Swords of Intent (sequel to Rose of Titanium)

Chapter 19: Unrestful Rest

POV:

The group looked at each other as Jinn returned everyone. "Salem can't be killed... You all heard her, right?" Yang asked before glaring at Ozpin. "There was so much you could've told us! How could you think that was okay?!"

"Put yourself in his shoes" Noble Six answered for Ozpin, causing everyone to look at him.

Yang was furious, her eyes turned red as she got in his face. "Put myself in HIS shoes?! WHY would I ever do that?!"

Six stepped away and began to grab their things. "Think about it" was all he said before beginning to walk down a trail.

"Where are you going?!" Ruby called out.

"To find shelter!" Her older brother yelled back.

"Well I can see who's in charge here" Maria said as she began to follow. Noble Six had stopped to look at the others, when he saw Maria he waited for her before continuing on at a speed she could keep up with.

"So... What now?" Weiss asked

Ruby grabbed her things. "Well, Onyx always was one to know the best action to take. I say we follow." Everyone gave a nod in agreement and went to catch up to the duo.

After about an hour of silence Qrow was the first to speak. "This doesn't look like it's going to let up" he said, referring to the snow starting to fall harder by the second.

"I thought trails were supposed to lead somewhere" Yang complained as she pushed her motorcycle.

"Don't you have anything better to do than harass a defensive old la-" Maria was cut off when Six held up his hand to have everyone stop.

Ruby walked over next to him. "What is it?"

"Listen." He responded

Ruby closed her eyes to focus on the sounds. The distant creaking of something swinging made her raise an eyebrow in confusion. "It's... Swinging?"

Her brother gave a nod. "Sounds like a rusted gate. You know what that means?"

"Shelter?"

"Yup. Have the group stay at the gate, I'll check it out when we get there" he said before the group continued on.

As the group approached the sound they saw it was an abandoned farm. A sign arching over the entrance read 'Brunswick Farms'. Six once again held up his hand to stop everyone ad he pressed on. "What's he doing?" Weiss asked

Before Ruby could even shrug her shoulders Qrow was the one to answer. "Probably scouting the area, making sure it's safe."

"What's there to make safe? It's abandoned" Blake pointed out.

"Old habits die hard" Maria spoke up.

About half an hour later the spartan finally returned to see everyone huddled together. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh not really. Just the fact that we're FREEZING OUR ASSES OFF!" Yang yelled

"Relax, started a fire in the house on the right." Six pointed over his shoulder to said house. "Just stay out of the bedrooms." The group walked past him to get to the warmth made for them. Six took off his helmet and looked into the visor. "Piece of crap" he muttered. He smacked the armor piece in frustration before joining them.

He walked into the house to hear Ruby thinking out loud. "I just don't get it. All the other towns we passed through were damaged or unfinished, but this place looks... Fine."

"Part of it has to do with the reason I told you to stay out the bedrooms" Six said as he carefully sat in a chair and began to look at his helmet.

"Why though?" Blake asked

"You couldn't handle it" he simply replied. After a few minutes looking over his helmet he set it to the side.

Ruby looked over at him. "Something wrong?"

He waved it off. "Nothing, just the motion tracker. I'll go down to the cellar in the morning and see what's causing it to act up."

A scream from upstairs got everyones attention. The group shot up to go check it out while Six calmly stood up. He was the last one to make it, so he saw the horrified faces of his companions as they looked at the husks of two dead corpses. After the initial scare was over everybody gathered back around the fire. "Are... Any, of the other houses like this?" Weiss asked

Six gave a nod. "It's as if the whole town died in their sleep."

"Why not tell us?" Yang asked as she glared at her cousin.

Noble Six simply glared right back. "Because I was thinking about your safety, and before you say it it's because you wouldn't have come here if I had. Everyone here besides me would've died from the cold."

"You think I'm weak?!" Yang yelled as she stood.

Six walked over to her. "No, but if you're thinking to prove me wrong then try spending five minutes out in that blizzard."

"Fine!" Yang stormed through the living room and outside.

Six laid on the ground. "Two and a half, tops." Everyone looked from Six to the front door, then back to him. Sure enough, Yang only lasted two minutes before she came inside and slowly made her way to the fire. She was shivering intensely, as if the wind chilled her to the bone. She slowly made her way to the fire as Blake drapped a blanket over her shoulders. "Now you see why I didn't tell you?"

"You just sent her out into a blizzard!" Weiss yelled

Maria whacked Weiss on top of the head. "He didn't send her to do anything! He gave her a choice, she chose to go out."

"Think what they're trying to teach you all is that some secrets are best left hidden" Qrow said.

"But, why?" Blake asked

Six looked at her. "Had we known Salem was immortal, most of us would've seen it as a lost cause and not join. Him keeping it a secret ensured that we all stayed here to help. Same with the corpses. Had I told you at first, nobody would've set foot in this place and you all would've died." He looked at his scroll to check. "It's getting late, you all should get some sleep."

Everyone went to sleep, thinking about the small lesson they had learned today.