Chapter Eleven: A Change of Pace
Roman only felt pain as he and Neo appeared in the hidden Warehouse where they'd been bringing all their stolen goods. Blood covered the burned skin where his arm had once been. Neo looked ready to cry as she looked closer at Roman's poor state of health. This was bad. This was beyond bad. That kid had entirely destroyed Roman's aura and burned off his arm, along with killing several White Fang, in a single moment. It'd been almost terrifying how easily it'd happened.
"Roman." The two looked up to see Cinder walking slowly up to them. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon. Especially without the dust I told you to retrieve."
Roman could barely form coherent words as the adrenaline of the fight began to leave him, and the pain hit him full force. Neo could feel panic rising up in her. She didn't know how to treat this. She'd been Roman's partner for so long, and had patched up many of his wounds. But this? This was beyond out of her league. Plasma burns were beyond what most people knew how to treat.
"Nothing to say for yourself?" Mercury, who was sitting on one of the crates mocked. "Well, sucks for you, doesn't it?"
"Quiet Mercury," Cinder chided the assassin. "It seems Roman came across our 'problem.' After all, I sincerely doubt any of the other student at Beacon or even the police could've caused such precise damage to our dear friend."
"You got that right." Roman growled, quite literally as pain racked his body. "He showed up after two other beacon kids showed up. One moment, it's just the White Fang, Me, and the weird cat girl our boy Adam had been looking for, the next, he literally appeared out of nowhere. Next thing I know, the nine White Fang members who were with me are dead, burned to death by a bright light, and I'm missing an arm."
Cinder paused at that. "What do you mean, a bright light."
Roman gripped the remaining part of his arm tightly. "Plasma. The kid just shot plasma out from in front of him like it was nothing. No gun, no weapon, just pure, overheated energy that wiped out all of my guys. Didn't even blink that he'd killed them. Instead, he tried to finish the job." Roman felt his pain dying, and with it, his usual snark returning. "I don't really get what their teaching those kids, but last I checked, that isn't it."
"Really?" Cinder felt her interest only grow. This boy was quite the enigma of power. No wonder her mistress had warned her about him. It seems there were extra precautions that were needed. "Well then, looks like we'll have to be more careful in the future. But let's start by repairing that arm of yours."
...
Blake sat perfectly still in the middle of her bed. The images of what had happened ran through her mind vividly, plaguing her ever thought. Her team had come to pick her up after the incident at the docks and she'd rather slowly went with them, still shaken up by what Bryce had done to the White Fang. When she finally fell asleep, nightmares of Bryce becoming like Adam plagued her mind. She wanted to forget it all, but she couldn't. The images were burned in her memory more than any crime she'd committed while working for the White Fang.
Blake looked to her right at the sleeping faces of Weiss and Ruby. She could hear the snoring sounds of Yang above her. She wanted to talk to them about all this, but she wasn't sure how to do that. She didn't want to let herself be vulnerable, yet to talk to them, she'd have to do exactly that. She hated being vulnerable. It always ended in pain. But part of her felt it wouldn't this time. She felt like that part of her was right. She hoped it was.
…
It'd been six days since the 'incident,' And Yang was mad. Ever since that day, neither Blake or Bryce had said a word about what happened, and the monkey-boy who'd also been there, she was pretty sure his name was Sun, was recovering in the hospital and was sworn to secrecy by Blake apparently. The visit Yang had just had with him made sure of that.
When she finally got to the cafeteria, she sat down next to Ruby, fuming.
"Why on earth will no one tell me what's going on?!" Yang said as she slammed her fist into the table, cracking it. "What happened?!"
"Yang." Weiss replied as she ate her salad, "Calm down, you're breaking the table. You know how Ms Goodwitch gets about the tables."
"I don't care! This is driving me insane." Yang looked to her left and pointed at Bryce, who was eating silently. "And you're not helping!"
"I told you earlier, Yang, I won't divulge anything until Blake feels like she wants to talk about it. I'm not going to throw her under the bus like that."
"Well, it's kind of hard to talk to her when she's NOT HERE!" Yang yelled as she motioned around the full cafeteria. And Blake was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe she wants some time to herself?" Jaune suggested. "I know that always helps me when something difficult happens to me."
"Being alone is the last thing she needs right now." Nora said. "It's important you all talk to her and address the issue at face value."
Both teams RWBY, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Bryce looked at Nora in surprise. It took a second before Pyrrha said, "How did you learn that, Nora?"
"Oh, you know, psychology books and essays I read." Nora waved her hand at the comment as if it where no big deal.
"Why'd you learn about that?" Jaune said, genuinely concerned and confused. Before Nora could reply, Yang jumped in.
"That's exactly why I feel we need to corner Blake right now and address this problem TODAY!" Yang emphasized the word by slamming her fist into the table again, which shattered it in two.
Ruby, who up until this point had been enjoying her cookies, stiffened as they fell to the floor with the two halves of the table. Looking at Yang and the horror that played across her face, she decided she'd wait to yell at her sister.
"Ms. Xiao-Long!"
Yang froze when she heard Ms Goodwitch's voice from across the hall, before turning slowly to face her.
"Ms. Xiao-Long, we have discussed this before during the food fight incident, do NOT break tables!" Ms. Goodwitch glared at Yang, who was withering under the intense gaze. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, Ms. Goodwitch." Yang nodded quickly. Ms Goodwitch simply nodded, before waving her hand, riding crop in hand, and the table pieced itself back together. The cookies, however remained on the floor, much to Ruby's disappointment and Bryce's silent enjoyment of the situation.
As Yang sat down, Ruby looked back to Bryce. "Can you just give us a hint. Please?"
"Ruby, I told you earlier, this is on Blake to tell you what happened. She's the one that wants to keep quiet about it right now, and I'll respect that, even if she doesn't exactly trust me right now."
"Please? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-"
"Stop it."
"If you don't tell us right now," Yang started. "I'll-"
"You'll do what, Yang? Hurt me? That won't work or help your case. Threaten me? Reveal my identity? Be a bully? There's nothing you can do to me that would be worth your time, especially when Blake is the one who needs your help."
Yang glared at Bryce, fists shaking. Finally, after a full, tense minute, Yang huffed before grabbing Weiss and Ruby and began dragging them out of the cafeteria.
"Come on guys, we've got to go find Blake because someone won't talk."
As the three of them disappeared, Ren spoke for the first time during the conversation. "Are you sure that was a good idea, Bryce? You seem to have made Yang very angry."
"Yeah, man. Can't you just tell them a little bit?" Jaune added. Bryce chuckled softly before he responded.
"They need to hear it from Blake first. Because I can promise that they won't like what they hear from me."
…
Blake sat near the back of the library, reading, eating her lunch as she read. She wasn't sure what book she was reading. She didn't even know the main-character's name. But that wasn't the point. It only needed to distract her from the fact she wasn't with her team. For six days, she'd tried to work up the courage to talk to them, but every time, she failed. She just couldn't talk about… any of what had happened without remembering the bodies of the White Fang members.
Blake's ear twitched slightly as she heard someone approaching. Looking up from her book, she spotted Yang walking towards her rather quickly. Blake knew what she wanted. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet. In a rush of movement, before Blake could get up from the chair, a red blur tackled her, keeping her from getting up.
"What-" Blake started to say something, only to be interrupted by Ruby slapping a hand over her own mouth.
"Shhhhhhh!" Ruby said, "We're in the library."
Blake shook Ruby's hand off her mouth before saying once again, "What are you doing?"
"We need to talk." Yang answered, having now reached where Blake was.
"We have nothing to talk about."
"See, that's where you're wrong, Blake. We have a lot to talk about." Weiss said as she also approached the runaway teammate.
"I'd rather not talk about it, guys. Maybe later." Blake replied.
"No!" Yang yelled, moving closer to Blake. Recognizing her sisters intent, Ruby tried to stop her.
"Yang, calm down-"
"No, Ruby. I've lost my patience with being calm." Yang grabbed Blake and lifted the fearful faunus to eye level with her. "I've tried so hard to be patient with you Blake. I was so sure that you knew we would help you and eventually you'd come to us. But no, you keep running away from us. It needs to stop, NOW!"
"Yang-" Blake tried to defend her actions, only to be cut off again.
"No, you don't get to talk yet! You haven't been willing to talk this entire time. You haven't… you haven't trusted us." Yang's voice faltered. Blake saw tears running down Yang's face. After a long moment of silence, Yang continued. "Was it me? Could you not trust me, Blake? Did I do something to break your trust? Was I not good enough as a partner?"
Blake didn't say a word as she watched her partner break down. She didn't know what to think anymore. She didn't want to tell her team anything, as she was scared to trust anyone. Yet, she could see how her choice was hurting her team. Blake felt a small hand grab hers comfortingly.
"Blake." Weiss said as she gripped her hand, "We just want to help. You can trust us, I promise."
"We're a team, right?" Ruby said, as she hugged her sister. "Team's are supposed to help each other, right?"
Blake was quiet for a long moment, before she finally nodded. "You're right. You're right, and I'm sorry. It's just... difficult to trust, even when I know your trustworthy. I was worried how you would react."
"Blake, you're worrying us more by not telling us." Yang said as she wiped the tears from her face. "We just want to help you Blake."
Blake nodded before looking around the Library. "I'll tell you guys everything, I promise. But…"
"But what?" Yang's voice began to regain some of the lost frustration.
"Can we please talk back in the room. I don't feel comfortable talking about it here."
"Oh… yeah, sure."
...
Now back in their room, each of the girls sat on their respective beds. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang sat quietly as Blake tried to gather her thoughts well enough to tell them what had happened.
"Where do you guys want me to start?"
"Right when you ran off sounds like a great starting point." Weiss said. The glare Yang sent her made her quickly realize her mistake. "Sorry."
"No, that's a good place to start." Blake took a deep breath before continuing. "That night, I was scared. I feared the reaction you all would have. So I ran. After meeting Sun, the monkey faunus from earlier that day, I tried to stay hidden for the next few days, until I learned of a shipment of dust coming in from the Schnee dust company. I thought it would be a great opportunity to prove that the recent attacks on dust shops weren't White Fang."
"Why'd you do that?" Ruby asked innocently.
"Honestly?" Blake laughed sadly before she continued. "I knew they were the ones attacking the shops, in my heart. I just didn't want it to be true. I wanted to believe a small piece of the White Fang I used to be a part of still existed. So I decided to stake out the shipment and find proof of the White Fang's innocence. Sadly, I was proven wrong. Or right, if I'm being honest." Blake went quiet. Silence remained for a full minute.
"What happened next?" Yang asked slowly.
"The White Fang came. They arrived in a couple Bullheads and as they were getting off, Roman Torchwick got off, yelling orders to the White Fang. In that moment, I didn't think. I just acted. I left my hiding place to try and capture Roman. I never made it to him. His bodyguard caught me, Neo I think her name was. Disarmed me and took me to Roman so he could decide what to do with me. It was a terrifying feeling, knowing I couldn't fight back. To know that I was weak. They planned on giving me back to one of the White Fang leaders that knew me when I worked for them. Luckily, before that could happen, Sun intervened and saved me."
"Remind me to thank monkey-boy later than," Yang said.
"I'm sure he'll appreciate that. Sadly, we didn't get very far before the White Fang caught up to us, and with Sun being the only one with a weapon, prepared to fight back when Roman snuck up and knocked him out. I was trapped. I felt for sure I was doomed. That was when Bryce showed up."
Blake took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in her throat before she continued. "I thought it was a stereotypical hero moment. I figured everything was fine. But… I was so wrong." Blake stopped again, the memories reappearing in her mind. Tears began to well in her eyes.
"What happened, Blake?" Yang asked as she put her hand on her partner's shoulder.
"After Bryce arrived he… he… he killed them."
It took a moment for the words to process within the rest of team RWBY's minds. When it did, the shock and horror of the thought froze all three of them. Seeing their reaction, Blake continued, emboldened by their similar reaction to hers.
"He appeared, smiled at me, then burned them all in a burst of heat and light. He even burned off Roman Torchwick's arm. When he realized he hadn't killed Roman, he tried again, but his bodyguard used her semblance to help them escape."
"Than," Blake laughed bitterly, "He just turned around and acted like nothing had happened. He just went and healed Sun and talked as if this were normal. And when Sun began to puke at the sight of the dead bodies, he just patted him on the back and told him to 'let it all out' like he just needed to get the horror for seeing dead bodies out of his system."
"But he's a good person." Ruby said. "He's… he wouldn't-"
"And yet he did, Ruby. And the worst part of it all is when I confronted him on the issue, he acted as if he was in the right, and I was in the wrong to say he shouldn't have killed them."
Minutes passed after Blake had finished talking. And yet, no one could bring themselves to say a word. After sitting quietly for most of the question, Weiss finally added her piece.
"Before we go any further, I feel it would be most beneficial for us all to address the issue with Bryce and hear his side of the story."
"I would agree with that." Yang said, her fists gripping and ungripping. "No wonder he wouldn't tell us what happened."
Ruby, however, was less responsive than normal. She nodded slowly as she tried to understand what to think and how to respond to how Bryce had acted. Her differing views on heroes, heroism, and Bryce's previous actions, she wasn't sure what to think of the situation.
"Fine," Blake agreed. "Let's go find him and hear his side. But I can promise you that you won't like answer."
…
"You know they will confront you about the docks once they hear Blake's side of the story."
"I know that Alpha," Bryce said as he walked back from the cafeteria.
"What are you planning on telling them?"
"The truth. All of it."
"You know they won't accept it. It may be better just to agree with them for now and change your actions till they come to understand more fully your side."
"As much as I would love to agree with you Alpha, I can't do that. I'm not going to break that promise just because it goes against this world's 'personal' morals. It's not against the law to act in self-defense and I know from my research there are other Huntsmen and Huntresses who do the same."
"Still, these people are your friends. Are you willing to become a monster in their eyes?"
"Sometimes what people need is a monster who can get the job done. And I'd rather be a monster and have my friends alive than good person and have them die."
"Alright. I just worry that in this world, being the monster is unnecessary."
Bryce let out a sigh. "You may be right on that. I'll give it some thought, but not right now." Bryce turned the last corner to head to his room, only to see all of team RWBY gathered outside of it, with an angry Yang banging on the door.
"Open up, Bryce! We know you're in there, so you might as well come on out."
Rather than tell them he wasn't in his room, Bryce approached them quietly before coming to stand behind the group just outside of their vision. Whatever was about to happen would be entertaining.
"Did anyone think that he might not be in there. He could still be in the cafeteria." Weiss suggested.
"He's never in the cafeteria for long. He hates the amount of people that are trying to get on his good side in there." Yang pointed out as she pounded on the door again. "Come on, Bryce!"
"He won't answer." Blake said. "He knows we're going to want to talk to him about this."
"I think he'd answer the door if he were here. He wouldn't want Yang to break down the door." Weiss said. When she saw the look on Yang's face, she paled.
"Yang, please don't. We had this discussion with Dad before we left for Beacon." Ruby pleaded.
"Too late!" Yang yelled as she cocked back her fist. Then she punched the door off its hinges, sending it to the floor inside of Bryce's room. When she charged inside, only to find no one in the room, she turned to her team in confusion. And that was the exact moment she saw Bryce standing right behind them trying not to laugh.
"You!" Yang said, pointing an accusatory finger at Bryce as he finally lost all control and started laughing. "Why didn't you answer the door?"
"It's rather hard to answer a door when your still walking back to the room. Especially if when you get there, there's four people surrounding it."
Yang didn't respond to the jab, instead choosing to point inside his room. "We need to talk. Now."
"Hold your horses, Yang. I have to fix the door you just murdered." Blake flinched at the word murder. Bryce noticed it, but said nothing, instead he waved the rest of team RWBY inside as he picked up the pieces of the destroyed door and put them in a pile near the door frame. After a brief moment to gather his thoughts, Bryce sent a small piece of Creation energy into the pile and watched it reform itself back into pristine condition.
Stepping into his room, Bryce waved up four chairs for the girls to sit in while Bryce sat down on his bed.
"Well, we've done this before." None of them smiled. Sighing, Bryce continued. "Unlike last time, I'll start with my own question. What do you know about what happened?"
"Everything." Blake said. "They know everything. I told them all of it."
"I wouldn't say we know everything, Blake." Weiss added. "I would say we know everything from Blake's side. What we don't know is your side."
"And it better be good." Yang said. "Because from what we've heard so far, it's not looking good for you."
"Heh." Bryce just shook his head. "Well I can tell you that you probably still won't like what you hear if you come in with that attitude."
"Just tell us."
"Fine." Bryce leaned forward and looked directly at each of the girls. "While we were out searching Vale, I was still trying to locate Blake nearer to the docks. As I was about to move on, I felt Blake's soul flare up, and was finally able to locate her. For a second, I didn't understand why. That is until it clicked that her soul would only flare if it were being used or hurt. Since you use aura's for protection, it made me realize that Blake was being hurt, therefore urgency was required."
"After I teleported to where Blake was, I saw the situation both she and the guy she was with were in, I acted. My training kicked in and I did what I was trained to do. Eliminate and save. So that's exactly what I did."
"Eliminate and save?" Blake scoffed. "Are you sure you don't mean butcher and check on?"
"What seems brutal to you is efficiency to me. I eliminated the threat to save lives. It's the same in war or in life or death situations."
"That seems… barbaric." Weiss added.
"Well, answer me this. If a Grimm were to attack Vale, you'd kill them, right?"
"Of course. It's the most logical thing to do." Weiss agreed. When Bryce looked to Yang and Blake to answer, he got a small, "Yeah" from Yang and a reluctant nod from Blake. Ruby just sat quietly, not responding at all.
"Well, why would you kill them?"
"Because they're monsters," Ruby finally spoke. "They hurt people and destroy their homes."
"Exactly. And telling them to stop wouldn't help. They would continue to cause problems. And taking them outside the city won't solve the issue. So killing them becomes the only real solution."
"What, so the White Fang are monsters now. We're supposed to treat them like we do the grimm?" Blake asked horrified. The other girls silently agreed with Blake's statement, and were worried to hear what Bryce's answer was.
"'The biggest threat to mankind is man itself.' 'The monster we need fear most is an immoral man.' Need I continue?" Bryce stood up from his bed and walk over to his scroll. He quickly typed something into it before clicking on a website. "The definition of terrorism is using violence and terror to achieve one's goals or plans. That is what both the grimm and the White Fang do. And if that be true, then they should be treated equally as threats."
"But… but they're people." Yang said. "That's completely different that a grimm. We don't have to kill them to stop them, we have more options than that."
"Maybe somewhere else when the people you're dealing with aren't going to kill first, and ask forgiveness later. That's how terrorist groups work."
"They're not a terrorist group, their just misguided." Blake said. "They need to learn-"
"See, that's where you're wrong, Blake. They ARE a terrorist group." Bryce said, his voice gaining a distinct piece of emotion. Anger. "They terrorize, attack, steal, and kill all for their own personal benefit. Weiss's childhood is proof of that. And it's not just against those who did them wrong, but those who are neutral or even their own kind who don't join the cause. I don't care what you think that is, but I know it by heart. I've dealt with it since I was two years old. That's terrorism. And I WILL NOT let is stand."
"That doesn't justify killing them! If we put them in prison, they have a chance to learn." Blake said again "They just want a better life."
"Well so does everyone else, but killing and terrorizing people isn't the way to do it. And when you become as big an organization as the White Fang, it no longer becomes crime, it becomes WAR. And the members become soldiers. And in war, you fight to survive. There is no leaving them alive to hope they change. You make sure your enemy doesn't have the opportunity to hurt you or anyone else again."
"No, you don't. You give them the chance to change. A lot of those people just want to be treated fairly and don't know how to get it, so they're turning to the only source they can see doing anything. There are other options besides killing that we can do. Knocking them out, putting them in prison, anything besides ending their lives. Most of them are good people."
"Oh, my bad," Bryce began to laugh sarcastically, "I must've missed those 'good people' amongst all the murderers and criminals who were planning on killing Sun and handing you as prisoner to their leaders."
Blake felt tears well up in her eyes. Standing up rather abruptly, she started to leave the room, before looking directly at Bryce. "I thought you were a good person. Someone who stood up for others rights."
"We all have rights. But we have to expect consequences to our actions. That was theirs. It's called agency, not free agency for a reason." Instead of responding, Blake left the room slamming the door shut. Yang also stood up her own anger oozing off of her.
"They may have made their choice, but we shouldn't have the right to take away their chance to change. Everyone needs a chance to change."
"Did your mother teach you that?" Bryce glared.
A loud slap echoed across the room as Yang hit Bryce across the cheek. Tears ran down her face.
"Don't you EVER talk about my mother." Yang snarled. "In fact, don't speak to me again. You may think the people you killed were monsters, but you're no better."
"Sometimes it's better to be the monster who saves people's lives than the hero that fails to save them."
"Always got a comment for everything." Yang grabbed Bryce by the lapels and looked him directly in the eyes. "But one day, you'll realize that more people praise the hero than the monster. At least one inspires everyone to do better." Yang began to leave, motioning for Ruby to follow her. Reluctantly, the red-headed reaper got up and followed. Yang sent one last glare as Ruby walked out the door before yelling one last comment as she herself walked out.
"Have fun playing the monster."
Weiss and Bryce both looked at each other, neither saying a word. There was a long minute of silence before Weiss got up. "I can safely say I understand your position. While I do not fully agree with it, I can see why you would apply its use to the situation that had been placed before you." Weiss took a deep breath before she continued. "That being said, I feel like I need to say this much. Blake is right about one thing. There's no reason to kill them. They need a chance to change. Should they continue to do it, then yes, maybe your approach is necessary. But until then, they need a chance."
"If only it were that easy, Weiss. The war back home would've ended a long time ago if it was. And I've tried it Blake's way before. It never ends well for the merciful party."
"Maybe it doesn't where you're from, but here, we're different. All I ask is you think about it. I will see if I can get Ruby or Yang to come back and talk to you. I think Blake won't be willing to even look at you for a little while."
"Yeah, I figured." Bryce sighed. He flopped down on his bed and waited. A few seconds later, he heard the door open, then close.
"That could have gone better."
"That's for sure. Though I honestly wasn't expecting it to go better anyway."
"You were doing well up until you let your emotions get the best of you. When that happened, I believe what you said afterwards is what caused the most problems."
"Thanks for hammering that in, Alpha. As if it weren't clear enough."
"If it had been clear, you wouldn't have done it." Bryce had to concede that point. He knew it and he should've handled confrontation much better. "On an interesting side note, Professor Ozpin has asked that you join him to talk. He's apparently walking around the courtyard."
"Did he say anything about what we would be talking about?"
"No, just that you should be willing to talk."
"I feel like I'm about to experience some serious deja vu with this upcoming conversation."
"It most likely is about the same subject. Though I have the feeling Ozpin will be more willing to listen than team RWBY was."
"That's true." Getting up from his bed, Bryce headed out. "Let's go talk to Ozpin."
…
To Ozpin, the courtyard was one of the best places to walk. All around was beautiful architecture, a gorgeous wildlife, and memorials to the great Huntsmen and Huntresses of Remnant. But the one statue everyone remembered was the Statue of the first two Hunters, one Huntsman and one Huntress. It also held the most personal value to Ozpin, unbeknownst to many. Gazing upon both the figures depicted standing on the hoard of Grimm, Ozpin smiled.
"I miss you, old friends." Ozpin said. "It's hard not to have you both by my side anymore." Ozpin looked up towards the sun, and shook his head. "But that's how it goes in life. I do hope you both can forgive me. I haven't exactly stayed true to our promise, as much as I've tried."
Ozpin heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Turning, he watched Bryce approach. "Mr. Anderson, glad you could join me."
"Glad to Professor Ozpin." Bryce smiled before asking. "You said you had something you wanted to talk about?"
"I do, but I'd rather not stand around and talk. I find it's much more meaningful to walk and talk."
"Alright." Bryce shrugged before following Ozpin down a side path leading into a forested area near the courtyard.
"So, I hear you killed some White Fang members at the docks." Ozpin said as they began walking.
"I did."
"Was it intentional?"
"Yes, it was."
"I see. Interesting."
"Didn't you read the report Ms. Goodwitch wrote after she interviewed me. I'm sure you got it."
"Oh, I did receive it. I just haven't chosen to read it yet. You see, I find it much more beneficial to let people tell their side of the story rather than have someone else tell you what they heard. I have already talked with Ms. Belladonna, and it seems she chose not to learn anything from our conversation."
"Why do you say that?" Bryce looked at Ozpin, confusion in his voice.
"That's between me and Ms. Bellodana."
"Fair. So what do you want to know?"
"I want to know your side of it. I've already come to understand how you got there at the docks that day. What I'd like to know is why you killed them. As I'm sure you heard a lot today, there are many other options available to you, especially one of your skill and abilities."
"In all honesty?" Bryce looked up to the sky as he thought for a moment. "There are two reasons why. The first being they chose to be terrorists and take other people's lives away. That kind of action cannot stand. I think the idea was it is better to slay one unrighteous person than let an entire nation suffer. Other criminals, I may have honestly given a chance, but people in gangs and terrorist organizations don't care what they do to others, and are a severe threat to people's lives. As such, I, on standard, choose to protect the lives of future people they may attack and those in danger in the moment. A dead man can't change his mind and take a hostage."
"And the second reason?"
Bryce hesitated for a moment before he spoke. "You know, it's so easy to tell that story when I'm filled with emotion. But now?"
"And what story would that be?"
"I told Ms. Goodwitch this story. Though, I may have twisted some parts of it because of details I wasn't willing to share."
"Go right ahead, then. I'll be listening." Ozpin said as he pushed a stray tree branch out of his way with his cane, holding it long enough for Bryce to get by before he let it go.
"When I was younger, about five or six years old, a group of soldiers from another planet attacked the town we were living in, under the guise of being terrorists. Being a very war prepared people, they were met with everyone in the town fighting back against them. Including me and anyone else over the age of five."
"That that seems rather immoral."
"In any other situation, it might be. But when your life is constantly on the line, you need to learn to protect yourself and others as quickly and as early as you can. We all acted quickly when we heard the alarm signalling we were being attacked. Fifteen minutes later, the town was a warzone. Gun shots left and right, blood, bodies, crying. For a five year old, even though I'd been training for a long time, I wasn't fully prepared for what I saw that day."
"A rather difficult situation. What happened next?"
"What would happen in any situation like that. I fought. I fought to save everyone I was close to. I knocked a couple of them out, and then while I was tying them up for someone to come and take them to prison later, as I'd been trained to do, one of them snuck up behind me and tried to kill me. In a moment of panic, I stabbed him right through the heart. Looking at his horrified face, the blood on my sword and the thought that I'd just killed someone, it impacted me at the time. I didn't want to ever do it again. Or so I thought at the time. One of the soldiers saw me do it and in fear begged me not to kill him and let him go. He promised he'd change and he'd become a better person. My naive five-year old brain believed him. I let him go and told no one."
"Two years after the attack, once the dead were buried, we were attacked by the same group once again. And just like the time before, we were called to fight. It wasn't twenty minutes into the battle, I turned a corner and saw that same soldier from two years before with his blade buried into someone's chest. When I looked closer, I realized I recognized the person." Bryce took a deep, calming breath as his voice began to grow unsteady.
"Who did you see?" It took Bryce a little while to gain enough control over his emotions to answer the question.
"When I first told the story to Ms. Goodwitch, I said it was Bailey, one of my best friends. While she was there, she wasn't the one I saw at first. She had already been attacked and was severely injured. No, who I saw on the end of that bayonet was my younger sister, Aubrey."
"For the first time in my life I was overcome with two overwhelming emotions. Horror. And Anger."
"Both powerful emotions."
"Yeah. I know most people say don't let them overwhelm you but that's always been my issue. I let my emotions get to me too easily. In any case, I lost all sense of control and regard for life, and immediately killed him. As I held Aubrey in my arms, I remember pumping all of my creation energy into her so her body could start the regeneration process. I hadn't learned how to cause instant regeneration, so I floundered for anything that I thought might help. I remember thinking she was going to die."
"It was than I heard the worst words an older brother can hear. Aubrey grabbed me, blood and tears dripping down her face and said, 'Bryce? Am I gonna die?' When I couldn't answer her immediately she started crying. 'I don't wanna die. I don't wanna leave you.'"
Tears fell to the to the ground, mixing with the dirt on the trail. Birds chirped softly as a small breeze ran through the trees. Through it all, Ozpin listened quietly as Bryce stood still, the memory of that awful day taking over his thoughts.
"I… I remember just… just hugging her to my chest. I didn't want her to die. I thought about how it wasn't fair. And I knew I couldn't let this happen again."
Bryce wiped his eyes before he said. "Thankfully she didn't die. An experienced healer from the nearby hospital showed up and healed her to a stable enough condition to where she could be transported to the hospital for immediate anti-creati poisoning. But that day I learned a valuable lesson. When you deal with criminals, you can give them a second chance. But when you deal with murderers and soldiers, they don't get a second chance. They've already made their choice. I promised myself I'd follow a simple principle. Eliminate and save. If someone is threatening the lives of others, it is better to eliminate the problem so I can save not only everyone who was threatened, but anyone who might be threatened in the future. So that no one else has to feel that fear that I felt."
They walked in silence till they reached a grove of trees, revealing an old memorial, covered in vines. Ozpin brushed off the foliage as he looked at the plaque.
"A moving story indeed. I can see why you would have such resolves to end things the way you have." Ozpin looked from the plaque to Bryce before motioning him over. "Come here, I want to show something to you."
Bryce walked over to where Professor Ozpin stood, and looked at the plaque. On it were four names, and underneath it, a quote in a language Bryce didn't understand.
"Do you know what this plaque is here for?"
"No, I can't say I do."
"That's quite normal actually. It's a plaque of the for founders of the academies. See, I've found that the other plaques are often very inspiring to most people. But this one I felt to put here because it's not for everyone. But for those who do find it, it often changes their lives. I know it did for me when I was a young boy, attending one of the local academies."
"What does it say?"
"Well, in Old Remnant, this quote says, 'When others fail to understand, we fight to be understood. When we are understood, we must agree to understand. Then, and only then, is true understanding brought unto all involved, and peace is restored.'"
"A good sentiment, but why tell me this?"
"With the situation your in, you've fought to be understood and protect those you see as precious. You've fought so they would understand your side. Now, it's your turn to understand their side. And once you do that-"
"Than I can resolve the conflict between me and team RWBY." Bryce finished, as he began to comprehend what Ozpin was trying to teach him. "But I already know why they say what they do. I used to be in that same spot."
"Maybe you know your reasons for having been there. But their reasons will be much different than your own and often very enlightening into how we can truly make peace with those we don't agree with."
Bryce didn't say anything immediately. Instead, he stood there, deep in his own thoughts. After he'd stood thinking for a long while, he stuck out his hand and shook Ozpin's. "Thank you, Professor. I'll have to go and think about that."
"A wise choice. I hope you can come to a solution soon." Bryce nodded before walking down the path. Once he was out of earshot, Ozpin turned to one of the trees nearby. "You might as well come out Mr. Winchester. I know your there."
Slowly Cardin walked out from the forest, a small recording device in hand. Tears were running down his cheeks, hands shaking. "Hey, Oz. How'd you know I was there?"
"Your aura. The older you get the better you get at recognizing the auras of others around you. I'm sure Mr. Anderson could also tell you were there."
"Then why didn't he say anything? I'm pretty sure he hates me. I'm a failure. I promised my older brother the day he died I'd be a great huntsman. Yet I can't even recognize the great ones in front of me already." Cardin laughed, his self-worth crumbling. "I bet they all hate me. I know I do right now."
"Actually, I don't think he hates you. Just your actions towards your fellow classmates. We've talked about that before during detentions."
"Yeah. I know. So why'd he let me listen? He knows I'm looking for a way to get back at him for the incident in the cafeteria."
"I think he let you listen in as it show you why he acts the way he does. And he wants to show you a piece of himself that isn't perfect that you can learn from. He comes from a warzone. You come from a place of peace. He comes from fighting constantly to survive. You come from a life of luxury and safety. He wants you to understand why he acts so harshly towards you. He's letting you understand, after you've fought to be understood. Now is the time for you too to come to a choice of your own and decide if you can come to true understanding and create peace. You just need to choose if you'll let his words push you for better, or drive you to make things worse."
Ozpin slowly walked past Cardin, patting his shoulder as he walked by. "I do hope you make the right choice, Mr. Winchester. You have a great future ahead of you. If you make the right choices and become better."
Ozpin left, walking back to his office. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice.
"It's rather nice to see the student become the teacher."
"You taught me well, old man." Ozpin laughed. "I only wish you'd warned me before I made the mistake I did."
"It's the curse of all Wizards, Maxwell. We never can warn our protege in time. Yours just happens to be the worst one so far."
"I sincerely hope it stays that way. Though, with my curse, I may never have a protege."
"I believe the opportunity will come sooner than you think. You aren't doomed to this for eternity, Maxwell. The day will come when you can finally have peace."
"I think you mean you'll have peace. At that time, I'll be in your position."
"Aha ha ha ha." The voice laughed heartily, before saying. "That's very true. Very true." The voice was quiet for a moment. "Do you think they listened?"
"Those two? Yes. One is always looking to improve himself, while the other is finally humble enough to learn how to be better. I think they both listened and I have confidence that with time, they'll act on it."
"I do hope so. They'll be great allies to have on our side in the battles to come."
"While that may be true, I sincerely hope that one of them never gets involved in our war. He has seen enough wars to last him a lifetime and I'd rather not add to that list."
…
H1, Home Dimension
"Are you sure about this, Natalie?" Her mother asked her. "You know it could be years till you could even have the ability to come back home."
"I know, Mom." Natalie said as she strapped her rifle to her back. "I just… I… I can't leave him there. I don't know what happened but I can't shake the feeling he's not dead. Something keeps saying he's alive."
"Alright hon. Just make sure you send us that message if you find him. You'll only get one. And do everything the Anderson's tell you to do."
"I know, Mom." Natalie kissed her mother's cheek, before throwing her military pack over her shoulders, and leaving her home. "I love you."
"I love you, too!"
Natalie closed the front door to her home, before charging down the street to the Anderson's private lab. She didn't feel like teleporting. The instant jump wouldn't relieve her worries as well as running could. It only took her five minutes to travel the three miles to the Anderson lab. When she walked in, Zach Anderson was working on a large podlike machine while Eliza Anderson was typing a long series of code into a computer attached to the machine.
"Mrs. Anderson? Mr. Anderson?" Natalie called out, hoping to get their attention. "I'm here."
Both scientists looked up from their respective work before quickly getting up to hug the young girl. "Natalie." Eliza smiled at her, "How are you doing?"
"Honestly?" Natalie looked down a bit. "It still hurts. That's partly why I'm here."
"I know, sweetie." Elisa hugged her again. "Believe me, I know. If I had anyway to get away with doing this so one of us would be going, I'd do it. But the government has us on Jump Watch. Not allowed to leave the dimension." Eliza lifted up a metal bracelet attached to her hand, and pointed to a similar one on Zach.
"Even for materials?" Natalie asked.
"Nope. Nothing." Zach shook his head in frustration. "That's why we were so grateful you were willing to try this. I know it's a lot to ask, but if he's still…" Zach stopped to wipe his eyes briefly before continuing. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. Did you bring everything we told you to."
"Yes I did. I have some food in the pack, extra medical supplies, and a small sleeping bag. Everything else I can make."
"Do you have Riley and Andromeda?" Eliza asked. Natalie lifted up the rifle. It was a sleek design, with glowing blue lines running down the sides of it. The gun itself was a sleek black color, and had multiple mods attached to it.
"Riley's loaded and ready to go the moment I hit open ground. And Andromeda," Natalie patted her shoulder blades, "is always with me. Right, Andromeda?"
"You got that right." a female voice replied from Natalie's back. "I don't know where else I'd go even if I could leave. I'm not exactly like Alpha."
"Hey, we talked about this already, Andromeda. You can't keep comparing yourself to Alpha just cause he can move on his own."
"I can't help it, Natalie. It's just not fair he gets his own projection software and I don't. What made him so special?"
"Andromeda, he's a prototype. He's supposed to be experimented on."
"Girls, focus please." Eliza smiled, before handing Natalie a small box. "Here. This is the device we talked about over the phone."
"How many messages will I be able to send?"
"Two at most. Guaranteed you'll have one message. Use it wisely." Eliza warned.
"As much as I'd love to let this conversation finish, we have to hurry. We only have a limited amount of time before someone up at HQ will get wise to what's going on." Zach said as he walked back over the machine and grabbed a hanging wire and the machine roared to life.
"Okay, it's on. We only have a five minute window." Zach said as he began to rapidly type numbers into the machine. "The sample I found won't last very long, so you need to hurry on through."
"What sample?" Natalie looked to both parents for an answer. Eliza hesitated before Zach nodded, giving her the okay.
"Do you remember when we lost him the first time?" Eliza asked. Natalie shivered at the memory.
"Yes, I do. I can't forget the pain I felt through Cardia connection."
"Well… when we finally got him back… he didn't come back as good as we made him out to be."
"What do you mean?" Natalie felt her heart rate increase. "What's wrong with him?"
"A part of him wasn't him anymore." Zach said simply. "He doesn't even know that a small piece of his soul has been destroyed, and replaced with… something else."
"That something else is what allowed him to enter into the runaway dimension in the first place." Eliza explained.
"What is it? Is it hurting him?"
"That's the thing," Eliza said. "We don't know. In the two years he's been home, it's never acted up. However, if we're right… it might be the reason our connection with him broke. And that could mean it's mixing with or even taking over his soul."
Without a word said, Natalie entered the machine, before closing the glass door to the pod. "I need to go. Send me there now."
"We've got to wait for the dimension to come in range." Zach said. "Honey, I need you to start the energy flow. Mix it with the sample."
"Got it." Eliza rushed to the computer she'd been working on earlier and started typing. After a few seconds, Natalie felt two things. First, all around her things got colder. The air grew bitter, and even in her military uniform, she could feel the cold getting to her. The second thing was a weight that pressed down all around her. She felt like she weighed a ton. Instinctively, she released her creation energy to counteract the weight.
"Don't resist it, Natalie." Zach called out. "That heaviness is Omni energy. It's always heavy for anyone who doesn't naturally generate it. It needs to surround you so you can go in."
Reluctantly, Natalie stopped the flow of energy. The weight returned, and Natalie fell to her knees under the pressure. Tears welled up in her eyes as pain began to rack her body. "Please tell me it's close."
"It will be." Zach promised, monitoring the dimensions. "In five. Four. Three. Two. One. Now!"
The instant he yelled now, Eliza hit some buttons on a nearby console. The moment the last button was hit, Natalie felt the weight crash in on her even more, before it suddenly disappeared, to the point of weightlessness. Darkness crowded her vision. She felt a brief piercing sensation in her head, then nothing. She worried for a moment the machine had failed.
Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and Natalie was falling. Blinking away the blindness, Natalie could see the pod was falling from the sky over a forest. In a split moment before it crashed down into the ground, Natalie spotted a safe spot on the ground and teleported. Not ready for the sudden series of changes that happened all in a moment's notice, Natalie fell to the ground before leaning against a tree. Taking in deep breaths, Natalie looked around at the area. She could see the smoke coming from where the pod had crashed.
"You think there's anything important in there, Andromeda?"
"If there is, I doubt it survived the crash. Not with how poorly built the structure was."
"Hey, be nice. The Anderson's didn't exactly have a whole lot of time."
"I know that. I'm just saying it's definitely not the safest thing they've built."
Natalie started to respond, only to catch the sound of something moving around her. She sent out a small burst of energy in the hopes that she could figure out what was around her. What she discovered didn't settle her nerves.
"Andromeda, tell me I'm wrong about what I just sensed. Because if it's what I think it is-"
"It's not the Nekropsychi." Andromeda assured her. "Whatever it is is soulless, but as far as I can tell nowhere near as dangerous or worrisome as the Nekropsychi. In other words, this should be a wonderful moment to vent frustration on whatever poor creatures thought it would be a good idea to get in the way right now."
"Oh good." Natalie smiled, as she took of her backpack off, "We haven't practiced in a long time now, have we?"
"Not since he disappeared." Andromeda said.
"Well, since we're on a mission to find him, now a good a time as any to get back in the groove." Natalie smiled. She looked to the large pack of beowolves prowling around her. Rolling her shoulders, she smiled viciously. "Let's start practicing than."
Two of the more courageous beowolves in the pack decided to try and attack Natalie from behind. They hadn't gotten more than five feet before there was a flash of metal and they fell to the ground.
"Well, that was a poor decision, now wasn't it?" Natalie smiled at the disintegrating corpses of the beowolves, her bladed wings shining menacingly in the noonday sun. She stretched her arms, the wings moving slightly with her shoulders as she stretched.
"Oh, it feels good to be out in the sun again. I haven't felt this in a long while. Ooh, I know. How about to celebrate we show these puppies why it's not a good idea to mess with a Prostátis?" Andromeda said. "What do ya say, partner?"
"I couldn't agree more, Andromeda." Natalie smiled. "That sounds like a great idea."