With Every Step Forward (Neglected/Abused Boosted Gear Reader x RWBY)

Chapter 55: A Person's True Colors

Qrow's POV

As Qrow and Ozpin sit in the living room of the house, Qrow takes a drink from his coffee.

Qrow: "Things aren't looking good, Oz."

Ozpin: "Ever the optimist." he sarcastically comments, drinking his own hot chocolate. "While I would not say our current predicament is... ideal, I think we can both agree that the situation could be much worse. Humanity is a resilient force."

Qrow: "Oz." Ozpin looks over at him. "Pro Huntsmen like that don't just bite it all at once. Salem's powerful. It seems like her reach is growing by the day. What does that say about humanity?"

Ozpin: "That there are indeed a misguided few who have filled their hearts with malice. It doesn't take a great number of people to cause harm, but I still believe there are far more people in this world willing to prevent it."

Qrow takes another drink.

Qrow: "Have you noticed Y/N's condition?"

Ozpin: "His condition?"

Qrow looks around him to make sure there's no one else around. When he confirms this, he leans in.

Qrow: "He's becoming mentally unhinged. Whatever Juggernaut Drive can do to him while he's transformed is being amplified by Svartur's dark energy. He says that unless he can stop it, it's only a matter of time before it takes over his body. There's a mark on his chest that he says indicates that it's starting to affect his body, not just his mind."

Ozpin: "And how much is it affecting him?"

Qrow: "I don't know exactly, but... soon after he first got here, he showed me the mark. He showed it to me again today and it's nearly doubled in size since then. When he told me about this, he made me swear not to tell the others. Oscar, that goes for you too. Oz, I'm telling you just in case something happens. You should have seen how scared he was to lose himself. He asked me..." he trails off, not wanting to finish.

Ozpin: "What did he ask you, Qrow?"

Qrow: "...he asked me to kill him if he lost control of himself." He takes out his flask, adds to his coffee, then drinks from the flask anyway. "Oz, if I can't do it, I'm counting on you to help him."

Ozpin: "I see. If things are so bad, why not kill him now?" he asks almost nonchalantly.

Qrow: "Oz, you can't be serious! He's still in control of himself and-"

Ozpin: "And who knows how long he will be?" He takes another drink. "Regardless, we need him to fight Loke. No one else has a chance of accomplishing such a task. I suspect that even if he loses control of his power, he'd take down Loke first since he's the biggest threat."

Qrow: "Yeah, but Oz-"

Qrow hears footsteps and stops talking.

Ruby: "Excuse me?"

Qrow leans back in his chair at Ruby's presence. Hopefully she didn't hear anything.

Ozpin: "Ah, Miss Rose, join us. We were just about to gather everyone to discuss our next steps."

Ruby: "Oh, uh, great." She goes over to the chair next to Qrow, but doesn't sit.

Qrow: "Something on your mind, kiddo?"

Ruby: "Uh, it's... If it's okay to ask."

Qrow: "Of course."

Ruby: "Well, uh... We've been talking about the Relic at Haven and the Spring Maiden but... what about the Fall Maiden?"