Chapter Four: Inferno
The years passed and life continued on. Taiyang's heart still ached when he thought of Summer, and Qrow would sometimes turn to alcohol for comfort, but their little broken family was beginning to feel slightly less broken. Summer's missing presence lingered. In the pictures on the walls, in the empty side of Taiyang's bed, in the dusty clothes hanging in the closet.
It was the adults who still grieved the most. Nine year-old Yang still missed her Mom (she never called Raven her mom after her reckless trek in the woods) Seven year-old Ruby still did not truly understand that Summer was dead and never coming back. And four year-old Ace never got to know Summer. How could he grieve someone he never knew? If anything, he only felt sad about her when he noticed Taiyang did.
In a way, that hurt Taiyang most of all. Knowing Ace would never know Summer, and that Ruby's memories of her were shaky at the best. There were times when Taiyang still wanted to shut down but they were few and far between.
Life moved on.
His children grew.
Even if it hurt sometimes.
"Can we train now, Uncle Qrow?" Seven year-old Ruby pleaded. She grabbed onto her uncle's arm and bounced in place. "Please please please please?"
Uncle Qrow hummed and lifted his arm, lifting her off the ground as well. "I thought you were going ice skating on the pond?"
"We are but you're here and you promised to help me." Ruby said as she swung from his arm. "You said we were gonna train and then you were going to let me see your weapon so I could do mine."
"Maybe later." Qrow chuckled.
Ruby pouted and let go of his arm. She landed gracefully on the ground.
"Ruby's getting a weapon?" Four year-old Ace asked as he wandered out the front door.
Daddy shouted for him to come back inside and put on a coat but Ace ran up to Ruby instead and wrapped himself up in her red cloak. Ruby adjusted her cloak so only his face peeked out and he giggled. He stopped giggling as she plopped her chin on top of his head.
"Don't lean on me." he complained.
"But you're the perfect height, shrimp." Yang said as she ran out with his coat.
She put it on him and Ace sulked. Why did he have to wear a coat? He had his new favorite orange shirt on, which had been given to him by Yang on his fourth birthday just a few days before. Ruby had gotten him a stuffed orange tiger but Daddy said Melon could not come along. Ace would leave him with Uncle Qrow to watch but Uncle Qrow did not understand why he was called Melon. He had stripes like that watermelon Daddy brought home. Obviously. But Ace was warm enough with just his shirt. Why did Yang have to cover it up?
"Don't frown or your face will stick like that." Yang said wisely. She smirked and leaned on Ace, who squeaked and wiggled out from under her elbow.
"Don't lean on me!"
"Perfect height." Yang repeated.
Ace crossed his arms with a huff. "One day I'm gonna be really tall." he muttered. "Taller than both of you. And then I'll lean on you like that!"
Yang patted his head consolingly. "Sure, shrimp." She walked back into the house.
Ace was still unhappy so Ruby bounded in front of him with a grin.
"Ace! Did I tell you what my weapon is gonna be? I'm gonna make a high-caliber sniper rifle-scythe." Ruby boasted.
Ace's eyes went wide with awe. "Cool! Can I make a weapon too?"
"When you're bigger like me." Ruby said, chest puffed out with pride. She ruffled Ace's black hair like Uncle Qrow did to hers. "Are you gonna make a scythe like your cool big sister?"
Ace shook his head. "Nuh uh."
Ruby deflated. "B-But you said it's cool..."
"My weapon is gonna be cooler." Ace declared.
"What weapon?" Daddy asked as he came outside with Yang.
Ace ran up to him. "Daddy, I'm gonna make a weapon like Ruby." he said brightly.
Daddy did what Ruby called the "Tired Parent" sigh. "Ace, you are four. You do not need a weapon yet."
Ace's lower lip jutted out. "But Ruby promised..."
"When you're bigger." Ruby reminded him.
"How much "bigger" does he need to be?" Uncle Qrow mused. "He has Aura. We might as well get him started early."
Ace nodded excitedly and danced in place. "Yeah!"
Daddy glowered at Uncle Qrow. "Do we need a repeat of the "First Word" incident?"
Uncle Qrow paled.
Ace was too young back then to remember the "First Word" incident, but Yang had recorded it and shown it to him. Apparently Uncle Qrow taught Ace a bad word and Daddy got mad. Uncle Qrow ran away for a few weeks and hid. When Uncle Qrow had thought it was safe to sneak back, Daddy had been waiting at the door and offered to "spar" with him.
It was the first time the kids saw Taiyang's Semblance in action. Ace had not seen it in person since but it was really cool. His Daddy could summon huge light dragons. He hoped his Semblance was that cool.
Uncle Qrow had been in the hospital for a week.
"How about you go ice skating for now." Uncle Qrow said hastily.
"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Ruby shouted.
She vanished into rose petals. Ace's legs were short. When put next to Ruby's additional speed, he could not keep up. He tried anyway and shouted after the rose petals.
"No cheating!"
Arms wrapped around him and Yang scooped him up.
"I've got you, little bro." she said. "Let's catch up."
They followed the rose petals that darted between the trees. Ruby was being a show-off again. Instead of going straight down the path, she was going back and forth and weaving between the trunks. She was pretty far ahead and Ace worried he and Yang would be the "rotten eggs".
At the last second, Ruby reformed too quickly and tripped over a root. Yang held Ace out in front of her so he reached the frozen pond first. She set her giggling brother down and offered a hand for a fist bump. Ace obliged as Ruby looked up and spat out a leaf.
"Looks like you're the rotten egg, sis." Yang teased.
"I would've made it." Ruby muttered.
"If you didn't trip."
"I didn't trip." Ruby denied.
"So you decided to eat dirt?" Yang giggled. "I don't think eating dirt will help you use your Semblance."
"You don't know that." Ruby blustered. "Daddy says I'm finding out more about my Semblance every day."
She turned into petals and sped over to Ace. Yang coughed about show-offs but Ruby ignored her.
Ace watched Ruby's display and pouted. "I want my Semblance."
"You'll get it soon." Ruby assured him. "Maybe once you start training like I did."
"Maybe." Ace mumbled. He glanced around and started unzipping his coat but Yang caught his hand.
"Nuh-uh. You know the rules. You're keeping that on."
"But I don't need it." Ace muttered. "I'm warm."
"Uh-huh." Yang said. She did not believe him.
Ace grumbled but kept the dumb coat on. Ruby had already pulled on her ice skates and was gliding across the ice. She did a twirl and fell on her butt.
"Ace, come get your skates." Yang commanded.
Ace hesitated. A chill went up his spine and he stared at the ice.
Yang noticed and walked up to him. "Something wrong, little bro?"
Ace slowly shook his head. His eyes remained locked on the ice. "I dunno..."
Crack.
The ice below Ruby cracked and she fell through.
"RUBY!" Yang screamed.
She lunged for the hole in the ice as rose petals flickered and a small hand appeared above the water. It reached blindly, and just as it slipped back under, Yang grabbed it. She yanked Ruby up and out of the water. Ruby's cloak was soaked, and she was shivering. Her lips were blue. Yang did not hesitate to lift Ruby up and run down the path.
Ace followed but soon lost sight of his sisters. He knew the way home so it was okay, but Uncle Qrow showed up a second later and scooped him up. Ace did not protest about being carried. He clung to Uncle Qrow until he carried him into the house.
Ruby was shivering on the couch. Her hair was wet, her skin had a blue tinge, and her eyes were closed. Daddy had removed her wet clothes and covered her with a dry blanket. But now Daddy was not moving. His face was pale and his eyes were wide and he jumped when Uncle Qrow touched his arm.
"Qrow, what do we do for cold shock?" he demanded breathlessly. "I... I don't remember."
"Calm down." Uncle Qrow said lowly. "You're trained for this. You already got her out of those wet clothes. Now we have to warm her up. Slowly."
Daddy nodded and hurried ran to the shed to get the old heater. Ace watched the open door swing on its hinges and looked back at Ruby. She still looked cold, so they needed to warm her up? He was always warm, so maybe he could make Ruby warm somehow?
Ace grabbed Ruby's hand. Uncle Qrow made a noise but did not say anything. Instead he told Yang to start heating some hot packs. Yang ran out as Daddy came back with the heater.
Ruby's hand felt really cold in Ace's warms ones. He needed to give her that warmth to warm her up. He just needed to bring the warmth out.
Orange flickered to life.
Uncle Qrow yelled and leaped back. "What the hell?!"
Ace blinked. His orange Aura was flickering over his hands and Ruby's. Except, it was not his Aura, was it? It looked like fire. Ace watched the orange light dance and realized it was fire. It did not hurt like fire was supposed to. Daddy grabbed Ace's hand and yanked it out of Ruby's. Ace flinched but saw the fire was still covering his sister. Was it warming her up yet? Her skin did not look as pale.
"Ace, what are you doing?" Daddy demanded.
His voice was scared, and Ace's confidence wavered.
"I'm helping Ruby warm up." he explained.
Daddy's face was pale. "Put out the fire."
Ace did not understand why he still sounded so scared. "But I'm helping..."
"Put it out!" Daddy shouted.
At his voice, Ruby's eyes fluttered open. She saw flames flickering on her and screamed in terror. Ace recoiled. The flames retreated from his sister and clung to his skin. His breathing quickened and he flailed his hands but the flames did not go out. Ruby stared at him and kept screaming, and his eyes filled with tears. He clapped his hands over his ears.
Daddy looked guilty and he reached out to Ace but did not touch him. Was Ace wrong? Did the fire hurt? Was it bad? Was he bad?
More scared than he had ever been in his short life, Ace ran out the door and fled into the shed. Fire roared around him and he huddled in the corner furthest from the door. He pressed his flaming arms against his body but they would not go out. Instead flames crawled up the walls and suddenly the shed was burning. Fire covered the walls and the doorway and the wooden handles of the rakes.
Ace was a big boy now, no matter what Ruby said, but he could not stop himself from crying. He could not make the flames go away. He tried to put them out but instead they roared angrily around him, covering everything in flickering orange.
Someone moved in the flames.
Tears streamed down Ace's face and he huddled in the corner of the shed. "Go away!"
Arms wrapped around him and he smelled Yang's flower shampoo.
"It's okay." Yang said as she hugged him. "You aren't hurting me, little brother. You're okay."
Ace clung to her and his sobs became soft hiccups. The fire around them slowly extinguished. Daddy ran in and picked up both him and Yang and carried them outside. The shed was ruined. Its wooden sides were black and there was a hole in the roof.
Daddy did not scold Ace for burning the shed. Instead he held and rocked him and whispered that it was okay and he was sorry for shouting and that Ruby was okay. Ruby was upstairs with Uncle Qrow, but then Uncle Qrow came down alone. Ace heard Daddy and Uncle Qrow whispering to each other.
"You have that look on your face." Uncle Qrow was saying. "Are you grounding Yang again?"
"For walking into a fire to help her brother? No. For nearly giving me a heart attack? I'm considering it." Daddy took a shaky breath. "Yang isn't immune to fire, Qrow. She's resistant but she cannot walk into a roaring inferno like she did. And you saw what happened with Ruby. The flames didn't hurt her. Do you know what this means? Ace can not only create and turn into flames. He can protect people from them too."
"Ruby?"
Ace tapped on Ruby and Yang's bedroom door again and lowered his arm. Daddy always said not to close the bedroom doors but he had not come up to scold Ruby for that yet. Or maybe he closed the door so Ruby could sleep. She must be sleeping, which was why she had not answered when Ace knocked a few minutes ago.
When the door still remained closed, he hugged Melon to his chest and bit his lip.
"Don't cry, Melon." he told the tiger. "Ruby's probably sleeping 'cause she was tired."
The tiger's black button eyes looked at him. He looked sad. Ace held him close so he would not be sad and tapped the door again. There was still no answer, so Ace leaned against the door.
"Ruby, I'm not on fire now." he mumbled through the door. "You don't have to be scared of me anymore."
There was no response.
Ace's shoulders slumped. He was about to leave when the door opened. Ruby stood there with mussed hair and eyes foggy with sleep.
She smiled at Ace and ruffled his hair. "Silly little brother. I'll never be scared of you." Ruby leaned over so they were eye level and grinned widely. "Besides, you can turn into flames like I can turn into rose petals. You did take after your cool big sister!"
Ace wanted to point out he could do more than turn into fire but he kept it to himself. He did not mind his silence as Ruby wrapped him up in a hug.
Qrow flew through the window of Ozpin's office and transformed back into a man as he landed. He straightened and wiped some dirt from his sleeves.
"Sorry I'm late, Oz. Had a Semblance discovery back home. It was a bit of a shock."
Ozpin lowered his coffee mug. "Young Ace discovered his Semblance?"
"Yeah." Qrow grunted. He took a seat across from Ozpin and slouched in his chair. "It's a really dangerous one. The kid can create, turn into, and manipulate fire. I don't envy Tai."
Ozpin sat up straighter. "A Fire Semblance?"
"Yeah." Qrow confirmed. "And a strong one at that. Tai doesn't want to test the limits yet but Ace stopped Ruby and Yang from getting burned."
"I see..." Ozpin considered his reflection in his coffee before he looked up. "Are you certain it is a Semblance?"
Qrow shot Ozpin a look. "Ace is a boy, Oz. I changed enough of his diapers to know."
Ozpin raised his hands in surrender. "I had to ask. Hiding a Maiden as a boy would be a sound strategy."
"Hmph." Qrow grunted.
Ozpin gracefully moved on to a safer topic. "I'm happy you're spending more time with them. How are they?"
"They were a little shaken up by the whole thing. Especially Ace. The kid almost burned the shed down." Qrow's red eyes narrowed. "But enough about my family life. What did you call me in for?"
Ozpin hesitated. "I was wondering if you would come with me to check on the shield."
Qrow's eyebrows went up his forehead. "Really? But we do that every ten years. It's only been four since the last check."
"Yes." Ozpin said. His hands clenched around his coffee mug. "However, I would like to compare my magical signature in the shield to the magic I used on you. The Relics' power will affect the signature but-"
"Don't beat around the bush, Oz." Qrow interrupted. "You want to compare it for a different reason." His anger faded into resignation. "The shield is weakening, isn't it?"
Ozpin avoided his gaze and looked out the window. "Yes. The process is slow, but the shield is gradually losing strength. I will try to reinforce it, but my magical abilities have decreased greatly since I created it. Not to mention I had the Relics to use as well back then. My power is limited now, and I fear it will not be enough."
"Can I give the magic you gave me back to you?" Qrow asked. "I can live without the ability to turn into a bird."
Ozpin smiled at him. "Thank you for the offer but that is impossible."
Qrow slumped in his chair and put his head in his hands. "How long do we have?"
"If there is no catastrophe, I would say at least thirty years. However, we both know Salem will discover the shield is weakening before then. She will act soon."
Qrow grimaced. "Have you told the World Government yet?"
"Not yet."
"When will you?" Qrow questioned.
Ozpin closed his eyes in sorrow. "I will tell them when... when I know it cannot be fixed."
"I will tell them when I will soon fail to keep the Queen of the Grimm contained, and protect the outer world," he did not say.
It took a long time for Ace to control his Semblance, which Ruby named "Inferno". Ace liked the name so everyone soon accepted it and called it that. He was five and a half before he had little risk of exploding and setting his surroundings on fire.
Ace was not allowed to go to school because of it so Dad taught him at home. He promised Ace could go to school next year but Ace was not sure he wanted to. School sounded boring. Dad was a teacher but he was a fun teacher, while Yang and Ruby always complained about how icky and grumpy their school teachers were.
It was a scary couple years, especially for Ace. He knew his power could not hurt him but worried it could hurt his family. It was a fear no child should have, but Ruby's terrified screams haunted his dreams and often sent him running to Taiyang in the night with flickering skin.
The flames never hurt Ace. No amount of heat did, though once Ruby got a little burn on her arm when Ace sneezed fire. It was an awful accident because Ace had been sick and Ruby just happened to be out of Aura after training, but it was just that. An accident (though Uncle Qrow vanished for a couple weeks for some reason). Despite it being an accident, Ace still cried when he saw it but Ruby forgave him. She said the little scar it left on her wrist was cool since it looked like a bird.
Dad said his Semblance had "active" and "passive" powers like Uncle Qrow's Bad Luck Charm Semblance. The "passive" gave him immunity to heat and used barely noticeable amounts of Aura, like how Uncle Qrow caused bad luck when he did not mean to. Uncle Qrow said he was happy Ace's "passive" protected him.
Ace was unaffected by smoke as well. Dad told Uncle Qrow he "almost had a heart attack" when Ace breathed in a face full of smoke from a campfire, but Ace had kept on going without a single cough. It took a long time for him to learn how to make flames without them making smoke, though he could not prevent the objects he burned from giving off black fumes. Ace worked really hard to make sure people like Ruby and Yang would not be harmed by his power, even if it was just the smoke.
The "active" part (which used up Aura like normal) let Ace control, turn into, and protect others from fire. Dad suspected Ace could make and survive really hot temperatures but he did not want to test him. He also yelled at Ace when Ace pulled things out of the oven without oven mitts, or went near the oven at all. Dad explained that Ace should not be near the oven since he was still little, but the heat never bothered Ace.
The downside to his power (as Ruby first discovered) was that it took Ace a while to cool down if he ignited his body. The first time he successfully extinguished himself without Dad using a fire extinguisher, Ruby had run in to hug him only to yelp at the heat he gave off. But as long as he did not completely turn into fire or use his powers for too long, he was usually cool enough to safely touch. Ace heard Dad tell Uncle Qrow he was worried what would happen if he needed help but no one could touch him.
On Ace's sixth birthday, they had presents and balloons and cake with orange frosting. Dad sent Ruby and Yang with Uncle Qrow to get something and sat Ace down. Having learned from the mistakes made with Yang, he told Ace the truth about his parentage. Ace did not understand at first. He knew what adoption was, but the other kids spoke of it scornfully and said it was for children whose birth parents did not want them. Yang usually punched them in the face for saying that.
Ace looked at Dad, because Dad was still Dad even if he was not Ace's birth dad. "So... my birth mom and dad didn't want me?"
Dad petted his hair. "I don't know, buddy. But I want you, and love you very much. So do Yang and Ruby and Uncle Qrow."
"Okay." Ace mumbled.
He was six years old which meant he was a big boy now, but he was still a little confused. Like Dad said, he and Yang and Ruby and Uncle Qrow loved him lots and were his family. So was the family he never knew supposed to matter?
"When you're older, you can look for them if you want." Dad continued. "I'm sorry to say I do not have anything that can help you find them."
Ace thought about how angry Yang got whenever Raven was mentioned. Sometimes her eyes would turn red and she would punch the kid that said her real mom abandoned her. Other times she would get sad and hide in her room to cry. Ace did not like it. It was not Yang's fault that Raven was a meanie who left. Besides, Yang had him and Ruby and Dad and Uncle Qrow. Were they not enough?
As he thought about it, Ace realized he did not want to be sad and angry like that.
"No. I don't care who they were. You're my Dad." he insisted.
Dad stared at him for a long time, and his blue eyes grew glassy. Why was Dad crying?
Upset, Ace patted his cheek. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry." Dad said. "I'm crying because I'm happy." He wiped at his eyes and exhaled. "Do you want Yang and Ruby to know?"
Ace nodded. He and his big sisters shared everything with each other. Why would he keep this a secret? He thought about Yang again and looked at Dad uncertainly.
"Yang isn't going to be mad at me, is she?"
"She won't be mad at you." Dad assured him.
They went and told Ace's sisters, and it turned out Dad was right. Yang was not mad at him. The eleven year-old's red eyes said she was mad at someone, but she smiled at Ace and ruffled his hair.
"Thanks for telling us, little bro."
At the familiar show of affection, Ace ducked his head and scuffed his foot on the ground. "I'm still your brother then?" he mumbled, just to be sure.
Ruby hugged him. "Of course you're sill our brother, silly."
Yang crossed her arms and smirked at him. "Yeah. You don't need your stupid birth family. You have us."
Ace agreed with her but Dad looked a little upset. He shook his head and looked at the piles of garbage bags from the party.
"Yang, I told you to take out the trash an hour ago. Do it now, please."
Yang groaned.
Ace eyed the bags of garbage and pulled on Dad's sleeve. "I can do it. I'm six so I'm big now."
"You're still a shrimp." Yang said.
Ruby nodded in agreement.
Ace stuck his tongue out at them. He may be little but he was really strong, and he showed them. He easily carried the trash bags out back.
Yang had not put the last couple bags in the bin. Instead they were piled next to the container or hidden under the porch. Ace would have to tell Dad on her when he went back inside. He picked up the piled bags and started putting them in the bin one at a time. None of them were ripped, but Yang might get grounded again. There were at least ten. That was a lot.
Ace considered the pile of bags that remained. They were not going to fit in the bin. Maybe Dad would let him burn some? He could say it was training...
Before Ace could run inside to ask, one of the trash bags wiggled.
No, something under the trash bag wiggled.
Ace hesitantly moved it aside.
Ace snuck into the house with his coat rolled up in his arms. He looked around hesitantly and ran towards the stairs but Dad saw him when he was halfway up.
"Ace, what are you doing? Why are you carrying your coat like that?" Dad questioned.
Ace looked down at his coat and back at his father. "It wanted a hug?"
Dad did not believe him. "Well, if your coat wants a hug, how about I give it one too?"
Ace shifted from foot to foot. "Um, it only wants a hug from me."
His coat gave a squeaky sneeze.
Daddy sighed. "Ace. Give me the coat, please."
Ace reluctantly handed him the coat. It wiggled in Dad's arms and he moved the fabric aside. A tiny head poked out of the coat and the little black puppy licked Dad's nose.
Dad studied the puppy and sighed. "Ace, where did you find a corgi puppy?"
"Puppy?!" Ruby appeared in a burst of rose petals and Yang appeared a second later.
The older sister squealed. "He's so cute!"
She reached out for the puppy but Dad held him out of her reach. "Hold on, sweetie. We don't know where he's been."
"He was in the trash." Ace mumbled. He looked hopefully at his father. "Can we keep him?"
Dad was about to say no. Ace could tell, as could his sisters, so they pulled out their ultimate weapon. Two pairs of silver and one pair of violet eyes stared pleadingly at him. Dad grumbled and looked at Uncle Qrow but Uncle Qrow was petting the puppy.
"He was in the trash, huh?" Uncle Qrow murmured. "Poor thing must have wandered all the way from town." He looked at Dad out of the corner of his eye.
"Not you too." Dad groaned.
Uncle Qrow winked at his nieces and nephew and looked at Daddy. He widened his eyes in a sorrowful manner and lifted the puppy up. "How can you say no to this face?"
"Easily." Dad said dryly. He took the puppy back from Qrow and looked at his three hopeful kids. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. We can keep him. But you have to take care of him, understand?"
"Yay!" Ace cheered.
Ruby beamed and hugged the puppy. "Let's name him Zwei."
The Author's Notes: I changed my penname from "JuniperLives13" to match my Archive of Our Own penname.
Yes, I made Ace immune to heat and unable to burn (which will include magma). I have an excuse to make Ace immune to Akainu's power so I am using it. I do not even care about the possibly-broken power scaling in that. Sue me. (Do not sue me that is a joke.)
The smoke thing just makes sense. He would not be able to use his powers if smoke bothered him.
I ultimately decided to give Ace the ability to turn into fire (like his Logia self) because it would be "similar" to how Ruby can turn into rose petals. (I saw another bonding moment opportunity and I took it, okay? But there are also plot reasons.)
Ace's Semblance:
Name: Inferno
Passive (is always active, uses no to the barest amount of Aura in the way that is part of his Aura): Protects Ace from extreme heat, prevents him from being burned, and leaves him unaffected by smoke (breathing it in does not harm him and it does not burn his eyes).
Active (must be activated, uses up Aura): Pyrokinesis, the ability to turn into flames, and the ability to protect others from heat, smoke inhalation, and fire.
Limitations/Weaknesses: Other than the usual Aura usage cost, covering himself with flames or turning into them will leave Ace hot to the touch, and if someone without Aura stands too close to him there is a risk they'll get burns from the heat wafting off of him. Water and fire extinguishers can also put out his flames like they can normal flames.
For comparison:
Qrow's Semblance:
Name: Bad Luck Charm
Passive: causes small bad luck events around Qrow like making a bartender knock a glass off the counter. Qrow cannot turn it off.
Active: causes bad luck on a wider area and to a greater scale. Most beneficial when fighting enemies alone since it will affect allies too. This uses up Aura.
Limitations/Weaknesses: he cannot turn off his passive, and his active affects everyone around him which includes allies. There is also a limited range that he can affect, and he has no control over what bad luck he causes.
(I am still terrible at explaining things. Does the comparison help?)
To Draak D. Sol: Thank you very much! Yes, that was a hint to his fire abilities. Let's just say Ace will not be formally attending Beacon. As I said, I will not follow canon for long since that is predictable. There will be Beacon stuff, however. I am being vague because spoilers. You will see what I mean in time.
To Yules: Thank you very much! I was surprised by that as well. As I said in the previous Author's Note, I was unaware of that until I looked it up.
To somethingaboutgravitas: Thank you very much! In this universe, Silver Eyes does require an activated Aura to be first activated, but it does not require Aura to use after that point. Silver Eyes cannot be accessed without Aura being unlocked first. So if (for example) Ruby did not have her Aura activated and saw Pyrrha die, she would not be able to activate Silver Eyes. I hope that makes sense (I am terrible at explaining things).
To Master-ofmanga: Thank you very much! I disagree. Salem is completely immortal (until she learns the value of life and death). She does not care about the Grand Liner's ires since she will survive anything they throw at her. She survived the god of Destruction's pool and her body was completely destroyed during her fight with Ozma (where she came right back). Nor can they keep her imprisoned for long since there is no way to stop her from accessing her abilities and escaping. Ozpin's powers have diminished but hers have grown. Not to mention they would have to find or reach her first. If Ozpin thought those outside of Remnant would be able to defeat her, he would try to convince a pirate like Whitebeard or ask the Admirals to go after her years ago (That is not to say they have not tried using outside forces before. They have). It is going to take something more than raw power to defeat Salem. (Have you seen Volume 6? If you have not, I apologize for spoiling so much for you.)
To AstralSakura: Thank you very much! Yes.
To Space Magician 111: Thank you very much! I actually might do something with that. I have vague plans for such a thing but have not decided if I want to use them yet. It depends on where this story goes.
To alexc123: Thank you very much! Yes, that was Conqueror's Haki.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think.
