I do not own RWBY or any of the characters.

Settled

Leon flipped over Wulfe's laser and landed at a sprint, slashing at Wulfe while bending backward, ducking under Wulfe's counter attack. As Leon turned, switched his sword to a gun and held it to his shoulder, firing. The bullet slammed into the back of Wulfe's shoulder and flipped him like a top, Wulfe crashing down hard on his back. Leon smirked, walking forward and switching back to a sword, dragging it along the ground.

"You're a failure," Leon said. "You can't protect anything, because you're too weak. You may be fast, but you're weak. No wonder Ava chose Fox."

"Shut your mouth!" Wulfe snarled, pushing himself up slowly. "You don't know anything! You're a filthy traitor!"

"No!" Leon snapped. "I'm the only loyal one left! You all betrayed the White Fang! Fox left because he felt like it, Ava chased him, and you left to be with your unrequited love and your best friend, who she chose over you. Of all three, yours is the most sad."

Wulfe roared in rage, streaking forward and slashing at Leon, sho blocked the claws, only for the others to crash into him, hurling him backward. An Ursa Major leapt at Leon but Wulfe blasted it, then instantly blasted Leon. Leon managed to get his sword in the way of the blast, but just as he was moving it aside, Wulfe tore into him, straining his Aura and hurling him across the street. Leon crashed down hard and bounced, flipping and landing on his feet, skidding to a stop and smirking.

"You're kidding," Leon laughed. "After all this time, that's all it took to make you go Feral?"

Wulfe streaked toward Leon, who stepped forward, slashing Wulfe just as Wulfe's claws slammed into Leon. Both flew backward, their Aura's fading, but Wulfe was on his feet first. Wulfe streaked forward again and Leon knelt, spinning his sword into its rifle form and shouldering it. Then, just before he fired, Wulfe leapt into the air, slamming his claws together, Leon's eyes widening.

"I'm not Feral you son of a bitch!" Wulfe shouted. "I'm pissed!"

Then, he fired, his laser punching completely through Leon, blasting him into the ground. Leon coughed up blood as Wulfe landed over him.

"Mer...Mer..." Leon coughed again and Wulfe growled.

"No way," Wulfe said. "Not for you."

Then, he drove his claws down into Leon's face, killing him. He sighed as he stood, cracking his neck before looking around. The others would be at Beacon, he guessed.

He headed that way, but a few corners later he slowed to a stop, staring. Before him, standing amid a dozen dead Atlas soldiers and even more dead grimm, was none other than Adam Taurus. Adam turned toward him and grinned.

"Well well, the traitor," Adam said. "Leon told me all about you. The speed fighter. Claws that fire a beam of energy. Troublesome semblance. In love with a girl who prefers your best friend. Such a sad fool. Come. Let's see how good you really are."

Wulfe crouched, gritting his teeth as his tail flicked angrily, its fur standing on end. Then, a dozen clones of him, minus clothing as per usual with his semblance, burst out of his torso, ruining his own shirt. The clones all charged at Adam, all wearing claws, at least, and began to attack him, Adam backpedalling, his red-bladed ninjato barely fending off the onslaught. Finally, he flipped, shooting three of the Wulfe clones, watching as blood exploded out of them and they fell to the ground.

"So it's true," Adam smirked. "Your semblance really is living, breathing clones."

"Yes!" Wulfe snarled, landing behind Adam, laser firing.

Adam spun, blocking the laser before spinning and slashing the remaining clones as they leapt at him. At the same time, more burst out of Wulfe, all beginning to rapidly fire their lasers at him, Adam dodging through the lasers before reaching the clones and carving his way through. As he reached Wulfe, Wulfe released yet another wave of clones, blocking Adam's sword. Then, the clones all leapt at Adam as Adam grinned.

"Checkmate," Adam smirked, firing his gun up through Wulfe's ribcage and out his shoulder.

Wulfe coughed, blood splattering over the front of Adam's shirt as the clones all slashed. Adam leapt away, avoiding the strike before sprinting forward, the clones moving to meet him as Wulfe pushed himself up, roaring, hair and fir standing on end. Adam sliced his way through the clones with ease and reached the far side as Wulfe leapt at him, roaring.

Fox watched the dragon fly toward the tower as he ran up it. Just as the dragon began to hover beside Ozpin's office, Fox reached it, slashing at it, his sword sparking against its black scales, but drove it off before slashing his way through the window. Cinder glared at him as he stood, walking to the right around the office, getting out from behind Ozpin's desk before stopping.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Cinder asked.

"You and I have a score to settle," Fox said. "You killed my friend, so I'm going to obliterate you."

"You couldn't beat me before," Cinder said. "What makes you think you can do it this time?"

Fox stared at her before sighing, ripping his shirt off to fully expose the burn she had given him before, muscle and bone new exposed in some places. "It's funny. The closer I get to death, the more I seem to remember about myself. My past, my semblance, my sins. But the important part is, I gain control."

His body began to glow white, the burn regenerating before glowing white energy formed over his body like a second skin, flowing from the backs of his ankles and elbows like flames, extending into claws on his fingers, and making his turquoise irises glow. Cinder growled in anger as her hand snapped up, fireballs beginning to fly from her hand at him, only for him to duck and dodge past them, getting up close and slashing her, his energy covering his sword too. She deflected it with her hand, flames coating her hand, before she slammed a punch into his gut. He lifted off the ground before she blasted him with a stream of flames closer to a beam than actual flames. He flew backward, blasting into the wall before falling to the ground and pushing himself up. She fired another, stronger one and he stepped forward, gripping his sword with both hands and slashing. The blade met the beam and exploded, demolishing the office and everything above it, the concussion throwing the dragon, which had been about to destroy the office himself, away.

As Fox pushed himself up, Cinder grabbed him by the throat and spun, hurling him away from herself and launching a volley of fireballs to keep him busy. Fox flipped, slamming his hands down and skidding to a stop before darting to the side on all fours, the fireballs all missing. Then, Fox leapt over a piece of metal, grabbing the end of it and flipping, slamming it down on top of Cinder. Cinder coughed up blood before shrieking in rage, sending the piece of metal spinning into the sky. Just as she did, Fox crashed down on her instead, fist first. She slammed a fist coated in fire into his face, the flames exploding and launching him away. Fox crashed down on the far side of the office, slowly pushing himself up as Cinder floated into the air, glaring at him.

"That's enough," Cinder snarled. "I've grown tired of this."

"I was about to say the same thing," Fox said, drawing his remaining sword, the gems on it glowing as his energy layer turned green.

He sprinted at Cinder, moving faster now, and slashed at her as he jumped over her. She spun, a sword forming and blocking his before she shot forward, slashing, only for him to block it. She formed another sword and he shoved the first away, blocking that one and using it to support himself as he flipped into the air, slamming a kick into the top of her shoulder and blasted her into the floor. He landed and leapt backward as Cinder screamed in rage, standing and sending hundreds of fireballs into the air. Fox took off at a sprint, the fireballs beginning to explode in a trail behind him as he ran around the office before Cinder shouted again, spinning and making the remaining fireballs explode around the entire office all at once. As the smoke cleared, Fox was holding a hand up, a spherical barrier having formed around him. He smirked, letting the barrier fade and streaking forward. Cinder growled in rage and dodged aside from a stab from Fox, stabbing at him as well. He turned profile, avoiding it before jumping and slashing as he did. His sword slammed into her Aura and slammed her into the ground before he landed and turned back to her, instantly shoving a hand forward and firing a beam of green energy as big around as his arm, his attack meeting a much, much larger torrent of flames as big around as an Ursa Major.

For a moment, his attack held hers back. Then, his failed and the flames hit him, exploding. Fox flipped into the air, his energy layer and Aura both fading. As he began to fall, he switched to a bow, pulling it back and firing at Cinder, only for her to swipe a hand, the arrow bursting against an invisible barrier, sending multiple fire-colored rings shooting over it. Then, Fox crashed back down, groaning.

"Not bad," Cinder said. "You actually might have beaten me before, had you been able to remember how to use your own semblance. This time, however, I win."

Fox was slowly pushing himself up, and managed to get to his knees only for her hands to grab the sides of his head painfully tight, her face appearing in front of his.

"I'm going to cook you brain until you beg me to make you reincarnate, and then I'm going to lobotomize you and leave you for dead!" Cinder shouted, agony erupting in Fox's head instantly.

He heard himself screaming as though from far away. The agony was making it impossible to think through. He felt his semblance struggling to protect his brain on base instinct but it was failing. Then, there was a blinding light and the pain was gone. Slowly, his sight began to return. There were lights now. A lot of them. His vision was still too blurred to make out any constellations, and it looked like they were spinning, but he was able to tell that he was staring at the stars. Muffled sounds began to reach his ears. They were in a sort of chaotic order, though. He struggled to think but it made his head sear with pain. Voices. He was pretty sure that was what he was hearing. He tried to focus but his head seared with pain again and he gave up. Slowly, his hearing began to recover, his vision finally sharpening enough for him to see details, like the smoke in the air, still lit by fires. But why were there fires? Shouldn't people be trying to put them out? That was what people did with fires, right? His head seared, nearly taking his sight again. His hearing finally cleared up, however.

"-happened to him?" a feminine voice was asking.

"Looks like she tried to cook his brain," a male one responded.

"Is he okay?" another male asked.

"No way to know," the first male voice said.

A face appeared over him, suddenly. A girl. She was pale, and had on white hair to match her white clothes. Pretty.

"Fox, are you okay?" the girl asked. "Say something."

Fox's brow furrowed. "Who...are you?"

Several people gasped around him and Fox slowly began to look around, struggling to ignore the pain in his entire body. There were others around them. A blonde boy with his shirt open and a monkey tail, a blue-haired boy beside him, a brunette girl with rabbit ears, a guy that smelled like a brewery with bad hair, a blonde girl with her arm missing just above the elbow. So many people, all staring at him, except the blonde missing her arm, and none of the faces looked familiar. Finally, his eyes settled on a pair of girls kneeling beside the injured blonde. One had a green shirt and skirt with green hair that was matted with blood near the middle, and the other had black hair with a pair of cat ears, a black vest over a white shirt, white shorts, and bandages around her lower abdomen. He stared at them, hearing others speaking to him but not processing what they were saying. He tried to pry his eyes away from the two women, both of whom were crying, but he couldn't. Pain seared through his head, Fox groaning and grabbing the sides of his head, squeezing his eyes closed and curling up slightly, teeth clenched. Several of the people around him asked what was wrong, but he ignored them. He looked back up at the girls as the barest flicker of memory began to register in his brain.

"Blake," Fox croaked, throat suddenly painfully dry, making it hard to speak. "Ava."

Both looked up at him, fresh tears running down their face, before they smiled. Fox looked around slowly, more names drifting into his mind, attaching themselves to the other faces around him. Weiss, Yang, Sun, Neptune, Velvet, Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ruby, Penny, Qrow. He stared at Ruby, who was unconscious.

"What...happened..." He gestured at Ruby but Qrow shook his head.

"Long story," Qrow said. "For now, I'll just say she'll be okay."

He nodded, looking to Pyrrha and Jaune, seeing their arms were around each other. He frowned. He could have sworn Jaune was usually trying to get Weiss to like him. No, that was a while ago. His head throbbed and he grit his teeth. He was still in so much pain. He looked up at Sun, who looked drained, both physically and emotionally.

"Don't look...so...bummed...Sun," Fox croaked. "Can't just...make it...easy."

Sun snorted, shaking his head. "Nothing you do is ever easy."

Fox slowly pushed himself up, shuffling over to Blake and Ava, collapsing back to his knees in front of them, both hugging him instantly. "I think...I owe...an...apology. But...I can't...remember why."

"You don't?" Blake asked. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Fox tried to concentrate but his head throbbed and he winced. "It hurts...to try. It's all...confused. Dance? Or maybe...breach...in the courtyard."

"You don't remember the tournament?" Ava asked.

Fox blinked, not trying to remember, just letting his brain stew for a moment before memories began to surface slowly. He nodded. "I...remember...Pyrrha and...Penny. But...Penny's fine now."

"You saved her," Pyrrha said. "You don't remember anything after?"

He stared at her before shaking his head.

"We'll explain it to him later," Qrow said. "Now that we know he's going to be okay, it's our turn to leave."

The others nodded and Blake and Ava helped Fox to his feet, all of them heading into an airship nearby. Once they were all in, Jaune and Ren having brought Yang and Qrow having brought Ruby, the ship took off, heading for the safe area. Once there, they all left the ship in the same fashion as they entered it and medics rushed over to check on them. Most of them had gotten some nasty bumps and bruises, but they would all be fine. Yang's wound wasn't life-threatening, but Fox doubted she'd be able to adjust to having only one arm very easily. Ruby was completely uninjured, but for some reason wouldn't wake up. And then, there was him. The medics said that there was some brain damage, which was the cause of the pain and memory problems, but that all of the external burns from Cinder's attack had healed.

"Is he going to be okay?" Blake asked the medic examining Fox.

"He'll be fine," the medic said. "His aura is unusually strong, and it's already healing his brain. He'll likely be completely healed inside of a month."

"Thank you," Blake said.

The medic walked away and Fox sighed, wincing as his head throbbed. Blake gently guided him backward, making him lay down before sitting on her knees beside him, slipping her hand into his.

"I'm a little disappointed you forgot everything after the tournament," Blake said. "From what I was able to get Pyrrha to say, Cinder killed Ozpin, then you stopped her from going to fight Cinder after Pyrrha sent Jaune away from the tower in a locker. Then you fought Cinder yourself. Apparently you did pretty well, since she was angry enough to try to cook your brain, rather than just killing you. Whatever you did in that fight, you must have been amazing."

"Probably," Fox smiled. "According to Ozpin, I'm barely able to use my semblance to fifty percent of my ability with it. And the closer I come to death, the more of my past lives I remember."

"You've been close to death before?" Blake asked.

"Once," Fox nodded. "I was fighting a Deathstalker and a King Taijitu. Both of them are venomous, and I got a dose of both. It's how I remembered how to defy gravity."

Blake nodded, looking around, stopping on Yang.

"Go," Fox said. "I'll be fine. Go make sure she's alright."

Blake nodded, squeezing his hand for a moment before walking away. After a moment, Sun and Ava sat beside him.

"Hey Sun," Fox smiled. "What's wrong?"

"You never make anything easy," Sun said. "Bad enough you were always with her so I couldn't get her alone. Now you had to go and try to sacrifice yourself. Christ, at this rate she'll be begging you to marry her before I can even ask her on a real date."

Fox's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember what he had done, only for pain to flood his head, making him cringe.

"Sorry," Sun said. "I guess it's better to avoid recent subjects. So, what do you think we'll do now?"

"I'm not sure," Fox said. "Probably go to a different school." He looked up at Ava, who smiled down at him. "Are you okay?"

Ava nodded. "I'm fine. You're the one who was hurt."

"Where are Wulfe and Leon?" Fox asked, Ava's face falling.

"Leon turned against us," Ava said. "Wulfe fought him alone and sent me to the others. But...neither of them have been seen since."

Fox nodded, sighing. "I see. Wulfe and Leon were always a pretty even match."

Ava nodded. "I'm worried."

"I'm sure Wulfe is fine," Fox assured her, hating how much he felt like it was a lie. "Wulfe would do anything to get back to you."

He saw something flit behind Ava's eyes but didn't ask about it. He could tell that she was barely holding it together already. He looked toward Yang in time to see Blake disappear into the shadows on the far side of the city square. He looked to Sun, who was also staring.

"Go," Fox said. "She needs a friend right now."

"What about you?" Sun asked.

"I have plenty of friends right now," Fox said.

"That's not what I-"

"Sun," Fox said. "You wanted alone time with Blake. Go. There's someone I need to go and see, and Blake will most definitely not want to be there. At least, for now."

Sun nodded, standing. "I'll let you know where we're going when I find out."

Fox nodded and Sun turned, running away. Fox sighed, closing his eyes. "Wake me up when we know what we're doing next."

Ava nodded and Fox allowed himself to finally drift off into sleep.

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