Chapter 38

Bad to Worse

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Flashback

"Scroll Communications / Tv"

Location / Date / Time Change

As the group continued to drive through the frozen forest, Maria finished her tale and turned back to the other. "It... can't be..." Qrow mumbled in disbelief. "You're the Grimm Reaper. You were a legend... and then you disappeared."

"How does a legend just disappear?" Oscar asked before scooting back. Natsu hung his pale head and arms over the railing as Yang patted his back.

"She never used her name or showed her face." Qrow continued. "Everyone thought you were just laying low. We soon came to the conclusion you were dead. But the stories... I based my scythe on yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper."

"Then I bet I'm just a big disappointment." The elderly woman replied. "So you aren't too far off."

"How can you say that?" Blake asked.

"Child, Huntsman and Huntresses are supposed to protect others, even at the cost of their lives." Maria answered. "But as soon as I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery I was too scared to fight. I was afraid that someone would find me again and finish what the others started. You shouldn't try to be anything like me, not when some of you are stronger already."

She glanced over to Yang and smiled a bit. "It's... comforting to know that your generation seems up to the task of this world's problem. My only regret is that I couldn't do more to make it better."

They drove in silence a bit before Ruby spoke up. "Maybe you still can. Teach me to use my powers like you did."

Before the elderly woman could answer, a pinging noise caught everyone's attention. Ruby pulled out her Scroll and found not only had she gotten a signal, but Jaune was calling her. The bike came to a stop as Ruby answered the call. "Hello?"

"RUBY!" The girl pulled her phone away from the joyous scream. "I've been checking my Scroll for your signal since we made it to the city! Just hang on, we'll meet you at the entrance!"

"The city?" Ruby repeated before her signal increased when she moved it to the north. Vergil reved the engine and the bike drove up a dirt hill before coming to a stop, just as the sun came up.

The group looked around him and found themselves stating at Argus. Vergil smiled before slowly driving down the steep hill. But the speed overtook the bike and it started flying towards the city. Thinking quickly, Yang jumped over and dug her heels into the ground, slowing them down enough before they crashed into the wall.

The group checked into the city and waited by the garage system when Nora suddenly ran up from behind and tackled Oscar. The other four weren't far behind as they raced over and hugged the others. "Who's the old lady?" Nora asked before getting hit with Maria's cane.

"You guys, I've got a surprise for you." Yang teased as she reached behind the garage.

She pulled out a nervous Natsu, who slowly waved at the five. "H-hey guys."

.

.

.

"NATSU!"

Nora tackled him to the ground before Jaune, Ren, Ryuko and Aerith raced over and hugged him as well. They pulled him up and they started shaking his body in joy.

"It's so good to see you up and awake again." Jaune said before turning back to Ruby. "It's good to see you all again."

"So... this place is a lot bigger than I thought it would be." Yang chuckled, staring up at the massive wall.

"Argus is the largest non-capital city in all of Remnant." Ryuko chuckled. "Come on, we'll give you the grand tour." The group walked into the city and boarded a trolly. The second it started moving, the momentum caused Natsu to hang over the side again. "Huh, this is new."

"This has been happening ever since he woke up." Blake said.

"Maybe its a side effect after shutting off his control?" Yang suggested. The trolly came to a stop and the blonde helped her boyfriend off. "I think we should start looking for an Inn?"

"Yeah, where have you guys been staying?" Oscar asked as Jaune was the last to step off.

"Uh... well..." The blonde male mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

He flinched at the voice and turned around to see a young woman with wavy, dirty blond hair and blue eyes waving at them from the other side of the road. She wore an orange top with a beige vest, light brown trousers with orange stitches on each side, and dark brown boots. In addition, she had her wedding ring on her left hand and a bootlace necklace around her neck.

In her arm was a small child with dark skin, brown hair and eyes. Blake blinked twice before turning to Jaune. "Wait, is that-"

"...Hey sis." He confirmed, making Ruby gasp in joy.

Saphron's House

"I can't believe I'm finally meeting your sister!" Ruby excitedly shouted as she sat next to Oscar on the couch. Yang and Ryuko were on the floor, the blonde flying a toy airship over the baby Adrien. "I have so many questions."

"I can give you the run down later." Nora said with a smile.

"Could you please not." Jaune huffed with his arms crossed.

"Why not?" His sister teased, pinching his cheek. "I love telling stories about my baby brother."

"I AM NOT A BABY!" He shouted annoyed, pulling the girls arm down. "THAT is a baby!" He pointed at his nephew, who merely huffed and crossed his arms in annoyance. Yang and Ryuko went gaga over the action when the child suddenly stood up and walked over to Natsu's swaying tail.

Yang had apologized for her mothers action, even though the tail was already halfway regrown. Adrian grabbed the tail and pulled the tender limb, making Natsu cry out. "Hey! Don't do that."

The child giggled at the Faunus as Natsu's tail waggled back and forth. Blake eyed it like it was a cat toy, making Yang chuckle. The female Faunus cleared her throat before she picked up a photo off the shelf. "So, you're the only Arc who lives here?" She asked Saphron.

"Yep, moved the second I could." She replied as Blake and Vergil stared at the photo of Jaune and his siblings as children. "Jaune and I are the only two living away from home. I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis." Jaune rolled his eyes at Saphron's tease, but blocked her hand when she went to pinch his cheek again.

The door to the house opened and another woman walked in. This one was a young woman with short dark brown hair and eyes. She has a single smooth bang that goes down her forehead and in between her eyes. She wears a dark navy collar shirt with a light-blue cardigan, dark-gray jeans and red sneakers. She also wears red glasses and a wedding ring as bags of groceries filled her arms.

"Everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta." Saphron said.

Terra looked up at the sheer number of people and gasped a bit. "Wow, quite a party." She chuckled. "You weren't kidding. Hun, could you give me a hand, please?" The blonde raced into the kitchen after her wife.

"Are you sure you don't mind us staying here?" Blake asked.

"Not at all." Terra called out. "We're more than happy to house Huntsmen and Huntresses. You all risk so much to keep people like us safe. This is the least we can do, especially for an elite huntsman like yourself." The two women walked out carrying trays of sandwiches.

"I must say, I was surprised to learn you had students helping you. Is that even legal?" The married couple set the trays down before Terra picked up her son.

Ruby elbowed her uncle and he snapped back to reality. "Oh, of course." He replied as the others started grabbing the food. "Think of this as an extended training mission. I was a professor, after all. Even went to the same school as these kids. And let me ya, theses kids are way better than where most were in my day."

The drunkard grabbed a meal and started eating when Terra Cotta's Scroll started buzzing. With a sigh, she handed her son to Saphron and pulled out her phone. "Excuse me, I'll be right back."

She walked into another room before answering the call. "Is everything okay?" Aerith asked in concern.

"Oh, it will be." Saphron said as she and Adrian set down on the couch. "Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower. "Unfortunately, the militaries radar is also housed there. Guess who's getting unfairly blamed." She teased her son before turning to Ruby. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?"

The scythe user swallowed her mouthful before answer the question. "Well, we're trying to make our way to Atlas. We'll probably try the military base first."

The five who were in the city first all shared a glance before Jaune spoke up. "Yeah, we tried that already. And it didn't go too well."

"Jaune, what did you do?" Vergil asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing! I swear!" He replied.

"Please, how bad could it be?" Yang asked.

The Next Day

Atlas Military Base

The massive metal gate closed in everyone's face, much to their surprise. Yang raced over and grabbed the bar. "Come on, you didn't even listen to us."

"The orders are clear." The guard declared. "The Mistral/Atlas border is closed. Have a good day."

"But-"

"Have. A good. Day." He repeated.

Qrow had enough of this and spoke up. "Look, if you don't want to believe that I'm friends with Ironwood-"

"GENERAL Ironwood." The guard declared.

"Whatever." The professional Huntsman rolled his eyes. "Fine, you don't believe me. But we have Weiss Schnee and Ryuko Matoi with us and we're trying to get them home."

The guard motioned for the two girls to walk forward and they did. He studied the pair briefly before he pulled back. "Very well, I'll let you speak with the commanding officer. I'll get her at once."

The guard turned and walked into the base, leaving the gate unguarded. Blake raised an eyebrow at his behavior. "Did anyone else find him-"

"Incredibly weird?" Ruby asked.

"Unbearably boring?" Vergil asked.

"Annoying?" Ryuko added, finally getting a nod.

Maria mumbled a bit, confusing everyone. "I... think I know this commanding officer." She confessed.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Natsu asked. "If you two are friends, then maybe they can help us out."

"I didn't say we were friends." Maria replied.

"Oh boy... what happened?" Yang asked, pulling her hand away from her nose.

"It might have something to do with an extra bag of cashews." The elderly woman answered, confusing everyone even more. "I come here once every ten years to get my eyes checked up in Atlas. I didn't think they'd put me on the additional screening list."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Qrow asked in seriousness.

"Now, now. Let's not give up hope yet." The woman replied. "...Maybe she died."

The gate opened up and the guard stepped to the side. "Introducing Special Operative Caroline Cordovin!" Out stepped a small elderly woman with grey hair in a white uniform.

Caroline walked over and stared at Maria. "Witch."

"She-Devil." Maria replied.

The officer glanced over and noticed the mob of people behind the former Grimm Reaper. "It seems you've chosen to smuggle larger contraband this time."

"Well, look at that." Maria chuckled. "It seems the saying it wrong. They say time changes people, but it seems that stick is still shoved right up-"

"Miss... Cordovin, was it?" Ruby asked, thankfully cutting off Maria. "My name is Ruby Rose and I was wondering if you would hear us-"

"I already heard what your other friends had to say, Miss Rose." The operative interrupted, glancing at JNR and Aerith behind a yellow stripped line. "I told you all to leave yesterday!"

"And I told you we had to get through!" Nora shouted as Aerith and the two boys held her back.

"You civilians seem to be incapable of understand our mission in Argus." Caroline said, turning back to the main group. "So I'll say this slowly. The very safety of this town, and all the gifts we've given you from the glorious kingdom of Atlas. And as commander here, it is my job to rule them as I alone have the wit and experience to do so."

"More likely Atlas wanted to get you as far away from the kingdom as possible." Maria teased, angering the special operative.

"You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates!" Caroline growled. "This city wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for our ancestors, and what do we get in return? The whole world is ready to jump at our throats and put a knife to it."

"Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with Beacon." Ruby begged. "We were there."

"No one is happy about the embargo, but we both know that General Ironwood is just worried." Ryuko added. "It's why we need to talk to-"

"The general is no coward!" Cordovin shouted back. "Atlas is strong! If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemies than so be it! Atlas will prevail!"

Vergil leaned over to Natsu and waved his finger in a circular motion near his head. "Ya think?"

"I saw that!" Caroline shouted, scaring the two teens. The elderly woman took a deep breath before turning to Weiss and Ryuko. "If Miss Schnee and Miss Matoi have truly come to their senses and wish to return to their families, then of course the Atlas military will escort them home.

"But the kingdom will not be responsible for her friends of..." She turned to Blake and Natsu before giving them a quick look. "Questionable character."

"Oh boy, here we go." Natsu huffed as Blake lowered her ears in shame.

"And what does that mean?" Weiss asked as she and Ryuko stepped in front of their friends.

"It means we're done."

The gate closed and locked in front of them as the commander walked back into the base. "So... do we wanna let them go home and try to contact Ironwood? Maybe get us all a ride there in a couple of days?" Vergil suggested, only earning him a punch from his girlfriend.

"No way, no how are Weiss and I going with... her." Ryuko declared. "Besides the second we get back there, old daddy Schnee will lock her up like a prisoner." Weiss hung her head before Ryuko put her hand on the snowette's shoulder. "We're not going to leave you."

"She's right." Ruby added. "We'll find a way to get there together." Weiss smiled at the scythe user before Qrow grumbled and walked into view, heading back into town. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan?" He repeated. "The plan just got shut in our faces three times over. I'm getting a drink."

He continued to walk away before Ruby quickly caught up to him. "Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try and-" He palmed her face and pushed her back, never breaking his stride.

"What's his problem?" Jaune asked. "It's not your fault we can't go on."

"If he's gonna be a jerk, then we can come up with something without him." Nora declared. "I mean, Ozpin is with us now. He knows what to do."

"Wait, what?" Natsu asked as he turned to the five who were first in Argus. "You know about Ozpin? Okay, seriously. Who doesn't know this secret at this point?" The six noticed the downtrodden looks on RWBY's face as Vergil rubbed the back of his head. "What?"

Saphron's House

Jaune cried out in anger before punching a wall, cracking the wood. "Everything we did was for NOTHING!" He declared.

"That's not true." Blake said.

"Really?" Nora asked. "Cause it sure sounds like it."

"This can't be true." Natsu mumbled, holding his head in his hands. "Are you sure you heard this Jinn right?"

"We heard every word she said, saw everything she showed up." Vergil replied. "Salem tried all manner of suicide known to man, and a few I think she just made up. Nothing worked."

"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?" Ren asked.

Silence filled the room as Aerith and Ryuko hung their heads. "Jinn said we couldn't KILL her." Vergil spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "She said that Ozpin can't beat her. But she can't see the future... That means we still have a chance."

"Vergil is right." Oscar spoke up for the first time. "Trust us, we know none of this is great. But we aren't the bad guys."

"Are we sure about that?" Jaune asked, slowly turning around to the farm boy before marching over. "He's in your head, isn't he? Did you already know about this?"

"He found out the same time we all did!" Weiss shouted when Jaune grabbed Oscar and slammed him against the wall.

"How much longer can we even trust him!?" The armored teen demanded. "How do we even know that it's really him!? What if we've been talking to that liar this whole time!?"

Natsu rushed over and pulled Jaune away from the terrified farm boy. "Jaune, stop it."

The blonde turned and punched Natsu in the face, dazing him enough for Jaune to grab him by the throat. "And you!? You knew about all of this before any of us! How can we trust you!? How can we trust either of you!?"

Yang rushed over and pulled on the blonde, her power freezing Jaune's armor over. "Let him go, now!" She demanded.

"He was under Salem's control for months! Who's to say he won't fall under it again!" The male demanded an answer, ignoring the increasing chill on his arm as Natsu grabbed his face. "How many more innocent people have to die because of your lies!?"

"JAUNE!" Ruby shouted, catching everyones attention. Oscar was crumbled on the floor in fear as Yang finally pulled her boyfriend away from Jaune, letting him breath again.

The armored teen looked at his hands and turned before he walked up the stairs before slamming a door shut. "Is... Is he gonna be okay?" Yang asked.

"I don't know!" Nora answered before going after her team leader.

"I think... it would be best of we had some time to ourselves." Ren added before following the two.

"Maybe we could all use some space." Ryuko added before standing up from next to Vergil. Oscar stared at the door as the two walked out before Aerith walked over to him, checking him for injuries.

RWBY sighed in defeat before their leader walked to the garden out back. She pulled out her Scroll and called Qrow, only for the phone to go to voicemail. In anger, she threw the Scroll in the grass. "I hope you know I came out here to avoid the yelling." The cloaked girl turned and saw Maria sitting in a chair.

"Sorry..." She mumbled, looking down in shame before jumping off the porch. "The others went to get food for tonight."

"Why not go with them?" Maria asked, putting her apple down.

"...I don't know." Ruby sighed as she sat down on the wood. "I don't know anything. What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don't even have a plan. Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin hasn't woken up and even of he did, I don't know if we can trust him. Jinn is an option, but we only have one question left to ask... I feel like I'm letting everyone down."

"You know, you really should give yourself more credit." Maria spoke up, shocking Ruby. "And for the record, that's not a complement. If you're so tired of not knowing anything, why don't we discuss those eyes of yours?"

Ruby perked up and took to her feet. "Oh, yes Ma'am. I would be honored."

"Sit down!" The elderly woman ordered, making Ruby drop to her knees. "Now, let's start with what you do know. Tell me."

Ruby's eyes wandered around the ground before she spoke. "Silver eyed people are supposed to be great warriors... And at the fall of Beacon, I turned a giant wyvern into stone." Maria shook her head in disappointment. "Look, if I already knew everything about them, I wouldn't be asking about them!"

"You're yelling." Maria chastise, making Ruby sit at attention. "I can't really blame you. I had my father to teach me, and even he didn't have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given everything I've learned."

"Was he a Huntsman too?" Ruby asked.

"Back then, it wasn't an official title." Maria chuckled back. "I only knew him as an old soldier and an excellent teacher. He fought in the Great War, and when that ended, he traveled to different towns, taking care of whatever problems they had. And then I came along, and he taught me everything he knew. Never attended one of those fancy academies, but I scored higher on the exam board than any other Huntress that day."

"He must have been proud." Ruby said.

The older woman chuckled back. "He would have scolded me for showing off... He had never been about to find much information on our abilities. Only legends of warriors who's eyes shone like mirrors, their eyes illuminating the darkness of the world. He found so little in fact, that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare, unless something was actively wiping them out.

"I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know, it wasn't enough. I owe my life to my training, and my Semblance. Those two things saved me that day, and they are still your most valuable assets."

"Your Semblance?" Ruby asked in confusion.

Maria held her hand out to the side and a lemon dropped into it. "Preflexes." She chuckled. "A silly name, I know. It's hard to explain, but I can sense every thing better than most and react to attacks almost before they happen. Combine that with my training and ability to turn Grimm to stone... you become the Grimm Reaper."

Ruby's eyes went wide in excitement at the promise she held. "So... how do I laser beam giant monsters with my eyes?"

Maria merely raised her cane and whacked Ruby on the head. "First, you stop thinking like that." She replied. "I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What do all those moments have in common?"

The young girl lowered her hands from her beaten head. "I... was scared, stressed. Is it emotional, like unlocking a Semblance?"

"Emotional, yes." Maria nodded. "But it's much more focus than that. Think about what you wanted at that moment?"

Ruby gripped her hands together and looked up. "I... wanted to protect my friends."

"Exactly." Maria said, her eyes focusing on Ruby. "It is the desire to preserve, the love of life which fuels the light within you. And make no mistake: it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation or at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The creatures of Grimm were made by Acnologia, the God of Darkness.

"But your light comes from his brother, Igneel. Do recall what Jinn showed us?"

Ruby thought back to the story told to them, focusing on the minor fight between the brothers. "His eyes..." She mumbled before standing up in excitement. "So, how do we get started?"

"It's not that easy." Maria confessed before moving her hand up. A small butterfly landed on her finger and she took care not to scare it. "The light only works in the presence of Grimm, meaning you can only get trial-by-fire. But what you can do is focus on creating a state of mind you can tap into when you need it.

"For me, it was thinking about my father. But for him, it was thinking about my mother. The one constant all situations is the thought of a love. Don't think about your light as a means to destroy evil, but a way to protect the people of Remnant. To protect what you love most."

Ruby stared at the butterfly as her mind started thinking over everything. "But... that can't be right." She mumbled, confusing the elderly woman. "You said that the light only reacts to Grimm, but I used it during out battle at Haven. It makes sense that Natsu would be affected, but it also reacted to Cinder and Neo. And-and at the farm, Yang was also affected."

The former huntress stared at the insect in confusion. "Interesting... Maybe there's something you just weren't seeing."

"RUBY!"

Both scythe users turned to see Natsu and Yang peer out the door. Ruby quickly went in the house and smiled at the group. "Oh, guys."

"What's going on?" Jaune asked as his team came down the stairs.

Yang and Natsu shared a look before the Maiden told them. "It's Oscar. He's missing."

"What do you mean missing?" Ruby asked in concern.

"We mean he's not here." Natsu replied. "Aerith went to check on him after the... incident. When he didn't respond, she opened the door and found the window was opened."

"Well, we can't just stand here! Call Qrow! Split up! We have to find him!" Ruby declared before the group raced out of the house.

The sun had long since set over the city but no one had found the farm boy yet. "Oscar!" Jaune shouted as he, his team and his sister walked the streets.

Nora did the same before her oldest friends turned to the blondes on the right. "This city is enormous. He could have gone anywhere."

"This is all my fault." Jaune said aloud. "I over reacted."

"I still don't understand what really happened. Was it about the mission?" Saffron asked.

"It's... complicated to talk about." Nora uneasily answered.

"I know, I know. Top secret." The elder Arc replied. "Did he do something wrong?"

"No, no." Her brother replied. "We just got some new information and... it's going to be a lot harder than we thought."

"If it was easy, it wouldn't be important." Saffron tried to cheer them on, but the uncertainty never left their minds. "Well if you want, you could stay in Mistral. Get your licenses at Haven and come back to Argus. There's a lot of good you three can do here. I know your mission is important, but it's not like you're the only ones who can do it."

"It's not that simple." Her brother replied as they rounded a corner.

The walked a bit more before noticing that she had stopped. "Well, I should go pick up Adrian from day care. Terra knows what happened, so we'll meet you later. Good luck." She turned around and left the three alone.

With NVAR

"Anything?" Ryuko asked as she caught up with the rest of her team.

"Nothing." Vergil shock his head, as did Aerith and Natsu. "You know, this would be a lot easier of you would fly up and search from the air." He said to his partner.

"I'm not going to cause a panic from people who see me." Natsu replied. "And this city is massive. There's no way I could even see him from that high."

"Well we have to keep looking." Aerith said. "He would do the same for us."

"I'm not so sure..." Natsu mumbled, catching his team off guard. "I mean... he's only a kid. He's not trained, he hasn't faced anything we have, he shouldn't be here. It's all Ozpin's fault... He and those damned gods..."

"You can't be suggesting we just give up." Ryuko said. "We've come this far, been through too much to just turn tail and run."

"It's different for you than it is me." The team leader replied, coming to a stop as his team turned to him. "I was raised in this. Taught that Salem was this being of pure evil and Ozpin was humanities only hope. I never questioned any of it, I just took it at face value. But this whole thing with Jinn... I don't know what believe anymore..."

He pushed through the three as they all stared at their leader. Aerith looked up before glancing to the side, and she did a double take. "Oscar!" She raced over and the other three followed her, finding the boy buying a train ticket. "Oscar!"

The farm boy turned and stepped back in shock, leaving his money on the counter."W-what are you guys doing here?" He mumbled in shock.

"Looking for you." Ryuko replied. "We've all been worried sick when you ran away. Why would you do that?"

Vergil glanced down at the counter and picked up the money. "You're going home? You can't just go home."

"Yes I can." Oscar replied.

"What makes you-"

"Because I'm scared!" The shout caught the four off guard. "I'm scared I'm going to lose who I am! That I'm going to be nothing more than just another blur in Ozpin's life. Or is it Ozma's?" He grabbed his head and cried out in anger. "I hate this! I just want to go back to my normal life!"

Natsu and the others were surprised at the pain he was in. "Oscar... I know how you-"

"No you don't!" The farm boy shouted.

Aerith walked over and hugged the boy, tears falling from his eyes. "It's okay. We're all scared, and we all need to figure things out. But running away isn't going to change anything. If Natsu can face what he really is, you can do this."

Ryuko and Natsu walked over and joined the hug, as Vergil stayed away. The last of the tears dried and the four pulled apart, letting Oscar wipe his eyes. "You okay now?"

"I... I don't know." Oscar replied. "But... I think I might be one day."

"That's all we can ask." Natsu chuckled. "Now what do you say we get back to the house? I'm freezing out here."

He rubbed his arms to warm them up and the four laughed. "Actually, can we hold off going back?" Oscar asked. "There's something I wanna get first."

With RWBY

Ruby let out a sigh of disappointment as she stared at her druncle. "I've never seen him this bad." Yang said, pushing some bottles aside.

"Let's get him up." Ruby added before the half-sisters stepped forward and lifted him up.

Yang's Scroll started buzzing and she pulled it out of her pocket. "It's Natsu, says he wants us all to head back to the house."

"Any reason?" Weiss asked.

"None that he gave me." She replied, confusing everyone.

"Is he saying we should give up?" Blake asked.

"You know he would't do that." Yang replied. "But, I don't know why he would bring us back now."

They reached the house and found Ryuko waiting at the end of the stairs with Aerith standing at the door. "What's going on?" Ruby asked confused as everyone else.

The two other girls looked to the other side to see the others walking to the house as well. "Well, I'm sure this will do great things for with the neighbors." Terra said, earning an elbow from her wife.

"You guys all got the same text?" Jaune asked. "What happened?"

Ryuko smiled before she nodded to her partner. "We got a little surprise for you all."

Aerith pulled the door open and Oscar stepped into view, wearing an olive coat with shoulder pads and a belt both of dark red. Underneath, he wears a white collared shirt and bandages wrapped around the neck. His gloves are a slightly open U-shape with black X-pattern wrist straps. He also wears black trousers and red boots colored orange at the toe. "Uh, hey guys..."

"OSCAR!"

The other seven quickly raced into the house and tackled the boy, hugging him to the ground. Ryuko and Aerith quickly followed them inside as did the others. "Is something cooking?" Terra asked.

"Oh, Natsu and Vergil wanted to surprise you guys with a hot meal after... looking for me all day." The boy replied.

"It's my fault we were looking for you in the first place." Jaune said stepping forward. "I am so sorry. I was out of line and what I said-"

"No, it's fine." The farm boy interrupted. "If the roles were reversed, I might have done the same thing. These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you are. I don't know how long I'm going to be.. me. But Natsu and the others talked to me, and I agree with them. I'm going to do whatever I can do with the time I have left."

Jaune smiled and wiped some tears from his eyes. "Uh, help!" Natsu shouted from the kitchen, a small amount of smoke coming out of the kitchen.

"We got it." The same sex couple walked into the kitchen as Natsu and Vergil walked out.

Ruby turned back to Oscar and smiled at him. "That combat uniform looks good on you." She complemented, making the boy blush. She suddenly turned to the side and saw her uncle walking up the stairs. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going ta bed." He slurred out. "Whatever you worked out, you worked out. But that doesn't change the fact that we're no closer to getting to Atlas."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that." Jaune said, stepping forward. "But it's a 'no going back' kind of idea. With Cordo on watch only Atlas airships have clearance to leave Argus for Solitus. So... we steal one?"

Adrien giggled a bit in Maria's arms before Natsu walked over and thumped Jaune in the back of the head. "That's the stupidest idea you could have come up with!"

Jaune nursed his head from the hit as Qrow stumbled down. "Scales is right. That's beyond a bad idea, it's stupid. If we actually did that idea and things go south, this isn't something we can fight out of. This is the Atlas MILITARY we're talking about. Besides, we don't need to do anything.

"I sent a letter to Ironwood before we left for here on the train. It should be there in a few days. And then we can go from there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go lie down."

He stumbled back up the stairs, leaving the kids alone. "I guess... we just wait?" Ruby asked aloud, much to everyones uneasyness.

Well, we hit Argus and I absolutely love this city. Only bit I didn't like was something better discussed in private. And I will be happy to do it with whoever wants to in PM.

Now some might be confused as to why Natsu was shocked by the reveal of Ozpin's secret. But you have to remember, he was basically in a coma when the story happened so he had no clue what happened. Skipped over the Pyrrha statue because I wanted to focus more on Oscar than her.

The biggest change, however, comes in the end. I'm not completely against what they did in canon, but with 13 characters in at this point, I'm pretty sure the Airship wouldn't be able to get off the ground. So we're gonna do something different in this one. See you all next time.

Beta read by Natsu is Awesome.