RWBY x OC fanfiction: The (not so) lonely boy

Chapter 44- Be my eyes

The ship rocked back and forth as it carried them through the sky. Ruby looked worried, and Nora was trying to chew the restraints off her hand.
"Where do you think they're taking us?" Ruby asked.
""I'm gonna go with jail."" Qrow and Zakai boy said in sync. They looked at each other and had a look of mutual understanding.
"I just still can't believe that fishing pole guy took us out like it was nothing." Jaune stated.
"Tsk. Don't remind me," Zakai started. "I mean I wasn't paying attention. I had just got back from that weird vision."
"Vision?" Qrow looked at him.
"I'll tell you later. I'm not in the mood right now," he grumbled.
"Wait. Did you say fishing pole guy?" A strange man that was with them started. "You guys had a run-in with the Ace-Ops? Ironwood must really have a bone to pick with you."
"They're not THAT big of a deal," Weiss said as she rolled her eyes.
"Not that big of a deal!? The Ace-Ops are the elite-of-elite military Huntsmen and Ironwood's personal attack dogs!"
"So they got you too, huh?" Nora asked.
"Pfft! I wouldn't let myself get caught by them. I'm here because I've been speaking out against Atlas' exploitation of Mantle, and General Ironwood is trying to silence me."
Zakai narrowed his eyes at that.
"You threw a brick at our ship!" The pilot said as they turned around.
"It's worth it if it gets people talking about our cause!" The pilot just sighed in annoyance.
"Our cause?" Blake repeated.
"Yes, the fight for better conditions in Mantle! Lead by the charismatic, talented, lovely Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses!"
"I don't know. Sounds like you just have a crush to me." Zakai interjected.
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
"Uh-Huh," he rolled his eyes in annoyance and sighed softly.
The pilot pressed a button and the window between the cab and the back of the ship began slowly closing. The strange man noticed and stands up and begins frantically shouting to the window so the guards can hear him.
"They were all top Atlas Academy graduates, who could've signed up for the military, but Robyn and the Huntresses chose to stay in Mantle. She's gunning for a seat on the Kingdom's council, and when she gets it, she's gonna put an end to Ironwood's tyranny!"
"Stop yelling!" Zakai hissed. "It's beginning to piss me off!" For a second his eyes flashed red, but no one noticed as his eyes soon went blue again.
No one paid any mind to Zakai, knowing that he hated being in small spaces with lots of people.
"Happy Huntresses?" Oscar repeated.
"Is that their real name?" Yang asked.
"Don't you think 'tyranny' is a little dramatic?" Weiss said.
"Easy to say for a Schnee heiress, living comfortably up in Atlas." The man belittled her.
In an instant the man was pinned up against the walls of the ship. Zakai was holding him up by his collar with both hands.
"Watch your mouth!" He hissed in his ear. "Keep flashing that tongue like the snake you are and I'll have to cut it out."
The man shivered in his grip.
"Kai, stop." Weiss put her hand on his shoulder he let the man go and he dropped to his knees. "After all, he's wrong any way."
"It's gorgeous up here!" Ruby stated, changing the subject.
"Is it?" Zakai went over next to her to look out the window. She wasn't wrong, but just as fast as Zakai thought it was awe-striking, he immediately got bored of it. Nora and Jaune soon followed, and Zakai got out the way to give them space.
"Don't let that fool you," Weiss stated.
"Hm?" The strange man looked over at Weiss. He got up and looked out the window. "This isn't the police station."
"No....It's Atlas Academy." Qrow intervened.
The ship landed in front of Atlas Academy and was greeted by two guards who opened the doors to let everyone, besides the stranger, out. Guards lined up, leading to the Academy.
"I guess we will be seeing the General. For better or worse." Ruby stated.
"So, what do we do?" Ren asked as they all headed towards the school.
They enter an elevator and begin rising. They were still restrained and accompanied by guards.
"I don't know yet. But we should be careful with what we say." She answered.
"We'll follow your lead, Ruby." Blake whispered, noticing a guard had turned to look at them.
  Ruby smiled, but Zakai could tell she was still nervous.
  The elevator beeped as they arrived at their floor of destination. They where again escorted, this time through a hallway and down a flight of stairs. They walked into a room, just as the man known as Ironwood walked through, talking to someone else.
  "I swear if I have to sit through one more council meeting like that...," he complained. It didn't take him long to notice the group, causing him to gasp.
  "Yay! You're here!" The robot Zakai remembered seeing be destroyed said.
  They all approached the group.
  "Winter." Weiss said. Wintered eyes widened and she gasped at seeing her younger sister, but the reunion was interrupted as Nora leaned and and gestures her wrists that were still bound.
  "Anyone wanna give us a hand with these?"
  "I don't need help," Zakai mumbled as he wiggles his arms a little. Not like after his hand, the Grimmified one, slipped through. He the unlocked the other and it fell to the floor. Winter looked over at him in astonishment. She soon turned towards the guards.
  "You have ten seconds to get them off before I start hurting you." The guards frantically begin removing the bolases from everyone's arms, while Ironwood watches with a smile.
  "Please, come in," Ironwood gestured. Everyone did as told and walked in. "It is good to see all of you." He said.
  "Our reception didn't really convey that," Yang stated as she massages her wrist.
  Ironwood let out a sigh. "I sincerely regret how you were treated by my team."
  "Yeah?" Zakai frowned. "Let me talk to them. I'll make them regret it, not you."
  Ironwood looked at him, confused. After all, he had never seen or met Zakai, and the same goes the other way around.
  Qrow just rolled his eyes with a small huff while Ironwood walked behind his desk to sit down. Penny and Winter take positions standing at either side of the desk.
  "Who is he?"
  "His name is Zakai Snyder." Ruby answered. "And you haven't met him, but it's because of him that we were able to get this far. Especially after he took down the Leviathan Grimm."
  "The Leviathan Grimm? That was you who killed it?" Winter asked. "The soldiers told me about it. They said they saw a large rail gun appear out of no where in the sky and it shot the Grimm to oblivion."
  "Yeah. That was me." He stated blankly.
  Winter looked at Ironwood and he her. They then looked back at the group. "Well sorry again for how you were treated. But when a rogue airship entered our airspace, it raised some... red flags. We assumed the ship was stolen."
  "It was." Zakai laughed softly.
  "Sorry about that...," Ruby replied.
  Ironwood's eyes widened in surprise. He then smiled and his shoulders moved a tiny bit with a silent chuckle. Winter, meanwhile, finds no humor in the situation and begins scolding Weiss.
  "You stole an Atlas airship?" Weiss watched with a frown as her sister approached her. "What were you thinking!? You might've been shot down! How unbelievably irresponsib--"
  Weiss interrupted by hugging her. "I'm sorry I worried you. But we did what we had to do."
  "I..." she sighed and hugged her back, calming down. "I suppose I understand. But I cannot believe that you allowed this to happen, Qrow."
  "You try stopping these kids when they have their mind set on something. Speaking of which...," he looked over at Ironwood. "We have some important information for you that's... confidential." Winter returned to her position at Ironwoods side.
  "Oh, is it about the relics?"
  "Or perhaps the winter maiden" Winter added.
  "You told them?" Qrow asked in surprise.
  "Did you really think you were the only one who got to work on a new plan after Beacon? WIth Ozpin gone, I needed my own team of people I could trust. So yes, I told them. The Ace-Ops too. Which is why I'm so glad you're here... with this." He gestured
to the Relic. "Until now, I believed it was impossible to truly turn the tide against Salem. Oz has pushed her back, has kept victory out of her claws, but she will keep returning stronger and stronger... unless we destroy her."
  "But....what about the Atlas relic?" Ruby asked.
  "You mean the staff of creation?"
  "It's safe inside the vault!" Penny stated.
  "And the Winter maiden?" Qrow asked.
  "She is secure and in stable condition."
  "Stable condition? What does that—"
  "She's uh...not exactly a spring chicken." Qrow interjected.
  "Of course not. She the winter maiden. Bit the spring maiden." Zakai attempted a joke at a bad time.
  "....Anyway. I know how this all looks. Recalling my military? The embargo? I probably don't seem the most trustworthy right now."
  "Tsk. Trust worthy isn't the word. You don't seem like a good guy to me at all." Zakai hissed. "What about the people down below? They're scared. Angry. And you take away the things that make them feel safe! What is WRONG with you!" His blue eyes flashed red. "You're garbage. Now your worse than that....you must burn!" Black mist started misting off his body.
  "W-what's happening?!" Ironwood shot up. Winter pulled her weapon out.
  "Kai. Calm down." Qrow stepped in front of him.
  "What's this black mist coming off of him." Ironwood asked.
  "We don't know." Ruby answered. "But it happens on our way here. And this happened." She took his glove off and lifted his sleeve up to show his Grimified arm.
  "What is that? Is that—"
  "A Grimm arm. Yes." Qrow answered.
  Zakai had started calming down and the mist vanished. His eyes went blue again.
  "I-I'm sorry..." he said softly. "I don't know what happening to m-"

 
"-e...." he looked around. Once again he was in the strange land.
  "You again." The strange woman approached him.
  "What are you doing ba-" she sniffed. "Oh. I see." She smiled softly. "You're becoming more Grimm by the minute."
"How do I stop it?" He asked.
"Hmmm. I could tell you. But if I do. You must do me a favor."
"....and what's that?" He asked. His eyes narrowed.
"I want you to be my eyes. Let me see through them as well."
"No. I don't want to surrender my eyes!" He jumped back.
She chuckled softly. "No. I'm not taking them. I'm using them. And not even for forever. Just for a while."
"Why do you want that?" He asked.
"So I can know where you are at all times. That's it."
"Hm...I guess it's fine then." He mumbled. "Also. Just so I know. What happens if I don't stop the Grimmification?"
"Simple. You'll become a creature of Grimm. You'll lose all humanity and kill any around you that you see. Do you also wish to know more about why you're being Grimmified?" She asked.
"I guess...." he sighed as he sat down. She simply smiled.
"Good. Now, tell me more about these 'Visions' you mentioned last time we met."