RWBY

Origins Of LUNR

Chapter 44: I'm By Your Side

Adam and Lance stare at each other as Adam starts to let out a cocky laugh. "Do you really believe 'you' can kill me? Because if you do you're sadly mistaken. You and I both know that I am stronger than you." Adam mocked.

Lance's expression didn't change at all, his only response was "I'm through talking." Once he said that he dashed forward and swung his sword at Adam who quickly blocked it with his sword. Adam made a move, delivering a series of quick slashes and Semblance arcs that knocked Lance back a short distance. Lance quickly strikes back, managing to land some hits on Adam that he wasn't able to block.

The two continued to throw strikes at one another clashing their blades with each blow. Using his semblance again Adam started to move with an immense speed which left after images as he dealt a three-hit strike to Lance's blade who was pushed back by the final blow. Adam then flips around sideways and swings his sword during the motion, sending a powerful red and black energy wave at Lance who blocks it with his blade again.

Adam quickly followed up by throwing his sword at Lance who immediately blocked it. But as Adam threw it, the sword started to spin rapidly, almost looking like a fan that was moving at a blindingly high-speed. The force of it pushed Lance back a bit, but Lance quickly used his semblance to boost his strength and push the sword away. But as he did that Adam jumped into the air and kicked the sword back at Lance who quickly blocked once again but this time knocking the blade into the ground.

Adam pulled the blade out of the ground and swung his sword in an uppercut motion which Lance quickly leaned backward and dodged. Adam sheathed his sword and unsheathed it in a swinging motion hitting Lance's blade. He would repeatedly do this three times, before sending one more strike and sending Lance back.

Lance used his semblance to boost his speed and started to go on the offensive as he started to swing his sword. He slashed Adam three times before sheathing his sword and began using his fist this time. His movements were fluent and smooth, he started to resemble Yang as he was using his fist to attack Adam.

Adam tried to swing his blade but Lance ducked and caught Adam's hand. He elbowed him in the chest and then used the same arm to backhand him in the face. He then spun around and roundhouse kicked Adam. Before Adam could stumble back, Lance grabbed him by his collar and pulled him downwards where he would knee him in the face.

He quickly elbowed him in the face which made Adam stumble back a few feet. Lance unsheathed his sword and slashed Adam twice before Adam unsheathed his sword and blocked the next attacks that Lance threw at him. Lance started to throw stabbing strikes at Adam in a rapid-fire succession who blocked each one with his blade.

Lance spun around and kicked Adams's blade which pushed him back. Adam smirked as his hair started to glow and he started to run extremely fast in a circle around Lance which left after images.

Adam then jumped into the air and then slammed his blade into the ground and caused and red and black energy wave to appear and fly straight at Lance who immediately blocked it with his blade.

The force of the blade was strong enough to push him a few feet back. The two stared at one another while breathing heavily. The two were extremely exhausted but gritted their teeth at one another and rushed once more. Lance struck Adam's blade once more and Adam quickly kicked him away and sheathed his sword. Lance fell to his knees as soon as he landed on the ground.

Adam sneered at Lance who was slowly starting to get back to his feet. Thoughts of Yang, Blake, and Sienna Khan went through his mind as he looked at Lance, which triggered him and made his anger grow.

Adam started to glow red again and as he unsheathed his sword he quickly swung his sword and released a huge energy wave. Lance activated his semblance once more, making black twisting lighting surround him. He steeled his defense once more and blocked the attack with his sword. Adam was angered by this but slowly started to calm down, figuring he should expect as much from Lance. "It's nice to hang out like the old days. Don't you think?" He asked.

Lance growled as he gripped his sword, not taking his eyes off of Adam "You need serious help." Lance scowled.

"Help? No, no, no, help is what you need right now. I've waited so long for this day. I finally get to put you down and show the world that I am stronger than you!." Adam exclaimed.

Adam quickly ran towards Lance and quickly started swinging his sword again. Lance was able to dodge most of the swings but was eventually knocked into the air. Lance landed on a large branch from a tree.

Adam looked up at the tree and glared at Lance "Why did you have to come into our lives and ruin everything?!" He yelled out.

"I ruined everything!? You drove Blake and me away. You killed my mom. You led the White Fang into an impossible mission and you're blaming me?" Lance barked with a cold fury born in his word.

Adam growled and quickly jumped onto the branch. He clashed swords with Lance three times before grabbing him by his neck. As he grabbed him, Lance took a step back and accidentally made him and Adam fall off the tree and onto the ground. Both of them hit the ground hard but they both got back up with static relief.

"You need to forget about the past, Adam," Lance stated frankly.

"After everything you and Blake put me through? NEVER!" He yelled out while rushing at Lance again.

Lance dodged a few of his blows and then jumped away from him. He was now jumping from tree to tree trying to get some distance away from Adam who was chasing him on foot. "You're running? What happened to all that talk about killing me?" Adam mocked within the lingering chase.

He quickly shot his sword from its sheath and hit Lance in the back of the head with the hilt which made Lance fall to the ground. "Or were you just trying to scare me away so you won't have to die like your mother?" He asked in a cocky tone as he stopped running.

This made Lance furious, and his face showed it. Adam had already killed his mother but now he was mocking her. Lance let out a powerful battle cry before activating his semblance. Black lightning twisted around his body as his body began to shake. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth the very air around him rippled from the acclimating strength of his semblance surging his power past his limit.

Adam was about to grab his sword but Lance pressed off the ground and flew towards Adam. With a thrust of his fist, he slammed it into Adam's stomach and slammed him into a tree. Adam's aura flashed as he was now extremely low and was vulnerable to an additional attack. He tried to move but his body was completely stunned by the hit. The lightning continued to twist around his body as he stood before Adam.

"That semblance of yours, It's in a league of its own. Too bad you're using it for the wrong reasons." Adam said while trying to catch his breath.

"Taking your life for my mother's honor doesn't seem like a bad reason to me," Lance replied. He grabbed his sword and unsheathed it as he kept his eye on Adam. "For everything you've done Adam. You'll atone for those sins here and now." Lance lifted his blade and swung his sword as hard as he could.

Instead of meeting Adam's flesh, Lance's sword met with another sword before it could strike Adam. He looked to the side to see Damien, standing on the side of Adam with a smirk on his face. "You might want him dead but I have business with him," Damien said in a cocky tone.

"Then you'll die with him!" Lance said as he prepared to swing his sword again. But before Lance could land a blow, Damien ducked the strike and kicked Lance in his stomach sending him back a few feet.

Damien quickly pulled out two small balls from his pocket and threw them on the ground, creating a smokescreen. Lance noticed this and ran towards the spot he was just at and swung his sword, but the blade met with the tree that Adam was previously at.

"Wait, Adam come back! COME BACK AND FIGHT ME!" Lance yelled out as he realized that Adam had fled with Damien. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he let out a cry that was full of pain. Sadness and rage fill him as the loss of his mother deeply sunk in.

"Lance!"

Yang's voice could be heard from the distance as she and the others were following his voice. Once she spotted Lance she instantly ran to him and immediately embraced him. Yang slowly brought him down to his knees as she continued to nurture her emotionally torn companion.

Miyabi, Estelle, Dyna, and Uzziel watched as Yang tried to calm Lance down. "It's okay to cry Lance, I'm here for you," Yang said with a gentle voice.

"He got away! He killed my mother and got away with it!" Lance cried out.

Yang released him and held his face with her hands so that he would look at her. "Listen to me." She said. Lance still had tears in his eyes but he managed to look at her "He's not getting away with anything. He will pay for what he's done." She paused as she wiped some of his tears away.

She then softly rubbed his face, staring with caring intent into his eyes "And when that day comes, you won't be alone. I'll be there by your side. I'll always be by your side." Yang embraced him again as tears rolled down his face again. It was at this moment that Lance realized he had nothing to worry about because if he ever felt down, he would always have Yang to lift him up, whenever he fell. Even the lingering hatred of his greatest enemy paled in comparison to the strength moments like this gave him.

Meanwhile…

Deep in the woods, the sounds of combat could be heard as Jarvin, Bayne, and Flash were busy fighting Ryan, Cold, and Ryzer. The ground shook as Jarvin smashed his fist into it which made Ryan and his group begin to lose their balance. "That stupid semblance of his is annoying," Ryzer stated as he cocked his gun.

He pointed his gun at Jarvin and was about to pull the trigger but was elbowed in the face as Bayne landed in front of him. "Damn you!" Ryzer yelled through his mask.

He tried to hit Bayne with his gun but Bayne caught his wrist and punched him five times before kicking him away.

Bayne stood straight and looked at Ryzer who still seemed hostile "You're blind to what you've become." Bayne scolded.

"It's nice to know you care, Bayne," Ryzer said sarcastically.

"Your attitude is still intact," Bayne replied as he and Ryzer started to slowly walk in a circle, sizing each other up.

"Last warning, back off!" Ryzer warned as he aimed his guns.

"Plan to disappoint me again?" Bayne asked as he clenched his fist.

Ryzer laughed at his question before speaking "That's just for starters." He quickly replied.

As the two began to fight, Cold noticed that Flash began to run and he aimed his gun at his legs but was too slow as he missed his shot. Flash passed by Cold and punched him while doing so left him angered. The punch made Cold stumble but this did not stop him from attacking as he shot multiple times.

As Flash came closer, Cold aimed his ice gun and shot at his legs. The shot hit Flash's leg just before he could reach Cold and stopped him in his tracks. Cold continued to shoot Flash until he was frozen from the waist down. Cold smirked and walked closer to Flash holding his gun with two hands.

"Cold, this isn't you."

Cold snickered and then aimed his gun "That was before you let her die." Flash knew that Cold wasn't going to listen to him. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worse, as Cold aimed his gun. Cold stood there for a second and unknowingly to Flash gave him a look of sympathy.

"Everyone we're leaving!"

Cold looked back to see Ryan and Ryzer standing side by side. Cold quickly ran over to them as Ryzer reached into his pocket. "Farewell!" Ryzer said as he threw down the smoke bomb and created yet another smokescreen. Jarvin growled and clenched his fist and prepared to punch the ground again. "You're not going anywhere-"

"Let them go!"

Bayne interrupted Jarvin as he put a hand on his shoulder, which made Jarvin raise an eyebrow. As the smoke cleared, Ryan, Cold, and Ryzer were gone which made Jarvin grit his teeth. "Why did you let them get away? We could've stopped them!" Jarvin exclaimed in anger.

"It was because of Cold."

Before Bayne could talk he turned to look at Flash who spoke up and cut him off. Jarvin looked at Flash and raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he was talking about. "Cold had me trapped in ice. He could have finished me off but it was like he was hesitating and waiting for the call to retreat." Flash explained.

Both Flash and Jarvin looked at Bayne who sighed and nodded "You're right, he didn't go all out because he's on our side. Cold is undercover, gathering information for us." Bayne responded as he started taking a few steps forward.

Flash and Bayne watched him as he walked past him "Why didn't you tell us about this?" Jarvin asked, with a slight bit of anger in his voice. Bayne's motion stopped but he continued to look forward, not making any eye contact with them.

"It was a request from Ozpin. It was something that needed to be top-secret so the plan could work." He paused before turning to look at them.

"Cold himself asked for this as well, because he knew that you guys would hold back which would have tipped off the enemy." He said before continuing to walk away. Jarvin and Flash looked at one another with a frustrated look on their face. They knew he was right because they were close to Cold they would have pulled their punches and someone like Ryan would have figured it out.

Back at Haven...

Yang and the other's return with Lance which makes Blake sigh in relief now that the battle is over. "I'm glad you all returned safely. The police rounded up the remaining White Fang members. Haven is safe." Kali informed as she walked up to them.

"Yes, but unfortunately, it appears that Adam escaped," Miyabi responded.

They all look down.

"It's okay," Ilia said while she was walking into the building. "He was the only one to escape tonight. Those in the White Fang that followed him, won't support a leader that abandons his people. He won't have their help after this. He'll have no one at all. And the White Fang will be left divided." She finished.

"We've been fighting amongst ourselves for too long. Perhaps it's time for a new brotherhood. A new family for Faunus truly working towards a better world." Ghira chimed in.

Kali nodded "And they'll need a new leader."

Ghira nods in acknowledgment. Sun peeks behind Ghira and notices his old friends from Beacon, waving to them. He then wraps his tail around Blake to turn her around and have her see her old friends too. She slowly walks towards them nervously while Sun and her parents smile. Yang walked towards her uncle who had the relic in hand.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know exactly. When I got down there, Cinder was gone, and Vernal was dead." Yang responded.

Qrow raised an eyebrow "And Raven?"

Yang looked down at the ground as she spoke "Gone."

"Well, we're all glad you're still here, firecracker." He said while placing an assuring hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly, Ruby groans and falls to her knees. Weiss catches her. "Are you okay?"

Ruby sighing nods "I feel like I should be asking you guys".

They both look up to see Blake approaching them. Yang walks over and drops to her sister's side. "So Blake, what're you doing here?"

"I... I was gonna ask you three the same thing." Blake responded.

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang share glances with each other. "That's... a looooong story."

"Well... I'm not going anywhere." Blake quickly responded.

"That's all that matters," Ruby said while giggling. "That we're all here together. Right?"

Ruby looks to Yang as she says that. Blake briefly looks away with a sorrowful expression on her face. Yang looks up at her and smiles.

"Yeah."

Blake looks back over to them and smiles. Weiss offers a hand out to her, and the cat Faunus eagerly joins into Team RWBY's first group hug after a long time of being apart. The four girls embrace each other while their friends look on smiling.

Regulus, who was standing with Nolo and Midori, looked at Nolo who was smiling at the girls. "Why didn't you go after Emerald?" He asked.

Nolo smiled at him and shook his head "It's like you said Regulus, we have an important mission we need to complete. I want to save Emerald but I'll do it when the time is right." Nolo responded.

Regulus smiled at his brother as he put his hand on his head "You've grown stronger." He praised him. Nolo blushed and looked to the side "Dude you're embarrassing me." He whined jokingly.

Midori smiled at the two brothers, as she was happy that they were back on the same page. Miyabi was standing with Lance and had her hand on his shoulder comforting him and making sure he was alright. Lance smiled at her and then looked at the ground when she looked away, showing a sad expression on his face.

Estelle walked over to Weiss who noticed her and took a few steps forward towards her. "Estelle, where's Uzziel?" Weiss asked.

Estelle smiled at her and motioned her head behind her towards the doorway. "He's outside. You should go talk to him, he was really shaken up about what happened to you."

Weiss's eyes widened realizing that she had forgotten about that. Weiss nodded at her and walked out of the building and walked towards Uzziel who was standing a few feet away from the building and looking at the sky. She could see that he was deep in thought as he had a serious expression on his face.

"Uzziel."

Uzziel turned his head to the right to see Weiss walking towards him. "Weiss…" He said. Once she finally reached him she stood face to face with him as he kept his eyes on her. "What are you doing out here?" She asked.

Uzziel then turned his head forward and looked at the sky once again. "I'm just trying to clear my mind."

Weiss knew he wasn't going to give in that easily but she wasn't going to give up, she wanted him to open up to her. "Do you mind if I ask you what's on your mind?"

"A lot of things." He quickly responded which made her sigh.

"Is it that woman? Are you thinking about what she did to me?" Uzziel stayed silent, he didn't say a word.

Weiss took a step closer to him as she spoke "Uzziel, please. Talk to me, let me know what's bothering you. I'm worried." She said.

Uzziel knew he couldn't keep her in the dark; it wouldn't be right. Weiss had done nothing wrong for him to be giving her the silent treatment and he knew that. "Weiss… I…."

He paused for a moment trying to find the words. He took a deep breath and then spoke again "During this mission, I've learned that tomorrow is not promised. I've learned that anyone can easily lose their life so we need to cherish them and let them know how you feel about them while they're here." He paused for a moment before continuing.

"I thought I lost you, Weiss. I thought you left me and I would never be able to tell you how I feel." Weiss's eyes widened as she listened to him. She watched as he turned his whole body to look at her, his expression was full of passion, he was being genuine with her.

"I wanted to wait to tell you this, but with the mission, we're currently trying to complete there's no telling if we'll come out of this alive. So I wanna tell you now with no regrets…" He paused as he gazed into her eyes. Weiss's heart was pounding as she was waiting for him to finish what he had to say.

"I love you Weiss, and if you don't feel the same, I'm happy I got to-"

Uzziel was cut off as Weiss put a finger on his lips. She had a smile on her face as she gazed into his eyes. "Uzziel… stop talking." She said before she gently grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss. Her lips met with his as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around his neck. Uzziel's eyes widened as he was caught by surprise, but quickly closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Moments later the two broke away from the kiss but kept embracing each other. They both smiled, happy that they finally got their feelings across to each other. "I love you too Uzziel. I've always loved you." She said. Uzziel gave her a warm smile as he leaned back in for another kiss. Estelle who was watching them from the building smiled.

"That boy is growing up so fast."

Estelle turned to see Dyna and nodded at her "Yes he is…" She simply replied. Deep down inside she was extremely proud of him, knowing that Jarvin had raised him to be a great guy.

Qrow, still holding the Relic, then approaches a panting Oscar, who is kneeling on the ground.

"I don't know how, but we did it, Oz. You okay?" He asked.

"I'm alright." Oscar quickly replied.

"Kid?" Qrow asked, making sure his assumption was right.

Oscar nodded "He's resting. Too much energy fighting."

"Hey, don't strain yourself!" Qrow put a hand on Oscar's shoulder as the boy tried to stand up.

"No! He had... a message... We must... get the lamp to... Atlas." Oscar informed him while taking a few breaths. Oscar groans and falls, but Qrow catches him. He lays the exhausted farm boy on the ground and looks over as Team RWBY finishes their embrace, without Weiss. Qrow then stands back up and looks to the Relic he holds in his hand. The lamp is seen glowing brightly as the indistinct whispers are heard again.