Volume 4, Chapter 8; Trust

"You're making a terrible mistake, James…"

The General was quick to pivot and stare back at the faunus who had joined him in awaiting the future Winter Maiden. A distinctive quality to the voice he had not perceived in quite a time. A shade over Cole's usual tone that threatened to overshadow the original.

"Oz… how good of you to finally arrive."

"James. Why…?" The dismissive exhale of breath was all he was to be offered as an answer with the General turning from his position. The man's attention lay upon the Relic chamber amid their proceeding conversation.

"Why… you ask." The tone molded into that of disbelief than regarding the true concern. "…look around us, Oz. Look around at the world we live in." He extended his arms out to the great expanse below them, urging his companion to heed his answer. "…this world is on the verge of collapse. Bickering. Fighting. Oppression. Mistrust…"

Ozpin gawked at the man he had considered a rather close companion, providing James the time to continue. "Even you… you left us all in the dark. You gave us the choice to join your inner circle, yet always held the real truth just out of arms reach."

"Every day… after the fall of your school…" The first step the General made towards him, caused an immediate retreat. And then another. "…I prepared. I made us ready for what was to inevitably arrive. And then… when it finally reached us, I was lucky to have the boy I had trusted. Yet YOU were there instead!"

All the Beacon Headmaster could achieve within Cole's body was backtrack from Ironwood's encroaching physique. Even with one of his arms mangled and within a cast, the General was still the daunting man he was always to be. "You left us! You lied to us! The people who trusted you! You looked us in the eyes and LIED!"

Amidst their argument, and within the subspace that was their mindscape, Cole would repeatedly bring his fists upon the barrier that separated him from the real world. His other half had unexpectedly taken hold of the reigns and left him wanting. "Dammit, Ozpin! Don't do this!"

It was not fair.

Whether it was Salem or Ozpin. Each of them would readily seize hold of his mind and body without suitable consent. He hated it. He dreaded every thought that pervaded his mind. "No…" He breathed, gritting his fangs at the thought. "…I have had ENOUGH!"

No matter how much the agony seared through his flesh, Cole forced the digits of his left arm to spear through the material that was his mindscape's barricade. "If you won't heed my call! Then I'll force you out!" Cracks began to spiderweb out from the purchase he had held yet triggering the sharpened material to slice into his fingers. "…I'LL FORGE MY OWN DESTINY!"

Within the outer world, Ozpin's concentration shattered, and the Headmaster was forced from the consciousness of his host. A blinding flash exploding along the walkway and causing its other occupant to shield his eyes away from the storm. All throughout, he could overhear the harrowing cries of Cole's anguished wails as the battle of minds held between the two.

'Cole… please… You mustn't…!'

Once a lasting settlement was made in their surroundings, James deemed it wise to bring down the raised forearm. While the pair of silver believed to still gaze upon his former associate, they were relieved to find them replaced. The faunus appeared ragged in all manner of forms, yet himself. It was then, did the General discern Cole begin to stumble forwards.

The reigns were thrown in the faunus's hands once again as his knees buckled beneath the invisible weight upon his form. James was upon him in mere seconds, offering a comfort ready accepted. "Cole… are you alright?"

A hesitant nod would be his immediate response, joined only by the hushed whispers of his ward. "…I think so. He is gone. For now."

In a surprising display of deft, he scooped the younger huntsman into his offered arm and coddled against his chest. Fingers dug into the sable tresses, unaware of how closely he held the boy to himself. A sigh of innate reprieve sounded as he breathed in the existence of his ward.

"I'm glad you're alright…"

The pair of canine-like ears flickered against the heat of his words, paired only by the wide-stricken eyes against his chest. "…I'm happy…that you still stand with me…" Cole had not anticipated James to have sheltered such emotions still in relation to the preceding events. Still, he did not shy away from such actions and proceeded to encircle the man with his own arms.

He was making the right choice.

James was right in the end. What did it matter who he decided to side with? Salem could not be stopped and there would be no manner of combating her in the end. Even with Ozpin's intervention at Haven, she was still active as ever. Atlas would ensure the safety of those having been procured by the helicarriers. The Ace Operatives and his own team would bring Ruby and her friends into custody. The day would be theirs with Winter attaining the powers of the Winter Maiden.

He was making the right choice.

So, then why did he feel such an aching emptiness in the pit of his chest?

Cole stirred to depart from his guardian's embrace, something James exhibited great alarm in. He had to say something. Anything. A word to diffuse the situation and deter James from acting this way. Why would his arms not move to interfere? The trepidation that had begun to set in… what had he done?

'Move, damn you… MOVE!'

The duo would find amnesty in the sound of the elevator's mechanisms whirring to life, with the likes of which only meaning one thing. "Winter, I-…!"

The arrival unto them would not be of their Atlas Specialist, but of another fair-haired woman. A girl gifted with a resolve that would meet no match. A girl Cole could never have imagined meeting them. A girl with burning ruby locks billowing like a fire kindling in wait. A girl who's shine of her newly fashioned golden armor threatened to blind him.

"…you…"

"No."

"Jaune, please. I-…"

"No."

The lot of them had lingered in what remained of Ironwood's office, gathered about the bound members of team CELL and the Ace Operatives. With Pyrrha's arrival and learning of Cole's whereabouts, the girl had decreed a specific intent of hers. "You can't just go about it alone like Beacon. Not this time."

While the Arc son was correct in his assertions, it did not bring Pyrrha any more joy than it did the rest of them. "The Cole I know wouldn't have just went along with this if it wasn't for a reason…" She raised a hand to rest at her breastplate, shying away from her partner's gaze. "He's suffering… and I'm the only one right now that can save him. Like he did me at Beacon…"

"Pyrrha, I…" It broke her heart to see him this way; anguished over her wellbeing. Before he could utter any further remarks, she moved to wrap her arms about his chest and nestle her head in the crook of his neck.

"I have to do this…" She shied away to preserve her grip on his shoulders and gaping into the sapphires she admired so wholeheartedly. "You'll be with me through it all…" It staggered even her at the suddenness of their kiss. Yet, she did not deny it.

Upon their parting, she presented a smile he had known true since his time in Beacon. A confirmation she was pleasantly satisfied with her current objective. He could not stop her. "Go…" Mimicking her in the form of his lips curving upward. "Go."

A nod signified her leave, dashing through the academy corridors. A long-lasting glance sent to her own team and that of team RWBY. They all shared equally approving expressions. She was doing the right thing.

The nanites coalesced into his inner forearm, with a segmented joint protruding out. Seizing hold the addition, Cole wrenched forth a newly formed weapon to prolong their bout. Almost akin to that of a fireman's axe, the base and metal were all made up of the same material.

Before Pyrrha had a moment to collect her thoughts, the axe was thrown towards her. The brilliant emeralds held wide in surprise, but adept enough to dodge beneath the projectile. What she did not anticipate was the song of the metal whirling behind her and clang against her shoulder armor.

A sizable dent in the material left her questioning the properties of such an armament as it returned to the faunus's grip. "Why can't you see!?"

Upon the emphasis, Cole flung the weapon once more. While she did manage to raise her shield and deflect the attack, this did repeat several times. Again and again; it would return to his grasp. "I am doing this... on my own… accord!"

An anguished cry would mark a conclusion to the whirled motions, with the girl questioning his subsequent action. Yet, upon glancing back to his prior standpoint, she would not find him. Her attention would be wrought above as he propelled into the air. While she did evade and sidestep the blow impacting the surface of the bridge, Cole was far from finished. He brought the weapon into a reverse-grip and the head of the axe pinned against his opponent's shield.

The two met a wrestle of strength, intent on pushing the other further from their stalemate. "Then..." His amber stare widened at her words, only for the hues to narrow accordingly. "...that is precisely why… I must stop you."

Those words would be met with nothing but a fueled rage. Utilizing the hooked end of his axe, Cole yanked the shield out from her. As he did, the faunus made to take hold her throat in his free hand. The act victorious if not for the sudden rise of the girl's knee to knock the appendage away.

He cursed, shaking the appendage free of whatever harm inflicted upon it. "Fine then. Just TRY TO STOP ME!" Nanites flooded along his person, parting from the core item they were brought upon. At his wrist, they formed a bracelet with a pointed edge poking forth from his palm. As did his original right. "I hope you are ready…"

Out they streamlined, scraping along the platform as he stepped forth. The girl would have little opportunity to turn as he was soon upon her. Swinging about in a flurry of steel and fervent ire. Wrapped about her shield they went, yanking it towards him. Yet, that would not be his intent.

Rather, leaping from his position to drop kick the flat of it directly into the arms that held it in check. An audible gasp slipping past her lungs as she flung from his person. The chains returning as he urged them so. "You are out of your league, Pyrrha… Give up. This is the right path to take. The only path to take."

Her aura had shielded her from most of the damage that would have inevitably inflicted. As such, she still struggled to push herself to stand. Undeniably still unfamiliar with the augmentations at her legs. Cole would waste no time in preparing himself again, crossing his arms over each other. 'She chose this. It isn't my faul-…!'

His thoughts shattered hastily as he felt wrought from its original position. 'Her semblance…' He made to alter himself midair, swinging out his leg to sweep out her own footing. Still, she had expected him.

Leaping just enough to evade both the artificial grasp and his hooked kick, Pyrrha shot out her own heeled boot and struck against his solar plexus. That would, however, not be the end of her attack. Curling her fingers inward as if compelling him to return, he was wisped about.

Spittle spurted past his lips, brought about like a ragdoll. Her grip found purchase about his metallic wrist. Whilst not actually making physical contact, the faunus was tossed into the elevator's material. A pained gasp echoing out as he collapsed to his knees.

His own aura did save him the trouble of enduring any true harm, but it the pain was present, nonetheless. Those golden orbs peered out like a raging fire that directed upon the gladiator. Fingers met the walkway, pushing him to an appropriate height. At least, that is what he had wished to do.

At attest to her semblance, Cole felt his body slammed down. Then, as he frightenedly glanced either side, the panels of each side began to curl about him. The entire metal-work of the platform beginning to cave in around him. "I'm sorry, Cole. But I am not allowing this to go on any longer."

"No… not."

Her brow knitted in a perplexed manner, curious as to what he had spoken. The faunus, thankfully, indulged her.

"No. You're not…"

"NONE OF YOU ARE!"

It exploded from him like a hurricane. The energy output was audible, causing a shrill sound to fill the chasm. His own raging voice echoed to partner it. Bloodcurdling in its introduction. Impossibly, he made to push himself to stand. Even as the pressure from the metal plating bore down upon him, he cried out in an anguished tone to force his rise.

"Cole, please! Stay down!"

She was met on deaf ears, as the faunus finally detonated out from his prison. That malignant aura. That dreadful energy. His shoulders heaved as a torrential weight lay upon them. So much power. So much rage.

'…it hurts…'

Blackened tendrils outspread from his physique, clawing at him as they traversed the male's form. Clung around his limbs. Seeping into his skin. Swamping his mouth, nose and eyes. All throughout, his hysterical screams ceased to conclude. The dark pitched energy flowing upward began to take shape and mold the contents of itself as if conscious.

'…make it stop…'

Its figure curved about every outline. A silhouette of a female began to form its way above him. "Salem… no…" The General's horrified tone robbed Pyrrha to face him for the moment, before returning her undying attention to the faunus. It did not make any sense. Salem? Why was she appearing now?

Cole's wretched body strangled up as if orchestrated by a puppeteer. The sclera of his eyes taking upon a black coloration, whilst the amber began to flood with a crimson liquid. Clawed digits replacing his original before he began convulsing again. It was his back. The same that caused more pained cries from him until it punctured through skin and clothing. A skeletal wing stretched forth as it was set free, prior to lastly influencing the faunus to stand in a zombified fashion. And at that moment, those eyes burst open wide and he launched towards her.

Evade. It was all she could manage in the encroaching assault, with her diving to escape the talons. This was no longer a fight to apprehend and seize the faunus so that he could do no more harm. This was a battle for her own life.

The monstrous being skid to a halt just before James, with the backlash propelling the General into the crystal face of the Relic chamber. His only drive would be upon the Nikos daughter. With the very same applying her semblance on her augmentations in levitating herself from the platform.

"Cole!" Her voice came urgent, with the being growling out a beast-like call. "I know you're in there! Please!"

Her response would come in the shape of Cole hurling himself towards her, and the barest hints of his clawed fingers rending her asunder. The poor girl glided from the stage and urged herself further from its base. He would be soon to follow, leaping into the air with his lone wing to assist him.

Even his flight appeared mutated, as he leaped from each segment of metal floating amidst the chamber. Pyrrha cursed under her breath in a fashion quite unlike herself, whirling about midair. "Alright then, Cole. Fine then!"

Out went her arms as she charged the abundant plates of steel about them inward. Her expression bore an untamed look as she threw her arms in Cole's direction. The first struck him full center, knocking blood and spittle from his lungs. The second hammered his spine and pinned him between it and the first. More and more would join her cause soon thereafter.

"I've had enough of this, Cole!" Both her hands' fingers upturned and began their curl inward, commanding the metal to further compress his physique. "All this anger! All this darkness inside you! All this hate made manifest! I CAST IT OUT!" His pained animalistic cries were the single retort she was to be rewarded with, but she urged herself further. "IRON MAIDEN!" The faunus's wails were silenced as the prison of steel shuddered all around him.

And for a short-lived moment, Pyrrha believed herself the victor.

Her form levitated back to the bridge with her attention briefly gracing the General's crouched figure. A gratified respire flooded from her lips, closing those emeralds from the world. Though, to her delayed apprehension, a crack began to take shape in the prison. Then another. And another. She hurriedly went to reinforce the cell of her opponent, but the damage had already been done.

A shockwave earning both figures to collapse against the platform erupted outward in Cole's liberty. A shockwave of air pressure outward from the oncoming threat. Her injury would cost her the opportunity in evading his encroaching hand as the clawed digits slunk around her neck. Perched atop her, the great beast curled its malicious smile into a wicked grin.

"Cole, stop!"

It was James who would attempt to come to the girl's aid, only to be halted at the apparition beginning to form. A swelling smoke vented out from the faunus and rose to a frightening height. It was her. The pale-moon skin and bloodied eyes gazed upon the General with an all too obvious delight. The same causing him to buckle beneath its stare. "…no." He had no method of attempting any further actions to prevent the faunus from persisting. Frozen in fear against the doorway to the Relic. "…Salem?"

"C-Cole…" His eyes swiveled back to his initial target, blankly canting his head to the side. Her trembling physique was but putty in his hands. Her fingers frantically scraping against the grip about her throat. "…y-you have th-the… strength… to… stop…"

A feeling, unlike anything he had ever experienced. All the trivial periods Salem's influence had engulfed him in the profile of his semblance, Cole bore an excruciating feeling throughout his person. Yet, now. The sensation was boundless. And still, the pain compelled him to act in a favor, not of his own. Pyrrha's scuttling clutch slackened when breath became absent in her throat, snared to the entrapment he had brought.

The gunshot was unlike anything anyone had predicted, with the faunus's grasp loosening. The malformed eyes lay wide in a dumbfounded jolt with the girl sharing in it with his relaxed hold. Both slowly turned their attention to the General who had been so inactive in the bout between and the firearm extended out. Smoke still billowing out from the barrel.

Unyielding.

No sorrow. No remorse. No tear-stained expression blemished the man's eyes. Even amid the horrendous act.

"I'm sorry, Cole. But…" Another gunshot ripped through the chamber and burst out from his chest. All to both his and Pyrrha's horror as she crumpled against the bridge. "…you're in the way." A third tore through his chest with a fourth and fifth subsequently next. The ailments of Salem's control began to progressively seep away as his body slumped from the bridge.

Cinder was to be standing on a rooftop of Atlas's many towering skyscrapers, staring intently at the Academy before her. Ragged in her complexion, the female reached to clutch the Grimm appendage and shivered in posture. Having escaped the failure of her bout between her and the specified faunus. Something had occurred. She could sense its happening. Her plan to attain the Winter Maiden's powers had not borne fruit and instead only further instigated her ire of the silver-eyes warrior. The same that he had requested she forgive such actions against her.

"Cole…"

It was until footsteps echoed behind her, did the Fall Maiden turn her attention to the newcomer. Her melancholic expression altered to fit the description she had always portrayed herself to be as it was revealed to be Neo's untimely arrival. Striking a pose to bow, the girl held out her hand to present the object of their desires hovering in her palm.

The Relic of Knowledge.

Hurriedly strolling past the girl, Cinder snatched the Lamp from its place and persisted in her venture without a single word to her partner in crime. Hiding the seemingly unhappy reaction from such individual, she shook her head of the thoughts that welled in her mind.

"I'm sorry…"

"COLE!"

The girl's desperate call was shadowed only by flinging herself from the seated position prior. Winds of their descent whipped past the both of them. Even as his blood smeared her face and the two of them plummeted, she would not relinquish her hold. Pyrrha pressed her cheek into his chest and prayed. Prayed that someone would answer. She would not let him go.

Cole's lifeless body was to be partnered not only with the gales that lashed past his features but with those that he had driven his actions alongside.

A transitory glimpse to the sight of Clover's still corpse now being evacuated from the clearing to safe handling. His lover. A partner within his time of Atlas and someone who had granted the faunus a warmth sides his team. Someone who would accept his past and love him with whatever would come to the pair in the future.

An alteration to the prevue displayed Winter's bloodied figure and how she forced herself into a leaned position against the former Winter Maiden's work. Scarcely clinging to life if not for the intervention of the younger generation. A sister to him. Family, that even with her namesake causing his people so much harm, offered nothing but warmth.

A trio. Those beneath the General's iron guise had reduced beneath said prospect. The same who had betrayed their trust to the fullest extent.

Within the emptiness of his mindscape, the faunus lingered at his knees with his head in his hands. All around him was white. No shape or distinct feature present. He was alone. As were his eyes that were shut away from anything that could possibly near him. It was unknown whether the words uttered in silence from him or the girl attempting his revival.

Not that it mattered to him.

Then, amidst the cavernous hollow of blankness, a shade apparated before the faunus. With some time, it would beholden a familiar person. One that exposed both reprieve and indignity in Cole's psyche. "Ozpin…"

"That it is, Cole." His hands lay at his tailbone, gazing down at the boy expectantly. "You've left quite the mess. Haven't you?"

What could he say? Everything the Headmaster had spoken of was correct. There was nothing he could speak that would alleviate the position he was in. And then, it struck him. All the occurrences he had shunned Ozpin. All the opportunities his partner was tossed aside for his own prerogative.

Steadily, the faunus raised his wide and tear-blemished eyes; realization stricken upon his expression. "I… I am so sorry, Ozpin… I am so sorry. I just… I just wanted to… be like you! Just do what was right!" His tone cracked and strained in its finality; Cole collapsed before the man. Tears impacted the floor in which they resided but left no tarnishing mark. Again and again, his fist fell upon its surface. "I always have!"

"I fought! And I fought! Until I was left with only myself!"

"Now, do you see?" The tone was smooth, lacking in emotion as it inquired the faunus's estimation. Fearfully, he raised his head to meet Ozpin's gaze in wonder. "What you had to give to arrive at such a point in your life?"

All his time upon this journey, Cole had never truly been alone. Even before their convergence, Ozpin had always been with him. Acting subtly to assist in whatever matter he could. And he had pushed the Headmaster aside repeatedly.

Fingers curled into that of fists, urging him to stumble nearest his full height. When at first it would end in failure, Ozpin acted upon such. Catching the faunus into his arms, the same rested his head into the material of his vest. Shoulders slackened, bringing the boy closer into himself and pressing his nose to his crown. "Why do we fall, Cole?"

It was then did the Lupine son step back enough to gape up into the hopeful eyes of his mentor. Instead of the critical stare, he had been introduced with prior, now all that laid bare was the smile he had known since he was first admitted to Beacon. One of his hands rose to affectionately smooth out the boy's hair. "So, we can learn… to pick ourselves up."

"What do I do now?"

The question was so simple. Yet, one Cole could not decipher for the life of him. Yet, Ozpin appeared unphased in such a query. "What will do you do now?" Repeating the phrase in just an inquiring manner the faunus had uttered it preceding.

His jaw set, returning the stare with one of sureness. "I want to live..." Images of his past flashed to center around them, having shut away his eyes from it all. From his time in the White Fang, and bonding of the friendship with Adam, Sienna, and Blake. Atlas's academy and its welcoming hold with Clover, Harried, and the Ace Operatives. Beacon's hospitable change that brought him closer to those that would be impromptu parentages like Qrow and Glynda.

"I want to live!"

Everyone. The student populace including all of RWBY, JNPR, and the bonds he had created with all of them. Even in their adversities, such had endured firm in their link. His relationship with Yang. No matter their recent goings-on.

The scene would pan to Cinder's own cheery face before a sunset backdrop. Unquestionably staring at her once-beloved with an unfamiliar expression.

And one that the Headmaster was nearly taken aback in. Still, he rested a hand atop the shoulder of his student and welcomed to the memories that flowed unto him as well. "Shout it out, Cole. Feel it all. Believe in yourself and all that you can accomplish!" At once the two of them erupted in green-colored auras, melding into a single shape as time prolonged. A satisfied smile he had granted the faunus only moments before was joined by the same.

"I WANT TO LIVE!"

"Please, Cole… Please…"

Her thoughts went to Jaune and the remainder of their company upon their own mission. Had it been different if either Ruby or Yang had journeyed down to the Maiden chamber? No. It was like he had done for her at Beacon. He was always present. Even if she had failed him, she had come to offer what help she could bid.

Her eyelids hid away those emerald hues from the world, pressing her face deeper into the fabric of his garments. It was all she could do now. All the Invincible Girl could muster. "I'm sorry, Cole…"

"Don't be."

Once more light shown in her eyes, glancing up to the very-much-alive expression of her companion. "Cole!" Even in their current predicament of plummeting beneath the Relic chamber, she happily embraced him with newfound relief. "I had thought…"

"As had I." He cooed softly, looking from her countenance shortly after. "I got you into this mess. And now I shall get us out of it."

To her abrupt bemused reaction, Pyrrha would be exhibit to a near blinding ivy-colored light illumined about their forms. 'Concentrate, Cole. Feel it all around you. Let it fill you…' And that he did. Approving the magic that burst outward from him to become physical in shape. Such a difference from Salem's malevolent enforcement of body. Serene and accepting of whatever he was.

'I won't let her go. I will never let anyone go. No longer will I be a slave to Salem's corruption! I will LIVE!'

His eyes opened.

The cane was already within his grasp, expecting Pyrrha to maintain a hold upon him. Their attached physiques glowed the same energy she had beholden onto him. Similar to his previous semblance's addition, two appendages sprouted from his shoulder blades. With time, the two would take the silhouette that of feathered angelic wings.

A period would pass for the pair to flutter with life and gradually slow their descent. Any later and their fall would break upon the chute leading out. 'NOW!' Yet, to her astonished fright, the two progressed and proceeded to explode onward with green electricity sparking around them.

The duo fell through the air just beneath the City. At first, Cole's eyes remained closed, until promptly opening them and looking about. His wings flapped with life and measuredly levitating the two down to crater Atlas had left behind. With his feet gracefully touching down, he eased Pyrrha to stand herself.

"I… You…" Her stuttered jumble of speech only caused the faunus to erupt in a pleased grin, offering but only a shrug of his shoulders. Once she had properly readjusted herself, she joined him in the same curve of her lips. "You cease to surprise me, Cole."

"Ozpin is with me-… us, once again." He straightened up before staring at his hands; the right still wielding the famed cane. "This power, these memories… It is all ours. And mine to take responsibility for." As if compelling her to alter her attention as he did, the two turned to stare up at the red lighting flickering amongst clouded skies.

"We've got multiple hostiles on the radar." Both their attentions were wrought by the male voice in Pyrrha's earpiece. Momentarily turning from the atmosphere. "Is anyone else seeing this?" Another flicker of crimson-colored lighting revealed an odd silhouette still shrouded amidst the storm clouds. Still, Cole knew all too well the identity.

"She's here…"

'She's come herself. As was informed.'

Soon, a mammoth of a Grimm in the description fitting that only of a whale drifted into view. All accompanied by a various, ever-growing army of flying Grimm. And atop the behemoth creature was where she stood. The paleness of her complexion stood out from the ornate gown that adorned her.

Amber and crimson met upon each other. Never leaving the other.

She believed she had finally found him through all of her searchings since Haven. Yet, in reality, it was he who had found her.

"Let's go."

Hello!

I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter. How many months has it been? And yes, smaller than most of those I've written. It was difficult to differentiate an OC insert from Oscar's actual existence in the story. Still sorry to those who like the character! But, I will be putting the story on ice until the next volume releases or any news is made. I am grateful to all the reviews and likes everyone's left.

Thank you for making it up to this point in my god-awful writing capabilities and wish you all the best. Stay safe out there!

~SilverEffigy