Finding Answers

"What do you mean 'not enough'!?" Weiss asks.

"I hadn't had to chance to view all the files in the network." Onyx states.

Onyx looks through the downloaded files and opens the blueprints for the structure. He begins walking towards the labs.

The group enters a room, inside are a dozen pods filled with a crimson liquid. Eight of the pods have burned bodies within them. Onyx walks up to one of the pods without a body inside and dusts it off. A nameplate on the front of the pod has Rider embossed on it. Onyx goes to the other pod without a body and does the same. That one has Night embossed on the nameplate.

"Dust off the rest." Onyx orders.

When the other test subjects' names are revealed, they are Zero-Two, Chrome, Shadow, Light, Silicon, Brass, Flame, Aero, Camo, and Volt.

Onyx checks the files he downloaded and locates the folders with the same names. He briefly looks through them.

"Who were they?" Ruby asks.

"Test subjects like myself. Our purpose was to become the perfect soldier against the Grimm. The Chaos Zone was our weapon." Onyx explains.

Onyx can vaguely remember what it was like inside the pod, it was cold and hard to breath. The longer Onyx stays in the facility the stronger his forgotten memories become.

After some exploring Onyx finds and enters his old room. Inside was a bed, a dresser, and a desk. Onyx checks the drawers on the dresser, they were all empty. Onyx sits down on the bed. His old memories have been completely regained. Onyx remembers the other test subjects, the ones he treated like brothers, including Shadow and Night. The most important memory Onyx regained was the ending of his indoctrination. Ruby sits down next to Onyx.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

Onyx doesn't answer.

"Don't bother, Ruby. He's too rude to pay attention." Weiss says.

"Easy for you to say, you grew with all that money, with an entire corporation in your name!" Onyx shouts, "I grew up on the streets with the illusion that my parents had left me when I was young! I now know that I don't know my parents! I was kidnapped when I was six! I had no choices in life, everything about me was designed in order to create the perfect soldier! My entire personality was programmed as if I am a machine!"

"Hey!" Weiss reacts.

"Even now the Umbra Agency still influence my life!" Onyx continues, "Night is the reasoning behind every decision I've made in the past fifteen years!"

"You think my life is easy...!" Weiss begins.

"Try spending the every day of two years of your life training both your physical and mental capabilities in the Chaos Zone with conditions so harsh that you are brought within an inch of your life!" Onyx interrupts, "When I wasn't training I was being fed false beliefs. Try spending the next five years of your life in one of those pods, to do the same level of training but as an illusion in your mind!"

Weiss stops as she realizes that she can't compete.

"You think I'm okay after that?! No! No, I'm not!" Onyx yells with his voice echoed by Shadow's voice.

Onyx starts to appear the way he did when he attacked Ruby in the Chaos Zone. Ruby backs away from Onyx. He gets off the bed, begins to float above the ground, and waves his hand causing the door to shut and lock itself. Yang and Blake were outside when the door closed. Onyx dashes towards Weiss. He grabs Weiss by her neck and holds her in the air. As Weiss tries to pry his hand of her, Onyx tightens his grip, choking her. Ruby runs to Onyx, grabs his other wrist, and begins to pull on it. Onyx turns towards her.

"Please stop!" Ruby pleads.

Ruby knows that she can't beat Onyx, so she tries to reason with him.

"Let her go!" Ruby says.

Onyx stares into her scared eyes. But it wasn't the emotion that got to him, it was the color. Her silver eyes causes him to remember Aero, who also had silver eyes. Onyx drops Weiss and returns to normal. Ruby goes next to her partner. Weiss tries to catch her breath. Onyx looks at his hands as he backs away from the two girls until his back hits the wall. He slides down the wall until he is seated on the floor.

"I'm sorry." Onyx apologizes.

"What?" Ruby asks, she was focused on Weiss.

"I'm sorry." Onyx repeats.

He waves his hand unlocking and opening the door. Yang and Blake enter the room and kneel next to their teammates. Onyx opens a portal behind Yang and Blake.

"That'll take you home." Onyx states.

Weiss goes through first, then Yang and Blake. Ruby looks at Onyx, who is still seated against the wall.

"I'll look through the data. Come by my warehouse before midnight if you are still willing to help." Onyx states.

Ruby nods and walks through the portal.

The girls exit into their dorm room.

"Who does he think he is?!" Weiss asks.

"Weiss, calm down." Blake suggests.

"He needs help, and I think we can help." Ruby states.

"Why do you defend him?! What did he do to you while you were alone with him?!" Weiss asks.

"He saved my life, multiple times. And when he was driven entirely by rage, I was able to help him regain control." Ruby answers.

"And what if you can't next time?" Weiss protests.

"We have to try." Ruby states.

"If you do not try, you are doomed to fail." Ozpin states.

Team RWBY turn to him standing at the doorway, which was left open.

"I see you have returned from your journey, but is the mission complete?" Ozpin says.

"No, we haven't dealt with Night yet." Ruby responds.

"You are having difficulties working with Onyx, it is not surprising. Even with Team NWOR Onyx was always a loner." Ozpin states.

"He tried to kill me!" Weiss states.

"And did you provoke him?" Ozpin.

"Not really..." Weiss answers.

"You did in his eyes. Even if you are in the right, when dealing with unstable people, you must always be prepared for them to respond irrationally." Ozpin states.

He walks away, closing the door as he leaves.