Chapter Text
The room of Ozpin’s office was only filled with the whistling of the wind. Broken glass littered the floor near the now broken window, in which a Grimm had taken Ruby Rose. Ozpin stood near the window, staring out at the broken moon. His mind was clouded with rage. Not only because the only one who would likely be able to defeat Salem, but because the girl was his responsibility to keep safe. Much like many before her.
And because he had chosen to let her go.
The door to the elevator opened. Ozpin turned his head, just in time to see Taiyang grip him by the collar. “What happened?” He asked. His eyes looked downright murderous.
“A Grimm broke in through the window. It took Ms. Rose.” Ozpin answered clearly.
“How did it take her? You’ve got fucking magic right? How did a damn Grimm take her?” Taiyang demanded.
The elevator dinged as Glynda, Qrow, and Winter arrived.
Ozpin didn’t pause to answer. “It’s called the Hound. A Grimm that Salem created, and is one of the most dangerous due to its ability to adapt to any situation.”
“But surely that wasn’t all it took for it to take her? Right?” Taiyang asked.
Ozpin sighed. “No, you’re correct. The Hound came here for Ruby, and the Relic of Choice. I made the difficult decision to favor the Relic over Ms. Rose–”
Ozpin wasn’t able to finish his words as Taiyang slugged him in the face. He staggered back with a grunt, holding his jaw. He glanced at the man, whose eyes burned with rage. He wasn’t able to say anything as Glynda spoke up.
“I thought you said the Relic of Choice was lost years ago? Buried under the Kingdom of Vale by the King after the Great War ended?” Glynda asked.
“I lied about that.” Ozpin answered after a moment. “I didn’t trust anyone with the knowledge of where the Relic of Choice was, given how powerful it was.”
“Then why didn’t you end the Great War earlier?” Qrow spoke up finally.
Ozpin took a deep breath. This wasn’t the time for this, but if he let suspicion and animosity brew, it would do more harm than good. “Because I needed it to happen.”
“What do you mean by ‘It needed to happen’?” Winter questioned.
Ozpin stayed silent as he prepared himself for what he was about to say. “I needed the Great War to happen to progress humanity. Humanity was separated too much to make progress for the better. I needed humanity to create, to explore, and to destroy. So… I was the one to start it. And was the one to keep it going for 11 years.”
Silence was all that filled the room. Ozpin sighed, walking over to his desk, as he relaxed into his chair. After what felt like minutes, but likely only moments, he broke the silence. “I understand you may all feel betrayed, and trust has been broken. But for the moment, we need to focus on the immediate objectives. We need to ensure the Relic of Choice is guarded, and that Ms. Rose is rescued.”
“Oh, now you want to save my daughter?” Taiyang asked, angered sarcasm in his voice. “After you let her be taken to that demon?”
“The Relic of Choice would have been a much worse option–” Ozpin began, until Taiyang gripped him by the collar.
“She’s a fucking person!” He roared. “Not some object or asset, much less a fucking chess piece in your game!”
“I understand that Tai, believe me of that.” Ozpin said. “But I could not allow the Relic of Choice to be taken. You have to remember that we are in a war. Had I allowed the Relic of Choice to be taken, then the chances of Salem winning the war would have raised much higher due to the fact she’d see the future of her choices. And the best way to defeat Salem is not in brute force, but calculated strikes. I guarantee you, your daughters would have died to her hand no matter what, especially in the worst of ways, had I allowed the Relic to be taken.”
Taiyang released Ozpin, though it seemed his rage was simply to much to look at Ozpin anymore. Ozpin didn’t doubt that Taiyang would’ve actually killed him otherwise.
“How are we supposed to rescue Ms. Rose? We don’t even know where she was taken.” Glynda asked.
“If the Hound is taking Ms. Rose to Salem in the Deadlands, then it would likely take a day to get there.” Ozpin explained. “Given Ms. Rose wasn’t killed, that means Salem has use for her. I don’t know what that would be though. And it concerns me greatly.”
“So what is the plan? How do we intend to rescue Ruby?” Glynda asked.
“I… am not fully sure. We have lots of issues, one of them being that Salem knows where the Relic of Choice is, and I need to relocate it. I also feel that she may be closer to enacting a more involved plan, such as an attack on a kingdom. That worries me greatly. So we need to prepare for a potential assault, or even an agent of Salem attempting to eliminate many of our allies.” Ozpin explained.
Ozpin heard the Elevator door open, and he realized he’d been staring at the moon. Turning around, he saw Taiyang and Qrow gone, along with Winter. Glynda was staring at him with a frown. “I assume they are going down to inform the others?”
“I don’t know, Ozpin.” Glynda said, forgoing her usual ‘sir’. “And I don’t care. What I care about is ensuring the safety of these students. These children, that you’ve roped into a war which at this point, I question whether it can even be won.”
Ozpin stayed silent, as he looked back toward the shattered moon. He’d wondered the same for a long, long time. He’d lost hope more and more over that time, but it was on him to ensure that Salem didn’t win. Given her true immortality, the only idea he had would be to somehow rid Salem of her Grimm essence, then imprison her somehow. Perhaps with the Staff of Creation. It was a loose idea, but that was the only way he saw to ‘win’ the war.
“I don’t know for certain, Glynda. But I know at the very least, that I will ensure Salem never achieves her goal of destroying humanity.” Ozpin declared, voice firm and confident despite all that happened. “Now, let us figure out a way to save Ms. Rose. And should I do it myself, I gladly will.”
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“Ruby was kidnapped by a Grimm.”
That was the simple sentence to fill Team WBY and Team JNPR with shock. Jaune himself felt a mix of rage and fear settle in his gut.
“How?” Yang asked in a whispered voice.
“A Grimm specifically created by Salem, consider the Hound, broke through Ozpin’s window during a meeting with Ms. Rose.” Winter explained. There was a hint of anger and despair in her own voice, but was hidden mostly. “Despite Ozpin’s efforts, the Hound proved much stronger, and flew away with Ms. Rose. It is unknown why it didn’t kill her, likely that Salem has use for Ruby.”
The room was silent. Yang had a blank face, as her hair lit with flames, but she didn’t do anything else. They all felt similar things. Rage, fear, panic.
Jaune felt them all as well. Protecting Ruby was their goal. Not only because of her silver eyes, but also because Ruby was their friend. Their family. And now, she was going to be subjected to the worst things imaginable. The entire thought made his heart beat faster, and from how Weiss gripped his hand, she wasn’t much better.
“For the time being, we carry on with the mission.” Winter said.
“What?” Jaune muttered. “What do you mean? Ruby has just been taken and for all we know is going to be tortured to death!”
“The thought is just as upsetting for me, Jaune.” Winter reassured. “But it doesn’t change the fact that we have to destroy Merlot’s fortress.”
“But Ruby–!” Jaune began to argue, before Winter cut him off.
“I know you’re worried. All of you.” Winter said softly, glancing around the group. “But given the Hound took Ruby, not killed her, means Salem needs something from her. And if the Hound is indeed taking Ruby to Salem in the Deadlands, it will likely take 18 hours at least. So as long as we start our siege on Merlot’s fortress in less than that time, we’d still have a chance of saving Ruby from more harm.”
No one else spoke, as Winter sighed, and she left the room.
____
“She can’t be serious.”
It was Weiss who broke the silence. Disbelief clear as day in her voice, along with an underlying anger. Yang was still silent, hair afire yet her face in her hands. Jaune was thinking to himself, every single possible way to allow them to go after Ruby without ruining the mission plan.
Jaune mulled it all over. The island that Merlot’s Fortress resided on. The newly designed pair of ships, a larger ship that was just a tad smaller than an average atlas battleship, and larger than a manta ship. It would house larger weapons to eliminate much larger Grimm. The other was barely larger than an air car, ones used by the higher tier of the rich in Atlas.
Winter already would command the larger ship, along with a small group of people to assist her on the bridge. Yang would pilot the smaller ship. Ruby wasn’t apart of the equation, given Black would have tried to kidnap her. Weiss would be alongside Winter, while the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR would be on the ground strike team to infiltrate the fortress.
No matter how Jaune saw it, they couldn’t sacrifice separating people. Every person was needed to accomplish the mission.
“She is, Weiss.” Jaune began, looking towards his fiance. “Every part of this mission was planned out to every detail. And as much as it pains me to say, Ruby never was part of the mission itself. She was always going to stay at Beacon.”
“But you can’t be suggesting we just… leave Ruby to die–” Blake began, until Jaune cut her off.
“No! Trust me, every atom in my body wants nothing more than to leave here and track down Ruby to save her from whatever nightmare Salem is going to put her through.” Jaune explained, sighing in frustration at the situation itself. “But Ruby is one person. And if we forgo the mission for Ruby, we may in the end be killing more people than saving them.”
The room was filled with a tense silence. No one broke it, as Yang’s hair stopped burning, and she began to cry. Weiss placed a hand on Yang’s back, who let the tears flow free as she clutched Weiss.
“We should get some sleep, so we can fight tomorrow.” Jaune told them, as he stood up. “Because if we fail, it guarantees Ruby’s suffering, and death.”
No one else wanted to talk for the rest of the night.
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