Oscar could barely wait an hour, to be honest. It was getting serious now, and it made Oscar squirm enough to barely make it 50 minutes before he jumped back on a terminal and open his email again.
There was already a reply.
Oscar quickly replied back, so excited. Ozpin was awake and trying to talk to him. It was nerve-wracking. It was frustrating.
Oscar grinned.
He quickly typed out a reply and sent it on its way. Oscar clung to his notebook as he stared at the inbox. Ozpin was listening to him. He believed Oscar. He wasn't getting what Oscar meant completely but he was trying . This could work . His smallest hint to Salem and what was going on- Oscar hoped that it wasn't a bad decision.
Oscar rocked in his chair nervously. He tried to poke around online as he waited. There were articles about recent attacks by the White Fang. Some were labeled like "Faunus Terrorist Group Strikes in Mantle" and others were labeled like "Previously Peaceful Group White Fang Attacks Controversial Schnee Dust Mine." Related articles underneath were things like "How The White Fang Became Violent: A Look Back", "Dust Shop Vandalized! White Fang Suspected", and "The Radicalization of Faunus."
Oscar couldn't help but roll his eyes at some of them. He knew enough about the White Fang from Blake and Oz's memories that Oscar recalled in the aftermath of the Haven Attack. Some of the takes were just... bad. Going from nervous to mad was too small of a jump in emotions.
Oscar kicked his feet under the desk, trying to find something else to look at while he waited. As Oscar started to wonder if the Sticker Graffiti groups had started to form yet and if Oscar should try and look at those, the tab with his email opened blinked red and a (1) was added into the tab name.
He clicked it.
[Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Please Respond Soon]
[Oscar,
I agree it is early, but this is important.
I think I understand now. I can see how this would be extremely dangerous for you if your location and the fact that you are giving out information is out in the public. It's incredibly brave of you and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.
I have two associates in Mistral right now who could travel to your location and escort you to Vale. I think Beacon would be the safest place for you right now. Is there a place and time that would be easy and safe for you to meet them?
Do be careful,
Ozpin]
Oscar stared at the message. He read it. He read it again.
This... couldn't be real.
Just like that- Ozpin wanted him in Vale. At Beacon. Oscar couldn't believe it. He had assumed this would take weeks . Well- he had almost hoped it would take weeks. Oscar figured those weeks could be necessary. That Oscar would work on convincing Ozpin that he was telling the truth and was worth listening to while Oscar had some time... time to be home . He stared at his wrapped hands. Was he ready? He couldn't even wrap up his own healing wounds, could he really leave?
But if Oscar tried to put this off too long, Ozpin might change his mind, he might think that Oscar was lying. The fact that Ozpin had already figured out that either Oscar had some sort of semblance to see the future or was- in fact- from the future, was already a jump. It was already a stroke of luck. Too lucky to drop the ball when it was already rolling. Oscar swallowed. What should he give? A week? Two? At what point would it be too long? Oscar didn't know. He couldn't tell.
Oscar stole himself.
[Professor Ozpin, thank you for believing me. There is a town three stops away from the train that leaves Mistral south. I can be there in a week.]
Oscar sunk down as it sent, trying to keep his breathing steady. A week. He had only been here just over two weeks. Just three weeks total with his aunt. Then he would be gone again. Gone without a word. Again. Gone while he was still "recovering" in her eyes. Oscar couldn't imagine how it would look to her. Oscar, who had spent the past two or so months locked in his room, made some sort of miraculous surge to a sense of normalcy, then three weeks later- not even a month- he's just gone.
He only realized he was crying when something wet dripped onto his arm. Oscar looked down to see tears making tiny pools on the desk.
Much too quickly, another email popped into the inbox.
[Oscar,
Thank you. Look for a man with black hair and a red cape. He will look a bit scruffy and rough, but he is trustworthy and a very good man. He knows about everything. He should be with a young woman with brown hair. Go to the man and tell him that you're the canary that I mentioned. He'll understand what it means. They should both be able to keep you safe and take you to Vale.
Until then, I would advise you to lay low.
Ozpin]
Qrow. He was meeting with Qrow. Oscar sighed. It was good at least. Qrow knew pretty much everything already. Until the incident with Jinn, Qrow had been fond of Oscar. He was cold for a while after, but in Atlas, he treated Oscar like the others but was a bit sheepish around him. Oscar figured Qrow's feelings towards Oscar were mostly influenced by the fact that, to Qrow, he was just like Oz- just a younger and more nieve version. It would be strange to not have that be the reason for their relations. Even so, Oscar knew how Qrow worked. It was this other woman Ozpin mentioned that took Oscar for a loop.
Oscar didn't know a lot of Ozpin's other associates, and the only woman that Oscar knew was close to Ozpin was Glynda Goodwitch. Oscar had seen her in flashes of memory and she had been mentioned in stories from Beacon by Ruby and the others. But Oscar knew what Glynda looked like. She wasn't a young woman per se, probably in her late thirties if Oscar had to guess. (But then again, everyone was young compared to Oz- but also, he hadn't called Qrow a young man.) Also, she had blonde hair. Not brown.
Honestly? Oscar had no idea who she could be.
Oscar still found his hands shaking as he wrote down the directions in his notebook.
[Okay. Thank you. I guess I will see you soon. Bye.]
E-mail sent.
Oscar went home after that. He checked out some books he knew he wasn't going to read. He promised himself that he would return the books before he met up with Qrow, even if they weren't going to be read.
When Oscar got home, it was only around noon. He opened the door to see his Aunt sitting on her usual armchair next to the window, reading a book. She glanced up as the door scratched its own frame as it closed. She smiled warmly.
"You're back early," She said
Oscar smiled back as best he could as he took off his boots, hoping his face and eyes were no longer red from the tears that escaped his eyes as he walked back. "Yeah, I knew what I was getting and it's a lot nicer to read at home anyway." He picked out one of the books from his bag, not really caring which one and walking into their small living room.
He stopped when he reached his aunt, leaning forward and giving her a tight hug.
Auntie Em held the back of his head as he squeezed her shoulders. "What's this for, Oscar?"
"I just love you," Oscar whispered.
"I love you too." She whispered back.
Oscar broke the hug, smiled at her, trying to keep his eyes from growing how and prickly. He took a few more steps and sat on the armchair next to her, feeling the warmth of the sun rays from the window between them. He quietly pulled his feet up and tucked them underneath him, opening the book in his hands. He didn't really end up reading. His eyes skimmed the words but none of them sunk in. All he could think of was the now ticking clock. It wasn't the five-month goal Oscar gave himself to incite change. This was for one week. Seven days to the dot.
The warm sun rays that filtered through the living room onto his cheek as he leaned on one of the armrests, the smell of wood, earth, and cinnamon that hung in the bottom floor of his house, the sound of Auntie Em turning pages in her book... Oscar wouldn't have it in seven days. He had to make the most of it while he was here.
So Oscar did his best to. Oscar only went to his room to sleep. He was either out working with his Aunt, sitting in the living room, or in the kitchen with her. It only took three days for Auntie Em to say something.
"What's gotten you so clingy?" she asked after Oscar hopped up from his seat in the living room after she went to go check on the fields later in the day and immediately asked if he could help with dinner.
Oscar pointedly puffed his cheeks. "I just want to spend time with you!"
Auntie Em paused before she pulled Oscar into a hug, "Oh you're so sweet , I knew you were my favorite nephew!"
"I'm your only nephew," Oscar pointed out.
"I said what I said," she replied, pulling back and tapping his nose with her finger.
Oscar couldn't be happier but it also made his entire chest ache.
As Oscar went to open the door to his room to go to bed that night, his eyes locked on his hand. He could see the smears of dirt and grime on the bandages. He almost turned around to get his Aunt but he paused.
No. It would just be putting off doing it himself to when he was in Vale. He couldn't ask Ozpin to change his bandages. He had to do it himself.
Oscar walked back downstairs to the bathroom as quietly as he could. He opened the door and locked it behind him. Oscar took a shaky breath, staring at the mirror that sat above the sink. Oscar pulled open the bottom drawer he knew held all of the extra first aid equipment. There was a smaller kit in the living room by the back door that leads out into the fields and another in the barn. The bottom drawer had a lot of bandages. Oscar couldn't remember if it had that many when he was younger and he would visit his Aunt's house on the weekends with his parents. Maybe it always had them, or maybe Auntie Em made sure it was well stocked when she realized that the scars Oscar now had would probably now always need to be covered.
Team RWBY and JNR had seen Oscar's hands. Oscar had to take off his gloves to cook after all. They had never said anything about the uneven skin on the insides of his hands. Probably from a distance they didn't look like more than very worn and scarred up hands from work mistakes. They probably never saw his neck. If they did after the fight at Haven- it was surprising they didn't say anything. Even after it had healed it was hideous to look at.
Oscar pulled a roll of bandages from the drawer, the scissors there, the bandage tape, and the disinfectant. Oscar took a deep breath and unwrapped one hand.
It was still horrible. Oscar breathed as slowly as he reached for his other hand with the unwrapped one and slowly unwrapped it as well. Oscar fought to keep his breathing steady. Using the tips of his fingers, Oscar turned on the sink, Oscar bit his lip to keep from making any noise. Oscar turned off the tap with the back of his hand. With shaky hands, Oscar uncapped the disinfectant and poured some onto a scrap of clean bandage. Oscar tried to breathe through his nose and he cleaned the divots in his skin, shoulders shaking as he could feel the difference between the top layer of old skin and the sensitive layer of new skin. Oscar winced as it stung.
Oscar moved quickly as he took the edge of the bandage, pressed it to his palm, and carefully wrapped it up. He didn't want to see them anymore. Oscar held the bandages down by pressing his hand to the counter as he snipped the edge and taped it down.
He stepped back and gulped in air. Hands down. He did it. His hands were cleaned and rebandaged. It was hard, but he did it.
Oscar sunk to the floor, putting his head between his knees. There was still more to do, but he took a moment to breathe. He was basically halfway done. Just one more. And this time, he could use both of his hands. It would be easier, right?
Slowly, Oscar got up, unsteady on his feet as he inched back to the counter. He prepared another clean scrap of bandage with disinfectant and one with just water. Oscar stole himself, and found the end of the bandage around his neck and unwrapped it.
Oscar felt all the blood drain from his face as his eyes were locked on the mirror. The angry red skin was much worse than his hands. Puncture wounds lined parts of his neck like teeth. (They were teeth weren't they?) Branching out from those were gaps where skin once was and now had melted away. It looked like new skin had been grafted on and stitched in certain places but there were still gaps where Oscar could see where the skin had corroded.
He could remember it. The feeling of blood running from his neck, hot stinging liquid like spit falling from the Grimm's mouth that burned his skin. He had clawed at the Grimm's face, trying to push it off, only for his hands to begin to burn as well.
Oscar gripped the edges of the counter to keep himself from falling over. Oscar wretched one hand from his vice grip on the counter and picked up the scrap with disinfectant. It burned. It burned like the Grimm that had ruined the skin that was once on his neck. Oscar fought to breathe slowly. He needed to be able to do this. To do this himself . He was over this. He's done this before. Oscar leaned on the counter as he wiped down the wounds. He dropped the used scrap into the sink before quickly wiping it down with the damp scrap, trying to make it stop burning. Oscar quickly grabbed the roll of bandages and closed his eyes. He had done this plenty of times without looking. He didn't need to look now. Once it was taped down. Oscar opened his eyes.
It was done.
Oscar sunk to the floor again, his eyes hot and burning. He couldn't help the tears that fell from his face.
It was done. It was over. He didn't need to see it again. Not for at least a while.
Chapter 8
Oscar put together his things slowly. He also began to fill out his notebook with everything he could remember that was important to tell Ozpin. Names, dates, events- anything.
Maidens-
Fall: Cinder?
Winter: ? but with Ironwood, she's old
Spring: Vernal (Branwen Tribe)
Summer: ?
Turncoats-
Leonardo Lionheart (current)
Raven Branwen (future)
James Ironwood (future- can be reasoned)
Jacques Schnee (Future- he can probably be stopped but hes just an asshat)
Salem's Goons-
Cinder [?]
Emerald [?]
Mercury [?]
Hazel Reinhart
Tyrian Callows
Arthur Watts
Neapolitan
It was all dangerous stuff to keep on his person. He had to be careful.
Time passed too quickly. The days rolled together as Oscar tried to keep close to his aunt. There was never enough time. That's just the way that life worked. Oscar sat on his bed on the night of the sixth day. He stared at his carefully filled backpack for the next day. Bandages, a jacket, notebook, a change of clothes, the little Lien that he had, the books he had to return... draped over his desk was his clothes for the next day and his dad's pocket knife next to it.
All ready to go.
Oscar sighed, standing up and staring at all the things put together to leave.
He turned the lights off for bed.
It was hard to sleep. Oscar kept waking up, checking the small clock on his bedside table to find only an hour or two had passed. Oscar tried to clutch his blankets close, maybe if he stayed bundled up he would just sleep through the night.
Oscar still woke up early.
He got dressed slowly and sat at his desk, staring down at the sheet of paper that he tore out of his notebook.
He needed to leave something . At least the tiniest reassurance that Oscar hadn't been kidnapped or killed by Grimm on his way to or from town.
"Auntie Em," He wrote in his curvy letters, "I'm sorry to say but I'm not coming home from town today. It's intentional and it's not because something bad happened to me. I'm really sorry, but this is something that I have to do. I didn't mean to leave so soon, but this is how it turned out to be. I'll be okay and I'll stay safe. I'll send word as soon as I can about everything. I love you so much, and I'm sorry.
Oscar."
Oscar quickly folded the page in half and wrote "Aunt Ember". He made his bed and put the note on the foot of the bed.
Oscar walked downstairs to the usual scene. Auntie Em making coffee in the kitchen. She turned when the wood creaked under Oscar's feet. He smiled at her.
"Good morning Auntie Em," He said, walking over, sitting down at the small kitchen table.
"Good morning," She smiled, pouring coffee into one mug and then a second that was already out. She quickly poured milk and sugar into both and handed Oscar one mug.
"Thanks," He murmured as he took the mug from her, cupping it in his hands, sipping from it slowly.
Auntie Em leaned on the counter with her mug, stretching a bit. "It's library day, right? You done with your books?"
Oscar just nodded and drank from his mug, not trusting himself to speak. He's always hated lying.
"Well once we finish up you can go on your way," She said, taking another sip of coffee, "You think you're going to be back for lunch again?"
Oscar shook his head, "No, I don't think so."
"Well at least take something for lunch then, Oscar," She said, placing her mug down and reaching up to one of the cabinets, "I'll put something together."
Oscar flushed with guilt, "Oh, you don't need to-"
"Come on," Auntie Em said, "I got it. You've been so helpful in the past few weeks."
"Okay."
Oscar resigned himself. He quietly finished his coffee as Auntie Em put something together in a flat metal container, sipping coffee, working with a smile on her face.
Oscar had a hard time meeting her eyes that morning. He tried to act like everything was normal, but it was hard. His heart just ached as he went about his morning chores. The cows were very insistent on licking his hair. They probably could tell something was wrong. That or something got in his hair.
His heart was pounding so hard his ears felt like they were beating too as he walked with Auntie Em back to the house. Right before Oscar could lean down to take off his shoes, she put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close and placed a kiss on top of his head.
"You too?" Oscar teased, trying to keep his voice light, "Everyone likes my hair this morning."
Auntie Em giggled, "Oh none of us can help ourselves- you're just too sweet." She pinched one of his cheeks and Oscar playfully swatted at her.
"Okay okay!" Oscar laughed, leaning into her, hugging her tightly. "You're sweet too, I don't see the cows trying to lick your hair!"
Auntie Em scoffed, "Well I'm not tongue level with them, squirt." She pointedly patted his head, "Small boys get attacked by cows."
"Alright, I see my curse's reason," Oscar grumbled dramatically as Auntie Em hugged him back.
"You be safe, okay?" She said.
Oscar's heart squeezed. "Of course."
As soon as Oscar stepped off the property he had to stop himself from crying. Why was it harder this time? Maybe because he was alone. Oz wasn't there to distract him or influence his feelings. He was alone with his thoughts.
It was about 8:45 in the morning. At the slow pace Oscar was going, he would get to town by 9:30. He could check his emails from Ozpin and return the books. Try to compose himself for a while until he had to meet with Qrow and whoever this mystery lady was.
What should he say to Qrow? Besides what Ozpin told him to say- Oscar really wasn't sure what Qrow knew about Oscar. Maybe play it close, only answer questions Qrow asked. Oscar wasn't in the clear yet, it probably wasn't going to be safe until he was in Vale with Ozpin.
The morning breeze brushed through Oscar's hair as he walked, mind spinning. It was so much. Even so, his mind went back to the images that went around after the Fall of Beacon, the tales of horror, the body count - Oscar couldn't ignore that. He couldn't just pretend that he knew nothing.
Everything was just the same as last week. Sunny outside. Soft breeze. It was a perfect day all things considered. A nice autumn morning.
Oscar made his way to the library again, greeting Miss Alyia as normal, returning the books and shuffling to the back. There was only one email waiting for him.
[I look forward to seeing you in person, Mr. Pine.]
It was simple. short. All that was left in between the two of them now was the trip to Vale. And Qrow.
Oscar tried to kill time. Turns out, the Sticker Graffiti had started last year. The year before the one Oscar was in now. It was something Oscar had found out about in Atlas from Blake. Apparently the Schnee Dust Company gives out free stickers with big purchases. Quite a few huntsmen, particularly Faunus huntsmen, hate the SDC (for good reason) and hate that they're trying for free advertising with giving out stickers. So- they ended up just slapping the stickers on the wall outside of SDC stores. It became a sort of artform after a while with groups working together to make images with the stickers and upkeep them- much to the disdain of the company. It was one thing that amused Oscar to no end and was a nice distraction. It made Oscar wonder how Blake was doing. Blake had said she was active in Sticker Graffiti before and after leaving the White Fang. Oscar distantly wondered if any of the images he tapped through on the terminal were in some way associated with her. It was at least a nice thought.
Now that Oscar was waiting, time inched by slower. Ten... Ten-fifteen... Ten-thirty... Ten-thirty-five. Oscar wanted to scream. He just wanted to get this over with!
Oscar logged out of the terminal and picked up his things and walked to the library door, too stir-crazy to stay.
"Leaving so soon? No books?" Miss Alyia said as he passed the front desk.
Oscar shook his head, "Might be back later, just going to look for something."
"Okay," She said, leaning back into her chair and picking up her book again.
Oscar walked out of the front door. It was busier now that it was past 10:30, people milling around or walking swiftly to their destination. Oscar wandered for a bit, just trying to lose some of his nerves before he found himself standing in front of the train station. There were clocks everywhere, the time reading in bright neon letters: 11:05.
Okay. That did kill some time. Oscar shuffled a bit and found a bench right outside the train station. People passed by, buying tickets and waving goodbye to people or leaving the station to meet with people or walk briskly into the distance. Oscar tapped his feet, digging into his bag to get his notebook only for his hands to meet the cool metal container Auntie Em had sent him with. Oscar pulled it out and opened the lid. Inside, in little separated spaces were some chestnuts, some slices of cornbread, salami... Oscar nibbled at it, trying not to think too much. His aunt was too nice, he didn't want to hurt her. Not again.
Oscar wondered how Auntie Em was doing in his time- if it still existed. Months without word from Oscar. She hoped she wasn't too worried.
Oscar could only stomach a slice of bread before he put it back in his bag and pulled out his notebook. He skimmed over his notes. Maybe... he should just write everything that happened. Maybe things that didn't seem as important to Oscar would be more important to Ozpin. Oscar took a breath and started writing. First, everything that he heard about the fall of Beacon. The date, the overtaking of the broadcast, the hacking into Atlas's armies, the sparse broadcasts that caused unrest among the kingdoms... Ozpin's "disappearance". Then there was everything after. The extermination of the Mistral huntsmen, Lionheart's betrayal, Raven and the Spring Maiden, Atlas's lockdown, the Amity Project, Jacques and Watts, the election, the shut-down of Mantle, and the eventual betrayal of Ironwood. Oscar shuttered thinking about Ironwood's dead eyes.
Oscar was jolted out of daze by the ringing of the train bells. He glanced up to see the glowing signs near the tracks announcing that a train was coming in. It was 11:45 now. Qrow would be in town soon if he wasn't already. Probably coming in from the train. Oscar closed the notebook and stuffed it back in his bag before pulling the bag into his lap. Oscar watched as the train came in. Its brakes creaking loudly as it rolled to a stop. The doors opened. Oscar watched people walk out, holding bags and backpacks as other people walked into the train. For a second, Oscar thought that Qrow hadn't been there, but then he spotted them. Near the end of the train a woman, maybe in her mid-twenties with collar-length straight brown hair, held Qrow Branwen by the wrist and pulled him from the train. He didn't stumble like he was drunk- thankfully- he looked more drowsy than anything. His bright red cape was hard to miss in the earthy-tones of the train station. The woman dragged him a couple more feet before Qrow straightened out and seemed to pull himself free from her grasp. She turned around and put her hands on her hips, seeming to scold him. Qrow waved her off and walked through the building. Oscar stood up as they left his sight.
Soon, they walked through the front door, the young woman leading. She had white, brown, and gold battle gear on and a green cloak with a hood. She kept turning to make sure Qrow was following.
"...five minutes you can't go run off and- hide in a tree or whatever it is you do," Oscar caught her saying as they got closer.
Qrow walked behind her, looking grouchy, "It's for the best, I've told you. I'm bad news."
"Yeah yeah- so much edge there," The woman rolled her eyes and they continued, walking past Oscar.
Oscar's whole body thrummed. His heart pounded. He felt so nervous he felt sick. Oscar stole himself. He put his backpack on, took a few steps forward to Qrow, and spoke up.
"Excuse me?" Oscar said- voice sounding much higher than usual.
Qrow wheeled around, glaring down at Oscar with his scarlet eyes. "What is it, kid? I'm busy."
Oscar gulped. "I'm uh- the canary? Ozpin mentioned." He managed to squeak out.
Qrow's face went from mad to confused right to mad again. Very quickly.
"What?" Qrow said his nose wrinkling.
The woman in front of Qrow turned around. At first, her brown eyes looked at Oscar with confusion before a smile breaks out on her face. "Qrow! Is this who we're looking for?"
Qrow opened his mouth and then closed it. He rubbed his head as if it ached. "I guess so."
Chapter 9
Qrow was used to his job. Watching Amber wasn't too hard. Qrow kept his distance from her, keeping an eye out with enough room between them to not have his Semblance affect her. They spoke sometimes though. Amber was bright, kind, and hopelessly naive. She constantly tried to convince Qrow to just travel with her. Qrow, of course, never said yes.
Qrow couldn't keep this arrangement with his new charge. This "canary" that Ozpin sent him to find could be dangerous. Especially if they used to work for Salem- Qrow had to keep a close eye so Amber would be safe.
Amber was thrilled with this development.
Qrow tried to keep away from Amber on the train ride there but she tried to keep close. She even came to drag Qrow personally off the train. Qrow groaned loudly as Amber led him through the train station.
"Stop being such a grump," She scolded, continuing to turn and look at him as if to be sure he was following, "You're just mad that for five minutes you can't go run off and- hide in a tree or whatever it is you do."
Qrow glared at her, "It's for the best, I've told you. I'm bad news."
"Yeah yeah- so much edge there," Amber scowled at him.
Qrow leaned his head away from her, already tired of this mission. If all went well, this would take a day or maybe two. They find this contact of Oz's, take them to Vale, and leave. As long as it wasn't some sort of trap. But Qrow was ready for that possibility.
That's when Qrow heard the scraping of dirt and a small voice.
"Excuse me?"
Qrow turned his head. Standing behind him was a child. No older than thirteen and that was being generous. He was small with tan skin and messy dark brown hair. His cheeks had a smattering of freckles under his hazel eyes. He wore simple clothes that looked a little bit worn and dirt-stained and thick dark brown work gloves. His neck was tightly bound with bandages but Qrow could see some angry red flesh extending from the edges of it. He shuffled on his feet awkwardly.
"What is it, kid? I'm busy," Qrow grumbled, glaring at the child.
The boy flinched, picking at the edges of his gloves, "I'm uh- the canary? Ozpin mentioned." He couldn't quite meet Qrow's gaze.
Qrow stared in disbelief. This kid? This child escaped from Salem? He had a little bit of muscle on his arms that were visible, but he was still small and scrawny. He looked much more like a farmhand than a fighter. His body language was sheepish and nervous and his voice was high and young.
"What?" Qrow said.
Amber must have walked over at some point because she stood right next to Qrow with a wide smile on her face. Qrow knew how she was around kids. If she wasn't the Fall Maiden, Qrow would think she would be teaching at Signal with Tai. "Qrow! Is this who we're looking for?" She asked brightly.
Qrow rubbed his head, stress already making his head hurt, "I guess so."
Amber beamed, reaching forward and grabbing the boy's hand vigorously.
"I'm Amber! It's nice to meet you! The Grumpy Gus here is Qrow," She covered her mouth with a cupped hand and stage whispered, "He's really a softie under all that edge."
Qrow rolled his eyes but the boy smiled. "I'm Oscar, it's nice to meet you," he said softly, "Don't worry, I don't take it personally."
"Qrow I will bite you if you don't say a nice word to this sweet little boy," Amber said, standing up straight again.
Qrow ignored her and pulled out his scroll, "Watch him for a bit, I have to take a call."
"You-" Amber started, she stomped her foot like a child and crossed her arms, "Fine, go on."
Qrow bit back a sharp word and walked a few feet away, getting under a tree that was beginning to change color, still within eyesight of Amber and Oscar who sat down on a bench where Amber began to speak with her usual animated hand motions and sweet smile. She was a good kid- but incredibly stubborn. She reminded Qrow too much of his younger niece... and Summer.
Qrow leaned against the tree trunk as the dial sound buzzed in his ear from the scroll. There was a moment and then the dialing noise stopped.
"Yes, Qrow?" a slightly tired voice of Ozpin said over the line, "Is there an issue?"
"Yeah- why didn't you tell me that I was meeting a kid?"
A pause.
"A kid?" Ozpin echoed, "Oscar Pine, the contact I told you about, right?"
"He did say his name was Oscar," Qrow confirmed with a small sigh, looking over at Amber and Oscar again. Oscar was smiling now too, his posture was still a bit closed off, but he looked to be opening up, "But he looks like he's... eleven."
"I didn't know, he never said anything about his age," Ozpin admitted, "Information he gave was very sparing. One thing he did say was that Salem was planning on hacking into Beacon and he wasn't sure when it would happen. He tried to keep details out as not to put himself in danger."
Qrow bit back a groan. That would make sense why any information was sparse. "Alright, fine. I'll call you again when we're about to leave Mistral. I just hope this was worth it. At least..." Qrow trailed off, seeing Amber and Oscar laughing, "... Amber gets along with him just fine."
"Stay vigilant," Ozpin advised.
"Yeah yeah, bye," Qrow closed his scroll and slipped it back in his pocket. He took a minute to compose himself before walking back.
Amber waved at Qrow as he approached. "Qrow! Can we keep him?" She said. Oscar flushed.
"No," Qrow said bluntly, "Come on, we're getting tickets back to Mistral. The sooner we get back the sooner he'll be Ozpin's problem."
Amber rolled her eyes, turning back to Oscar, "I think he's just mad he has to talk to people today."
Oscar smiled at her, the flush slowly leaving his face, "I don't mind, you guys are on important huntsmen business, right? Sorry I got in the middle of that."
"You're apparently part of huntsmen business," Amber shrugged, "Qrow's been very quiet about this whole thing. Says it's 'top secret.' I'm a little offended seeing as our business is always top secret."
Oscar shrugged back, "It's a little hard to explain- maybe when we're in Vale I can tell you, Miss Amber."
Amber smiled at him. "I knew I liked you."
The next train to Mistral was set to arrive at 12:15 and Qrow was in a Mood. He allowed himself a swig on his flask. He didn't miss the kid, Oscar, looking uneasy as Qrow put his flask back on his belt. Did that kid even know what he was drinking? He must have because he shuffled closer to Amber and tried to keep up with her cheerful conversation, glancing back at Qrow when he thought no one was looking with an expression Qrow could only read as pity.
Qrow was more than happy for the train to arrive. He sat in the row next to Amber and Oscar, pointedly putting Harbinger on the seat next to him as a deterrent to anyone who attempted to sit next to him. Qrow couldn't even guess what the kids were talking about. Every time he listened in, it was something else. Food, books, music- it was all superficial small talk to Qrow.
It was strange though, Qrow came into this expecting some hardened man he'd need to keep Amber from sitting near because Qrow wouldn't trust anyone even remotely close to Salem near the Fall Maiden. Suddenly, now that it was some child Qrow didn't want to have to babysit. Not that Qrow was no longer cautious. He kept an eye on the two of them. But this was some scrawny child that any trained huntsman or huntress could take care of without even using their semblance. Much less huntress with magic like Amber. The kid didn't even seem to have a weapon.
"How old are you again?" Amber asked, catching Qrow's ear.
Oscar paused. "Fourteen."
"What? No way!" Amber said with a gasp, "You have such a young face! Not that it's an issue, you'll be glad for it when you're Qrow's age."
Oscar snorted at that. "Oh yeah, I'm sure, but I think Qrow looks good for his age."
Qrow turned at that, "You don't know how old I am, kid."
"You're almost forty, right?"
Amber let out a loud bout of laughter, "Oh no! He's got you! He's got you good!"
Qrow rolled his eyes. He supposed it made sense. Salem had to know about him by now. So of course one of her former lackeys would know how old he was.
"Do me next!" Amber said, grinning.
Oscar frowned, tipping his head a bit, "Early twenties?"
"Ha!" Amber pointed at Qrow with an accusatory finger, "I must look better for my age! I'm 25!"
Qrow rolled his eyes, "congratulations, you have fooled a child."
Amber huffed, "You continue to be absolutely no fun."
Qrow glanced away, not really wanting to be involved anymore. It was odd that he didn't know how old Amber was- maybe Salem didn't exactly know who the Fall Maiden was yet- that was encouraging. It made Qrow's life a little easier.
They arrived in Mistral by two. Amber shot up from her seat with her usual pep and excitement. She pulled her own bag over her shoulder and waited for Oscar to get his bag on. She looked to be physically stopping herself from trying to help him. Qrow knew how Amber was around kids. He couldn't blame her really, he remembered doting on his nieces when they were younger just like her. But unlike Amber, there were only two kids Qrow was happy to dote on. In Qrow's opinion, all other kids were snot-nosed brats. At least Oscar wasn't annoying him . Maybe he was even helpful from keeping Amber's energy a little more spread out and not all fixated on Qrow.
Qrow led them through the streets outside of the train station. Oscar glanced around but didn't have the same wide-eyed wonder most kids around his age would get when they first saw Mistral. It was likely he had been here before anyway.
"Where are we going?" Oscar asked, stepping a bit closer to Qrow.
"Haven," Qrow said, "Lionheart agreed to send us on a private airship. Small one, sure, but it's safer than going in a public one. Especially not with you two trouble makers."
"Hey!" Amber complained, "Oscar has been nothing but polite this whole time!"
Qrow raised an eyebrow, "Not defending yourself?"
"I know how you think of me," Amber smirked.
Qrow actually chuckled at that, Amber elbowed Oscar nodding at Qrow as if to say 'see?' But Oscar's expression had fallen. He was picking at his glove again.
"What is it, kid?" Qrow asked, crossing his arms.
Oscar glanced up, a frown on his face, "Does... Lionheart know about...me?"
"Ozpin didn't say a lot to anyone. I think me and one other person at Beacon know the most," Qrow explained, "To Lionheart, you're just some contact. Why?"
Oscar shuffled again, glancing around and then waved Qrow close. Curious now, Qrow took a step back and knelt down. Oscar leaned in and cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered, "He's been giving information to Salem."
Qrow froze, pulling back and looking down at Oscar with wide eyes. Oscar just nodded, rubbing his arm, his jaw set.
"I'll tell you more when we get to Vale but- be careful," Oscar said quietly.
Qrow nodded, carefully giving the kid a pat on the shoulder, "He know what you look like? Your name?"
Oscar shook his head.
"Good," Qrow said, he turned to Amber, "keep a close eye on him with me, okay?"
Amber nodded, a lot more stoic now. "For sure."
Chapter 10
Haven looked just as Oscar remembered it. Only now, there were students there. Huntsmen and Huntresses in training milled around campus, chatting, smiling. It was nothing like the empty buildings Oscar had become used to when he stayed here. Oscar found himself drifting towards Qrow like he had the few times they had gone out for groceries together. But this wasn't the same Qrow Oscar remembered. Qrow didn't know Oscar. At least, since Oscar had told Qrow about Lionheart, Qrow seems to have loosened up.
Oscar jolted for a second when something touched his hand.
Amber quickly moved back, "Oh sorry! You looked nervous!"
Oscar flushed a bit. "Oh, it's okay. Sorry, I'm just not used to people touching my hands."
Amber smiled sweetly and offered her hand. "Stay close?"
Oscar took it. He felt like a little kid again, holding his mother's hand so he wouldn't get lost. Amber seemed pleased by Oscar letting her hold his hand.
Oscar liked Amber. She was sweet and even though she had a lot of energy, something about her was calming. Actually, she reminded Oscar of Ruby. They had similar chirpy demeanors. Or maybe more like Nora. They both had the "mama bear" act down.
Amber and Oscar followed Qrow through the campus. Several students shot them confused looks as they passed but didn't interrupt them as they went. Oscar couldn't help but to drift closer to Amber at their piercing gazes. Salem likely didn't know anything about him yet. They were just students. Amber gently squeezed his hand.
They walked the familiar path to the administration building, Qrow opening the door with a creak of the hinges. The room that Oscar remembered to be destroyed was now as clean as it was when Oscar had walked in there that night. Oscar glanced sheepishly at the corners of the room- almost expecting Hazel to walk out of the shadows.
"Leo!" Qrow called loudly, walking forward casually. There was a pause before the sound of scampering footsteps and then, walking quickly, slightly winded, from the hallway atop the dais was Leonardo Lionheart. The older Faunus man grinned down at them.
"Qrow! Amber!" He said brightly walking down the steps.
Oscar couldn't help but to step closer to Amber.
"Who do you have there?" Lionheart asked as he stepped down the last step and started towards the three of them.
Qrow smirked, "Leo, didn't Oz tell you this was a 'close to the chest' situation?"
"Oh come now," Lionheart chuckled, and turned his eyes to Oscar who was almost hiding behind Amber now, "What's your name little one?"
Oscar's mouth went dry.
"Tip," Amber said ruffling his hair, "He's shy."
Qrow crossed his arms, "He's been through a lot Leo, leave him alone."
Lionheart sighed and nodded, taking a discerning glance at Oscar again before turning back to Qrow, "I suppose you want to leave as soon as possible then?"
"Yeah," Qrow said, scratching his neck, "It's a long flight and I'd like to not sleep in the air if I can help it."
Lionheart tried for a smile, "Of course."
Oscar clung close to Amber as they walked.
"Thanks," He whispered to her as they left the building.
Amber winked at him, "I can read the room."
The airship was on the smaller side like Qrow had said. It looked like most Mistral airships. It looked a bit like a boat more than the compact angular airships that Oscar had seen in Atlas. Amber helped Oscar climb up, Oscar figured it was good for how Lionheart saw him but Oscar thought Amber was just enjoying Oscar letting her coddle him.
He had told her his "real" age. The age he was a month ago at least before he was suddenly twelve again. So either Amber didn't believe Oscar or Amber was just like Nora and wanted to baby him because she could.
Oscar sat down on one of the seats in the airship as Qrow spoke to Lionheart outside. Oscar gripped his bag in his arms as Amber sat down next to him.
"You ever been to Vale?" she asked.
Oscar shook his head, "I've never been to Sanus at all."
"Vale is beautiful," Amber said with a smile, "I've always loved east Sanus, especially in the fall, it's really lovely."
Oscar tipped his head as Qrow climbed in, shooting Oscar a thumbs up as he seated himself on the other side of the front of the ship. Probably trying to stay away from the Pilot in the front.
"Are you staying in Vale when we get there?" Oscar asked, "It would be nice to know someone there."
Amber frowned and shook her head, "Qrow and I are supposed to stay 'on the move'." She made air quotes as she spoke, "It's part of our super-secret mission."
Oscar nodded. He wondered when this mission had ended for them. Maybe after the Fall of Beacon, whatever they were up to wasn't needed. If Oscar had to guess, they were keeping eyes out for signs of Salem's movement in Anima. It made Oscar wonder where Amber was in his time. Had she split up with Qrow to wait for Oz somewhere else- like maybe Vacuo? But Qrow was the one with Long Memory. Maybe just because Qrow was more trustworthy? Amber did seem like she had less information about Oscar.
Oscar's stomach dropped as the engines started to buzz and the airship began to ascend. Oscar leaned overlooking out the window- watching Haven grow smaller below them.
"You new to flying?" Amber asked.
Oscar couldn't help but to chuckle a bit when he remembered his almost-crash landing in Argus after Maria's eyes had short-circuited. And then the rush of falling when Ironwood had shot him off of the cliff of the Relic room in Atlas. Oscar jolted away from the window.
"Uh- no. No, I've been in an airship before," Oscar said, trying to quell his beating heart.
Amber smiled, "Well, Tip, we've got a long flight." Oscar laughed a bit at the name as Amber turned around to Qrow, "Qrow! Can I borrow your scroll? I wanna play games with Tip!"
"No," Qrow said, obviously doing something on it, "Also go to the front of the ship, stay away from me."
Amber rolled her eyes and grabbed Oscar's arm, "We better do that or he starts getting nervous."
Oscar nodding, understanding the reason.
Instead of whatever Amber was planning on before, Amber pulled up some game on her scroll they traded off playing levels. It reminded Oscar of the nights with RNJR in Haven. Sometimes they would all get together in the living room and play games. There was one time when Jaune insisted they play through some older game from his childhood. It was some RPG hack-and-slash with a cornry story and bad voice acting. The most fun they had was making fun the way lines were said during the cutscenes. They had yelled "you're stupid!" at each other in high pitched voices with a voice crack in the middle all the next day.
That was when Oscar decided that he liked video games.
Amber and Oscar had fun getting stuck on levels, yelling at each other, giving up and handing the scroll back to the other one.
"You have a favorite video game?" Amber asked after a while and they decided to try another game.
Oscar twisted his mouth in thought. "I haven't played many. There was this one really corny game I played with some of my friends once. I think they said it was years old. It was kinda dumb, but it was so fun to play it with them that I think it's my favorite."
"You remember what it was called?" Amber asked, looking through the titles she had.
Oscar tapped his foot, "It was Castle... something."
"Was it Castle Diamonds?" Amber snorted.
"Oh yeah, that!" Oscar said, nodding.
Suddenly there was some loud laughter from the back of the airship. "Oh my gosh- that came out years ago!" Qrow chuckled to himself, "Please tell Oz that- he hates that franchise!"
"What?" Amber almost screeched, "Oz? Our resident Fairytale Lover?"
Qrow laughed some more, "Yeah! He says they're bad retellings!"
Oscar now remembered that Oz had excused himself once Jaune suggested the game. Oscar giggled.
"And here I thought Ozpin only had good things to say," Amber shook her head and tutted.
Oscar smiled.
"How long until we get there?" Oscar asked, turning back to Amber.
Amber glanced down at her scroll, "Well, it looks like it's 6 in Mistral- it's an eight-hour flight."
"Yeah," Qrow said, leaning back, "We'll get there at around 3 in Vale but it'll be closer to 11 in Mistral."
"Five hours," Amber answered.
Oscar groaned and leaned back.
Amber chuckled, "You could always take a nap, that always makes time fly!"
"Never slept in the air before," Oscar mumbled, "Not sure I can."
Now that Oscar wasn't focused on whatever game he and Amber were playing, it was hard to ignore how high above the earth they were. He knew what falling felt like. Falling... and falling...
"Hey," Amber's soft voice snapped him out of the spiral before he could get too deep into it, "I have some old Phoenix Quest games on my scroll- that sound like fun? I can even make a new save file!"
"Oh," Oscar said, snapping back into it, "Uh- sure. That sounds fun."
Oscar had never played Phoenix Quest but he found himself caught into it quickly. Amber tried to voice the text dialogue with funny voices and kept suggesting silly names for their party members.
"You're passing so many barrels!" Amber complained.
Oscar puffed his cheeks, "Well excuse me- all of the barrels at the beginning of the game were empty! And I checked all of them! So many barrels..."
"That is the price you must pay to find treasure!" Amber insisted.
"I'd rather just kill monsters and get money that way and then buy stuff," Oscar said.
"Where's your adventure?" Amber said, gently swatting his shoulder.
Oscar laughed. He yawned. It felt like it was late, but it was still bright out the windows.
"We should be landing soon," the pilot reported.
Amber beamed and pushed for Oscar to save the game. "Next time I stop by Vale, we can finish it!"
Oscar nodded, "That sounds fun. I look forward to it!"
Oscar and Amber settled back down in their seats and Oscar stiffened a bit as the airship began to descend. Oscar glanced back at Qrow who was staring out the window in the back, looking bored.
He was in Vale. Thousands of miles from home.
Oscar hoped his note was enough for his Aunt. It was well past sunset now. She was probably panicking. She probably ran to town asking if anyone had seen him. Miss Aliya would tell her that he left around ten in the morning to get something and never came back. Was she crying right now? Was she mad? Had she even found the note yet? Was she running around town begging for any trace of him? How unfair of him was this? She had already lost family this year. Was it cruel of him?
"Oscar?" Amber set her hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay? You're crying."
As soon as she said it, Oscar's throat knotted. He leaned over onto his lap, trying to swallow the sobbing.
Amber let out small murmurs and hushes, rubbing his back. "It's okay. You're safe, it's okay."
Chapter 11
Amber held Oscar's hand as they got off the airship. Qrow and Amber thanked the pilot, but Oscar was too distracted. He kept needing to wipe his eyes. Every time he sniffled, Amber squeezed his hand. It was bright outside, only three in the afternoon according to Qrow, but Oscar felt exhausted. Either it was because it was essentially eleven at night or because Oscar had broken down like a child in the airship. Probably both.
"I'm glad to see you made it without incident," a stern, familiar voice said.
Oscar looked up. Walking up to the landing in her heels and purple cape was Glynda Goodwitch. She was just like Oscar could recall from Oz's memories. She looked over all of them with her piercing green eyes.
"Ozpin told me earlier today that you were bringing in... a child," her eyes drifted from Qrow to Oscar who gulped. "I'm guessing that makes you Oscar Pine."
Oscar nodded, "Y-Yeah. Hi." Oscar ducked his head. Qrow had said that he and one other person knew everything. If Oscar had to guess, the other person would be Glynda.
"Welcome to Beacon I suppose," She says glancing between the group and then locking eyes with Amber, "I'm guessing you would rather stay here for the night than to take another long flight so soon?"
Amber nodded, "Please! I'd also like to say hi to Oz, even if he's going to be busy. It's always nice to see him."
"Qrow?" Glynda glanced over at the scruffy huntsman with a raised eyebrow.
Qrow nodded, picking up his flask from his belt and taking a swig. Oscar tried not to cringe. It was still weird seeing him drinking again. Qrow had been so proud of himself for getting past the withdrawals in Atlas. It felt like some kind of wrong to see Qrow drinking again after that. "I'm glad to stay a night. Sleeping on an airship always makes me nervous."
"Good," Glynda said, "Ozpin is waiting." Her heels clicked on the concrete. Yep. She was every bit as intense as Oz believed her to be.
Oscar gulped, walking forward. Amber still held his hand. She squeezed his hand again and Oscar turned to look at her.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
Oscar nodded, "Yeah, sorry. I was just- overwhelmed."
"Oh for sure," Amber nodded, giving him a smile, "You're doing great."
Beacon was beautiful. Oscar only had seen glimpses of it in Oz's memories, but it was even more amazing in person. Like Haven hours ago, Haven was alive with students. Most of them were out of uniform now, traveling in small groups, pairs, or alone. Some held weapons and others didn't. It was bright and alive- nothing like the news coverage in the weeks following the Fall of Beacon. The weather was nice and the fall breeze felt good on Oscar's skin.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Amber asked quietly as they followed Glynda closer to the main building.
Oscar nodded, "I see why everyone wants to go to Beacon."
"I mean- there's also Ozpin," Amber said, "He can't help but be magnetic."
Oscar chuckled, "Yep."
It was nice inside too as Glynda motioned for them to enter an elevator. Oscar's heart pounded.
It was cramped with all four of them, but they fit. Amber still didn't let go of Oscar's hand as the elevator moved.
What was he going to say? How do you start this conversation? Oscar had seen pictures of Ozpin before. Online. On the news. But with all the time Oscar had spent with Oz, it was weird to think about being in the room with Ozpin . The one everyone addressed him as. The one everyone asked him for. There. In the flesh.
It made Oscar wonder what Ozpin was like before. Was he always the man that everyone knows him as now? What did he leave behind? Who helped him through the change? How old was he?
The elevator ride lasted forever but at the same time, the door opened much too quickly.
The room was covered in windows that overlooked campus, and gears that reminded Oscar of Long Memory turned overhead.
There. Sitting at the desk and now getting up was the headmaster of Beacon. Ozpin. He looked like the pictures Oscar had seen of him. Sharp features that made him look young, dark glasses that sat on the tip of his nose. pale brown eyes that seemed to shift from gray depending on how much his head tipped out of the light. Gray hair that fell into his face, and a sharp, poised demeanor that Oscar knew his body would fall into when he took control.
Ozpin grabbed Long Memory which leaned against the desk as he walked out from behind it. He leaned on the cane and locked eyes as Oscar walked with Amber to the middle of the room. Oscar's body buzzed. He didn't know if he should run up to him and hug him or punch him in the face or run away. This entire situation suddenly felt wrong. Oscar wasn't supposed to exist in the same room as this man.
"Hello," Ozpin said. Oscar's ears rang. That voice that had only existed in his mind was now solid .
Oscar couldn't look away though. His eyes were locked with Ozpin's.
"Hi," Oscar's voice whispered, "I uh- I'm Oscar Pine."
Ozpin smiled. It was a small smile. "I know. I'm not sure why, but I can tell."
Oscar wanted to cry in relief. It was something. "Good, that's good." Oscar's voice shook and Amber squeezed his hand again.
"It's nice to see you, Oz!" Amber said, trying to break up the tension.
Ozpin smiled at her, "It's nice to see you as well, Amber. How have you been doing?"
"Great!" Amber said, "Qrow's been... Qrow but I think I'm cracking his shell."
"No you're not," Qrow said sternly.
Amber grinned, "He didn't even curse at me this time!"
Ozpin chuckled, his eyes drifted back to Oscar nonetheless. "I have to ask- how did you become involved with Salem?"
Amber turned to him with wide eyes and Oscar's ears rang.
"What?" Oscar said.
Now everyone was staring at him. Then all of them turned to Ozpin.
"You said that Salem was going to hack into Beacon," Ozpin said, his face growing tense.
"She's what?" Amber said, looking at Oscar with confusion.
Oscar quickly nodded, "She is! To take over the Vytal Festival!" Oscar's mind spun. Is... is that what Ozpin got from his emails? That he had been involved with Salem?
A canary. A canary in the coal mines, warning of danger.
Oh gods he was so dumb.
"The Vytal Festival?" Glynda echoed, frowning at Oscar.
Oscar let go of Amber's hand. "Yes! T-The fourth night of the Vytal Festival! During the finals! She's planning on attacking during the festival!" Oscar said emphatically. "S-She got her hands on the broadcasting- and Atlas's military tech!"
"How do you know this if you weren't with Salem?" Qrow interrupted, "How do you even know about Salem? You're some- farm kid!"
Oscar glanced at Ozpin- his brown eyes looking gold as the light hit them. He stared at Oscar in disbelief.
"O-Ozma," Oscar said, his hands shook, his ears rang- just saying the name made Ozpin flinch, "I-I'm- I'm supposed to be next. I saw it all happen. T-Then you-" Oscar took a deep breath, his shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry- I'm supposed to be next."
Long Memory clattered to the ground.
Ozpin rushed forward, he grabbed Oscar's arm and tugged him forward, quickly wrapping him in a tight embrace. Oscar shook, he felt tears in his eyes again. Stinging where he already had sobbed his eyes sore.
"I-I went to Mistral b-because you told me to!" Oscar gulped for air, trying to get out the story, "I-I found Qrow b-b-but Beacon was already gone a-a-and Lionheart helped! W-We got the relic and went to Atlas and- and," Oscar pressed his face into Ozpin's shoulder. He smelled like cinnamon and vanilla. "S-Salem came. S-Some girl took the relic from me, I-I-I really tried! I'm sorry!"
Ozpin squeezed him tighter, his fingers carding through Oscar's hair as Oscar let out another sob into his shoulder. "It's okay. You did well Oscar- you made it here. I'm sorry my curse caused you so much grief."
Oscar squeezed back. It was better than the ripples of warmth that Oz had sometimes sent through their Aura. It was solid and felt so much more real. Oscar shuddered as he tried to regain his composure. Oscar moved to pull away and Ozpin let him pull back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and held it out to Oscar. Oscar took it and wiped his face.
Oscar glanced up at him and shot him a small smile, "You gotta burn that shirt now. It's got snot all over it. I know how you are about germs."
Glynda snorted . "I believe him now." Ozpin glared at Oscar and then at Glynda.
"There's two of you now?" Ozpin sighed, shrugging off his cardigan that was now damp in the shoulder.
Oscar gave a watery laugh, "You made me double wash dishes for two months, I deserve to give you a hard time!"
"That does sound like you," Qrow nodded, crossing his arms. Amber just nodded.
Ozpin rolled his eyes. He knelt down to pick up Long Memory before draping his overcoat on his chair and returning to his seat at the desk. "If you all don't mind, I would like to speak to Oscar for a while alone. I'm sure none of you have any issues with that."
"Not at all," Qrow said, patting Amber on the shoulder, "Come on Amber, we have been up way too long."
Amber sighed and nodded, "We really have."
"I'll help you both to some of our extra quarters," Glynda said corralling them back to the elevator.
"Glynda could you bring me some more-" Ozpin started.
"-Hot chocolate- yes. I'll bring an extra cup too," She said as she pressed a button in the elevator and it closed.
Oscar let out a breath.
"Do you know where the extra chairs are?" Ozpin asked.
Oscar shook his head, "No, I've never been to Beacon. It got destroyed? And I don't have any of your memories besides the ones that came up."
Ozpin nodded and stood up again, moving to the other end of the room and opening up a closet and picking up a chair and setting it right in front of the desk. "Sit, please."
Oscar walked forward and carefully sat in the chair as Ozpin returned to his seat. Oscar put his bag right next to his feet.
"How old are you?" Ozpin asked.
Oscar let out a chuckle. "That's kinda a loaded question? My body right now is twelve. But before this happened I was almost fifteen."
"I see," Ozpin said, "How long ago did I start talking to you?"
"It was a month after the Vytal Festival, so it was almost a year ago for me. You died that night though," Oscar said, looking away.
Ozpin nodded again, leaning back and grabbing a notepad out and began to write things down.
"One second," Oscar said, leaning down and pulling his bag into his lap and putting his notebook on the desk and opening it. "I started writing down everything I could remember that could be important as soon as I could."
Ozpin smiled at that, "wonderful. If you don't mind- I would still like to ask you things?"
"Yes of course!" Oscar said quickly.
Ozpin frowned a bit, "How do you know my first name? I'd be surprised if I told you just within a year,"
"You didn't," Oscar said, "Jinn did."
Ozpin's eyes widened at that, "You used the lamp?"
"I didn't," Oscar explained, "I was just there. Well- we were just there." Oscar ran his thumb over the corner of his notebook. After what happened at Haven with Lionheart, everybody was really on edge."
"Who is everybody?" Ozpin asked.
"Qrow was there," Oscar explained, "And some of your students who had gotten involved."
Ozpin nodded and gestured for Oscar to continue.
"Lionheart was dead at that point," Oscar explained, "And you asked that his actions against Remnant weren't going to be made public. Or at least that he was involved in what pretty much destroyed Haven. Everyone felt like you weren't explaining enough about what was going on, and they got their hands on the Relic of Knowledge. And they asked Jinn what you were hiding."
Ozpin's eyes darkened, "I see. How did that go?"
"Not well," Oscar looked away. "They all got really mad that Salem can't be killed, Qrow especially. Then you... left."
Ozpin froze. "What?"
"You locked yourself away in my head," Oscar said quietly, "You wouldn't come out no matter how hard I tried. They all thought that I was keeping things from them for a while. But they got over it."
Ozpin tapped his pen on the pad of paper, "How long was I gone?"
"Months," Oscar whispered, "We made it to Atlas. We couldn't bring ourselves to tell Ironwood everything. They told him you just disappeared out of the blue. He tried to help me 'get you back.'" Oscar still couldn't look up, "Ironwood was planning on telling the world about Salem. We all thought it was a good idea. But strange things kept happening. Someone got into the Atlas security network, there was a massacre during an election, then the heating in Mantle went off. That was the night I lost the relic. Ironwood... became paranoid. Mantle was still evacuating from the Gimm attacks after the heating went out, and he wanted to take Atlas above where the Gimm could get." Oscar's hands tightened on his notebook. "I tried to convince him otherwise. He shot me."
Ozpin's hand loosened on his pen as he stared.
"We were in the Relic chamber. You know, where there's all those drops? I fell off after he shot me. I heard your voice and grabbed Long Memory and clicked the handle and then- suddenly I was in bed. Three weeks ago."
Ozpin let out a breath, putting his pen down completely now, placing his face in his hands.
"Of course." he murmured. Ozpin glanced back up. "Three weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I had been falling and all I could remember of it was your name."
"That was probably when I woke up too."
"I'm sorry, Oscar. I should have been there sooner," Ozpin said, he looked genuinely distraught by Oscar's story.
"It's okay," Oscar said, "I understood why you wanted to get away. I almost ran away myself."
There was the sound of a bell. Ozpin held up a hand for Oscar to pause and pressed a button on his desk. Glynda walked in from the elevator with a teapot and a mug. She placed it on the table.
"How is everything going?" She asked, looking between their downcast faces.
"Unfortunately no good news," Ozpin sighed, grabbing the teapot and refilling his mug and filling up the extra mug and sliding it to Oscar, "Maybe we should talk about now for a while." He sipped his mug of hot chocolate. "I would like for you to stay here for the time being, at Beacon. Even if Salem is still not aware of your existence, I still feel like I have some responsibility for your well-being and safety."
Oscar sipped from his cup, "Okay,"
"You can't be a student," Glynda remarked, "Amber said he's fourteen, right?"
"Well yes," Ozpin said, "But he is also twelve."
Glynda frowned and looked at Oscar who shrugged.
"Time travel, man."