The Price of Power
Qrow watches as the portal explodes into a white light after he exits.
"Interesting." Qrow comments before calling for pickup.
Yang carries Ruby to the medical bay of the airship that the former Resistance, now an unnamed group, are using as their base of operations. She lays Ruby down on one of the beds and turns to Silicon.
"I'll take good care of her." Silicon states.
Onyx lays down on his bed.
"How'd it go?" Amaranth asks.
"Ruby's awakened her silver eyes." Onyx states.
"Were your's awakened?" Amaranth asks.
"No." Onyx states, "Chaos Aura and silver eyes don't mix. They don't exactly negate each other, but neither works correctly."
Amaranth nods to show she understands.
"Ever figure out how you got silver eyes?" Amaranth asks.
"No." Onyx answers.
Ruby groans as she wakes up.
"So, how you feeling?" Qrow asks,
Ruby turns to her let to see Qrow sitting on a chair beside her.
"Um..." Ruby struggles, "I kind of hurt... all over."
Qrow chuckles.
"That makes sense, after what you did." Qrow states.
"What did I do?" Ruby asks.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Qrow asks.
"I ran up the side of the tower, and when I got to the top, I..." Ruby gasps, "Blake! Is she...?"
"She's gone." Qrow states.
"I..." Ruby pauses as tears fill her eyes, "I... I got to the street..."
Ruby begins crying.
"I saw Blake... and Harpax..." Ruby grips her blanket, "and then everything went white!"
"Anything else?" Qrow asks.
"I remember..." Ruby pauses to wipe so tears from her eyes, "my head hurting."
"The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?" Qrow asks.
"I... I don't know. I think it was something about..." Ruby begins.
"Silver eyes." Qrow states, "That's an extremely rare trait."
"So?" Ruby asks.
"You're special, Ruby." Qrow explains, "And not in the 'Daddy loves his special angel' kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down."
Qrow scoffs.
"It's a ridiculous story." Qrow says.
"But... you think that I might be..." Ruby begins.
"Onyx used his fancy shields to block off some of your power." Qrow states, "But something clearly happened."
He gets to his feet and walks over to a window, leaning on the sill and staring outside.
"Wait, wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me... the night we met?" Ruby asks.
"All those missions I went on... all the times I was away in some far-off place... it's been for Ozpin. But he's gone now." Qrow explains, "Catch ya later, kiddo."
Onyx groans as he opens a portal, then closes it. The portal flickers and explodes into a white light.
"Seems like she still did a number on you." Amaranth comments.
"Only my portals seem to be affected." Onyx states.
Ruby walks through the hall of the airship with Yang following her.
"I told you a thousand times, I'm fine, Yang." Ruby says.
"Ruby, we don't know that." Yang argues.
"Why can't you just trust me?" Ruby asks.
"Silicon says your vitals are lower than usual." Yang states.
"I feel fine." Ruby says.
"You're not as active as before." Yang argues.
"Yang..." Ruby stumbles, "I'm..."
Ruby passes out and falls to the ground.
"RUBY!" Yang shouts.
Onyx opens another portal and it closes normally. He repeats the action ten more times to be sure.
"Seems you're back at your maximum." Amaranth comments.
"She'll recover, right?" Yang asks.
Ruby wakes up in the shared quarters of Team RWBY. She groans and stiffly turns her head to see Silicon talking to Qrow, Weiss, and Yang.
"She's awake." Qrow states.
"Ruby!" Yang calls as she runs to her sisters side.
She pulls Ruby into a hug. Ruby cringes at this.
"Sorry." Yang apologizes as she lets go.
"It seems you are under the affects of a virus." Silicon explains, "The Shadow Zone syndrome."
"The... what?" Ruby weakly says.
"The best way to explain it is what happened to Onyx when he first used Chaos-Verto." Silicon explains.
"Like I was saying before, she'll recover, like Onyx did?" Yang asks.
"No." Silicon answers, "Onyx was affected by a weakened variation. The usual variation is permanent."
"Can't you do anything?" Weiss asks.
"No." Silicon answers.
"The only cure for the Shadow Zone syndrome is Chaos Aura, and we no longer possess the means to give it to Ruby." Silicon explains, "We used the last of our congeria to give Onyx Chaos Aura and we don't know how to make more."
"You don't have the means to do it, but I know someone who does." Yang states.
"You want to go to them?" Weiss asks.
"Can you call for Anna?" Yang asks Qrow.
Qrow glances at Ruby.
"She is the best negotiator." Qrow states, "But are you sure you want to go to them?"
Yang nods.
"Fine, I just have one question." Weiss says, "Are you nuts?! We don't know where to find them and even if we did, we aren't on 'good' terms."
"Do you have a better idea?" Yang asks.
Anna and Yang, who is carrying Ruby, exit a portal outside the throne room of the Temple of the Riders.
"The Cultis Ex Ipsis." Anna states, "Now I see why you wanted me along as your bodyguard."
The two cultists guarding the door draw their blades. Anna activates level two of her Verto and prepares to draw Empress Swallow.
"Easy, quick draw." Yang says, "We're not here to fight. We're here to beg."
The guards lower their weapons in confusion.
Yang, still carrying Ruby, and Anna stand before Amaranth, who is seated on the throne. The room has no guards, as they were asked to leave by Amaranth.
"Great Amaranth, I know think we're your enemy, but Ruby is in danger and only the resources of the Cultis Ex Ipsis can save her." Anna says.
"You risk much, asking favors of an enemy." Amaranth responds, "But perhaps I should first consult with the true grandmaster of the Cultis Ex Ipsis."
Amaranth turns to her left where Onyx is approaching.
"Onyx?" Anna asks.
"Amaranth accepts that I am the superior leader, however the others are hesitant to be led by a former enemy." Onyx states.
"What do you ask of us?" Amaranth asks.
"I need you to give Ruby Chaos Aura." Yang answers.
"What you ask for cannot be done." Amaranth states.
"Why not?!" Yang's eyes change to their red color.
"Chaos Aura was designed for Riders and it has never been tested on a Human." Amaranth states.
"There is something more." Onyx says, "Silver eyes can render the subject... unstable."
"It's too dangerous." Anna agrees.
"You made Summer a promise!" Yang argues, "You've got to try!"
Yang's eyes return to their normal lilac color.
"Please." She pleads.
Onyx furrows his brow in concentration.
"We have a method for turning Humans into Riders using modern technology." Hebenus states.
Yang paid little attention to the child that appeared next to Onyx.
"You fucking what?!" Yang shouts as her eyes turn red and her hair lights on fire, "You can save her!"
"Mind your manners, Yang." Anna scolds.
"Did you hear what-" Yang begins.
"Keep talking and I'll watch you suffer." Onyx threatens.
He turns to his son.
"Go to your room, we'll discuss this later." Onyx orders.
He turns back to Yang.
"You are going to save my sister." Yang demands.
"We do have a method to create Riders." Onyx states, "Since you are so intent on watching your sister suffer, we'll use it."
"What do you mean 'suffer'?!" Yang growls.
"In order to change her, we must first destroy her soul." Onyx explains, "Then we remake it from scratch. The chances of survival are low, but you made this choice."
"Onyx." Anna calls in protest.
"Prepare the chamber." Onyx orders as he uses his Aliquam to take Ruby from Yang.
"You can't do this!" Yang shouts.
Onyx turns towards Yang.
"I'm trying to save the world and you want me to help you sister with a non fatal illness." Onyx says, "Fine. I'll try to help your sister. Should anything happen, know that you made this choice."
"Is he okay?" Anna asks.
"He's pissed." Amaranth states, "Not okay at all."
"Can you talk him out of this?" Anna asks.
"No. He's stressed and has had a really short fuse for the last month." Amaranth answers, "Ruby may not survive, but you brought this upon yourself."
