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bafflement · 8 months

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Ozqrow it is, then. Very slight trigger warning to this one, Zac. It's a very brief, very old memory and I swear to you this prompt has a happy ending.

The reports of Grimm activity were getting worse and worse with each passing day. It seemed that no matter how many hunters were sent to deal with the problem, they couldn't eradicate the flood. They thinned it, yes, but even when they returned, saying that everything was fine, all was over, there were always more where those came from.

Why would Salem concentrate so many resources there, of all places, though? It was a windswept plain, in the middle of nowhere and of no real interest to anybody. Well, if it hadn't been for the fact that so many Grimm appeared to congregate in the area. How though? Grimm were drawn by emotions, yet as far as anyone knew, the place was empty.

No, there had to be something the reports were missing. Something everybody was missing. Ozpin's fingers tightened on the handle of his cane. There was vague feeling, a vague memory there, but it was fleeting, too tenuous to grasp properly. That was unusual, with the memories Ozma had given him, it was usually easy enough to recall them. Was there some trauma, there? Something that, somehow, whichever version of the Wizard had seen something similar needed to hide? He raised one hand to his forehead, biting his lip at the headache forming behind his eyes. Ah, so, whatever it was, they would rather he didn't pry.

Dammit, though, this was important! If it was a situation that had happened before, something that had been seen... he needed to know, needed to know how to stop this, how to fix things. Yes, the Grimm were safe enough where they were, but they almost certainly wouldn't stay there. It was so much more than a mere pocket, after all.

What could he do, though? The council wouldn't see this as important, not really. Despite the number of teams that had gone, the hundreds of Grimm they had killed, it was still just a backwater. It wasn't even in Vale, or not properly. The outskirts were lawless enough, but the likelihood that people would die to whatever was causing this was too great a threat to ignore. Whatever Salem was up to, if there was even a plan there, would need to be countered. It wasn't a relic, at least, he knew where those were, but... he sighed deeply. If only there was an easy option.

There was a thump and a panicked squawk from outside the window and his head shot up, the pain forgotten momentarily. Qrow? But he hadn't expected him back, yet. He'd volunteered to scout in his other form, as he was far too swift for most Grimm to catch... and far too small for any of them to bother with. The fact he was back so quickly only really gave two options, though. Either he had found no traces of Grimm at all... or he had located a possible cause. If the former, then on the surface at least, the problem would have vanished. If the latter, it couldn't be good news. That he had returned alone... whatever it was, he would need backup. Qrow never really used a team anymore, but under the circumstances...

He opened the window, moving out of the way as his long term boyfriend flew rather gingerly through, transforming into the figure he loved. There was a wild look on Qrow's face, though and real panic in his eyes. The latter option, then. Ozpin rather feared just what the other man might tell him and felt another twinge as the headache reaffirmed itself. It didn't matter, though. Whatever that memory was, it looked like he might be about to live through the sequel. He'd know soon enough.

"Oz? Oz, it's bad." Were Qrow's first words, laying heavy on the air. "Ya were right, something is drawing them, but damned if I can see what! There's an area in the center of all this, they're bein' drawn there, but it's empty! Just more windswept... nothingness. You're sure none of your memories can help, here? Only I'm drawing a blank."

Ozpin sighed. "There appears to be... something. I experience headaches whenever I try to recall it, so it may have been something rather traumatic to whichever incarnation experienced it first hand. I do not know what, but... something about a hole? Something..." He broke off, wincing. Enough was enough, this was getting ridiculous. "Excuse me a second, my dearest." Hs face went blank as he focused inwards, coming to the meeting place in his mind and glancing around in hopes that someone might tell him what was going on.

The manifestation, when they emerged, seemed rather reluctant and he blinked at them, surprised. He only vaguely recognised this version of the Wizard, which rather argued that their partnership hadn't been particularly long. He remembered being them, of course, but the entire experience seemed fuzzier than usual. His eyes hardened slightly, out in the real world. Whoever this was... Maroz, he believed? Was definitely hiding something big if he'd been suppressed that deeply within their collective soul.

"I... I... it's happening again?" The voice was an echo, as most of the older ones were, but it seemed weaker, harder to hear. Ozpin just inclined his head, waiting for the other to expand on their words. It took a few minutes, or it felt like that long, before they spoke again. "It is... a child. Or a prisoner. It... was a child, for me, but then everybody felt like a child to me... it's part of the merge, but you know that by now. I failed to rescue them. I... was not strong enough. Will you be?"

"There's somebody trapped under there?" Ozpin hissed, horrified. Maroz merely nodded. He closed his eyes briefly, pained, and when he opened them again, the figure had vanished. The memories though, had not. Flashes of a room, a cell. Packed earth walls and a body. The body didn't appear to be a child, though, which was rather odd considering what he had been informed of. They were young, certainly, but if they had been a Beacon student then they may perhaps have been in their final year. More than old enough to defend themselves and far better than he had feared. The sense of failure, self hatred. But Oz was very used to the latter. He nodded, suppressing the sudden urge to cry. The memories didn't show what connection Maroz had to them, but he knew. Oh, he knew. Only one thing could cause that kind of guilt.

But that was impossible, surely? If they had been an incarnation's child then that would explain the state they had been found in, but he had no children of his own. He couldn't have, he'd know if he had a child somewhere... he'd only ever even had one partner, and Qrow would have told him.

So... not a child, or at least not a child of his. But someone in need of rescuing anyway. He blinked, coming back to himself, the look on his face already more than enough to make Qrow start swearing.

"Where. Can you indicate it on a map, Qrow? It's important, there's a life at risk here." His voice shook slightly to his own ears, though he knew that Qrow was the only person on Remnant likely to realise just how horrified he really was. That was good, because the knowledge of that might just push them both to greater feats. He would have to go with Qrow, the quickest way being to fly, though he was rather out of practice with his own avian form. The form didn't carry over, from life to life, though the ability itself was never truly lost. Each life, he was a different bird, each new soul giving them a different shape even though it was fundamentally the same magic. He shuddered slightly, remembering that one rather disastrous lifetime where he, or rather that version, had been a penguin. It had been utterly useless, of course. Much like that incarnation, actually. At least that bought the briefest ghost of a smile to his lips, even though something in him cried out a denial that any incarnation had ever been truly useless. Ah well, different views.

"It's empty, Oz. There's nobody there." Qrow sounded defensive, after all he'd swept the area several times. Except for the Grimm, there had been absolutely no signs of life.

"Not on the surface. They're under it." Oz's voice was flat, his eyes very hard. "As such, I'll need you to do what you can to distract the Grimm while I mount a rescue mission. I rather fear we won't have time to muster a fresh team, is there anyone still nearby the area, to your knowledge?"

"Team RUGE, maybe? They haven't reported back yet, at least." Oz nodded, then blurred into his own bird form, winking at Qrow. Qrow sighed at the larger form, blurring into his own and following Oz out through the still open window. An Owl during the day, though... Oz was going to have to be careful, though most wouldn't understand the significance.

The team, when they found them, looked haggard and exhausted, but none of them appeared to be wounded. Under the circumstances that would have to do. They glanced at each other, not needing words to communicate and flew on to somewhere private to transform back. They'd need to find an alternate return journey, of course, but that was always on the cards.

"Professor Ozpin? What are you doing here? Oh... hey, Qrow..." Umber seemed rather less enthused to see Qrow than he had been Ozpin, but Qrow just flashed him a wry grin. They weren't exactly friends, but there was a healthy competition between them. Umber wanted to be the best Huntsman in Remnant, of course, a lot of people did. He might just get slightly closer than most, not that he was on Oz's level. But then nobody was or ever really could be, due to the whole... well... Oz thing.

"We have reason to believe a life is at risk." Ozpin stated, voice level. "As such, there needs to be someone around to distract the Grimm while I and Qrow mount a rescue mission. As you are all of you fine Huntsmen, are you up to taking the risk? I will not order you to do this, of course, but I could truly use the help." He spread his hands as team RUGE glanced at each other.

"We'll do it, Professor." Umber said, after a moment. He wasn't the leader of their team on paper, but he'd always seemed to act as the spokesman for them. Unfortunately it had been fractionally before Ozpin became headmaster that the team had entered Beacon for the first time. He might have made a very fine leader in fact, as well as in actions, though there was no way to know, now.

Ozpin sighed, relieved even as he felt rather guilty. This team was old, after all. A few years older than Qrow, the fact they'd stayed together this long had all but guaranteed them a place in the history books. Hopefully that wasn't about to come to a bad end. But then, they all swore to rescue the innocent, and whoever this was was certainly not deserving of being trapped where they were. They needed rescuing, they needed out. Hopefully once they were, the Grimm would thin out and two problems would be solved at once.

All six of them drew their weapons as they drew closer, splitting up into two parts. Team RUGE went to attack the Grimm, Oz and Qrow attempted to work their way towards the center. They did encounter several Grimm along the way, but they were easily enough dealt with. There didn't seem to be many truly dangerous ones around, it was mere numbers that had so worried everybody. After all, it didn't matter how dangerous one was when they appeared to hunt in packs as massive as this. Ozpin closed his eyes, concentrating as Qrow covered him with Harbinger. On the other side of the fight, the team froze briefly, staring at him. That almost, but only almost, cost them dearly.

Dodging a swipe by the skin of their teeth, Rory roared back at them, making quick work of it with his axe. That had been far too close, though... he couldn't believe the sight of Beacon's Headmaster doing... whatever it was he was doing, had distracted him from a fight. Maybe people were right, maybe they really were getting too old for this.

Oz's feet glowed as he sank down into the packed earth, trusting that the pocket he could sense would be big enough for him to breathe in there. If he had to, he could always expend more magic, whoever this was was fast running out of time. He took a deep breath as he sank, hoping it would be a quick enough rescue. There were too many very bad memories centered around being buried alive, after all. There were about a great many things, though. This was far more important than a vague, Ozma caused phobia.

He emerged in a small room, if it could be called that. It should have been pitch black, but the slight glowing his skin emitted was enough to illuminate the packed earth walls and the scared child cowering in the corner. They couldn't be more than ten, but they seemed to react positively to his presence, edging towards him, a desperate hope in their eyes.

Oh dear, the child had hair just as silver as his own, their eyes almost but not qute Qrow's shade of maroon. Had someone seen this child, with their admittedly rather startling coloring, and made rather the wrong guess regarding their paternity? He knew, there had never been a child. But maybe, if whoever this was had lost as much as he rather feared that they had, there could be now?

After all, the last time this had happened, it had been Salem. there were far too many similarities to do anything but assume such was the case again and, if it was, then this child would be on her radar now. There was nowhere they'd ever truly be safe, except, maybe at Beacon or on Patch. Somewhere they could be watched over by those that could protect them until they could protect themselves.

Ozpin waited, patiently. He stowed his cane and spread his hands, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Salem though it had to be, this didn't appear to be a trap, or not at first glance. He could sense nothing, though. If Salem had trapped this place with some sort of magic, he would have felt it by now, but beyond the small room with its single occupant, the place seemed deserted. Something must have shown on his face because the child let out a cry, flinging themselves at him. He couldn't quite understand why, he'd never met them before, but perhaps they could sense that he meant no harm? That or, more likely, they had mistaken him for someone that they had known. He shook his head slightly, it was highly unlikely that any family they had had would have survived the kidnapping.

He held the child gently, murmuring sheer nonsense onto their hair in an attempt at comfort. It seemed to be working, for all that he had not had children in several lifetimes, it appeared some knacks stayed. He wrapped them both in his shield and ascended, trying his best to conceal the nature of their exit from the child in his arms. It didn't entirely work, but soon enough they were back above ground. The Grimm were thinning but not yet gone, however without the child calling to them, he knew they would be before too long.

He glanced down at them, seeing them in daylight for the first time. He was right, their eyes weren't quite Qrow's maroon, though their hair was very nearly a match to his own, there was maybe a shade or two difference between them. The child went still, staring up at him, looking terrified again and he let himself sigh.

Qrow came over, staring at the child in Ozpin's arms in something approaching awe for a few seconds before a sick sort of horror crept into his eyes. So, despite his best efforts, Qrow had already worked out just what this child's presence had to mean, then. It wasn't the first time Salem had gotten something drastically wrong after all, but he did so wish that it wouldn't come with so many ruined lives as often as it did.

"I'm Professor Ozpin, child." Oz stated, softly. The child blinked, obviously recognising the name. Vale, then? Though he had to admit he was rather more famous in this lifetime than he had initially planned, so... maybe not.

"You... you saved me. Mama, do you know where my mama is?" They sounded terrified and rightly so, surrounded as they were by Huntsmen and dying Grimm. And Qrow, of course, Harbinger still out and ready in case any more tried to attack them.

"I am rather afraid that I do not," Oz answered, keeping his voice as soft as possible. There'd been a slight Mistrali accent to the child's words, so at least that was one mystery solved. One of many, though. Their clothing hung off their dusky skin as though it had been made for a larger individual. Play clothes, maybe? He hoped so, at least, though the child was very light in his arms. He swallowed as certain other possibilities reared their head. The Grimm menace had been a problem for almost a month and a half, how had they survived this long, out on their own? They had to have been being fed but... he dismissed the thought, it didn't matter right now. They were safe, they'd be fed soon. Their family would be found, though he dreaded to think what state they may be in. He didn't even know the child's name yet!

"Hey, kid. I'm Qrow, who might you be?" Qrow's voice was welcome, as was the comfort he too seemed to exude towards the child. To the maybe orphan, though that was still rather up in the air. But then, Qrow had nieces, was used enough to comforting them, though they must be younger than this mite, surely? But no, it had been a full eight years since Summer had disappeared. Had vanished, had died? Whatever had happened to her. After all, it was something neither of them would ever forget.

"I'm Brooke. Please, please, will you help find my mama?" Qrow and Oz exchanged glances, knowing the best bet was probably Atlas' computers, since they'd digitised the records for all four kingdoms in pursuit of streamlining things. Well, they were probably out to control people, but then in this case it might prove very useful. Besides, Atlas had the best hospitals and the girl definitely needed to be checked over.

"We will need to take you somewhere safe, to start with, young Brooke. Will you permit us to? It may be rather scary, but I truly believe it is the best chance at finding your mother." Ozpin felt a twinge of regret, though, Atlas was rather intimidating the first time it was viewed by non-natives, after all. Or at least he'd always been told such, though he rather suspected it was always going to be rather different in his case.

The girl just nodded, seemingly having talked enough. She didn’t seem to want to be put down just yet, though, which Ozpin found rather odd. They were strangers after all, why would his appearance comfort her this much? Bu then, anything that did was a good sign under the circumstances. He motioned to Qrow with his head and Qrow took Oz’s scroll, grinning wryly and sending off a quick message to Glynda. She wasn’t going to be at all happy with either one of them, but then they had just managed to save a life, she couldn’t be too annoyed, right? Then again, this was Glynda, of course she could.

Sending off a second message ordering a bullhead to Atlas, they settled down. The fight was winding up, there didn't seem to be any more Grimm, at least. Everybody was exhausted, though that didn't really stop team RUGE from gaping at the child in Ozpin's arms. Rory's eyes flickered from the girl to Qrow, to Oz and back, a clear question in his eyes, though the quick shaking of Oz's head seemed to deter any questions. Brothers, though, how this must look... Qrow and himself swooping [literally] in to rescue this child that looked so very much like what a child of theirs might have looked like. If they had ever dared risk it, that was. Laughable, now, they had been so careful and yet an innocent had still got roped into this. Damn Salem, truly. Maybe the girl's mother was still alive, though. That would be something positive out of this mess, at least?

After a quick discussion with the Huntsman team, a second bullhead was requested to take them back to Vale proper. Though usually they might have made the trip, after the amount of fighting they had done Ozpin deemed it rather unwise. Qrow approved a rather hefty bonus for them, again using his scroll and with his blessings. They were definitely one of the better teams, he would be rather sad to see the day they retired. If he ever did, of course, which considering recent events... well. Best not to think about that.

When the bullhead came, Brooke let herself be carried into it without complaint, sighing as she settled into the relative comfort of the chair Ozpin placed her in.

"Professor? Do you think you'll really find my mama?" She asked, sounding serious and more adult than he had been expecting. Oz sighed.

"We'll do our best, Brooke. I'm afraid it might not be the answer you are hoping for, however."

She bit her lip but nodded. "I know, People die, I just... mama."

"I know, I've lost enough people to know it's hard. We don't know what we'll find though and I would urge you not to give up hope."

"Okay. Professor? What happens to me, if..." she'd started to cry slightly and Ozpin hovered, looking vaguely awkward. It had been awhile since he'd had a child this young in his charge, after all.

"We will do our best. I need to make a few calls, but I'll be right here if you need me, as will Qrow." Qrow nodded, moving closer to the girl. Wonder of wonders, he hadn't taken a single pull from his flask since they'd gone on this mission. It was probably temporary, but Oz couldn't help but be impressed nonetheless.

The trip to Atlas was quick, thankfully. With Qrow distracting her, she didn’t even seem to notice the looming flying city drawing ever closer to their ship, though the courtesy notice he’d sent to James appeared not to have been read yet. Maybe this way he’d stay out of things, though, since he was very aware that he and Qrow did not exactly get on very well. The last thing anyone needed was a fight in front of what had to be a very traumatised child. He wasn’t entirely certain what, if anything, Qrow had managed to get out of her in regards to her past, but he was certain that, whatever it was, he would tell him in due time if it was important. Thankfully, Salem rarely repeated plots, so this was unlikely to happen again, or not for several more millennia. He just hoped that the war they were waging between them wouldn’t last that long. It couldn’t, surely there had to be some way of ending it?

They pulled up in front of one of the best hospitals in Atlas. Being Atlas, it was military but under the circumstances they would take what they would get. He just hoped that they wouldn't prove too overwhelming to young Brooke, but then they were professionals. He'd been here before, once, they were good at their jobs. He scowled at the speed in which they seemed to rush to greet him specifically, ignoring Qrow entirely. They seemed to be ignoring Brooke, too, so he coughed rather pointedly. Gesturing towards the young girl, he explained why they were there. Oh good, that seemed to have gotten through to them. He was glad something did, at least.

Qrow scowled next to him, the similarity of their expressions seeming to drive those that greeted them... well, Ozpin really, to move faster. There was a ping from Oz's scroll somewhere in the mix though, oh damn had someone actually told Jimmy where they were?

Brooke was quickly settled into a small room, the doctor summoned to examine her. He at least had the sense to allow one of them to stay with her, the last thing anyone needed was to make her feel abandoned on her own in Atlas of all places. They even got her something to eat, although she had seemed to actually enjoy the ration bars Qrow had given her for the journey. Just what must she have been eating to willingly stomach those?

The doctor hummed and ran her DNA at the same time. The face he turned to Qrow’s own was grave and he felt something sink. So, she really was an orphan then. Of everything they had been expecting, this somehow hit the worse. He’d been where she was once. Though he’d had a twin, he’d also ended up in the Branwen bandit camp so… yeah, that was far less than an ideal outcome, either.

Maybe she had extended family? It was up to him to tell her, but he could tell by the look on her face that she’d already figured it out.

“I’m sorry, kid… I’m so, so damn sorry.” There was a choking note in his voice, and Brooke’s face fell. At least she was letting herself cry. He held his arms out but she didn’t seem to want a hug. He couldn’t blame her, really.

Outside the door, he could see Oz’s shoulders slump. So he knew, now, too. It was always so hard watching something like this, but in this case it was so very much worse than normal. In this case, what had happened to this child was at least partially his fault. The coloring could not be coincidence, not that close to a mixture between Oz and himself. He knew Oz knew it too. But maybe there might still be some way of at least attempting to protect this girl? The barest germ of an idea was slowly making its way through his head. They'd see, though. It might well not be possible in the end.

Of course, Jimmy took that moment to show up with half the Ace Operatives. Of course he did since technically they were in his territory. He'd no idea who had tipped Jimmy off as to which hospital they were in but, ah well. What was done was already done and couldn't be taken back now.

"My apologies, James, but I did inform you that I would be in Atlas briefly alongside Qrow. Your computer records were needed in order to ascertain whether the child we rescued had living family. She mentioned a mother, however, well..." Oz trailed off, meaningfully. James, to his credit, looked briefly chagrined. He started talking about orphanages but Oz raised a hand to stop the flow of words.

“No James. Salem took her as far as I can determine because someone believed that she was ours. Mine and Qrow’s. I fear no orphanage would be safe for her under circumstances such as this. I think I’m going to need adoption papers, but that is not fully my decision. Either way, we cannot leave her defenseless, not after this.”

“You’re certain it was her, then? James’ voice wass hushed, though there was nobody near enough to overhear their conversation. That was one of the better things about the more military organisations on Atlas, they rarely dared to interfere with those they felt outranked them. And as for Ironwood and Ozpin? Well, they were just about as safe as they could be.

“I am. Those papers?” Oz’s voice was terse, the stress of the last few hours finally making itself known and James blinked.

“Of course, I’ll get them to you as soon as possible.”

Oz nodded and moved into the doorway of the room that still held Brooke and Qrow. His face was as serene as always, but his eyes were very much not. Qrow looked up as he entered, looking just as worried as Oz felt. But it didn't matter what they wanted, it was up to Brooke now.

"We did inform you that what would happen should the worst occur was up to you, Brooke." Ozpin said, gently. She blinked up at him innocently, looking vaguely confused.

"Would you take me? You're safe." The request was brief but heartfelt and Oz and Qrow exchanged startled looks.

"Well, yes, if you would truly wish us to. However the person who took you has not been eliminated, you may still be in danger whatever happens."

"That's okay. You're Huntsmen! They'll never get past you!" Oh, the simple faith of a child.

"Well, Oz? Guess we gotta live up to that now." Qrow's smile was soft, as were his eyes and Oz couldn't help brush a kiss over his lips. Brooke snorted in the background, though they both knew her mother's death would hit her later. At least, maybe this way she could have some sort of a childhood.

"What would I ever do without you?" Oz murmured, smiling too. Well, then that was that. They hadn't gone looking for a family out of this mess but if it saved a little girl from Salem's machinations, then that was always the best outcome. Besides, she really did look rather like them.

Oh no, Tai would be insufferable over this news. Neither one of them could really bring themselves to care, though. Yang and Ruby would adore their new cousin so that was a positive at least.

Of course this meant that Salem had technically been correct, if only after the fact. Maybe the sheer amusement might even stay her hand long enough to let Brooke grow up?

Larger miracles had happened.

In the years that followed, both Qrow and Oz couldn't help but think back to this day. They always marvelled at how quickly their family had formed out of what had originally promised to be great tragedy. They never forgot how lucky they were to still be alive, to have each other. What would any of the three truly do, without each other, after all?

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