Remnant's Calling

3x2: The Bigger Picture

The elevator ride was quiet. No voices, no ghosts, and no one else but him. It would be calming if not for the circumstances this trip was about. Fritz drew a long breath and then let it out through his nose. Eventually, he felt the elevator halt, with the doors open soon after. His eyes locked on the formally dressed man in silver. 

"Ah, there you are!" Ozpin said. His perpetual smile stuck to his face. "I hope I wasn't interrupting your festival experience." 

Fritz stepped forward, his hands in his pockets. "A little, but it's okay," he replied dismissively. "Now, what is it that you need me for?" 

"I wanted to introduce you to a very important colleague." He gestured to the man. 

The stranger stepped forward and stretched out his hand. "I'm General Ironwood. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He shook the General's hand. "Fritz." 

"Ozpin here says that you used to be a soldier. An exceptionally superb one at that." 

"I was," he answered somberly. His thoughts drifted back to the calls he had received. 

"Then I assume you know what I'm about to ask you."

As General Ironwood continued, his words blended into a cacophony of muddied and jumbled words. Then, he thought back, and his mind raced to the calls. How many died because of the actions he and others committed in misguided patriotism or general hatred. Moments passed until one of Richard's speeches replayed in his mind, 'what you do from here on won't serve a purpose. You'll never see the full picture, and it's your fault.' 

"No," he stated finally. His stern and angered voice broke the quiet of his thoughts. "Not this time," he added. Fritz looked up, almost glaring at Ironwood and Ozpin; eventually, he rose to his feet, staring them down as he did so. "I need the whole picture, and I won't help you with a goddamned thing until I do." 

Ozpin stood, meeting him on his level. "Are you sure? Once I tell you this, you will never see things the same again," he told him directly and pointedly. 

"Don't spare a single detail, Oz. Not one," Fritz answered without a shadow of a doubt. 

Ozpin sighed, averted his gaze, and sat back down. His hands propped up in front of him. "I suggest you take a seat, Mr. Fritz. This will be... a lot to take in." 

⋯

"And that is the full extent of all that we know. Do you have any questions?" Ozpin asked, inclining him to prod into anything further.

Fritz was standing, pacing back and forth; his thoughts were reeling from what he had been told. "Fuck..." he eventually said, "I thought we'd just lost our fuckin' paddle up shit's creek. But, it turns out we're practically fuckin' drowning in it." 

"I understand if you'd like to return to your dorm to assess the situation fully." 

Ozpin's suggestion made him stop in his tracks and curse under his breath. "No. I... I didn't think it would be this fucking crazy, but I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise considering how I got here." 

"Ah, Ozpin had informed me about that. You said you were transported here, right?" Ironwood chimed questioningly. 

Jacket perked up and snapped toward the headmaster. "You told him?" 

"Forgive me, but I thought it necessary that Ironwood be aware of it." 

Jacket slowly approached his deck, staring daggers at the man. "What else did you tell him?" 

General Ironwood stepped between the two. "He told me everything that was on a need-to-know basis." Fritz relaxed and took a few steps, sighing and cursing to himself. "Please, don't blame him; it was me who insisted that he-"

He held his hand up, interrupting him. "Stop," he stated firmly. Drawing a breath, Fritz shook his head, then turned around. "Just tell me who else is in this secret club you've going on."

"Professor Goodwitch, Qrow, General Ironwood, and Mistral and Shade Academy headmasters. As well as their closest associates." 

"Who the hell is Qrow?" 

The far-off sounds of an explosion stopped Ozpin from answering. Instead, Ironwood rushed the window behind Ozpin, spotting the figures seemingly in a confrontation. "That would be Qrow. Although he appears to have aggravated one of my specialists." Ironwood groaned inwardly before turning and briskly walking to the elevator. "We'll continue this in a moment."

Fritz went to the window while Ozpin watched the General disappear behind the elevator doors. 

"Hey, what's this Qrow character like, exactly?" Fritz asked, watching the distant fight below. "Other than an instigator." 

Ozpin sighed in annoyance while he pinched the bridge of his nose. "A drunk who seems to be keen on pissing people off. Pardon my language." 

Moments of silence had passed before Fritz spoke up, asking, "be honest with me here: what's your part in this? How do you know all of this? Because I see it, you know more than you're letting on." 

"How much do you regret the things you did?" Ozpin asked after reflection. "Given the chance, would you go back and do things differently?"  

Fritz glanced at Ozpin with a tinge of familiarity. "I understand," he replied. 

"Thank you." 

⋯

The elevator's ding pulled the focus of Ozpin and Fritz as it opened soon after. General Ironwood stepped out first, followed by a short, pale-skinned woman who looked eerily similar to Weiss, Professor Goodwitch, and a tall, thin man with a familiar red cloak trudged behind them. 

"Mr. Fritz, this is Winter Schnee, an Atlas Specialist, and this is Qrow, a drunk." 

Qrow perked up at the name. "Huh, so you're the one Ruby was talking about." 

Fritz raised a brow and crossed his arms. "What did she say?" 

"That we'd get along," he mused flatly, pulling a flask from his vest. 

"Whiskey?" Fritz questioned, pointing at the flask. 

"How'd you know?" Qrow responded, taking a drink. 

Fritz chuckled. "We think alike as it seems." 

Qrow seemed to take note before stowing it away in his vest. "Now, why is it you called me back here? Unless it's for these two idiots." He pointed to Fritz and Winter. 

"And that's coming from a drunkard," Winter snapped irritably. 

"A drunkard who'd beat you so bad you'd wish you stuck to hiding behind daddy's pantleg."

Winter's hand shot to the hilt of her sword, but Ironwood stopped her. Qrow smirked at how easily she got angry. 

"No, Qrow, it's about the intel you gathered."

"Oh, right. They're bringing crates of the dust of the mountain to the abandoned village. If I had to guess, whatever their plan is, it's got to do with the train."

"Then we'll have a bullhead drop you and Mr. Fritz close by. Although you'll be walking for the rest of the way."

"Great," he said with great sarcasm, "and I thought my teaching days were over."

"Qrow, do not mistake Mr. Fritz as some amateur. And while he may not be as skilled as you are, that doesn't mean he's dead weight."

The old drunkard eyed Fritz before looking back at Ozpin. "Sure," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Come on, kid. Let's go start some trouble."