章 1973: 203
"I can't believe it… they're alive…" Oscar muttered from where he stood in Ironwood's office, looking out the window and towards the distance where he could see massive flashes of light going off in the colors of Team JNPR's respective Auras- gold, crimson, pink, and green all melding together in a wave that annihilated grimm en masse. "They're… they're back…"
"Not only back, but stronger than ever, it looks like," Qrow grinned from where he stood at Oscar's side, clapping a hand on the boy's shoulder and fingering the hilt of Harbinger II from where it hung on his back. "I think… we're gonna be okay."
"No- I think we're going to win," Oscar smiled, breathing out slowly as the tension in his shoulders slowly left his body little by little and the seeds of hope flared in his chest. "Salem and the grimm may have torn down a lot… might have divided humanity and done so much damage that it's almost irreparable… but I think, genuinely, we have a chance now. That we're going to win this thing once and for all."
"You really think so, huh?" Qrow hummed, pursing his lips thoughtfully as he and Oscar slowly turned away from the window, heading out of the office and through the halls- the sounds of distant explosions and gunfire still reaching them due to the utter cacophony coming from down below. "Shit's going down, there's an army of grimm trying to crush Mantle and a hundred thousand more attacking Atlas itself, and you think we're gonna win?"
"You think so too, Qrow," Oscar snorted, continuing to hurry along with The Long Memory in his hands- if he was right… he'd probably need to be there for the final blow. There wasn't anything that told him that he needed to be there- just that there seemed to be something in the back of his mind, in his soul, that told him that… The Long Memory would be needed. That he would be needed in some capacity.
But not yet. Not while the tide of grimm was still being produced- ebbing as it was.
So he and Qrow continued to walk along through the halls of the Atlesian military base, eyes dead ahead as they stalked through the now empty halls and made no attempts to go anywhere but the hangar.
"I think that things'll turn out okay. Whether or not we're gonna see Salem's defeat today isn't part of that- just that whatever happens, we'll probably be fine. Even with Jimmy panicking and trying to get Neo to open the Vault for him earlier," Qrow snorted, rolling his eyes a little as he continued guiding Oscar along. "Now c'mon, we gotta get to the hangar. I got a feeling…"
"I have a feeling too," Oscar nodded along easily, taking a look around and noting just how quiet everything was… up until the point that they passed through one of the larger intersectional areas and heard… muffled swearing? "... Uh…?"
"... there isn't supposed to be anyone here," Qrow muttered, frowning as he placed one hand on Harbinger II's hilt again, narrowing his eyes and looking around. "Who the hell…?"
He looked around slowly, suspiciously, pursing his lips and drawing Harbinger II fully while Oscar pulled The Long Memory from where it sat at his waist, standing back to back with Qrow as they approached where the muttering and swearing seemed to be coming from.
"There!"
Quick as a flash, Qrow threw open the door to a storage closet faster than any unawares opponent could react and-
"Jacques Schnee!?" He spluttered, taken aback even as he pointed Harbinger II's shotgun barrels at the man, having expected some kind of actual threat to have found its way into the base instead of the tied up, gagged form of the man who was supposed to be the newest member of Atlas' council. "The hell are you doing here!?"
"It's a trap you doddering imbecile! That bastard Watts wanted to lure you in here and separate you!" Jacques spat the moment that Qrow reached out to undo the gag, hissing in rage as Qrow whirled around in surprise… only for the door to slam shut between him and Oscar in an instant and trap the two of them inside the storage room.
"OSCAR! Shit!" Qrow shouted, slamming his fist against the door as it closed just a moment too quickly for him to respond. "Dammit! Wh- how!? Why can't I open the door!?"
"Because Watts hacked the base systems and has nigh complete control over everything in here thanks to using my credentials as the newest council member to access the server rooms," Jacques growled, struggling in his bonds while both Qrow and Oscar pounded at the door… up until the point that Qrow simply pointed Harbinger II at the door lock, shouted for Oscar to get back… and fired.
KRA-THOOM!
It turned out that Atlas' highly reinforced bullet resistant door materials could not stand up to the force of a Ruby Rose special anti-Deathstalker shotgun slug.
It also turned out that firing such a powerful shell in an enclosed space usually used to store cleaning materials was a really, really bad idea for anyone without Aura- as exemplified by Jacques suddenly screaming as the noise almost burst his ear drums from the sheer pressure spike that it forced into the storage closet before the door opened and the pressure equalized.
"ARRGH! MY EARS! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS!" Jacques groaned, toppling over slowly and wiggling in his bonds as he thrashed in pain, the chair he was tied to making a rather unsatisfying thunk as it hit the floor while Jacques' head made a much more satisfying crack. "Grhghk! My head…!"
"Yeah, well, you're lucky I promised to keep my hands clean in the event of an emergency," Qrow deadpanned, rolling his eyes as he shouldered Harbinger II and kicked open the door fully and stepped out into the hallway. "... Can't believe that worked. Oscar, you good?"
"... Ears are ringing a little, but yeah. Should we uh… do something about Mr. Schnee?" Oscar asked, watching as Qrow stepped out of the room and shook his head. "I mean… I don't wanna just leave him there, but… I mean… Weiss did say…"
"Weiss can stab him herself. I'm not shooting a guy while he's tied up on the ground even if he is a piece of shit," Qrow huffed, grumbling as he sheathed Harbinger II onto his back and started striding back into the base. "Oscar, you go ahead. Find someone you can trust- phone 'em, maybe- and get to the whale. I'm gonna deal with Watts. That is, if Jimmy hasn't had to deal with him yet already. Been wondering what's taking him n' Glynda so long…"
"I hope they're doing alright…" Oscar murmured under his breath, watching Qrow go for a few moments before shaking his head. "Oh- uh… be safe, Uncle Qrow."
"..." Qrow paused, just long enough to turn around and give Oscar a small smile and a nod. "You too, kid. And Ozpin- keep the squirt alive as long as you're still in his noggin, yeah?"
Oscar snorted out a quick laugh, shaking his head as his eyes flashed with a slightly different shade of green for a moment before he nodded back at Qrow with a resolute smile on his face, both of them finding a moment of levity in such a serious situation.
"... He says he will."
"Good," Qrow nodded again, then swept away down the hall with a fast, yet unhurried pace while… flipping a coin? Oscar didn't know why he was flipping a coin, but… maybe it was something like Clover Ebi's Semblance? Regardless. "Come back safe. I got a job to do… and so do you."
"I've got a job to do," Oscar muttered to himself, heading towards the hangars once again- if he could just find someone to watch his back. Maybe not the Ace Ops because they were busy… Specialist Schnee was also definitely protecting the streets… more than he could do at least… all he could do was…
He shook his head, ignoring those thoughts as he made his way down through the corridors and tried to not get lost. Who could he call on? Who would even help out in a crisis this big? There weren't a lot of options and there was even less time…
"Hey kid! Need a lift?"
"Miss Hill? When did you get here?" Oscar stopped in his tracks as he entered the hangar, blinking at the sight of Robyn Hill… and also the strange, magical looking creatures at her side. "And who's... Wait- what the-?"
"Just get in the Manta, I'll tell you what's going on while we get there!" Robyn shook her head, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the open doors of the Manta shuttle behind her, Oscar jerking from the sudden reminder of the actual Kingdom ending crisis they were in the middle of and sort of half-jogging forward, regardless of the very, very cute looking giant mouse thing and the very, very soft looking giant horned rabbit thing also following them into the depths of the Manta. "C'mon, we don't have a lot of time!"
"R-right!"
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