章 1836: 67
Chapter 67 Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Hey kid," Qrow started, rather more lamely and less "cool" than normal as he settled into the windowsill of Team CMNE's room, looking around at the surprisingly dark and broody themed dorm with a somewhat intrigued expression. Hm. Well. Then again, maybe it wasn't surprising considering how Cinder already loved wearing red and black and Mercury was two steps away from being a goth and Emerald preferred dark corners anyway. Neo's area was the only difference, almost like a children's bedroom with the pink, gauzy curtains around the bed and the white and brown sheets and the myriad of pastel colors that were so at odds with how she used to live with the Vanilles where everything was rich and noble and utterly devoid of soul and personality.
It was also, almost, an exact duplicate of how she'd arranged her room back home, adjusted for the mess of living in a dorm room just barely large enough for four people.
Interestingly enough, they had, at some point, also rearranged their beds into bunks, all reinforced at multiple points with steel tubing and cross braces.
Cinder's bunk remained tellingly unused, as was Emerald's.
Speaking of Cinder, Qrow's adoptive daughter stood there in the room along with Ruby and Yang, the three of them in an awkward line as they faced the older Huntsman.
"Hey, Dad. What's up? It's not like you to just… call for a family meeting out of nowhere. Especially during the middle of the day," Cinder started, tilting her head to the side as she cocked her hip, blowing her hair out of her face and looking every inch his kid as she stared him down. "By the way, Professor Vega was pissed that you called me out of class like that. I was in the middle of sword training too, so thanks for that ."
"Sorry, sorry. It's important though," Qrow sighed, turning to his nieces and giving them a light wave. "Hey squirts. Y'all might wanna sit down for this, it's a bit of a doozy."
"What's going on, Uncle Qrow? Is there something happening- is the White Fang gonna attack or something, or like, a big grimm invasion or something?" Ruby asked, tail flicking anxiously as they all took a seat- Cinder on Neo's bed, Ruby and Yang on the floor. "You feel really nervous and also super angry at someone, is it-"
"Let him talk, Rubes. If Uncle Qrow says it's important, it's probably not gonna be something as simple as the White Fang or just grimm," Yang sighed, popping a hand over Ruby's mouth to halt the flow of words before turning back to Qrow. "It is something big, though. Isn't it?"
"Yeah, and it's something I shoulda read you guys in on about a year or so ago, but Tai and Oz convinced me otherwise," Qrow almost snarled at the mention of Ozpin, but shook his head anyway. "It concerns… a lot of those missions I take on my own without anyone else. Plus the real reason why I'm back at Beacon, and… Cinder's future. Plus… Ruby's past."
"That's ominous," Cinder deadpanned, checking her nails and rolling her eyes at her adoptive father, shaking her head a moment later and shrugging. "So, what's all this about?"
"Well, there's no easy place to start this explanation, but… I'll try and start from about as far back as I know," Qrow seemed to droop slightly, bringing one leg up and resting his elbow on it as he suddenly seemed to age a few years just from the weight of the conversation. "Oz'd start all this shit with need to know bullshit, saving information for when you need it most but I figure it's best to tell it to you at the same time- whether you tell your teams and friends or not I don't care, as long as they're trustworthy enough to hide a secret this big. I know Emerald, Mercury, and Neo are, but… I don't blame you if you decide not to tell."
He paused, pulling a flask from his pocket and unscrewing the top for a moment before shaking his head and setting it down. "The way Ozpin would start is by asking what your favorite fairytale is, but every time he's asked that no one's ever answered with the one he was talking about so we'll skip it. Point is… Ozpin is an immortal wizard tasked with stopping an evil monster from destroying the world. The grimm and a whole shitload of disasters, murders, deaths, and near extinctions in the past have all been her fault. Her name… is Salem ."
Ruby gasped, trembling suddenly as her entire body went ramrod still and a spike of pure anxiety ran down her spine. "The woman from those dreams I had- the pale lady with the white hair. She- she looked… like me … but… not. Different. Salem… is- is that who you and dad were so scared of? When… when I had those dreams for a while? I… I haven't had any since but…"
"Yeah. Long story short, whenever Ozpin dies, he reincarnates in a new person. Salem can't die and has been the leading cause of problems for the last… gods know how long. Also, magic is real," Qrow interjected, trying to move this along as fast as possible because the topic was stupid and Oz was a bastard for putting this on the heads of his daughter and his niece. "I know you've heard the Story of the Seasons. Well, it's true. Oz was the old man, the girls were called Maidens, and everytime one of them dies, their power passes on to the next girl they think of, or some poor, random gal out in the middle of nowhere. Oz… wants Cinder to take the mantle of Fall Maiden after the current one, Amber, was attacked by… someone."
He grimaced, rubbing his neck with one hand as he looked over to Cinder and pulled a face. "We don't know who, and we don't know what … but they had all the hallmarks of trained assassins- even I could barely drive them off. And even then… they stole some of Amber's powers, shared it between themselves somehow. Using a grimm. "
"That's… that sounds impossible…" Yang spoke up, furrowing her brow in concern. "What do you- magic is real and- Professor Ozpin wants Cinder to be a fucking wizard!? And what do you mean-"
"There's a lot of spotty information and I don't exactly have the most time to say it, squirt," Qrow sighed again, pinning Yang with a serious stare. "I'm sorry to say it but… Look. I don't want you guys to get involved at all. You're still students- kids. Cinder's barely twenty, you two are still first years. If I can help it, I'm not letting any of you or your friends get sucked into Oz's little conspiracy for anything. Cinder- I can't tell you what the right choice is. If you take the power, you'll be hunted down for it by the most evil bitch in the world. Ruby… I want to keep you safe, as much as possible. I don't know how Salem did what she did, but that grimm that turned you into what you are now wasn't normal and… I don't want to know what she'd do to you if she ever managed to get her claws into you. She already hunts down anyone with silver eyes, someone like you… it'd be… unthinkable, what she could do."
"Wait- silver eyes? Why is she hunting…" Ruby paused, shuddering a little as her ears and tail went limp behind her. "Is… is it because of that light that… when I became what I am now?"
"Yeah. Yeah…" Qrow nodded reluctantly, pushing himself up so he could walk over and kneel before Ruby. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, then drew her into a tight, tight hug full of worry and regret and fear . "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry Ruby. Silver eyes are the ultimate weapon against grimm, and just by having them you've been thrown into a conflict I wanted to keep you far, far away from. All of us- you three were supposed to be safe and I… I couldn't protect you. Not like I should have."
"You did your best, Uncle Qrow," Ruby immediately answered, her voice somewhat small and wavering as she hugged her uncle back, her cape wrapping around the two in a swirl of red as she buried her face into his shoulder and held him close. "You protected us just as much as we needed."
"Ruby's right- it's not your fault that we got involved at all, it's that Salem bitch that's responsible for this," Yang cut in, joining the hug without shame as she wrapped her arms around the two. "You're still our favorite uncle, Uncle Qrow."
"I'm your only uncle, squirt," Qrow snorted, blinking tears from his eyes as he held onto his nieces for a moment before sighing once again and turning to Cinder, who seemed lost in thought and was currently molding a piece of glass with her aura as she superheated it and held it above her hand. "You good, kid? I'm… sorry about dropping this bomb on you, but I couldn't not let you know. Not when Oz wanted you to be the new Fall Maiden and was going to drag you into it without any forewarning."
"... I… don't know what to think," Cinder murmured, chewing her lip as her eyes glowed with the use of her Aura, not sure what to do in the wake of the revelations. "I need to know more. About who'd be hunting me. About who's hunting… Amber . We need to know more about Salem and what their plans are- did you get any good looks at who stole her powers?"
She turned, setting her glass aside in the form of an ornate dagger before joining the three on the floor and hugging her father. "If we're going to be involved, even if you don't want us to… we need to know everything."
Qrow nodded. "Then I'll tell you everything I know. Settle in kids… it's gonna be a long explanation."
Notes:
Sometimes plot stuff has to happen. Sad, I know.
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