Chapter Forty-Seven: Internal Conflict


Phoenix was awoken by the sound of something glass falling to the floor. Reacting immediately, he leapt up from the ground where he was lying, drew his weapons, and prepared to attack the source of the noise. He lowered them when he saw the source though; an alcohol bottle had slipped from Qrow's hand while he slept. There were several more bottles surrounding him than there had been when Phoenix had fallen asleep.

Ruby, also woken up by the falling bottle, went over to the curtains when she saw light shining through them. Opening them revealed that it was long past sunrise. Phoenix mentally cursed himself for letting himself fall asleep. "Close the window," Weiss grumbled as the light shined on her, still half asleep.

"I'll handle Uncle Qrow while you get the others up," Ruby suggested, both annoyance at and concern for her uncle evident in her voice. Phoenix nodded in agreement and began the difficult process of getting the others up. He was tempted to yell at all of them to get up, but he didn't want to interrupt Ruby dealing with Qrow. He instead had to wake everyone up individually. Convincing each person to get up was a struggle, especially when part of him wanted to go to sleep as well. Once he finally finished, the preparations to leave began.

"Done," Phoenix said as he finished welding the modifications to Yang's motorcycle that would allow it to hook up to the trailer they had found. Hearing this, Qrow and Ruby wheeled the trailer towards the bike.

Stopping near it, Qrow put his foot up on one of the tires and said, "If we're ready, then let's hook this thing up and-" The other tire on the trailer popped and cut him off. He groaned in frustration, knowing that his semblance was likely the cause.

"You people are just beacons for bad luck, aren't you?" Maria asked, having no idea just how right she was. Her comment further agitated Qrow. He sat down by a nearby fence and began drinking from his flask.

Phoenix, not wanting to be the one to fix the tire, sat down next to Oscar on the steps and rested his head against the banister. The urge to sleep was becoming stronger, and he didn't see a reason to resist this time.


It was probably the last night Phoenix would be spending at Beacon for a while; he would be moving to the warehouse that would serve as his base while he worked as the Flaming Shadow tomorrow. Ozpin had insisted he stay at Beacon until the modifications had been completed and it was suitable for living. Unable to sleep, Phoenix had decided to take a final walk around the campus. There weren't currently supposed to be any students on campus, but he remained on guard. He quickly hid behind one of the pillars in the courtyard when he heard voices approaching.

"Oz, are you sure about this?" one of the voices asked. Phoenix recognized it as belonging to Qrow, a Huntsman who was part of the group that was aware of the existence of magic. "Keeping the brat around was bad enough, but now you're letting him out of your sight. You can't seriously have started to care about him. What if he's some sort of spy who just hasn't had the chance to report yet?" Phoenix barely resisted the urge to reveal and defend himself.

"That's exactly why we need to let him believe that he is no longer being watched," Ozpin replied. "There's no point keeping him at Beacon. I've been looking for a way to get him away from here without him becoming suspicious, and this little war on crime he's apparently decided to start is perfect. He'll think it's safe for him to finally report in. I've made sure that he doesn't know anything valuable, so we won't have any issues if he does turn out to be a spy. He may actually turn out to be useful for once if he is one. We can use him to feed Her false information. Not having to deal with him nearly as much is an additional bonus."

Phoenix was shaken by the blatant disdain in Ozpin's voice when he spoke about him. "He… he never trusted me? He's never cared about me?" he thought as the conversation continued.

"How are we supposed to know if he does report to her?" Qrow asked.

"That, Qrow, is where you come in," Ozpin answered. "Your new assignment will be to monitor him and inform me of any suspicious activity."

"Won't my Semblance put him in danger?"

"If anything does happen, then we'll be getting rid of either a spy or a nuisance."

"He wants to get rid of me?" Phoenix noticed a wetness on his cheeks and realized that he must have started crying at some point during the conversation. "Why is this getting to me so much?" he asked himself. "I knew he only let me live and took me in because he thought I could be useful, but I haven't done anything but waste time and resources. He doesn't have any reason to trust me either. Wanting to find a use for me and get rid of me isn't really a surprise, so why does it hurt?"

Both Phoenix's thoughts and the conversation between Ozpin and Qrow were cut off by an explosion in the courtyard. Ozpin and Qrow barely managed to dodge out of the way. A cloaked, masked figure dual wielding swords leapt from the shadows and attacked them while they were still recovering. "How they feel about me doesn't matter! I have to help!" Phoenix tried to control the flames from the aftermath of the explosion, but his Semblance didn't seem to have any effect. Instead, they seemed to be obeying the attacker. Ozpin and Qrow were struggling to keep up with them. His flames and blades appeared to be ignoring their aura.

Phoenix drew a knife that he kept on him and prepared to join the fight. "There's no way I'll last longer than a few seconds against whoever this is, but if it creates an opening for Oz and Qrow, then it'll be worth it." However, his attempt to join was stopped by an invisible wall. He circled the courtyard as quickly as he could while the fight continued, trying to enter from several different points, but the wall seemed to completely surround the fight.

Qrow eventually managed to land a blow on the enemy, slashing their left arm with his scythe and badly damaging their left sleeve and glove. This damage revealed a Grimm arm itself did not appear to have been damaged by Qrow's attack. It wasn't long after this that Qrow was dispatched when a sword through the chest pinned him to the ground.

"NO!" Phoenix yelled, desperately slashing and pounding on the invisible barrier in a vain attempt to break through.

Leaving the sword that pinned Qrow to the ground, the figure now focused on Ozpin. Without Qrow's support, he was quickly dealt with as well. Phoenix could do nothing but watch helplessly as the Grimm hand plunged into Ozpin's chest and crushed his heart. "DAD!" he cried out in despair, falling to his knees.

Having finished off Ozpin, the attacker turned to face Phoenix and removed their mask. Their face was almost identical to his. There was one major difference. The visible skin on the and some of the hair of his left half were white, and his left eye was red. They opened their mouth to speak to him.


Phoenix's nightmare was cut short by the yells of Maria, Blake, and Yang that they had to go now as the trio ran out of the house. Phoenix was about to ask where Ruby, Weiss, and Qrow were, but Yang, anticipating this, added on, "They'll be out soon! Now let's move!" She was right. A few seconds after she said this the trio came out of the house that was now in flames. Yang drove away as quickly as possible the second they were all on the trailer.


Team RWBY and Maria filled the others in on what they had missed. The lack of motivation to do anything that they had all felt had apparently been caused by a group of Apathy that was under the farm. The farm owner's failed attempt to use them had led to everyone on the farm losing the motivation to even get out of bed and dying. "That's why I couldn't figure out how the farmers died," Phoenix realized. "I assumed only humans played a role in their deaths. I didn't even consider the possibility that Grimm could have been involved."

While Phoenix was asleep, team RWBY had momentarily lost the will to continue the quest to stop Salem and dropped the lamp down the well. They encountered the Apathy when they went to retrieve it. Maria, who had found out about the Apathy from the farm owner's journal, had gone to rescue them. Phoenix barely concealed the guilt he felt when he learned that he had been sleeping while his friends almost died. They would have died if Maria hadn't known how to trigger Ruby's eyes.

After everyone was on the same page about everything that had happened, team RWBY apologized to each other for giving up. "It's not exactly your fault," Phoenix pointed out. "It was the Apathy. At least you four were able to stay awake."

"I should have known," Maria scolded herself. "The signs were all there, but I'd never seen an entire settlement withered away like that. I… suppose my mind just isn't what it used to be."

"Miss Calavera, how do you know so much about the Grimm?" Ruby asked. "And in the tunnels, you knew exactly what to say to make me… to make my eyes do that. How?"

Maria chuckled. "Isn't it obvious, girl? I had silver eyes."


Qrow stared at Maria in awe when she finished telling them who she was and how she had lost her eyes. "I can't believe it. You… you're the Grimm Reaper. You were a legend, and then you disappeared."

"How exactly does a legend just disappear?" Oscar asked.

"You never used your name, never showed your face," Qrow answered, continuing to talk about her. "Lots of us thought you were just layin' low, but we eventually came to accept that you were probably dead. But the stories about you… I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper."

"Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment," Maria dismissed his praise, "so you're well on your way."

"How can you say that?" Blake asked her.

"Child, a Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end, but after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight, afraid someone would find me again, finish what the others started. You shouldn't aspire to be like me, especially when some of you are stronger already," Maria looked to Yang, someone who had kept fighting despite her injury. "It's comforting seeing your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape."

"Well, maybe you can do something now," Ruby suggested. "Teach me to use my powers the way you did." Maria looked at her. However, Ruby's scroll started to ring before she could receive an answer. Everyone looked at her as she pulled it out to see who could be calling them in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. "It's Jaune!" she exclaimed with a gasp of surprise.

"How?" Weiss asked as Yang came to a stop.

"Hello," Ruby answered her scroll.

"Ruby, thank you!" Jaune cheered, everyone able to hear him despite Ruby not having her scroll on speaker mode. "I've been checking my scroll for your signal since we made it to the city." Realizing what Jaune being able to Argus likely meant, Yang quickly drove them up the hill that was currently keeping them from seeing anything in the distance. Everyone's suspicion was confirmed when they reached the top.

"Ladies and gentleman, we have arrived in Argus," Yang declared with a smile.


The group waited by the main gate of Argus for team JN_R as Yang locked up her motorcycle. JN_R's arrival was made obvious by Nora, who, upon seeing Oscar, loudly yelled "Cute boy Oz!" and tackled him with a hug. Jaune and Ren, while less aggressive with their greeting of everyone else, were equally relieved to see them.


As the group traveled through the city by bus, JN_R explained some of its background. It was apparently one of the largest non-capital cities. Atlas and Mistral had worked together to settle the area. It was officially part of Mistral, but Atlas had a military presence there to provide security from Grimm and help with trade. Recent events had caused issues with this though.

Jaune indicated that it was time for them to get off of the bus before the explanation could continue. Phoenix decided that now would be a good time to voice a question that had been on the mind of all of the group members who had just arrived in Argus. "Where exactly are we staying here? Anything is preferable to the cabin, but I'd still prefer that we have a roof over our heads."

"Uh…" Jaune chuckled nervously.

"There you are," A woman holding a baby who had been standing on the other side of the bus said after it had driven away and was no longer blocking her view of them.

"Hey, Saph," Jaune greeted somewhat hesitantly. Their recognition of each other and similar appearance made it clear that the woman was one of Jaune's seven sisters.


Ruby was ecstatic to be meeting one of Jaune's sisters and potentially getting embarrassing stories about his younger years from her. "Oh, I can give you the rundown later," Nora promised.

"Will you guys knock it off?" an embarrassed Jaune pleaded.

"What? I love telling stories about my baby brother," his sister ignored his pleading, tugging on his cheek.

"I am not a baby!" Jaune protested and pointed to the baby on the ground. "That is a baby." The baby in question turned to him, crossed its arms, and frowned at him. This reaction was something that Weiss and Yang found adorable.

"So Saphron, You're the only Arc living here?" Blake asked, glancing at a photo of the Arc siblings.

"Yup, moved the second I could," Saphron answered. "Jaune and I are the only two living away from home. I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis." Jaune stuttered at this, trying to come up with a response. He didn't deny her statement though, something that she was quick to point out. The door opening distracted her from the teasing though. "Everyone, this is my wife Terra Cotta," she introduced the new arrival.

"Wow, quite a party. You weren't kidding," she said after everyone had greeted her before asking her wife for help with the bags of groceries she held.


"And you're sure it's alright if we stay with you?" Blake asked once the couple had finished putting the groceries away. The women responded by reassuring them that they were happy to help Huntsmen and Huntresses in return for the good that they did protecting the people. They were concerned about the involvement of students though, questioning the legality of it.

"Of course. Think of it as an extended training mission," Qrow tried to convince them. "Trust me, I was a professor. Even went to the same academy as them. Let me tell ya, these kids are way better than we were at their age." After saying this, Qrow realized that he had just admitted that they were better than him. "Well, not better than me specifically, but a lot of students." Ruby cut him off before he could continue when team JN_R came out with sandwiches that they had been preparing.

The group quietly enjoyed the snack until Terra's scroll rang. Saphron explained that Terra was a technician at the town's relay tower. The military's radar system was also housed there, and Terra was being blamed for the issues it was currently having. "So, what's your plan for tomorrow?" Saphron changed the subject.

"We need to get to Atlas, so getting into contact with the military is probably our best bet for getting there," Phoenix answered.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Jaune told him. "It didn't go super great when we tried it." His tone made it clear that this was a clear understatement.

"Come on, it can't go that bad," Yang said optimistically. Phoenix sighed and shook his head at her tempting fate.


The meeting with the Atlas military went about as well as Phoenix expected it to. The group was only able to talk to the commander of the base, Caroline Cordovin, after claiming that they were trying to return Weiss home. Maria apparently had a less than pleasant history with Cordovin. Phoenix was torn about what to do when an argument between the two of them broke out. On the one hand, angering the person they were trying to convince to help them wasn't a good idea, but on the other hand, it was very amusing to watch. Ruby intervened before he could make a decision and tried to talk with her about getting transport to Atlas, but Cordovin cut her off and started ranting about the superiority of Atlas. She concluded this rant by telling them that Weiss was the only person that she was willing to take to Atlas. The rest of them would have to stay behind. The gate was slammed in their faces when it became clear that Weiss wasn't interested in their offer. Qrow stormed off angrily after their plan's failure, telling them that he was going for a drink.

"What's his problem?" Jaune asked as he left. "It's not your fault we can't go on."

"If he's gonna be a jerk then we'll just come up with something without him," Nora declared. I mean, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do."

There was an awkward silence as the members of the group who had learned about Ozpin and Salem,s past wondered how to break the news to team JN_R.


Team JN_R didn't take the truth about Salem well. "Everything we did was for nothing!" Jaune yelled in rage as he punched the wall.

"That's not true," Blake tried to reassure him.

"Really?" Nora asked, "Cuz it sure sounds like it does.

"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?" Ren asked them. Everyone was silent, nobody having an answer.

"Wow. Great plan everyone," Jaune said angrily.

"Look, none of this is great, we know, but we're not the bad guys here," Oscar tried to reduce that anger that JN_R was feeling towards the rest of them.

"Are we sure about that?" Jaune asked.

"What?" Oscar asked, unsure what Jaune meant. Phoenix tensed, having a bad feeling about where this was going.

"He's in your head," Jaune stormed over to Oscar. "Did you already know about this?"

"He didn't know any of this!" Weiss tried to defend Oscar, but she was ignored by Jaune. He grabbed Oscar and slammed him into the wall, holding him against it.

"How much longer can we even trust him?!" he demanded to know.

"Jaune! Let him go," Phoenix ordered, having stood up the second Oscar hit the wall.

"Of course you would take his side," Jaune turned to glare at Phoenix while keeping Oscar held to the wall.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Phoenix asked despite already having a good idea what Jaune was saying.

"Ozpin took you in, and you were part of his group long before the rest of us got involved," Jaune confirmed Phoenix's suspicions on what he'd meant. "It makes sense that you'd ignore his lies and side with him instead of us."

"I'm not ignoring his lies, and if being 'on his side' means putting a stop to this, then yes, I'm on his side. Oscar is the only reason that we actually know everything!" Phoenix reminded Jaune angrily.

"What if we're not even talking to Oscar? What if it's that liar pretending to be him?"

"H-he can't be in control," Oscar hesitantly reminded Jaune in hopes of de-escalating the situation. "He l-locked himself away." This attempt, however, had the opposite effect.

"Stop lying!" Jaune snapped as he raised his fist to attack.

However, he was forced to release Oscar and slammed against the wall with a hand around his throat before the blow could connect. Phoenix glared at him, his grip on Jaune's throat making it difficult to breathe. Jaune tried to say something to him, but he wasn't able to because of this.

"Phoenix!" Ruby yelled in an attempt to keep Phoenix from going any further.

Her attempt successful, Phoenix's eyes widened as he realized what he was doing and quickly dropped Jaune. "I… I'm going for a walk," he said, leaving the house before anyone could respond.


That took a lot longer than expected. The nightmare was one of the reasons that this took so long. I kept going back and changing it. I wanted to include the fact that part of Abyss' face looked like Salem's in the first Abyss nightmare, but I couldn't find a way to mention it without messing with the flow of the story. There's a reason that Phoenix's thoughts about himself and assumptions about what others think of him seem even worse than usual during the nightmare. The thoughts he's having are the ones that fourteen-year-old Phoenix would have in that situation. Any improvement in his mental state caused by his time as the Flaming Shadow and the events of this story hadn't happened yet. However, having the insecurities of his fourteen-year-old self thrown back in his face might not be good for him right now.

I glossed over the scene at the gate because I REALLY didn't feel like writing it. Putting that off is the other reason that this took so long. There wasn't much that Phoenix would contribute to the scene anyway.

The explanation for Jaune trying to punch Oscar, something that may seem out of character for him, is that Phoenix's involvement caused the situation to escalate. The conflict between the two of them caused Jaune to become more angry and irrational than he was in canon, and Oscar trying to defend himself was his breaking point. Phoenix's violent response was him reacting instinctively when he saw an ally about to be attacked, not paying attention to who it was who was doing the attacking. It's kinda implied that that's the case here, and I may make it a bit more clear that that's what happened in the next chapter. I just thought I should mention it here as well since it may be a while until the next chapter comes out.

The notes for a story about Phoenix's time as the Flaming Shadow are being posted, so you're welcome to check those out. Also, Phoenix's character summary in the AO3 version of this story has a link to an image of how I imagine Phoenix looking without his glasses. It was made using the character creator in "Code Vein". I'd put it here too, but this site doesn't allow links. Thanks for reading!