I do not own RWBY or any of the characters.
True Power
Fox slowly opened his eyes, staring up into the golden orbs above him, both swimming with tears and wide with surprise and joy. He let out a long, wheezy breath, too weak to actually groan, and pushed himself up, wrapping his right arm around her, ignoring the feeling of being off-balance. He could deal with that later.
"She did it," Blake breathed, on the verge of sobbing. "Ava saved you."
"I'm so sorry," Fox croaked.
"It's alright," Blake smiled. "You're back now."
Fox nodded, looking to the side at his shattered sword before sighing, picking up Ava's weapon, currently collapsed into a small metal cylinder, from where it lay in the snow beside him. He extended it into a bo staff, using it to struggle to his feet, Blake helping him stand where she could. It wasn't easy without a left arm for her to wrap over her shoulders. he sighed, looking at where his torso just abruptly ended. It wouldn't regrow. He may have the ability to regrow severed limbs normally, but this time it wouldn't. Somehow, he just knew.
"Are the Grimm still attacking?" Fox asked.
"Yes," Pyrrha nodded. "But without the Eclipse, we should be able to hold them off."
"What have I missed?" Fox asked.
"General Ironwood told Atlas and Mantle about Salem and Amity," Blake said. "He says Amity's finished.
"It's not," Fox said, his aura beginning to shimmer over his skin, then beginning to rage across his body. "It's a trap for Salem's goons. Qrow, find Robyn Hill and defend her. She's a powerful ally who the people trust. Tyrion will go after her. The rest of you, scatter into Mantle, find civilians, and escort them to the shelters."
"What about you?" Blake asked, just before a pair of shining white wings, both looking to be feathered but formed entirely from energy, suddenly spread from his back.
"I'm going to exterminate the Grimm," Fox said. "After hundreds of years, I finally have my full power once again. I'm going to crush them all. After that...we need to talk." He glanced at Blake, whose eyes widened before he took off.
He sped through the city rapidly, shifting Ava's weapon between various forms rapidly, the memories he'd gained from her returning his power to him allowing him to use her weapon as well as he was once able to before giving it to her, back when it was one of his two primary weapons, alongside his sword. He split a pair of Goliaths in half with a gigantic katana, then spun it into a spear, hurling it down into a Sabyr's back. As soon as he landed, he wrenched it out of the ground and spun, shifting it into a scimitar in reverse grip, slashing another pair of Sabyrs with it before spinning it into a pair of chakrams and sending them into two Manticores' faces. He leapt into the air over them and flipped over a Chimera, blasting his shining white fist down into its back and sending it exploding down into the ground on top of the two Manticores. Then, he shot past the two, retrieving his chakrams and spinning them into an arming sword, speeding through the streets and carving his way through any and all Grimm he found. Finally, he landed beside Team RWBY again just as their scrolls all beeped. Ruby answered and reported that Ironwood had summoned them all back to Atlas.
They all climbed onto the next plane to land and it took off as Fox called Pietro.
"Hello Fox," Pietro smiled. "How can I help?"
"How long will it take you to make me a prosthetic for this?" Fox asked, swinging the camera over to his left side, the skin having sealed the wound by now. "The amputation is vertical, three inches in from the shoulder. All bones, to include collar bone, shoulder blade, and ribs are damaged, and my organs healed.
"Well, for something like that...without any special modifications...I'd say probably an hour," Pietro said.
"Make it a built in bow, preferably near the hand," Fox said. "I'll have penny drop off the pieces of my sword. I need a new weapon."
"I'll be as quick as I can, but...on such short notice..."
"Just do what you can," Fox said. "I've got a weapon for now, but I need tht arm."
Pietro nodded. "I'll try."
"See you soon, then," Fox said.
He hung up and messaged Penny, asking her to get his sword pieces to Pietro, then meet him at the Winter Maiden. She asked how he knew where to find her, but he neglected to answer.
"Fox, are you okay?" Blake asked.
"No," Fox said. "One of my best friend is dead, I'm in pain, and I know everything I've ever done wrong with such clarity that I might as well have just done it."
Blake reached up, cupping his cheek and turning his head toward her. "We're going to be alright. Right?"
Fox was silent for a minute before nodding, smiling tiredly and kissing her for a few seconds. "Yeah. We'll be alright."
She smiled and nodded. "So, where are we going next?"
"You and the rest of Team RWBY are going to go to meet with Ironwood," Fox said. "Tell him everything that happened and let him know I went to defend the Winter Maiden. When he asks how I found her, tell him I can sense her."
Blake nodded and kissed Fox again. After a few seconds he pulled away and opened the door, dropping backward out of it before rolling and spreading his wings, streaking through the air to the building where the Winter Maiden was being held. He walked through the building in silence, and anyone who tried to stop him, he dropped with a sharp smack of his extended metal rod. Finally, he opened the door to the Winter Maiden's room, stepping inside and walking over to the medical pod she was in. He rested the end of his rod on the ground as he waited, and after a few moments, Winter, and a moment later Penny, both stepped into the room, only to stop, staring at him.
"You don't need to be afraid," Fox said. "I'm here to help defend her."
"Ironwood's ordered your arrest," Winter informed him, hand on her sword. "And I'm to-"
"To take the Winter Maiden's power, yes, I figured," Fox nodded. "It was only a matter of time before Ironwood snapped and went entirely off the deep end into total dictator, allowing his fear to turn him into one of Salem's most useful pawns even as he tries to resist her."
"What dod you say!?" Winter snapped.
"Relax," Fox said, raising his rod and spinning it once, the rod flattening until it had become a jian. "Yes, this form should do to start with. Though, with only the one arm..." He turned to the door. "Cinder is on her way here."
"How do you know that?" Penny asked.
"I'm at full power now," Fox said. "I can sense the Maidens' power. With only the one arm, and only my secondary weapon to fight with, I may need your help to beat her."
"To kill Cinder?" Winter asked, drawing her sword as Penny spread her blades behind her. "Gladly."
Just then, the door hissed open and Cinder stopped, staring at the three of them, her Grimm left arm curling into a fist.
"Grimm arms again, Cinder?" Fox asked. "You really never learn, do you?"
"You again," Cinder growled. "You don't learn very well either. Raven Branwen isn't here to save you this time."
"Good," Fox said. "Then that means this fight might actually entertain me."
Cinder narrowed her eyes, forming herself a pair of curved blades like her original swords had been. As she did, Fox turned his left side toward her, holding his Jian across his body, Penny and Winter both readying themselves as well. For a moment, no one moved. Then, Fox exploded forward, cracking the ground where he'd been standing with the force and smashing his Jian entirely through one of her swords before the second stopped it. Then, his knee exploded into her gut. She coughed, smashing into the ceiling as he flipped, throwing an aerial, left roundhouse kick at her. His foot exploded into her side and she exploded through the doorframe, shattering the wall before bouncing and rolling down the hallway. Finally, she flipped, planting her feet and skidding to a stop, reforming her swords in time for Fox and Winter to both reach her. She spun and slashed rapidly, deflecting their blades as skillfully as he expected. She was always good, but she had improved drastically. Fox spun around Winter just before Cinder slammed a kick into her, sending her flying backward. Then, swung his weapon around in reverse grip, a massive mallet head ballooning from the end mid-swing. Cinder gasped harshly, trying to block it, only for the hammer to explode through both of her swords, exploding into her entire torso, sending her exploding into the wall. A moment later, Penny's swords fired a laser, which exploded into Cinder, sending her bouncing down the hallway. After a moment, the laser stopped and Cinder flipped, landing on her feet just in time for her Grimm arm to catch Penny's hand in a punch. Fox shot forward, only for Cinder to slam Penny into him, sending both blasting through the wall.
Fox shoved Penny aside, then rolled the other way just before Cinder shoved a scimitar through the wall where they'd been. He slammed a kick into the side of her head, sending her staggering away, and suddenly, birds made of ice began to streak past Cinder, a thick fog of ice dust filling the area. Then, Winter was there, her now separate blades clashing with Cinders rapidly. Fox snatched his own off the ground just as Cinder slammed a kick into Winter once again.
"The Maiden's power will be mine!" Cinder snarled.
"Over my dead body!" Fox snarled, spinning and slashing at Cinder over and over with his chakram, moving in a blur as Cinder struggled to fend him off.
"My thoughts exactly!" Cinder snarled, slashing downward at him, only for him to spin around her, slashing her up the back, his suddenly serrated blade grating against her Aura harshly before he push kicked her, sending her flying.
Cinder bounced once before spinning and kicking Winter aside before she could attack her. Then, she landed on her feet, shrieking angrily as flames danced from her eye. She rocketted forward, flames exploding from her feet, and Penny and Fox stepped forward to attack her, only for Cinder to deflected their blades before grabbing both by the throat, exploding out through the wall. Fox slashed upward, removing Cinder's Grimm arm and freeing himself and spreading his wings, and she screamed, Penny using the opening to slam all eight of her blades down onto Cinder's back, sending her streaking downward and freeing herself as well. Cinder shrieked in rage and pain, flipping as her grim arm reformed, then held out her hands, fireballs spraying from her palms at the two of them. Fox formed them a spherical barrier and grit his teeth as the fireballs began to explode into it.
After a moment, they ended and Fox swiped a hand, the shield pulsing outward and clearing the smoke, allowing him and Penny to see Winter, on an ice Manticore, clashing with Cinder repeatedly. Finally, Cinder kicked off of the Manticore, rocketing away from Winter, up at Fox again. Fox shot downward, spinning his chakram into a long, thin arming sword before meeting Cinder in the middle, the two beginning to spiral in tight circles in the middle, their blades clashing over and over in a shower of sparks. After a moment, Fox flipped into the air, turning horizontal and spinning, his blade sparking against Cinder's blades once and shoving them out of the way, then her aura twice before shifting into a hammer and smashing into her back, sending her flying. She flipped, roaring in rage, just in time for Penny and Winter's blades to explode into her from above. She shot downward, stopping herself after a moment. Then, she shrieked in rage, lightning flashing off of her body in all directions, blasting the ground, the buildings, Fox's shield, Penny's blades, and Winter and her ice Manticore both. Winter shrieked in pain as she began to fall and Cinder shot toward Fox.
"Catch her Penny!" Fox said, spinning his hammer into a katana.
He shot downward, his blade clashing with Cinder's again and again for a moment before Cinder screamed, a bolt of lightning exploding into Fox's Aura from point blank range, sending him exploding into the ground. He groaned, pushing himself up slowly and picked up his weapon, spinning it back into its jian form, this time with slightly longer arms on the guard, and looked up at the building just as an umbrella landed on his shoulder. He stopped, turning, and raised an eyebrow as Neo smiled at him, Jinn's lamp hanging from her waist and a bowler hat on her head.
"I was not expecting to see you again, Neo," Fox said. "How've you been?"
She shrugged, still smirking.
"You know you won't beat me, right?" Fox asked.
Neo smiled, small pink fragments of light, like cherry blossom petals, appearing above her and falling, leaving her as Cinder. Fox raised an eyebrow.
"No, I'm going to beat the ever-living shit out of her," Fox said. "I'm tired of this fight, so I'm going to use my ace in the hole."
Neo's eyes widened and she nodded slowly as she returned to her own appearance. She cocked her head to the side, the hand holding her umbrella holding a finger to her cheek. Then she nodded to herself and stepped forward, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before turning and walking away.
"What was that for?" Fox asked, glancing at the lamp she'd placed in his hand.
Neo smiled back at him and a hazy image appeared in front of him, showing her landing on top of him during the Fall of Beacon. Then, the image shattered and she was gone.
He shook his head, turning to leave just as the lamp was enveloped by cherry blossom petals and his gut dropped. A moment later, he was holding an Atlas robot's head, the neck still sparking. He rolled his eyes. She was clever. He looked up at the building again just as a spiraling column of ice and frozen air exploded up out of the building. The Winter Maiden was awake, and apparently wasn't a fan of Cinder. Fox spread his wings, taking off and speeding into the air. He'd deal with Cinder first. Once he'd done that, he could worry about the Lamp. Right now, his biggest concern was stopping Cinder from doubling her power.
"Fox, can you hear me?" Blake's voice suddenly asked from his scroll's earpiece.
"I'm here," Fox said. "Cinder's trying to get the Winter Maiden. Me, Winter, and Penny are fighting her off."
"We'll be there in a minute!" Blake said.
"Don't worry," Fox said. "I'm about to end it. I haven't even had to use the emerald in my shirt to enhance my Semblance yet. This fight's about over."
"Don't get over confident," Yang said. "We'll be there soon. Be careful."
"I will," Fox said, then disconnected.
As he neared the roof, the Winter Maiden's power died down. Fox flipped, dropping through the hole just as Winter, now with her hair loose and messy, and with gashes and scratches covering her body, exploded into the ice covering the wall. Cinder spun toward where Penny was cradling the Winter Maiden in her arms, only to see Fox standing before her, a layer of pure white energy covering him. However, as she watched, his torso where his shirt was turned emerald green before it spread over his entire energy shroud.
"It's over, Cinder," Fox said. "You've lost this battle."
"No!" Cinder shrieked. "I refuse to accept defeat!"
"Accept it or don't, you'll still die," Fox said, holding his sword out to his side calmly. "Have you forgotten the difference in my power when I use Emerald to amplify my abilities compared to when I don't? And currently, I have more emerald on me than I did either of the times we fought before. I'm also vastly more powerful than those times to begin with."
"You don't scare me!" Cinder spat.
"I should," Fox said.
"Winter!" Weiss's voice suddenly shrieked from above them, both looking up, as did Penny, who suddenly had green flames flickering from her eyes.
Cinder snarled angrily, seeing Weiss and Ruby both standing in a gap in the ice above them, opposite Winter. She formed a pair of fireballs in her hands, but before she could use them, light suddenly shone from Ruby's eyes and there was a deafening crash. When the light faded, Cinder was gone, and there was a new hole in the roof of the ice-coated room.
"Dammit," Fox sighed, letting his energy shroud fade. "I had her too."
"Are you alright?" Ruby asked.
"I'm fine," Fox said. "At least, as fine as I have been since I woke up. But the Winter Maiden..."
"She's gone," Penny said.
"No," Fox said. "She's a part of you, now. You're the new Winter Maiden."
"Winter!" Weiss said worriedly, kneeling beside Winter, who began to push herself up slowly.
"What...did you...do!?" Winter demanded, glaring up at Weiss.
"If I had to guess, we refused to allow Ironwood to enforce Martial Law and leave Mantle to die," Fox said.
Winter sighed, then grunted in pain, sliding back to sit against the wall. "I suggest you all surrender, and comply with the general's orders."
"We can't do that," Weiss said.
"Then...I suggest you run," Winter said.
"No!" Weiss gasped, stepping forward. "You're hurt! I'm not leaving you like this!"
"You're not leaving me!" Winter snapped. "I'm giving you...a head start." Her voice broke at the end, but she raised her hand to her earpiece. "This is special operative Schnee in need of immediate medical assistance. Send...reinforcements, over."
Weiss stared at her in surprise and hurt for a moment, then sighed. "We all have to carve out our own way."
Just then, a plane flew up beside one of the holes and the side door opened, Blake leaping out instantly and sprinting to Fox, throwing her arms around him.
"Are you alright?" Blake asked.
"I'm fine," Fox said. "Ruby chased Cinder off before I could finish the fight, though. Come on. We need to go. Now."
He and Blake both headed to the plane, followed by Weiss, then Ruby. Finally, Penny joined them on the plane and it pulled away, leaving the building behind. Ruby and Weiss both hugged penny, trying to cheer her up, and Fox wrapped his arm around Blake, who clung to him. Off to the side, Wulfe, scowled at the floor. Fox felt guilty.
"What happened?" Fox finally asked. "Where's Oscar?"
"Oscar left to face Ironwood on his own, we think," Jaune said. "And that girl, Neo, stole the relic."
Fox nodded.
"Ironwood declared martial law and tried to have us all arrested," Ruby said. "Because Salem used one of those tentacle Grimm to contact us. She's coming here. She could be here any minute."
Fox nodded. "In that case, I suppose time is short. I'll have to work fast."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked as he stepped away from her, holding out his arm toward the middle of the plane, where there was an empty space.
He closed his eyes, focusing, finding the memories he'd need, the ones that didn't belong. Then, he activated his Semblance, channeling it through his arm and into the space beside him. After a few moments, blinding white light spread from his hand, forming into a sphere, then stretching into a silhouette before filling out into person. Ava. Exactly as she had been, except for one difference. He made sure her feet were human this time, so she wouldn't have to be ashamed of them. The light faded and she staggered to the side, Wulfe catching her instantly. She stared at him blankly for a moment before looking around. Finally, her eyes widened as her newly-returned memories settled.
She squealed in delight and flung her arms around Fox, kissing him for a moment, for lack of a better way to thank him, before spinning and flinging herself at Wulfe, kissing him as well. Fox shook his head, smirking as she pulled back.
"You recreated me?" Ava asked, slipping her hand into Wulfe's as she turned to Fox.
"Of course," Fox said. "You're my best friend, Ava. And here, this belongs to you." He held out her weapon and she smiled, accepting it.
"My energy feels different," Ava frowned.
"Well, thanks to you fucking up my Semblance and locking my memories, I no longer need you to have the ability to control my memories or my reincarnation," Fox said. "So instead, your Semblance now works the same way mine does."
Ava smiled broadly and nodded. "But, wait, how will you fight without a weapon and with only one arm?"
"Doctor?" Fox asked, turning to Pietro.
"I just barely managed to finish in time," Pietro said. "I finally got to test out a speed-builder invention of mine."
Fox nodded, accepting the arm Pietro held out. It was like Yang's, except that it had a section to connect to his torso, including metal pieces to complete the damaged bones. Fox grit his teeth, his Aura fading from around his healed wound before turning that side to Ava. She formed her weapon into a blade and slashed upward, sheering off his skin over the wound, everyone in the plane shouting in surprise and disgust and looking away. Then, Fox used his semblance to control the prosthetic, pressing it to his wound and shouting in pain as its internal components came alive, false muscle connecting to his body, the metal bone replacements extending a sleeve to cover the remaining pieces of his bones, then heating and permanently fusing to them. Then, his aura shone and raced over the points where his body met the metal, healing the damage and fusing the prosthetic to him in seconds. He sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead and manipulating the arm, raising and flexing it, curling the hand into a fist, testing its flexibility. It was perfect. He extended the bow, which formed from separate pieces in the forearm before connecting to a base that sprung out of the palm, allowing him to hold onto it, or use it with an open hand according to his preference. It worked perfectly with his Semblance, and thanks to the emerald in his shirt, he could empower the arrows as needed.
"Perfect," Fox said, collapsing the bow again.
"There's something else," Pietro said. "I know you said you didn't want another weapon when I was upgrading the others, and now that I know what Emerald does for your Semblance, I agree that it wasn't a great idea to replace it with Dust after all, but when I made that shirt, I didn't actually need all of the emerald from your cuirass. So, just in case you needed it, I went ahead and made you a couple of spare weapons." He held out a glove and an odd, bladeless hilt. "The glove has the emeralds from your last sword in the back of the hand and the back of the forearm, and in place of the usual copper wiring or Dust that I'd normally use, I used the rest of the emerald from your cuirass. While you're wearing it, you should be able to generate weapons from your Semblance's energy.
Fox pulled the glove on, inspecting it. As Pietro had said, the emeralds were embedded in it, and there were green lines of emerald running along the otherwise black material of the glove. They didn't hamper its flexibility at all, but when he tested its abilities, he was, in fact, able to form melee weapons from energy with it, whether it was a sword, or a spear, or something else, the emerald in the glove glowing as he did.
"What about the hilt?" Fox asked.
"This one's a similar idea," Pietro said. "In case you decided you wanted a more physical weapon, I designed this. You should be able to generate a blade for it with your Semblance, but there's no Emerald in the hilt itself."
Fox nodded, inspecting the hilt. It had a black grip, long enough for two hands, the higher of which had a finger guard, which connected to the hilt between where Fox's hands would go. Above the grip, there was a silver Manticore pictured from the side with a wing extending back and down from the back of it, the wing ending about level with the hilt, and the Manticore's tail extending down the grip where the first hand would be. The section the Manticore was a part of was a rounded half-dome-like section starting from the top of the finger guard where it opened into a projector, then curved up in front of the Manticore before ending, becoming solid again about an inch in front of the Manticore's head. Fox focused and a shining white energy blade formed from the projector, starting out thin just above the finger guard before widening as the projector sloped backward and the blade continued, becoming a two foot cleaver-like blade with a gentle curve to the paint. Fox nodded appreciatively, letting the blade fade and accepting the hilt's holster, a sort of sleeve of leather, and attaching it to his belt.
"I like it," Fox nodded. "Thank you."
Pietro nodded, smiling.
"Multiple hostiles on radar," a male voice suddenly said from the plane's radio. "Is anyone else seeing this?"
"These readings can't be right!" a female said.
Fox walked to the window and looked out. A pitch black storm cloud dominated the world to one side of Atlas, and as he watched, an army of flying Grimm began to appear from it. Wyverns, Nevermores, Chimera, Manticors, Sphinxes. And then, there, in the middle, was Salem's steed. A giant, glowing, whale-like Grimm with bat-wing-like fins allowing it to fly, gigantic teeth, an angry, orange glow in its head similar to that of Salem's tentacled Grimm, huge purple crystalline spikes along its back, and Salem herself standing atop it, smirking coldly as she watched her future victims grow slowly closer.
"She's here."
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