Chapter Text
Oscar knew where he was headed. More or less. He was gonna to go Mistral, find his family, and they’d live happily ever after. Because he refused to believe what he saw in that room, refused to believe what the kids there always teased him about. No, they didn’t know what they were talking about, the foster system was wrong!
That paper was clearly a forgery! His family can’t be— Oscar shook his head, shook the very thought out of his mind, because no… No, he was gonna find them. Even if he had to walk all the way to Mistral by himself!
Though, taking the train was a much easier option. He had gone late at night, to ensure as few people saw him as possible. Because the last thing he needed was to be chased and brought back to the orphanage kicking and screaming. And to his surprise, not only did he manage to not be followed but there was, luckily, no one else was at the station.
There weren’t even any street lights on, just an eerie fog that sent chills down his spine. Standing here, all by himself, really gave him the overall sense of just how alone he was.
But in the grand scheme of things, that was the whole point so… point one for team Oscar!
He crossed his arms and rubbed his hands along the dull orange fabric of his hoodie to keep himself warm while he cautiously took a seat on the cold metal bench near him. Oscar pulled his hoodie over his head a little more to keep his ears warm and hugged his army green backpack close to him.
It had everything he’d needed.
His favorite books he loved to read, the few clothes he had of his own, money he managed to steal from the owner of the orphanage, scraps of food he had taken from the kitchen. He even brought the forged papers that said his family was gone. It had been a split second decision when he had decided to run away.
In that split second he decided he wanted to show it to them, to his family, so they could all try and find whoever made them, and why. Cause if someone went through all the trouble to make fake documents about his family being— they must have had a reason. Either his family had enemies —though Oscar couldn’t imagine why, since in all the flashes of memories he had of his family, they were the most kind and generous people he knew— and they had to fake the documents to keep Oscar safe. Or maybe they didn’t have a reason at all.
At this point, it was a complete mystery!
The next few minutes were spent daydreaming about his no doubt, incredible family when he was just about to nod off, he was jerked awake by the sound of the train arriving at the station.
It looked normal in perspective but Oscar got a bit of a weird feeling about it the moment it came to a stop. Looking up, the digital sign blinked green flashing letters and announced it was headed to Misteral , Oscar felt a swell of excitement and trepidation.
Knowing that he was about to do this, that stepping on this train would begin his journey to find his family, was overwhelming. But he took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a single moment and without a second thought, or an ounce of hesitation, he headed to the door.
The last thing he remembers is a beam of light coming at him before everything went dark.
When Oscar came to, he found himself on his back looking up at a clear blue sky, and laying on colorful pastel orange cobblestone.
“What the— Where am I?” He said aloud, even though no one seemed to be around.
Sitting up, he looked around.
There were three walls around him, all varying in different shades of pastel colors with childish swirls and shapes drawn on them. Looking ahead, and then looking behind him, then from side to side, and found various pathways heading off into different directions. From that alone, it looked to be as though he was in a maze of some kind? But… How on Remnant did he get in a maze ? He was supposed to be on a train headed to Mistral.
This… didn’t make any sense.
“Hello?” he called out, standing up and looking around, anxiety beginning to seep in. “Is anyone there? Hello?”
There was no reply, so Oscar bit his lower lip and took a timid step forward, that step was followed by another, and another, until he was walking amongst his new surroundings. He started on a set path, going straight until his panic set in and he began to walk aimlessly, calling out for someone, anyone really, to help him.
His heart was pounding so fast he could hear it in his ears and feel it in his fingertips, he was barely getting any air into his lungs. His breathing coming out in short labors breathes. “HELLO!” he cried for what felt like the hundredth time. “PLEASE! IS ANYONE THERE!?”
His pace had quickly turned to a run, and his calls grew more and more frantic. What was going on? Where was he? Why was he here ?
“PLEASE! ANYONE! H—” his cry for help was cut off as he ran into something face first.
Oscar stumbled back, hitting the wall behind him as he tried to breathe but found that catching his breath was near impossible at this point. His hand shot up to grab his hair, only to be caught off guard by the very real and very glowing green aura that surrounded his right hand with the number 107 written there as clear as day.
His thoughts were swirling in his head, they were so loud and ear splitting, yet he couldn’t make out a single one. Like a cacophony of panic in his head, making a swirling haze of fear cover his mind. It was so loud, that he almost didn’t hear the deep, calm voice speaking to him.
“ Breathe . Just breathe. It’s going to be okay.” the presence that he had run into mere seconds ago said gently. Looking up, Oscar realized the thing he had run into was a person.
A man with silvery white hair, strange glasses and wearing an emerald green suit so dark it almost looked black, knelt down before him.
And despite his mind still reeling from the shock and fear of it all, Oscar did his best to follow the instructions. Taking a ragged breath in and heaving it back out. “W-Where am I?” He asked through ragged breathes and trembling shoulders.
“Remember to breathe.” The man repeated slowly, “Slow it down, and smooth it out. In… and out… In… and out .” the man said, his deep voice gentle and rather soothing in the moment.
Oscar slowly but surely caught his breath and calmed down. Once he got his emotions under control and his mind was no longer a haze of anxiety, he took a closer look at the man before him. He was… unfairly tall in Oscar’s opinion.
“Uh… thank you. For that.” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
The man’s eyes were kind and warm, if a bit dull and tired. “Oh it’s no trouble. Anyone decent would have done the same. My name is Ozpin. What is yours?” He greeted, a warm smile on his pale face.
“Er… Oscar. Oscar Pine.” he greeted in return. “Um… where are we?”
Ozpin stood then, grimacing a bit as he did, and helped Oscar up as well, “We’re in the maze car! I like to come here now and again, just to stretch my legs and get some enrichment. ...Goodness I have truly become a hamster haven’t I?”
Oscar blinked, “Maze… car…?”
Ozpin looked at him curiously before he gasped, “Oh! My apologies! You must be new! Welcome to the train!”
“
Train
?”
“Yes! I call it the infinity train as despite being here for… well a long time i have yet to find an end. There is a start though. At the engine. I’ve never been there personally, never really had a need to, but I’ve met one or two—” Ozpin cut himself off with a blush, “My apologies. I’m rambling. You see I don’t really… see a lot of other people.”
“I mean… it’s fine. I just… I’m really confused and kinda freaking out right now…?.” Oscar said lamely, looking down at the ground and felt a little embarrassed.
“Of course, of course! I remember being quite afraid when I first arrived!” Ozpin nodded, thoughtfully and understanding. “Come on, we can walk and talk.” The man gestured to Oscar to follow him, and with little else to actually do, he did.
As they walked through the maze, Ozpin told him about this… train he was in.
It was endless by the looks of it, each car was basically it’s own little world of varying sizes and time tables, some had puzzles to solve to get out, some you could just walk through, some were nice and safe, some were terribly dangerous. Ozpin also explained that in some cars, one would find these creatures called “ denizens ”, they were part of the train. Oscar also found out that Ozpin had been there for about seven years give or take, that gave the man a touch of pause for a split second. And in that split second, Oscar saw a hint of sadness there and… remorse? Before Ozpin, simply shook his head and continued on.
“Most of the train I find is rather safe,” Ozpin explained, taking another turn down a corridor. And Oscar couldn’t help but admit how utterly lost he felt. Both about where the heck he was in this maze, and what the heck Ozpin was talking about. “The worst thing you have to worry about is the Ghoms.”
“Ghoms?” Oscar asked, fiddling nervously with the bandages around his neck.
“Yes Ghoms.” Ozpin said, his face turning serious. “They are very dangerous. They attack without mercy and without restraint. They are not to be trifled with and should be avoided at all costs.”
Oscar felt himself pale, “Right. Avoid the Ghom things. Got it.”
Ozpin’s face warmed and he adopted an apologetic look, “I’m sorry to turn this pleasant chat so grim, but I don’t wish for you to be harmed while you're here. Or… worse .”
Oscar nodded, “So… um… what’s with the glowing numbers thing? And why is yours so much higher than mine?”
Ozpin let out a puff of air, “I was wondering when you’d ask! The key is get the number to zero! When you get to zero, you get out.”
Oscar perked up, his hazel eyes brightening, “How do you do that?”
Ozpin’s smile fell and he looked away, “I… don’t know that. My number has been— More or less the same since I got here. Believe me, if I knew how to get it down, I’d tell you.”
Oscar felt his stomach fall and tears sting his eyes, “S-So I can’t get out? But I have to get out! I have to find my parents and my aunt! They’re waiting for me! I have to—”
The ground shook beneath them, shaking Oscar from his spiral and making Ozpin’s golden eyes fill with terror.
“We have to go. Now .”
“What’s going on?” he asked, grabbing a hold of Ozpin’s sleeve as the ground rumbled underneath them.
Ozpin simply took Oscar’s hand in his own and ran , just as they got out of the maze though, the ground lurched and they were thrown back. Oscar was nearly sent hurtling back down the passage into the maze, but Ozpin’s grip on his hand was like iron, to the point where he winced at the amount of pressure the man was putting on it and then eventually, everything stopped.
They both, unceremoniously, fell to the ground and caught their breaths.
Oscar looked over to Ozpin, and noticed that despite the supposed fact of being here for seven years, thus one would think he was used to this sort of thing, the man was in no better shape then Oscar was. “Mr. Ozpin? Are… are you ok?” Oscar asked, looking at the older man next to him.
Ozpin was shaking, “I… I’m sorry Oscar. I forgot. I-I forgot they did that.”
Oscar shrank back a bit, it was always weird to see adults upset like this. “Did… what?? What happened?”
Ozpin took a deep breath and fixed the crooked glasses on his head, “For reasons I still haven’t been able to understand, the train cars seem to… shuffle sometimes. They get ejected from their spots and go somewhere else. Which is where we are now. Somewhere else, somewhere most likely further away then we started.”
“Well… what do we do now?” Oscar asked, grabbing his hoodie sleeves as he hugged himself.
“I…” Ozpin began, trailing off as he looked away. “Don’t know.”
Ozpin’s words apparently weren’t the right thing to say to a child who was emotionally distraught and scared for his life. They weren’t what Oscar needed to hear in that moment because his throat closed almost instantly, more tears began to swell and he let out small hitched sniffles through his nose and passed his lips.
This couldn’t be happening.
He just wanted his parents. His family. Why was he here? What did he do to deserve this? What did he do wrong?
His reaction must not have sat well with Ozpin because the man looked frantic, as well as a little awkward and unsure. “Oh no! No no , it’s okay! Please don’t cry!” Ozpin cried, his hands hovering awkwardly over Oscar. Then the man let out a low cry as though he remembered something of great importance, “The Conductor!”
If nothing else, the random word seemed to catch Oscar off guard enough to distract him from his panicked thoughts, “The Conductor?” Oscar sniffled, wiping at his eyes.
Ozpin put a hand to his chin, still looking rather uncomfortable, but smiled anyway, “They may be able to help! I’ve… never seen them personally . Or met them. But they should be in the engine! So the best way to get you home is to get there!”
“You really think so?” Oscar felt a warm glimmer of hope form in his chest at Ozpin’s words.
“Yes! I think. Possibly. Hopefully.” Ozpin chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“So you’ll help me?”
Ozpin looked hesitant for a fraction of a second before his eyes softened and he nodded, “Yes, I will help you.”
“Promise?”
He knew it was a childish thing to ask, plus in his experience adults in his life have a tendency to break promises.
“I promise.” Ozpin’s eyes looked truthful enough. “The engine is… a bit far though. And we’ve been sent back on the train a long ways. It could take awhile to get there, especially since we are traveling by foot.”
Oscar took a deep breath and wiped his eyes, feeling more determined than ever to reach his goal, “I don’t care how long it takes. I’m getting home .”
Ozpin nodded, his shoulders sagging in relief, “Well then. We should get going.”
“Lead the way.” Oscar nodded, shouldering his backpack up against him and giving his new companion a determined look.
Then without looking back, they set off.