I do not own RWBY or any of the characters.
Disrupted Plans
Fox silently slipped over the fence, staring up at the radio tower before them. He and Blake were assigned to take down the long distance radar before Weiss could get back. That wasn't a hard task. There weren't even any guards. And then they had Yang on stand by just in case things got out of hand and they needed her help.
"Be careful," Blake whispered. "I'll be quick."
"I'll be fine," Fox promised. "It's only a couple hundred feet."
Blake nodded and kissed him quickly before turning and starting up the tower. As she did, Fox drew his sword, looking around before raising a hand to his communicator.
"We're about to shut off the tower," Fox said. "On your signal."
Just then, a metal clash reached his ears and Blake screamed. Fox spun, looking up to see Blake fighting an unwelcome guest at the top of the tower. Adam. Fox growled in rage, leaping and blasting off the ground, flipping as he passed the platform, then slashing downward at Adam, forcing him to leap away. Adam flipped, landing on his feet in time for both Blake and Fox's blades to crash into his, hurling him off the tower. Adam crashed down hard outside of the fence line, rolling down the hill outside.
"Shut the tower down," Fox said. "I'll deal with him."
"I can't," Blake said. "He slashed the controls."
Fox glanced at the controls before sighing. "Figures." He raised his hand to his communicator. "Bad news. The controls are shot. We can't turn the tower off."
"How?" Ruby asked.
"Adam," Fo said. "We're dealing with him now."
"We'll figure this out," Ruby said. "Be careful."
"Please," Fox said, twirling his sword. "After everything that's happened? I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this."
He jumped off the tower, landing at the top of the hill and skidding down it quickly, Blake following after a moment. Adam had moved further than Fox thought. After about four minutes, they reached an open area where Adam was waiting, sword drawn, shotgun in his free hand, and with a black cloth over his face where he had once worn his mask.
"You and masks," Fox said. "I liked the last one better than this."
"Have you fucked the whore yet?" Adam asked.
"Watch your mouth," Fox snarled, emerald energy rolling along his blade. "You've caused her enough pain, Adam. You're a cancer. A parasite. And I'm cutting you off."
"I hurt her?" Adam scoffed. "I bet she swore to stay by your side, right? I bet she told you she loves you, and that she'll never leave you. Maybe agreed to marry you. You're not the first. Not the first for the promise of being with her. Not the first to be engaged to her. Not the first to fuck her. I bet she never told you all the things she did while she was int the White Fang. She's a whore."
"If you open your mouth one more fucking time, I'll tear you limb from limb," Fox snarled.
"Try me," Adam smirked, sword glowing red.
"Fox don't!" Blake said, but it was too late.
Fox shot forward, slashing rapidly at Adam, who deflected the blows rapidly, sword glowing brighter and brighter red as they fought. Finally, Adam leapt back from a slash and landed on his feet, slashing and sending a wall of blood red energy at Fox. Fox flipped aside from the strike and blocked a slash from Adam, slamming a kick into his gut, hurling him backward. As Adam landed on his feet, Blake landed behind him, slashing, only for Adam to spin, deflecting the blade, then blocking Blake's sheath. Instantly, he turned, using his shotgun to deflect Fox's blade before taking a shot at him, the blast being blocked by Fox's semblance-enhanced aura. However, it bought Adam enough time to step around Blake, kicking her in the back and throwing her at Fox.
Fox caught her and Adam shot forward, slashing through them, both fading. Then, he spun, blocking their swords again, being hurled backward from the impact. He landed on his feet, growling as his body turned black, except his sword and hair, which glowed the color of blood. Then, he was off, moving in a blur. Fox spun, deflecting a slash, then another, and another. Blake blocked the next, then Fox used his sword to block a shot from Adam's gun.
"You can't have a whole lot of energy left to keep fighting like this, can you?" Fox asked.
"Just enough," Adam growled.
Fox's brow furrowed just as Adam's sword skipped off of his in a feint. Then, it swung around at Blake. Fox swore internally, ramming his shoulder into Blake, hurling her out of the way before Adam's sword crashed into his aura over his throat. Then, it began to crash into him again and again. Fox grit his teeth, focusing on keeping his aura up as he was battered by Adam's strikes, Adam moving too fast for Fox to be able to counter. Then, finally, Adam stopped, the glow fading from his sword as he watched Fox's semblance shimmering over his body.
"You really are a monster," Adam snarled.
"You're one to talk," Fox said. "After everything you've done. You don't get to judge."
"I'm going to kill you," Adam said. "And then I'm going to take her back and remind her why she used to beg for me to keep going."
"Ouch," Fox said. "Weren't quite good enough huh? It's alright. I never expected you to be."
"You son of a bitch!" Adam snarled.
"Look up," I say.
A moment later, Yang's bike slammed into Adam, launching him backward before bouncing over him and splashing down in the water. Fox smirked as Adam stood, growling in rage and turning toward the three of them.
"Yang, his semblance is to store energy in his sword and redirect it, the same way you can," Fox said.
"He can reflect energy without feeling it?" Yang asked. "That's just cheating."
Adam shouted in rage, charging, and Fox moved to meet him, Yang just behind him. Fox deflected Adam's first slash and Yang flipped over him, blasting Adam back a step before landing in front of him and beginning to pummel him, every strike sending out a blast. After the sixth, however, Adam began to block the strikes with his sword, slashing back every couple of strikes. As he did, Fox stepped up beside Yang, helping her fight Adam, forcing him backward rapidly, their combined attacks more than enough to overwhelm Adam. Finally, he shouted in rage, ducking under a slash from Fox as he blocked a punch from Yang with his sword, then slammed a kick into Fox and turned, slashing downward at Yang, sword suddenly glowing. Yang shouted in surprise as a massive blast of red energy exploded into her crossed arms, sending her skidding backward, her prosthetic arm bearing several scratches.
"Yang!" Blake shouted worriedly.
"I'm fine," Yang said, glaring at Adam, even as her left hand trembled. "This is your last warning. Leave us all alone. You're not wanted."
"I've already made my choice," Adam said, gripping his sword, beginning to darken, his sword and hair glowing.
Then, as Blake slashed at him, he took off, his sword slamming into her aura and hurling her back before he and yang began to duke it out. Fox lunged, slashing at Adam, who blocked it and kicked him aside. However, just as Fox flipped and landed on his feet, Adam blasted Yang from point blank range with all of is accumulated energy, sending her flying backward.
"Well Yang?" Adam asked. "Is that all you've got? You really haven't improved at all since we last fought have you?"
"Yes I have," Yang said, pushing herself up and readying herself. "But I'm not alone."
"You've got to deal with both of us too," Fox said as he and Blake stepped up beside Yang.
Fox glanced at Blake, seeing she was only holding her sheath. He looked back and realized her sword had been broken in half when she had been slashed. He hadn't even realized it.
"If I have to go through you to get to Blake, fine," Adam said. "But Fox? Him I'm going to enjoy killing. No one steals from me."
"Steal?" Fox snorted. "Do you know how much work Blake had to put in to make me make a move? No, I didn't steal anything. Blake never belonged to you. And you drove her away by being yourself."
Adam snarled in rage, raising his sword and stepping forward, only for the ground between the two opposing sides to explode, throwing them all. Adam had been the furthest away, and as such, had escaped most of the blast. Fox had shielded himself and Blake with his Semblance, and Yang had tanked the blast. As Fox stood, watching the dust, he felt his skin begin to crawl. His gut dropped and emerald-colored energy surged over his body, coating him like a second skin. Then, the dust cleared in the blink of an eye as the Grimm in the center of the crater shot out of the dust at Fox.
Fox managed to get his sword up just in time for the grimm's much, much larger sword to crash into it, Fox skidding backward as the grimm's momentum forced him backward before they skidded to a stop. Everyone else stared at the grimm, even as Fox shoved the sword aside, the two beginning to clash rapidly. The grimm was tall, nearly double Fox's height with a rough, spiked, bone claymore that it was using to fight Fox, who had his own sword's handle extended into a two handed one to deal with the grimm's monstrous strength. The grimm had darkness in the form of a cape and white bone chunks with red cracks covering it as a suit of plate armor with a pair of massive horns sticking up from the sides of its head. It had spikes on its shoulders and elbows, and looked like a twisted sort of knight.
Fox ducked under a slash from the grimm's sword and slashed back, the grimm's sword flashing around and batting Fox's away before it slammed the back of its fist into his head, hurling him away. Fox flipped, bouncing once before flipping to his feet, readying himself again, glancing past the grimm, which had its entire focus on him, to where Blake and Yang were fighting Adam together. Fox returned his attention to the grimm. He recognized it. It was a twisted, demonic recreation, but he recognized one of his five friends who had tried to fight Salem with him. This one was the brute force friend. And now, it was a horrifying threat that wanted exclusively to kill him.
Fox spun out of the way of a downward slash, slashing upward in return, only for the sword to spark off of the grimm's own. Fox stepped forward, stabbing at the grimm, only for it to turn around the blade, then slash upward at Fox. Fox stepped off of its arms, sailing into the air before flipping, sword opening into a bow as he turned toward the grimm again. He pulled the bow back, sending the arrow slamming down on the grimm, making it stagger backward, armor cracking. Then, as Fox landed, the green energy over his body intensifying as he streaked forward, sword crashing into the grimm's rapidly, the grimm staggering backward as it did. Then, the grimm drove its own sword down into the ground, the next impact against it jarring Fox's arms badly enough that he dropped his sword, staggering backward. The grimm lunged stabbing at Fox. Fox knocked the blade aside by the flat of it, then slammed a punch into its chest, forcing it backward. Then another, and another. Finally, he jumped, flipping and slamming a kick into the side of the grimm's head, hurling it away.
He grabbed his sword and spun, just in time to block Adam's sword. He shoved the blade aside, looking past Adam, where Yang was standing between Blake, who was exhausted and barely standing, and the grimm, who seemed to have finally taken notice of them.
"No you fucking don't!" Fox snarled, shoving Adam's sword away so hard that Adam went flying. Then, he shot forward, the grimm spinning instantly and blocking Fox's sword with his own. "Stay the fuck away from them!"
He shoved the sword away, slashing back at the grimm, only for it to catch his sword in its hand.
"You've grown soft," the grimm said, its voice deep and distorted. "You used to be capable of cutting through anything in the blink of an eye. And now..."
He turned, hurling Fox away, and Fox flipped, landing on his feet, glaring back at the grimm, unsure whether to be angry that the grimm was talking down to him, or afraid of the fact that it could talk at all. He raised his sword in time to block a downward slash, the ground under him fracturing, then glanced past the grimm in time to see Yang duking it out with Adam. She still hadn't use her Semblance, from what Fox had seen, but she was clearly running out of strength. Fox shoved the sword aside, then slammed his hand into the ground, a wave of energy shooting out and hurling the grimm away. Then, just as he looked up, Yang caught Adam's sword, her eyes shining red and her hair suddenly glowing like fire. Then, she slammed a punch into Adam's chest, sending him flying backward.
Fox grinned, spinning around the grimm's sword, then slashing at it. This time, he managed to score a scratch up the grimm's armor before its sword crashed into his aura, sending him bouncing backward along the ground, his energy shroud evaporating as he rolled to a stop. Then, as he pushed himself up, he looked to the side in time to see Blake drive the hilt end of her broken sword's blade into Adam's chest, Yang driving the other end through his chest from behind. Then, both ripped the blade outward.
"I don't belong to you Adam," Blake growled as Adam stared between her and his wounds. "Now get out of my life."
Then, he tipped backward, falling over the edge of a cliff. Fox sighed, then rolled to the side, the grimm's sword crashing down where he had been hilting itself in the stone. Fox flipped to his feet, his green energy shroud blazing back to life as he readied himself, Yang and Blake both stepping up beside him.
"No," Fox said. "Both of you run. You're not strong enough to fight him."
"Try us," Yang said. "We're more skilled than we were when we met."
"It's not about skill," Fox said as the grimm wrenched his sword free of the ground and used it to flick Fox's to him. "I mean you're physically not strong enough to fight him."
Both glanced at him worriedly before Fox exploded forward, the ground below him shattering before his sword crashed into the grimm's. The grimm skidded backward this time before Fox flipped over him, kicking at him, only for the grimm to catch his foot, swinging him around and slamming him into the ground, the ground shattering. Fox flipped, slamming his other foot into the grimm's chest, forcing it backward. Then, he rolled to his feet, slashing at the grimm. The grimm moved to block it, only for Fox's sword to smash through the grimm's, finally. The grimm leapt backward from a slash, looking at its sword, then began to laugh. After a moment, the blade spun through the air, rejoining with its other half, before the grimm was enveloped in darkness, streaking into the air and vanishing.
"What was that?" Blake asked.
"A ghost from my past," Fox sighed. "Let's get back to the others."
"Okay," Yang said, then glanced at Blake. "Are you okay?"
"You know, I really am," Blake said, smiling. "I'm finally able to stop being afraid of him. I'm free."
Fox slipped his hand into hers, Blake smiling up at him before they all turned, running back through the trees to the others, who were gathered on a cliff. Before them, with an arm completely encased in ice and stone, was a robot, probably seventy feet tall. And he could hear Cordova's voice screaming at them over a loud speaker.
"What's going on?" Fox asked.
"Fox!" Ruby smiled. "Blake! Yang! You're alright!"
"Yeah," Fox said. "What's going on here?"
"We're in a lot of trouble," Ruby said. "There's a Leviathan on the way to Argus. And we just broke the only thing that can stop it."
"Not the only thing," Fox said, drawing his sword.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked. "You can't be serious!"
"I've done it once before," Fox said. "Or...well...I did about three cycles ago. I'm sure I can do it again now."
"You're exhausted," Blake said. "You just had to fight-"
"He doesn't have to fight it," Ruby said. "There's another way."
"You can't be serious," Qrow asked. "It's too dangerous!"
"Not if she's with me," Ava said, stepping forward. "I can carry her and keep her out of the way while she figures out how to make her eyes work."
"I can draw the Leviathan's attention," Fox said.
"We'll help," Oscar said, sitting in the copilot seat of the ship they had been trying to steal, now battered and beaten from a crash landing.
"No," Fox said. "Just leave the hard work to us. The less of us fighting that thing the better."
"Are you sure?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah," Fox said. "We've got this."
"Fox..." Blake said, worry thick in her tone.
"It's alright Blake," Fox smiled. "It's one fight. And not even that hard of one. I'll be fine. Besides, especially against Salem, I'm going to have to learn to be away from you for extended periods of time without collapsing. Have faith. I'll be okay."
Blake sighed, then nodded. Ava slipped her boots off, extending he wings and flying into the air, picking Ruby up by the arms, then flew away from shore. As she did, Fox took a deep breath, then leapt off of the cliff, sprinting across the water at the Leviathan grimm, launching several arrows as he ran. The arrows shattered against the Leviathan, who turned, roaring and sending a massive wall of flames almost three times wider than Fox was tall at him. Fox launched himself to the side, avoiding the flames and sending another arrow into the grimm's mouth, making it roar in pain. He could see Ava flying Ruby around the Leviathan's head, and adjusted his aim accordingly, avoiding shooting them while holding the grimm's attention. The leviathan opened its mouth, its throat beginning to glow again before suddenly, a blinding white light flashed from Ruby's eyes. When it faded, the Leviathan was encased in stone.
"Hell yeah Ruby!" Fox shouted. "Now I just need to-"
Stone exploded off of the Leviathan's head suddenly, the Leviathan roaring as more stone broke free.
"Dammit!" Fox snarled, jumping off of the water, landing on the side of the cliff. "Looks like I'm fighting it after all."
"I'll take it from here!" Cordova's voice declared suddenly, the now one-armed robot charging around a bend in the cliff, its remaining hand being replaced by a drill as it ran. "After all, I was sworn to defend the people!"
Then, the robot jumped, driving the drill into the grimm, destroying it in seconds. Fox sighed, looking around as Maria flew down in front of hm and stopped, allowing him to jump in, sitting against the wall beside Blake as they flew toward Ava and Ruby as well.
"So, are we ready to finally go to Atlas?" Fox asked. "I still have a conversation I need to have with Weiss's family."
"I have a few questions for them of my own," Weiss said.
"We should have just enough fuel to make it," Maria said.
"Heartening," Fox said. "Fuck it. "Let's go."
Maria nodded and they took off, flying away from Argus, everyone settling in for a long flight.
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