Chapter Text
Oscar is alive.
Which personally, he found to be quite the achievement. Considering his circumstances, not being dead was definitely an improvement.
The slime-like dollop of blood and goop in front of him, however, isn't so lucky. Through weary eyes, he tilts his head upwards. The whale seems to be unharmed. Energy fizzles slowly, like an ignition, back into his cane.
Enough for a second explosion, a voice notes. He doesn't register it.
Oscar killed someone. He had ended a life. This is not how he expected to spend his prime years. This is so far from how he expected to spend his prime years. Do prime years still count as prime if you spend them in a whale?
He stumbles back. As he tries to ground himself, Ozpin continues to lecture him. Attempting to explain what exactly he did. Nothing coherent makes its way past his ears. His thoughts are dragged away from the ghastly scene he had created, to his cane. It feels like holding red hot coals. It looks like it too because, averting his eyes once again, Hazel's blood is upon his hands. Just like Gretchen. He shudders. The cane drops.
Oscar, please. Keep focused.
He collapses onto his knees. Choking in feeble breaths, he reaches back and grabs his cane, hoping and praying for some sort of miracle, as everything goes white.
-
Emerald is not having a good day.
Unfortunately, that seems to be a consistent theme recently.
On the bright side, it could only get better once she escapes with Hazel right?
RIGHT??
A screeching light engulfs the whale, like a tsunami over a city, encapsulating every corner. For a moment, the thief can only hear her brain buzzing as she desperately claws at her head, before she finds herself vaguely aware of her surroundings. Just behind her, Blondie and Ren are on the ground, scowling as they brush off dust. In front of her, Blondier is pushing himself to his feet already. A hesitant hand extends its way towards her.
And hesitantly, she takes it.
Jaune steadily drags her back to her feet, then turns towards the two infants babbling on behind them, who seem to finally be figuring out their footing. It's a shame nobody cut off Yang's leg. Would have been much more useful in the situation.
A second goes by. Then it hits her.
Hazel.
Fuck.
She rushes back towards the whale, all kinds of questions catapulting and whirl winding through her mind. What caused… whatever that was? Was Hazel okay? What about the kid? Did Salem finally get the pain and torture she deserved? For what feels like hours, Emerald tumbles back towards the whale. Then, reaching the ramp ahead of her, doubt sets back into the pit of her second, and for a brief second she turns back to the team behind her.
Apparently, Jaune is following her. No doubt he wants to check on his friend, which is fair enough. Emerald doesn't think much of it, just another heroic action that he'll regret when his selflessness causes his demise. She looks back again to see his sapphire eyes focused on her. Had it not been for the genuine kindness he seemed to radiate, she would have shot him for staring.
They both turn the corner into yet another brilliant flash of light and Emerald once again can't see. It may be worth investing in a visor, if this keeps up.
-
Today, Marrow decides, is the day he's going to defect from the military.
If he doesn't die first.
At some point between being put on a team with the world's most callous entities and enlisting child soldiers, he guessed he just decided the job wasn't for him. At this point, a retail job seemed like a sane idea. Anything to get him out of this death cult really.
Of course he'd never say that about the Ace Ops to their faces. Not after what happened to Clover...
It wasn't time to dwell on his old co-worker again. What had happened was not the fault of the faunus, and not of his concern, (or so Harriet says). His job was to get this bomb in, pack his bags and leave the military. Preferably before Ironwood noticed the boy had his reservations and put them to rest with his gun.
A piercing light shoots across the sky, sending sharp screeches through his head. Marrow yelps as he hears his teammates getting thrown back onto the floor behind him. What the fuck?
THE KIDS. SHIT.
It takes a second, especially due to the faunus hearing that curses him, but when Marrow can finally breathe again, his legs are rapidly carrying him towards the bomb site. He has to know if they survived. Running towards the entrance, he takes a second to recalibrate. If there's one thing Marrow has learned from being a soldier, it's that he should never lose track of his surroundings.
Relatively speaking, the bomb doesn't seem to have caused any casualties. Good. Marrow doesn't want to have to explain that to the parents of these huntsmen, how they had fallen while fighting an impossible war. There's still no sign of Jaune and his team, and the whale seems to be relatively intact. What kind of bomb can do that? Marrow glances back at his team. They seem… amused? He could never tell with the Ace Ops. Stone cold, lifeless faces always seemed to glare back. Today, however, those silent emotions were interchanged for smug grins. They hadn't done this. Were they not worried? It's times like these Marrow worries for the people of Atlas. As long as they win, they don't seem to care about the consequences. The Ace Ops acted mindlessly because of this. It made Marrow sick to the stomach, just thinking about the children who would grow up into this rigid formula. Like him. Like Oscar.
One contemplative look at Winter said she was just as concerned. It was almost sad that she still can't see how Ironwood has been using her like her father did. Marrow knew of Jacques Schnee and his despicable actions from the perspectives of two Schneeblings, as if he needed another reason to hate that Anti-faunus bastard. It just so happens he was able to raise two brilliant kids. Marrow didn't know how, and he isn't sure he wants to find out. He stares at Winter a while longer. The same paralyzed gaze as always glazes right past him, like a cold breeze swirling around him. She seems regretful. He's going to get her out of here too, he decides.
But at the foot of the whale, he hesitates. The team probably wants to debrief as soon as possible. And I don't know if I'm going to like what's inside. Goddamnit Marrow, stop having bad ideas.
He enters anyway.
And immediately regrets it when a second white light sends him catapulting backwards.
-
Cinder really owes Neo a paycheck when they meet next.
Is this bitch seriously not even paying her minimum wage? She's not an acquirable asset to anyone, thank you very much.
And also, being blown up is really the kind of thing you should be paid for. At least Roman gave her free dust supplies. Cinder gave her migraines.
Of course, this probably isn't what Neo should have been thinking, lying in the shards and rubble of a bomb site. Gods know it isn't the first time some fifteen year old with a hero complex has nearly killed her. But seriously, is- is she at least getting free lunch?
Fuck this noise.
She struts through the rubble of the… whale with the lamp in tow. Maybe she could sell it back to Cinder! Potentially better to message her later, after she gets away from the whale before the military storm it.
Finally winning feels good. Refreshing. Like everything she'd lost has been negated, she can once again prove her worth. Ever since meeting up with Cinder, she seemed to be getting good results. Maybe, just maybe, it would pay off.
That being said, Neo likes to think she's not stupid. She knows Cinder plans on discarding her. The acrobat might as well be a pawn to Cinder. Well that's okay. Neo knows how to play chess. Roman taught her himself. Thoughts of his presence send both a deep sorrow and a warmth, a fire into the pit of her stomach. He'd be proud of me, she remorses, jumping around another corner.
Immediately she is thrown backwards by another flash of light. And then she is falling.
-
A second bomb goes off. The Military bomb, Ren solemnly ponders. Just when he had thought it was safe, when he told Jaune it would be okay to venture back in...
The whale takes a hit this time. The second blast was much larger, enough to eviscerate every Grimm in Atlas. It doesn't miss Ren that the bomb seems to use the same warmth and magic as Ruby's eyes. Peculiar, considering this particular bomb came from General Ironwood. It makes one wonder how he achieved that kind of magic.
"JAUNE!" Yang screams from beside him. Try as he might, Ren can't mask all of his panic. He's shaking. He hasn't shook like this since… actually, it isn't news to Ren that he's been losing his cool a lot more frequently, this past week. He was probably trembling just as bad in the tundra, or in the academy hallways after fighting Neo. But Jaune…
The pair dash back up the ramp they left just mere seconds ago, now melting into dust below them as they move. Ren would have been praying if the Gods existed. Unfortunately, they had left long ago. And at the top of the ramp there was… nothing. A mere loneliness haunted the open space. Oscar, Jaune and Emerald were gone. There was a visceral pile of blood on the ground, surrounded with Grimm goop, which was in turn surrounded by the floor of the whale, slowly turning to ashes and floating away. Ren could tell it wasn't his teammates.
"WHAT?" Yang is now shouting on his left, "WHERE ARE THEY?"
Ren can't tell if she's angry or upset. There isn't usually a difference with Yang.
He doesn't answer. He stands there, in shock. They can't be gone. He can't lose another teammate, especially when they were all so close to victory. He refuses. Shaking his head, he starts to drag himself through the whale again. Each step seems to destroy the flesh beneath him. Warm, salty tears brimmed at the edges of his eyes. No, they're okay, they had to be okay, they can't be gone. They just can't.
But according to his semblance, they are. There is nothing human left on the whale. Just him and Yang.
He drops down to his knees, still shaking violently, and he cries.
-
Jaune is flying.
Wait no, he's falling.
Actually, he can't really tell.
Head still spinning from two ear-splitting explosions, he tries to shake away the sensation of drowning and open his eyes. Only to find that no, he is actually falling, holy shit.
Wait no, definitely can't be falling. He was just on the whale.
He especially cannot be falling next to Marrow Amin the plucky Ace Op, and Neopolitan the bloodthirsty assassin, because there's no way they'd be in his vicinity when he was in the whale.
He especially cannot be falling while clutching the body of a limp Oscar Pine, his little brother, because nobody would dare to so much as touch Oscar unless they were begging for trouble from Nora.
It's… surprisingly peaceful for a drop from 5,000 feet. None of the people around him seem panicked. Probably because they both have professional landing strategies. Jaune swivels himself onto his back, to find that he spoke too soon. Falling above him is Emerald Sustrai, the snarky thief, the girl he had just seen on the whale, passed out and falling from the sky. This wasn't good. Was this even real?
Jaune reaches his hand across Oscar, to his arm, and pinches. This is real. How in the Gods' names is this real? He was just in the whale, he can't be falling through the sky now, towards what looks to be a forest. That shouldn't be possible. He glances to the Ace Op and hollers over.
"MARROW?"
"OH HEY JAUNE, WHATS UP?"
"... WE ARE, MARROW. WE'RE LITERALLY IN THE SKY,"
"OH YEAH, ABOUT THAT. DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON??"
Marrow didn't know either. So they're all in the same boat. Good to know.
"NO IDEA, BUT IT WOULD BE USEFUL IF WE ALL SURVIVED TO FIGURE IT OUT. CAN YOU HOLD THE BABY?"
Jaune, thinking through his ass, throws Oscar through the air, to Marrow. He pulls out his shield, readying his grip onto the leather hold, ready to glide, and latches onto Emerald. Beside him, Neo has already extended her parasol and is gracefully floating down. Is this her doing? No, the girl seems just as confused. Hopefully, they can figure this out without a need for violence.
Marrow seems to be preparing for impact. Jaune desperately hopes that he has some kind of landing strategy, he didn't really ask before he lunged Oscar into his chest. In Jaune's defense, nobody thinks quickly when they're plummeting to inevitable doom. Jaune apparently didn't think quickly enough to remember he had no reason to trust one of the men who just tried to arrest him. He silently curses, and activates his shield to swoop through the crystalline ocean of blue that envelops him. Jaune has found himself surrounded by enemies while falling to his doom. He'd rather not, thank you.
Marrow starts freaking out. Jaune must once again remind himself that the huntsman was not the serious soldier that the rest of the Ace Ops facaded as. As Ren had said about Emerald, he was scared. So while Jaune isn't going to trust him, he at least needs to give him the benefit of the doubt.
But apparently that isn't why Marrow has started panicking. The child is glowing green. THE CHILD IS GLOWING GREEN. Jaune nearly drops Emerald when he sees the iridescent hues radiate from Oscar's cane. They were going to talk about that. Later™.
A forest green bubble solidifies around all five members of the party (that's definitely new). They all smash against the ground in a jade fizzle. A third bright light explodes across the horizon. Jaune has decided that he does not like Oscar's magic. The huntsman scans what seems to be a forest for causes of the sudden fall. Vibrant trees, holding memories that he can't find, loom over them. The sky he had seen so clearly just seconds before was now slashed with violent branches and leaves. the smell of overgrowth inflates his lungs. Nothing useful. He glances back at the faunus, pupils shrunken into miniature dots, and watches as he drops to the floor. A noise from behind him signals Neo seems to have done the same thing. And before he can stop himself, Jaune finds the edges of his sight blurring into a golden glow as he collapses backwards.
-
When it comes to people who aren't paid enough, Ozpin is pretty sure he ranks highest on the list.
It's a few days before this year's initiation and, as routine, the professor has to recheck the Emerald forest for any Grimm that could prove hazardous to the new pupils. There's a particularly ferocious deathstalker that he's been made aware of from the participants of a recent mission in the very same forest, but he can't seem to find it's lair.
Eh, he hopes the kids won't mind too much.
Ozpin has a lot on his mind. Yes, he had an entire person on his mind technically speaking, but a kitchen sink more about his new pupils was floating around his head too. The silver eyed girl he'd found recently. How she looked inexplicably like her mother. Qrow would not be happy with him for admitting her.
Miss Xiao Long, daughter of former pupil and assistant, Taiyang Xiao Long. He was more than grateful that the man still let his daughter attend Beacon after his loss, but part of him wondered why he'd risk it after losing so much.
The boy with the fake application. He recognised the house of Arc too. A name of a valiant warrior he had known in a former life. Maybe, with some training, this faked application could be one of his mightiest students.
A Schnee and a Nikos. Celebrities attending Beacon weren't anything new. He was more surprised Miss Schnee didn't attend Atlas Academy. He could only guess the girls applied to Beacon due to the unreliability of Ironwood and Lionheart. Strict militant fighting, as James liked to put it, was not the type of fighting he liked to reinforce at Beacon. He could only hope Miss Schnee could see the same.
Five other pupils with no former huntsman training, at least. Two looked to be orphans, which Ozpin found somewhat odd. Not anything new to the academy though, as kids with no parents often had to learn to fight to survive at all. Two of the others didn't seem particularly noteworthy, really just children who had some sort of home tutoring. However the other had caught his eye. Belladonna, the Chieftain of Menagerie and former leader of the White Fang. More importantly, the Chieftain, whose daughter had allegedly stayed with the organisation after his retirement. He did hope the faunus girl wouldn't cause too much trouble. Such speculation remained to be seen.
As he reaches the end of his pre-initiation walk, a green glow bursts across the sky, followed by an almost blinding light. Oz has never been more happy to wear sunglasses. His mind teeters around possible causes of the light, until he feels a large ripple of magic hit him. He's thrown back against a tree.
That was his magic.
How did his magic fly through the sky?
Ozpin runs back into the forest, dropping his clipboard onto the bark below him. After long evenings spent walking it's premise, he knows every tree personally. He trips past fallen logs and overgrown bushes, the tails of his coat fluttering behind him, to a clearing. He's far from the relics, already meticulously placed on their pedestals, and he can still feel the strong hues of magic, radiating between branches. He moves closer to the presumed source.
There sit five individuals, all geared up and armed, and all seemingly… dead? Ozpin steps closer to find that no, they're all just unconscious, presumably from being hit with such a powerful blast of energy.
Ozpin immediately checks the closest girl for identification. No dice. He steps back again to see if he recognizes any of them as pupils from his first years. His eyes are drawn to the stunning blonde hair of an Arc. It isn't what he remembers Jaune to look like, but he wouldn't be surprised if this was one of his siblings. Another of them seems to be dressed in an Ace Op uniform. Ozpin was very familiar with James' closest soldiers, led by the formidable Clover Ebi. He'd had many experiences with them whenever he had travelled to Atlas. Needless to say, they weren't the most friendly outside of their leader. He had no recollection of this one, though. James didn't usually hire faunus. This wasn't his fault, it was just that not many applied for the academy in the first place. A faunus in the Ace Op uniform would be good news if he hadn't just fallen from the sky.
He seems to be half clutching a young boy too. The child looks far too young to be in such combat gear, it tears at Ozpin a little. He remembers being dragged away from a carefree life to fight with Ozymandias like it was yesterday. Children didn't deserve to fight.
The child looks pretty badly beaten too. Wait, actually...
Ozpin nearly jumps back when he sees the burn mark scorched onto the child's chest. Was this some kind of Atlas rescue mission? Who would do that to a child? Besides Salem herself. Should he call security?
He should probably collect their weapons, just in case. He gently leans over to pick up the huntsman's weapon when he sees it.
The child has a cane.
The child has his cane.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH-