I think I need to stop drinking... That was the first thing that crossed Qrow's mind when he walked through that door and found himself facing an empty space that extended indefinitely beyond the horizon. Or maybe I'm not drinking enough.
Yeah, it had to be that.
Because only when he was drunk could he deal with all the crazy stuff that had been happening since that golden light appeared to fuck everything up.
While it was true that Vale had suffered severe damage to its residential area and Mistral had fallen, both could still recover and be recovered.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for countless settlements that had been completely destroyed and their populations wiped out, leaving nothing but a reminder of how fucked up Remnant truly was.
There was so much blood, death, and destruction out there that Qrow just wanted to be able to forget everything.
So he drank as if it were his last meal, and no one could blame him for that... but he could blame someone else.
Apparently, that spiky-haired fucker was responsible for all this shit. How was that possible, you ask? Qrow didn't know, only that this guy wasn't the first or the only anomaly walking in this world.
However, after what happened this past week, Prince Vegeta managed to become the worst of them.
Considering what Salem has been doing for the last millennium, that was quite an achievement.
So, to make a bad situation even worse, Ruby and Yang were in that monster's house.
When Qrow found out, his heart sank—just like when Summer died. As if worrying about their safety wasn't enough- something that only got worse with every mutilated and devoured body of a young girl he found out there- these two idiots had managed to get themselves involved with a walking calamity.
Qrow expected this from Yang, since she had always been reckless and irresponsible like this, but Ruby? Perhaps they had sheltered and protected her too much over the years, because this level of naivety could end up killing her one day.
When Tai found out how far his daughters' rebelliousness really went, he, too, would seek comfort in the arms of Lord and Savior Liquor... after going ballistic on them.
Qrow would be there, helping his old friend decide on the punishment for these two reckless brats and in emptying each of those bottles.
Fortunately, they seemed fine, but that didn't change the stupidity of what they had done.
As for the Prince, ignoring the disturbing fact that he had a thing with the mini ice queen or that he might be an alien of divine origin, the moment he turned his back to guide them to his house, Qrow felt an uncontrollable urge to kill him.
With his guard down, no matter how powerful Vegeta supposedly was, his head would roll through the air like anyone else's, and everything would be solved.
However, he couldn't even try.
Not because Ozpin had told him not to do anything stupid, just as he always did, and was openly ignored. Or because of the seriousness of his old mentor and the presence of his nieces—no, Qrow could feel in his soul that if he attacked, he would pay for it with his life and achieve nothing.
It wasn't for nothing that Ozpin seemed to be on edge too, even after all the shit he must have seen in his endless life.
Truth be told, not even this strange place seemed to be much for him, and it showed in the reaction he was having.
"A pocket dimension?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued by what presented itself before his eyes—or the lack thereof. "And an easily accessible one, too."
It felt like a tremendous security flaw.
However, considering that there was nothing to guard besides this small temple and an empty space, perhaps that was to be expected.
"You don't seem surprised or impressed," Vegeta noted, this wizard's reaction being overly lukewarm. Very different from the others.
Glynda and Winter were clearly fascinated by the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, just as expected. The drunkard, filled with hatred and murderous intent, on the other hand, seemed to be having an existential crisis, and his mind was wandering.
While this was strange, it was better than being consumed by his emotions and doing something stupid.
Ruby seemed to sense this as well and was ready to intervene if necessary. Otherwise, Vegeta would send him to the hospital with all his ribs broken... or to the cemetery.
"Well—" How should Ozpin explain this without aggravating this man? "I'm confused, if anything." He turned his attention to the empty space before him. "What is this supposed to prove?"
Even if Vegeta had created this dimension, it would not serve as proof of his origin, but rather of his power.
Something completely unnecessary.
The chaos and destruction outside were already more than enough testament to his otherworldly abilities.
"Yeah," Qrow agreed just to get on this guy's nerves, and began to walk around. "What is this place supposed to do?"
Yang was having déjà vu and could only wince as she watched her uncle get caught off guard by the increased gravity as soon as he stepped outside the temple's boundaries.
She was so distracted that she didn't even have the time to warn him about the dangers of this place.
"Argh!" Qrow groaned in pain as he hit the ground, almost as if a ton was pressing down on his body! "Wh-what the fuck?!"
All that attitude had been ripped out of him, just like his flask of liquor, and that was the part that really hurt him.
Yup. Yang could only nod in understanding of the feeling and the pain. That's my uncle, all right.
She didn't need a DNA test to prove that.
Interesting. Ozpin narrowed his eyes and focused on the difficulty his student was having standing up...and retrieving his flask of liquor. So there is some protection here.
The kind that increased gravitational pressure, but not enough to be lethal. At least, not for an Aura user.
"What's happening to him?" Glynda seemed to be the only one concerned about her coworker's safety, but only until she saw Qrow crawling after his flask in a situation like this and was struck with disappointment. You've got to be kidding me.
With that, it was clear that this man had a serious problem and needed professional help.
"It's okay," Ruby was the one to explain as she tried to ignore the embarrassment her uncle was going through. "Outside this temple, gravity is ten times greater than normal."
While it could be dangerous, that was only the case if you spent too much time exposed to it and didn't have your Aura unlocked.
There was also the temporal dilation that gave the room its name, but that didn't seem important at the moment. Surely, Vegeta would talk about it later... after he stopped acting like a villain.
Unexpectedly, he wasn't the only one.
"Heheheh."
Looking back, they came across the unexpected combination of Vegeta and Winter, both laughing heartily at how pathetic Qrow could be.
Weiss couldn't help but smile too, and in a much more natural way, being happy to see these two coming together for something in common—even if the reason for that wasn't the best.
"Ahem," Ozpin cleared his throat, trying to bring some order to this mess. "Glynda, if you don't mind."
She did mind, but decided to help anyway so that Qrow could stop bringing shame to the name of all Hunters.
As expected, his weight was ten times heavier than it should have been due to the increased gravity, but it was nothing she couldn't handle with relative ease.
"Wait!" Qrow was almost getting his flask back when he felt Glynda's power over his body. "Just give me a few seconds!"
Contrary to his request, his body was pulled back into the temple even faster, and his flask was completely crushed.
"What do you mean, a few seconds?!" Glynda couldn't believe how far Qrow had fallen since the last time they saw each other! "Pull yourself together!"
While she understood that he must have seen hell out there, what kind of example would he set for these girls with this kind of behavior?
What's more, his two nieces were present and witnessing this whole fiasco!
Qrow was shaking from more than just the physical exhaustion of being exposed to that increased gravity and the uncontrollable urge to drink more alcohol, only now realizing the way everyone was looking at him.
Ruby and Yang looked so sad and worried about him that it cut deep into his ego.
I'm so pathetic... With that, he got up without saying a word and left the room, not caring why he was there in the first place. I need some air... and coffee, lots of it.
Screw that prince; Qrow was going to use his kitchen without giving a damn about the consequences. However, what he saw when he got there was something that almost brought tears to his eyes.
That's because there was a drawing hanging on the Prince's refrigerator door that could only have been made by Ruby.
How did Qrow know that? Because he had also received one before and kept it as a treasure worthy of being framed, one of the purest gestures of admiration his niece could show to anyone.
What does that say about Vegeta, then? Qrow leaned against the refrigerator, unsure of what to do. Ruby sees goodness in him.
Not only that, she admired him and was probably learning under his tutelage.
Only that would explain her presence in this house and how excited she was despite everything that had happened.
For a second, Qrow wondered if his niece had anything to do with the red calamity, but the mere thought was ridiculous.
There was no way Ruby could have any connection to that disaster, let alone the ability.
It didn't matter if she was learning under Vegeta's tutelage; no one could gain that much power in such a short time.
Not even a Maiden.
With that out of the way, Qrow returned the drawing to its rightful place and went to make the coffee he so desperately needed... as soon as he could find the damm thing.
Back in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, there was a certain uncomfortable silence that hung in the air and seemed to be amplified by the endless emptiness.
The way Ruby, Yang, and Blake were looking at Vegeta and Winter didn't help.
After all, taking pleasure in another person's suffering was unnecessary and villainous behavior.
To be fair, Winter was already fed up with Qrow's taunts and basically hated the man. As for Vegeta, he had no sympathy for someone who openly showed murderous intent towards him.
If anything, Qrow was lucky to be alive right now.
"As I was saying," Ozpin was the one to break the silence, trying to divert the topic away from his student and the demons of addiction and depression that had been haunting him for some time now. "As impressive as this pocket dimension may be, it doesn't prove your extraterrestrial origin."
Although merely being a god already meant he was not of this world.
"And what exactly would serve as proof?" Vegeta was no longer smiling, especially after seeing how discouraged his youngest student was with her uncle's pathetic state, and decided to take this more seriously. "I refuse to take you off the planet." His focus then shifted to Glynda and Winter. "You two, on the other hand, would be acceptable."
Not only did he respect the woman who had helped him throughout yesterday's rescue, but Weiss's sister wasn't so bad, and they could get along just fine.
"I've noticed this already." Glynda did her best to remain composed and not get carried away by this display of trust. "But why are you so hostile towards Professor Ozpin?"
There had to be a reason for this, and it didn't take long for her to regret letting her doubt be known.
"Why, you ask?" Vegeta had an expression of pure rage just thinking about it. "Because it was a Wizard who took almost everything from me!" His eyes flashed purple as he pointed his finger at Ozpin, and a pressure like no other filled that infinite space as it threatened to destroy the very fabric of reality. "My wife and son both were destroyed in body and soul by someone like you!"
And it wasn't just Moro.
Babidi and his father were also trash in life, the kind that weren't even worth the air they breathed!
While Vegeta would admit that it was stupid of him to lump all Wizards together and define them as megalomaniacs, Baba being a good example of that, this Ozpin wasn't normal.
Now that Vegeta had access to the power of his soul, he had refined his sensorial abilities to another level and could sense the souls of others. This wizard's soul was something twisted that felt like Moro's, after absorbing the lives of many.
So much so that Vegeta was sure that Ozpin's body didn't even belong to him, the Life Energy being completely different and almost conflicting with the distorted soul inside.
As for the girls, they already knew everything that had been said, but seeing Vegeta showing so much emotion and power only served to remind them that he was still far from getting over his loss. In fact, the resentment in his heart remained unchanged, even with Moro being dead.
That's because Kakarot, who foolishly tried to give Moro a second chance and enabled that tragedy, was still out there living his life without being punished for it.
For now.
Soon, Vegeta would surpass him and knock on his door to settle the matter.
Winter didn't know what to say about any of this, only that she could feel her heart tightening for more than just fear of this tremendous and incomprehensible display of power.
Vegeta's losses were real and not a lie fabricated along with his identity as a Huntsman, as she had initially believed.
Then there was the labeling of all those who were similar to the criminal responsible for his losses as being the same.
That was the kind of mentality her family had, always accusing and treating all faunus as criminals.
Fortunately, Vegeta calmed down as soon as Weiss hugged him in consolation.
It seemed that Qrow was right, and her little sister really did have this man under control.
The implications behind this were tremendous.
On the one hand, it was good to know that Vegeta wouldn't be a threat with Weiss around. On the other hand, it meant that her little sister was entering into a relationship with an older man from another world—a murderer.
After what was revealed today, it was more than clear that Vegeta was responsible for the golden anomaly, and the blood of all those people was on his hands.
"I understand that," Glynda continued after all that oppressive pressure disappeared, her heart aching at the fact that her student still had her arms around Vegeta and how embarrassed he was about it. "But Ozpin is not a monster."
If anything, he was the one who prevented monsters from destroying the world.
Or so she wanted to believe.
"Then why is he in this body?" Vegeta continued as he tried to ignore the fact that Weiss was taking advantage of the situation, but even so, he couldn't bring himself to push her away from him. "You can fool others, but not me."
This managed to elicit a reaction of pure shock from the man in question and his two followers, very different from the confusion of the other girls.
It seemed that Vegeta had hit the nail on the head, and perhaps Ozpin's condition wasn't a secret to some people.
If that was really the case, it didn't make sense.
Why would Glynda and Winter follow someone so dangerous?
It wasn't as if this Wizard was powerful enough to subjugate the entire population of this world.
"How did you..." Ozpin was so shocked that he almost took a step back, never expecting this man to be able to see through him like this. "You claim that you're not a god, but you know about my curse?"
How did that make any sense?
"There are only two real gods in this universe, and I'm neither of them," Vegeta explained and preferred to leave out the part where he was offered the chance to replace one of those gods. "I'm just able to sense the incompatibility of this distorted soul of yours and your current body."
Besides, this wasn't the first time he'd been in the presence of someone with a stolen body.
"So you know those two gods..." Ozpin should have known, and that in itself served to confirm the truth behind Vegeta's words. "Well, they're the reason I'm in this state."
Not just him, the whole world too.
Considering what he had just discovered, Ozpin could only imagine how many planets out there must have met a similar fate.
"They did?" Vegeta wasn't expecting that one, but he could see why. "Considering the destruction your kind has been causing in the universe for some time now, I'm not surprised."
If anything, this Wizard was lucky to still be alive.
"That...isn't the reason, but I suppose it doesn't matter." Ozpin could see that words wouldn't change this man's opinion of him. "What matters is the damage you've caused to this world and the lives that have been lost."
This made Ruby lower her head in guilt, but only until Blake rested a hand on her shoulder and reminded her that she wasn't a monster and that all had been an accident.
"You don't need to worry about that." Vegeta recognized his mistake and was more than capable of assuming the responsibility for it. "After all, in three months, this whole tragedy will be undone."
Just like magic, but in a way that this Wizard would never be able to replicate.