Chapter XXXI: Battle of Beacon
Hey guys! RoseSaiyan2 here, hopefully you guys are enjoying the story. Before we begin just wanted to get your thoughts on something:
When do you think Nova turns into a super saiyan?
1. upon arrival at the confrontation between Pyrrha and Cinder atop Beacon Tower
2. vs the hordes of Grimm that test his patience before he finally has enough
3. upon his eventual confrontation with Cinder
Do you think Aiko eventually falls in love with her childhood friend, Mercury Black?
1. Yes, it makes too much sense!
2. Nah, go a different route with Aiko
If no, Who does Aiko fall in love with?
1. Yatsuhashi
2. Neptune
3. Sun
4. Giblet
5. Daikon
6. Oscar
7. Jaune
8. Fox [CVFY]
9. Shallot [Giblet's brother]
Who should Scarlett fall for?
1. Sun
2. Neptune
3. Jaune
4. Giblet
5. Yatsuhashi
6. Cardin [Redeemed/ Hero route]
7. other male character
Who should Blake fall in love with?
1. Giblet
2. Shallot
3. Tarro
4. Jaune
5. Sun
6. Neptune
7. Yatsuhashi
8. Fox [CVFY]
Should Weiss and Daikon end up together?
1. Yes!
2. No
If No, Who should Weiss end up with?
1. Shallot
2. Giblet
3. Sun
4. Jaune
5. oc
6. Mercury
7. Cardin
8. other male character suggestion
Should I kill Cinder?
1. Yes
2. No, not yet
if no, when should she eventually die?
1. volume 5 in the vault against Nova
2. Volume 7 against Beerus
3. vs Rhubar and Sala in volume 8
4. against Nova and Turuk
When should Beerus train Nova?
1. sometime after the fall of beacon
2. in the timeskip while Ruby recovers after volume 3 finale
It's been hinted at, but when should the Saiyan Empire return?
1. Volume 7
2. Volume 8
3. Volume 5
4. Volume 4, latter half
5. Volume 6
6. Volume 9
okay that's enough polls, onto the story!
The Academy's Last Stand
As the coordinated assault intensified across Vale, Beacon Academy found itself at the epicenter of a carefully orchestrated storm. The White Fang forces led by Adam Taurus had breached the outer perimeters, but they quickly discovered that Beacon's defenders possessed capabilities far beyond what their intelligence had suggested.
Rhubar Belladonna stood at the academy's main entrance, his enhanced Saiyan form radiating protective energy as wave after wave of Grimm crashed against barriers that seemed to bend reality itself. His cosmic-enhanced abilities had evolved beyond simple physical enhancement—he was manipulating gravitational fields to redirect attacks and creating energy constructs that could hold back creatures ten times his size.
"Sala," he called to his wife, who was coordinating student evacuations from the main courtyard. "The attacks are too coordinated. Someone's directing them."
Sala's maternal instincts had expanded to encompass every student at Beacon, and her own enhanced abilities manifested as a protective aura that seemed to calm panicked civilians while simultaneously making her a more effective combatant than any of the attackers had anticipated.
"I can sense it too," she replied, her enhanced perception picking up the subtle energy signatures that suggested artificial coordination. "This isn't natural Grimm behavior. Someone's found a way to control them."
A massive Ursa Major burst through the treeline, its eyes glowing with an intelligence that belonged to no natural creature. But before it could reach the fleeing students, Rhubar's enhanced speed carried him directly into its path. The collision created a shock wave that shattered windows across three buildings, but the Ursa was launched backward with such force that it cratered the academy's outer wall.
Adam Taurus emerged from behind the fallen Grimm, his red hair whipping in the wind created by the cosmic energies surrounding the Saiyan defenders. His mask concealed his expression, but his posture radiated the confidence of someone who believed he held tactical advantages his opponents didn't understand.
"Rhubar Belladonna," Adam said, drawing his sword with fluid precision. "The man who adopted alien children and taught them to see humans as their family. How noble. How naive."
"Adam Taurus," Rhubar replied, settling into a combat stance that made the air around him shimmer with barely contained power. "The man who let his pain turn him into the very thing he once fought against. How predictable."
The verbal exchange was interrupted by the arrival of several White Fang soldiers carrying weapons that clearly weren't of human manufacture. The energy signatures were wrong, the technological sophistication beyond anything Vale's intelligence networks had attributed to the White Fang organization.
"New toys?" Rhubar observed, his enhanced senses analyzing the weapon configurations. "Someone's been very generous with your organization."
Adam's response was to launch himself forward with speed that rivaled Rhubar's own enhanced capabilities, his sword blazing with energy that absorbed impacts and redirected them as devastating counterstrikes. The technique was masterful, but Rhubar's cosmic-enhanced perception allowed him to read the energy patterns and adapt accordingly.
Their clash sent shock waves through the academy grounds, but Rhubar quickly realized this was exactly what Adam wanted—a prolonged duel that would keep Beacon's most powerful defender occupied while the real objectives were achieved elsewhere.
The Students' Desperate Defense
In the academy's main halls, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and the remaining enhanced students found themselves facing threats that tested every aspect of their training. The White Fang soldiers moved with military precision, their tactics suggesting someone with extensive knowledge of Beacon's layout and defensive capabilities was coordinating their assault.
Blake Belladonna found herself in the impossible position of fighting alongside her former White Fang associates against members of the organization she had once belonged to. Her enhanced feline senses allowed her to track multiple attackers simultaneously, but the emotional weight of the situation was almost overwhelming.
"Blake!" Yang's voice cut through the chaos as a White Fang soldier's weapon discharge barely missed the Faunus girl's head. "Whatever you're thinking about, focus on right now!"
Yang's own demonic heritage was manifesting more clearly than ever before, her golden hair blazing with dark energy that made her strikes carry force beyond her normal Semblance enhancement. Each punch she threw created small craters in the academy's reinforced walls, and her eyes blazed with power that made even hardened White Fang veterans hesitate before engaging her directly.
Weiss moved through the combat with precision that combined her hereditary training with her enhanced Saiyan abilities. Her glyphs had evolved beyond their traditional limitations—the barriers she created could withstand explosives, her acceleration glyphs launched her at speeds that left afterimages, and most remarkably, her attempts at summoning were finally beginning to succeed.
"Ruby!" she called out as a fragment of white energy began to coalesce beside her. "I can almost manifest something!"
Ruby Rose blurred through the battlefield, her enhanced speed allowing her to be everywhere at once as she evacuated wounded civilians and engaged multiple targets simultaneously. But her silver eyes kept drifting toward the medical bay where Penny's remains had been taken, the grief and rage threatening to overwhelm her enhanced abilities.
"Focus," she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible over the sounds of combat. "Penny would want me to protect people, not get lost in revenge."
The enhanced students of Team NDTSA fought with coordination that suggested telepathic communication, their individual abilities complementing each other in ways that created tactical advantages no enemy could have anticipated. Nova's Saiyan ki created perceived earth manipulation that blocked chokepoints and created elevated positions, Daikon's technological interface allowed him to disable enemy communications and weapons, and Turuk's speed kept him moving between all the other combats, providing support wherever it was most needed.
But it was Aiko who proved most problematic for the White Fang forces. Her wolf heritage gave her tracking abilities that made ambush tactics useless, while her enhanced senses allowed her to detect the subtle energy signatures that indicated which attackers were being controlled or manipulated by outside forces.
"There's something wrong with half of these soldiers," she called out to her teammates as she deflected a coordinated assault. "They smell like fear and confusion, not conviction. Someone's forcing them to be here."
The revelation added another layer of complexity to a battle that was already testing every moral and tactical assumption the students possessed.
Mercury's Internal War
In a service corridor beneath the main academy buildings, Mercury Black sat in darkness, his damaged cybernetics partially repaired but his mind torn between competing loyalties and programming. The sounds of battle above told him that Cinder's plan was proceeding, but the fragments of recovered memory and emotion made each explosion feel like a personal wound.
His scroll displayed a message from Cinder: "Proceed to extraction point. Mission parameters unchanged."
But beneath that message was another one, barely visible in the device's memory cache—a fragment of text that Aiko had somehow managed to send during their confrontation in the arena: "I remember the boy who saved me. He's still in there. Choose who you want to be."
Mercury's conditioning screamed at him to obey Cinder's orders, to complete the mission that would cement his place in her organization and ensure his survival. But the recovered memories of friendship, of connection that wasn't based on fear or manipulation, offered a different path—one that might lead to redemption but would certainly lead to immediate danger.
The sound of approaching footsteps made the decision for him. Emerald Sustrai appeared at the corridor entrance, her expression a mixture of concern and suspicion.
"Mercury," she said carefully, "Cinder's expecting us at the extraction point. Your leg repairs will have to be completed there."
"I know," Mercury replied, but he made no move to follow her.
Emerald's eyes narrowed as her semblance probed his mental state. What she found there made her step backward in alarm—Mercury's conditioning was fracturing, and beneath it lay something she hadn't expected: genuine remorse for their actions and growing determination to resist.
"Mercury," she said, her voice carrying a warning edge, "whatever you're thinking about doing, remember what Cinder does to people who disappoint her. Remember what she's capable of."
"I remember a lot of things lately," Mercury replied, finally standing and facing her directly. "Including what I was like before all this started. Including what friendship actually feels like."
The implications hung between them like a loaded weapon. Emerald had two choices: report Mercury's psychological state to Cinder and watch her eliminate him as a security risk, or find some way to help him maintain his cover until they could both extract themselves from an increasingly dangerous situation.
"I can help you," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "My semblance can reinforce your conditioning, make the conflicted memories less vivid. But you have to want me to."
Mercury looked at her with silver eyes that held more pain than any seventeen-year-old should carry. "What if I don't want that, Emerald? What if I want to remember who I was before my father destroyed everything good about me?"
The question created a crack in Emerald's own psychological defenses. She had survived by choosing powerful allies and adapting to their expectations, but Mercury was asking her to consider a different kind of choice—one based on who she wanted to be rather than who she needed to be for survival.
Before she could answer, the sound of approaching combat echoed through the corridors. The battle above was spreading, and soon their location would no longer be secure.
"We have to move," Emerald said, but her tone suggested she was asking rather than commanding. "Whatever we decide, we can't do it here."
Mercury nodded and began moving toward the surface levels, but his path took them away from Cinder's extraction point and toward the sections of the academy where the enhanced students were mounting their defense.
It was a choice that would determine not just his own fate, but the trajectory of a conflict that was rapidly expanding beyond anyone's ability to control.
Ozpin's Desperate Gambit
In his office tower, Ozpin stood before the vault entrance that contained Beacon Academy's greatest secret—the Relic of Choice, one of four artifacts whose combined power had shaped human civilization since its earliest days. The sounds of battle throughout the academy told him that carefully laid plans were crumbling, and desperate measures were becoming necessary.
Qrow Branwen stood beside him, his usual casual demeanor replaced by the focused intensity of a Huntsman facing his greatest challenge. "Oz, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, remember that we don't know what happens if someone touches a Relic without being a Maiden."
"The situation has moved beyond normal parameters," Ozpin replied, his voice carrying the weight of countless lifetimes of experience. "The cosmic forces that have touched our world may have changed the rules we've operated under for millennia."
The elevator behind them chimed, and both men turned to see General Ironwood emerging, his military bearing rigid with the stress of coordinating a battle that was being fought on multiple fronts simultaneously.
"Ozpin," Ironwood said without preamble, "I need to know about the enhanced students. Their power levels are beyond anything in our databases, and my tactical analysts can't predict their capabilities. Are they assets or variables we can't control?"
"They're children, James," Ozpin replied, but his tone suggested the answer was more complex than that simple statement implied. "Children who have been touched by forces that transcend our normal understanding of power and responsibility."
Ironwood's expression grew grim as he processed the implications. "And if those forces prove insufficient to stop what's happening tonight? What then?"
Ozpin looked toward the vault entrance, his expression carrying the weight of decisions that would affect generations. "Then we use tools that have been kept in reserve for precisely such circumstances, and pray that the price of victory doesn't exceed the cost of defeat."
But before anyone could respond, the office's communication systems activated with an override signal that cut through all other frequencies. Cinder Fall's image appeared on every screen, her amber eyes blazing with triumph as she prepared to deliver the revelation that would shake the foundations of human civilization.
"Citizens of Remnant," Cinder began, her voice carrying across broadcast networks worldwide, "tonight you've witnessed the fragility of the peace your leaders promised you. But that's only the beginning of the truths they've hidden from you."
The image shifted to show footage that none of the academy's leadership had expected her to possess—recordings from Ozpin's office, classified Atlas documents, and most devastatingly, clear evidence of the Relic vault's existence.
"The war between Salem and Ozpin has been fought in the shadows for thousands of years," Cinder continued, "while you've been told that Huntsmen academies exist to protect you from Grimm. The truth is that you've been pawns in a conflict between immortal beings who see your lives as acceptable casualties in their cosmic game."
The revelations created shock waves that would transform human civilization, but they also served a more immediate tactical purpose—the negative emotions generated by this betrayal of trust would attract Grimm from across the continent, turning Vale into ground zero for a conflict that would make tonight's assault look like a minor skirmish.
Ozpin closed his eyes as he felt the weight of millennia of carefully maintained secrets crashing down around him. The cosmic visitors had warned that great changes were coming to their world, but he hadn't anticipated that those changes would begin with the complete exposure of everything he'd fought to protect.
"James," he said quietly, "I believe it's time to implement the final protocols. Whatever the cost."
General Ironwood nodded grimly, understanding that they had reached the point where survival took precedence over all other considerations. The enhanced students represented their best hope for victory, but victory achieved through cosmic power might transform their world in ways none of them could predict or control.
The Fall of Beacon was accelerating toward its climax, and the children who had been touched by divine potential were about to discover that their greatest test would be not the power they wielded, but the wisdom to know when and how to use it.
The Convergence Approaches
As Cinder's broadcast ended and the full scope of the conspiracy became clear, the various threads of the night's events began converging toward an inevitable confrontation. The enhanced students were no longer just participants in a tournament gone wrong—they were key players in a conflict that had shaped human history for millennia.
Nova Belladonna's Saiyan power continued to climb as he protected the fleeing civilians, his cosmic abilities now manifesting as protective barriers that could withstand attacks from multiple Alpha-class Grimm simultaneously. But his enhanced senses were detecting something that troubled him more than any physical threat—the negative emotions radiating from the global broadcast were creating a psychic beacon that would soon attract entities far more dangerous than the creatures currently assaulting Vale.
"Turuk," he called through their private communication channel, "whatever Cinder's planning, it's bigger than just destroying Beacon. She's trying to destabilize all four kingdoms simultaneously."
Turuk's response came from the academy grounds, where he was coordinating with his parents in the defense against Adam Taurus and the White Fang assault. "The attacks here are too precise, brother. Someone gave them detailed intelligence about our defenses, our capabilities, even our family's combat patterns."
The revelation that their enemies possessed such detailed knowledge of their abilities suggested infiltration at the highest levels of academy and military command. But it also suggested that the cosmic evaluation they had undergone might have been observed and analyzed by hostile forces.
As the night progressed toward its inevitable climax, the enhanced students found themselves facing not just immediate physical threats, but the possibility that their greatest strengths were being turned into weapons against everything they had sworn to protect.
The battle for Beacon Academy was becoming something far larger—a test of whether power granted by cosmic forces could overcome strategy implemented by those who understood exactly how to exploit the human heart's greatest weaknesses.
The convergence was approaching, and soon all paths would lead to a confrontation that would determine the fate of Remnant itself.
Nova's Choice - Love Over Logic
As the massive Wyvern erupted from the mountain near Mountain Glenn, its roar echoing across Vale like a harbinger of apocalypse, Nova Belladonna felt his cosmic-enhanced senses lock onto something that made his blood run cold. High above the chaos, aboard one of the hijacked Atlas airships, Ruby Rose was fighting for her life.
"Ruby," he whispered, his silver-edged golden aura flaring as protective instincts overrode tactical considerations.
Turuk's voice crackled through their communication link from the academy grounds. "Brother, Mom and Dad need us here. The White Fang assault is intensifying, and—"
"Ruby's in danger," Nova interrupted, his power levels climbing as he prepared for flight. "She's on Roman's airship, and she's alone."
"Nova," Daikon's analytical voice joined the channel, "the tactical situation requires all enhanced assets to—"
"I don't care about tactics," Nova said, his transformation beginning in earnest. "I love her. I'm not letting her face this alone."
The admission sent shock waves through the family communication network. Nova had never voiced his feelings so directly, but the cosmic crisis had stripped away any pretense of emotional restraint.
"Then we come with you," Scarlett stated firmly. "Team NDTSA doesn't abandon each other."
"No," Nova replied, his golden energy now blazing with silver edges that made the air around him sing with barely contained force. "You're needed here. This is something I have to do alone."
Before anyone could argue further, Nova launched himself skyward, his enhanced Saiyan abilities carrying him toward the airship with speed that left a golden contrail in the night sky. His cosmic-enhanced senses allowed him to track Ruby's life signs even through the chaos of aerial combat, and what he sensed made his transformation accelerate toward dangerous levels.
Ruby was fighting desperately against Neopolitan while Roman continued his gleeful destruction of Vale's defenses. But Nova's enhanced perception caught something others would miss—Mercury Black was positioned on a nearby rooftop with a perfect line of sight to the airship, his sniper configuration ready but not firing.
Mercury's Silent Rebellion
On the rooftop where Team CMEN had established their observation post, Mercury Black maintained his facade of enthusiastic documentation while wrestling with the most important decision of his life. Through his weapon's scope, he had a clear shot at Ruby Rose as she fought Neo aboard the hijacked airship.
Cinder's orders had been explicit: eliminate any enhanced students who threatened to disrupt the final phase of their plan. Ruby's silver eyes and cosmic-touched abilities made her a priority target.
But as Mercury tracked her movements, another figure entered his scope—Nova Belladonna, blazing across the sky like an Emerald meteor, his power radiating protective fury that made the very air shimmer with cosmic energy.
"Mercury," Emerald's voice carried a warning edge, "Cinder's expecting confirmation that you've neutralized the Rose girl."
"I see her," Mercury replied, his finger resting on the trigger as he watched Nova land on the airship in an explosion of golden energy that sent shock waves across the aerial battlefield. "Clean shot. No complications."
But his finger didn't move. Instead, Mercury found himself adjusting his aim slightly—not toward Ruby or Nova, but toward the airship's engine systems. If he was going to betray Cinder's orders, he might as well do it in a way that actually helped.
"Mercury," Cinder's voice cut through their communication channel, amber eyes blazing as she sensed his hesitation, "execute your orders. Now."
"Copy that," Mercury replied, but his shot went wide of Ruby and Nova, instead striking the airship's primary stabilization system. To anyone watching, it would appear that he had missed under combat conditions—but the damage would force Roman to bring the ship down, removing it as a platform for continued attacks against Vale's defenses.
Aiko's voice whispered through a private channel she had somehow managed to establish: "I saw that, Mercury. I know what you're really doing."
Mercury's silver eyes widened in surprise, but he maintained his professional demeanor as Emerald's suspicious gaze focused on him. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're helping them," Aiko continued, her enhanced wolf senses allowing her to detect the subtle changes in his scent and posture that indicated his true intentions. "Making it look like you're following orders while actually sabotaging Cinder's plan. I understand, and I'm going to help you."
The revelation that someone understood his desperate gambit, that his childhood friend was willing to trust in the person he'd once been despite everything he'd become, nearly shattered Mercury's carefully maintained emotional control.
"Aiko," he whispered, "if they find out..."
"Then we make sure they don't," she replied firmly. "But Mercury, when this is over, when we've stopped them—you have to come back. Promise me you won't disappear into the shadows again."
Mercury looked across the chaos of Vale burning, at Nova and Ruby fighting together aboard the falling airship, at Cinder's growing suspicion as her perfect plan encountered unexpected variables.
"I promise," he said quietly. "If we survive this, I promise I'll remember who I used to be."
Aboard the Falling Airship
Nova's arrival on the hijacked airship came like a cosmic thunderbolt, his golden aura blazing as he interposed himself between Ruby and Neopolitan. The small assassin's confident smirk faltered as she faced an opponent whose power levels made her illusions seem like party tricks.
"Ruby!" Nova called out, his enhanced senses confirming that she was injured but functional. "Are you all right?"
"Nova?" Ruby's silver eyes widened in surprise and relief. "What are you doing here? The academy needs—"
"The academy has Turuk and my parents," Nova interrupted, his transformation stabilizing as protective instincts found their focus. "You need me more right now."
Roman Torchwick looked up from his gleeful destruction of Vale's air defenses to see a golden-haired teenager radiating enough energy to power a small city. His usual theatrical confidence wavered as he realized he was facing something far beyond his normal parameters.
"Well," Roman said with forced bravado, "this is an interesting development. Neo, I think we might need a new plan."
But Neo was already discovering that her usual tactics were useless against someone whose cosmic-enhanced senses could track her real position regardless of her illusions. Nova's golden aura seemed to burn through her deceptions, leaving her exposed and vulnerable for the first time in years.
The airship shuddered as Mercury's sabotage took effect, systems failing in cascade as the hijacked vessel began its inevitable descent toward Vale. But rather than panic, Nova saw opportunity.
"Ruby," he said, his voice carrying calm certainty despite the chaos, "remember what Beerus taught us about using our power to protect rather than destroy?"
Ruby nodded, her own silver-touched abilities beginning to resonate with Nova's golden energy. "Create rather than destroy. Shield rather than strike."
Together, they began channeling their enhanced abilities not toward their enemies, but toward controlling the airship's descent. Nova's cosmic power stabilized the failing engines while Ruby's silver energy created barriers that protected the civilians below from falling debris.
Roman and Neo found themselves facing not just two powerful opponents, but two opponents whose response to crisis was to save lives rather than take them—a mindset that neither criminal had ever encountered or knew how to counter.
Aiko's Dangerous Game
Back on the ground, Aiko had positioned herself where she could observe Mercury's true actions while maintaining the appearance of fighting White Fang forces. Her enhanced wolf senses allowed her to track the subtle energy signatures that indicated when someone was acting under external influence versus making their own choices.
What she discovered troubled her deeply. Emerald's semblance wasn't just creating illusions for enemies—it was also being used to reinforce Mercury's conditioning, making his moments of independent thought increasingly difficult to maintain.
"Emerald's using her power on Mercury," she reported through the enhanced students' communication network. "She's not just manipulating what others see—she's manipulating what he remembers about his own motivations."
Turuk's response came from the academy, where he was coordinating with their parents against Adam's assault. "Can you counter it?"
Aiko studied Mercury's position on the distant rooftop, noting the subtle signs of internal conflict playing out in his posture and micro-expressions. "Maybe. But I'd have to get close enough to use my own enhanced abilities to disrupt her influence. And that means..."
"Getting close enough for Cinder to target you directly," Nova's voice joined the channel from the falling airship. "Aiko, don't take that risk."
"Mercury's fighting for his own soul up there," Aiko replied, her wolf instincts telling her that action was more important than safety. "I'm not abandoning him when he's finally trying to choose who he wants to be."
Before anyone could stop her, Aiko used her enhanced speed to sprint across the battlefield, her wolf heritage allowing her to navigate the chaos with predatory grace. Her target wasn't Mercury directly, but the White Fang forces positioned near Cinder's observation post—if she could create enough of a distraction, she might disrupt Emerald's concentration long enough for Mercury's natural resistance to reassert itself.
The Wyvern's Approach
As the various personal dramas played out across Vale's burning landscape, the massive Wyvern continued its flight toward the city, its presence drawing lesser Grimm in numbers that threatened to overwhelm all human defenses. The creature was ancient, powerful, and possessed of an intelligence that made it more than just another monster—it was a force of nature given malevolent purpose.
Nova, still aboard the descending airship with Ruby, felt his cosmic-enhanced senses detect the approaching threat. The Wyvern's energy signature was unlike anything he'd encountered—not just powerful, but connected to something vast and alien that made his cosmic abilities resonate with warning.
"Ruby," he said, his voice carrying new urgency, "that Wyvern isn't just another Grimm. There's something controlling it, something that feels like—"
"Like the cosmic beings who evaluated us," Ruby finished, her silver eyes beginning to glow with recognition. "But wrong. Corrupted."
The realization struck them both simultaneously: they weren't just facing an ancient Grimm, but something that had been touched by the same cosmic forces that had enhanced them, only twisted toward destructive purpose rather than protective power.
Nova's transformation began climbing toward the Legendary Super Saiyan state as his power responded to a threat that transcended normal physical danger. The silver edges to his golden aura began expanding, reality itself seeming to bend around him as his cosmic abilities prepared for a confrontation that would test every aspect of his training.
"Nova," Ruby said quietly, her own silver energy building to dangerous levels, "if that thing reaches Vale..."
"It won't," Nova replied, his voice carrying absolute conviction. "We won't let it."
Together, they began preparing for a battle that would determine not just the fate of Vale, but the future of Remnant itself—a confrontation between cosmic-enhanced humans and the corrupted reflection of the very forces that had given them their power.
The Fall of Beacon was accelerating toward its climax, and the children who had been touched by divine potential were about to discover that their greatest enemy might be a dark mirror of their own cosmic heritage.
Team RWBY's Dorm - Quiet Moments in Chaos
While the battle raged across Vale and cosmic forces clashed in the skies above, Team RWBY's dormitory had become an unexpected sanctuary of calm. Yang Xiao Long sat on her bed, her golden hair dimmed and her usual vibrant energy subdued by the weight of public condemnation following her disqualification from the tournament.
Turuk Belladonna sat in Blake's desk chair, which he had turned to face Yang, his enhanced senses monitoring the chaos outside while his attention remained focused on the girl who had become so much more important to him than tactical considerations should allow.
"You didn't have to stay," Yang said quietly, her lilac eyes reflecting the confusion and hurt that Mercury and Emerald's deception had caused. "Everyone saw what they think I did. Your family needs you out there."
"Nova's handling the immediate crisis," Turuk replied, his voice carrying the same calm certainty that had drawn Yang to him from their first meeting. "And my parents can coordinate the academy's defenses. Right now, you need someone who knows the truth."
Yang looked at him with an expression that mixed gratitude with something deeper, more complex. "Why, though? Why choose to be here instead of out there being a hero?"
Turuk leaned forward slightly, his dark eyes serious as they met hers. "Because I care about you too much to let the doubt of those who chose not to see what really happened get to you. Because you're not the kind of person who would attack someone without provocation, and anyone who actually knows you should understand that."
The words hit Yang like a physical blow, not because they hurt but because they carried a sincerity she hadn't expected. Her enhanced hearing picked up the absolute conviction in his voice, the way his heartbeat remained steady because he was speaking nothing but truth.
"Turuk..." Yang's voice trailed off as emotions she had kept buried beneath playful teasing and flirtatious behavior suddenly surged to the surface. The cosmic enhancements had amplified not just her physical abilities but her emotional responses, and now the feelings she had been hiding behind casual banter demanded acknowledgment.
But it wasn't just her developing feelings for Turuk that were surfacing. The revelation of her heritage—human from Taiyang, enhanced Saiyan bloodline, and something darker from Raven that carried the taint of demonic influence—created a storm of identity questions that made her usual confident demeanor impossible to maintain.
"I can feel it," she whispered, her hands beginning to shake as golden energy mixed with darker undertones flickered around her. "The demonic part. It's not like your cosmic enhancement or your brother's protective power. It feeds on conflict, on anger, on the desire to hurt people who've wronged me."
Turuk moved from the chair to sit beside her on the bed, his presence radiating the same protective energy that had made him willing to stand with her during her arrest. "Yang, your power doesn't define who you are. How you choose to use it does."
"But what if I can't control it?" Yang's voice cracked with vulnerability that few people had ever heard from her. "What if the next time someone pushes me too far, the demonic heritage takes over and I become the monster everyone thinks I already am?"
Turuk's response was to gently take her shaking hands in his own, his enhanced Saiyan aura providing a stabilizing influence against the chaotic energies she was struggling to contain. "Then I'll be there to remind you who you really are. Just like I'm here now."
The simple statement broke through Yang's emotional defenses completely. Years of hiding her feelings behind humor and bravado, of using flirtation to keep people at a safe emotional distance, suddenly seemed pointless when faced with someone who saw through all her protective mechanisms and chose to stay anyway.
"I love you," she said quietly, the admission escaping before her usual emotional guards could stop it. "I've been hiding it behind jokes and teasing because I was afraid of what it might mean, but with everything falling apart around us... I can't pretend anymore."
Turuk's dark eyes widened slightly, but his expression carried no surprise—as if he had been waiting for her to acknowledge what his enhanced senses had been detecting for months.
"I love you too," he replied simply. "And that's exactly why I'm not going anywhere, no matter what kind of power flows in your veins or what the rest of the world thinks about you."
The moment stretched between them, filled with the weight of acknowledged feelings and the background chaos of a world under siege. Yang's demonic heritage continued to pulse with dark energy, but Turuk's presence provided an anchor that allowed her to maintain control rather than be consumed by forces she didn't fully understand.
"When this is over," Yang said, her voice steadier now, "we need to figure out what this tri-hybrid thing means. What I'm becoming, what kind of future we can have when I'm part human, part cosmic warrior, and part something that thrives on destruction."
"We'll figure it out together," Turuk promised, his enhanced abilities already beginning to resonate with hers in ways that suggested their connection might be more than just emotional. "Whatever you're becoming, you don't have to face it alone."
Outside their window, the sounds of battle continued to rage as cosmic forces clashed with ancient evils. But for this moment, in the quiet sanctuary of their shared understanding, Yang Xiao Long and Turuk Belladonnna had found something worth fighting for that transcended the chaos consuming their world.
Team NDTSA's Scattered Hearts
In the academy's east wing, Daikon Saiyan coordinated evacuation routes while his enhanced technological interface monitored the battle's progression across multiple fronts. Beside him, Scarlett maintained defensive positions with her enhanced combat abilities, but their conversation had turned to more personal concerns as the scope of the crisis became clear.
"Weiss is in the courtyard," Daikon reported, his enhanced systems tracking friendly signatures across the battlefield. "She's engaging multiple Atlesian Paladins with... is that summoning? She actually managed to manifest part of the Arma Gigas."
Scarlett noted the subtle change in his voice when he mentioned the Schnee heiress—a mixture of pride, concern, and something deeper that he hadn't yet acknowledged openly.
"You're worried about her," Scarlett observed, her enhanced senses picking up the micro-expressions that betrayed Daikon's carefully maintained analytical demeanor. "More worried than tactical considerations would justify."
Daikon's enhanced processing capabilities faltered for a moment as he struggled between logical assessment and emotional honesty. "She can handle herself. Her combat capabilities have improved exponentially since the cosmic enhancement, and her summoning finally breaking through suggests her power is still developing."
"That's not what I asked," Scarlett pressed gently. "I asked why you're worried about her specifically."
Daikon was quiet for several seconds, his enhanced systems continuing to monitor the battle while his human side wrestled with feelings he had tried to categorize as mere tactical interest. "Because I trust her to handle the immediate threats, but I can't compute what happens if she gets hurt. The emotional processing requirements exceed my enhanced analytical capabilities."
Scarlett's expression softened with understanding. "Daikon, that's called caring about someone. And the fact that your enhanced systems can't quantify it doesn't make it invalid—it makes it human."
Before Daikon could respond, Aiko's voice cut through their communication channel with urgent intensity.
"I need backup," Aiko reported from her position near the White Fang assault zone. "I'm moving to disrupt Emerald's influence on Mercury, but if this goes wrong..."
"We've got your back," Scarlett replied immediately. "Team NDTSA doesn't abandon family, no matter how scattered we are."
Aiko's response carried gratitude mixed with determination. "The Mercury I remember is still in there. The boy who shared his lunch when Scarlett and I were too proud to admit we were hungry. The boy who stood up to bullies twice his size because they were picking on younger kids. Emerald's semblance is suppressing those memories, but they're fighting to surface."
"And you think you can break through?" Daikon asked, his analytical mind already processing the tactical implications.
"I know I can," Aiko replied with conviction that came from her wolf heritage's understanding of pack bonds and loyalty. "Merc—Mercury—he's still the same person underneath all the conditioning. He just needs someone to remind him who he used to be."
The Airship's Final Battle
High above Vale, Nova and Ruby fought desperately against Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan as the hijacked airship continued its destructive assault on the city's defenses. The Wyvern's massive shadow passed overhead, its presence drawing lesser Grimm in numbers that threatened to overwhelm all human resistance.
Ruby's silver eyes blazed as she engaged Neo in close combat, her enhanced speed allowing her to match the assassin's illusions with pure reaction time. But Neo's experience and tactical cunning gradually wore down Ruby's defenses, until a perfectly timed disarm left her vulnerable.
"Well, well," Roman said with theatrical satisfaction as he approached the disarmed girl. "Little Red Riding Hood, all alone without her big bad wolf."
But before Neo could deliver the finishing strike, Ruby's cosmic-enhanced reflexes kicked in. She grabbed Neo's umbrella and triggered its opening mechanism, sending the small assassin spinning away into the night sky like a lethal parasol caught in a hurricane.
"Neo!" Roman shouted, his usual composed demeanor cracking as he watched his partner disappear into the chaos. His cane transformed into its rifle configuration as he turned on Ruby with genuine fury rather than professional detachment.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you?" Roman snarled, his attacks becoming more brutal and personal. "Heroes like you, you think this is some kind of fairy tale where good wins because it's good. But this is the real world, sweetheart, and in the real world, the only thing that matters is being smart enough to pick the winning side."
Ruby dodged his strikes while searching for an opening to reclaim Crescent Rose, but Roman's experience and anger made him more dangerous than she'd anticipated. "You're wrong," she gasped between attacks. "People are worth protecting, even if it's dangerous."
"People?" Roman laughed bitterly. "People are sheep, little girl. They follow whoever's strongest, whoever can keep them safe from the monsters in the dark. And when something bigger and badder comes along, they'll abandon their heroes faster than you can say 'Once upon a time.'"
But even as Roman spoke his cynical philosophy, the universe seemed determined to contradict him. A massive Griffon, drawn by the negative emotions and chaos of the battle, swept down from the night sky and engulfed the criminal mastermind in its jaws.
Roman's final expression was one of complete surprise, as if he couldn't quite believe that his own survival-focused philosophy had failed him at the crucial moment.
Ruby stared in shock at the sudden reversal, but Nova's voice cut through her paralysis. "Ruby! The ship's going down!"
The airship, damaged by their battle and now without Roman's piloting, began its final descent toward Beacon Academy. Ruby used her enhanced speed to reclaim Crescent Rose, then followed Nova as they both leaped from the failing vessel, using their weapons to control their descent.
They landed on Beacon's main platform just as the stolen airship crashed into Vale's outer districts, its destruction finally ending the aerial assault that had terrorized the city.
Aiko's Desperate Gambit
While the airship battle concluded above, Aiko moved through the chaos of the ground war with predatory grace, her wolf heritage allowing her to navigate the conflict zones without being detected by either White Fang forces or the rogue Atlesian androids that had turned against their human operators.
Her target was the rooftop where Mercury maintained his sniper position, but her real objective was Emerald Sustrai, whose semblance was reinforcing Mercury's conditioning and preventing him from fully breaking free of Cinder's control.
Through her enhanced senses, Aiko could detect the subtle energy signatures that indicated when someone was fighting internal programming versus acting from genuine choice. Mercury's scent carried the contradiction of someone desperate to rebel but constrained by forces beyond his conscious control.
"Scarlett, Daikon," she whispered through their communication link, "I'm in position. But if Emerald detects what I'm doing..."
"We're tracking your position," Daikon replied, his enhanced systems coordinating with the academy's remaining defensive networks. "If you need extraction, we can create a distraction."
Aiko took a deep breath, her wolf instincts telling her this was the moment that would determine whether her childhood friend could be saved or would remain lost to Cinder's manipulation forever.
She launched herself toward Emerald's position, not with the intent to attack, but to get close enough to disrupt the illusionist's concentration through sheer proximity and the emotional resonance of genuine care for Mercury's wellbeing.
"Mercury!" Aiko called out as she landed behind Emerald, her enhanced voice carrying across the rooftop. "I know you can hear me! I know you remember who you used to be!"
Emerald spun around, her semblance flaring as she attempted to trap Aiko in illusions, but the wolf Faunus's enhanced senses and emotional connection to Mercury created interference that made the deceptions unstable.
"You're the boy who saved me from those bullies," Aiko continued, her words directed at Mercury but intended to shatter Emerald's mental influence. "The boy who promised we'd always watch each other's backs. That boy is still there, Merc. I know he is."
Mercury's silver eyes widened as Aiko's words resonated with memories that his conditioning couldn't quite suppress. For the first time in years, he felt the possibility of choice—real choice, based on who he wanted to be rather than who he'd been programmed to become.
The moment stretched between them, filled with the weight of recovered friendship and the potential for redemption, even as the battle for Beacon's soul raged around them.
To be continued in Chapter 32: End of the Beginning; Nova's Awakening