RWBY: MRRN
Volume 6, Chapter 28: Resolve
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth
Author's Notes: I decided to go back and change Nasser's rocket launcher to a Fire Dust cannon (similar to Jace Malcolm's weapon from the Star Wars: The Old Republic 'Hope' Trailer)
Ruby sat outside in the warm late morning, her face bright and happy. Hope had been restored to the group after Jinn's second revelation about the Dark Heralds and the Silver Eyes. Ozpin's plan wasn't that flimsy after all, but still flawed; her power could ultimately destroy Salem's control over the Grimm, but she'd still be immortal.
This placed much more priority on her learning how to use her Silver Eyes if Salem was to be defeated. Sadly, with Jinn gone, she and the Kendricks had to learn how to control their powers all on their own.
"Hey, Ruby," Grayson greeted, walking out onto the back porch where Ruby was. She turned around and smiled at him warmly, something that caused Grayson to blush a bit.
"We can do this," she stated. "We can win against Salem, after all."
"We can," Grayson agreed. "But that places much more importance on our training. So, you ready to begin?" Ruby smiled excitedly and nodded her head quickly, something that made Grayson chuckle.
"How do I beam monsters with my eyeballs?" she asked.
"First off, drop that mindset," Grayson sternly told her. "The Silver Eyes are meant as a use of defense, not offense."
"Oh…okay," Ruby replied before the two of them sat down at the table.
"You said you used your power before, right?" Grayson questioned.
"Yeah," Ruby confirmed. "About…four times now. At Beacon, at Haven, after the Argus Limited crashed, and then…at the manor." Grayson nodded his head.
"What were your thoughts when you used your powers? What were you thinking in those moments?"
Ruby thought back to every moment she had used her Silver Eyes, hoping to find a connection.
The first time was at Beacon…the Fall of Beacon, the tragedy that had set all these events in motion. She had hurried to the top of Beacon Tower to save her friend, Pyrrha Nikos, when she had gone to fight Cinder Fall. When she arrived, she witnessed her friend get shot by one of Cinder's arrows; before Cinder could finish her, Ruby unleashed her power for the first time, petrifying the Grimm Dragon and possibly mutilating Cinder's body.
The second time was at Haven when the White Fang and Iron Knights attacked. She felt her torso, the area where she had been pierced by Cinder's javelin.
"You okay?" Grayson asked the reaper.
"At Haven…I almost died," Ruby responded. "Cinder almost killed me that night." Grayson looked at the area on her torso she was touching, assuming that's where the weapon had pierced her. The discomfort on Ruby's face grew, prompting Grayson to reach over and hold Ruby's free hand.
"Just think back to those moments," he insisted. "When did your Silver Eyes activate?"
Feeling some comfort from Grayson, Ruby turned her thoughts back to Haven. She remembered that her eyes activated when she saw the deceased Vernal about to kill her friend, Weiss.
The third time was after the Argus Limited had crashed. After it had fallen off the tracks, she remembered seeing dozens of Manticores flying towards them; she feared for the safety of her friends, which led to her eyes activating a third time.
The fourth time was at Cinder's old manor home, where she had been subjected to cruelty and sadism. For a moment, Ruby's mind went towards Cinder, who she now felt immense sympathy for.
Cinder had grown up in a home of violence, abuse and hatred after her parents died and left her in the care of her abusive stepfamily. No matter what she did, Cinder was always punished, always treated like an animal in a cage. It was no wonder she was so full of hate and anger: it was all she ever knew.
She changed her thoughts back to the battle with the Furies. The exact moment when her eyes activated was when she saw her older sister, Yang, in danger; one of the Furies had gotten the upper hand on her and grabbed her by her head. Ruby's eyes activated, freeing her sister, but leaving her exhausted.
What was the common connection in those moments? Pyrrha shot, Weiss almost killed, fear for her friends' safety, seeing Yang in danger…she could make a connection of sorts: all of those moments involved wanting to protect those she cares about.
"Well?" Grayson asked Ruby.
"I…I think I know," she answered. "Every time my eyes activated, I…I wanted to protect them, my friends."
"Then you've got the first step down," Grayson assured with an approving smile. "The power of the Silver Eyes is fueled by a desire to preserve life, to keep it safe. But it doesn't always have to mean saving the lives of other; it can be your own life as well."
"My own life…" Ruby spoke softly.
"Not in a selfish way," Grayson replied. "I mean, you want to protect yourself too as much as you want to protect others, so don't think of it selfishly. We'll hopefully have much more time once we get to Atlas."
"I see," Ruby responded, pulling her hand away from Grayson.
"What's wrong?"
"Atlas…that's where Penny was from," Ruby informed.
"Penny?" Gray asked. "Was she a friend of yours?"
"A very close one," Ruby answered. "Penny Polendina. She…was a cyborg from Atlas, the first ever robotic being to possess an Aura."
"A cyborg?"
"Yeah. We met in Vale one day, but she disappeared after a battle at the docks. When we saw her again, we learned her secret and…we became good friends. She was going to try and come to Beacon instead of staying in Atlas after the Vytal Festival, but…"
She remembered that horrid sight: Penny's body torn into multiple pieces, a victim of Cinder and Emerald's manipulations. Ruby almost felt the urge to break down after being indirectly reminded of her dear friend who she lost. She suddenly felt two arms wrap around her; Grayson was hugging her in the hopes of comforting her.
"I don't understand," Ruby spoke, putting her hand on Grayson's arm. "Why didn't they activate when Penny died? I don't understand."
"Well…perhaps it was due to circumstances," Grayson responded. "Every time you used your Silver Eyes, it was out of a desire to preserve life. If they didn't activate when Penny died, then…you were thinking more of grief instead of keeping her safe."
"Thanks," Ruby told the blue and white themed male as she gently broke away from his embrace. "I really…needed to get that out. I just feel like…I haven't had much time to deal with my own issues." Gray sighed.
"I'd suggest talking with your team, but after what happened with Yang, now might not be the best time."
"Hold on," Ruby spoke, her eyes widened. "Two questions. First, Ozpin said that the Silver Eyes can only activate in the presence of Grimm. Is that true?"
"It is," Gray confirmed. "Learning to use the Silver Eyes is a trial by fire. The only times you'll get to use them is when you're fighting Grimm. What's your second question?"
"The Silver Eyes could break Salem's control over the Grimm. If that's true, why does she want me alive?"
"Huh?"
"At Haven. I heard Valkoin say Salem wanted me alive. Why would that be?"
"I…I honestly have no idea. It doesn't make sense; Salem's been hunting down the Silver Eyed warriors for years. Why would she suddenly want to keep you alive?" Ruby shook her head in annoyance.
"If only we had one question left, we could find out what Salem wants with me."
"Finding out how to defeat her is much more important. We'll find out in time hopefully." He then put his hand on Ruby's shoulder.
"So, you still okay?"
"To be honest, I don't know. Penny's father may recognize me and…he may blame Pyrrha for her death. Pyrrha's already living with enough guilt; I don't-"
"We'll explain the situation to him," Gray assured. "After all, if I heard correctly, Luna did say Silvio's providing proof that what happened at Beacon was a setup for both your sister and Pyrrha. Hopefully, he'll listen."
"I appreciate that," Ruby responded before blushing.
"Ruby?" Grayson asked, noticing her head was turned away.
"Gray…could you hug me again? Just one more time? You're a great hugger." Grayson chuckled and did as Ruby wanted, wrapping his arms around her while she relaxed into his embrace.
-0-
"You still sure?" Math asked Saf as they sat together at the Argus Jail, waiting for Donovan to arrive on the other side of the glass screen from where they were sitting.
"We need to do this, for our sake," Saf insisted. "He needs know how badly he failed our family." The door on the other side opened up and an officer escorted Donovan Katur to the seat across from Math and Saf; upon seeing his two children, his eyes widened in shock before sitting down.
"What do you two want?" he questioned, speaking through the communicator in the glass. "Do you want more money? I'm sure-"
"Stop," Math growled. "We're here to tell you the truth."
"The truth?" Donovan questioned. "I guess you've stopped living in your own little reality now."
"You're the one living in your own reality," Safirlas sternly told him. "We're not here asking for your forgiveness; you're the one who should be asking for ours."
"I should be the one asking for forgiveness?" Donovan scoffed. "I did everything I could for you two, but you pushed me away like I meant nothing."
"That is NOT what happened and you know it," Math barked. "You left us because Mom wouldn't tolerate you pushing us around. You left because you didn't want to admit how badly you had mistreated us."
"I was trying to teach you how to be smart, but because of your 'disorder', you couldn't learn anything. I did my damn best to teach you, but you were too re-"
"Do NOT say that word," Math interrupted sharply. "I am done being called that. I am done being degraded like some worthless person. Even after all these years, you still haven't changed."
"Neither of you too. You're still the same brats that were stupid and ungrateful to appreciate what you had. You practically forced me to leave, remember?"
"We didn't force you to do ANYTHING," Saf reprimanded. "We were only kids when you divorced Mom and left us. How dare you blame us for your choices; no one's to blame but you."
"This was never my fault, you bitch. Your mom was always nagging me and getting on me for the smallest things. I worked hard to provide for our family and all she did was ever criticize me because she wanted more, just like you two."
"She criticized you for how you mistreated us and how you always put yourself as the good guy, the victim," Math corrected. "She criticized you because you were too selfish to think about anyone but yourself. You criticize us for not being grateful, for being selfish and brats, but we weren't the ones who harassed you. We weren't the ones who turned our backs on our family, who didn't own up to our choices…it was only ever you."
"You sound just like your mother. Always blaming me for everything that goes wrong. Jeez, she really taught you two well after I left, didn't she?"
"She taught us morality, how to care for others and how to defend ourselves," Saf stated. "You barely taught us anything."
"If you ever amounted to anything, it'd because of me. I was the man in your lives and-"
"BULLSHIT!" Math barked, rising from his seat. "We are not dogs that you can leave in a cage and only take care of us when you feel like it. Our lives went on without you and yet the only time you ever contacted us after the divorce was to harass us or manipulate us into thinking you're the good guy. We're not supposed to be here for you, you're supposed to be here for us!"
"You shut the hell up! I was here for you, but you two were too stupid and ungrateful to appreciate what I was trying do for you! If I didn't have an active part in your lives, it's because you didn't want anything to do with me! None of this was my fault, only yours…and that whore you call your mom."
SLAM! Saf slammed her fists on the table, her anger towards her father no longer held back.
"We didn't do anything to you, Donovan! Everything that happened between us was YOUR fault! You say you were trying to help us, but you abused us! Lied to us! Manipulated us so you'd appear like the victim and Mom like the monster! You never owned up to your choices; you always tried to deflect the blame onto us. You always deflected the blame onto someone else, even when it was blatantly your fault! You were too selfish and proud to apologize to us for what you put us through. You hurt us too many times to count and you won't own up to it, instead-" Saf stopped when she saw Donovan roll his eyes, indicating that he was thinking she was speaking utter nonsense.
"DON'T ROLL YOUR FUCKING EYES AT ME!" Saf roared, making everyone jump, including Donovan.
"Oh…" Math whispered. If Saf was cursing right now, that meant that she was no longer restraining her anger.
"You hurt us and you don't even feel sorry! You don't want to accept the truth! You don't want to accept that you needed to change, so you blamed everyone but yourself! You painted us as ungrateful, selfish brats when all we wanted was your genuine love and affection! Well, we don't need you! I DON'T NEED YOU, YOU WORTHLESS WASTE OF LIFE!"
The room was shocked silent after Safirlas's outburst. Donovan looked at her with a startled expression before his lips started to curl and he started laughing in a mocking manner.
"You don't need me? Saf, you delusional bitch, and Math, you 'special' dumbass, you were nothing without me! I was the only one who saw your issues and tried to address them, but your Mom always got in the way! You think that just because you two are Huntsmen that you're worth anything? Without me, you'll never amount to ANYTHING! I can't believe I had children like you!"
"Well, fun fact, Donovan," Math retorted. "I'm not your son." Donovan's condescending smirk slowly changed to one of shocked anger.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that you're not my father; a man named Trenton Brownwood was!"
"Boy, if you're lying to me, I will-"
"You'll what?" Math challenged. "You'll what? Hit me?"
"I'll beat you to a bloody pulp, you shit!"
"Try that and I will kill you," Saf threatened, her eyes glaring daggers at the abusive man.
"Are you threatening me? After everything I've done for you?"
"You did NOTHING for us, even after you left," Math scolded. "After you and Mom had a bad argument, Trenton came to the house to comfort her…and he impregnated her with me."
"Stop."
"After she found out she had his child, she agreed to go with him to Atlas, taking me and Saf with her and leaving you behind!"
"I said shut up!"
"Mom was going to leave you! She was going to leave you because you failed as a husband and a father! You think you're unfairly misunderstood, someone who was pushed out by their family? No! You're the same as you were back then; a selfish, irresponsible, hypocritical and lying coward! You hear me!? You're nothing but a COWARD!"
"Shut up!" Donovan slammed his fist on the glass, his face filled with rage and contempt towards his family.
"You still don't want to face the truth. No matter what you're told, no matter who says anything, you won't face the truth! You'd rather believe your own lies to absolve yourself of blame than admit responsibility!"
"We're not here to ask for your forgiveness," Saf stated. "We came here to tell you that you were a failure of a father and husband, that we don't need you as you claim, to break your delusional pride and we will become a Huntsman and Huntress without you! You mean nothing to us!" When Saf had calmed down, she and Math looked at each other and then back at Donovan.
"This conversation's over," Math stated. "You are no longer a part of our lives." The two Kendricks started to walk away from the booth, all the while Donovan screamed profanity until the guards took him away.
It was done. They had broken Donovan's pride by revealing that Corcra planned to leave him due to how poor of a husband and father he was to the family. She was going to leave him for a man who genuinely loved her, who would've treated her with respect and love. Had he been alive, Math and Saf would've grown up with a great father figure.
"How do you feel?" Saf asked her brother as they walked out of the jail and omto the sidewalk.
"Feeling…I don't know," Math responded. "I'm glad we broke his pride; it's about time we did so. He needed to hear the truth, but…Saf, there's something I should tell you."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Before the Vytal Tournament, I…saw him in Vale," Math told her. "He was working with the DMC until the Fall of Beacon."
"You saw him?" the spear user questioned. "Did you see him?"
"No," Math responded. "I told Pyrrha, my team, Mom, Forest…I didn't know what to do. Mom and Forest said the same thing: he'll ignore me and cause more hurt, so just leave it. They were right in a way."
"Yeah," Saf agreed. "No matter what we said, Donovan wouldn't stop blaming us. It's gotten to the point where he's believing his own lies. Now…" She shook her head.
"What's done is done," she firmly stated. "We told him the truth and he knows she was going to leave him. Doesn't matter what he thinks, we know who and what he is, regardless of how much he denies it." Math nodded his head in agreement.
"Let's get back to the house. We need to learn about our abilities."
"That we do," Math agreed.
-0-
David Brownwood waited patiently as the projection screen in front of him spelled 'Establishing Secure Communication'. It was taking longer than usual, but considering everything that was going on in Atlas, he expected that General Ironwood had quite a lot on his plate at the moment.
Finally, General James Ironwood appeared on the screen, sitting at his desk. His current appearance made Brownwood worry for the General; his usual combed hair was disheveled and his face was now covered by a beard, a complete contrast to the usual sharp and well-groomed man Ironwood usually was.
"Yes, Commander?" he greeted.
"General, Glaucus Viisaus was here yesterday," David informed.
"Glaucus?" Ironwood gasped, his eyes widened in shock. "What was he doing here?"
"He and his companions are requesting entry into Atlas," David explained. "They claim to have something the enemy wants, the reason the Argus Limited was attacked."
"Something they want?" Ironwood questioned, leaning forward. "What was it?"
"He wouldn't say precisely, but he said it was a lamp of sorts. I don't know why-"
"A lamp?" Ironwood questioned again, suspecting what it was. "Are you certain that's what they said?"
"Yes, General. They're here in Argus until I inform them-"
"They will be granted clearance to enter Atlas. I will send an armored transport as soon as possible."
"An armored transport? General, if you don't mind me asking, why is this lamp so important?"
"You will be informed in time. In the meanwhile, inform Glaucus that he and everyone with him has been granted clearance to enter Atlas."
"Yes, sir. Commander Brownwood, over and out." David saluted the General and hung up. He then took out his scroll and prepared to dial Glaucus's number, but the sound of hurrying footsteps stopped him.
"Commander!" a rushing soldier cried out. "Mistral ships inbound! They came from the Argus Military outpost."
"From the outpost?" David questioned. "What's happened?"
"The outpost was attacked, Commander. The Iron Knights led an assault and took over the outpost."
"What!?" David gasped. "How far are the airships?"
"They're just about to land, sir," the soldier answered. "We've cleared the airfield for them."
"Good, then I'll go see them." David hurried out of the base and made his way outside, catching sight of several Mistral airships making their way to the landing zone. David and several soldiers hurried to the ships, watching as the survivors of the attack disembarked, one of them identified as Kokkinos Nikos.
"What happened?" David questioned. "The outpost was attacked?"
"Yes, Commander," Kokkinos addressed. "Iron Knights. They had an infiltrator disable the defense systems and open the gates for them. We were overrun in a very short time."
"If they attacked the Argus outpost, then it's safe to assume Argus is their next target," David assumed. "What about the other survivors?"
"Some of them went to Mistral to ask for reinforcements," Philip answered. "They're bringing artillery and possible airships as well. Odds are, they're bringing their entire army."
"Then we must prepare our defenses," David stated before turning to his second-in-command. "Spread a city wide alert; get all civilians to the safe zones underground. Get every soldier, Huntsman and volunteers ready for battle. Get the intercom ready."
"Yes, Commander!" the second-in-command addressed.
-0-
As Math and Saf almost made it home, projection screens of David Brownwood popped up everywhere.
"Citizens of Argus, we are putting on a level 5 alert. Iron Knights are on their way to besiege Argus as we speak, most likely arriving by nightfall. All civilians, gather what necessary provisions you need and go to the safe zones. If you are a soldier, Huntsman, or capable fighter, please make your way to the Argus Base where I will be directing defenses and strategies. Thank you all for your cooperation."
"Iron Knights!?" Math gasped. "They're on their way here!?"
"No wonder we weren't seeing them," Saf guessed. "They were saving their numbers to assault Argus."
"Guys!" Cole called out, followed by his team. "Did you see that?"
"We did," Math informed.
"The militia are already sending out word to Silvio," Luna told the Kendricks. "He'll hopefully get militia here as soon as possible before the Knights arrive."
"Let's hope so," Saf agreed. "Let's make our way to the base, find out how we can help."
"I'll go ahead and call the others," Math replied. "I don't know if they got the message too."
"Odds are, they did," Luna answered. "That broadcast appeared on all screens and scrolls. They're sure to have seen it."
"Then let's go, but first, we have something to tell you," Math told the members of Team COAL. Math explained everything to them; using the last question, the discovery of the Dark Heralds and how Salem can be defeated.
"So Salem can be beaten," Aria spoke. "The Dark Heralds and the Silver Eyes are the key to doing so."
"Yes," Saf confirmed. "But Jinn didn't tell us how to use our powers properly, so we'll need to pick up the pieces on our own."
"Well, at least we know we can win," Luna replied. "So I guess Ozpin's plan wasn't without merit after all; it would've robbed her ability to control the Grimm, but there'd still be the case of her immortality."
"We need to worry about that later," Oren insisted. "We have to help organize defenses for Argus." The six youths hurried off to the Argus Base to help in the defense of the city that was going to be besieged soon.
Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed the scene with Math and Saf confronting Donovan and giving him what for!
