RWBY||Rising Phoenix

Chapter 32: Aftermath

3rd Person POV

Beacon

"What happened?" Ruby asked, staring wide-eyed as the Grimm dissolved into ashes.

"It was Phoenix," Weiss realized, looking up toward the tower as the glow slowly faded away. "It had to be; he's the only one with fire like that."

"Do you think he and Aunt Raven are alright?" Ruby asked nervously.

"I hope so," Weiss said, clutching one of her arms with the other.

Looking up, Mercury tilted his head at the tower. "He probably is," he assured. "If he's there with his sister, Ozpin's as good as dead. When either of those two put their minds to something, they get it done."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You speaking from experience?"

Mercury shrugged. "As sure as the burn I got on my aft the other day."

"Speaking of, why the Hell did you do that back there?" Yang asked, kneeling beside him, her eyes locked with his. "Saving me from Adam. You could have gotten killed!"

"Well, it was either that, or let you lose your arm," Mercury countered.

"He's right," Adam interjected, causing everyone to turn to the former White Fang leader. "My semblance allows me to cut through anything, even Aura. You would've been dead before you hit the ground."

"Speaking of... what in Orm's name was going on with you?" Yang asked, turning to him. "One minute you were trying to kill us; the next, you're helping us?"

Adam hesitated. "I'm not really sure," he admitted. "In fact, I can barely remember the past few years."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"I believe I can answer that."

Looking up, everyone's eyes widened as Neo and Roman floated down, Roman holding onto her ankle with his cane while Neo drifted down with her umbrella in one hand, and a sign in the other, saying 'I'm Mary Poppins Y'all!'

"And yet, this isn't the strangest thing I've seen," Weiss said, staring at Roman in surprise as the criminal touched down, Neo landing delicately beside him.

Yang gritted her teeth and made to draw her weapon, but Weiss halted her. "Stop."

"Why?" Blake demanded. "He's a criminal!"

"I'm a survivalist, sweetheart," Roman replied, spinning his cane on his finger. "As for answers for Adam, well, I believe our resident Ice Queen can answer that."

Weiss frowned for a second before her eyes widened. "The Mindwave Dust."

"Mindwave Dust?" Ruby echoed in confusion.

"It's a type of Dust that can warp an individual's mind to another's will," Weiss explained and recounted her encounter with Roman and Neo during her 'date' with Phoenix.

After she finished, everyone was silent for a long moment.

"So, the Dust that the SCD was sending to Menagerie," Jaune said slowly, eyes widening. "Those were meant—"

"To control Bullhorns over here," Roman affirmed, tapping his cane on Adam's head.

"So, all this time, it wasn't you in control?" Blake asked softly, staring up at Adam.

Adam nodded. "It seems that way. But why would the SCD only control me and not the other Faunus?"

"I believe I can answer that," a familiar voice called.