The Enemy of Trust

***The Enemy of Trust*** is the seventh episode of *The RWBYA Adventures*. It is the Volume 1 finale.

## Plot

*[Darkness. A voice, that of Ozpin, was heard in the darkness.]*

The single quality that is common across every living creature on this planet... is fear. It's funny then, that as common as fear is... we so easily underestimate its power. Fear of growing close to someone… A subsequent fear of loss. Fear of failure. And as more people depend on you, those fears can take on greater power. But fear itself isn't worthy of concern. It is who we become while in its clutches. Will you be proud of that person? Will you forgive them? Will you understand why they felt the need to do the things they did? Will you even recognize them? Or will the person staring back at you be the very thing you should have feared from the start? I suppose we all find out... sooner or later.

*[The darkness continued. A new voice spoke, though, this one belonging to Ruby.]*

IRONWOOD'S DECLARING MARTIAL LAW AND ABANDONING MANTLE! SALEM IS COMING, AND HE'S GOING TO USE THE STAFF TO MOVE ATLAS! IF WE DON'T STOP HIM, MANTLE'S GOING TO BE DES-

*[The streets of Mantle. Still overrun with destruction, negativity, and Grimm. Joanna and Fiona sat in the Happy Huntresses hideout, Fiona looking saddened and Jonna distressed. The hideout, as it turns out, is an abandoned restaurant within Mantle, full bar and everything.]*

Joanna: He's... Going to just leave us? How?

Fiona: There are still so many people here who need to evacuate.

*[May then walked into the room, holding up her Scroll.]*

May: It's gets worse.

*[May's scroll projected a hologram, showing the profile images of Team RWBY, Team JNR, Oscar, Qrow, and Alan. "! WANTED !" was written above their names.]*

Alan: DAMNIT!

*[Alan punched the wall in frustration, startling the others. He had been silently sulking in anger since the group had gotten to the hideout. He pulled his hand from the wall, debris from the punch falling to the floor.]*

Alan: The bastard's giving Mantle to Salem on a silver platter. My constant emphasis on not working for him hasn't just been about making a point of my distaste for authority. It was out of fear that this would happen. *Something* like this, I mean.

Joanna: Do you know anything about that staff Ruby mentioned?

Alan: The Staff of Creation. *[sighs in an attempt to calm down, turning to the others as he leans against the wall]* Team RWBY filled me in. The Huntsmen Academies have vaults beneath them. The vaults can only be opened by a specific person who holds magic powers, the Maidens. Spring for Haven, Summer for Shade, Fall for Beacon, and Winter for Atlas. Behind the vaults are the Relics, like the Lamp we had with us when we arrived. The Lamp is the Relic of Knowledge, the spirit inside, Jinn, can answer any three questions every one hundred years so long as the question is about things that have already happened. All but one question is currently used, though. I don't know much about the Staff beneath Atlas Academy, but I know it's what's holding up the city, with Gravity Dust being the public story. The other two Relics... The Sword of Destruction is under Shade Academy, and the Crown of Choice is under Beacon.

*[Alan's eyes widened with silent realization.]*

Alan: ...Oh, no.

Fiona: What? What is it?

Alan: ...The Winter Maiden. Ironwood needs the Maiden powers in someone he can trust. He chose Weiss' sister, Winter Schnee to be the next Winter Maiden when the current on, Fria, passes. He... He's sent Winter to take the Maiden powers from Fria... B-By killing her.

*[The others gasped, taking on a multitude of different reactions, notably shock for Joanna and May, and a bit of sadness from Fiona.]*

Alan: The last person in the thoughts of a Maiden, assuming the person isn't too old or a guy, becomes the next Maiden. And with Winter being the only one allowed to see Fria... She's sure to only think of her in death.

*[A silence fell over the room, the Huntresses pondering all this new information.]*

Fiona: ...Wh-What should we do, then?

Joanna: We need to focus on Mantle. Like you said, there's still plenty of people that need our help.

May: Then let's get out there. The faster we do this, the less people die.

Alan: ...Yeah. *You* guys go ahead.

May: What about you?

*[Alan glanced up at the three women, his face a mix of anger and determination.]*

*[Weapons drawn, the Happy Huntresses ran down the street, taking a quick hiding spot in an alleyway. Joanna peaked around the corner, then motioned for the others two follow slowly upon seeing the coast was clear.]*

Joanna: Alright. There are still a few airships in Mantle that haven't returned to Atlas yet. We can get a few more people on one to at least try to-

*[Joanna stopped upon hearing loud screaming from multiple people nearby, surprising the Huntresses. Gunfire could also be heard from the same direction, and the three of them ran that way, fearing the worst. Rounding the corner, they did indeed find the airship... as well as numerous dead civilians and a few dead Atlesian soldiers and destroyed Atlesian Knights. Fiona covered her mouth as she gasped, and Joanna put up her staff in a defensive position. May overlooked the situation in distress.]*

May: ...Th-This looks... Just like the night of the election.

What an astute observation!

*[The Huntresses all then went on the defensive, prepping their weapons upon hearing the overly excited voice shout from an unknown source. A figure did a backflip from a rooftop to the airship, crouching as they landed before standing upright, revealing themselves to be Tyrian Callows, with a deranged smile. His attention then locked onto Fiona.]*

Tyrian: Oh, my. Hello there, little lamb. As I recall, we have some... Unfinished business.

*[Tyrian began laughing lowly, while Fiona's grip on her weapon became shaky. She glared up at him.]*

Fiona: What do you want?!

Tyrian: Me? Oh, I merely wish to commandeer this airship. Our goddess awaits.

*[Tyrian's laughter returned, this time much louder.]*

Tyrian: Well, since the three of you are here, anyway... *[puts his arms out, causing his weapons to take on their scorpion claw-like form]* What's say we finish what I started?

*[Tyrian's otherwise yellow eyes changed to a vibrant, toxic purple as he blinked. He leaped from the airship, headed right for Fiona. Moving her weapon out of the way, Fiona put her hand out, her pale yellow Aura flashing over her arm as a black hole appeared in the palm of her hand. Energy matching the color of her Aura flashed from the hole just before a red fishing hook on the end of a dark grey line shot out, wrapping itself around Tyrian's tail, much to his surprise.]*

Tyrian: ***HUUH?!***

*[Following the hook was a humanoid figure, the green-skinned transformation of Wisherman, who leaped from Fiona's Deep Pockets Semblance. Landing on the ship, Wisherman used his fishing pole to sling Tyrian around and lash him against the ground before pulling his hook back. Groaning, Tyrian jumped back to his feet, then laughed incredibly loudly upon realizing the situation.]*

Tyrian: Oh, ho ho ho ho!!! So, we *finally* meet! Alan Nomaly, the transforming non-Huntsman! And how fortuitous you choose a form with a weapon like Clover's. After all... *[chuckles]* ...He certainly isn't around to use it, anymore.

*[The four instantly knew what he meant, which makes sense considering the slaughter surrounding them that Tyrian caused just moments before. Wisherman's eyes narrowed.]*

Wisherman: You had better hope that we go easy on you.

Tyrian: *[chuckling with a smile both sadistic and masochistic]* Oh, oh, I wish you wouldn't.

Wisherman: Be careful what you wish for. It may just come true.

*[With Tyrian distracted by Wisherman, he almost was hit by the arrows shot by the Huntresses. Emphasis on almost, as he blocked the shots with his tail. He then rushed at the three, though his speedy running was interrupted by an oil slick suddenly appearing in front of his feet. The oil caused him to clumsily slip forward, almost hitting May with his blades, only for her to use her staff to block him and flip him over. He landed on his hands, flipping himself in the air and landing on his tail, glaring up at Alan who had changed into TurmOil. He gave almost a pouting face before turning to the oil slick and grinning. Putting out his weapon, he fired a bullet, intentionally missing any of the Huntresses, as it hit the oil and exploded, filling the area with smoke. A red flash temporarily filled the smoke, as Alan became human again.]*

Alan: *[coughing]* Joanna? May? Fiona?! Where- *[coughs]* Where are- AHHH!

*[Alan's eyes widened in pain, his body flashing with red Aura as Tyrian grabbed hold of him, his own purple Aura flashing upon the use of his Aura Disruption Semblance, giving him the ability to break Alan's and get a blow in before kicking off of him. From outside the smoke, the airship took to the skies, and the Huntresses ran out, May helping an injured Alan as the group coughed. Joanna looked up, aiming her crossbow at the ship, then sighed, deciding against it.]*

Fiona: Are you okay?

Alan: *[coughs, holding his side in pain]* I-I think so. I'll *be* okay, anyway.

Fiona: You got it a bit more bad than I did in the warehouse.

Alan: So that's what he was talking about? Heh.

*[Alan cracked his head as he stood to his feet, glaring up at the floating city.]*

Joanna: What do we do now?

Alan: ...Keep doing what you're doing. Getting people to the safest place possible.

May: What's your plan, then?

Alan: ...I'm going to Atlas. And I'm ending this.

*[In Atlas Academy, the sound of shouting and gunfire was heard in the hallways, along with a loud roar. An Atlesian guard was thrown against the wall, their Aura breaking as they fell unconscious, and Rath stepped into the scene, turning his attention to Ironwood's office. The door to the office had been completely busted open, oddly enough from the inside. The room was silent, and empty as he entered.]*

Rath: *[growling]* LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, EMPTY IRONWOOD OFFICE! THIS EMPTINESS WILL NOT STOP RATH'S PLAN TO STOP IRONWOOD'S PLAN! BECAUSE RATH'S PLAN DOESN'T KNOW THE MEANING OF STOP! ...UNLESS IT'S IN REFERENCE TO STOPPING IRONWOOD AND SALEM! IN WHICH CASE, YES, IT DOES INDEED KNOW THE MEANING OF STOP! *[has a moment of self awareness]* OH, NOW YOU'VE GONE AND DONE IT, EMPTY IRONWOOD OFFICE! YOU'VE GOT RATH TALKING TO HIMSELF! WELL, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ELSE, EMPTY IRONWOOD OFFICE! RATH DOES NOT APPRECIATE THAT! AT ALL! IT'S VERY RUDE!

*[Rath hit his Simplicitrix, becoming human and sighing, trying to calm himself down. Walking to the desk at the far end of the room, while also keeping an eye on his six, Alan then tapped the desk's controls, undoing the room's lockdown mode, and opening up the shutters of the windows, giving a view over the city of Atlas.]*

Alan: ...Hm. I suppose it makes sense he wouldn't be here. *[sits in the chair at the desk, resting his cheek in his hand]* He's probably at the vault. Waiting on Winter.

*[Alan winced at the thought. He then jumped a bit in surprise as the Simplicitrix beeped, its comms coming back on.]*

Pietro *(voice)*: Hello? Anybody there? Can you hear me?

Jaune *(voice)*: Doctor!

Maria *(voice)*: Finest mind in Atlas!

Alan: Don't scare me like that next time, damnit!

Jaune *(voice)*: Alan?

Alan: Who else, the man in the chicken costume?

Nora *(voice)*: Maria! What are you doing?

Maria *(voice)*: Grabbing our getaway ship. We need to hightail it out of here. Where are you?

Nora *(voice)*: The academy training room. We slipped away from some soldiers, but it won't be long before they--

*[Nora was be heard yelping while shots could be heard firing as well.]*

Yang *(voice)*: We're on our way. Just stick together. Alan, what about you?

Alan: ...Don't worry about little, old me. I'm right where I need to be.

Yang *(voice)*: But-

Alan: Focus on getting yourselves to safety. I'm waiting on Ironwood, and then I'm finishing this.

Yang *(voice)*: WHAT?! You can't do that on your own!

Alan: Yang. There are only two people on this planet who don't need to call backup. One of them is Salem. And the other... is me.

Yang *(voice)*: Alan-

*[Alan hung up from the call, sighing as he cut off his comms. A low thunder could be heard far in the distance. Alan glanced up out the window, and his otherwise nonchalant expression turned to one of curiosity. Standing from the seat, he neared the window, placing his hand to it as he looked out over the horizon. Gigantic storm clouds were seen, colored black and deep red. There was a faint yellow glow that looked small, but given the distance, and size of the overall storm, it would've been incredibly large in reality. A strike of lightning lit up the cloud, showing a gigantic, whale-shaped silhouette around the glow. Alan stumbled back upon seeing this, his look turning to pure terror.]*

Alan: She.... She's here...Already...

*[Alan's knees were shaking, and he looked down at the Simplicitrix. He sighed, not out of relief, but out of acceptance. Putting his hand to the Simplicitrix, a humanoid hologram popped up.]*

Alan: ...Sometimes it's worth it all to risk the fall, and fight for every life.

*[Alan pressed down on the device's core, causing a red light to swarm the room. Alan screamed out in a mix of fear and pain. The red light eventually subsided into the hourglass shape of the Simplicitrix's core symbol, which was now located on the chest of an almost entirely pitch black transformation, lit up by the blue, red, and yellow stars across its body, as well as its red eyes. Three black horns protruded from its head. The figure floated about a foot above the floor upon finishing the transformation.]*

***ALIEN X!***

*[The scene zoomed away from Alien X through the window of Ironwood's office, then panned around to show the oncoming storm. From the storm clouds emerged the gigantic, whale-like Grimm known as Monstra. Its head/nose was the source of the glowing yellow light, and it had numerous bony protrusions along its top and bottom. There were several red fins that almost were shaped like eerie wings. Monstra's top and bottom were also housing enormous crystals of Gravity Dust. Atop its snout stood a confident, grinning Salem.]*

## Major Events

* Fiona's Deep Pockets Semblance is used for the first time onscreen.
* This is the first time that this version of Alan displays having an Aura.
* Salem arrives in Atlas.
* Wisherman, TurmOil, and Alien X debut.

### Simplicitrix Debuts

* Wisherman
* TurmOil
* Alien X

## Characters

* Alan Nomaly
* Professor Ozpin *(voice)*
* Pietro Polendina *(voice)*
* Oscar Pine *(voice)*
* Jaune Arc *(voice)*
* Nora Valkyrie *(voice)*
* Yang Xiao Long *(voice)*

### Happy Huntresses

* Joanna Greenleaf
* May Marigold
* Fiona Thyme

### Villains

* Tyrian Callows
* Salem *(cameo)*

### Grimm

* Manticore
* Winged Beringel
* Monstra

## Aliens Used

* Wisherman *(debut)*
* TurmOil *(debut, cameo)*
* Rath
* Alien X *(debut, cameo)*

## Allusions

* Alan's line of dialogue before becoming Alien X is the final line in the chorus of the *RWBY* Volume 8 opening song, *For Every Life*.

## Trivia

* Alan and Tyrian were originally going to have their interaction be one on one. This was changed in accordance to the end of the previous episode where Alan was with the Happy Huntresses.
* It is currently unknown if Fiona's Semblance can work on living things. However, this is a fanfiction, so I can do whatever the hell I want.
* Tyrian's wish for Alan and the Happy Huntresses to not go easy on him did not count as an actual wish, as no binding contract was made between himself and Wisherman. It was instead treated as the figure of speech it was intended to be.
* Alien X being the final alien used of the season was planned quite a ways in advance. This acted as the catalyst for ensuring the other nine *RWBYA* playlist aliens would be used before this episode.
	+ Alien X's debut was originally going to happen after Alan has his own fight with the Ace-Ops. The ending of the scene would have had Alan having a conversation with Ironwood before using the transformation. Given the way the original canon version of the episode ended, it was decided that, instead, Alien X would've been used in Ironwood's office when Alan was alone, and seeing Salem on the horizon.

## Credit Scene

Alan *(voice)*: We don't have time to debate.

*[The darkness of the scene disappeared as Alan stood in a dark, space-like void, surrounded by stars. His face was a mix of anger, annoyance, dread, and confidence.]*

Alan: Salem is here *now*. And we need to act.

I say we let them rot.

*[The scene panned around after the bellicose, male voice spoke. Alan was in the void speaking to two, bright red faces. The male one Bellicus, and the female one Serena.]*

Bellicus: The ensuing war is sure to bring bloodshed, which is simply how things go.

Serena: While I don't condone the sacrifice of so many people, there's one of Salem's followers to consider. Hazel Rainart's love and remorse for his sister is what drives him. It's quite admirable.

Bellicus: What about that scorpion fellow? Tyrian Callows, was it? Love drives him, too. ...The love of death.

Alan: So, both of you are content, then? Letting millions die for this immortal bitch's cause? *[looks to Serena]* The numerous innocent lives lost? *[looks to Bellicus]* The lack of repercussions? If you aren't going to help me, then I'm going to leave.

Bellicus: It's clearly been some time since you've used this transformation, because you've obviously forgotten that we're not just going to simply let you *leave* now that you're here.

Serena: It is true that you come to us with the intention of demanding things from us that are against our wishes, as if we're the same as any other avatar you become. It's quite hurtful.

Alan: ...In that case.

*[Alan snapped his fingers, creating a floating chair in the void for him to sit in, not that he actually needed to given the floating nature of the void, he's just a prick at times and is doing this out of spite.]*

Alan: We can sit here and delegate what we can do to stop Salem. But I still need to do something in the meantime.

Bellicus: And *how* do you expect to do anything beyond our conversation when you're stuck here?

*[Alan glared up at both faces, and his own expression turned to a sly smirk.]*