[It's an almost panicked realization, as the disorientation from the lab settles after their escape--he was there more than once. And he saw...he saw her. It wasn't an illusion or a hallucination, was it. No more than "Ozma" had been.
There's just a steady stream of 'shitshitshitshitshit--' running on loop in his mind when he grabs his Fluid]
[ Ozpin has had a very trying day. When his Fluid pings and he sees Qrow's name on the screen, he is hopeful it won't be anything more difficult to deal with than some new light ribbing about his romantic life.
pretty sure i thought she was the girl from the tower at first
[It had been a sort of reluctant compassion, a mix of guilt, pity, and loyalty to the man before him that had led him to help her. He supposes he'll find out how much he's to regret it soon.]
but she turned back once we got out the lab made me forget when i went back for you
[ Qrow saw her too, as Oz hoped he'd only imagined her: peach-pale skin, green eyes, desperate and human. She had been real. She had been really her.
Qrow rescued her. He set her free.
For a horrible moment, Ozpin despairs over that mistake.
They could have left her there. They could have kept her shut away in a little concrete room, battering herself bloody against the walls, and he cannot say whether it would be deserved— it isn't, it never has been— but it would have been safe. If she is here and free, he knows what she will do to him. He knows how she will find the little life he's built and pry it slowly, brutally apart. She will burn his things and slaughter his people and she will do it all without an instant's hesitation, without a moment's regret, she will do it just to let him know she can.
[ i went back for you says Qrow, and this finally registers.
Qrow walked into that place for him, knowing full well what it was. For a moment Ozpin cannot parse the tangle of emotion in his chest, much less handle it. He breathes carefully. He is not panicking. He—
He needs to be somewhere very far away. But it does not matter, it is too late, she will be able to recognize Qrow and Ruby and the rest. She will come down upon Glynda and Oscar and James. She is here. He has lost.
Anything he feels for Qrow is only the reason Qrow will die. ]
[There is a brief, terrifying moment where he's reminded of that moment in the snow:
("What is your plan to defeat Salem?"
"I....don't have one.")
From his answer, he still doesn't have one. But Oz isn't running this time. He'll make plans with them. And they have one advantage they didn't before; they can't die either. Not permanently. It makes the thought of facing Salem a little bit less terrifying.]
is there any chance she'll leave us alone the relics aren't even here there's no reason to fight
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text; like an hour after lab shenanigans
There's just a steady stream of 'shitshitshitshitshit--' running on loop in his mind when he grabs his Fluid]
she's here.
i saw her
no subject
she's here.
He stares at the screen for a long, long time.
Finally: ]
Are you certain she was a Sleeper?
It may have been part of the Lab's illusion.
no subject
i thought she was the girl from the tower at first
[It had been a sort of reluctant compassion, a mix of guilt, pity, and loyalty to the man before him that had led him to help her. He supposes he'll find out how much he's to regret it soon.]
but she turned back once we got out
the lab made me forget when i went back for you
what are we going to do?
(1/2) cws for imprisonment, self-harm mentions
Qrow rescued her. He set her free.
For a horrible moment, Ozpin despairs over that mistake.
They could have left her there. They could have kept her shut away in a little concrete room, battering herself bloody against the walls, and he cannot say whether it would be deserved— it isn't, it never has been— but it would have been safe. If she is here and free, he knows what she will do to him. He knows how she will find the little life he's built and pry it slowly, brutally apart. She will burn his things and slaughter his people and she will do it all without an instant's hesitation, without a moment's regret, she will do it just to let him know she can.
For far too long a while, Ozpin does not reply. ]
(2/3)
Qrow walked into that place for him, knowing full well what it was. For a moment Ozpin cannot parse the tangle of emotion in his chest, much less handle it. He breathes carefully. He is not panicking. He—
He needs to be somewhere very far away. But it does not matter, it is too late, she will be able to recognize Qrow and Ruby and the rest. She will come down upon Glynda and Oscar and James. She is here. He has lost.
Anything he feels for Qrow is only the reason Qrow will die. ]
(3/3)
This is the arrival of something inevitable. He has lived it so many times before.
The best they can do is stall. ]
Do not attempt to engage. Knowing her, it may be a significant time before she goes on the offensive.
I will speak with the others.
no subject
("What is your plan to defeat Salem?"
"I....don't have one.")
From his answer, he still doesn't have one. But Oz isn't running this time. He'll make plans with them. And they have one advantage they didn't before; they can't die either. Not permanently. It makes the thought of facing Salem a little bit less terrifying.]
is there any chance she'll leave us alone
the relics aren't even here
there's no reason to fight
no subject
Hatred is reason enough, I believe.
She may stay dormant a while, but we have no hope of truce.