "Hurry up, we've gotta get back up to the others and figure out…what…" He trailed off, Ruby and Oscar looking up to see why he stopped talking before noticing all the startled passengers in the next car looking in after hearing all the commotion. His ears flinched in his hair before he nervously waved, "Hi everyone, sorry about the noise. We're handling the Grimm problem now."

"Not much longer folks! Thanks for your understanding!" Ruby smiled and bowed her head to the nervous people as they quickly made their way through the car to reach the next one. Ruby groaned as she made sure to keep close to Naruto and Oscar as they made their way through, "That was crazy. We've fought off a lot of Grimm before but doing it on top of a train is different from fighting White Fang."

"Not as hard as fighting a Noble Guard, thankfully." Naruto pointed out, Ruby shrugging and nodding in agreement, "Still, I fought off a Manticore and a Sphinx not long after I came to Anima months back. But they weren't nearly as ferocious as today, and that Sphinx is an old one. So why show up now?"

"I don't think people were particularly upset before the Grimm showed up. I - oh, pardon me!" Bowing her head Ruby apologized to the wizened old woman she nearly barreled into while walking through the car, "I'm not sure why they're showing up now."

"That Sphinx…was it aiming at me?" Ruby and Naruto stopped and looked at Oscar as he looked at the floor with a contemplative expression, "It fired at me and not anyone else. Why?"

"Were you upset?" Naruto asked his young friend, "You know I can draw the Grimm's attention when I think about my emotions real hard. Maybe you did the same thing?"

Oscar shook his head, "I was anxious but happy. Proud that I was able to fight alongside you guys and take out Grimm."

The lack of an answer left the young Hunters unsettled, Ruby and Naruto sharing a look as Oscar remained distracted. She held his shoulder and smiled, "It's okay. Whatever is happening, we'll deal with it." She nodded to the next door, "Let's go find the others."

Pushing down his confusion Oscar nodded and followed them through the next few cars. They kept making their way through the crowds of nervous passengers until finally, they heard some familiar voices.

"The defenses aren't doing anything! They've already taken out the turrets and if you just keep raising more they'll destroy those too! We have to go out there and make a stand against them!"

"That's stupid! W-We can just stay within the armored cars until we make it to Argus! The soldiers there will-"

"I'm sorry, how many times have you taken this train?" Qrow cut Dee and Dudley off with a frustrated growl, "How long do you think it'll take before we reach Argus?! And you want all the passengers to just ignore the roars and scratching on the plates?! Go about walking around the train for a few hours until we arrive?! Are you optimistic or just stupid?!"

"I mean if the passengers calm down then the Grimm will disappear anyway, right?"

"T-There are worse plans, man!"

"Not many!"

As the door closed behind them while Qrow chewed out the two pros, everyone looked over and was elated to see the three members of their crew that had been separated.

"Guys!"

"Ruby!" Yang broke ahead of the others, rushing to nearly tackle her little sister off her feet, "That was an awesome move but way to make me worried!"

"S-Sorry, Sis," Ruby chuckled while feeling her sister's crushing embrace. Naruto was quickly surrounded by his worried teammates whom he assured he was okay. Oscar was tackled off his feet by Nora as Jaune and Ren quickly helped him up, "What's going on?"

"Your uncle is currently in a very heated discussion with the men in charge." P

Blake's ears lowered in her hair, "Qrow's adamant that the Grimm won't leave the train alone unless we fight them off. But the security insists that we should just stay sheltered and hope they lighten up before we reach Argus."

"And we don't have much longer traveling through the tunnel so we have to decide now."

"Where did all these Grimm come from?" Sasuke pondered, hand on his chin as he thought deeply on what could have been the cause, "The last time we came down to Mistral by train the Grimm response wasn't as aggressive as this."

"And that was caused by an armed robbery too, while these things just seemed to have come out of nowhere." With a grumble Kiba crossed his arms, "So what the hell happened this time?"

It left everyone ruminating on the question they couldn't answer. What had drawn the Grimm in so suddenly?

"I can answer that." They all looked down at Oscar as his voice broke the relative silence of Qrow's argument and the clicking of the wheels on the rail. His expression was more mature and his tone of voice was more certain than normal. It was enough of an indicator for them to realize that Ozpin had taken control. He stepped forward and whistled to get Qrow's attention. The greying Huntsman frowned and warned Dee and Dudley not to go anywhere as he rejoined the group.

Ozpin looked down dejectedly as he reached for his belt and unhooked the lamp, "This is the answer."

"I thought you said all the questions had been used up for this century."

"I don't mean that we should ask the lamp. I mean this is the cause of it." With a shake of his head Ozpin looked down at the glowing blue relic, "The Grimm are drawn to the Relics."

"W-What?"

"The lamp has a factor that draws in the attention of Grimm. I'm not sure if it's because of its origins from the Two Brothers but the Grimm can sense it and are drawn to the Relics. In a cityscape, it can be muddled by all the feelings and emotions of other people but out here in the wilderness…it can be seen well enough."

"You…" With a scoff Yang shook her head, "You knew this? And you kept it from us?"

"I thought we would be able to pass through fast enough on the train without drawing any Grimm. It was a gambit that…unfortunately didn't work out."

"Why didn't you tell us this?!"

"We got completely blindsided!"

"Gods dammit."

"We're coming up to the end of the tunnel."

"We can't-"

"Stop!" Ruby yelled over everyone else, stopping the overlapping voices and arguments before they could descend into full-blown pandemonium, "We can't worry about that right now! Taking care of the Grimm and helping the passengers is our priority! So what do we do?"

"I know what to do," Oscar spoke up, and the way he talked let them know that it was truly the young farmhand in control. He looked down at the lamp and gripped it tighter, "We have to get this away from the passengers long enough for them to escape. We need to split up."

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"Come on! Head up folks! As far to the front as you can get!"

"You'll be cramped and you'll bump into each other but you have to deal with it! At least for a little bit!"

The people rushed through the car while Naruto and Tenten guided them through. The passengers of the train had to file into the first few cars to get as close to each other as possible. They were cramped and uncomfortable, but it was the best chance they had for this gamble to pay off.

"You two, make sure you move every cart and break every table you can to make more space! Nora, Kiba, help them out!" Jaune ordered as the short ginger saluted and stepped aside. Dee and Dudley looked peeved having to take orders but a swift kick in the butt from Kiba forced them to move along, "Guys, how's it looking over there?"

"Patience, Jaune, we need to get this in one shot." Ren closed his eyes and focused his Semblance, masking the sense of fear and anxiety welling up inside him during this tense moment. He opened his eyes and squeezed the hand in his, "Did you get a feel for that?"

"Yes." Sasuke nodded, his eyes glowing red as he masked his emotions as well, albeit not as long as Ren did, "But how do I spread this feeling to others at a distance."

"That takes time. So what you'll need to do is take someone's hand, have them reach out for another person, and create a chain through which you can mask as many people as possible. You hide one half of them and I'll hide the other. To be honest…I don't know if it'll be possible-"

"We'll make it work." The Uchiha said resolutely as he closed his eyes and focused on recreating the feeling again before the moment to act came. Ren nodded and closed his eyes to do the same, "We can't afford not to."

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"HAAAAAA!" Yang punched rapidly through the air, sending blast after blast flying into the circling horde of Manticores, "Are they all in the front cars yet?!"

"We'll get a signal when everyone is gathered up! Until then," Weiss swiped her hand up, creating a Glyph beside an approaching Manticore that suddenly sent it veering into the cliffside wall they passed by, "Shut up and focus!"

Ruby tried to calm her breathing as she fired at some of the Grimm swarming around her. Blake and Qrow kept close by to shoot down any incoming stragglers while she stayed by Oscar's side to defend him. The lamp hung by his hip, drawing the Grimm further and further away from the front of the train for their plan to finally work out.

After the arguing had died down Ruby had made the hard choice; her team, Oscar, and Qrow would stay behind to fend off Grimm and protect the Relic while JNPR and NKTS took the front of the train and its passengers the rest of the way to Argus.

The others had quickly stepped up to fill in the details of the plan. Naruto and Tenten guide the people from the back to the front. Jaune, Nora, and Kiba guarding them. Then Ren and Sasuke both use Tranquility to hide the frightened passengers until they are away from the Grimm.

It was a risky maneuver but Ruby had to believe it would work out.

"GAAAOOOOWWWWAAAHHHHH!"

The Sphinx bellowed out a roar again, shaking the very air and snow falling around them as it dove through the air and straight towards them. Qrow grabbed Ruby and Oscar by their collars and pulled, "MOVE!"

They just managed to evade the beast as it crashed atop the train, denting the roof and cracking both its shielding and carving into the interior. The winged behemoth shrieked and stomped atop the roof as it picked itself up, causing the roof under its paws to break into the train's inside.

As the Sphinx stomped forward, some of the stray Manticores landed by the schism into the train's interior and sensed the waves of fear passing through it. Prying the gap open more and more they forced themselves in as the rest of the Manticores and the Sphinx focused on Ruby and the others.

"No! We can't-"

"Easy, kiddo," Qrow grabbed Ruby's shoulder before she could rush off to intervene, "We got a job to do up here and we need all hands on deck to do it."

"But-"

"You can trust the kids down there to handle things, right?" Qrow inquired as he raised Harbinger for battle, standing with RWBY and Oscar while the Sphinx stomped its way menacingly toward them.

((((((((Hunter))))))))

Naruto's ears snapped up on his head, causing him to look over in a start towards the door leading towards the train car behind them. Tenten noticed her leader's reaction and drew her weapons, "What's wrong?"

"I heard Grimm." Naruto drew Stormer, spinning it into a backhand grip as he ignored the panicked cries of the passengers behind them. He made his way to the door with Tenten a few paces behind him, "Keep an eye out." She nodded as he reached for the door and pulled it open.

A shadow rushed towards it before he even had a chance to pull it open.

A Manticore came crashing through the metal and glass of the door. Before it could snap at him Naruto jumped back, one hand catching its snapping maw in his glowing hand as the other stabbed his kodachi into its snout. Even with the weapon through its mouth and the orange Aura clamped around its face it still struggled to push through.

But Tenten lunged forward, slamming the point of her staff in its eye and blowing its head off with an explosion. As it toppled out of Naruto's grasp and dropped dead, the two Hunters looked into the next couple of train cars and paled in horror.

Scores of Manticore Grimm were climbing and stampeding over each other trying to make their way into the front cars. With the encroaching monsters in their sight, Naruto and Tenten shared a look and stepped through the doorway's threshold.

"Guys! What's-"

"Kiba, stay back!" Naruto ordered his partner to stay back, the tattooed Huntsman slowing to a stop as Naruto reached back and spread his Aura over the doorway to keep it closed, "The passengers need your security! We'll keep things clear on this side! You do your job!"

"On it!" Kiba nodded after a moment of consideration as he turned back around and tried to calm the unsettled crowd.

Naruto saw Tenten already laying into the front of the pack of Manticore pretty easily. She spun her staff around before snapping it apart into sticks, knocking one Manticore around bodily before she jumped through the air. Her Steel covered her lower body mid-spin, her foot coming down like a hammer on one Grimm's skull and shattering its bone plating.

Even though Tenten was handily fending off most of the dangerous horde trying to charge toward them, one of the Manticore managed to slip past her and change towards Naruto with the plan to barrel through and attack the civilians behind him. Naruto raised his short blade and prepared to fend it off-

The beast toppled to the ground and slid to a stop before reaching Naruto. It had fallen over dead with what looked like a small kama embedded in the back of its head. Naruto stared at the foreign weapon in confusion before its hilt glowed purple and he heard a faint humming from it. The weapon shifted and dislodged itself from the Grimm's head to fly further down the car.

Into the hand of a short, grey-haired, wrinkled woman coming out of one of the passenger rooms. Her goggle-like eyes looked mechanical, shifting and narrowing like real eyes as she looked between Naruto and Tenten's position, "M-Ma'am?!" Tenten called out to the short elder, "You can't be here! You need to head to the back with the rest of the passengers! Otherwise, we can't-"

"Oh, quit your blathering, girly!" The wizened old woman snapped viciously, silencing Tenten in an instant. She reeled back and threw her kama again as it stabbed a Manticore between the eyes and sent the beast stumbling back in pain, "What kind of Huntress worth her salt would run and hide when it's just killing a few measly Grimm? So tighten your britches and send these nasty beasts back!"

…

Tenten looked toward Naruto and blinked slowly as if trying to understand what she just heard. But then with a deep breath and a small smirk, she covered her arms in Steel and dove into the horde of Manticore again.

("Guys! We've got the Sphinx's attention!") Ruby's voice came through Naruto's Scroll as he fished it out, ("Are you ready to make a move?!")

("We can't! Naruto and Tenten headed for the next car to hold off some Grimm that got inside! We can't-")

"We're fine! Don't let us hold you up!" Naruto yelled with firm determination, "Cut the cars and get everyone out of here!"

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"What?!" Jaune looked over the heads of the frightened passengers and to the door to the empty cars. He could faintly make out the bright orange light covering the window on the other side, "Narrto, we can't do that! You're supposed to make it back with us to Argus!"

("Yeah, but more Manticores are coming in here than we expected! If we can't hold them off before the civilians get cloaked then this will be for nothing!")

"But-"

("Naruto, are you sure? We can't hold off any longer!")

("Yeah, no problem! We'll just make our way to Argus with the rest of you! Could always use more help protecting the Relic, right?")

"But-"

"Jaune," He looked back and saw Sasuke's calm, untroubled expression learning that his leader and partner were staying behind. Ren was holding his shoulder, already taking the hand of Nora as she reached out to grab the next passenger to continue the line. The Uchiha nodded and held out his hand, "Trust them. They'll be alright."

Jaune hesitated to put his trust in leaving his friends behind so readily. Too many times he had left his friends behind and come to regret that decision. Images of Naruto running into the forest and seeing Ren and Nora off down the fork in the road came to mind.

Pyrrha through the slits of the locker.

"You'll all come back?"

("Duh!")

("Obviously!")

Jaune took Sasuke's hand, "Cut it."

((((((((Hunting))))))))

"Blake! Cut it!"

The black-clad Faunus nodded and rushed to cut the connector for the train cars. The Sphinx was between her and her destination, and when she came close the giant Grimm reared one paw up in preparation to attack. But before it could swing down, a Glyph appeared around its leg to keep it pinned while another one materialized under Blake to send her dashing forward faster.

"WRAAAAHHHH!" Before the Sphinx could figure out what happened Yang's fist slammed against its head before releasing an intense explosion that nearly blew through its mask. As the monster roared and stumbled atop the train Yang landed and cocked her fist, "C'mon, ugly, focus on us! We're right here!"

Blake slid by the end of the car and fell down the crevice, landing between the two cars and looking down at the connector. She found it amusing that she was cutting the trains apart again as she drew Gambol Shroud and sliced through the metal attachment.

As the cars started to separate, Ren and Sasuke shared a look of intense focus before nodding. In the middle of a tight huddle of passengers and their friends, all holding onto each other the two started to channel the power of Tranquility. The raging emotions of fear and anxiety suddenly faded in the eyes of the Grimm as the train cars drew further away.

Within the train cars left behind the trio of Hunters shredded through the hordes of Manticore that suddenly lost the huge source of negative emotions that drew them in. The short Huntress was deceptively agile and quick, jumping back at the last possible moment to leave the Manticores open to counterattacks. Attacks delivered by Tenten's elemental swings or Naruto's swipes with giant hands of Aura.

And finally, atop the train, Blake jumped back up to rejoin her friends in culling the Sphinx before it could snatch the Relic. Despite the monstrous size and strength of the winged beast, it could not catch the team of Huntsmen and Huntresses swarming around it.

It stomped towards Oscar only for the young farmhand to get picked up by Ruby in a burst of rose petals. With its paws slammed down Qrow rushed in and sliced off its leg at the bend. The monster reeled back with a roar of anguish as its severed leg toppled off the train and fell into the vast nature below.

The Sphinx raised its head as fire started to build up in its mouth. But two shadows rushed and passed over its head, a ribbon wrapping around its neck before tightening so hard the Sphinx's neck was constricted to half its normal size. Blake yanked as hard as she could and pinned her sickle and ribbon to the car to keep it taut. On the other side, Yang clenched her teeth and pulled the cloth as tightly as she could.

As the two stopped the monster from firing its projectiles, Weiss raised her rapier and started to channel her summon. Her specialized Glyph appeared in front of her and materialized her giant knight to her aid. The knight reared its giant blade up, swinging it towards the Sphinx and severing its wings off with a single swing.

The giant Grimm thrashed and writhed in panic as it realized how in danger it was. As Ruby ran towards it with her scythe at the ready the monster let out a strangled roar through the ribbon tied around its neck and tried to jump away. As the behemoth bucked against its confines Yang and Blake tried to keep it grounded, "Stop struggling, you ugly jerk!" Yang yelled through gritted teeth, "You attacked us so it's too late to be scared!"

"Yang, hold that thing down!" Qrow yelled, "We've almost got it!"

"We're trying!" Blake responded, face strained from intense effort as the partners kept the monster grounded, "But we can't keep it down! It's-"

The Sphinx finally bucked away, trying to escape from the deadly Hunters and fly off to save its life. But its wings were already clipped, so when it jumped off the train it didn't get the air it was expecting and slammed into the side of the mountain with all the momentum of the train still behind it. Its skull and body cracked from being ground between the mountain and the train cars. It let out a dying wail before it was swallowed underneath the wheels.

With a terrible crack, the monster drew its last breath. While being crushed under the weight of the train, it displaced the cars and sent them off the tracks.

Ruby's eyes widened as she suddenly found herself airborne. As she sailed through the air she forcibly turned herself and tried to get a handle on the situation. The shadow of the train cars hanging over her was terrifying but the little redhead twisted around looking for her friends.

Yang and Blake had been snatched up by Weiss' knight and cradled to its chest before they reached the trees. A black feather passed by her face and she knew Qrow was safe. The only straggler was Oscar, screaming at the top of his lungs as he flailed through the air.

Naruto and Ozpin hadn't taught him about landing strategies.

Ruby fired behind her and sent herself flying in Oscar's direction. She grabbed his shoulder and used Petal Burst to fly down and reach a tree before they could get blown away. As the two youngsters desperately held onto the branches and trunk of the tree they watched in amazement as the train cars totaled through everything in their path. The cars rolled and bounced almost unnaturally before finally coming to a stop.

…

Oscar gulped, "A-Are you not terrified by what just happened?"

"Eh," Ruby shrugged, "Not my first catastrophic train crash."

"That's…not encouraging."

With a giggle, Ruby holstered her weapon and started dropping from branch to branch before landing in the snow. As Oscar landed behind her Ruby started following the path of destruction made by the derailed train. Snow, dirt, and debris of trees lined the way as they walked over.

Ruby heard a frantic cry as a tree toppled over and dropped in their path. She covered her eyes to shield her face before smiling, "You guys okay?"

"All good, Sis."

"I've been better."

"The ride was nice until we went flying off the edge of a cliff."

As her teammates picked themselves up, Ruby her a bird screech overhead and looked up as a black bird dove behind a tree. On the other side, Qrow walked out with a sigh and rubbed his neck, "How are you two doing? Nothing broken I hope?"

"Yeah, I think we're all good. It sucks that we're off the path but we - oh!" The silver-eyed girl let out a loud gasp that got the attention of her friends, "Naruto! A-And Tenten! They were on the train!" With pale faces they all looked over towards the wrecked cars as Ruby rushed over, "We have to help them if they get hurt-"

The deafening sound of metal rending open shut them up as two orange hands pried through the overturned train car. Once there was a wide enough hole the others watched as Naruto, Tenten, and a short old woman all stumbled out. The two teens fell into the snow and caught their breath after surviving the train crash.

Team RWBY gathered to look down at Naruto and Tenten as they panted wildly, "You guys okay?"

Tenten frowned, "Y-You couldn't give us a warning?!"

"We didn't think the Sphinx was gonna jump off the train like that."

"The second crash!" Naruto groused, thrashing in the snow before slumping over, "That's the second crash you've gotten me into!"

"And just like the first we didn't ask you to get on the train with us."

"Oh shut up." He flopped lifelessly on the ground, "The Manticores are all dead, by the way. Turns out a horde of Grimm can't survive a crash without a bubble of Aura protecting them. Go figure."

"Uh," Qrow interjected as he pointed to the short stranger, "Who's the old lady? We don't need you picking up - OW!"

As Qrow rubbed his shin after taking a swift smack from the short elder scowled, "This old lady is Maria Calavera, and she can answer for herself!" She scoffed and shuffled forward, "Not my fault this new generation needs the help of a retired old Huntress to survive but I was willing to offer." She harrumphed and then placed her hands on her walking stick while looking around, "So…what do we do now?"

((((((((Hunting))))))))

After catching their breath, checking for any substantial injuries, and realizing their current circumstances, they formulated a general plan of action. They would spend some time scavenging the wreckage for resources they could use before following along the cliff that had the Argus Limited rails on it to reach their destination.

The fact they didn't have any transport other than Yang's bike and were uncertain of how far out they were from Argus was a fact no one wanted to acknowledge.

"There it is." Maria pointed to one of the mangled train cars they were searching through, "That must be the car with my room in it."

"You said that for the last two cars we searched." Naruto grumbled, "If you didn't want to lose you're stuff you shouldn't have left it behind and gone hiding in a different-" Her stick came swinging in and slammed into the back of his thighs, "AH! STOP DOING THAT!"

"Stop being a smartass!" Maria immediately barked back, rolling her mechanical eyes as Naruto ground his teeth, "We'd be done by now if we didn't have to hear you complain every second."

"Why you-"

"Okay! That's enough!" Oscar jumped in between them before they could fight again, "Help me get into the car so we can search." With a long groan, Naruto followed his short friend over and pried the door open with his Aura, "You don't need to keep rising to argue with her, you know?"

"I didn't expect to have to look after a cranky old bat on top of everything else we're dealing with." The blond Faunus let out a sigh as he pulled the broken doors of the compartments open and looked for any remaining luggage. As he started to rummage through he found a medium-sized bag with a skull accessory similar to the one on Maria's cane, "Found it!"

"That's good." Oscar caught the bag after Naruto tossed it and climbed his way out, "I think that's all our bags. Except - y'know - yours and Tenten's."

"Ugh, I don't regret sticking around but I do wish I'd grabbed my stuff. Ah, oh well." They climbed out of the busted car and Naruto poked his head out, "Hey, old bat, we found your bag! We'll give it back if you promise not to hit me anymore!"

"That's a good offer! Counteroffer; I'll hit you until you give me my property!"

"Alright, no need." Signing, Oscar stepped out of the car and handed the old woman her bag she gave a curt thanks and started to check that everything was inside, "This is gonna be a long trip."

"Hey, Oscar," Yang called out to him, "Are you good? And have you got everything?"

"Yeah, I think that's every…thing…" He turned back to face Yang but went still when he saw her, Weiss, Blake, Tenten, and even Ruby coming up to face him, "Oh."

"Yes," Weiss crossed her arms, "Do you mind bringing him out? We need to talk."

Even though Oscar felt anxious under their gazes he knew they weren't directed at him. And just like them, he had questions for the soul that shared his body. So even though he felt a small sense of apprehension at coming out, there was no resistance as Ozpin took the reins of control, "I'm sure there's a lot you want to say."

"That's an understatement."

"But I want to apologize that this is not how I wanted this situation to turn out. For my decision to end up with us endangered and off the beaten path. I'm sorry."

"Are you sorry that we're in this situation? Or are you sorry we know this happened because of you?" Tenten alluded while crossing her arms.

"Please…I'm not trying to trick you."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Blake pressed, "If we had known the Relic did this then we wouldn't have gotten on a train. We could have secured some other kind of transport to Argus that didn't involve so many citizens."

"I feared that a small convoy would cause the lamp's effect to be more noticeable. I hoped that having it muddled by so many other people could mask it…" Ozpin looked around at the wreckage, "Although that didn't work out how I hoped."

"So, whether we traveled in a large group or by ourselves it didn't matter. We were going to be spotted by the Grimm." Weiss crossed her arms and quirked a delicate eyebrow, "And you were going to keep that from us no matter what?"

"I…didn't want to cause unnecessary fear for any of you."

"But we're past that! In case you didn't notice we're in the middle of nowhere after surviving a train crash!" Throwing her arms and motioning all around them, Yang dropped her arms down in a fit of rage, "You keep trying to hide these things from us to avoid us feeling fear, but then they blow up in our faces and we're left off even worse! Wondering why we weren't told the truth from the start! Just like with Lionheart!"

"Hey, I agreed with Ozpin on that." Qrow walked over and finally joined the conversation, "Telling people what Leo did would have only hindered the recovery Mistral had to go through. That's what was important."

"But they'll never know what he did. That he crippled the Kingdom and sent so many people to their death because he was a coward! They can never learn from something if they're lied to all the time! And what about you, Uncle Qrow?! He didn't tell you the truth either!"

Qrow tried not to look perturbed but the way his eyes slid to the side betrayed his feelings. Noticing the tension in the air Naruto stepped forward, "Look, I know this is a big deal, but we can't feel like this right now. We need to start moving before any more Grimm finds us."

"Naruto, aren't you upset?"

"I mean yeah, of course I am. But…I know how it feels to hide secrets too, remember?" He looked across his friends before looking at Tenten, "I hid that I was a Faunus when we first met. And I hid I was a member of the White Fang even after that…because I was ashamed." The blond stepped forward and looked between his friends, "Sometimes you can't help yourself hiding these kinds of things. You just have this nagging doubt that if you talk about it something terrible might happen. Might change."

"And things did change - almost for the worse - when we found out about those secrets." Weiss stepped forward while looking at Naruto, "I'll admit that things were nearly broken after I found out that you and Blake were a part of the White Fang. But we managed to move past it and mend the cracks that were built. But Naruto, you can't think that hiding your pasts in the White Fang is comparable to not telling us the truth about the lamp so we could be better prepared."

"Maybe he had a reason?" Naruto shrugged uncertainly, "Maybe it wasn't a case of something he couldn't say but something he couldn't admit just yet? He trusts us to stand with him." The blond turned back to Ozpin, "Right, Professor?"

…

"Professor?"

"I didn't hide this because I don't trust you. But through my life, I have seen firsthand that some things can be shared in confidence while other things need to be kept to the chest." Ozpin turned, pacing around the snow as the others watched him, "Leo isn't the first person to have my full trust and not reciprocate it in turn. So after many years, I know that some things are better kept to myself - like the secret of the-" His hand lowered to his hip and he felt the lack of the Relic that was supposed to be there, "What-"

"It's here." Ruby finally spoke up for the first time, looking down with a disheartened expression at the little Relic in her hand, "It fell off your belt during everything that happened. I wanted to give it back before we started talking. But…"

"Ms. Rose," Ozpin started walking over, "Please if you could-"

Before Ozpin could approach he unnaturally halted mid-step. The others looked alarmed by his peculiar reaction as he seemed to tremble and shudder in place. With a shaky breath, he whimpered out, "T-The lamp…"

"Oscar?" Naruto recognized his friend's cadence, "Is that-"

"Her name!" Oscar pressed on, looking directly at Ruby as he did everything he could to hold Ozpin back at that moment, "I-It's Jinn! Call her name, a-and she'll answer you!"

With a gasp, Oscar fell to his knees in the snow, a drop of sweat running down his nose and dropping to the ground. And when he looked up, Ruby could tell from his hardened eyes that it was Ozpin in control.

She wasn't sure why but when she felt his eyes on her she couldn't stop herself from saying it.

"Jinn."

Her voice came out as a whisper…

And the sound, the wind, and even the falling snow all seemed to come to a stop around them.

As everyone looked around at the way nature seemed to just freeze in place, a heavy blue smoke started to leak out of the lamp. Ruby looked down and dropped the Relic in a panic. But the lamp hovered in the air, starting to float away from her and the others as the smoke rose over it.

The sound of clinking chains and rustling hair started to form amidst the blinding amounts of smoke.

In the middle of the deep blue smoke, a giant female form started to appear.

They all held their breath until the smoke finally cleared.

"Mmm~, it feels good to be out again." The sweet, unfamiliar voice moaned as the giant blue woman with golden accessories stretched her arms and legs. After loosening up her limbs she turned through the air and looked down at the stunned Hunters, "I am Jinn, the spirit of knowledge blessed by the God of Light." She placed a hand on her cheek and slyly smiled, "Do you have questions for me?"

"Q-Questions?"

"I am blessed to answer any three questions every one hundred years. And I still have two I can answer this era." Jinn twirled through the air, leaning back on nothing and crossing her legs as she looked down at them, "So what would you like to know?"

"Ruby," Ozpin stepped up, "Listen-"

He was grabbed and stopped from taking another step. And when Ozpin looked up it was to see Naruto looking just as surprised to see he had moved on reflex. But that one moment was all they needed…

"Please…" Ruby spoke up, looking to Jinn as her voice hoarsely pushed out, "What is Ozpin hiding from us?"

((((((((Extra: The Real Questions to Ask))))))))

"I am Jinn, the spirit of knowledge blessed by the God of Light. I am capable of answering any three questions every one hundred years. You're in luck as I am still able to answer two questions this century." The blue giantess softly said while looking down at them, "Now, what would you like to ask me?"

Tenten raised her hand, "Will you step on me?"

"No."

"Please?!"

"No. And that's two." Jinn smiled cutely and waved them goodbye as her body was enveloped by smoke, "Farewell."

The lamp tumbled to the snow impotently as the snow fell and time returned to normal.

Everyone mechanically turned to Tenten, jaws agape and gawking after the ponytailed woman's ludicrous requests.

"I regret nothing!" She said defiantly with arms crossed, "You expect me to believe you wouldn't have asked the same thing?!"

…

Blake looked aside with a blush while Yang scratched her cheek. Weiss sputtered incoherently as Ruby nervously poked her fingers together. Qrow conspicuously looked down at his flask as Naruto whistled and looked aside suspiciously.

"I was gonna ask that babe to crush me." Maria said proudly, "But I would've asked if she could do it with her thighs."

"Exactly!" Tenten nodded, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!"

In the snow, Ozpin let out a breath of relief that his deceptions and secrets were still his to keep another day. All because of humanity's innate horny desires

Then again he had wasted a question or five asking the same thing. No regrets.

((((((((Hunting))))))))

Done

I don't feel like I'm far off if we had that chance.

On a more serious note, I can't believe we've finally reached the point of Ozpin's secrets. Big milestone. And I hope you've watched the original episode, because it's a lot of material I can't cover in one author's note.

Next chapter I'm going to try and frame the story around what else I want to explore and cover. It'll make more sense when you see it, but hopefully we'll be able to cover a lot of ground next year.

Happy holidays everyone!

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