Oscar was waiting for Pietro to finish with his upgrades when he got the news.
He'd been wondering if it was okay for him to get a better weapon when he wasn't licensed.
Whitley pointed out that Weiss had had her weapon before she was licensed, so it was fine. Technically he was Ozpin's student.
Libby, who was there with them because Whitley had decided to enlist her as a guide whenever he left the school--he was tired of the others forgetting him--laughed at Oscar.
"Everyone in Vacuo has a weapon except this fool." She pointed at Whitley. "It's not illegal. If it is, no one would enforce it." [Vacuo is Remnant New Jersey confirmed.]
"I realized that Oz probably uses a cane because it's not an easily identified weapon, though," Oscar mused. "Doing what I did kind of makes it obvious."
"Isn't your thing being different than Ozpin?" Whitley had not gone entirely without noticing things in his time with them.
"I guess it is," Oscar said. "I just...felt like Alicia might kind of like it. I know--that's stupid."
"I still don't fully understand who that is," Whitley said. "But if you admire her, at least that's better than the professor."
"He really needs to learn some manners," Ozpin griped. "I am a perfectly qualified huntsman."
"Oz, not the time for ego," Oscar said.
After he got the call, his weapon was not the first thing on his mind.
"Ruby's gone." He had gone pale. "I can't believe it..."
"This is a disaster!" Whitley said.
"Didn't he say your sister was gone also?" Libby asked.
"Yes, and it's a disaster," Whitley said. "She's leaving me alone with Winter and Mother!"
"And Klein," Libby offered, "your...servant?"
"Butler," Whitley corrected. "A better servant. Well, now he's really our doctor--but the point is, she can't do this to me!"
"Right, she got kidnapped just to spite you," Libby said flatly.
"What's wrong?" Penny flew over.
They told her.
"Oh no!" Penny put her hand to her face. "How horrible! I have to go look for them! They are my friends!"
"Uh guys, apparently Winter is also missing." Oscar had read further.
Whitley looked green.
"Well...that's not good," Libby said. "The Lieutenant of Atlas Military is bound to raise a stir."
"That's what you're worried about?" Whitley said.
"Hey, I live here! I don't want more Grimm around," Libby said.
"We have to go back and help!" Oscar said frantically.
"Wait, Oscar." Penny grabbed him. "You can't go anywhere without your cane/staff/spear. Moreover, you are small and less highly trained. I should go first."
Oscar frowned.
"Didn't have to do him like that, love," Libby said wryly.
"If my friend Kip has done this, I should stop him!" Penny said. "It's my fault for introducing him."
"But it's not," Oscar said. "And Ruby is..."
"Is what?" Ozpin asked hopefully.
"Our leader and friend," Oscar finished.
"Boring," Libby said. "I was hoping for something better'n that."
"You're not helping," Whitley said.
"I can't do much," Libby said. "But if you want to go, we can go."
"They said they're going to pick us up," Oscar said. "I guess we should wait... It could be dangerous."
He looked around. "Anyone could be an enemy. Apparently they were hired thugs this time."
"Then don't talk to anyone," Libby advised.
They all looked at her.
"You can't really suspect me," she said, offended. "I've been helping you for the last week. If I wanted to kidnap you, I'd have done it by now."
"Apologies," Penny said. ''But we hardly know you. And anyone could be a spy."
"I'm not a spy, you tin can!" Libby said rudely. "I don't have to listen to this either! You want to be on your own, then you can be! Don't let me make you uneasy! Blighter!"
She shook a fist at them.
"All right, calm down," Whitley said. "I don't think Libby is a spy--she's too harsh and uncultured to pull it off."
She gave him a look.
"I didn't really think so," Oscar said. "But how did they know where to find us all?"
"I didn't know where to find the others," Libby pointed out.
"I meant there could be more than one person following us around," Whitley said. "But we won't improve our chances by leaving. Some of these people must at least be legitimate."
"What do we know about their parents?" Libby said oddly.
Whitley slapped his forehead.
"I don't get it," Penny said. "But I still think I should go. I don't think they'd want to kidnap me, so it should be all right. I will return!"
She flew away.
"Penny!" Pietro cried, then he sighed. "Well...here's your cane, Mr. Pine. I hope my girl is all right."
Oscar took it. It felt heavier now. But that was okay, it had always been a little on the light side for him. It felt like it might do more damage now. [Say what you will, but a cane was always a stupid weapon without some other modifications. It's pretty hard to kill someone with a cane even in the real world unless you hit them in the head, and in Remnant they have Aura, making it even more impractical. I think an upgrade was long overdue.]
"Well, since we have nothing better to do, show us what it does now," Whitley said.
"I'd like to see it," Libby said.
Oscar wasn't much in the mood for showing off...but had nothing else to do either.
"Well, I wanted to keep the integrity of Ozpin's old weapon so I could use the kinetic energy still," he said. "But I figure I can't rely on it, so I need something else to help."
He presented the cane--which now had a hard metal shell around it that would hurt more. Pietro had also put some vine-like designs over it, making the grip a little easier.
"So the head has a gun in it now, per Ruby's suggestion," he said, kind of sadly. "If I twist this little lever here."
The top of the cane twisted around into a short, pistol-like gun.
"Then if I turn it the other way, it becomes more like a metal- bladed tip, so it becomes a spear," he said.
The spear stuck out in the shape of a snake head coming out of the vines, with leaves framing the base for more of a handle.
"It's complicated," he said.
"That's some first rate engineering right there," Libby approved. "Way more showy than my weapon." She hefted her brush/club. "Classy, you know? Looks posh."
"It does seem more efficient this way," Whitley said, "if one has to be barbaric and have a weapon."
"Why don't you just get one?" Oscar asked. "Then you wouldn't have to worry as much about being alone."
"I couldn't use one if I had it. I have no idea how," Whitley said.
"A gun's not that hard to use," Libby said. "I bet I could find a tossed one in some garbage somewhere. Fix it up here."
"I'd rather have a new one if I was going to have one," Whitley said, with some chagrin.
"Say the word, we could get you one made," Pietro said. "I admit, a 14- year old having a weapon isn't the best idea usually, but here it's kind of essential, from what I've seen, or you're an easy target. Even I'm carrying one now."
He'd attached some kind of taser to his "wheelchair".
"Why the snake head, though?" Libby asked. "A little creepy, isn't it?"
"I...well, I was thinking about what she said," Oscar said. "Even snakes have a place. And I should watch for the ones we're treading on. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I found a passage later saying we could tread on serpents and scorpions."
"So Tyrian and Watts," Whitley said.
Oscar chuckled weakly. "Maybe...but I don't know--she sounded like she meant more than just them."
"You and your mystical mumbo jumbo," Libby said. "You've got a tile loose in your head."
"Maybe, but I also have two souls," Oscar said. "So anything sounds possible to me."
"Two...souls?" Libby said.
"We told you that," Whitley said.
"You said he had a man in his head. I thought you meant he was crazy," she hissed.
"No, it's literally true," Whitley said.
"Shove off!" Libby said. "That's not possible."
Oscar tilted his head, then his eyes flashed.
"Hello, Miss Broom," Ozpin said.
"Ah!" Libby jumped back. "What was that?"
"I'm Professor Ozpin," Ozpin said. "Though I'm not sure why Mr. Schnee was being so careless about our secrets."
"I thought it was just common knowledge at this point," Whitley said. "Anyway, what is she going to do about it? Doesn't your evil Grimm nemesis already know who you are?"
"He's got a point," Oscar said. "Any damage Libby could do is probably done already."
"It's the principle of the thing," Ozpin argued with him, to Libby's bewilderment as to who he was talking to. "Miss Broom, might I ask why you don't attend the academy?"
"I couldn't afford it," Libby said.
"There are exceptions to that," Ozpin said. "You should have gone to Theo."
"I like to take care of myself," Libby said. "I didn't make the cut on the scholarship exams."
"But from what I hear, you are an impressive fighter. Perhaps you just hit a curve. You should try again," Ozpin said.
"From what I hear, there may not be an academy soon enough, so I think I'll pass." Libby hefted her brush.
"I just wonder what she meant when she gave me authority," Oscar mused. "Oz?"
All I know is that she spoke of that as the reason she could frighten Grimm and heal people, Ozpin said.
Oscar should have seen it coming, but after the dream, he wasn't sure if he was going to have more memory flashes--but suddenly he was.
* * *
"But how did you get the authority?" Ozma was pestering Alicia. "Just saying it's from your god is not enough."
"The God, the God, Ozma," Alicia said, impatiently.
"Whatever you call it," Ozma said. "Now is not the time for semantics."
"Funny, you're asking me for them," Alicia said.
"I just want to know..." Ozma asked. "It's one thing to say you came from this old legend, but I've only ever seen people who have more than one power who were ancient and magical."
"Even that is more of only one power, just manifested in different ways," Alicia commented. "And so is mine. Same grace, difference channels for it. It's all on principle."
Ozma pouted.
"All right, all right, I'll tell you, but quit pestering me after this." Alicia handed him a tea cake. She was sitting on a picnic blanket she apparently carried with her, for impromptu tea parties in the middle of nowhere...and with her thermos of tea.
[Could she be more British?... Don't answer that.]
"The power to frighten Grimm comes from being of something that is greater than them, and they know it," Alicia said. "They can smell it on me, I assume, the way they can sniff out Aura, but they know it's not just my Aura or the Semblance, which are remnants of magic, no doubt, and like the god of Darkness, as they came from him, from all you've told me and what I saw. The stronger your Aura and Semblance are, the more the Grimm sense you."
"That is true--but I didn't know that was why," Ozma said.
"See? It all starts to make sense." Alicia sipped her tea. "They must smell that my Aura is not just mine, it's two--not like yours, but like...a booster, almost. In it but not of it, as we are in the world but not of it. You can live in somewhere and not be from it. And vice versa. You want it to be the right thing. In the end, either God or the devil has your soul. We don't have our own."
"If you say so." Ozma was dubious about this.
"You of all people ought to know I speak truth," Alicia said dryly. "As for healing, we get that authority from the suffering of our Master. By the beating and the torture that He underwent so that ours might be redeemed."
"Fascinating," Ozma said. "Can other people besides you do it?"
"Oh, lots, but, I admit...I'm a little unique using the staff." Alicia fingered it. "I find a physical object helps people get it in worlds like this. And eye catching, isn't it?"
"When did you first get those gifts?" Ozma asked.
"When I was reborn," Alicia said. "Not as you were, but born again as in born of the spirit. It's like a birthday present. I learned to use them over time more effectively, but it's in there, if we ever need it. You could do it too, if you were of us. That would be a fine thing."
"I would like to be able to heal," Ozma said, for a moment almost forgetting his current magical powers.
"But you couldn't keep magic," Alicia mused. "We can't have both. We must choose our master, sooner or later."
"Oh...well...I'm afraid I need these powers more than I need something like that," Ozma backtracked.
"It would do you more good to have these," Alicia said. "No strings are attached to it."
"Alicia, I..." Ozma hesitated. "I appreciate your concern, but this is not something I can just change. Please do not keep bringing it up."
Alicia raised an eyebrow, like she didn't intend to stop. But for the moment she let it go.
"Well, because of this, I'm not scared of those Grimm or of anything else," she said proudly. "I know nothing can hurt me without permission. So, there's no point."
"That must be nice..." Ozma said.
"What am I supposed to learn from this?" Oscar spoke, and for some reason, he heard his voice in the memory. Though Ozma gave no sign of noticing it.
Alicia looked right at him intently. "All you need is faith, Oz. That's the secret. You can do anything with faith, if you're meant to do it. If you have the courage to try, even if it looks uncertain, then it's possible. Even if it didn't work, better to try than to do nothing, don't you think?"
"I agree." Ozma clearly didn't really understand her. "We have to try, or all is lost."
"Hmm," Alicia said. "That may be more true than you know."
[Beth Crowley, "The Dark".]
* * *
"Oscar?" Whitley tapped him.
"Anybody home?" Libby waved her hand at him. "Did the other fellow go to sleep?"
Oscar was back in control. "Sorry, I must have spaced out again." He rubbed his head.
"You really should be more careful about doing that," Whitley scolded him.
[AMV to Car Radio by ThusKindlySheScatters]
Yang and Qrow came in right then, Blake and Sun behind them, though Blake looked a bit like she was in pain.
"There you are," Yang said, with relief.
"We're here too," Whitley said.
"She didn't specify," Libby shrugged.
"Hey guys," Oscar said. "Um...can I ask, why didn't Shine just bring us there?"
Qrow looked at Yang.
"I guess Emerald didn't mention that part..." Yang said.
"What part?" Whitley asked.
"Shine and Wally were taken also," Blake said.
Emerald hadn't said that because she was still hoping they'd turn up and it was a mistake--but so far nothing.
Oscar was shocked.
Whitley was even pretty upset.
"Them?" he said. "Impossible."
"Mercury is gone too," Yang said darkly. "My money is on him being behind this, but Emerald says he's just been taken. Unless they wanted to get to her, can't think of anyone who'd care that much about him."
"I'd be upset," Oscar said. "But...Shine and Wally? They're...DJs... How can they just get kidnapped?"
"We should have listened when they said they weren't invincible." Qrow sounded depressed. "It was dumb not to guard them also. And now we're screwed."
Oscar felt dizzy.
"Oscar, snap out of it!" Ozpin said severely. "This is no time to panic. If they have been taken, then it is clearly our duty to step in here. They are likely not dead. We must act quickly."
Oscar swallowed. "Right, you're right," he said aloud. "Oz says we need to focus. We have to save them."
"You recover fast," Libby commented. "See? Positive mental attitude." She gestured at Whitley.
"How are we supposed to find them?" Qrow said. "Theo might be able to, but he says we'll never get past Victoria."
Oscar thought.
"I don't know," he said. "We need to have a meeting. Maybe there's something we can do. Why would Victoria want them though?"
"Watts is gone," Blake said. "If he told her that they outsmarted him--he'd want revenge, right? I knew it was stupid to play with that snake!"
"Snakes..." Oscar repeated. "Yeah, be careful of those..." He straightened. "But on the other hand, Shine was sure using him was smart. She always said that if he went back to Salem, it would hurt him more than us. We need to try to think like her."
"Isn't that what got her caught?" Sun asked.
"No, I don't think it was Watts, at least alone," Oscar mused. "Mercury, I always felt like there was something off about him. He knew where Vara was--he knew a lot. Who else could have set this up but him? Watts was locked up too much to plan this, and Mercury could have been in contact with Salem without us knowing about it, unlike Watts. I hate to disagree with Emerald, but I think it's likely it was him."
"Then Tyrian will be here too," Qrow said. "I knew it. I knew it was too good to be true that all of them would switch sides. We'd better just hope Sustrai isn't dirty too."
"I'm sure she's sincere," Oscar said firmly. "She never acted suspicious, but he did, like he wasn't fully convinced--he said something weird about getting that book, too."
"Book?" Yang said.
"Their holy book." Oscar pulled his copy out. "This, the Bible... He said it had their secrets in it. I don't know why he thought that, but he looked guilty, I thought. But I shrugged it off... Maybe it was true though."
"Oh, lore," Libby said. "This is getting better and better."
"Is there something in that that could hurt them?" Qrow asked.
"I'm not sure," Oscar said. "It's not like it's about their personal secrets, it's about us all, really. But Salem is...tricky. I'm not sure what she could learn from it--if it's her...or could he just be working with Victoria to get to us..."
"No, if it's Mercury, it's Salem," Qrow said. "No way it's not. Why would he care about Kanap?"
"If that's true," Oscar said, "then...they must see Shine and Wally as threats. But she and Wally have been teaching me, and Pyrrha, and Emerald... Maybe Ozpin is right...we have to use the things they taught us to save them all. Their plans work, ours don't."
"Okay, easy there," Qrow said. "You can't be a one man-or half a man, really--army against this woman. She took down two Maidens. Like it was nothing."
"Yes," Oscar said, thinking. "But...think, she's all about magic and Aura, right?... Her tricks work on us because of that. But Neo was able to trick her before...and Little... Little?!"
"I think she was with Ruby still," Blake said. "So unless she can break out of cages like the one Yang told us about, I doubt she'll help."
"Well, she might be able to help," Sun said. "Who'd suspect a mouse?"
"Not here they would," Libby agreed. "Ey, you're forgetting one other thing you have. Me."
"You?" Whitley said.
"I know a lot of people," Libby said. "You want to know who these clods were who took yer friends? I bet I could find out for you. No one thinks anything of me. But I'd need some bob to pay for it."
Whitley frowned. "But if you got caught, we'd never know."
"I don't get caught, love." Libby tipped her hat just like Neo did.
"Shine would use people who no one knows about," Oscar mused. "Torchwick...I mean...even if Mercury did sell us out, would he have mentioned that? It's kind of hard to explain.... Even if he did, I doubt they'd care about him. He could ask around. He's probably safe."
"None of this will help if they're in that maze," Qrow said crossly.
"Finding the thugs would be the fastest way to at least be sure of that," Libby said. "Maybe the small governor has a point there, Branwen."
Yes, she knew who he was.
"Do what you want, then," Qrow said. "But from the school."
At least it was kind of a plan though.
* * *
Vara got team JNPR to the school about the same time that Oscar and others returned to it.
They came out of Theo's office.
"I really still don't want to talk to Theo," Vara said.
"We have other problems right now," Pyrrha said.
"It's cold in here," Vara shivered.
"I thought it was nice," Nora said. "It's so hot outside."
"What exactly is your Semblance?" Ren asked Vara.
"Piss off," was her response.
"Nevermind," Pyrrha said. "Ren, Nora, would you stay with Vara in our room? I want to talk to the others first, see if I can smooth this over at all."
"If you think that's a good idea," Ren said.
"I don't think they expect her to be here," Pyrrha said.
Jaune and her went on.
They found everyone waiting downstairs, with Theo.
"She's here, isn't she?" He looked up, looking relieved and angry at the same time.
"Please do not rush her," Pyrrha said. "We had quite a time even getting her to bring us here... and the tunnels were dangerous, all right? She doesn't want to talk to you yet."
"But I need to talk to her. We have a problem," Theo said.
"Just hold on," Qrow said, rubbing his eyes. "So what do we do now, kid?"
Oscar glanced at them. "I think we should have Vara here for this discussion," he said, holding his new and improved staff on his lap.
"I love what you did to that," Pyrrha said. "Later you will have to tell me about it..."
"But I did have an idea for how we could find out who's behind this," Oscar said. "Libby offered to help, and Torchwick said he'd do it if he didn't have to do anything dangerous."
"Yes," Roman said huffily. "Likstar is my paycheck, so I have every interest in finding her, but I'm not sticking my neck out for you losers."
No one was in the mood to even get offended.
Neo made some motions.
"Ummm, what?" Blake said.
Rolling her eyes, she typed out on her scroll and held it up: "I can help also. She'd never know it was me."
"How are you going to ask people questions?" Yang scoffed.
Neo made a rude motion at her, then typed out: "I can still scout. I have a stake in this also."
"We're in no position to turn down help," Theo said. "Even if I don't like it. But even supposing this works, we still can't take on Victoria."
"I'm working on that part," Oscar said.
"There is a chance we could take her in brute force," Hazel spoke. "But not if she has traps."
"I can factor that into the plan," Oscar said wearily. "But I think at least finding out who took them would be a start. But I've been thinking, too. When I was captured by Salem, I thought about what her henchmen really want. And I wondered if there was a way to convince them that it wasn't with her."
Hazel frowned at him.
"Because she's a liar, right?" Oscar said. "And Shine, while we were training in Atlas, she had me do this analysis thing. She asked me how I could read my opponent, what their fighting style was, and whatever else I could learn. So I think we need to ask what all of the people we know about want and what they usually do."
Yang frowned. "You know, Shine said something to me last night that sounded pretty nutty, but it's almost like she knew this would happen. She said that when she got captured in the past, she learned that sometimes you need to be in your enemy's lair in order to know how to defeat them."
"That sounds like her," Emerald said dryly.
"Well, that did happen," Oscar agreed. "With me."
"I hate thinking about it," Yang said, "but Kanap is really behind this, and we all know she is... Maybe there's something I saw or heard that we could use. If I went over it..."
"Why don't you try making notes?" Torchwick suggested. "I always make a cork board for my plots."
They looked at him.
"What? You think crime bosses aren't organized?" he said. "It helps you visualize what you need to do next."
"That sounds stupid," Yang said. "But I don't have a better idea..."
"No, that could help," Oscar assured her.
"I can help," Blake said, "if you need to talk it out more."
They set about doing this.
* * *
Penny didn't find the girl; her scanners weren't long range enough without a search area.
But she did have more luck finding something else.
She heard a commotion going on along one street, and, flying down there, she found Kip himself getting shoved around by some punks.
"Got metal bones he does!" one was jeering at him. "Come on, you scrawny puke, fight back."
"Leave me alone. I don't want to hurt anyone!" Kip sounded frantic.
Penny thought it was probably because he could hurt them plenty if he wanted to, if she had to judge by his robotic enhancements, but he didn't want to.
Well, she could fix that.
"Salutations!" she said, landing.
The punks looked at her and recognized her. They didn't want to mess with the Protector of Mantle. They'd heard how tough she was.
They ran for it.
Penny held her hand out to Kip and pulled him up.
"Penny?" Kip said in surprise. "This does not compute. What are you doing out here?"
"I patrol here a lot. What are you doing here?" She jabbed her finger at him. "You took my friends, didn't you?"
Kip looked guilty.
"They said it was because they were hurt," he said. "But I think, now, that was a falsehood. He took the bird lady."
"Raven?" Penny thought it could only be Raven or Robyn, and Robyn made no logical sense.
"Yes, she turned into a raven," Kip said. "But she's broken. Imbalanced. Mother did it..." He looked queasy. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone, Penny Polendina. I thought it was to help them. But Angry Girl said--and then it looked awful--I don't want to go back." He put his hand to his head. "I don't want to watch."
Penny's empathy receptors were activated.
"Then don't go back," she said, holding out her hand grandly. "Why should you have to? That plan sounds horrid to me. Why don't you come home with me?"
"With you?" Kip said, oddly.
"Yes, I can adopt you!" Penny offered enthusiastically. "Like a pet! My father always said I could have a pet if I wanted to."
"Oh...I have pets," Kip said. "Cats...but they're stuck..."
"That's terrible!" Penny said.
"Can we get them?" Kip asked.
"Of course we can. No feline friends should be left behind!" Penny thrust her hand in the air. "And then you can tell me what you did with my friends."
"I didn't," Kip said. "I mean...Mother said not to tell anyone about it."
Penny debated and decided her chances were better of convincing him if she eased into it--which she didn't really know how to do, but her team would, surely.
"Well, let's get your cats first," she said. "And then we can go back to where I live, and talk. Do you require sustenance?"
"Food?" Kip said. "Not...really...but I eat for fun. Food tastes good."
"I don't eat," Penny said.
"You could get sick," Kip said.
"I do not have a digestive tract," Penny explained, "or olfactories..."
"Oh," Kip said. "That's sad."
"I don't know if I need it," Penny said. "But if you want dinner, we can ask for it. Come on, Kip-my-friend."
Kip reluctantly took her hand, and then he said, "But I'm out of fuel... I was going to get more, but they wouldn't give me any."
"You have to pay for it," Penny said. "Silly."
"Oh..." Kip said. "Pay...yes...Mother has mentioned that. She says I'm too young to have money."
"That is not rational," Penny said. "I will, as Ruby says, 'spot you' for now. You must have fuel."
"Really?" Kip brightened. "Thank you."
[Awww.]
[Also suck it, Victoria! Some people can see something is wrong even if you can't!]