Ruby
Ruby lies on the seats with her eye shut, sleeping silently with her head rested on Oscar's lap. Her hand on his as she lays there, Oscar devotedly strokes her hair as she rests her eyes and he looks up when he sees Neptune approaching him and sitting next to him on the other seat. He looks at him and then at Ruby. "How are you feeling?" He asks Oscar, and he looks at Neptune with a confused expression on his face. Oscar raises his brow for clarification on what he means by this.
"Huh?" He responds, sounding lost.
"After the fight we had with that Manticore?" Neptune asks him with curiosity in his voice, and that does help clarify what he meant by that. He initially thought he was talking about the situation with Ruby at the moment. Oscar chuckles and he rotates his shoulder round, a faint crack can be heard inside and he flinches when he feels it.
"Still aching, wasn't an easy fight." Oscar states with a chuckle, and Neptune chuckles as well, sitting back in the chair.
"No it wasn't." He agrees, crossing his arms. Neptune, however, did not just come here to ask him about how he is feeling after that clash they had with the Manticore Grimm. "Hey...I know its weird timing, it being five years ago and all...but..." Neptune slowly says and Oscar looks at him. Neptune turns and looks at Oscar. "Thanks." He says.
"For what?" Oscar asks him.
"For saving me." Neptune says.
Neptune can remember the end of Arthur Watts like the back of his hand, being beaten by the Doctor on that rooftop, Fury's Berserker Form destabilizing and exploding. The entire building was completely destroyed from the explosion, and if it were not for Oscar slowing down time to save Neptune, he would be ashes along with Watts right now. "You don't have to thank me." Oscar says to him, a boy who has always been one to do the right thing and never ask for anything in return. Another reason behind why Ruby fell in love with him, and why he fell in love with her.
"If you weren't there...I'd be dead. And I don't think I ever thanked you for that." Neptune says to him, looking at him and Oscar smiles, patting his shoulder.
"Like I was gonna leave you behind? I don't leave anyone behind." He says and Neptune smiles and nods. He looks down at the metal floor and he thinks on what he remembered Watts telling him and he sighs.
"I got revenge that I never realised I needed...I always thought the Dam exploding was all an accident, or it was the Grimm. But it was him all along..." Neptune says, scratching the back of his neck as he thinks on that.
"Well...at least you know you got your revenge and you weren't searching for it for all your life." Oscar begins and he looks down at the floor. He begins to remember all the things he saw and heard back at Salem's Sanctum, and despite that Hazel has joined their side of the coin, he is still being haunted by that Hunt for Revenge he has.
And with Ozpin returning...that might not bode well for any of them.
"The things that Hazel told me...about what Ozpin did to his Daughter. He blames him more for what happened to his daughter than the person that actually killed her." Oscar remembers, and he actually begins to feel memories that seem familiar. But of course, these are not his memories; they are in fact Ozpin's memories. He can see things faintly, a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes, a kind smile on her face as she enters Beacon Academy, Ozpin watching from Beacon Tower. He can feel...guilt...in him; it is like that is one of the moments that Ozpin regrets the most. Forcing her into becoming the Fall Maiden, just like how he nearly made Pyrrha do the same thing. And she died as well, by the same person's hands.
"You're worried that if we find Ozpin..." Neptune guesses.
"Will Hazel betray us?" He sighs, and then looks at Neptune. "Revenge can turn people into monsters, that hunger for payback can make people forget what they were even fighting for, and just to kill everything in their path until they get it." Oscar explains, also airing out his concerns for Hazel's mental health. With the things he said about Ozpin, and now that they have indeed found the man...
...it does raise serious risks, but they do not know at this moment that Qrow, Taiyang and Raven have found Ozpin.
Along with a terrifying new threat.
Oscar and Neptune lift their heads when they hear the intercom buzzing to fill in the passengers on the Airship. "All Passengers, we have officially arrived in Vacuo Airspace." The pilot informs, waking Ruby up in the process. She groans, rubbing her eye as she sits up from Oscar's lap, looking around.
"Are we there yet?" She asks.
She looks out the window and gasps with amazement when she sees the huge city amongst mountain sized sand dunes. Towers everywhere and buildings built from sandstone, ships flying around and mining dust from the mountains in the distance. The Schnee Dust Company still has a rather massive pull in Vacuo, lots of work to be found for thieves and scoundrels. There are large walls that surround the city to protect it from the monsters that lurk outside of them; however these creatures do not seem to be clawing against them anymore. But the scars are still there, where countless Grimm would attack the walls, but could never get through. Protected by Mercenaries mostly, since that is what becomes of most Vacuo Huntsmen and Huntresses.
Ruby stands up and places her hand against the glass as she looks at the city, and Oscar stands behind her. They both look at the huge city in awe, neither of them believed it was possible to create a Kingdom in the middle of a desert, but it seems that the people of Vacuo have somehow managed it. The Kingdom where they never had the Relic of Choice, only built as a disguise, to trick Salem into believing it was there.
When it was actually hidden elsewhere.
Sun and Blake approach the two and Sun crosses his arms when he looks at the city, large moisture farms in the distance outside of the city's protective walls. He does not look as amazed of the place, but he has seen his fair share of locations as they all have. "So this is Vacuo, Sun?" Blake asks him and Sun scoffs.
"I know, what a terrible place to live, right?" He chuckles, looking at the place.
"What? No, I didn't mean that." Blake shyly says, hoping that she did not cause offence since this is his birthplace.
"I did. There's a reason I moved to Mistral, you know." Sun points out and he walks away from the window. Ruby takes her hand from the glass, feeling it getting hotter as the Vacuo Sun broils the glass and outer hull of the Airship.
"I've never been to Vacuo before, what can we expect, Sun?" Ruby asks him and he chuckles, turning to her.
"Not the friendliest of people, terribly hot weather, and not the greatest food." He tells them, not the most glowing of advertisements for the city. But it is the most honest one, clearly speaking from experience as well.
"Team N.D.G.O were nice enough." Ruby claims with a shrug.
"Sure, but what about Team B.R.N.Z?" He chuckles, and they do not have the fondest memories of them. Not only were they pretty self-obsessed, but they did not even fight during the tournament. Team N.D.G.O left Beacon earlier and returned to Vacuo, whereas Team B.R.N.Z fled the battle all together. "Trust me; the people here only look out for themselves." Sun assures, walking away from them as he walks down the steps to get his weapons ready. Blake looks back at him and Ruby catches onto his resentment to this place, but she does not know about what happened.
Only Blake does, really.
"Hey, Blake?" Ruby says and the Faunus Girl turns to her. "Is Sun okay? I didn't see him much on this trip." Ruby asks her, fiddling with her fingers, and Blake made a promise to Sun to never tell a soul about his grief.
"Yeah, he's just not that excited to go back there. Now that you think about it...it makes sense." She says with a short laugh, walking away from Ruby and following Sun. Ruby smiles as Blake walks away and she turns back to the window, looking out at the city that they approach.
"So what do you think we should be expecting?" Oscar asks her, resting his arm against the wall as he looks at her. Ruby thinks on that, looking down at the floor for a second as she contemplates the facts.
"We'll see what the situation is like, the state the Headmaster is in. My guess? The Acolytes of Lien or the White Fang." Ruby says to him on her view on the matter.
"Not the Knights of Grimm?" Oscar questions, tilting his head. Ruby shakes her head as she crosses her arms.
"Not likely, they don't do Assassinations, they lead full scale assaults. You saw Mistral, the Volcanic Chain Isles. They aren't assassins." She says, and then Oscar thinks on some things.
"What about the Spectre? And that Neopolitan girl? You said she was the other Onyx Phantom with Pyrrha, right?" Oscar asks her, remembering everything that she told him about what she saw in Salem's Sanctum. She still remembers the sight of seeing Neo again, when she glared at her with pure hatred.
"Maybe...it depends on what killed him, though. She used blades..." She says to him and Oscar nods.
"You think this could be part of Jacques Schnee's game?" Oscar asks her and she looks at the city as it approaches.
"Either him...or his son." She answers, staring at the city.
Whitley
The proud Schnee Son stands at the balcony of the Schnee Manor, things have calmed down a great deal since the disappearance of his father and the lack of Acolytes of Lien in the city itself. The Kingdom has regained full control of their military as well, after the revelations of Jacques' involvement with the Mercenary Group. Whitley, however, has taken control of the business – officially – and has been working hard to regain the public's trust in the business. Many shares have been lost to the Schnee Dust Company after what he did, but there are still some loyal Shareholders attached to the business.
Whitley has been working very hard to attract more Shareholders to invest in the business again. He has his hands held behind his back as he watches the people of Atlas walking around, his hair is exactly the same but he has grown up. He now has a faint white stubble around his chin, similar to Qrow's five years ago. He clearly has carried on his mother's side of the family when it comes down to the hair colour, for his hair is white. Unlike Jacques Schnee whose hair has turned white from old age. He has also inherited the Icy Cold Office that his father worked in, and like his father, it is still just as cold as always. His attire consists of a short-sleeved white dress shirt, the sleeves fastened just above his elbows by navy blue cuffs, each with twin gold buttons. Over his untucked shirt he wears a light blue vest, with a black handkerchief in his right breast pocket. He also wears a black necktie, navy blue trousers and black dress shoes.
He turns his head slightly when he hears a knock on the door. "Come in." He answers, not actually opening the door physically. The door handle twists and it opens up, stood on the other side is Klein, his hands behind his back as he respectfully bows his head to Whitley who stands there.
"Pardon the interruption, Master Whitley." Klein begins, but Whitley chuckles.
"You interrupt nothing." He says, turning to Klein and walking down the small steps that lead up to the Balcony from his father's office. He walks towards his father's desk and sits down, clasping his hands together as he looks at the man. He even has the same mannerisms as his father, resting his elbows on his table, indoctrinated by the man since he was only a child. "Please, continue." Whitley asks of him, his hand stretched out as he allows the man to speak. Klein clearly does not have any more respect than he did when he slapped Whitley for insulting his mother.
Speaking of which. "Your mother wishes to speak to you." Klein reports and Whitley looks at him and sits back in the chair. He just nods as an answer and Klein walks away from him, when his back is turned, he rolls his eyes and leaves the office. Willow enters after him, she looks much better than she did five years ago. Fully given up the alcohol, she also has been eating healthier as well, looking younger almost as well. Her beauty returned stronger than it already was.
"Hello, mother." Klein greets, as if he is speaking to her on a meeting, and she walks over to him. She wears a beautiful Schnee Dress, very similar to the one that her youngest daughter wore when she was essentially imprisoned at Atlas five years ago.
"Whitley, I have hardly seen you since last Sunday. Are you okay?" She asks him, concerned for him and he smirks.
"Of course I am, why ever wouldn't I be?" Whitley laughs as he sits there, as proud as peacock. But his mother has no time for his crap. Willow can see through that exterior, though, she knows her own family. Whitley suffers from something that she cannot pinpoint, something has always made him despise his sisters more than anything, leaving him only to connect to his father.
"You have been working non-stop; you do not have to continue this on your own." Willow says to him and Whitley scoffs, standing back up from his desk and walking around. He approaches the picture frame that has Weiss' face on it and he picks it up, looking at it. He smirks and then looks back at her without turning his head.
"Strange...isn't it?" Whitley asks his mother and she raises her brow.
"What is?" Willow asks.
"Why he kept this picture of her, after everything she did to our family. He has none of Winter." He points out, and Willow looks around and sadly she cannot see any of herself either and she sighs.
"None of me, either." She says sadly and Whitley continues to hold the photo frame in his hand. But on his desk is a photograph of his son, the only one that actually ever looked up to him. In a strange way, it seems like he does care for his son, and tried to care for his youngest daughter...but why does he hunt her? Why does he keep on trying to kill her and her older sister?
Whitley scoffs when he hears his mother mentioning the lack of pictures of her and he turns to her, still gripping the photograph in his hand. "Why would he?" He asks her and she glares at him with that terrifyingly stern look a mother gives to their bad-mouthing child.
"Excuse me?" She questions and Whitley glares right back.
"How's General Ironwood?" Whitley simply asks and she stammers, stepping back.
Whitley knows of their affair.
"How – How would I know?" She questions, but the lie has become void and transparent to the boy. Whitley shakes his head with disgust at his mother.
"I remember when I was very young, coming home from school and seeing the two of you. I remember seeing you covering yourself with bed sheets as the General left. You tried to tell me you were in the shower and he came by at the wrong moment." He lists, sounding colder and colder as he walks towards his mother with gritted teeth and angered eyes. Willow backs away from him slowly as he approaches her with hatred in his eyes. "When I was young...I remembered the two of you drinking wine and wandering off to the General's Mansion whilst I struggled during the plays." He continues, sounding more and more enraged, resenting her to this day for never being there.
Willow's guilt has never left her for how she treated her own family, for Jacques Schnee is not the only one at fault for the state of their family. Her affair with the General was very pivotal in the divide between the family members. "And you wonder why he has no pictures of you?" He scoffs and she looks away from him with sad eyes, a tear drops from her eye as she stands there. He turns away and returns to his desk, staring at the picture.
He then drops it, the frame slams down onto the ground with force and the glass shatters instantly as it hits the floor. Shards of glass slide across the floor and the piece of paper with young Weiss on it slides across the floor. He then stamps down on it and twists, ripping the paper in two, making Willow gasp. He then glares at her with ire in his blue eyes. Willow looks quite threatened by his presence, seeing his father in him completely, just younger. He clenches his hand into a fist when he stares at her. "Get. Out." He orders with a stern voice and she reaches out to him, begging for forgiveness for all the wrongs she made.
"Whitley..." She whimpers.
"Out! Now!" He demands, lunging forward with furious eyes and she yelps, backing away. The door opens and Klein stands there, hearing the vociferous voice of Whitley Schnee as he yells at his mother like that. She begins to cry with fear from her own son, fear combined with self-hatred.
Maybe if she made different choices...things would be different.
Jacques could have been different.
They could have been a family.
"Miss Schnee?" Klein quietly says as he reaches out for her, he has always cared for her more than he has cared for the boy. But it is clear that the lack of care that he has experienced throughout his life has made him this way.
Whereas the sisters always got what they wanted.
Whitley glares at Klein, his right arm behind his back as he stands there. "Take her out of here, Klein." He demands, his voice cracking as he says it. Klein does so, but not for him, for her. He takes her and leads the crying Schnee Mother from her son and closing the door behind him.
Leaving him alone.
Willow presses her palms against her eyes as she cries, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sobs over her grievance of what she has done to the family. Klein puts his arm round her to calm her down. "Miss Schnee? What did he do to you?" He asks her, sounding very protective over her, as he has been with her and her daughters ever since he was first hired all those years ago. She wipes a tear from her eye and she sniffles.
"Nothing...It was what I didn't do." She says, walking away and Klein watches her walk off. Little does Klein realise that the daughters are not the only ones that suffer, for Whitley suffers from something else entirely.
Loneliness.
Loneliness to the point where he does not know what it feels like to have anything good in his life, and that is why he cares for his father. He stands there in his study alone, feeling the cold chill against his skinny frail body and he sighs, letting the rest of his anger vent out from his body and he punches the table with his fist with rage. He yells as he does it and he gasps with pain, feeling like he just broke his wrist from hitting it so hard. He staggers back from the table and then kicks it with rage, yelling at the table as well.
He was never as strong and special as his sisters, and that made him feel even more isolated. He is weak and frail compared to them. Before he can hurt himself and the desk anymore, however, he hears a call coming from his father's computer. Whitley pauses and looks at the screen, seeing a pending call on there from an individual. He approaches the side of the table and walks round, looking at who it is from. His eyes widen when he sees the name that appears on the screen.
Admiral Darren Ortega.
He looks at it, holding his head high and then keeps his left arm behind his back as he approaches the computer. He pushes his finger onto the same button his father used during his secret calls. The windows are concealed with black metal that can block any equipment listening or seeing through on the conversations and a shield forms inside the room, fully protecting the conversation he is having to keep it all secret.
He then answers the call. The projector emerges from the desk and the light spills from the lens, forming the live feed and image of Darren Ortega. He stands there with his hands behind his back. Whitley stands there and he looks at Ortega, still with his left arm behind his back as he always does. "Admiral." He greets.
"Whitley." Ortega replies as he looks at the young boy.
"How is the situation?" Whitley asks.
"Well it seems your father has become more resourceful than I imagined after the Mad Doctor gave him a safe place to lay low while we set up our next move." Ortega reports as he stands there.
"Well, I'm certain that you did not call me for a catch-up. What is it you need?" Whitley asks him and Ortega chuckles at his clever little mind that he has.
"Straight to the point, I like that." Ortega says as he looks at Whitley. "You see, with your father still in hiding for now, and you are able to rebuild the trust the world has of the Schnee Dust Company, I do not expect much of you. But what I do ask of you is quite personal." Ortega says as he stands there, peaking the curiosity of Whitley.
"I'm listening." Whitley says.
"You know of Pyrrha Nikos? The Onyx Phantom?" He asks him and Whitley nods.
"I have been informed of the events that transpired on the Volcanic Chain Isles, Admiral. I know that she betrayed and fled after assisting the enemy. I ask again, what is it that you ask of me?" Whitley asks as he stands there, remaining proud and proper.
"You have gained significant pull in the Atlesian Politicians; I was hoping you could assist me in luring her out from Beacon Academy, for we do not have the current military force that we need. And with your father remaining ever so secretive of his plans right now...I am forced to ask on you for assistance." Ortega says and Whitley smiles as he stands there, as a genius idea appears in his mind.
"I believe your instincts are correct." Whitley says, making Ortega look even more curious. "You are not the only person trying to find Pyrrha Nikos, you know. President Thaddeus Brimstone is one of them, for he wishes for her to be punished for the lives she took as the Onyx Phantom and her involvement in Salem's Plans." Whitley explains and Darren looks even more interested.
"Do you think you can convince him into arresting her and taking her to Atlas?" Ortega asks him and Whitley laughs.
"Give me the location and she will be arrested before the day is over." Whitley assures and as soon as he says it, Darren sends him the exact coordinates and the same picture of her in the woods, along with some others in the City of Vale, when they were being hunted by the Acolytes. Whitley hears them pop up on his scroll and he looks at his feed as the information is sent to him. He smiles as he looks at him. "Done, but on one condition." He says, stopping Ortega before he could end the call and he looks at him.
"Fair enough, guess I can't expect something for nothing." Ortega agrees. "What's your one condition?"
"Bring me Weiss and Winter Schnee." He states and Ortega raises his brow.
"Why do you want them?" He asks curiously and he clenches his hand into a fist. He then looks at the Giant Armour picture on the wall, for his weapon he is planning to build is still underway. He then looks at Ortega with rage-fuelled eyes.
"Revenge."
Winter
The large airship with four folded out arms, long flag-like fibres dangling behind them, moves towards the Academy of Beacon. She has finally arrived with some soldiers to help defend and assist in rebuilding the school. The Airship decelerates as it approaches the landing pad and the wings fold round as it sets down on the landing pad, the engines cool down. The door slides open and she walks down the ramp proudly as she keeps her head high and hands behind her back. A couple of Atlesian Knights walk with her, their rifles in hand as they act as Bodyguards. Her soldiers and Knights walk towards the areas of which that require assistance, and she walks towards Beacon Tower.
She stands inside of the elevator as it flies up the centre of the tower, her eyes closed as she waits and remains silent. Whilst she waits, she looks at her scroll at some of the things that have passed. There is a picture of her and Qrow together when they were on a mission together, she assisted them for a short while in searching for the Spring Maiden, but was called back to Atlas after a while. The picture is one of the few goofy pictures of her ever seen, and even then she still looks pretty proper and in good form.
She smiles at the camera as Qrow made her jump with a picture on her own scroll and she smiles when she looks at it. The two of them are slowly developing something again, now that things have been calmer; they have been able to talk about things. She lowers her scroll down as she thinks on one of the things he said, about their one-night stand...but it was not that at all.
"Why did you leave me that night?" Winter asked him.
"I..." Qrow sighed as he thought on Summer, the woman he loved with all his heart. "I was scared." Qrow admitted and her eyes widened when he said that, she gasped and heart began to beat extremely fast.
"What – What do you mean?" Winter asked Qrow, anticipation in her voice.
"I couldn't lose anyone else...not after Summer." Qrow said and she looked into his red eyes fearfully for his safety, for his kind heart that he hides from most people. "I thought that...If I left before you woke...nothing bad would happen. And it didn't...that's why I left." He said to her, grief in his voice for how he left her.
"I'm sorry Qrow..." She whispered to him, caressing his cheek with her bare hand.
"Don't be...Summer died because I was careless, I thought nothing bad would happen to her. That the worst thing that would happen is that she would be hurt at the very least...not that she would die." Qrow told her and she held his hand tight with a look she has never gave anybody.
Love.
She was angry at him when they met again at Beacon because of how he left her, and he was angry in return for her getting involved in something that could get her killed. As it did for Summer. He smirked as he looked at her. "Why do I fall for girls named after the seasons?" He chuckled and she giggled in return. She leant in to kiss him, but he moved away from her, her eyes widened sadly and he looked at her the same way.
He wants to...but he can't.
He can't move on.
She opens her eyes after that state of memory she was just in and she feels her heart pounding the same way. She tightens her hand into a fist to steady her heartbeat, she knows she should not feel that way, but she cannot help it. He was honest with her; about what happened that night...he even admitted that he fell for her. But he wouldn't let her kiss him. She opens her large blue eyes and looks ready to speak to Glynda, who is sat inside of the office that belongs to Ozpin. Ever since his disappearance, she has taken over the role as Headmaster until he can return back to his duty.
Little do they know that Qrow is returning right now with him found and to be brought home. The elevator doors open and Glynda looks up and sees Winter stood there. Glynda holds the edge of her glasses and then smiles at Winter when she sees her walking towards her desk, and Winter smiles back. The Five Year Gap has made the huntsmen and huntresses feel more like a family than ever before. They visit often and talk more often, since the Knights of Grimm made them truly realise how little time they all really have until something could end it all again. "Winter." Glynda happily says as she stands up and Winter approaches her.
"Good to see you again, Glynda." She greets as she hugs Glynda. They hold each other for a couple seconds and Glynda walks over to the jug of tea.
"Tea?" She asks her.
"Oh go on then, two sugars." Winter says as she sits down in the seat opposite to where Glynda is sat. Glynda pours the tea in and puts two sugar cubes into her mug, handing the hot mug to her. She takes it and takes a sip of the beverage.
"So...to what do I owe the pleasure?" Glynda asks as she sits down.
"Oh you know, the beautiful weather...my sister...all that snazzy stuff." Winter jokingly says and makes Glynda smile.
"It is a lovely day, but I also know that you would not spend all this time travelling here to chat about the weather." Glynda points out. Winter sighs and sets her mug of tea down onto the place on the table.
"Well...In all honesty it was General Ironwood that asked me to come here. He brings some...troublesome news." Winter says to her. Concern forms on Glynda's face and she listens to the Schnee's words with full attention.
"What kind of troublesome news?" Glynda asks her.
Winter reaches into the pocket of her attire and she pulls out the pictures taken of the Knight of Fury and sets them down before Glynda. Glynda's eyes widen with fear when she sees the Knight sat on his throne of trashed, rusted cars. Skin burning ferociously as he sits there, speaking to his elemental warrior. Glynda's eyes then turn to Winter as she just looks back at her. "Fury...they are still out there." Glynda realises with a shaky voice.
"You had doubts?" Winter questions with a short laugh.
"More like hopes...I was hoping that the Volcanic Chain Isles would have been the last we would see of them." She says to Winter, taking her glasses off to bury her head in her hands. She did not see much of the four Spectral Knights, but she also saw enough of them for a lifetime.
"We never freed their souls, so until we learn more about who they are and figure out how to bring them closure, the curse that controls them will never leave. And they can never be in peace." Winter explains, remembering the things that Kragen Nox told them, about the tales of the Knights. And the truth behind them.
"Who else knows about this?" Glynda asks her.
"Just Ironwood, myself and you at the moment. But the others need to know, my sister, Ruby, all of them." Winter tells her and Glynda nods, showing how much trust has developed between her and the students.
"They know as much as we do, maybe more. Strange feeling, that." Glynda says with a short laugh.
"Ain't that the truth?" She scoffs as she thinks back at the old days, the differences that the times have. When they used to have all the answers, now they do not have the first clue of what is going to happen next. "Other than that...how have things been here at Beacon?" Winter asks Glynda curiously, trying to get off the scary matter of the Knight of Fury returning.
"Well...we've made some headway in repairing the school. Miss Polendina is getting better and remembering things without that drive of hers." Glynda lists as she thinks on everything that has happened. She does not seem to bother to even mention Grif since he is of no interest to someone as proud and proper as Winter is. "Just been repairing the school as best as we can, we've got kids back in the campus learning and training again." She explains to Winter, and she nods as a response.
"Is my sister here? I'd like to see her and give her these pictures." Winter states.
"No, Weiss and her team, along with Sun, Neptune and Oscar have gone to Vacuo to look at the assassination on the Shade Headmaster." Glynda tells her, and Winter's eyes widen with disbelief when she first hears the news.
"Assassination?" She questions.
"You haven't heard?" Glynda asks her.
"No! What happened?" She asks with a concerned voice.
"Well, all we know is that the Headmaster and his assistant were killed by somebody in the school. Who it was and how it happened? We don't know, that is why they are going there to figure out what happened there." Glynda explains, and Winter pushes her hand through her white hair.
"Damn...you think it's the Acolytes of Lien?" Winter asks, the same sorts of questions that were being discussed between Ruby and Oscar.
"Maybe...but it doesn't seem like their M.O to assassinate a Headmaster like that." Glynda says.
"Neither is launching a full scale assault on the Volcanic Chain Isles, or working for Salem and the Knights. But they did that as well." She points out, and Glynda is unable to argue with her sound logic.
"I guess you're right." She sighs. They continue to think on the possibilities, Glynda stands up from the desk and she walks towards the glass of the office, looking down at the school. Her eyes widen when she sees the three horses galloping into the school.
"Ozpin..." She gasps and Winter looks at her with confusion.
"Ozpin?" She questions.
"Look." Glynda says with disbelief when she looks at the three riders. Winter looks down and she gasps when she sees Qrow, before even noticing that Ozpin is on the back of the horse. Glynda runs past Winter and gets to the elevator, and Winter follows her, getting inside as the doors close and it flies back down the tower.
"They found him? After all this time?" Winter says with scepticism in her voice. "He best have some answers for us." Winter says, almost like she is angry with Ozpin, but Glynda has remained silent. Only the look of worry is present on her face, and the doors open when they reach the ground floor. They both run towards the three, Qrow carries Ozpin in his arms and Winter looks at him and then the unconscious Ozpin.
"We need to get him into a hospital." Qrow tells them.
Qrow
Ozpin lays in a bed, hooked up to life support to keep him alive. The machines monitor his heartbeat, and it is steady but still quite faint. It is like he is in some form of hibernation, his eyes closed and skin quite pale. His body is thin, and somehow that structure managed to keep him alive for five years. His body feels cold, like he has been laying in a tomb of ice for five years, Glynda sits next to Ozpin and looks at him in awe. She thought he was dead for a very long time. She turns to Qrow who leans against the wall with his arms crossed. "How did you find him?" Glynda asks.
"Yeah, I thought you three were on the Spring Maiden's Trail?" Winter questions, confused of how this could have possibly happened.
"We were, we found an Arkhoni Structure in Vale not far from here. One of Raven's Men snapped a picture of the Spring Maiden's symbol on a rock inside of that place. We didn't even realise he was there, we were expecting to find a clue to find her, but instead we found Oz instead." Qrow explains, remembering how it all happened.
"I only guessed that it was a button, didn't expect it to be one though." Taiyang says with a shrug.
"Well if I've learned anything from Arkhoni Ruins...press and pull anything." Raven says.
"Bow chicka bow wow." Taiyang replies, making Raven giggle at the dirty comment.
"Guys, can we focus?" Glynda asks the two kids when she looks at Ozpin at her side, and they nod, acting seriously again. But they are still thinking of dirty things in their heads, things that Qrow would rather not imagine with his twin sister stood next to him. "What was the structure?" Glynda asks.
"We're not overly sure." Taiyang begins. "It looked like an Arena when we first looked at it, but I saw a button looking thing so I pushed it. The ground opened and Ozpin rose from it." Taiyang explains.
"It must have been some kind of stasis chamber." Qrow suggests with a shrug.
Glynda checks his vitals and notices something peculiar. His aura is not there at all. "His aura is completely gone." She points out...then Qrow has an epiphany.
"Could that thing be the reason why he is bound with Oscar?" Qrow suggests and they all remain silent as they think on the very good suggestion that Qrow had just made.
"It's possible." Glynda agrees.
"But why?" Raven wonders. They continue to contemplate. Winter then notices some of the cuts on Qrow and some concern forms for him.
"What happened?" Winter asks him, raising her brow and he touches one of the cuts. Like flashbacks from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he hears the screeching sounds of the Skeletal Riders that pursued them. The metal plates fused onto their bones with burning red eyes and demonic voices. Some speaking in ancient tongues and other speaking in English. He then looks at Raven and so does Taiyang.
"Raven...you said you knew what those things were?" Qrow asks her.
"What things?" Winter asks, more concerned now.
Raven sighs, scratching the back of her head. "I've faced them before, when we split up to follow the different leads? I teleported there, and they must have sensed my portal usage and tracked me down there. They attacked us, we barely got out of there alive." Raven explains, remembering the same sounds that they made. The roar of the Nuckelavee Horses that pursued them.
"What are they?" Taiyang asks her.
"I don't know...but I think they work for the Knights of Grimm, whatever they are. They reminded me of Death." She explains, remembering the burning sockets in Death's skull.
"Or the Guardian Knights." Qrow adds, remembering those things as well. The souls of Silver Eyed Warriors trapped in Isomacium covered corpses.
Protect the Relic!
The voice echoes throughout his mind, the determination that they had to protect that Relic due to the thing controlling them for its own protection...their voices...enough to haunt any man. "Can you describe what attacked you?" Glynda asks.
Qrow nods. "They were these Riders...they came out of nowhere when we were riding back. Now it makes sense why you told us to take the horses...they could have tracked us down faster." Qrow realises when he looks at Raven and she just nods. Qrow turns back to Glynda and Winter to continue his description of the beings that pursued them. "They were these skeletal things, humanoid in shape, but were covered in metal armour and had glowing red eyes. They spoke with these demonic voices, some spoke in Arkhoni Tongue, others in common." Qrow continues as he describes them, remembering the good look he got of one of them as it stared at him when it went to attack him.
Winter walks over to him after noticing the real fear that courses within him. He has seen many things, but nothing has frightened him like those things did. They were lucky that they got away...but if the Knights have an army of undead warriors...then they have something much worse than Mercenaries to worry about. "Are you alright?" Winter asks him. Qrow nods when he looks at her, she has been able to relieve the fear before, and she has accomplished it again.
"I've never heard of anything like that." Glynda says to them.
"What about Kragen and the Architect?" Winter asks and they can't help but wonder if he could be of any help to them. But Qrow shakes his head.
"We can't wait...the Spring Maiden cannot be far away. And the longer we dally around here, the further she gets." Qrow denies.
"If this threat is as serious as you say it is, Qrow...he needs to know." Glynda says.
"Then tell him, but we need to keep moving. Those things were coming after Ozpin, if they were after him then they must have also been coming after Spring as well." Qrow says, and Raven nods.
"He's right. We need to keep moving." Raven agrees.
Winter sighs as she looks at Qrow and he turns and walks outside. Winter follows him out and she stops him outside of the room. He looks at her and she holds both his hands with hers, looking up at him. "We need to talk about this thing between us, Qrow." Winter softly says to him and he looks away from her. Because whenever he looks at her, he only sees someone else that could die because of him.
"I can't." He refuses as he tries to walk away from her but she stops him, holding him there. He looks at her and she looks at him.
"I get it...there isn't much time...but it does not mean that you can't take a break." Winter whispers to him and he looks down at the floor.
"I wish I could...but those things that came after us..." He explains, fearful for everyone's sake, not his own. "I can't risk it, if we lose Spring we could lose everything. We nearly lost everything when Amber was killed, we were lucky that Cinder saw the light." Qrow explains and she looks down at the floor.
"You're afraid those things could take her power?" Winter asks him.
"Yes, they are not human. And we don't know what the Knights are capable of...who knows if they can just consume the soul itself?" Qrow asks her and she looks down again.
"I don't know...but all I'm asking of you is to come back to me. We need to do something about this thing." She says to him, rubbing her thumb across his hand and he gently touches his forehead to hers. He wants to move on but he cannot stop thinking about Summer, even though she would want him to move on...he cannot get that fear of getting Winter killed because of his bad luck again.
"I will...But I have to go." He says when he sees Raven and Taiyang walking out of the hospital past him.
"I'm heading off as well." She says.
"Where?" He asks her.
"Vacuo...did you hear about what happened?" Winter inquires and the others stop and turn to her.
"No...what happened?" Raven asks her.
"The Shade Headmaster was assassinated. Your daughters and their team, along with Sun, Neptune and Oscar have gone there to figure out what happened." She then shows Qrow the picture of Fury and they look at it. Their eyes widen and Qrow tightens his grip on the picture with anger when he sees the face of that Knight again.
"Fury..." Qrow quietly says with anger.
"I had hoped to never see him again...but of course we would." Raven scoffs when she looks at the picture.
"I need to get these pictures to them, they need to know." Winter says to them and Qrow nods.
"Make sure they're safe?" Raven asks her and Winter smiles and nods.
"Don't worry. I'm sure they're fine." She says, and she kisses Qrow on the cheek with a kind smile, turning and walking away from him towards where her ships is docked. Qrow watches her walk away and he smiles as she leaves. He then turns to Raven and Taiyang and he follows them.
Back on the road again...
Ruby
The Airship lands at the docking bay of Vacuo, the engines cool down and they step out of the ship, looking at the large city.
"Now..." She says as she stretches her arms out.
"Where's Shade?"