I don't own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.
"Good, you're all here."
Team JNPAR sat in the forest clearing. There was a break between matches due to some technical issues with the arena. The next match was postponed to next week while they made repairs.
Israfil's eyes lingered on the last two members of the team. It had been the decision of her older brother and older sister to allow the two to come here. She had no choice but to follow. These two were precious to her older siblings so she would extend her protection to them.
She watched the entire ordeal go down.
"I'm sorry but what?" Ren asked with his jaw open.
Nora's eyes were as wide as saucers and Pyrrha looked surprised as well.
She knew who they were but didn't expect for them to find out so soon.
"We're Gods." Alice crossed her arms and sighed. She didn't fully believe it herself but it came from Israfil, who had demonstrated her divine powers by stopping time.
"I'm…" Ren was at a loss for words. And Nora was oddly quiet for once. The silence in the room was palpable to the point where one could hear a pin drop if it did.
"It's how I can control the Grimm," Jaune said, "And also why Pyrrha has magic. Pyrrha, is a Ruler."
Ren placed his hand on his chin. The story Pyrrha had told them regarding the Rulers suddenly made sense alongside her sudden claim to be able to use magic. However, Ren was still skeptical. Pyrrha's magical abilities he understood. She had tested it and proved it by removing all dust from her person. However, Jaune and Alice's claims to Godhood? If they weren't his friends, he would've left the room immediately.
"I know this is difficult to show but do you have proof?" Ren asked. "Like can you make something from thin air or take us somewhere?"
"We…"
"Can't yet. Someone… uh… Is-"
"My word, you two are hopeless."
Ren and Nora froze. A presence had made itself known within their dorm. A butterfly fluttered between them before transforming into a woman. Israfil dusted herself off as she stood between her older siblings and their team. She glanced over to Pyrrha and nodded before returning her divine gaze to Ren and Nora.
"Who… Who are you and where did you come from?" Ren asked.
"I am Israfil, and you can call me the Goddess of Life!" she said, smiling.
That was an experience. She took the two to the moon like she did with Pyrrha.
Though, their mortal family… I already know that the others are looking for Rulers since Jaune made one and Alice made hers years ago. It was another thing that Isla had begun doing more of. She referred to her older siblings by their mortal names. They appeared more comfortable with it.
"Before we begin, I need to get one thing straight. Mister Lie and Miss Valkyrie, I cannot train you two in how to use magic. That training is for Jaune, Alice, and Pyrrha. Are you two alright with that?" Israfil said.
"Considering that neither Nora and I aren't Rulers, we are," Ren said.
"It sucks! It's so unfaiiir! Why does Pyrrha get cool magic powers!? Alice! The Goddess said one ruler for one God! Can you make me your Ruler?" Nora gave Alice her best puppy dog impression.
"Ah, my heart," Alice said, clutching her chest. If she made Nora feel bad, it would feel like kicking an actual puppy.
"Sorry Nora. One Ruler per God. Alice's Ruler is still alive even after all these millennia." Israfil gave her an apologetic smile. Though… I'll think about it. The others are still scouring the planet. Maybe they'll find Rulers in these two. Or I can take Lie Ren. He fits my aesthetic for a Ruler… but more on that later.
"Awww." Nora kicked the dirt in front of her.
"While I can't help you with magic, I can help you get stronger in other ways," Israfil said.
"Really!? How!? Is this some super duper God training!?" Nora appeared in front of her faster than she had anticipated.
Israfil merely had a smile on her face.
"This isn't what I had envisioned when she said magic traini- EEEP!" Jaune let out an uncharacteristically feminine scream when a green bolt of energy struck the ground.
"NO LAGGING!" Israfil yelled. She was sitting on a cloud above the forest. Her current goal was making them run across the entire forest while she shot magic at them. Not something they needed but it was fun for her and a small increase to one's stamina was beneficial either way.
"How is this supposed to help use use magic?" Jaune asked his sister.
"I have no clue but uh…" Alice reacted immediately, jumping into the air to avoid Isla's magic. "Yeah, I think she's just using us for target practice."
After thirty grueling minutes of running for their lives, the entire team was on the verge of collapse. Even Pyrrha, who regularly worked out and ran, was panting. This was no jog. This was an adrenaline fueled sprint for survival across the entire Emerald Forest.
"You guys look like you just got out of a fight!" Israfil said, grinning mischievously at them.
None of them dared to say anything. The last thing they wanted was for their final words to be "Screw you".
"Anyway, Ren and Nora. Since you two don't have magic, I want you two to spar with each other buuut…" Israfil snapped her fingers. A bracelet appeared on their wrists.
"What are these?" Ren asked.
"It's a bracelet that makes Aura easier to break. I'd figure it would be a good way to train aura control and manipulation if you can make your aura as sturdy as possible while using very little of it. Aura is constantly active so it has a set amount of force it can take before breaking. The point of this exercise is for you to manipulate the barrier your aura creates into being denser to be able to deal with more punishment. During this entire fight, you will have to keep this in mind. Especially you Lie Ren since Nora is still allowed to use Magnahild," Isla said.
Ren gulped and nodded.
"Pyrrha, I want you to continue with your own Ruler exercises while I ease these two into their powers."
Pyrrha nodded.
"Okay, let's go."
Without missing a beat, Nora grabbed Ren by the collar and dragged him off to another part of the clearing. Meanwhile, Pyrrha walked off to her own corner and began manifesting balls of lightning and shadows around her.
"Alright you two, let's begin. You've been unconsciously using your powers at the most basic and rudimentary levels so far. Let's change that and tap into your potentials yeah?" Israfil said.
"So how do we do this?" Alice asked.
"Your semblances. What do you call them? Thaumiel and Keter? Show them to me."
The twins gave each other a look before shrugging. As instructed, Jaune and Pyrrha manifested arms of energy from their hands and back.
"You can fire these?" Israfil asked.
"Yeah, using our weapons as a medium." Jaune retracted the arms into his back.
"That's really basic but it's more than enough for the level of people you've been fighting so far. Let's move into turning these into elements. A basic rundown on what magic actually is. Magic is a gift given by you." She pointed to Jaune. "To Humans as a gift. It is an energy that is dependent on one's soul much like aura yet the soul doesn't generate it. Think of it like an organ that receives nourishment from the soul much like other organs receive oxygenated blood from your heart. Through training, one can use magic to manipulate the elements like the maidens or perform great feats like the Rulers such as the Ruler of Light granting magic to the maidens."
"I see. It's all based on our effort?"
"Correct. The strength of your magic depends entirely on one's willpower and effort," she answered. "The Princess, through the years, has great magical power thanks to her will. Her powerful magic allowed her to masquerade as a God."
"..." Jaune and Alice remained quiet.
"Now, let's start with making fire. This is the most simple yet one of the most destructive forms of magic. You two can feel the magic inside you? Otherwise, how would you be able to use your 'semblances'." Isla made air quotes.
"Yeah, it feels similar to how my aura felt before my magic awakened," Jaune said, manifesting a violet energy in his hands.
"Same for me." Alice created a small ball of golden light.
"This is simple actually. For fire, just imagine a warm feeling in your hand. Think of everything and all the feelings you feel when thinking of fire. Words, feelings, associations, fears. Your will and emotion play a part when using elemental magic." Isla held her hand out and created a small flame in the middle of her palm.
"Feelings huh?" Alice closed her eyes and began to think.
Fire was warm. Fire was safe. It gave off the feeling of safety because it drove away the dark. It made her feel warm because she associated all of these feelings with Yule. Most of all, it made her think of her team. The family she created here at Beacon after supposedly being her twin's replacement. Yet on the other side, she knew fire was destructive. The feeling of searing pain as the fire ate away at one's flesh and the despair one felt when seeing the destruction that flames wreak across vast distances.
"That was faster than I expected."
Alice opened her eyes and saw a medium-sized ball of fire in her hand. "JAUNE! LOOK!"
Jaune looked over to his twin and backed away when the flame responded to Alice's excitement. A massive flaming pillar shot into the sky, vaporizing a hole through a large cloud.
"Uhhh…" Alice calmed down alongside the flame and had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Geez, sis." Jaune held his flaming orb in his hand and made sure not to replicate what Alice had just done.
"Do you think anyone noticed?" Alice asked.
"No. I made sure of it. You two are getting the hang of this faster than I thought. Let's move on to earth, water, wind, fire, ice, and lightning. Just repeat the process and you'll get it."
Except they didn't get it. Some elements worked better for Alice and some worked better for Jaune.
All elements that were commonly associated with destruction were something Jaune excelled in. Creating lightning, freezing a tree, burning down said tree, it was all something Jaune easily succeeded in. However, the trade-off was clear. All elements that were commonly associated with life were something he failed in and his sister clearly excelled.
Israfil placed a hand on her chin as she watched Alice struggled to conjure lightning and Jaune struggled to raise the earth. The two never had any problem in the past. Mikhaela raised and threw mountains on a whim and Samael blew up part of the Moon.
"I don't get it. You two should have the same level of success with the other elements." Israfil looked at them strangely.
"Well… I can't…" Jaune raised some dirt three centimeters off the ground.
"I can't seem to make more than this." Alice let lightning arc from between her fingers.
"Hmm, it is possible that it's due to that." Israfil pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Due to what?" Jaune asked.
"Your mortal bodies. It's restricting your mastery and probably letting you elements that is more attuned to your domains. For example, Elder Sister is the Goddess of Creation and Light so it's only natural that she can easily use elements that are associated with the two. Fire is attributed to Light and Life which is why she can use it. Earth, Water, and Wind are all the same as well.
"You on the other hand can use magic associated with Destruction and Death. Ice to freeze people, lightning to kill them, and fire to destroy large swathes of land," she finished.
"But can we learn magic that the other can use?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah. It'll just be harder since your powers are restricted." Israfil looked at them with some pity.
"Man, imagine how strong we were at our peaks!" Jaune said, throwing the ball of flame between his hand.
"You see the Moon right?" Israfil asked.
"Yeah. What about it?" Alice asked, playing with a small tornado.
"Elder Brother did that flying by it," Israfil said.
Jaune's fire extinguished as he looked at her with wide eyes. "I did that? Just by flying by it?"
"Yup. We Gods at our peaks are strong enough to destroy all of Remnant in an instant. You wiped out the entirety of the first wave of mankind by closing your fist," Isla said.
"I… I feel guilty about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I know that they did some things. Killed the Rulers but… I feel like I should've at least spared the innocents right? If I were the past me, I would've spared the innocents."
"It matters not anymore. That was you in the past but what you do in the future, even if you regain your original self, you're going to be influenced by your current self." Isla looked at them. "Most likely. You've already lived an entire life as mortals. It's likely that your memories are just memories now. There are still traces of your original self in your personality. Jaune's protectiveness is from his original self. Alice's diligence is from her original self. Both of you are prone to fits of rage from time to time. I watched it you know," she said.
"Watched… oh." Alice quieted down when she realized what she referred to.
"I was there when Jaune snapped and tapped into his divine powers. Effortlessly overpowering the Spring Maiden and creating a new lake with a swing of his arm. There is no mortal being on this planet strong enough to perform such a feat. Even the Princess is incapable of doing something with just a simple movement," Isla said.
"Why aren't we at our full powers?" Jaune asked, creating a ball of lightning. It was much smaller than the fire ball but it would be considered respectable back in the olden days.
"That's a conversation we need to have later. Just know that it's connected to a lot of things that we don't have time for at the moment."
"You sound like some massive disaster is going to come to Beacon?" Alice said.
Isla looked at Jaune with a pointed gaze. Jaune looked at her questioningly before remembering the dream he had before Prom. "Is it… is it about that?" Jaune asked.
She nodded.
"What? What is it about?" Alice asked.
"I came to Jaune in a dream before your prom night. I told him that there was a fox inside the henhouse. An old way of saying that someone's infiltrated your territory. They used it a lot back during the Great War. I heard my ruler at the time say it," Isla said.
"Back to the topic at hand, you're saying someone infiltrated Beacon?" Alice asked.
"Maybe. I'm not too sure. My vision's all wonky when I'm at this school for some reason," Isla said. "That is something you'll have to figure out for yourself but I've given you a warning because I sensed something. An abomination of nature itself."
"We should tell the others. We need to tell everyone before it-"
"We can't, can we?"
"Jaune! What do you me-"
"The Grimm. Telling everyone would cause panic and create enough negative energy to draw a horde of Grimm to Vale," Jaune said with a grim look on his face.
"Correct. Telling people would only cause panic and incite the Grimm. Even with Jaune there, I doubt the Ruler of Light and his lackeys can mitigate the damage done by the Grimm," Isla said, crossing her arms.
"So what do we do then..? Tell the Ruler of Light that we know?" Alice asked.
"That's solely up to you. He is your Ruler so if you want to trust him, then trust him," Israfil said.
"Who is the Ruler of Light?" Jaune asked. "You keep referring to him as the Ruler of Light but what's his name?"
"His name is-"
"Jaunne! Alice! Can one of you use your magic to heal Ren? I think I hit him too hard with Magnahild!" Nora called, interrupting their conversation.
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Alice asked.
"I'll do it. Neither of you are good at healing yet and I don't trust you to create bone. We'll continue this conversation another time. There's more to this that needs to be discussed in a private setting," Isla said, getting up. "I'll heal you! Just stay there okay?"
Alice and Jaune sweatdropped at her drastic shift in personality.
"So what do you think is going on?" Jaune asked, playing with fire.
"I don't know. Didn't Mom tell us not to play with fire?" Alice said, watching her brother warily.
"It's fine. This is magic fire. Nothing's gonna happen," Jaune said, tossing the fire between his hands.
"I think that…"
A large explosion caught their attention as a massive shockwave blew through the forest.
"Something's happened," Isla said, looking towards Beacon Tower. There was a massive fire burning on one of the Atlesian Ships. "I think your parents are on there."
"Wait what!? OUR PARENTS!?" the twins got up from their spots and broke into a sprint.
"Wait you two!" Isla yelled.
"Isla, we'll go help Jaune and Alice." Pyrrha placed her hand on the Goddess's shoulder before nodding to Ren and Nora. The three then took off after the two, desperate to catch up to them. Whatever the situation Jaune and Alice's parents were in, the two were most likely going to charge in head first. And if that burning ship were any indicator…
Pyrrha's eyes widened when she saw a gold and violet streak shoot towards the flaming airship.
"You're here to visit me again?" Roman sat behind the window in his cell room. Ironwood, at the behest of Ozpin, had given Roman a more comfortable lodging.
Willow smiled and placed a bag down in front of him.
"You're not wearing your ring?" he asked, eyeing her finger.
"Jacques and I were formally married. We're married on paper. Plus, the man's as loyal as the wind," Willow said, opening the bag. "Tacos?"
"Where's Blondie and Ziggy?" Roman asked as he accepted the taco she slid through the window.
"We're here! We got drinks!" Jeanne burst through the door with iced coffees in her arms.
"Mocha is still your favorite right? No whip cream?" Sieg asked, placing the coffee down.
"Yeah. I never thought we'd never be able to meet like this after…" Roman trailed off.
The rest of the team went silent. They knew what he meant. Willow's marriage had broken the team up. Willow wasn't able to leave Atlas for a few years and Roman turned to sabotaging the SDC.
"Yeah," Jeanne said, folding her hands.
"I never told you how it happened did I?" Willow looked at the three sadly.
"I heard while robbing one of the trains that your father's mental state was slipping," Roman said.
"Yeah, it's how Jacques was able to take over the company. That man… took advantage of my father's slipping mind and…" Willow gripped the arm of her chair. Ice began to slowly cover the arm.
The ice stopped after Jeanne placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks…" Willow sighed as she calmed herself down.
"I'm sorry. If only I-"
"It's not your fault." Roman looked up as Willow smiled gently at him. "I held out all hope that I would see you again. Just not in prison."
"So, we should file for something right? Like guardianship of Roman?" Sieg said.
"I can't do it. My hands are tied and I have very little legal power so I can't take Roman in from… can we even take him out of the hands of law enforcement?" Willow gave Sieg a very inquisitive look.
"Ozpin can probably pull a few strings to get Roman in Ironwood's hands so he can go back to Atlas with you. By the way, have you two told…?" Jeanne trailed off. That was a very sensitive subject for the two. The shock was still fresh on Roman's face as his entire body stiffened.
"No, we'll do that at a later time," Willow said, squeezing his hand through the little opening in the window.
"Well, we'll be there for moral support. After all, it's not easy-"
"We get it, Blondie. I need to make up for years of child support." Roman leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"Don't say it like that. She already knew you existed," Willow said. "Though, she was disappointed when she heard what you did. But she understood your intentions. So, behave for now and-"
The lights suddenly went off inside the room, darkening the cell. Jeanne held her hand up and lit her hand ablaze. The red emergency lights suddenly flashed as alarms went off.
"What's going…?"
A voice came through the communications. "Please remain inside and guard the prisoner! We got visual that someone was spotted in the ship! An unidentified individual! And they're rapidly making their way across the vessel!"
"What? Unidentified what!?" Jeanne asked.
"Just stay in there!" the soldier yelled.
"We don't have our weapons. The soldiers confiscated it when we boarded. All we have are our semblances," Sieg said. Blue light glowed around his hands.
"Well, it's that or nothing!" Willow said. "Good thing my weapons are hidden." She flexed her wrist and a small blade shot from her sleeve.
"Oh… good. That means Willow can be the last line of defense. If this guy can get past us." Jeanne grinned as flames flickered off her hands.
"Don't get a big head now. Whoever's bold enough to break into an Atlesian airship has to have some level of skill. It takes balls of steel to do that," Sieg said.
Screams could be heard outside the room. Sieg and Jeanne steeled themselves as they dropped into stances, ready to take on whoever was outside. The sounds of gunfire could be heard intensifying as whatever they were firing at got closer. Soon, the hallway outside became eerily quiet. Too quiet.
The light on the door clicked green. Slowly, as if it were taking its time, the door opened.
"Hehehehe." A mad cackle could be heard behind the door. The smell of iron instantly invaded their nostrils, putting them all on guard. The hairs stood on the back of their necks.
A scorpion faunus nonchalantly walked into the cell. His pale skin bathed red by the emergency alert lights. His golden eyes gleamed with a barely hidden madness. His white vest was stained with fresh blood as he dropped the corpse of an Atlesian soldier. His tail swished happily behind as he bowed mockingly as if it were some sort of performance he had put on.
"Who are you?" Jeanne asked. Willow and Sieg tensed up, sensing the pure malice that radiated from this man. Whoever this man was, there was no shred of good in him. Only pure malice and the intent to kill whoever got in the way of him and his quarry.
"Hehe. Why friend, I'm sorry that you had to see me like this. My name is Tyrian and I am on a mission from a…" the now-named Tyrian spat with some venom in his voice, "colleague to retrieve one pumpkin haired man from this vessel."
"Well, since you asked so politely…" Jeanne didn't even let Tyrian respond as she delivered a high kick to his head.
Tyrian raised his arm in response and blocked the kick, wincing as he felt the burning sensation on his arm. Her hits are so heavy and they… burn! Tyrian grinned as he pushed her back. He kicked off the ground, shot towards Jeanne, his weapons splayed.
"Jeanne, get down!" Willow shouted.
Jeanne rolled out of the way as Sieg opened his hand and unleashed a blast of energy at Tyrian.
Tyrian grinned as he gracefully evaded the attack, causing the beam to dent and singe the wall behind him.
"Oh? So you're going to struggle like they did? Very well. Who am I to deny such a request?" Tyrian shakily got to his feet. These people were not someone to be messed with. A prolonged fight with any one of them would not end well for him. He needed to finish this fast.
With a manic grin, Tyrian took off towards Roman, ignoring the other two. Jeanne jumped in front of his path and unleashed a stream of fire, forcing him back.
His grin remained as he crouched. He burst through Jeanne's wall of fire and slashed his vambrace claws at her face.
Jeanne dodged, barely avoiding the strike as a few of her bangs were cut in the process. She threw a flaming punch at his head, forcing him to move to his left.
Pressing on with her offensive, Jeanne engaged Tyrian in a fistfight. Or rather a blade to fist. She kept Tyrian completely on the defensive, forcing him to dodge and block her deadly deluge of flaming barrages.
Tyrian growled before lashing out with his tail at Jeanne's chest. Jeanne jumped back, narrowly avoiding the dripping barb of the stinger. She grinned as she kicked the metal chair she had been sitting on into the air and kicked it at Tyrian.
The faunus reacted only barely, dodging the chair by mere millimeters as it crashed into the wall behind him, denting it horribly. The entire corridor shook from the impact, causing him to stumble.
This… this woman is nothing like the Silver Eyes I fought so long ago in the name of my Lady. She's putting up a much better fight! Tyrian's eyes drifted to the other three occupants of the room.
Cinder… she sent me here with the intent to die. She knew this people were here, that bitch! Tyrian eyed Jeanne carefully.
Tyrian crouched and readied to launch himself. If he was going to get his target, then he would need to get past all three of them it would seem. But the blonde in front of him would never let him use his semblance on her and neither would the ash haired man behind her.
That left the…
Schnee… Tyrian grinned as he launched himself past Jeanne, catching her offguard. He ducked under Sieg's blows, countering with a kick to his side that sent him careening into a wall.
His semblance would do the work in dispatching this woman. His observation of her during the battle told him that she was the support fighter of their team. That meant that of the four other occupants in this room, she was the weak link in a fight.
Willow watched as the vambraces slowly approached her as time appeared to slow down. In that instant, Willow raised her hand and created a glyph in front of her. The glyph blocked off Tyrian's vambraces, sending him flying back.
Tyrian looked up to see spikes of black icicles flying towards him. He evaded and parried the spikes, all the while searching for a way to breach this nigh impenetrable formation.
Before he could formulate a strategy, Sieg jumped at Tyrian, reinforcing his leg with aura and kicking him through the door once more.
Before Tyrian could recover from the kick, Sieg punched Tyrian with a semblance-powered fist and sent him flying through the metal hull of the ship as a beam of energy exited his fist. The blue beam of energy being overcharged by his aura and the effects of Willow's Glyphs.
"Thanks," he said, closing his fist. His semblance, Ergogenesis, worked better with his sword. Guiding that much kinetic energy through his own body was damaging to his aura and his insides. Jeanne looked at her husband with some worry in her eyes before turning back to the hole they made in the ship.
"Jeez, Brain freeze. How many amplification glyphs did you use on him?" Jeanne asked.
Willow placed a hand on her chin before shrugging. "I don't know. I just remember using a lot."
"Define a lot," Roman said, staring at the hole in Ironwood's ship.
"Is he dead?" Sieg asked.
"I think? We blasted him out of the ship right?" Roman asked.
"Yeah, I did. You think Ironwood would mind that we blew a hole in his ship?" Jeanne asked, staring at the smoldering hole.
"If we tell him what happened, I'm sure he won't mind that we blasted a hole in his highly experimental battleship capable of fighting Judgement Class Grimm," Willow said.
Cinder watched from atop one of the rooftops of Beacon Academy.
"Cinder, are you sure it was wise to send Tyrian in there alone? Mercury and I did some background checks on the people that frequently visited Roman. They were all on the same team and were known as one of Beacon's two strongest teams alongside a team called Team STRQ. All the members are at least Gold Rank last time they registered with the Academies," Emerald said.
"Tyrian is more than capable of taking on a few Gold Ra-" Cinder never finished her sentence when an explosion nearly blew her off her spot. She looked up and saw a fading blue beam of light exit the ship.
"You don't think that…?" Emerald looked towards her.
Cinder had a face of indifference as she continued to look ahead without a care on her face.
"Cinder, shouldn't we…?" Emerald trailed off when she saw the expression on her face.
"It seems that we have failed to retrieve the asset." Cinder's voice was filled with very little remorse.
"Cinder, Roman knows our plans. What if he rats us out to the General?" Emerald said.
"Sending in Tyrian was never going to work. After all, the people that visit Roman frequently are monsters in human skin. Roman himself can be regarded as such," she said. "Sending him in with all four of them there is a near-guaranteed death sentence. This is why retrieving Roman will have to wait for a little. Until after I get the Maiden Power and finish phase 3. The chaos should be enough for Neo to slip into the ship and let Roman out of his cell."
"And Tyrian?" Emerald asked.
"We'll deal with that issue when we get there." Cinder smiled at the burning ship. "Tell Neo and Mercury that we're going through with the plan. The finals are coming up. We might as well give them a show they'll never forget."
Cinder pulled out her scroll and tapped a few buttons. She smiled when two names appeared on the match-ups.
Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black
